A Shade of Vampire 90: A Ruler of Clones - Bella Forrest Page 0,10
a little, which wasn’t strange, considering he was a being of darkness. He had a certain immunity to Astra, as opposed to Haldor and his shadow hounds, however, who winced at her faintest glow. I wondered if this was about luminosity in general, or if it pertained solely to Astra.
An instant later, Viola had teleported us to the far end of the extension. Here, the narrow alleys between glass houses were crowded with palm and leafy plant pots made of white porcelain. They’d been freshly watered, and I could smell the wet dirt beneath the layer of decorative pebbles. The ocean whispered all around us, waves splashing against the support pillars beneath. A salty wind brushed past us, and I could almost taste it on the tip of my tongue.
It was quiet.
I heard footsteps leading away and down the central alley. Looking toward the source of that sound, I saw five clone guards. They had pulverizer weapons hanging over their backs and sheathed swords strapped to their leather belts, and they were all wearing the GASP uniform. The mere sight of these creatures was an insult to everything we stood for. It made my blood boil.
“So far, so good,” Brandon mumbled, looking around cautiously. Every glass panel of every unit in our vicinity was frosted white. We knew we were taking a chance by getting so close—someone could see us from inside any of these holding cells if they had red garnet glasses handy—but we had no other choice. “Can you get in?” the Berserker asked Viola.
She tried, her violet eyes burning brightly for a second, but it didn’t work. “No. It’s warded against all teleportation abilities.” That included hers, not just the Valkyrie and the Berserker. “I guess we’ll have to do it the old-fashioned way.”
“Time to go Mission Impossible,” Jericho whispered, smiling at me.
I carried a lockpicking kit in my back pocket at all times. It was a small thing—a leather case the size of my palm with three slender metallic pins, to which Amal and Amane had added magi-tech circuitry that allowed one end to change its shape and adapt to virtually any lock in existence. The set didn’t work against death magic, of course, but it had a good rate of success in any other circumstance.
Feeling Myst and Brandon’s curious eyes on me, I took out one pin and blew gently against its sharp tip. It lit up white, activating the mechanism inside. Carefully, I approached the door in question, while Astra and Viola watched the faint silhouettes beyond the frosted glass panes. There were three, and none were moving. We had a minute to get this done, tops. None of us wanted to be there for any longer than necessary. Every second we spent so deep within enemy territory put us at risk for serious trouble.
I slipped the illuminated pin into the lock and listened to the delicate whirring of magi-tech shifting the metal into something capable of opening the door. I heard the first click and grinned, but my good humor vanished as the door swung open before the second and equally important click. Normally, I needed three clicks for confirmation. This was way too soon.
Astra gasped, and I found myself standing before a mountain of a man, dark shadows oozing off him and phosphorescent blue eyes peering right into my soul. I jumped back, holding my breath and praying to all the gods that maybe this Berserker hadn’t seen me. That maybe the click had caught his attention, and nothing else. Technically speaking, he couldn’t see us.
“You know, it’s bad manners to show up uninvited,” he said, his gaze still fixed on me.
“Crap,” I murmured, realizing that he absolutely could see me.
“Torrhen,” Myst managed, her eyes widening. It made him laugh.
“Did you really think you weren’t expected?” Torrhen replied, then snapped his fingers. A cold wave blew through me like an electrical current. I felt something snap inside me, and suddenly we were visible again, our magic rendered useless by the Berserker’s simple gesture.
I froze on the spot, unsure what to do next. I hadn’t expected this. Or, more accurately, I had hoped this wouldn’t happen.
Myst and Brandon revealed themselves. There was no point in hiding, since Torrhen could obviously see them. He smiled broadly, as if they were just two friends who’d come to visit, friends he hadn’t seen in a long time. “It’s an honor to see you both,” he said. “I was wondering when you would finally join forces. It’s