I nodded. “I knew that name sounded familiar.”
It broke my heart to see a Reaper reduced to this. The ghoul lowered his head, as if he were ashamed of what he’d become. “It wasn’t his fault,” Lumi said in a bid to reassure the creature. She pointed at the other ghouls. “They’re not to be blamed for anything.”
“So, our assessments were correct,” Valaine murmured. “The Darklings are using ghouls for their operations.”
“It appears so,” I said. “But Lumi, what are you doing here?”
Lumi sighed. “It’s a long story, Tristan, and I’m afraid I’ve already told you all I can about this. No one knows I’m here, and it has to stay that way. I’m dead serious. I’ve already broken a massive rule by revealing myself, but I had to. You kids were on the losing side, and I couldn’t let Zoltan take any more of our people.”
“You don’t belong here,” Zoltan grumbled, his eyes throwing daggers.
“And you should’ve seen this coming, you arrogant fool,” Lumi replied. She moved her attention back to Valaine and me. “You two need to make sure this bastard gets punished for what he did to my Nethi. At least you got him. Do whatever you want, but try to get some intel out of him first. I reckon torture will be your best option to make him talk.”
“Oh, I’ve got a few ideas lined up already,” Valaine said, walking toward Zoltan. Her gaze darkened, and I felt the tension of her presence intensifying, making it increasingly hard to breathe. She was about to descend into her primal side again, and Zoltan was utterly terrified.
“No, no, no… Keep her away from me!” He tried to move back as Valaine got closer. With his hands bound behind his back, however, there wasn’t much he could do.
Valaine grabbed him by his throat and lifted him off the ground. Exerting her influence, she made his nose bleed, and he cried out in pure agony. Black veins cut across her temples as she unleashed whatever it was that caused so much pain in her targets.
“No… Please, I beg of you… Stop!” Zoltan croaked, eyes rolling into his head.
“Valaine,” Lumi said. “You have to control yourself.”
But Valaine didn’t listen. I worried Zoltan would perish, his brain turned to mush before we could get anything useful out of him. I reached her in a single breath and placed my hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently. Zoltan’s legs flailed in the air inches from the ground.
“Let him go,” I whispered in her ear. “Don’t let it take over.”
For a moment, I doubted even I could bring her back. But Valaine let out a deep breath and dropped Zoltan. He landed hard on his side, coughing and moaning, blood still dripping from his nose. “Keep her away from me…” he managed.
“What… Why does this keep happening?” Valaine sighed, blinking rapidly as she regained her consciousness. “The anger… it takes hold, and all I can do is let this rage out. I can’t hold back.”
Lumi frowned, watching her with curious eyes. “I take it this has been happening more frequently, huh?”
“It’s one of Valaine’s powers, so to speak,” I tried to explain. “It does help. She got some of the Darklings we captured to cooperate. I hope she’ll get Zoltan to work with us, as well. But the self-control part… she’s not fully grasping that just yet.”
Valaine almost fell, weakened by this second descent. I caught her and held her close, feeling her body relax in my embrace, her head resting on my shoulder. For a moment, nothing else mattered. I had her, and I wasn’t going to let her go.
“Tristan, I have to go. I can’t be seen by anyone else,” Lumi said, glancing back at the road. I heard horses neighing. Corbin and the rest of the squad were finally arriving.
“You still haven’t answered my question,” I replied.
“I can’t tell you what I’m doing here. All I can do is promise that we’re all on the same team,” she said. “Keep doing what you’re doing. Don’t let anyone scare you or push you away. Peel away at the problem until you get to the truth, because there is something truly awful happening on Visio. I’m working on this from my end, as well.”
“Are you with any Reapers, by any chance?” I asked, the thought barely crossing my mind before I formulated the question.
Lumi shot me a brief smirk. “You’re a smart young man, Tristan. I have faith in you. I’ll tell you more about everything when I can, but now isn’t the time.”
“Okay. Whatever you do, Lumi, just be careful.”
“Remember, don’t tell anyone about me. It’s extremely important,” Lumi replied, motioning for Rudolph to come to her. “One last thing. There’s a reason why the Darklings want Valaine dead. I haven’t learned the details yet, but maybe Zoltan can fill you in.”
“So, they are definitely targeting her, specifically,” I said, annoyed by such a confirmation.
Lumi nodded. “They think she’s the source of the Black Fever.”
“What?” Valaine murmured, still recovering in my arms. She slowly raised her head. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Zoltan said it himself,” Lumi replied. “I don’t know why, but they think you’re responsible. According to this strange and incomplete theory, the Rimians and the Naloreans are just carriers. The original virus comes from you.”
“But we tested her blood. She doesn’t have the virus!” I said. “Seriously, Lumi, what is going on here? You can’t just drop a bomb like that and leave!”
“I have no other choice. You’ll understand the next time we see each other, Tristan, but until then… I’m sorry. We must go.”
“No, please, you need to tell us,” Valaine insisted, her voice weak and her eyelids drooping. Rudolph scampered across the tall grass to settle by Lumi’s side.
“Don’t worry about the ghouls,” Lumi said. “We’ll take care of them.”
Before either of us could respond, the swamp witch smiled gently, then vanished. Rudolph and the other ghouls disappeared, as well, and I recognized the familiar air shimmer. This was death magic. A Reaper had helped Lumi. At least one Reaper was active on Visio, probably doing their share of investigating the Darklings—it was the only explanation I could find for this most peculiar encounter. And for some reason, Lumi was helping them.
“How… Who was that woman, Tristan?” Valaine asked, gripping my arms as she looked up at me. It was a simple question, yet the answer seemed a lot more complicated.
“She’s a friend and an ally. One of our own, from GASP,” I said. “She was Nethissis’s mentor. The oldest original swamp witch. Hell, the only original swamp witch. We saved her a long time ago, and… Well, I don’t know how she got here or why she’s here, but I’m just thankful she showed up when she did.”
“Me too,” she replied. “I think that death spell Veliko cast my way would’ve definitely hurt me—or worse—had your friend not intervened. I couldn’t move. When the darkness takes over, I’m… I’m out of control.”
“You’re safe now. That’s what matters.”
Zoltan chuckled bitterly, still stuck on his side in the tall grass. The gold guards immobilized the remaining Darklings, removing their Black Fever glass capsules before dragging them closer to Zoltan.
“What’s so funny?” I asked, glowering at the disgraced Scholar.
“Valaine will never be safe. The Darklings will stop at nothing until she’s dead.”
“Is it true?” Valaine asked. “That I’m the source of the Black Fever?”
“I doubt it,” I told her. “Think about it. There wasn’t a single trace of it in your bloodstream. Amal tested you more than once. It must have something to do with a legend or superstition or something.”
“It’s the truth,” Zoltan said, as one of the gold guards pulled him up into a sitting position. He grimaced from pain, but he was able to sit upright. “I don’t have to explain our ethos or our motivation to you. You won’t be alive for much longer, anyway.”
The Visions rumbled up the coastal road, their hooves thundering as the regiment reached us, led
by Corbin and his Crimson lieutenants. The surviving Darklings quivered as they watched them approach. It didn’t take long for them to spot the prisoner carriages, of which we had two. They would soon join the other Darklings in our possession. Their fight was now over. It was done.
“Don’t worry, Zoltan. We’ll make you talk,” Valaine said, pushing herself away from me. She stood on her own, though her knees were still shaky. I admired her persistence, her desire for independence. She didn’t want the darkness inside her to win, and I was ready to do anything in order to keep her safe from the Darklings.
“You stay away from me!” Zoltan yelped.
“Valaine!” Corbin exclaimed, jumping off his Vision horse. A second later, he was hugging his daughter, his eyes closed with relief as he held her tight. “You’re okay.”
“For the most part,” she replied. “I’m sorry, Father. We had to attack them. Their ghouls spotted us, and we couldn’t risk letting them go.”
“No, no, it’s okay,” Corbin said, his eyes searching her from head to toe, making sure she was unhurt. “You don’t look so well, actually.”
“It’s my own fault.” Valaine sighed, giving him a weak smile. “I exerted myself. But look. We caught Zoltan.”
Corbin glowered at the former chief councilor. “Indeed you did. I’m very proud of you, Valaine. Well done. It’s about time we brought this traitor to justice.”
“Keep talking nonsense,” Zoltan muttered, unable to look Corbin in the eye. “In the meantime, my people will continue our glorious work. We’ll be the ones who will save the Aeternae. Not you, and certainly not these feckless strangers you’ve allowed on Visio.”
Corbin took a deep breath, choosing to ignore Zoltan. I was certain the master commander had a few words for this bastard, but he saved them for another occasion. He was simply too worried about his daughter to even notice how many soldiers we’d lost, despite their bodies lying strewn across the grass.
“There weren’t enough of us,” I said to him. “We lost a lot of people.”
The master commander stilled, hands resting on his daughter’s shoulders. He looked around, and his brows pulled into a dark frown as he took in the entire scene. He counted the Darkling prisoners we’d taken. He counted the surviving gold guards from our group. A moment passed before he allowed himself a sigh of both relief and discontent.
“How many of them were there? The Darklings, I mean,” Corbin asked.
“A little over a hundred, from what I could tell,” I said. “Each of them had a Reaper scythe and a decent command over death magic.”
“Plus ghouls. They had plenty of ghouls,” Valaine added. From here on out, we would have to lie. Valaine exchanged knowing glances with the surviving gold guards, who understood that they were to keep their mouths shut about Lumi. The Darklings we’d captured were unconscious, and Zoltan showed little interest in telling anyone about the swamp witch. Besides, I could always force a Black Fever capsule down his throat, if needed. I could tell from the look on his face that he had no intention of messing with me.
“They all vanished,” I said to Corbin. “They used some kind of complex death magic spell. I think it was a two-pronged kind of thing. The first stage was aimed at Valaine. The second made them disappear. Or maybe they weren’t actually connected, but rather one spell after another. It doesn’t really matter. Point is, they’re gone.”
Corbin eyed me intently, as if trying to read my mind. “Do we know why they’re so hell-bent on killing my daughter?”
“They think I’m the one causing the Black Fever,” Valaine said.
“That is absurd!” Anger turned the master commander’s face red. I didn’t see a single hint of shock. This new information didn’t scare him. It didn’t take his breath away, like it had done to us. No, it only made him furious. I found his reaction to be somewhat strange, but maybe that was just Corbin’s way of dealing with it.
“I said the same thing,” I told him. “We tested Valaine. She doesn’t have the infection or the virus. I still think it’s just some stupid superstition or antiquated mythology. Or maybe Zoltan here wants to see her dead for a different reason and is using the Darklings as his weapons.”
“You’re an idiot,” Zoltan grumbled.
Corbin backhanded him so hard the Darkling Scholar fell on his side again, losing a couple of teeth in the process. He spat out blood and one of his fangs, heaving as he tried to collect himself. Corbin’s strength was impressive, to say the least, and I certainly didn’t want to be on the receiving end of his wrath.
“We’ll talk later, Zoltan, I promise you,” the master commander said. “For every attempt on my daughter’s life, you will pay. The empire looks forward to seeing your head roll, and so do I.”
The Scholar was quiet, but his eyes burned almost red with hatred. This was probably the last predicament he’d envisioned for himself. We’d caught him, and that was all that mattered. Everything else could be resolved, one step at a time. We still had questions—more now than before—but we’d made it this far.
Whatever was going on here, Valaine and I would get to the bottom of it. Esme was doing work of her own with Kalon and Ansel. And, in a sense, Lumi was with us, too. I didn’t feel as helpless or as restricted as before. A lot had changed, and I felt energized and ready to take this mission all the way to the end—until there were no more Darklings or Black Fever.
Until Valaine was safe. Forever.
Nethissis
“Hate me all you want,” Lumi said to Sidyan. “We all know it had to be done.”
Both Reapers had objected to her request, but Sidyan had ultimately relented—the Darklings had gotten too close to killing Valaine and Tristan, and no matter what our mission prerogatives were, we simply could not let that happen.
“I don’t hate you, since I obviously allowed them to see you,” Sidyan replied dryly, his arms crossed. He was still upset, but I knew it was simply because of the complicated situation we’d found ourselves in.
“At least we got some of their ghouls,” I said, nodding at the two dozen creatures Lumi and Rudolph had brought back from the skirmish. “What are we going to do with them?”
Maya and Rudolph were already circling the ghouls, whispering in their strange language, likely communicating and setting some terms and conditions. They all had rune collars around their necks, which Seeley proceeded to break off with his scythe. “We’ll free them from the Darklings’ hold, first and foremost,” he said. “I suppose Rudolph and Maya are trying to get them on our side now, but they are worthless if Veliko and his horde retain control over their tainted souls.”
The collars fell, the runes lighting up white before fading into the iron for the last time. The ghouls didn’t move, watching our conversation with curious black eyes, while Rudolph continued to whisper in their ears and Maya did what she could to tend to their wounds.
“Where did Veliko go?” Seeley asked. “That was some powerful mojo he put on.”
Sidyan grunted. “That was First-Tenner level. I can still sense them, so they’re not out of range. They used the atomic energy from the spell to try to kill Valaine. The rest fueled the teleportation for his entire group. Dammit, why did the Spirit Bender teach them such dangerous stuff? I don’t get it.”
“At least Valaine and Tristan know about this Black Fever thing,” Lumi muttered, glancing back at the soldiers led by Corbin. Valaine and Tristan flanked Zoltan as they dragged him to the road. They threw him into one of the prisoner carriages, then got back on their horses. “They’ll be returning to the imperial city now. They have Zoltan.”
“They won’t stop hunting the Darklings,” I said. “I think Corbin will organize another expedition, this time with more men. They gathered quite a few Reaper scythes from that fight, didn’t they?”
Seeley nodded. “They don’t know how to use them, though. They’ll probably keep them under lock and key somewhere inside the palace. We’ll have to retrieve those blades. Soon.”
&
nbsp; “Well, yours is right here.” Lumi chuckled, handing over his weapon. Seeley grinned as he got his blade back, closing his eyes for a few seconds as he got reacquainted with the feel of the ivory handle and the cold kiss of curved steel.
“That’s what I’m talking about,” he whispered, putting the loaner away. I now had two extra blades hidden beneath my jacket. One of the advantages of being a Reaper was my ability to manipulate the physical form of my weapon in order to fit it on my person. The same went for other colleagues’ weapons. I could walk around with an entire arsenal on me, without a single blade poking out. “I’ve missed this.”
“You’re fully functional now, huh?” Sidyan shot back.
“Yes, I am.” I chuckled at his sarcasm, then gave Lumi a smile. “Thank you.”
“Hey, I was there,” Lumi replied. “It would’ve been a pity to leave it behind.”
“Okay, so… what next? Tristan and Valaine have Zoltan. They’ll probably torture his ass right before they cut his head off,” I said. “I’m not one to revel in the death of others, but I am honestly at peace now that he’s been caught.”
“We keep going after Veliko,” Sidyan replied. “He’s probably angling to become the next Scholar.”
“He can’t do that without the Whip’s approval,” I explained, remembering the conversation between Veliko and Zoltan. “Or that’s my understanding, at least. There’s definitely a superior figure above the Scholars. The Whip. We need to find her.”
“Then Veliko will surely lead us in the right direction,” Lumi agreed.
“Tristan and Valaine are better off as far away from the Darklings as possible,” Seeley said, looking at me with dark embers burning in his galaxy eyes. “They’ll investigate as much as they can, especially where Valaine’s Black Fever connection is concerned.”
“And I’ve got the comms system always on,” Lumi added, pointing at the small device in her ear. “I can listen in for updates from their side.”
A Shade of Vampire 81: A Bringer of Night Page 8
