A Shade of Vampire 84 A Memory of Time - Bella Forrest Page 0,64

abandonment, Corbin might do the same. There are only so many lucky breaks we can get out of this world.”

“So, what? We engage her?” I asked, and Derek thought about it.

“I’m here,” Lumi said from behind us, gasping. “Oh dear.”

I didn’t even need to turn around to know the expression on her face. It was a mixture of fear and bewilderment and anger, much like mine. Lumi stepped forward until her shoulder was next to mine.

“Yeah, we’ve got a problem,” I grumbled.

“Has she said anything?” Lumi asked.

“Nope. She’s been checking the shield,” Sofia said.

Petra revealed her scythe, its blade glinting beneath the moonlight. She pressed its tip into the shield’s membrane, and it shimmered in faint ripples upon contact. Smiling, she tried to pierce through, but the entire protective dome moaned as light flickered across, coming from all over and concentrating into her scythe.

The resulting pulse threw her back with considerable force, the air crackling with electricity around her as she struggled to get up.

“At least we know your latest magic works,” I whispered, giving Lumi an amused sideways glance. “I take it you picked up a new spell from the Word since Orvis?” I asked, knowing she’d have used it before, had she known about it. This had to be a more recent gift from the patron, the Word. It wasn’t even the first time that Lumi was picking up fresh spells along the way.

Lumi nodded slowly. “It’s been a while since it last taught me something new.”

“I think we should talk to her.” Sofia eyed me carefully. “With our pulverizers aimed straight at her, of course.”

Petra sniffed the air, her gaze wandering. I could almost hear the wheels turning in her head before she called out, loud and clear, for all of us within earshot.

“I know you’re in there, Derek. Sofia. Esme. I can smell you!”

“Of course,” I muttered.

“We need to talk,” Petra added. Her eyes narrowed, as though they were smiling. “I have a lot to tell you.”

Derek shook his head. “We shouldn’t. As curious as I am to learn how she got here, maybe we’re better off just killing her.”

“You’ll have to explain your decision to Ansel, Tudyk, and Moore,” I said. “Not to mention Kalon. No, it’s not right.”

“We’ll still have to kill her to get the shard,” Lumi reminded me, even though I’d just boasted of emptying my pulverizer weapon cartridges into Petra. This was beyond confusing, mainly because none of us knew why she was here. That was the most important question. “We’re better off doing it now, rather than later.”

“Hold on,” Kemi said. “She’s alone here. There’s not a single hostile scent within a mile radius, at least. I’m able to sense an Aeternae, even if they’re cloaked with death magic. Trust me on this. She’s on her own.”

That was a good point he was making. Roano was guarded by two hundred Seniors, a couple dozen ghouls, and at least a hundred or more Orvisians who could put up a fight. On top of that, we had members of our crew and some Reapers ready to go, as well. Petra had come alone, so whatever she was planning, it couldn’t possibly succeed against so many of us.

Looking around, I gave myself a moment to think things through. I would’ve loved nothing more than to shoot her dead, right here, right now. But like I’d said to Sofia and Derek, such a decision would’ve put me in a difficult position with all the Visentis boys—Kalon included. Yes, they knew Petra was evil, and the younglings were angry with her, as well as deeply hurt, but that didn’t give me a carte blanche to just whack her. I glanced back at the north tower, visible from where we stood, trying to imagine what Kalon might say about this. It was a complicated situation, and I was right in the middle of it, stuck between a conniving, murderous mother and her innocent sons. She’d damaged them in so many ways. I didn’t want to let her anywhere near them.

But she was still their mother. The decision about what to do with her belonged to Kalon, Ansel, Tudyk, and Moore. The best I could do was try to get a read on Petra. Hear her out. Filter her demands and figure out what to do with her. Sofia and Derek were probably thinking the same thing, judging by their silence and the looks on their faces. It wasn’t a pleasant situation, but we had to choose