A Shade of Vampire 90: A Ruler of Clones - Bella Forrest Page 0,18
before. Whispers from Reapers who didn’t dare go there, knowing what fate their predecessors had found. It wouldn’t matter once I got to the truth about the World Crusher, anyway. This was merely a device meant to buy me a few days here without Death’s interference. “I would’ve expected Anunit to find something else from my past to throw at your feet.”
The statement surprised me. Death had expected more dirty laundry to be aired between us. But it was her tone that bothered me most. Like it didn’t really matter. Like she didn’t really care how I felt about this.
“Are there more secrets to discover? More things you have kept from me?” I asked, allowing the coldness of my voice to flow through to her. I wanted Death to feel my dismay.
“Unending, I have done many things I am not proud of. I never claimed to be perfect.”
“But you expected us to be perfect and obedient.”
“Because I made you. I am absolute in that sense.”
I scoffed. “The absolute authority, yes. Do as I say, not as I do.”
“Is there something you wish to discuss with me, Unending? Now would be a good time, I imagine, before you go hunting for a wretched ghoul. Though it does sound like an easy assignment for you.”
“It might not be,” I said, deciding to steer clear of any conversation that might light a fuse. “Anunit has flung last-minute surprises at me before. There’s probably something more to this ghoul than anyone knows—Anunit included. I will figure it out, and I will complete the third trial.”
“Good. And then you’ll bring her back to me. She and I have a lot to discuss.”
“You most certainly do,” I muttered.
“Be careful, Unending. And remember. Nothing she does is selfless. There is a purpose there. Anunit seeks to do harm of some kind, either to you or to me, or both.”
She was right, and I knew it. I also hated it. She couldn’t even make it easy for me to be angry with her. Sometimes there were reasons, good and solid and understandable reasons for her actions, especially where Anunit was concerned. It made it hard for me to control this blistering anger, so I decided to end the communication before I let something slip.
Pulling away from my husband, I gave him a peck on the lips. “Let’s go.”
The alley snaked through the city, traversing several small hills. We crossed abandoned squares with large hexagonal stone tiles and remnants of wrought iron tables. People had gathered here to talk over drinks and perhaps even dance under the moonlight. Trees must’ve grown taller than the buildings here. I could almost hear the glasses clinking and the water trickling in the massive fountains whose stone ghosts still reigned in their centers.
We passed large, administrative looking buildings with wide steps and elegantly sloped roofs. But even here, time had left its mark. The facades had been eaten away, the mortar and bricks revealed.
The Temple of Roses loomed ahead. It no longer had a roof. There was only the skeleton remaining, a hundred columns atop a gargantuan platform foundation. The columns were white marble with ornate bases and equally detailed crowns. The massive cylinders were partially worn down, of course, like everything else, but I could still see the sculpted fine lines of roses and leafy vines. In some places I could even make out thorns, poking from the stems.
I felt queasy. It hurt deeply to be this close to the World Crusher.
Tristan held my hand, his grip tightening as we took a few more steps toward the temple. Despite the light shining down on the city, the space between the columns was dark. A black mist persisted there, obscuring everything, keeping it a secret from the outer world.
“Well, here we are,” my husband muttered. His expression told me everything I needed to know. He was just as uneasy, and it made me wonder.
“Can you feel her?” I asked.
He nodded once. “I think so. I can’t offer a better explanation for the dread that’s been growing inside me for the past couple of hours.”
Towers pierced the blue sky: four giants with sharply pointed conical roofs, the light dancing off their metallic tiles. They were tall and slender structures, and I imagined at least a couple thousand steps between us and the top. I wondered what purpose their height served other than observing the areas surrounding the city. Then I noticed the bells. Each of the towers had been fitted with big, black, iron