A Shade of Vampire 80 A Veil of Dark - Bella Forrest Page 0,85

said after a long pause. “Here, however, we don’t know what his purpose was. The First Ten were all scattered across the In-Between and the Supernatural Dimension. None were known to have made it this far into the Earthly Dimension, as you call it.”

“We’d better make sure it doesn’t remain a mystery,” I said. “The last thing we need is another surprise bearing his signature at the end of all this.”

“Lumi’s right,” Nethissis interjected. “We can’t let the Spirit Bender be the gift that keeps on giving. And I obviously don’t mean that in a good way.”

Judging by the looks on the Reapers’ faces, they both agreed. But the road ahead was twisted and riddled with mystery. The Spirit Bender had done a fine job of covering most of his tracks. He’d successfully meddled with the Time Master and the Morning Star, probably with the Night Bringer, too. The Unending? Maybe.

As long as we didn’t know exactly what he did, where, and to whom, we were at risk of stumbling upon more of these problems. Death, however, had made some sense in all of this. Getting to the Darklings’ true leader would certainly bring us closer to figuring out exactly why Spirit had been here. And that was a good start to understanding the rest.

Sofia

Derek, Danika, Acheron, Thayen, and I sat on the terrace once more. I couldn’t get enough of the view, especially at dusk.

But even with all this beauty surrounding us, the tranquility, the fresh blood served in elegant crystal glasses… we were all sullen and lacking words. Derek had just been briefed by Tristan regarding Astoria and the presence of ghouls. He’d shared everything with Danika and Acheron, too, adding some explanations along the way regarding death magic and Reapers.

I wanted to think of it as good news considering our people had basically been able to successfully follow the Darklings around, all the way to their latest hiding place.

It wasn’t like that, though. Derek and I knew that the presence of ghouls meant additional danger for our people. Tristan was perfectly capable of spotting and handling ghouls, and I was sure he’d provide Valaine, Corbin, and the soldiers with the appropriate training on the matter. But still, I worried…

“They’re still out there,” Acheron grumbled, stroking his growing stubble as he glowered at his glass on the table between us. “That bastard Zoltan is still out there.”

“They are making progress,” Danika tried to reassure him.

Thayen was quiet, watching each of us with his lips pressed tightly together, concern darkening his bright blue eyes.

“But he’s still free!” Acheron snapped. “He’s a danger to our society. A danger to us all. To the empire itself! He allowed the Darklings to steal Rimians and Naloreans, to force them into blood slavery! And our rich friends paid them for it! He’s messing with death and all that should never be brought into the world of the living! He kept the rest of us in the dark regarding these atrocities! He doesn’t deserve a single day of freedom! Not one!”

He was genuinely angry. Boiling over, even. He was also scared. As soon as he was told what ghouls were, I saw the blood drain from his face.

I had not seen him like this before, but Danika didn’t seem frightened or worried. Either she was very good at keeping her composure, or she’d seen him blow up like this too many times.

Everything they’d just learned was a lot to take in, but I supposed these were Aeternae who used a form of magic. The existence of Death and Reapers and ghouls wasn’t exactly a reality-shattering concept. It actually enhanced their knowledge of what the world was really like.

Thayen looked pale, probably eager to ask more questions about all this, but he refrained, since his parents were preoccupied with bigger issues like capturing Zoltan and annihilating the Darklings.

“Tristan and Valaine are hot on his trail,” Derek said. “Sure, there is evidence that the Darklings are more dangerous than we thought, given their ghoulish resources, but they’re not unbeatable.”

“And Corbin is right behind them!” Danika added, trying her best to sound positive, though I didn’t miss the way her hands shook slightly. As much as she tried, she couldn’t hide it. Ghouls and death creeped her out. Finally, I could see the cracks in the wall she wore around herself. Uncertainty reigned over her, and she didn’t know what to do with it, so she tried to smile and look on the bright side. “We’ve got