A Shade of Vampire 79 A Game of Death - Bella Forrest Page 0,101

Esme’s thigh. Tiny black spots framed it, standing out on her pale, almost white skin. I had never seen her like this.

“It was strange. Like a half-moon,” Kalon replied, frowning and crossing his arms, never looking away from Esme, who seemed to be asleep.

“A half-moon,” Derek repeated after him, then pressed a button on his earpiece and walked away from the table. He was talking to someone, but I could not hear what he was saying, my attention shattered, most of it focused on Esme’s slow heartbeat. When he came back, Derek was livid, and I didn’t know what to make of it, except suspecting that there was more trouble ahead for my sister.

“Derek, what is it?” Sofia asked, while Amal and Amane kept working to stabilize Esme.

“I think I know what weapon was used. But it… it’s strange,” Derek said. Looking at me, he could see that I was already on the edge of sanity. “A Reaper scythe.”

I felt as though someone had snatched the ground from under my feet. Gripping the table’s edge, I gawked at him for a while. “A what, now?” Not that I didn’t know what a Reaper scythe was, but what the hell was such a blade doing all the way here on Visio? “Why would Zoltan Shatal have a Reaper scythe?”

“Kalon?” Valaine asked, hoping he might have some answers.

He shook his head. “I don’t know. I’m sorry. I’ve never seen that thing before.”

“Were there any survivors? Did you send the gold guards down into the basement?” Sofia replied, and Kalon shook his head again, eyes on Esme.

“No survivors. I would’ve dragged them out here myself,” he said. “And I haven’t had time to alert anyone. I had to bring Esme up here.”

Valaine exhaled, closing her eyes for a moment. “Okay. I’ll go alert my father, as well as the Lord and Lady Supreme. Zoltan Shatal is now an enemy of the empire, a killer at large,” she declared. “I promise you we will not rest until he is brought to justice. I’ll lead the guards into the basement and raid the entire place, turn it upside down and whatever else I can do.”

“Thank you, Valaine,” Sofia said, giving her a soft half-smile.

“Do you mind if I join you?” Derek replied, looking at Valaine. “I need to see that basement for myself.”

“Of course,” Valaine murmured, then came around the table and placed a hand on my shoulder. “I’ll be back soon.”

“Be careful out there.” I sighed. “Especially with the gold guards.”

“I have no choice. But I will summon my father. He’ll bring in our private troops. The Crimson dynasty has a small army of its own. Their loyalty cannot be doubted.”

I wasn’t sure if that was true, but it was probably better than nothing. As Derek and Valaine went out to ring the alarm on Zoltan and the palace basement, I found myself shivering, my eyes stinging with tears as I had another look at my beloved sister.

Amal noticed my expression, her hands pressing tight on white gauze against the blackened wound. “She’s stable, Tristan. Esme is going to live. But the wound… if it was caused by a Reaper scythe, it will take longer to heal. Not even vampire or Aeternae or any kind of living blood can speed this along, I’m afraid.”

“But she’ll be okay?” Kalon asked, hopefulness tinging his broken voice. Blood had dried on his shaky hands. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. There was so much crazy to unpack from this entire incident, I didn’t even know where to begin explaining things to him.

The Aeternae didn’t, or at least weren’t supposed to know about Reapers and Death and their scythes. Was Zoltan the only one? Were all the Darklings aware? If so, how could we get ahead of this? What connection did their use of Reaper scythes have with their endgame of offering Aeternae sacrifices to stop the Black Fever? There were so many pieces missing from this puzzle, I couldn’t even wrap my head around it properly.

I bent down, whispering in Esme’s ear. “You’re going to be okay, sis. And I will be here, watching over you… waiting for you to wake up. Just come back to me. Please.”

Her breath hitched, if only for a fleeting moment, and I knew, deep down, that she could hear me from beyond, inside the layers of sleep and exhaustion to which she had succumbed. Kalon was stiff as a board, not moving a single inch. He was worried sick