A Shade of Vampire 84 A Memory of Time - Bella Forrest Page 0,11

and spread in every direction. My muscles hardened as my chest was constricted by an invisible force. Black ink seemed to fill my veins, visible through the pale skin. The fever was quick to follow, setting my flesh on fire as I struggled to remain upright.

Valaine was as stiff as a board, the whites of her eyes black, dark veins spidering around the eyelids. Her breathing was barely audible, the cold air biting into my hot skin. This was it. The darkness. The result of millions of years of suffering caused by the Spirit Bender. Valaine was consumed by it, so much so that it was now looking to feed on someone else. No one was safe. Not even me.

But as I held on to her, as I braced myself for the nothingness to swallow me whole, I knew we had another shot at digging through her memories. “Valaine, I need you to listen to me,” I whispered in her ear, knowing she wouldn’t be able to respond anymore. Catatonia had already taken over. “I need you to listen, Valaine,” I repeated. “I need you to follow my voice, because we are not letting this… this suffering claim any more lives.”

My confidence was impressive, considering how my body was already succumbing to the Black Fever. I wrapped my arms around her and looked at Morning and Phantom. Neither appeared reassured, so I had no certainty about what would happen next. All I had was my faith in Valaine.

I hoped it would be enough. I hoped it would save us all.

Esme

I was told to run, but my feet had suddenly turned to lead.

Looking ahead, I saw Nethissis being dragged away by Seeley and Rudolph. She didn’t want to go with them, but she didn’t have much of a choice. Soul and Kelara were working hard to zap the Orvisians farther through the tunnel with a clear sense of urgency. Behind us, I could see Tristan and Valaine on their knees. My brother looked pale—his face as white as a sheet of paper, black veins darting across his face. Valaine seemed stiff, her eyes fully black with dark veins stretching around them.

Morning and Phantom were there, too, but they were helpless. Horror filled my soul, and my instincts flared as I understood what was happening.

“Esme, that doesn’t look right,” Kalon said.

“I don’t think we should be here,” Ansel added, holding Tudyk’s and Moore’s hands. The rest of the crew kept moving through the tunnel. We weren’t even halfway there, and I had a feeling our problems were about to get worse.

“Ansel, take your brothers and run as fast as you can,” I said to the boy. “Don’t look back. Keep running and tell everybody else to do the same.”

“What’s happening?” Moore asked, glancing back at Valaine.

“The darkness,” Kalon muttered, his voice low and raspy and dripping with fear. “Ansel, do what Esme told you. Now! Run!”

The air grew heavy, supercharged with electrical particles that crackled through my hair. The energy rippled over my skin, sending icy shivers down my spine as I gripped Kalon’s shoulders.

“What about you?” Ansel asked Kalon.

“He’s right. You need to go, too,” I said, my voice breaking. “Once the darkness hits, you’ll be susceptible to Black Fever.”

“I’m not leaving you!” Kalon argued.

“You have to! Dammit, Kalon—I can’t let my brother stay behind alone, and I’m a vampire. The Black Fever might not kill me.”

“We both know what’s coming out of Valaine might be a lot worse than just the normal curse,” Kalon snapped. “I can’t go without you.” He paused to look at his brothers. “Ansel, go!”

The boys didn’t want to leave, but they had no choice. Ansel started running, dragging Moore and Tudyk away with him. Having Kalon with me under these circumstances didn’t feel right, but I couldn’t stop him. My heart thudded almost painfully in my chest as I looked over my shoulder.

Phantom and Morning were shouting something, but the sounds never made it to us. Time seemed to slow down, the tunnel darkening as the torches Ridan had left behind on the walls died out, one by one. With every flame that died, I felt closer to the cold embrace of death, and I didn’t want to be anywhere near it.

But I couldn’t leave. I needed to get to Tristan. The longer he held on to Valaine, the worse he looked, and the harder it got for him to even keep his head up. There was no way to describe the forces that came