I sighed. “I know.”
“I’m not sure you do, actually,” Lumi said. “This isn’t your run-of-the-mill villain, Druid. This isn’t Azazel. This isn’t Shaytan. This is a dense and fast-growing population of carefully designed killing machines who worship and adore their maker. Once we set foot on Strava, it’ll be open season on our asses. I am ready to do whatever it takes, no matter how hard, difficult, or ugly, to make sure we survive and get our people back. I am ready to burn that entire planet down if I have to. And I need you all to be with me on this one. Otherwise, we will fail.”
Her words hit me deep. I knew she was right.
Despite her often-unconventional methods, Lumi meant well. In this case, her ruthlessness could eventually save us all.
“The time to play nice is over,” Lumi added, as we all looked at each other. Serena could feel my pain, and I felt hers. Despite our peaceful natures, we both knew that the swamp witch was about to take us to a very dark place, and, in order to save ourselves and our worlds, we had no choice but to follow her. “We must be ready to do whatever it takes. I know, you’re all thinking maybe it won’t come to that. But it might. And I need you all to be there when it does. You can’t hesitate when the time comes. If you do, we all die.”
Good grief, that sounded so grim.
Then again, I’d once nearly sacrificed myself to destroy Azazel and to save my people. If I searched deep down inside myself, I was willing to bet that I could do a lot worse, if push came to shove. That’s the thing about the survival instinct: it makes you do things you never thought were possible.
Bastien cleared his throat, demanding our attention. “I agree with Lumi. I think all the elders do,” he said. “This isn’t a regular mission. You must be ready to torture and kill anyone who stands in your way, friend or foe. This… This is the one moment in time that will determine whether the universe gets to go forward or not. I know, it’s hard to think of it that way, but you have to. Even… Even if it means leaving loved ones—” He choked up, closing his eyes for a moment. He took a deep breath, then continued his most painful thoughts. “Even if it means leaving loved ones behind. As long as it secures the survival of this entire world, do it. Okay?”
Looking at Bastien, I knew exactly what he meant.
We were going to Strava to save our people. Including his parents-in-law and two of his sons. If the worst-case scenario were to come true, if we were to fail to get them back before Ta’Zan’s Perfects mastered space flight technology… we had to be ready to pull back and leave them all behind.
We had to be ready to let GASP and their supernaturals’ alliance do the unthinkable and destroy the planet completely. The clock was ticking. And this was about more than just our loved ones. This was bigger than all of us together. Hell, if needed, we all had to be ready to give our lives, if it meant stopping the Perfects from spreading out into the In-Between. I wasn’t going to let any of that happen. Not while I was still breathing, but I had to have that thought in the back of my head, just in case the worst did come to happen. At least then I wouldn’t be utterly shocked if the scenario came up.
“On a lighter note,” Bogdana chimed in, “we have something that Ta’Zan doesn’t.”
We all looked at her. She smiled, then nodded at Lumi, who nodded in return.
“You have a swamp witch,” Lumi said. “With no swamp witch in his possession, with no access to my craft, Ta’Zan is at a disadvantage, and I intend to make full use of that.”
“Of course, that doesn’t cancel anything you said earlier, does it?” I replied.
Lumi shook her head. “No. On the contrary, I, too, will have to do some pretty horrible things to make sure we win this. Whatever it takes.”
I found myself agreeing. “We may not even recognize one another or ourselves, when all this is over. Whatever it takes.”
“I’m ready,” Serena said. “Whatever it takes.”
It was becoming our motto, it seemed, as Taeral, Bijarki, Bogdana, Avril, and Heron stepped forward and said the same line at once.
“Whatever it takes.”
With that in mind, we bid our farewells to Harper, Caspian, Bastien, Field, Aida, and the others still at the base on Mount Zur, then climbed to the top of the building, where Lumi prepared an interplanetary spell around a medium-sized shuttle that could carry up to fifty people. We figured it might come in handy later.
Our hearts were heavy and our minds were filled with worry, but in the end, our objective was clear. With more boots on the ground, we had a better shot at saving all our people and stopping Ta’Zan from destroying the world as we knew it. We had to do it.
Whatever it takes.
Ready for the next part of the Shadians’ story?
Dear Shaddict,
Thank you for reading A Jungle of Rogues!
The next book in the series, ASOV 64: A Camp of Savages, releases September 17th, 2018.
Pre-order your copy now for your convenience and have it delivered automatically to your reading device on release day!:
If you’re in the USA: Tap here
UK: Tap here
Australia: Tap here
Any other country: Tap here
I’ll see you there…
Love,
Bella x
P.S. Join my VIP email list and I’ll send you a reminder as soon as I have a new book out. Visit here to sign up: www.forrestbooks.com
(Your email will be kept 100% private and you can unsubscribe at any time.)
P.P.S. Follow me on Instagram and check out some of the beautiful graphics: @ashadeofvampire
You can also come say hi on Facebook: www.facebook.com/AShadeOfVampire
And Twitter: @ashadeofvampire
Read more by Bella Forrest
HARLEY MERLIN
(Brand new fantasy/romance/supernatural series!)
Harley Merlin and the Secret Coven (Book 1)
THE CHILD THIEF
(Action-adventure/romance.)
The Child Thief (Book 1)
Deep Shadows (Book 2)
Thin Lines (Book 3)
THE GENDER GAME
(Action-adventure/romance. Completed series.)
The Gender Game (Book 1)
The Gender Secret (Book 2)
The Gender Lie (Book 3)
The Gender War (Book 4)
The Gender Fall (Book 5)
The Gender Plan (Book 6)
The Gender End (Book 7)
THE GIRL WHO DARED TO THINK
(Action-adventure/romance. Completed series.)
The Girl Who Dared to Think (Book 1)
The Girl Who Dared to Stand (Book 2)
The Girl Who Dared to Descend (Book 3)
The Girl Who Dared to Rise (Book 4)
The Girl Who Dared to Lead (Book 5)
The Girl Who Dared to Endure (Book 6)
The Girl Who Dared to Fight (Book 7)
HOTBLOODS
(Supernatural romance. Completed series.)
Hotbloods (Book 1)
Coldbloods (Book 2)
Renegades (Book 3)
Venturers (Book 4)
Traitors (Book 5)
Allies (Book 6)
Invaders (Book 7)
Stargazers (Book 8)
A SHADE OF VAMPIRE SERIES
(Supernatural romance)
Series 1: Derek & Sofia’s story
A Shade of Vampire (Book 1)
A Shade of Blood (Book 2)
A Castle of Sand (Book 3)
A Shadow of Light (Book 4)
A Blaze of Sun (Book 5)
A Gate of Night (Book 6)
A Break of Day (Book 7)
Series 2: Rose & Caleb’s story
A Shade of Novak (Book 8)
A Bond of Blood (Book 9)
A Spell of Time (Book 10)
A Chase of Prey (Book 11)
A Shade of Doubt (Book 12)
A Turn of Tides (Book 13)
A Dawn of Strength (Book 14)
A Fall of Secrets (Book 15)
An End of Night (Book 16)
Series 3: The Shade continues with a new hero…
A Wind of Change (Book 17)
A Trail of Echoes (Book 18)
A Soldier of Shadows (Book 19)
A Hero of Realms (Book 20)
A Vial of Life (Book 21)
A Fork of Paths (Book 22)
A Flight of Souls (Book 23)
A Bridge of Stars (Book 24)
Series 4: A Clan of Novaks
A Clan of Novaks (Book 25)
A World of New (Book 26)
A Web of Lies (Book 27)
A Touch of Truth (Book 28)
An Hour of Need (Book 29)
A Game of Risk (Book 30)
A Twist of Fates (Book 31)
A Day of Glory (Book 32)
Series 5: A Dawn of Guardians
A Dawn of Guardians (Book 33)
A Sword of Chance (Book 34)
A Race of Trials (Book 35)
A King of Shadow (Book 36)
An Empire of Stones (Book 37)
A Power of Old (Book 38)
A Rip of Realms (Book 39)
A Throne of Fire (Book 40)
A Tide of War (Book 41)
Series 6: A Gift of Three
A Gift of Three (Book 42)
A House of Mysteries (Book 43)
A Tangle of Hearts (Book 44)
A Meet of Tribes (Book 45)
A Ride of Peril (Book 46)
A Passage of Threats (Book 47)
A Tip of Balance (Book 48)
A Shield of Glass (Book 49)
A Clash of Storms (Book 50)
Series 7: A Call of Vampires
A Call of Vampires (Book 51)
A Valley of Darkness (Book 52)
A Hunt of Fiends (Book 53)
A Den of Tricks (Book 54)
A City of Lies (Book 55)
A League of Exiles (Book 56)
A Charge of Allies (Book 57)
A Snare of Vengeance (Book 58)
A Battle of Souls (Book 59)
Series 8: A Voyage of Founders
A Voyage of Founders (Book 60)
A Land of Perfects (Book 61)
A Citadel of Captives (Book 62)
A Jungle of Rogues (Book 63)
A Camp of Savages (Book 64)
A SHADE OF DRAGON TRILOGY
A Shade of Dragon 1
A Shade of Dragon 2
A Shade of Dragon 3
A SHADE OF KIEV TRILOGY
A Shade of Kiev 1
A Shade of Kiev 2
A Shade of Kiev 3
THE SECRET OF SPELLSHADOW MANOR
(Supernatural/Magic YA. Completed series)
The Secret of Spellshadow Manor (Book 1)
The Breaker (Book 2)
The Chain (Book 3)
The Keep (Book 4)
The Test (Book 5)
The Spell (Book 6)
BEAUTIFUL MONSTER DUOLOGY
(Supernatural romance)
Beautiful Monster 1
Beautiful Monster 2
DETECTIVE ERIN BOND
(Adult thriller/mystery)
Lights, Camera, GONE
Write, Edit, KILL
For an updated list of Bella’s books, please visit her website: www.bellaforrest.net
Join Bella’s VIP email list and she’ll send you an email reminder as soon as her next book is out. Tap here to sign up: www.forrestbooks.com
A Shade of Vampire 63: A Jungle of Rogues Page 24
