A Shade of Vampire 81 A Bringer of Night - Bella Forrest Page 0,27

of him first. I reckon torture will be your best option to make him talk.”

“Oh, I’ve got a few ideas lined up already,” Valaine said, walking toward Zoltan. Her gaze darkened, and I felt the tension of her presence intensifying, making it increasingly hard to breathe. She was about to descend into her primal side again, and Zoltan was utterly terrified.

“No, no, no… Keep her away from me!” He tried to move back as Valaine got closer. With his hands bound behind his back, however, there wasn’t much he could do.

Valaine grabbed him by his throat and lifted him off the ground. Exerting her influence, she made his nose bleed, and he cried out in pure agony. Black veins cut across her temples as she unleashed whatever it was that caused so much pain in her targets.

“No… Please, I beg of you… Stop!” Zoltan croaked, eyes rolling into his head.

“Valaine,” Lumi said. “You have to control yourself.”

But Valaine didn’t listen. I worried Zoltan would perish, his brain turned to mush before we could get anything useful out of him. I reached her in a single breath and placed my hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently. Zoltan’s legs flailed in the air inches from the ground.

“Let him go,” I whispered in her ear. “Don’t let it take over.”

For a moment, I doubted even I could bring her back. But Valaine let out a deep breath and dropped Zoltan. He landed hard on his side, coughing and moaning, blood still dripping from his nose. “Keep her away from me…” he managed.

“What… Why does this keep happening?” Valaine sighed, blinking rapidly as she regained her consciousness. “The anger… it takes hold, and all I can do is let this rage out. I can’t hold back.”

Lumi frowned, watching her with curious eyes. “I take it this has been happening more frequently, huh?”

“It’s one of Valaine’s powers, so to speak,” I tried to explain. “It does help. She got some of the Darklings we captured to cooperate. I hope she’ll get Zoltan to work with us, as well. But the self-control part… she’s not fully grasping that just yet.”

Valaine almost fell, weakened by this second descent. I caught her and held her close, feeling her body relax in my embrace, her head resting on my shoulder. For a moment, nothing else mattered. I had her, and I wasn’t going to let her go.

“Tristan, I have to go. I can’t be seen by anyone else,” Lumi said, glancing back at the road. I heard horses neighing. Corbin and the rest of the squad were finally arriving.

“You still haven’t answered my question,” I replied.

“I can’t tell you what I’m doing here. All I can do is promise that we’re all on the same team,” she said. “Keep doing what you’re doing. Don’t let anyone scare you or push you away. Peel away at the problem until you get to the truth, because there is something truly awful happening on Visio. I’m working on this from my end, as well.”

“Are you with any Reapers, by any chance?” I asked, the thought barely crossing my mind before I formulated the question.

Lumi shot me a brief smirk. “You’re a smart young man, Tristan. I have faith in you. I’ll tell you more about everything when I can, but now isn’t the time.”

“Okay. Whatever you do, Lumi, just be careful.”

“Remember, don’t tell anyone about me. It’s extremely important,” Lumi replied, motioning for Rudolph to come to her. “One last thing. There’s a reason why the Darklings want Valaine dead. I haven’t learned the details yet, but maybe Zoltan can fill you in.”

“So, they are definitely targeting her, specifically,” I said, annoyed by such a confirmation.

Lumi nodded. “They think she’s the source of the Black Fever.”

“What?” Valaine murmured, still recovering in my arms. She slowly raised her head. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Zoltan said it himself,” Lumi replied. “I don’t know why, but they think you’re responsible. According to this strange and incomplete theory, the Rimians and the Naloreans are just carriers. The original virus comes from you.”

“But we tested her blood. She doesn’t have the virus!” I said. “Seriously, Lumi, what is going on here? You can’t just drop a bomb like that and leave!”

“I have no other choice. You’ll understand the next time we see each other, Tristan, but until then… I’m sorry. We must go.”

“No, please, you need to tell us,” Valaine insisted, her voice weak and her eyelids drooping. Rudolph scampered across the tall grass to