A Shade of Vampire 81 A Bringer of Night - Bella Forrest Page 0,21

and they know you’re not alone,” I said. “They’ve yet to figure out my ability to hide from them, and the ghouls are Nethissis-friendly, so to speak. We can’t risk you or Sidyan getting trapped. Not after everything we’ve been through.”

Rudolph moved closer, nuzzling my hand with his cold nose. It was the one thing I could still feel—the touch of another dead thing. As strange as it was, it did give me a little bit of comfort. It made me feel like I wasn’t so detached from this world after all. I gave the creature a faint smile. I could see my own translucent reflection in his big, beady black eyes.

“I hate to admit this, but Nethissis and Lumi might actually be right,” Sidyan grumbled. “We were lucky they didn’t turn you, Seeley. And I really don’t want to end up in chains. Zoltan and his lot know we won’t let them get away with any of this… they’ll likely be prepared. The death magic they know is complex, as we all know by now. They might have new traps in place.”

“Nethissis does have the advantage of being a ghost, if you think about it,” Lumi said, then gave me a worried look. “You had better not get yourself in any kind of trouble, missy. I’ve only just found you again.”

I wanted nothing more than to be able to hug her. “I’ll be okay. I’m surprisingly light on my feet. Death does have some advantages.”

Seeley gripped my arm, his touch so electrifying that it sent ripples of energy through my entire being. I turned to look at him, only to find his face so close to mine that I swore I could feel his breath brushing over my lips. “Keep at least five feet away from Zoltan and Veliko,” he said firmly. “Don’t stay in one spot for too long. Move as often as you can. If you so much as think you see one of them reaching for their scythe, get out of there. You come back to us, okay?”

“I will. I promise,” I murmured, no longer in control of my voice.

He inhaled deeply and shifted his focus to Rudolph. “And you! You do the same. You can hide yourself from the Darklings. Make sure the other ghouls don’t even look at Nethissis while she’s there. If you’re good, I’ll let you eat a black guard’s soul the next time they take the ghouls out hunting in the woods, okay?”

Rudolph purred like an oversized, hairless, deformed cat. Oh, he definitely got the message. Fortunately, this was a good time to infiltrate the camp, since the ghouls were on their way back from the forest—they were sated and hopefully not that interested in me to begin with. Then again, my soul was like a rare delicacy for these guys. Raw meat? Not so much. But I trusted Rudolph to make sure I had a clear path to spying on Zoltan and Veliko.

“Be careful, Nethi,” Lumi said as I made my way across the plain.

The wind intensified, and a heavy rain started to pour, as if the sky had been suddenly cut open. Everything turned gray and sullen, sad and wet. Even the grass bent to the side, each blade surrendering under the weight of the large droplets of water. I threw Lumi a faint smile and focused on my path.

Rudolph walked by my side. I heard Maya whimpering somewhere behind us, followed by Sidyan’s teeth clicking. “That’s enough, Maya,” he said to her. “They’ll be back soon.”

Infiltrating the Darkling camp felt less like a potential disaster now that I wasn’t alone. Seeley was free, and so was Rudolph. Sure, the Darklings were aware of these changes, but we still had an advantage here and there wasn’t much they could do about it, as long as we were all extra super careful.

Reaching the camp, I noticed the Darklings grumbling and cursing under their breaths, most of them hiding under their coats. For the living, such dense rain remained a noticeable discomfort. Veliko sat on a rock, letting the water seep into his clothes as he stared at the stump where his left hand used to be. There was hate in his eyes, burning red. He hated us. He hated his condition. But he was eerily calm, and I didn’t like that.

Zoltan was changing the bandage around his foot where Rudolph had bitten him. It would need a couple more hours for the wounds to fully close, given that the ghoul