A Shade of Vampire 81 A Bringer of Night - Bella Forrest Page 0,29

He counted the surviving gold guards from our group. A moment passed before he allowed himself a sigh of both relief and discontent.

“How many of them were there? The Darklings, I mean,” Corbin asked.

“A little over a hundred, from what I could tell,” I said. “Each of them had a Reaper scythe and a decent command over death magic.”

“Plus ghouls. They had plenty of ghouls,” Valaine added. From here on out, we would have to lie. Valaine exchanged knowing glances with the surviving gold guards, who understood that they were to keep their mouths shut about Lumi. The Darklings we’d captured were unconscious, and Zoltan showed little interest in telling anyone about the swamp witch. Besides, I could always force a Black Fever capsule down his throat, if needed. I could tell from the look on his face that he had no intention of messing with me.

“They all vanished,” I said to Corbin. “They used some kind of complex death magic spell. I think it was a two-pronged kind of thing. The first stage was aimed at Valaine. The second made them disappear. Or maybe they weren’t actually connected, but rather one spell after another. It doesn’t really matter. Point is, they’re gone.”

Corbin eyed me intently, as if trying to read my mind. “Do we know why they’re so hell-bent on killing my daughter?”

“They think I’m the one causing the Black Fever,” Valaine said.

“That is absurd!” Anger turned the master commander’s face red. I didn’t see a single hint of shock. This new information didn’t scare him. It didn’t take his breath away, like it had done to us. No, it only made him furious. I found his reaction to be somewhat strange, but maybe that was just Corbin’s way of dealing with it.

“I said the same thing,” I told him. “We tested Valaine. She doesn’t have the infection or the virus. I still think it’s just some stupid superstition or antiquated mythology. Or maybe Zoltan here wants to see her dead for a different reason and is using the Darklings as his weapons.”

“You’re an idiot,” Zoltan grumbled.

Corbin backhanded him so hard the Darkling Scholar fell on his side again, losing a couple of teeth in the process. He spat out blood and one of his fangs, heaving as he tried to collect himself. Corbin’s strength was impressive, to say the least, and I certainly didn’t want to be on the receiving end of his wrath.

“We’ll talk later, Zoltan, I promise you,” the master commander said. “For every attempt on my daughter’s life, you will pay. The empire looks forward to seeing your head roll, and so do I.”

The Scholar was quiet, but his eyes burned almost red with hatred. This was probably the last predicament he’d envisioned for himself. We’d caught him, and that was all that mattered. Everything else could be resolved, one step at a time. We still had questions—more now than before—but we’d made it this far.

Whatever was going on here, Valaine and I would get to the bottom of it. Esme was doing work of her own with Kalon and Ansel. And, in a sense, Lumi was with us, too. I didn’t feel as helpless or as restricted as before. A lot had changed, and I felt energized and ready to take this mission all the way to the end—until there were no more Darklings or Black Fever.

Until Valaine was safe. Forever.

Nethissis

“Hate me all you want,” Lumi said to Sidyan. “We all know it had to be done.”

Both Reapers had objected to her request, but Sidyan had ultimately relented—the Darklings had gotten too close to killing Valaine and Tristan, and no matter what our mission prerogatives were, we simply could not let that happen.

“I don’t hate you, since I obviously allowed them to see you,” Sidyan replied dryly, his arms crossed. He was still upset, but I knew it was simply because of the complicated situation we’d found ourselves in.

“At least we got some of their ghouls,” I said, nodding at the two dozen creatures Lumi and Rudolph had brought back from the skirmish. “What are we going to do with them?”

Maya and Rudolph were already circling the ghouls, whispering in their strange language, likely communicating and setting some terms and conditions. They all had rune collars around their necks, which Seeley proceeded to break off with his scythe. “We’ll free them from the Darklings’ hold, first and foremost,” he said. “I suppose Rudolph and Maya are trying to get them on our side now,