honor, only decay and silence. Slowly but surely, the convoy moved south, taking the coastal path back to Astoria, and from there the Green Road back into the imperial city.
One of the ghouls finally stepped forward, bowing his deformed head. Rudolph and Maya grinned with genuine satisfaction. Sidyan understood the message. “I’m glad you decided that,” he said. “I will trust you all to stand by our side when things get nasty. I don’t want to use runes and binding spells on you guys. You’ve been tortured enough already.”
“All right. Glad we got that out of the way,” Seeley said. “Now, let’s go after Veliko. The sooner we find the Darklings’ true leader, the quicker it’ll end for all of us. Hopefully in a good way.”
Sidyan smirked. “Your positive thinking is downright infectious.”
“That was bitter sarcasm, at best,” Seeley replied.
Lumi and I chuckled softly. “Come on, guys. We need to catch up with that overachieving maniac before he gets out of range.”
Sidyan offered his hand. “Everyone must be linked to me.”
The ghouls touched one another, the last one reaching out to Rudolph, who took his hand and continued the physical connection through Maya. The young ghoul settled by Sidyan’s right side, while the rest of us linked to his left hand. Once we were all together, Sidyan breathed out and whispered his spell.
Seconds moved slowly, ever so slowly, as the world warped around us, greens blending into blues, the sky dissolving into the ocean and the ground and the trees. Tristan and Valaine’s convoy became but a faded memory as we slipped through the fabric of space, treading the world until we got closer to Veliko and his remaining Darklings and ghouls.
Our work was nowhere near over, but I took great comfort in knowing that Zoltan was finally going to pay for what he’d done to me and to so many innocent souls and Reapers. And, as Seeley held my hand in his and inundated my spirit with renewed energy, I found myself smiling. My journey was only just beginning.
Kelara
This was quite the task we’d stumbled upon.
The Night Bringer had been sealed into Cruor, much like the Morning Star had been, until recently, bound to Vetruvia. From what we’d learned so far, it was a spell similar to Morning’s imprisonment and consisted of a massive seal. There were Beta elements we needed to find and break in order to release the Night Bringer.
However, we had a massive problem. Life had all but died on Cruor. Not a single blade of grass remained of what had once been a mountainous paradise, let alone a living Beta element. That had led us to conclude that the Beta elements in this case were objects, which made our mission all the more difficult—along with the fact that Morning was still unable to reach out to her brother.
Back on Vetruvia, she’d been strong enough to talk to us through the Vetruvians she’d learned to possess and control. The Night Bringer had had no one to cling to. He’d been stuck here for millions of years, drenched in nothing but pain and misery and death-like silence. I couldn’t imagine a more horrifying fate for a Reaper.
Morning stayed back with the Widow Maker and the Phantom, keeping her bare palms pressed to the dry ground in a bid to contact her twin brother. The Soul Crusher and I had decided to take a walk and survey as much of the area as possible. Maybe there were clues here we might use. It was a long shot, but it was better than just standing around and lamenting our difficult position.
I found the Night Bringer’s connection to Cruor rather intriguing, and Soul was constantly amused by my dazed expression as we walked along a narrow path between two giant stone mountains.
“Man, this whole trip has thrown you for a loop, huh, Kelara?” he asked, albeit rhetorically. I’d gotten used to his smirk. There wasn’t any ill intent behind it—just his psychopathic nature unable to hold back.
“After everything I’ve learned about vampires? You bet your ass I’m dazed,” I replied. “I still can’t believe our journey brought us all the way here.”
“Yes, yes. I remember Taeral’s accounts of this place. Cruor is important to the Shadians.”
“It’s the birthplace of vampirism. I mean, sure, it’s got a dark history, but it’s a cradle of civilization, if you think about it,” I said. “I’m still trying to figure out whether the Night Bringer had anything to do with the creation of vampires.