A Shade of Vampire 91: A Gate of Light - Bella Forrest Page 0,7

take a genius profiler to observe her emotions. She had them on display, whether she knew it or not. Astra was falling for Brandon, and Brandon was obviously fond of her too. If they had a chance at something, I wished it for them. Even though reality had a way of biting us when we least expected it. But deep down, I already knew why I wanted it to work between Astra and Brandon; it would spell a positive outcome for whatever this was growing between Myst and me. I wasn’t sure of much, but I knew the Valkyrie’s impact on me reached deep levels of my being—and not all of it could be attributed to her glorious nature, her splendor as a being of Purgatory. Our connection went far beyond the first impressions of grandeur that she clearly left on anyone who crossed her path.

“Do you regret being here?” I asked, my lips moving before I could stop them. One thought had led to another, it seemed.

Myst gave me a curious look. “What do you mean?”

“If given the chance to do it all over again, would you?”

“Yes,” she replied without hesitation. “Stopping Hrista is absolutely paramount.”

Her dedication was impressive, but it wasn’t what I was trying to figure out. “What about us? The people you’ve met in the middle of this mess. Would you help us again like you did that day when Haldor came after us with his shadow hounds?”

“Yes.” Again, there wasn’t a single pause between my question and her answer.

“Good. I’m glad I met you, too,” I replied. I would’ve liked a more detailed answer, something that might satisfy my growing curiosity about her mindset and her emotions, but I had a feeling this was the most I would get from Myst.

“My living days are far behind me. I don’t remember much of my life,” she said. We stopped under the eldest of the forest’s redwoods, a gargantuan tree that was as wide as a building and about as tall as a skyscraper. Its branches were heavy with rich clusters of leaves, its bark reddish-brown and wrinkled with age. The trunk could hold dozens of homes, yet no one had touched it. The residential area was pretty far away. “Life is only a faint memory in the back of my head,” Myst added, placing her palm against the hard and rugged bark. “Being around living people feels like a new experience, I’ll admit, even though I know it isn’t. I’d never left Purgatory since being chosen as a Valkyrie. As the memories of my life faded, it was the only thing I knew. At first, I felt lost and confused and even powerless against such an abrupt change, but once I adjusted, it made more sense. The same can be said about you, Thayen.”

“Me?”

“You confused me at first, but now… you make more sense,” she replied, the shadow of a smile flitting across her face.

“How so?” I asked.

“I answer to Order, and I function according to the laws of Order,” Myst said. “Every being of Purgatory is the same in that sense, and there are thousands, maybe more of us. My powers, my light, everything that I am is a defining feature of the function I serve. I bring glory and brightness, the reward of a life well lived and access to the beyond. Those I’m chosen to guide into that never-ending realm are people of valor and goodness. By contrast, Berserkers are darkness and wrath, a preliminary taste of what is in store for those who have done harm. The balance of the universe and its many dimensions dictates retribution. All of this I understand. Living, however, is a sum total of experiences and emotions and of decisions based on those experiences and emotions. It still feels foreign to me, but I’m beginning to understand why you say or do certain things. Or, better said, I’m beginning to remember why you say or do certain things.”

This was a good time to ask her something I’d been wondering about. “You mentioned your powers, that each Valkyrie and Berserker has a defining ability. Would you mind telling me what yours is? What about Regine’s? Brandon’s? I know Haldor’s is that he’s like a magnet to the shadow hounds that serve him.”

“It’s not my place to tell you about them,” Myst replied, the blue in her eyes fading to white for the faintest moment as I inched closer to her. She didn’t seem to mind it, either. My