A Shade of Vampire 77 A Fate of Time - Bella Forrest Page 0,31

but the looks on Dream’s and Nightmare's faces told me everything I needed to know.

We were getting closer to finding the Time Master.

Kelara

"I'm surprised there are other human-like creatures out here," I said.

The three of us stood before the temple's pillars, not enough courage between us to go inside. I couldn't understand why. We were three Reapers, two of us even among the oldest in existence. There was something inside that prevented us from moving right away, but we didn't have the courage to speak up.

"This dimension was once rife with them," Nightmare replied. "Some destroyed others in interstellar wars for dominance. Others destroyed themselves by ruining the ecosystems of their worlds. Earth, as you know it, is not the first instance of humans becoming the dominant species."

Dream nodded in agreement. "There are a few more like Astram out there, a few of them actually farther ahead in terms of technology and development. Here, the people have maintained a certain state for thousands of years. They've been like this for a very long time."

"Do they not feel the need for progress?" I asked.

"Do you not feel the need to set foot inside the temple, already?" Nightmare said, a sarcastic grin slitting his face.

"After you, sir," I retorted. "How am I supposed to be the first one to go in?"

Dream giggled. "I take it we all feel it, then. The dread oozing out of this place."

"What is it?" I sighed.

Inside, there wasn't much to be seen. The lights were dim, barely glowing on wall-mounted torches, blue with orange wisps. Shadows stretched across the floor, but I could still make out a large statue in the middle of the temple. Its face wasn't visible, but even so, its eyes sought to haunt me.

"Something awful happened here," Dream said. "Not to the living, but to one of our own. A Reaper bled here."

"Whoa," I blurted. "How can a Reaper bleed?!"

"Old magic. Death magic," Nightmare replied. "We can feel our brother's presence, but even you can sense his suffering."

Bracing myself, I sucked in a breath and finally moved, taking the first steps inside the temple. Darkness briefly enveloped me as I passed between two of the pillars, the statue in the middle revealing itself. It was odd that barely anything could be seen from the outside. As soon as I walked into the shadows, everything seemed to come to light—albeit a soft one.

"Oh, snap." Dream chuckled. "That's him!"

"What?" I asked, staring at the statue.

It was the figure of a man sitting on a throne, in what looked like an elegant tunic, a sculpted pocket watch hanging from his chest pocket. His hair was combed back, his eyes hollowed out. His long fingers spread like a spider's legs over the armrests. And he seemed to be smiling.

Nightmare gasped. "They made a statue in his likeness. If you think Death will be pissed about my sister and me, wait till she hears that the Time Master allowed himself to be worshipped by a bunch of mortals!"

"Now that I look back, our dream munchies are nothing compared to his effigy. We might get a slap on the wrist, at best," Dream added.

"He's their god?" I managed, leaning forward to check the symbols engraved into the statue's square, solid base. I moved my fingers across each letter, understanding the text along the way. "Yes, he is. The Lord of Time, they call him."

Dream and Nightmare circled the statue, their scythes out and glowing intermittently as they moved. They looked like shadows, mere wisps that hovered across the floors, moving graciously and enacting a series of spells designed to connect them to the Time Master.

"Any sign of him, beyond what you've been sensing?" I asked.

The statue text was pretty specific in terms of the locals' mythology. One day, the Lord of Time was said to have stepped down from the heavens, using his power to stop entire wars and bring peace to the nations of Astram. The people of Astram considered him to be a liberator of sorts.

Walking away from the statue, I checked the temple's interior walls next. Bas-reliefs covered the upper half, while more writings were carved into the bottom half.

"He was here recently enough," Nightmare said.

"Another Reaper attacked him. Hurt him deeply. One of ours," Dream concluded, giving me a worried look.

It didn't take long for me to put two and two together. "You mean to tell me the Spirit Bender is behind Time's disappearance, too?"

"Does it not make sense?" Nightmare murmured, picking up a broken