A Shade of Vampire 84 A Memory of Time - Bella Forrest Page 0,40

I wasn’t sure which one she’d pick in the end.

“Is he awake?” Trev replied after a moment’s thought, his gaze wandering over to the boys.

“No. He’s in a state of deep sleep, which further contributes to keeping the Black Fever from advancing,” I said.

“I suppose I can’t see him?”

“No. I’m sorry. He’s in isolation,” I answered quietly, knowing how bad this must feel for Trev. He and Kalon had been best friends for years. Hell, Kalon was the one who turned him into an Aeternae. They had a long history together, and the inability to do something to help Kalon was clearly eating away at Trev. I reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. “I can’t promise you he’s going to be okay,” I added, my voice wavering, “but I can promise you we’re all going to do everything in our power to save him.”

Trev gave me a weak smile, then shifted his focus to the boys. “You’re not doing it right,” he told them. “You need more than a bunch of sticks to put together a shelter.”

Tudyk and Moore stopped, staring up at Trev. “What do we do then?” the youngest asked.

“Rocks. You need rocks,” Trev replied. “Come on, I’ll help you. Let’s gather as many chunks of stone as we can. We’ll carry them back here, and you’ll have cover by nightfall.”

Glancing up at the sky, I realized why they were so focused on building shelters. Clouds gathered in lazy charcoal rolls overhead. Rain would be upon us by nightfall. The reddish haze was painted over with an incoming storm. As lightning flashed above, I watched Trev take Ansel, Moore, and Tudyk with him to find rocks for a shelter. I found a sense of comfort in knowing that the former Rimian was looking after them in Kalon’s absence.

While they were off to do their thing, I headed back to the city’s old center, where ghouls had begun returning with prey from the Nightmare Forest. We needed fresh blood for the Aeternae, and the creatures had brought back everything they’d been able to gather after feeding themselves. They’d returned with an impressive variety of large predators and plenty of deer-like animals, so I got to work.

Filling a couple of satchels with fresh blood, I set them aside for the Visentis boys and Trev. It was the least I could do, considering that Kalon had basically gotten himself involved in this mess because he wanted to do the right thing. Because he’d refused to leave me behind when Valaine’s darkness came for us.

Derek

I’d spent the past half hour trying to jimmy the lock on my cell. Naturally, it was warded with death magic, but that hadn’t stopped me from trying. It was better than sitting around doing nothing. Maya had recovered a nail from one of the corners of the room, possibly from a former piece of furniture. It was long and hard enough to do the trick. Hopefully.

I could hear the internal mechanism of the lock clicking as I wiggled the nail in there, but I had no luck actually opening the damn thing. Sweat dripped down my temples, and anxiety gnawed its way through my stomach, spreading fire up my throat. I’d become claustrophobic, desperate to get out of here. Hours had passed since I’d broken the green bead, and still I’d seen no sign of Lumi and Sidyan.

I’d become convinced that something had happened, and that I might have to leave this place on my own. That, in itself, offered a series of challenges, since I knew there were at least two Darklings posted outside, just beyond the iron door. The lock was charmed, and I was pretty sure Danika had put other measures in place to stop me from leaving. Maya could take me away, but she couldn’t get past the steel bars of my cell, each one covered in warding runes.

“If only I could get past these,” I muttered, running my fingers down one bar. I felt the power of each carving tickling the tips of my fingers. Each carried a certain weight, a dark energy I could almost sense somewhere in the depth of my being.

Maya growled, equally frustrated, her beady eyes glimmering as she analyzed the runes. She bared her long white fangs for a moment, shaking her head and stepping back, as if telling me she couldn’t do anything about this, either.

“Well, I know they’ve warded this place to stop Reapers from taking me away, but what are the