A Shade of Vampire 77 A Fate of Time - Bella Forrest Page 0,7
was so busy trying to stay alive that I simply didn't have time to keep track of our sort-of-dead allies.
Another Shill rammed into me, and I shot my hand out. The scythe sliced through its soft, reddish stomach. I kicked it away, trying to swim down and put some distance between us, but the Shill was twice as angry and all the more determined to eat me.
A bright flash blinded me for a split second. When I opened my eyes, I found the Shill right in front of me, its many beady eyes wide, unflinching, and its large mouth gaping. A curved blade poked out from inside. Behind it, Seeley glanced at me, slightly amused. He pulled his scythe back, and the Shill died in a puff of blood, its massive body floating upward, toward the surface.
"Thanks," I murmured.
More flashes of light followed as Soul, Phantom, and Widow made their way through the Shill crowd, cutting and slashing away. The corpses they left behind were pulled up to the surface, which made me quiver.
"This is just so damn creepy," Raphael said, looking up. He briefly checked me from head to toe, gently gripping my arm just below a deep gash. "It'll heal by the time we reach Strava."
"I didn't even feel it," I replied.
"You guys, do you think we should get the heck out of dodge before Brendel gets to us?" Phantom asked, floating through the water like a lit-up firebug. She was glowing white, and I couldn't help but marvel at her appearance. The remaining Shills around her turned away, apparently blinded by her peculiar shimmer.
It gave Varga and Eva the opportunity to pulverize them and clear the path for us below. We didn't hesitate, resuming our swim to the bottom, while the orange light grew brighter above.
"Yeah, figured that one out already," I replied dryly, moving my arms and legs as I followed Taeral and Raphael deeper and closer to the intense white light waiting for us at the end of the underwater tunnel.
We slipped through it, one at a time, and found ourselves suspended in the white space between worlds. Once more, the shadow of melancholy brushed over me. It seemed like years ago… the last time we'd been here. Oh, what a trip that had been, with the Hermessi coming after us.
"They'll follow us through!" I shouted, remembering Brendel's previous attempt to catch us in the white space. "Brendel! She'll come through!"
Phantom shook her head. "Your friend Kelara was right. Hermessi shouldn't be able to do that. Not without help."
We floated through the blankness as I thought of Strava. Phantom, Widow, and Soul joined forces and gathered round the pink water hole of Mortis. They put their hands together as the wormhole began to close, the liquid inside it turning bright orange—a sign that Brendel was awfully close.
"What are they doing?" Nethissis asked, staring at them.
"I… I'm not sure," I replied.
"They're sealing the wormhole," Seeley said.
Varga was the first to express his astonishment, while the rest of us were simply baffled. "What? How? Can they do that?!"
"Obviously we can, since we're already doing it," Soul replied, his gaze fixed on the wormhole.
"I thought you weren't supposed to meddle in the affairs of the living," Herakles said. I couldn't see his mouth beneath that breathing device, but I knew he was smiling. Heck, so was I. This was a much-needed reprieve.
"The moment Death vanished, all bets were off," Seeley explained. "Perhaps I am not as brave as the First Ten, but even I can see why they're doing this. Once we find Death, I'm sure we'll answer for our law-breaking, but until then, I'm completely on board with their endeavor."
"At least Brendel won't come after us this way," I concluded.
The wormhole closed up completely, vanishing into the white space, never to be opened again. The Soul Crusher, the Widow Maker, and the Phantom floated toward us. While Widow's expression was concealed by his gimp suit, I could easily tell that both Soul and Phantom were satisfied with their actions.
"Brendel is obviously worried you'll find Death before it's all over," Soul said. "I, for one, have discovered that I take great pleasure in tormenting her."
"Which makes you the perfect ally." Lumi chuckled softly.
"Mind you, there are things we still cannot do," Phantom warned us. "We cannot bring back the dead or whatever, but we can still help you end this quest."
"We must find Death, first," Widow added. "She is still the key