A Shade of Vampire 91: A Gate of Light - Bella Forrest Page 0,15
to us.”
“She’s insanely shy about it,” he shot back with a grin. There was something dangerous and playful about this guy. He was dark, but the lights in his eyes were bright and powerful. Such a contrast surely had a story to tell. “And you’re all so gloomy, sitting here and sulking. Three days have passed, and you’re already withered. Imagine my feelings when I was told I’d never see Purgatory again.”
Lucas cleared his throat. “How long before Astra can open a portal and hold it for long enough for us to go through?”
“Ah. That… I’m not sure. None of us have dealt with such things before,” Brandon replied. “But I’m here to offer a suggestion. And I hope that by the time Astra gets stronger with the shimmering portals, you will have had time to consider it properly. When she opens one, not all of you should go through. We should send a team of scouts through first. Think about it. The Flip used many portals, and while Astra’s ability differs from Hrista, I doubt she’s able to hold one open long enough to get thousands of people through at once.”
That caused murmurs to rise from every occupied seat at the table. I wasn’t a fan of this idea, either. “We’re all eager to go home,” I said. “Why should we spend another minute here?”
“Because you have no idea what you’re walking back into,” the Berserker replied. As much as it irked me, he had a point. “Hrista has taken over, whether you like it or not, and it’s her secretive methods that have gotten her this far. I had no idea what the end game was when she had the clones attack you. Haldor knew more than I did, but even he is still in the dark on other, equally pressing, details of her agenda. Keeping everyone in the dark is how she’s kept this going. So if Astra opens a shimmering portal, and by some miracle the whole Shade walks through, there’s no telling what will be waiting. Hrista knows that Astra is alive. Do you think she’ll just kick back and wait for the girl to waltz through a portal?”
Derek nodded slowly, his lips pressed into a thin line until he spoke. “You think scouting is a safer option?”
“You have women and children and innocent lives to protect, so yes,” Brandon said. “Like I said, I think Astra’s got the potential to do a Flip-like transfer in just one portal, but I doubt she’s got the energy in her. She’d probably need help. So, getting everyone back in one go is already a big and crazy challenge. Let’s do baby steps and start with a scouting initiative. One small team, led by Astra. If she can take them through to the real Shade, she can then figure out a way to take you all back, once we know what’s on the other side. You don’t know what Hrista has been doing over these past few days. Frankly, I shudder to even think about it; that conniving bitch is capable of absolutely anything and everything. Scouting things out first is your best option.”
“Hrista is not an ordinary enemy,” I told Derek, returning to my earlier thoughts.
“And once we know what she’s been doing on the island, we’ll have more intel for Order, too,” Brandon added. “Assuming Astra figures out a way to open a portal leading straight into Purgatory, that is. She and I have already discussed that possibility.”
Looking around the table, we seemed to be in agreement. The Time Master stood, his galaxy eyes finding Brandon’s. “I will be a part of that team,” the Reaper insisted. “You will need a diverse crew with enough magic and skills to survive an attack from entities and creatures of any of the known realms.”
“That’s fine. I welcome variety in this endeavor, too,” Brandon said, a half-smile blooming across his lips. “Hrista is an evil thing, and she’s intelligent and prepared. Our objective cannot possibly be about defeating her. I doubt that can easily be done, otherwise I would’ve kicked her ass long before now.”
“What is our objective, then?” I asked, though part of me already knew the answer.
Brandon shifted slowly, giving me his full attention. Just looking at him sent shivers down my spine. “First, reaching The Shade. It’s in the realm of the living, and so it will be easier for Astra to open a shimmering portal there. We don’t yet know how good she is at