A Shade of Vampire 81 A Bringer of Night - Bella Forrest Page 0,30
but they are worthless if Veliko and his horde retain control over their tainted souls.”
The collars fell, the runes lighting up white before fading into the iron for the last time. The ghouls didn’t move, watching our conversation with curious black eyes, while Rudolph continued to whisper in their ears and Maya did what she could to tend to their wounds.
“Where did Veliko go?” Seeley asked. “That was some powerful mojo he put on.”
Sidyan grunted. “That was First-Tenner level. I can still sense them, so they’re not out of range. They used the atomic energy from the spell to try to kill Valaine. The rest fueled the teleportation for his entire group. Dammit, why did the Spirit Bender teach them such dangerous stuff? I don’t get it.”
“At least Valaine and Tristan know about this Black Fever thing,” Lumi muttered, glancing back at the soldiers led by Corbin. Valaine and Tristan flanked Zoltan as they dragged him to the road. They threw him into one of the prisoner carriages, then got back on their horses. “They’ll be returning to the imperial city now. They have Zoltan.”
“They won’t stop hunting the Darklings,” I said. “I think Corbin will organize another expedition, this time with more men. They gathered quite a few Reaper scythes from that fight, didn’t they?”
Seeley nodded. “They don’t know how to use them, though. They’ll probably keep them under lock and key somewhere inside the palace. We’ll have to retrieve those blades. Soon.”
“Well, yours is right here.” Lumi chuckled, handing over his weapon. Seeley grinned as he got his blade back, closing his eyes for a few seconds as he got reacquainted with the feel of the ivory handle and the cold kiss of curved steel.
“That’s what I’m talking about,” he whispered, putting the loaner away. I now had two extra blades hidden beneath my jacket. One of the advantages of being a Reaper was my ability to manipulate the physical form of my weapon in order to fit it on my person. The same went for other colleagues’ weapons. I could walk around with an entire arsenal on me, without a single blade poking out. “I’ve missed this.”
“Yes, I am.” I chuckled at his sarcasm, then gave Lumi a smile. “Thank you.”
“Hey, I was there,” Lumi replied. “It would’ve been a pity to leave it behind.”
“Okay, so… what next? Tristan and Valaine have Zoltan. They’ll probably torture his ass right before they cut his head off,” I said. “I’m not one to revel in the death of others, but I am honestly at peace now that he’s been caught.”
“We keep going after Veliko,” Sidyan replied. “He’s probably angling to become the next Scholar.”
“He can’t do that without the Whip’s approval,” I explained, remembering the conversation between Veliko and Zoltan. “Or that’s my understanding, at least. There’s definitely a superior figure above the Scholars. The Whip. We need to find her.”
“Then Veliko will surely lead us in the right direction,” Lumi agreed.
“Tristan and Valaine are better off as far away from the Darklings as possible,” Seeley said, looking at me with dark embers burning in his galaxy eyes. “They’ll investigate as much as they can, especially where Valaine’s Black Fever connection is concerned.”
“And I’ve got the comms system always on,” Lumi added, pointing at the small device in her ear. “I can listen in for updates from their side.”
Sidyan walked over to the ghouls, who froze under his commanding gaze. “You boys… I’m sorry this happened to you. I really am. But now you’ve only got two choices. You live and you help us take those Darkling pricks down, or I reap you all right now, and… that’s it.”
Rudolph purred softly, nervously moving away from the group. Maya joined him. Their allegiance was clear, but they also wanted the ghouls to join us. No one wanted the true death that awaited if the ghouls decided against helping us. Not even I.
Silence settled over our group as the ghouls thought this over. Not far from our position, the caravan got moving again, with Corbin, Tristan, and Valaine leading the way on horseback. The bodies of the deceased were set on fire now that the rain had passed and the sky was clearing again. It was an honor for the Aeternae soldiers to die in battle, so cremation was the purest rite they could be given under the circumstances.
The Darklings’ bodies were left for the carrion to feed on. They did not deserve any