A Shade of Vampire 91: A Gate of Light

by Forrest, Bella

  “There will be a gathering of fire fae clans for the summer festival, right?” Tristan asked, and the king and queen nodded. “Then chances are we’ll accept your invitation. I’ve been meaning to get better acquainted with the fire fae culture. I see no better opportunity than that.”

  We bid the royal couple farewell and stepped through the portal, knowing that Derek and Sofia were already waiting on the other side. Leaving the Fire Star behind, we walked through the translucent tunnel, crossing fields of stars and cyclamen stardust, spiraling galaxies, and dying red dwarves, bright suns with planetary clusters and throngs of rocky asteroids until we crossed the threshold between the Supernatural Dimension and the Earthly Dimension.

  I had never traveled like this before. I’d never needed to. I had to admit, it was extraordinary. In some ways similar to my means of movement across the realms, yet different. Tristan took my hand in his, firmly squeezing as he looked at me, and in that moment the whole universe realigned itself around us. We walked together in loving unison, eager to venture into this new stage of our relationship.

  Ahead, the Milky Way stretched out before us, a gargantuan flower filled with white hot stars and billions of planets. Its savagery was beautiful. Its size undeniable. And I felt so tiny and alive in comparison. “Is this what it feels like?” I asked my husband as we continued our short journey through the translucent tunnel.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Living. Is this it? This constant deluge of sensations and feelings and emotions… of touches and smells and sounds?”

  Tristan laughed lightly. “Yes. It’s a perpetual discovery of the world around us, of how things make us feel, of how we perceive ourselves against the backdrop of this vast universe.”

  “I feel tiny,” I said. “A mere speck of dust. It’s strange. I’ve never quantified my existence before. My siblings and I, we… we’ve always been self-aware, but that was it. Does it not scare you? The thought of all this ending? I’m already terrified.” The realization came out loud, along with the painful grip on my heart. The thought of losing this… it horrified me.

  “What matters is what we do with the time we are given,” Tristan said. “How we make the most of every moment, and I, for one, plan to enjoy every second of it with you. Or thinking about you, or simply loving you, even from afar if we’re ever apart.”

  No wonder I loved this man with everything I had. Regardless of what fate might hurl at him, my husband would rise above, one way or another. He would live voraciously, and he would sip on every drop of bliss that his existence had to offer. The best part? I’d be right there with him, sharing the marvelous ride.

  “What do you think your parents will say when they see me?” I asked, my mind wandering back to The Shade as Earth’s solar system emerged just ahead, giant marbles orbiting the sun, suspended in pure darkness.

  “Well, this is new to everyone, not just you and me. It’ll be new to my parents, my sister and Kalon, too.”

  “Yes. That’s true.”

  He smiled. “But I reckon Mom and Dad will be over the moon. They’ll have questions, of course. And they’ll be a little annoyed when they don’t get the answers they want, but they’ll be happy, Unending. Happy that we’re happy.”

  “I hope so. I mean, I know your parents well enough to agree, but ugh, is this feeling always going to rear its ugly head?” I groaned, rolling my eyes as I tried to swallow back my anxiety.

  “You’re nervous. It’s perfectly normal!” Tristan chuckled. We stopped just before The Shade’s portal, and he put his arms around my waist, pulling me into a tight embrace. We kissed, slowly, taking our time to taste each other, giving our souls a moment to sing together. He dropped a soft peck on the tip of my nose afterward. “This is what life is about. Dealing with these emotions, experiencing everything to the fullest, not knowing what tomorrow will hold and not knowing how we’ll handle it. That is the true joy of living. This dive into the unknown, headfirst.” He nodded to the portal. “Now, come on, let’s go. They’re waiting for us.”

  I allowed him to take my hand and escort me to the mass of shimmering blues and greens framed by rune stones. Beyond, The Shade awaited. “They’ll probably welcome the change of pace, considering what they’ve been dealing with while we’ve been away.”

  “Yeah, clones. That was a new one, even for me,” Tristan stifled another laugh. “What can I say? We’re never bored in this life.”

  I was coming back to a familiar place, yet it seemed different. My perception of it had changed. The Shade was bigger, a hidden paradise on Earth with giant redwoods and whispering forests and the persistent fragrance of fresh grass hanging in the air. Derek and Sofia Novak were the first to welcome us back, their arms wide open, their smiles as brilliant as the sun they’d hidden with magic above the island.

  “Esme will be so happy to see you both!” Sofia exclaimed as she hugged Tristan, then me. Suddenly stiff, she took a step back to measure me from head to toe. “Hold on, something’s different… Your skin isn’t as pale nor as pearlescent as a Reaper’s anymore. Or am I imagining this?”

  “You’re right,” Derek said, equally intrigued, while Tristan and I exchanged amused glances. “Whoa. And your eyes. The galaxies within them are gone. What happened? Something’s different, Unending. What is it?”

  I’d have thought they might notice the eyes first, but we’d known each other for so long that there were things so casual, so familiar, that they never stood out, even when they vanished.

  “I got myself a living body,” I replied, smiling. “Unfortunately, I can’t share the details of how it happened.”

  Sofia squealed with joy, her eyes beaming. “I’m so happy for you!” She paused, giving me an alarmed look. “Wait. I’m supposed to be happy for you, right?”

  “Absolutely,” Tristan interjected. “I’ll be taking the cure, and then my wife and I will be trying for a baby or two.”

  “Or ten,” I murmured, trying not to laugh.

  We needed a few minutes to decompress as the portal closed behind us, and Derek sealed it with a carved stone disk he carried around his neck. “Sorry, it’s protocol for the time being,” he said. “Ever since the clone incident, we’ve had to lock things down here, only allowing certain people to come through or leave.”

  They guided us to the Great Dome nearby, where a table had been set with pitchers of water and fresh blood, along with glasses and a fruit platter. I went straight for the mango slices—the one taste I simply could not get enough of.

  Derek looked relatively well rested despite the madness they’d endured, clad in a white linen shirt and navy-blue jeans—casual attire, I thought, considering the circumstances. Sofia was equally relaxed, the white cotton dress flowing down her elegant figure as it brought out the natural copper highlights in her long auburn hair. It seemed like they’d just come out on the terrace to enjoy a glass of spiced rose water and the sight of a full moon.

  “Thank you for letting us through,” Tristan said as we sat at the glass table. He poured himself a glass of blood. “I can assure you we’re the real deal, but Unending’s siblings can verify us if need be.”

  “I no longer can,” I sighed, suddenly missing my Reaper nature.

  Sofia shook her head. “It’s okay. We actually haven’t had any incidents whatsoever since…” The humor faded from her voice. Reality had come back to remind her of what she’d lost, though she’d tried so hard to be warm and welcoming. “Since Thayen and his friends disappeared. The Shade is safe, in that sense. Everyone is verified and accounted for. You’re the only ones unmarked.”

  “The Reapers are out, anyway,” Derek said. “They said they’d return in a couple of days. Esme has a way of calling Time, if needed, but other than that, we’re pretty much Reaper-less for now.”

  “That’s just as well,” I replied. “Personally, I don’t think I’m ready to face the rest of my siblings yet.” It felt true as I heard myself say it. It sounded odd, certainly, but a
ccurate. “I guess because I’m alive now, I don’t feel like I belong with them anymore. Not for now, anyway.” Besides, Time and the others would’ve asked more questions. They would’ve brought it up with Death too, and considering the burden I’d placed on her by losing both the World Crusher and Anunit… I really didn’t want her to deal with that too.

  How ironic. I’d been the angry one in this relationship for quite a while. It had only taken a moment of weakness to turn the tide on myself. Death was out there, fixing my mess, and I was out here, living a life.

  Tristan tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. “We’re taking it one step at a time, remember?”

  “Perhaps deal with your mom and dad first before you take it up with her side of the family, then?” Derek suggested, holding back a smile. There was tension. I could feel it, the uneasiness of this entire situation.

  The Shade had been turned upside down by the clone attacks, yet Derek and Sofia were trying so hard to keep going, to live as though their existence hadn’t been permanently altered. Their son was missing, along with other GASP members. And Phoenix’s wife, Viola. Poor Isabelle had been taken months earlier, and no one had realized it. These doppelganger creatures had wreaked true havoc, and I could only imagine what the Shadians were going through. I certainly didn’t wish to experience such things for myself.

  “How is everyone?” I asked after they gave us the latest updates—none of which pointed to any more shimmering portals opening since Thayen’s disappearance.

  Sofia shook her head slowly. “Well, Phoenix has buried himself in work. He’s got it worse than everyone else, I think, with both Astra and Viola missing. It’s awful, but with his sentry nature, he’d be able to sense if Astra had died. It gives the rest of us hope, as well—it allows us to believe the others are alive too, albeit lost or stuck in some other realm.”

  “You had some footage from beyond, didn’t you?” Tristan replied. “Taeral mentioned the silvery cubes you found in Isabelle’s room.”

  Derek offered a faint nod. “Yeah. Nothing conclusive yet. We don’t recognize who or what their leader is. We only identified a female with special powers. It’s still blurry in terms of exactly what kind of threat we’re dealing with.”

  “And how are you holding up?” I asked him.

  He took a moment to answer, running a hand through his short dark hair. The five o’clock shadow suited his square jaw, but I knew it wasn’t an aesthetic choice, but rather the remnant of previously sleepless nights and forgetting himself in the midst of so many worries. Peace had found its way back into The Shade, but it had not been an easy ride. “As well as can be expected, I guess. Sofia and I trust Thayen. He’ll find his way back to us, or we’ll pull something off and get to him eventually. I take comfort in knowing this will not last forever.”

  “And, in the meantime, we do what we can on our side of the world,” Sofia said, letting out a heavy sigh. “But it’s good to have you both here. Seeing you is like a breath of fresh air.”

  “It might have something to do with my wife’s current condition,” Tristan replied, a grin stretching across his face. “Seriously though, is there anything we could do to help you?”

  Derek and Sofia looked at each other, then shook their heads. “We have Corrine and the witches, Lumi and the swamp witches, the Daughters… and Phoenix and Jovi are hard at work on the technical aspect. We’re well covered, Tristan, but thank you,” Sofia said. “Just relax, go see your parents. Esme and Kalon are with them, on standby in case GASP might need them. I doubt that’ll be the case. We’ve been in an exhausting limbo since Thayen and his friends vanished.”

  Moments passed in heavy silence, but both Tristan and I knew that there wasn’t much we could do for this realm. I was curious to know more. However, I also had to be aware of my new limitations. We’d already had the talk regarding The Shade. We’d both agreed that if push came to shove and we didn’t have any better options to save lives, I’d give up my living body. Until we reached that point, however, I didn’t even want to think about it. We’d worked so hard to get here.

  “You know where to find us,” Tristan ultimately said. “Besides, we’ve got our comms on too. Unending was given her own on the Fire Star.” There was a certain sense of pride in his smile. My body did that to him. My life. These were strange times to be alive, but also wonderful.

  We take the good with the bad, my incredible husband had told me mere hours ago. We take the good with the bad, and we make the best of it all.

  A couple of hours later, we were seated at Ariana and Julian’s dinner table. Kalon and Esme had joined us, and the atmosphere was one of joy and celebration. I basked in it, and I certainly enjoyed the food they’d brought to the table. Tristan missed his human days, but he didn’t mind me stuffing my face with all the goodness that Ariana had cooked.

  As expected, they’d all had questions about my living body, but they would have to be content with the same minimal explanation I’d offered to Taeral and the others. “It doesn’t really matter,” Ariana had concluded. “What matters is you’re among the living now, and that’s got to be all kinds of exciting!”

  Her cooking was exquisite. The dinner table wasn’t loaded, since I was the only creature enjoying the taste of food, but she’d managed to cook plenty from the moment Tristan and I had set foot through the door. None of them had expected me to arrive as a living creature. Blood had been the only dish on the original menu, yet the roasted meal was cooked to perfection, bathed in a savory sauce and sprinkled with herbs. The mini quiches were premade and dwellers of the freezer for quite a while before hitting the oven—nevertheless, they were delicious. For dessert, Ariana had sent Julian outside to the small orchard behind their redwood treehouse to fetch some fresh plums and peaches. They smelled amazing, and I kept brushing my fingers over the peach skin, relishing the feel of its soft fuzz.

  Everything about this evening was incredible. Esme was all smiles as she couldn’t take her eyes off me. We spoke for hours, going over the events that had led to this moment, both positive and negative. “I’d like to see some of that footage, if possible,” I ultimately said. “I’m genuinely curious about what Isabelle’s clone recorded from that beyond world.” We hadn’t been able to think of a better name for it, but Tristan had agreed it sounded accurate enough.

  “Time had no idea who the leader was, or what she was,” Esme sighed, pouring herself another glass of spiced blood. “Phoenix is analyzing the footage, but I’m sure you could pop by tomorrow and have a look for yourself.”

  “What about the beyond world?” Tristan asked. “Were there any elements in the videos that might provide clues about the location?”

  Ariana raised both eyebrows in an expression I could only interpret as befuddlement. “Honestly? No. We only saw trees and a white villa-style building behind the alleged leader. Redwoods, most likely. At first, we thought that particular piece of footage had been shot in The Shade, but I’m sure we would’ve heard a horde of clones loudly rooting for our demise.”

  “Plus, there’s no such white villa anywhere in The Shade,” Julian added.

  “We considered California too, but the sky looked weird,” Esme said. “We sent a couple of witches to comb through the entire state with their ample magic anyway, just in case. Hopefully they’ll have something to tell us. Otherwise, we’re stumped.”

  Tristan’s brow furrowed. “The technology the clones have is odd. Like nothing I’ve seen before.” Derek and Sofia had shown us one of the silvery boxes, though Phoenix hadn’t been around to connect it and make it project its recorded data. “I look forward to checking that stuff out again, ideally with Phoenix around, and anyone else who might help us figure out what those boxes are made of.”

  Julian gave us a cool smile. “You two are supposed to relax and make the most of this new and incredible stage in your lives. The entire island is working on the clone issue. It’s not demanding the attention of the entire federation, so don’t concern yours
elves. I’m serious. Take it easy. It’s not your responsibility, and Unending is going through something strange and wonderful.”

  “Yeah, but—”

  “They’re right,” Tristan said, cutting me off with an awkward smile. “The Shade’s got its brightest minds handling the situation. And you—you’re all I can think about right now.”

  Esme laughed lightly. “It’s been an annoying stalemate here for days. We cannot exist in a perpetual state of anguish in light of what happened either, so I’m glad you two are here.”

  “How long will you be with us?” Ariana asked. For the briefest of moments, I saw her stealing a glance at Julian, but he didn’t seem to notice. His attention was fixed on Tristan and me, and quite lovingly, too. “Do you wish to take one of our guest rooms, or will you be making use of your own treehouse?”

  “Mom, I think they’ll need some privacy,” Esme replied, then pressed her lips into a thin line. A thought crossed her mind as she glanced at her brother. “You’ll be taking the cure, then?”

  Tristan nodded once. “As soon as things settle down here,” he said. “Unending and I agreed not to rush with our baby-making plans until the situation with the clones reaches a satisfactory resolution.”

  “Satisfactory resolution?” Kalon chuckled, finishing his glass of blood.

  “My words, not his,” I shot back with a grin. “You see, I can shed this body and become a Reaper again. I would not be able to return to it afterward, however, so I would only make that choice if absolutely necessary. Therefore, Tristan and I agreed not to rush into having a baby until the clone situation is resolved and everyone is brought back safely, just in case. The issue might prove more complex than anyone expects, so better safe than sorry.”

  Esme shrugged. “Yeah, I can see where you’re coming from. I’d probably do the same. The last thing you’d want is to run across a battlefield, belly the size of an overgrown melon, fighting those wretched clones.” It made me laugh. I threw my head back as my whole body shuddered and my abdomen muscles ached sweetly, but I couldn’t stop. I could only envision myself with a baby bump, charging after a bunch of clones that looked like the people I knew—granted, such a sight should’ve been tragic, but in the moment I found it hilarious.