A Shade of Vampire 90: A Ruler of Clones - Bella Forrest Page 0,31

Torrhen needed to do now was deliver his final blow, and I had no idea what that would mean for the Valkyrie.

I couldn’t let that happen. Reaching out a hand, I took advantage of how useless the Berserkers thought I was, since not even the shadow hounds felt the need to take me on, too focused on the strongest in our group. The tendrils of my glamor extended and shot right into Torrhen’s head. It made Haldor laugh. “Watch yourself, Torrhen. This one’s a spirit bender.”

“That’s annoyingly familiar,” the all-seeing Berserker muttered, then stilled when our souls made contact. Despite Myst’s earlier warnings, my glamoring was the last resort. My last and only weapon against these bastards. I’d done it with Haldor before, and he had almost killed me. Maybe I was crazy to try it again with Torrhen, but what other choice did I have? We were outnumbered and outgunned, with clones coming in hot. Another minute here, and it would be over for us. The darkness would prevail.

My insides tingled. The more I used this ability, the stronger it made me feel. It was as if a part of me had been itching to do this again. There was something about the Berserker’s spirit that thrilled me. I held on tight and manifested my influence, drawing energy from within to make my will known. “Stop,” I said, my voice dropping low.

To my astonishment, Torrhen gave me a troubled look. The shock quickly turned to anger as he realized that I had managed to get a pretty good grip on him. All eyes were on us now. Astra’s. Viola’s. Jericho’s. Haldor’s. Myst’s. The Valkyrie was livid. “No,” she said quietly. “No, Thayen, you don’t know what he can do…”

It was too late. I felt Torrhen’s power flowing through me. It took me a second to understand that by glamoring this particular Berserker, I’d also granted him access to my soul. This was a two-way street. Suddenly, I was on the receiving end of enough power to fill an atomic bomb.

The burn spread through my body. My muscles stung as if they were being peeled off the bone, one by one. I heard myself cry out in agony, and a sneer worked its way across Torrhen’s face. He’d turned the tide against me so fast. Myst was right; I was woefully unprepared.

“I’m going to kill you slowly,” he said. “Your audacity deserves nothing less.”

He grunted, and a pulse of pure heat exploded inside me. I dropped to my knees, my breath cut short, the pain unbearable. Myst screamed as she struggled to release herself from the shadow hounds’ fangs, Astra too far away to reload her glorious sword. I had a feeling the end was unavoidable now. At least I’d go down fighting.

Light flashed, a tongue of pure white that licked at Torrhen’s face. The connection between us snapped. I was free again. In terrible pain, but free. The light transformed into a figure. A female figure with gold and steel armor much like Myst’s. Long, silky blonde hair. Incandescent blue eyes.

Another Valkyrie.

“Regine?!” Myst said, utterly stunned.

The Valkyrie looked younger, perhaps a teenager—at least physically. She threw Myst a cool grin. “Did you really think I wouldn’t find my way to you eventually?”

Torrhen was furious, growling as he covered half of his face with one big hand. “You flaming little bitch!”

“Who let you into this realm?” Haldor hissed, equally displeased with her presence.

It didn’t matter. We had two Valkyries now against two Berserkers. I was an absolute mess, but Astra caught my wrist and forced some of her healing power on me. My friends were okay—this mattered the most. On top of that, the shadow hounds weren’t happy about Regine’s arrival. Some of them backed away, visibly frightened by the sharp glow of her sword. Emeralds and yellow diamonds gleamed, encrusted into the hilt.

Regine was a game changer. She was the opportunity we needed to get out and find Isabelle and the others. This battle was not lost after all—it was only just beginning.

Unending

One thing was clear regarding the Ghoul Reapers of Biriane—Death had left them to wither here, doomed to never leave. They had been tasked with further securing and enforcing the magical protections around the World Crusher’s sigil spell, but her wrath had infected them, much like my wrath had caused the Black Fever on Visio.

Except the Ghoul Reapers didn’t fall ill. Their fate was worse: they lost their souls. They couldn’t explain how they were even possible