A Shade of Vampire 81 A Bringer of Night - Bella Forrest Page 0,28
settle by Lumi’s side.
“Don’t worry about the ghouls,” Lumi said. “We’ll take care of them.”
Before either of us could respond, the swamp witch smiled gently, then vanished. Rudolph and the other ghouls disappeared, as well, and I recognized the familiar air shimmer. This was death magic. A Reaper had helped Lumi. At least one Reaper was active on Visio, probably doing their share of investigating the Darklings—it was the only explanation I could find for this most peculiar encounter. And for some reason, Lumi was helping them.
“How… Who was that woman, Tristan?” Valaine asked, gripping my arms as she looked up at me. It was a simple question, yet the answer seemed a lot more complicated.
“She’s a friend and an ally. One of our own, from GASP,” I said. “She was Nethissis’s mentor. The oldest original swamp witch. Hell, the only original swamp witch. We saved her a long time ago, and… Well, I don’t know how she got here or why she’s here, but I’m just thankful she showed up when she did.”
“Me too,” she replied. “I think that death spell Veliko cast my way would’ve definitely hurt me—or worse—had your friend not intervened. I couldn’t move. When the darkness takes over, I’m… I’m out of control.”
“You’re safe now. That’s what matters.”
Zoltan chuckled bitterly, still stuck on his side in the tall grass. The gold guards immobilized the remaining Darklings, removing their Black Fever glass capsules before dragging them closer to Zoltan.
“What’s so funny?” I asked, glowering at the disgraced Scholar.
“Valaine will never be safe. The Darklings will stop at nothing until she’s dead.”
“Is it true?” Valaine asked. “That I’m the source of the Black Fever?”
“I doubt it,” I told her. “Think about it. There wasn’t a single trace of it in your bloodstream. Amal tested you more than once. It must have something to do with a legend or superstition or something.”
“It’s the truth,” Zoltan said, as one of the gold guards pulled him up into a sitting position. He grimaced from pain, but he was able to sit upright. “I don’t have to explain our ethos or our motivation to you. You won’t be alive for much longer, anyway.”
The Visions rumbled up the coastal road, their hooves thundering as the regiment reached us, led by Corbin and his Crimson lieutenants. The surviving Darklings quivered as they watched them approach. It didn’t take long for them to spot the prisoner carriages, of which we had two. They would soon join the other Darklings in our possession. Their fight was now over. It was done.
“Don’t worry, Zoltan. We’ll make you talk,” Valaine said, pushing herself away from me. She stood on her own, though her knees were still shaky. I admired her persistence, her desire for independence. She didn’t want the darkness inside her to win, and I was ready to do anything in order to keep her safe from the Darklings.
“You stay away from me!” Zoltan yelped.
“Valaine!” Corbin exclaimed, jumping off his Vision horse. A second later, he was hugging his daughter, his eyes closed with relief as he held her tight. “You’re okay.”
“For the most part,” she replied. “I’m sorry, Father. We had to attack them. Their ghouls spotted us, and we couldn’t risk letting them go.”
“No, no, it’s okay,” Corbin said, his eyes searching her from head to toe, making sure she was unhurt. “You don’t look so well, actually.”
“It’s my own fault.” Valaine sighed, giving him a weak smile. “I exerted myself. But look. We caught Zoltan.”
Corbin glowered at the former chief councilor. “Indeed you did. I’m very proud of you, Valaine. Well done. It’s about time we brought this traitor to justice.”
“Keep talking nonsense,” Zoltan muttered, unable to look Corbin in the eye. “In the meantime, my people will continue our glorious work. We’ll be the ones who will save the Aeternae. Not you, and certainly not these feckless strangers you’ve allowed on Visio.”
Corbin took a deep breath, choosing to ignore Zoltan. I was certain the master commander had a few words for this bastard, but he saved them for another occasion. He was simply too worried about his daughter to even notice how many soldiers we’d lost, despite their bodies lying strewn across the grass.
“There weren’t enough of us,” I said to him. “We lost a lot of people.”
The master commander stilled, hands resting on his daughter’s shoulders. He looked around, and his brows pulled into a dark frown as he took in the entire scene. He counted the Darkling prisoners we’d taken.