A Shade of Vampire 84 A Memory of Time - Bella Forrest Page 0,30
is she going to wake up?” Tristan asked, staring at Valaine. He reached out a trembling hand to touch her face, but Dream clicked her teeth, making him pause.
“You don’t want to do that. Let her come back on her own,” she said. “It’s been a tough ride for her Aeternae vessel.”
I got up, giving Soul a wondering look and hoping he might have more details to share. He grunted softly, hands on his narrow hips. “It was her worst episode yet,” he said after a moment. “It’s not going to get better, either.”
“The deeper she digs into her memories, the harder it’ll be,” Phantom added.
“I found her, you know,” Tristan muttered, glancing up at me. “The Unending. She’s in there, deep inside Valaine’s subconscious. I can get to her again, but we need a more controlled environment. What happened here was insane. None of us saw it coming. Not even Valaine.”
“I know,” I said. “She would never have unleashed such horror in the tunnel on purpose.”
“We need to keep moving,” Time replied. “Going forward, we have a way of absorbing the Unending’s bouts of darkness, but we can’t stay here another minute.”
“Hold on, what way?” I asked.
Time frowned. “I got a few tips from Death. I promise I will explain everything once we reach your destination. Right now, time is of the essence. Valaine left a trail of death in her wake, and the Darklings will spot the signs aboveground. We cannot let them get to her ever again.”
My questions would have to wait. Shifting my attention back to Valaine, I noticed her eyes peeling open ever so slowly. “She’s awake.” I gasped.
Tristan helped her up. “Are you okay?”
Valaine moaned softly, pressing her fingers against her temples. “My head hurts. What happened?”
“Well, apparently we’ve got three more First Tenners on our side, and they’ll fill us in once we reach the west coast,” I said, quickly summarizing the whole encounter as best as I could. “For now, let’s be thankful we’re still here and get moving.”
“How much farther do we have to go?” Valaine asked as Tristan pulled her arm over his shoulders, helping her walk. We made our way back, my heart jumping as I peered ahead, looking for Kalon. Now that the darkness had dissipated, he’d be okay. I was feeling better already—proof that the Unending’s episodes of Black Fever weren’t permanent when they happened like this. It was a strange and inexplicable phenomenon, but I was never the type to look a gift horse in the mouth.
“About two hundred miles,” Sidyan said. “But we can teleport everybody directly to the coast. We’re outside the Darklings’ magical range.”
Kelara nudged him and Soul. “Let’s go ahead and start zapping people out of the tunnel.”
“By all means. After you,” Soul replied. A second later, he was gone, along with Kelara, Sidyan, and Widow. They were able to transport hundreds of Orvisians and Seniors almost effortlessly. The worst had passed.
We walked quickly through the tunnel, as Valaine gradually regained her full range of motion. The color returned to her cheeks, her hand tucked inside Tristan’s. Heat spread through me as my body began to relax. I’d be shaky for a little while longer, since the adrenaline was never quick to go away, but at least I could breathe again.
“You three have a lot of explaining to do,” I said to Time, Dream, and Nightmare. “Especially where your maker is concerned. Why is she so hard to work with?”
Dream giggled. “Ah, that’s an even longer story than the one about us coming here. Trust me, darling—”
“Esme, please,” I said, cutting her off.
“Trust me, Esme. You don’t want to know,” Dream continued.
Ahead, I could see Kalon with his back against the curved wall. He was awake, but he didn’t look well. Something tightened in my chest. The closer we got, the worse he looked. “This isn’t right,” I mumbled.
“Is that Kalon?” Valaine asked, her eyes widening at the sight of him slumping like that.
I bolted away from the group and slid to my knees when I reached Kalon. Placing my palm on his forehead, I felt a burst of nausea shoot through me. “Oh no. His fever is still up!” I shouted. In an instant, Valaine and Tristan were beside me, teleported by the Reapers and carefully checking Kalon’s vitals.
His eyes opened, but they looked empty as they found mine. “Esme,” he managed.
“Oh, babe, no… what’s wrong?” I murmured, resting my hands on his chest.