A Shade of Vampire 82 A Circle of Nine - Bella Forrest Page 0,36

rushing to meet a flat horizon south of the town. “That’s fine,” she said. “You do your jobs. We can handle everything else.”

“Just don’t hesitate to reach out if you need us,” I replied, looking at Sidyan. “You know how dangerous Petra can be. Chances are she’ll see you coming if you get too close. She’s got all kinds of tricks up her sleeves, including stuff we’ve never even dabbled in.”

“Maya definitely has to keep her distance, considering the powers of Atlas’s scythe in Petra’s possession.” Sidyan glanced worriedly at his little friend.

“You and Lumi should also steer clear. All you need to do is find out who the Master of Darkness is,” Soul interjected. “There’s no other requirement from Death right now, so stick to it. In the meantime, we’ll rattle the snake box here.”

Lumi, Sidyan, and Maya bid us farewell and headed down the road after Petra. She was bound to use death magic for travel, so it was imperative they not let her get too much of a lead. All we could do was keep our fingers crossed. Fate would handle the rest.

For the umpteenth time, I found myself glowering at the house as if its very walls had been corrupted by the Darklings. As if the entire building was complicit in Nethissis’s abduction and entrapment. As if every inch of that place had played a part in making me feel so miserable… so helpless. I felt Kelara’s hand on my shoulder once more.

“We’ll get her out of there,” she said, her voice low. “You’ll get her back, Seeley.” I looked at her, my brow furrowed, trying to make out the underlying tone. There was meaning in her words, and I wondered how she’d reached the implied conclusion. Kelara was quick to notice and smiled. “Come on, Seeley. It’s me. We’ve known each other for years. I can tell. You’d never be this worked up over any other lost soul. I saw the way you looked at her long before you both ended up on Visio.”

Sighing deeply, I relaxed a little. The idea that my good friend knew about my feelings for Nethissis was downright enlightening. Morning stepped forth with a guilty look on her face. She was quite expressive, I’d already noticed, so it was easy to read her.

“There is something I haven’t told anyone, except for my brother,” she said.

“Finally,” Night mumbled. “Makes it easier to explain the idea I’ve got regarding your friend’s rescue from that house.”

“What is it?” Kelara asked, looking at Morning.

“Atlas and I… we know each other. Well,” she replied. “Very well.”

Soul chuckled, and Rudolph inched closer, leaving the other ghouls behind. His black eyes were wide and filled with curiosity. Rudolph had a vested interest in setting Nethissis free. She’d helped him, and he was eager to return the favor. “You and Atlas had a thing, huh?” Soul said to Morning.

“Yes. I’ve known him since the day he was created. We were close,” Morning explained. “I was a fan of his, though it took us ages to even talk to each other. I’d follow him sometimes, whenever he was chasing a ghost.”

“That must’ve been millions of years ago,” I said. Judging by the tone of her voice, she still had feelings for Atlas. It was sad, considering there was no way to undo one’s ghoulish nature. These two would never have a chance to rekindle what they’d once had.

“It wasn’t long before Spirit drew me to Vetruvia. Maybe a couple of millennia back,” Morning replied. “Atlas and I had made plans. I’d been retired from my duties, much like the other First Tenners, and I wasn’t exactly eager to spend the rest of eternity reaping souls. And Atlas was getting tired of being a Bounty Reaper, though he’d yet to gather the courage to ask Death for relief from his duty. He was really good at his job.”

“I believe you two were still together when Spirit trapped you,” Night said, and his sister nodded once.

“For a long time, I wondered what he must’ve thought. I’d disappeared without a trace. Without leaving a word.”

Phantom clicked her teeth, narrowing her galaxy eyes at the house. “You think you’ve got a shot at holding Atlas back if we go in there?”

“I doubt there is much of his consciousness left,” Morning murmured. “But I can try. I think my familiarity will be enough to at least distract him.”

“Yeah, that’s kind of what I was planning, as well,” Night added. “I had Morning in mind