Dinner that night was a quiet affair. Mom and Dad had invited Rose and Ben over for a small family gathering—just the kids and the parents. It wasn’t meant to shut anybody out, but we’d made a habit of reserving some time during the week just for us. Given the day’s events, however, every attempt at conversation eventually led back to the situation with Isabelle.
“How are you feeling?” Rose asked me, a warm smile on her face. I felt loved and safe here. From the moment Mom and Dad had taken me in, she and Ben had welcomed me into the family, treating me like a little brother they both adored. “You know, with everything that happened today.”
“A little better knowing I had absolutely nothing to do with it,” I replied with a nervous chuckle as Mom poured me another glass of blood. Ben was busy pushing roasted potatoes around on his plate, his appetite largely forgotten as he thought about the Isabelle issue. I didn’t need to be a mind reader to know where his head was. “For a moment, I admit I was worried I might’ve done something without meaning to.”
Rose shook her head. “Nah. We’ve already talked about this, and the Reapers agreed. You only have a fraction of Spirit’s ability. I doubt you’d have the power to influence her behavior, especially since you hadn’t seen Isabelle since… what, last weekend?”
“I thought the same thing, but it still feels good to be fully cleared,” I said.
“I never worried about you, for what it’s worth,” Ben interjected. “Mom and Dad raised you well, and Rose and I were always around to serve you with a nice can of whoop-ass whenever you got out of line.”
I laughed, and Mom blushed. “Ben! Be nice to your brother.”
“I am nice,” he replied with a big grin. “Remember his teenage flair? The trouble he got himself into while hanging around in the Vale with the other humans? How many times did I have to pick Thayen up from the principal’s office because he was too embarrassed to call you or Dad?”
“Hey, that’s what siblings are for.” Rose giggled but soon turned serious. “What really bugs me is our inability to find out what is causing Isabelle to act like this. I know we’ve exhausted the subject already, but damn. I can’t accept that this is really her.”
Mom shook her head. “Me neither. Isabelle is a good soul. I will die vouching for her.”
“We’ll sleep on it,” Dad said. “Then start fresh tomorrow.”
“I honestly doubt I’ll get much sleep,” I told them, finishing my third serving of fresh deer blood. “Which is why I’d like to head over to Visio for the night.”
The silence that followed was almost scary. Mom gave me a worried look. “Are you okay, Thayen?”
“I’m fine, Mom. I haven’t seen Mira and Kemi in a while, that’s all. Sometimes getting out of this place does me a lot of good, and I think tonight will be no exception.”
“Thayen, the last thing we want is for you to feel excluded or marginalized in any way,” Dad replied. I squeezed his shoulder firmly, offering a half-smile.
“No one is excluding me. I’m just thinking that maybe Mira and Kemi might have an idea about what’s happening here,” I said. “What’s the harm in picking their brains about it?”
Rose sighed, slightly amused. “I think Mom and Dad don’t like you being away too much.”
“Aw. You’re going to miss me?” I asked my parents, putting on a playful pout. “You’re going to miss little ol’ me?”
Dad gave me a pat on the back strong enough to nearly make me choke on my dinner. “Snap out of it. You’re twenty-eight. Get the hell out of this house already.”
We all burst into laughter, and it felt great. For the first time in a couple of days, I wasn’t taking myself too seriously. I’d missed this state of mind. That was the trouble with life—on the one hand, it gave me the most incredible moments with my family and friends. On the other hand, it occasionally threw curveballs my way with enough force to knock me off my feet, if only for a second or two. What truly mattered was how quickly I got back up, and that was what this whole family was about.
“I’ll be back in the morning,” I told Mom and Dad, dipping down to plant a quick kiss on their cheeks as I moved past their seats. Ben and Rose got up to hug me, promising to keep me updated in case there were any new developments with Isabelle or the shimmering gash report.
I made my way through the redwood forest, carefully looking around. Part of me was hoping I’d see that shimmering gash again, as proof that Richard and I hadn’t dreamed the whole thing. But the closer I got to the Great Dome, the more my hope dimmed. Eventually, I let out a deep breath and focused on the forest path, my mind wandering.
Something glowed to my right. I froze, my brain instantly kicking into focus. Turning my head slowly, I saw it and broke into a cold sweat. I hadn’t imagined the shimmering gash. There it was again, days later and about five hundred yards from its first location. It looked eerie in the darkness of the night, like a tear in the fabric of space, illuminated from within. Seconds passed as I just stared at it, wondering if something would happen if I dared to even move. I was dying to reach for my phone so I could at least snap a photograph.
It was definitely the same as what Richard and I had seen previously.
Holding my breath, I cautiously walked toward it, fumbling through my pant pockets for my phone. I didn’t dare take my eyes off the gash, worried it might disappear. One step, then another. Heat expanded through my chest, as there were barely ten yards between me and… it. My hand finally clutched the phone, and I was about to gather concrete evidence. It made my heart beat faster.
I blinked, and it vanished.
“Dammit!” I snapped. “Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!”
A rustling sound caught my attention. It came from deep in the woods. I dropped into a crouch, my ears twitching as I listened. Never mind the shimmering gash, I thought as I followed the sounds of consistent movement. Someone was out here, hidden from sight, twigs cracking under their boots. A faint but familiar scent tickled my nose, but I couldn’t see them until a shadow emerged from the nearby underbrush.
I put my phone away and became the hunter, prowling in the night as I glided across the forest floor, headed straight for the dark silhouette. It stilled, and I approached with great care, my heart racing, pulse flashing hot through my veins. I was ready to pounce, until I got a better whiff of his scent and recognized him.
“Richard?”
He whirled around, eyes wide in surprise. “You’re the one who’s been following me?! You scared me half to death!”
“What are you doing out here?” I asked, all the tension melting away.
“I just got back from the hospital. Astra took over for me,” he said. “I was headed to your place to check on you.”
I chuckled, pointing a thumb over my shoulder. “My treehouse is that way.”
“I know. But I heard a noise, and then I thought I was being followed. Man, this whole Isabelle thing is really messing with my nerves.” He sighed. His shoulders dropped as he gave me a tired look. “Where are you off to?”
“Mira and Kemi’s. I’ll spend the night there,” I replied. “Some peace of mind and maybe a bit of research.”
He nodded slowly. “Yeah, makes sense. I can’t believe how skittish we’ve gotten.”
“Wait until I tell you that I just saw that shimmering gash again,” I said, my tone as dry as the Arizona desert. “It vanished, but it was definitely the same as the one we came upon.”
The color drained from Richard’s face. “You’re joking…”
“Nope,” I said, taking my phone out again. “I’ll text the coordinates to Astra and Corrine this time around. Maybe they’ll find something. I don’t know…”
“Where did you see it?” Richard asked.
I walked back to the spot with him. I didn’t sense anything out of the ordinary, but I wasn’t sure I could, anyway. That was clearly Astra’s deal, not mine. But the anxious feeling persisted because I knew what I had seen. “It was right here,” I said,
trying to keep my frustration to myself. “It only lasted for maybe thirty seconds before it vanished. Then I heard movement, which was you…”
“I didn’t see anything. This is so weird,” Richard grumbled, crossing his arms. “Wait, why are you sending your coordinates to Astra, too? I thought Corrine was in charge of this stuff.”
I told him about what Astra had sensed earlier this evening, and he ended up agreeing with me that she definitely deserved to know.
“Let me text Voss to go stay with Isabelle while Astra checks this place out,” he said, tapping away on his phone. “As a side note, I’m coming with you to Visio.”
It took me a minute to understand why. He was worried about me. I could tell from the way he glanced my way. It was his reaction to this huge pile of unknowns that had suddenly become a central part of our existence–to stick by my side and protect me. He wanted Astra here as soon as possible, but he didn’t want to leave Isabelle alone, either.
“You’re scared to let me go alone?” I replied, trying not to smile.
“Thayen, you’re the closest thing I have to a brother,” Richard said, putting his phone away. “And I’m going to make sure that you’re safe.”
“What does that have to do with the shimmering gash?”
“It’s the second time you’ve seen it, and I think that might matter later. I don’t know, call it instinct. I’ve been with you this whole time, and if anything—and I mean anything—goes wrong here in The Shade, I want to make sure I’m by your side at all times, so no one even thinks to look at you.”
“You want to be my alibi.” I snorted a laugh, but deep down, I knew this wasn’t funny. Richard’s decision was coming from a good place, and I was grateful to count him as a friend.
“Yeah, I know, no one suspects you regarding what happened to Isabelle,” he said. “But with two sightings of that damn weird gash, plus your glamoring ability emerging, I’d like for us to be cautious. Just in case. We don’t know what tomorrow might bring. Besides, if I go home now, my parents will be asking me a ton of questions I don’t have the answers to.”
I put an arm around his shoulders and pulled him into a bear hug. “Thanks, Rich. You’re a good man and an even better friend. You’re always welcome to join me on Visio.”
We walked to the portal together, occasionally checking our messages. His parents weren’t happy that he wasn’t coming home after everything that had happened, but Richard didn’t concern himself with their reaction. “I’m twenty-two and perfectly capable of taking care of myself. They know that,” he muttered.
Astra hadn’t responded yet, but I knew she’d be at the location I had given her as soon as she could, and that Voss would head to the hospital to cover for her while she did. Ahead, the portal rose proudly in the night, its stone frame towering over us. I put in the magical coordinates for Visio, and the mist changed from a dull gray to a bright blue that reminded me of my home planet’s clear skies.
Nightfall had already settled over Visio when we got there. Stars were sprinkled all over the heavens, and a big pearly moon glowed in the middle. Most of the Trakkians had gone to bed. Now that their mortal bodies required sleep, the nights were for resting. Richard suggested we stop by Esme and Kalon’s place first, before we made our way to the palace. I didn’t mind. Talking to Esme and the Visentis boys meant getting more opinions on what had happened in The Shade.
Esme and Kalon had bought one of the villas close to the imperial palace. After the Shatal dynasty was virtually wiped out during the Darkling wars, their properties were returned to the empire. Shortly afterward, the estates were put on the market, and Esme had quickly recognized the benefit of living so close to the imperial city’s center. It was a nice place, with three levels and enormous bedrooms, its façade painted white with dark wood balconies.
The double doors opened, and Esme emerged with a radiant smile, an emerald-green velvet dress flowing down her slim figure.
“She must’ve smelled us from a mile away,” Richard said before he spread his arms wide and rushed toward her for a hug.
“Welcome, my two favorite rascals!” Esme exclaimed, laughing as Richard caught her in his arms and lifted her off the ground in a swift twirl.
“Always a pleasure to bother you!” he said, gently putting her down.
She came over and caught my face in her hands, planting a kiss on each cheek. Esme had been in this perpetual state of sheer happiness for twenty years, ever since Kalon had been spared a gruesome Black Fever death. She’d become an older sister to Moore, Tudyk, and Ansel, and she’d given the sense of family back to the Visentis boys.
Kalon appeared in the doorway wearing one of his signature black tunics, the Visentis ruby crest pinned to his chest. “Richard. Thayen. What brings you two to our neck of the woods?”
“Meh, just looking to pick your brains, if you have some time to spare,” I said, approaching the steps that led up to the entrance. Richard and Esme joined me, and Kalon welcomed us into the tall, narrow foyer.
“I take it this is about Isabelle?” Kalon replied, and I nodded once.
“Among other things, yes,” I said. Almost immediately, I heard the brothers’ boots thudding on the stairs. Ansel, Tudyk, and Moore came down, each of them handsome and dapper and carrying that distinctive Visentis look. Ansel, the eldest of the three, sported a bit more silver hair than his brothers, but the black shade was still dominant. Esme and Kalon weren’t sure why his silver streaks were slightly more accentuated. However, it looked really good on him. He’d turned vampire as soon as he’d celebrated his twentieth birthday. Tudyk and Moore’s manes stayed mostly black, though they had a few silver threads here and there, as well. They’d turned upon their eighteenth birthdays, respectively. The thing with the Visentis streaks of metallic grey hair was that it had nothing to do with age, but rather their genes. It wasn’t white hair, but a particular shade of grey. Petra had never looked a day over forty, but hers had been fully silver from her earlier days, according to Kalon.
They were all proud and highly efficient GASP agents, and it had been a pleasure to attend several courses with them here on Visio as part of a trainee exchange program the federation had put together about a decade earlier.
Five minutes’ worth of hugs and boyish banter later, Esme escorted us into the dining room, where the table had been set. Fresh blood had been brought in, served in an elegant crystal carafe with matching goblets. I only had a taste, out of respect, considering I’d just had my fill back home. We took a while to catch up on everything the Visentis brothers had been up to, but it was clear that only one subject had captured everyone’s attention since this morning.
“How is Isabelle doing?” Moore asked. He looked genuinely concerned, and I found it endearing. He’d had a crush on the girl for years, yet he’d never ventured to ask her out. He just pined from afar, giving himself the vampiric equivalent of an ulcer whenever they were in the same room.
“The same, I’m afraid,” I replied.
“And still no cause?” Kalon asked, shadows settling over his eyes.
I shook my head. “It’s why I’m here. I was hoping we might put our heads together, maybe come up with something the rest of The Shade missed.”
“We’ve excluded white witch and swamp witch magic. Druid magic. Death magic, too,” Richard added. “Soul and Kelara were super helpful there. They’ve tested Isabelle for other types of magic that we don’t even know about. Otherworldly stuff. And still, nothing.”
“And the psychiatrist?” Esme asked. “I know from Sofia they had one coming in from the States today.”
“I’m not sure. Lumi said he’d give us a conclusion tomorrow. He didn’t want to rush it, considering who it is he’s treating. Most of his patients are fully human, not Shadians,” I said, leaning back in my chair.
Ansel frowned. “You mentioned that shimmering gash. Do you really think it’s connected?”
“Coincidences aren’t really a Shade thing, are they?” I a
sked with a smirk.
We entertained several theories similar to what we’d already discussed in The Shade. Nothing new was coming to light. No “what if” that might change the game and give us a new or better lead. In the end, coming here to discuss things with the Visentis brothers had failed to yield anything of use, but it wasn’t their fault. The entire situation was simply… baffling.
By the end of dinner, I was determined to find my peace elsewhere. Richard was enjoying his time with the Visentis family, and it felt like a crime to tear him away from them, so I asked Esme to host him for the night. She was happy to do that, so I prepared to do what I’d come here to do and pay a visit to Mira and Kemi.
“I’ll come pick you up in the morning,” I told Richard.
“Are you sure you’re going to be okay on your own?” he asked.
“I’m not the one who’s unwell, Rich. Relax. I’ll be with Mira and Kemi. Remember, I have my own suite in the imperial palace.”
“Way to rub it in,” he grumbled jokingly. “Okay. I’ll see you in the morning, then.”
“And we’ll keep our phones on through the night, just in case,” Esme assured me. We also had Telluris connections renewed on a monthly basis to fall back on, if needed. But those were more for field missions, whereas the phones were more practical whilst moving through the Federation.
I left the Visentis house in a more positive mood than when I’d entered. The trip to the palace was short and quiet, and by the time I reached the throne room, escorted by Trakkian servants, my overall perspective was significantly improved. I figured it had to do with spending time around different people and keeping my mind busy with other things. To my relief, none of the Visentis brothers—or Esme, for that matter—had expressed any concern about my glamoring ability. They’d simply offered the same advice as my parents, encouraging me to use this power sparingly and only to help people. The more I thought about it, the less worried I felt.
Mira and Kemi were both thrilled to see me, and they showered me with affectionate kisses and tight hugs. We spent some time in the tea salon, where they’d acquired an impressive collection of dried fruits and herbs from all over Visio, with some imports from Earth and Calliope, as well. Since they’d become mortal, they had found delight in trying out new flavors of tea and other dishes they hadn’t consumed in almost five million years.
A Shade of Vampire 87: A Shade of Mystery Page 15
