A Shade of Vampire 84 A Memory of Time - Bella Forrest Page 0,82

be just you they’ll kill. Or Sofia. Or whoever else is here in this dead city with you. No. Corbin will use all the death magic knowledge at his disposal, along with all the Knight Ghouls, and he will head straight for your home planet. And once he’s done with you, he’ll go for your brother and your sister. Your children. Their children. He will burn your family tree down to the root. And when it’s all done, he’ll set fire to your precious Shade, as well. Derek, if you keep pushing against him, Earth will become just another province of Visio. The humans will feed us, much like the Rimians and the Naloreans.”

“If that is the future you foresee, Petra, why are you still here? We both know you could escape if you really wanted to.” My spine tingled. Everything she’d just described was entirely possible, and such an outcome was simply unfathomable. Unbearable. Unacceptable.

“I told you, Derek. Have you not been listening? I’m here for my sons.”

“You’ll never get your sons back,” I said. “They’ll never go with you, no matter where you take them. They’re smarter than you give them credit for, Petra. And better, too.”

She exhaled sharply. “You know, we were all perfectly happy here in our empire. The circle of life was simple. We’re born, we live forever if possible, and we keep the Unending’s cycle going so she doesn’t wipe us all out. Simple. Effective. Eternal. Then you came along and made everything harder. As if we’d ever feel sorry for one Reaper. Don’t be ridiculous, Derek. They’ll never let you set Unending free.”

“What do you know about setting the Unending free?” I asked.

Petra shook her head. “Finally, you’re asking the right questions. I know plenty, but are you worth such revelations? My bet is you’ll be dead in a day. Two, tops. Whatever knowledge I have, it won’t do you any good.”

“Why are you so certain I’ll die?” I asked. “You keep talking in riddles and circles and vague notions, which makes me consider one of two possibilities: either you know nothing, and you’re just wasting air because you like the sound of your own voice, or you know plenty, and you’re stalling. Buying time. Which makes your initial motive for being here completely false.”

Esme came in with Sofia right behind her. They both looked scared, their breathing ragged and fast. “I’m afraid it’s the latter,” Esme said. “She’s not here to be with her sons. She’s here to transplant the soul shard into one of them.”

Petra scowled. “What sort of nonsense is that?”

“She put a sleeper spell on Moore. It was activated when she whispered in his ear. He just tried to kill us,” Esme replied, looking at me.

“I tried reaching you through the comms system,” Sofia said.

“Nothing came through,” I replied, suddenly confused.

“Ah, I’m afraid that was my fault.” Petra lifted her hands to reveal that the cuffs were gone. A scythe emerged from between her fingers, its blade curved and capturing fragments of moonlight along its sharp edge. “You see, Derek, I’ve learned a trick or two from the Reapers I’ve turned over the years, including this little bit about hiding a death magic weapon on one’s person, beyond the physical realm. Using the Spirit’s teachings, I adapted the spell so that not even Reapers could detect it. My little Moore has been carrying it with him since he was born, and he had no idea until I activated the… what did Esme call it? Ah, yes, the sleeper spell.”

“That hug he gave you. It was to pass the scythe back to you,” Esme murmured.

Fear was quick to implant itself inside my chest as I grasped this new reality. Petra had already set herself free, and she had a powerful weapon at her disposal. Sofia’s gasp reached my ears, along with the clicking sound of Esme’s pulverizer weapon as she removed its safety. A moment later, it was pointed at Petra.

“You lying, heartless bitch,” Esme muttered.

Petra was not at all intimidated by the weapon, though she knew what it could do. Her lack of reaction worried me, and I suddenly doubted whether we had what it would take to defeat her. We had superior numbers, but this air of confidence she exuded… it felt wrong. Dangerous. Maybe even deadly, if we weren’t careful.

“Finally, some bite with that bark,” Petra replied, raising her scythe. “Now, here is what’s going to happen, and there is nothing you can do about it. I’m