A Shade of Vampire 80 A Veil of Dark - Bella Forrest Page 0,17

remember where. Chances were they belonged to other dynasties or the royal staff. Either way, they were Darklings and deserved to die in unending agony.

“What about Valaine?” one of them asked, frowning as he eyed Zoltan. “She still needs to die, Scholar.”

“Don’t you think I know that?!” Zoltan snapped. He paced back and forth, gaze fixed on his black leather boots. “That bastard Trev Blayne. That idiot Kalon Visentis. That nosy little bitch… what’s her face? The vampire.”

“Esme, Scholar,” the Darkling replied.

“Esme, right. They’re all to blame for this. Had it not been for their persistence, Valaine would likely be dead by now. The Black Fever averted before it unraveled. Son of a…”

“Scholar, if I may,” a second Darkling interjected with a timid smile. “Are we sure it’s Valaine Crimson that we’re supposed to kill, this time around?”

My throat closed up. This was chilling, to say the least.

What the hell were these freaks planning?!

“What sort of question is that?!” Zoltan replied, scowling at the second Darkling.

“I am simply wondering, Scholar,” she murmured. “We’ve been mistaken before. We all remember Luna Visentis, I hope.”

“It’s her. It’s Valaine Crimson,” Zoltan said. “I’m sure of it, this time. The signs are there. I’ve tested her, repeatedly. It’s her.”

“So, how do we kill her now?” the first Darkling asked. “We’re all the way across the continent from her, and the whole army of Visio is looking for us.”

A third Darkling scoffed. “The master commander knows about the black-and-white thread. He’s likely combing through his troops as we speak. He’s bound to catch one of us who’s not fast or brave enough to break the capsule and die for our cause.”

“We won’t be staying in Astoria long,” Zoltan replied. “Just long enough for me to get my bearings and figure out what we’re going to do. Valaine’s situation will simply have to wait for a few more days, until we stand on firmer ground. I did not expect this disruption.”

“Our people have an order to kill her on sight,” the second Darkling said. “It might do us a favor, in the end.”

Zoltan shook his head. “I wouldn’t count on it. You’ve all seen how resilient that creature is. I’ll have to get personally involved to get the job done, and that’s not going to happen while we’re forced to hide in the shadows.”

He got up, checking the sky with a curious look in his eyes.

“Scholar, what if more Reapers come to Visio?” a fourth Darkling asked him.

“We do our jobs. As always,” Zoltan replied. “I’ve got more warding to put in place. The rest of you make sure the ghouls are secured and well fed. It’s a new habitat for them, and I’m not comfortable with letting the collared ones hunt on their own. The last thing we need is carnage in nearby villages to draw attention to us.”

The Darklings nodded and scattered away, each with a clear task to accomplish. I decided to stay close to Zoltan for a little while longer, though I kept a reasonable and safe distance. Given my spirit form, I was vulnerable to anything he might try against me if he were to realize I was there—according to Seeley’s reasonable theory. As long as he didn’t sense my presence, however, I still had a shot.

I hoped he’d let more slip about why they were trying to kill Valaine, and what that had to do with the Black Fever. Nothing that Zoltan did seemed senseless or unplanned. There was a method behind this madness.

Kelara

This was quite the conundrum we’d stumbled into.

Sure, we’d found the Morning Star, but her condition was many degrees below “desirable.” Worst of all, her mere presence here was testament to the enormous damage that the Spirit Bender had inflicted upon the universe, damage that we were barely aware of. It got me thinking… What else had Spirit done? What other nuggets of trouble and danger had he left behind?

Even beyond death, he seemed to be haunting us, messing with us, making our existence miserable, and, most notably, getting revenge against his maker.

“Gah, they are so freaking weird,” the Soul Crusher groaned, unable to take his eyes off the people Morning had taken over. She’d transformed them into a hive mind of sorts, imbuing herself into their collective consciousness, speaking and moving through them.

“I am sorry,” Morning said, the locals uttering the words for her in creepy unison.

This world was beautiful, a miraculous work of nature with peaceful creatures and a most generous sun—only, Morning had taken