A Shade of Vampire 80: A Veil of Dark

by Forrest, Bella

  This was an empire that had conquered two planets to secure its own sustenance. They’d let the whole blood slavery issue slip through, and I was certain it wasn’t just thanks to Zoltan. Every single Aeternae that had purchased a blood slave from the Darklings, even if they didn’t know whom they were purchasing from, was responsible for what Visio had turned into.

  The Darklings had thrived because of the Aeternae’s willful ignorance and desire for comforts. We were about to bring it all into the light, and that was bound to bring forth some previously undisclosed enemies. My only hope was that Derek and Sofia would be prepared for that precise moment.

  Crap was about to hit the fan for everyone involved.

  “That aside, I find myself fascinated by ghouls these days,” Seeley mused aloud. Glancing back, I found him watching Maya and Rudolph with a mixture of interest and amusement. His feelings were completely justified, given what we had on our hands.

  Maya was an anomaly on her own, but that was just it. She wasn’t the only one.

  Rudolph resisted his animalistic side, finding comfort in helping us, in remaining loyal to what was left of his Reaper nature. Yes, he’d eaten souls, but he meant well. And, just like Maya, he had not asked for any of this.

  And then there was Herbert, perhaps one of the best examples I could give in terms of how multifaceted ghouls really were, and how many had been simply misunderstood.

  “They seem to be getting along pretty well,” Sidyan replied. “Maya is a good creature, though. I’m not surprised. She’s skittish, too. I didn’t expect her to be so vicious with the Darklings.”

  “She tore those suckers apart.” Nethissis chuckled.

  “Believe it or not, it’s not like her,” Sidyan said.

  “Maybe she understood what was at stake,” I suggested. “It probably had something to do with how the other ghouls were being kept there. All that pain… What if she was able to empathize with their condition, her violence merely a form of retribution?”

  Sidyan shrugged. “I suppose it’s possible. Rudolph is still very young as a ghoul. Parts of his former self persist. I’m shocked by how quickly he has degraded, though.”

  “That’s Zoltan’s doing. Whatever death magic he’s using to make ghouls, it’s some powerful stuff to force such a change. Days ago, Rudolph was a healthy Reaper, after all,” Nethissis replied.

  And that right there was what made me skittish about the Darklings’ capabilities and the threat they posed, not only to the living, but also to those who’d died and had yet to cross over. This was some cosmic mojo they were messing with, and it was an abomination that they’d been allowed to get this far.

  “It bugs me that they’ve kept such control over Visio until now,” Seeley said. “At least I understand how that was possible. No Reapers, because they catch them and turn them into ghouls. No spirits wandering around, because they let their ghouls loose to feed on them.”

  “I think we need to start asking ourselves… Why did the Spirit Bender do this, in the first place?” I said. “Why come here? Why give them death magic and such dangerous tools? What was his endgame?”

  Seeley and Sidyan exchanged worried glances. I didn’t like that. It made me think they’d talked about this already, in one of the moments when Nethissis and I had not been close enough to listen. After all, we’d all had significant minutes to ourselves since we’d been reunited.

  “It was commonly agreed upon that everything that the Spirit Bender had done, like, say… decommissioning the Time Master or the Morning Star… it had been because he’d sought to get the First Tenners out of his way so he could disable Death with the Thousand Seals,” Seeley said after a long pause. “Here, however, we don’t know what his purpose was. The First Ten were all scattered across the In-Between and the Supernatural Dimension. None were known to have made it this far into the Earthly Dimension, as you call it.”

  “We’d better make sure it doesn’t remain a mystery,” I said. “The last thing we need is another surprise bearing his signature at the end of all this.”

  “Lumi’s right,” Nethissis interjected. “We can’t let the Spirit Bender be the gift that keeps on giving. And I obviously don’t mean that in a good way.”

  Judging by the looks on the Reapers’ faces, they both agreed. But the road ahead was twisted and riddled with mystery. The Spirit Bender had done a fine job of covering most of his tracks. He’d successfully meddled with the Time Master and the Morning Star, probably with the Night Bringer, too. The Unending? Maybe.

  As long as we didn’t know exactly what he did, where, and to whom, we were at risk of stumbling upon more of these problems. Death, however, had made some sense in all of this. Getting to the Darklings’ true leader would certainly bring us closer to figuring out exactly why Spirit had been here. And that was a good start to understanding the rest.

  Sofia

  Derek, Danika, Acheron, Thayen, and I sat on the terrace once more. I couldn’t get enough of the view, especially at dusk.

  But even with all this beauty surrounding us, the tranquility, the fresh blood served in elegant crystal glasses… we were all sullen and lacking words. Derek had just been briefed by Tristan regarding Astoria and the presence of ghouls. He’d shared everything with Danika and Acheron, too, adding some explanations along the way regarding death magic and Reapers.

  I wanted to think of it as good news considering our people had basically been able to successfully follow the Darklings around, all the way to their latest hiding place.

  It wasn’t like that, though. Derek and I knew that the presence of ghouls meant additional danger for our people. Tristan was perfectly capable of spotting and handling ghouls, and I was sure he’d provide Valaine, Corbin, and the soldiers with the appropriate training on the matter. But still, I worried…

  “They’re still out there,” Acheron grumbled, stroking his growing stubble as he glowered at his glass on the table between us. “That bastard Zoltan is still out there.”

  “They are making progress,” Danika tried to reassure him.

  Thayen was quiet, watching each of us with his lips pressed tightly together, concern darkening his bright blue eyes.

  “But he’s still free!” Acheron snapped. “He’s a danger to our society. A danger to us all. To the empire itself! He allowed the Darklings to steal Rimians and Naloreans, to force them into blood slavery! And our rich friends paid them for it! He’s messing with death and all that should never be brought into the world of the living! He kept the rest of us in the dark regarding these atrocities! He doesn’t deserve a single day of freedom! Not one!”

  He was genuinely angry. Boiling over, even. He was also scared. As soon as he was told what ghouls were, I saw the blood drain from his face.

  I had not seen him like this before, but Danika didn’t seem frightened or worried. Either she was very good at keeping her composure, or she’d seen him blow up like this too many times.

  Everything they’d just learned was a lot to take in, but I supposed these were Aeternae who used a form of magic. The existence of Death and Reapers and ghouls wasn’t exactly a reality-shattering concept. It actually enhanced their knowledge of what the world was really like.

  Thayen looked pale, probably eager to ask more questions about all this, but he refrained, since his parents were preoccupied with bigger issues like capturing Zoltan and annihilating the Darklings.

  “Tristan and Valaine are hot on his trail,” Derek said. “Sure, there is evidence that the Darklings are more dangerous than we thought, given their ghoulish resources, but they’re not unbeatable.”

  “And Corbin is right behind them!” Danika added, trying her best to sound positive, though I didn’t miss the way her hands shook slightly. As much as she tried, she couldn’t hide it. Ghouls and death creeped her out. Finally, I could see the cracks in the wall she wore around herself. Uncertainty reigned over her, and she didn’t know what to do with it, so she tried to smile and look on the bright side. “We
’ve got this, my dear husband. There are thousands of soldiers looking for Zoltan and all the other degenerates serving him.”

  He paused to look at me, then Derek, and finally at his son. There was a mute exchange there. Maybe Thayen gave him a smile so faint that none of us noticed it—except Acheron. Or maybe there was something in his son’s eyes that made the Lord Supreme jump to a decision none of us had expected.

  “I’m going to put a bounty on Zoltan Shatal’s head,” he said firmly. “If the righteousness of capturing him isn’t enough for our subjects, maybe five hundred thousand gold coins will get more results.”

  Danika gasped, her eyes widening as she gawked at him. “Five hundred thousand? That is a lot, Acheron.” She used his first name, which was rare. It had to mean that she definitely did not agree with spending so much to capture Zoltan. I wondered why.

  “He’s a criminal. Maybe one of the worst your empire has ever had to deal with,” I replied, watching her intently. “Unless I’m wrong, and Visio has seen much worse?”

  Acheron shook his head. “Not in times of peace it hasn’t. We might not be beacons of diplomacy, Sofia, but I can’t let Zoltan get away with killing your friend. That, to me, is the greatest crime an Aeternae could commit.”

  “So the blood slavery or the many other murders the Darklings have committed before aren’t all that bad?” Derek replied, raising an eyebrow.

  “Of course they’re bad. They are heinous, and Zoltan will pay for those, too. But murdering Nethissis, a guest in our world… it’s simply beyond the realm of the abominable. That, alone, strips him of the right to life or even a trial. I want him captured yesterday, if possible,” Acheron said bluntly.

  Zoltan had embarrassed them beyond repair, I realized. By killing one of our people, Zoltan had brought the greatest shame to Acheron’s empire. Everything else could be dealt with, in Acheron’s mind—or so I figured, judging solely by his reactions and responses. There had to be some embarrassment in the middle here, too, after he and Danika had been so convinced that Nethissis’s death had been a mere accident.

  It dawned on me then that Acheron’s ego was the size of the Chrysler Building. Zoltan had chipped away at it, and it had stirred the Lord Supreme’s wrath to a level where not even Danika could contain him anymore. Hence the five-hundred-thousand-coin reward.

  That might work to our advantage, in the end. It would help capture Zoltan sooner, rather than later.

  “But still, five hundred thousand? Our treasury will feel that, especially with the Black Fever looming!” Danika insisted. “Think of the costs of quarantine and treatment if it breaks out!”

  Acheron scowled at her. “Don’t question my decisions. It is settled. We’ve survived the Black Fever before; we will survive it again.”

  “We’re still working on the cure,” Derek chimed in. “Maybe we’ll beat the virus before it spreads.”

  “You cannot promise that,” Danika hissed. There was aggression coming off her. The kind I hadn’t seen before because she’d kept it so tightly bottled. But this was a situation that had pushed her over the limits. All because of gold coins, it seemed. Yet again, I found myself burdened with more questions about these people. Their priorities were jumbled. Their reactions were abnormal. And meanwhile, the Darklings thrived and sought to kill their targets, basically undisturbed—until we came along, anyway.

  “Mother, maybe if—” Thayen tried to offer his thoughts, but she raised a hand to silence him, following up with a glare that made me tremble, let alone the poor boy.

  “Danika,” Acheron said in a warning tone. She didn’t respond, but she seemed to deflate, relaxing into her chair and putting on an empty, plastic smile.

  “Whatever you say, dear husband. Five hundred thousand gold coins to whomever captures Zoltan Shatal,” she replied, her tone flat.

  While Amal and Amane were working hard on both the protein and the Black Fever cure, the rest of us were stretched pretty thin, unable to bring more people over to help. The Aeternae did not want any more outsiders coming into their world, but it put our team at risk. The Darklings were dangerous creatures, and, judging by what we’d learned about them so far, they meddled with death magic—far above our paygrade.

  I’d suggested to Derek that the two of us head out to assist Tristan and Valaine, given the new information regarding the presence of ghouls, but Derek had made a fair point: we couldn’t leave Amal and Amane alone in the palace, especially if the Darklings found a way back inside. There was also the argument of the Aeternae’s strength and reflexes—all of them beyond adequate to support Tristan and Valaine in their endeavor. They were, after all, superior to the vampires in some fundamental ways. Derek and I were of better use here, at the top of the organizational pyramid of the Aeternae.

  Taeral had been unable to give us anything regarding Death. He’d said he’d spoken to her, but that she’d asked him not to meddle. She’d also advised us to stay away from the Darklings, that her Reapers would handle it. Maybe the mention of ghouls might sway Death into being more open with us, going forward. At the same time, I had a feeling Taeral wasn’t telling us everything. Heck, I was positive that there was more to this story. Much more that we were missing.

  Details that could very well make the difference between life and death for Tristan, for Esme, for Derek and me, for Amal and Amane, and other innocent people trapped between the Aeternae and their Darklings.

  Derek and I had already discussed this. We’d agreed to talk to Sherus and Nuriya about it. Maybe they’d be able to get Taeral to tell us everything and try to reason with Death again—this time by mentioning the involvement of ghouls among the Darklings. Every minute that passed made me more certain that we were being kept in the dark here. The last time that secrets had been involved, our worlds had almost been destroyed.

  I didn’t even want to imagine what lurked beneath the surface here.

  “Perhaps you and Derek should retreat to your chambers or the study room for the rest of the day,” Acheron said after a long and heavy silence. “We’ll call upon you if we have any news, and I trust you will do the same, should Tristan or Esme get in touch with you first.”

  “We most certainly will,” I replied, getting up.

  “Shall we meet for breakfast?” Thayen asked, looking up at me.

  I couldn’t help but smile, though I could feel Danika’s glare cutting through me. “If your parents allow it, sure. It would be my pleasure,” I said. Even Derek was surprised. We’d both grown fond of Thayen rather quickly, and the boy seemed to have taken a liking to us, as well.

  “Thayen has a lot of studying to—” Danika was about to insert an excuse to keep us apart, but Acheron scoffed, reducing her to angry silence.

  “I don’t see a problem with it,” he said, making his son beam with excitement. “You both seem like a positive influence on Thayen. I believe he has a lot to learn from otherworldly people like yourselves.”

  I briefly glanced at Danika and bowed politely, inwardly satisfied by how productive Acheron’s wrath could be for Derek and me.

  “I’ll see you in the morning, then,” I said to Thayen, then took Derek’s hand as we walked back inside.

  We both felt watched but did not look back, headed straight for the double doors leading into the hallway. Tension crackled around us, and I knew we were onto something here, from multiple angles.

  “Danika sort of hates us,” I murmured, while the gold guards stationed by the entrance opened the doors for us.

  We walked through, and Derek squeezed my hand. “Her son is perhaps her most precious creation. I guess she’s possessive. Overly protective.”

  “The five hundred thousand gold coins sound like a step forward, though.”

  “Mm-hm. She hated that more than the thought of us spending more time with her son,” Derek said, the shadow of a smile dancing across his face.

  “What do you think that means?” I asked.

  We stopped at the top of the stairs leadin
g down to the first floor. Derek turned to look at me, taking my hand in his. “I think people are holding back here. I think they all have secrets, and that Acheron is one of the more genuine members of his species. His actions are bound to bother the others, but, in the end, we have to make sure that we come out of this alive, and that no more of our people get lost along the way.”

  “Who can we trust?” I wondered aloud, my gaze wandering down the polished marble stairs. Derek cupped my face and pulled me into a short but sweet kiss. It soothed so many of my nerves, I didn’t even realize the pressure I’d been under until he made some of it go away.

  “We can trust one another, for starters,” he said. “And given these circumstances, we need a bit more optimism. Whatever the Darklings are up to, whatever Death is keeping from us… we’ll figure it out, as long as we stick together and watch our step.”

  “Your confidence is inspiring, I must admit.” I chuckled softly, leaning into him.

  He wrapped his arms around me, covering my face with butterfly kisses.

  “We’ve got the Darklings running, Sofia. That, to me, is extremely encouraging. There are six of us left here on Visio, and there is so much the six of us can accomplish, if we stick to the plan and have faith in one another.”

  I believed him.

  Looking back over everything we’d been through, each challenge scarier than the one before… I believed Derek. We were strong and resourceful. We were persistent and dedicated to the truth. That had always been the driving force behind GASP, behind each and every one of us.

  So, yes. Visio seemed like quite a handful, and death magic was involved. But so were we, and that counted for something.

  Esme