A Shade of Vampire 79 A Game of Death - Bella Forrest Page 0,89

Blood was sprayed all over the walls. She’d been fed a live Rimian or Nalorean, judging by the satisfied look on her face. Her black eyes glimmered with recognition when she saw Rudolph.

“She’s still Lisl, somewhere deep down,” I whispered, leaning closer to Rudolph. “See? She recognizes you. She knows you’re Rudolph. So don’t let Zoltan tell you otherwise.”

Rudolph was shaking, anger likely coursing through him like a forest fire. With a trembling hand, I touched his back, and he… stilled. All of a sudden, all the rage flowed out of him, and he relaxed visibly under Zoltan’s surprised yet watchful eye. I was taking a great risk by being so close to Rudolph, but I couldn’t let the Aeternae win.

“Deep breaths,” I said. “Deep breaths. We’ll find a way to help her and the others. I promise you.”

He looked up at me, a pleading look glimmering in his eyes. I could almost hear his words, echoing in my very soul. Please, help them… You have to help them.

As a ghoul, Rudolph was cut off from the other Reapers. But Herbert had been able to communicate telepathically with sentries like Harper and Caspian. Maybe Rudolph was trying to talk to me, in his ghoulish way, because those words I thought I’d just heard were not mine.

“Take it easy,” I murmured. “Don’t force yourself.”

Exhaustion from trying his various abilities could be detrimental to us. As much as I appreciated his attempt to telepathically talk to me, even though I wasn’t a sentry—which just made everything extra weird—it wasn’t necessary at this point, and it was bound to take its toll on him.

“Let’s stick together, Rudolph. Charm these suckers until they give you more freedom,” I said, scowling at Zoltan, who shut the door to Lisl’s cell and walked Rudolph over to the next one, showing him Bert. “Don’t let any of this get to you. Make them all like you. Get close enough, grab a scythe, and I’ll let Seeley loose. We’ll avenge you all, Rudolph. You have my word.”

I kept talking to him, encouraging him as Zoltan went ahead and showed Rudolph the rest of his teammates, each angrier and more out of control than the last. By the end of the tour, Rudolph had retained his calm composure, further impressing the chief councilor.

“Yes, I think I will enjoy working with you, Rudolph,” Zoltan said, then looked at the guards. He must’ve learned their names while forcing them to turn. “Take him to a bigger cell. He’s earned some extra legroom. And see if you’ve got some other dissident to feed our good boy, here. I reward obedience.”

The guards both nodded, approaching us.

“Keep it cool, Rudy,” I said, going for the shorter version of his name. “Take your time. We’ll be free soon enough. For now, however, let them think they have you.”

Rudolph growled a little, but he didn’t object when one of the guards took over his leash. I stayed by his side, while Zoltan went farther down the hall, doing whatever it was he did when he came down here.

We’d gotten over the first threshold. We’d gained a lick of confidence from Zoltan Shatal, and that allowed us to plan our next move. Once the guards got slightly more comfortable around Rudolph, he could pick a scythe off one of them. If he were to get friendly too fast, it would raise red flags. We needed patience for this operation, even though there wasn’t much time left for Seeley.

Once Rudolph was settled in his new, more spacious cell, I left him for a bit so I could update Seeley on everything that had happened. He, too, agreed.

“We’ll get out of this hellhole eventually,” he said.

I sat on the floor in front of him. There was a sense of peace coming off him. No matter what I’d been through since I’d died, I always found a sliver of comfort in his presence. Seeley was likely part of the reason why I’d retained my sanity until now. Maybe there was truth in his words.

Maybe we’d get out of here.

But then what? I wondered. Then what?

Tristan

“How many of you are there?” Valaine asked, relentless in her interrogation.

One of the Red Threads we’d captured back in the southern district of the city had finally come to. Like all the others, he’d been tied to the bed, and nurses made sure he was fed and properly hydrated. His wounds were treated with droplets of Aeternae blood, and he was looking a lot better