A Shade of Vampire 79: A Game of Death

by Forrest, Bella

  “Now, will you be a good boy and come with me for a brisk walk?” Zoltan asked, and I heard Rudolph’s low growl. It was meant to be a yes, it seemed. “Let’s go.”

  Moments later, Zoltan walked out with a grin slitting his face and Rudolph on a leash, the new collar tightly clasped around his neck. The guards moved back, not wanting to stand too close to him. I would’ve loved for Rudolph to just rip them apart, but Zoltan’s trust was more important at this point.

  When Rudolph saw me again, his expression, as distorted and as awful as it was, lit up. He seemed relieved to see me, and I forced myself to smile. He needed my support and my reassurance. Despite what he was and what he’d just done, I had to be there for him if any of this was going to work.

  I stayed close to him as he moved on all fours, obediently pacing himself by Zoltan’s side. My ghostly skin crawled from the Aeternae’s vicinity, but I had no choice. Rudolph was my ally here.

  “Let me show you around,” Zoltan said to the ghoul.

  Looking back, I noticed the guards continued to keep their distance. They were not fond of ghouls, in general, both of them clutching the scythes mounted on their belts. Physically, it wouldn’t be too hard for Rudolph to steal one, provided he could get close enough without stirring suspicions. The key here was for nobody to blame him once they realized a scythe had gone missing.

  “Your friends are here,” Zoltan continued, stopping in front of another cell door.

  “Keep it together,” I said to Rudolph, already feeling queasy. I knew what the Aeternae was trying to do with this brief tour. He was looking to test the ghoul’s resolve and self-control by showing him the others—his own people, transformed and degraded. “He’s doing this to push you. Don’t let him win.”

  Zoltan opened the door with one of his keys, revealing Lisl inside. She was naked, her Reaper clothes in tatters on the floor. Blood was sprayed all over the walls. She’d been fed a live Rimian or Nalorean, judging by the satisfied look on her face. Her black eyes glimmered with recognition when she saw Rudolph.

  “She’s still Lisl, somewhere deep down,” I whispered, leaning closer to Rudolph. “See? She recognizes you. She knows you’re Rudolph. So don’t let Zoltan tell you otherwise.”

  Rudolph was shaking, anger likely coursing through him like a forest fire. With a trembling hand, I touched his back, and he… stilled. All of a sudden, all the rage flowed out of him, and he relaxed visibly under Zoltan’s surprised yet watchful eye. I was taking a great risk by being so close to Rudolph, but I couldn’t let the Aeternae win.

  “Deep breaths,” I said. “Deep breaths. We’ll find a way to help her and the others. I promise you.”

  He looked up at me, a pleading look glimmering in his eyes. I could almost hear his words, echoing in my very soul. Please, help them… You have to help them.

  As a ghoul, Rudolph was cut off from the other Reapers. But Herbert had been able to communicate telepathically with sentries like Harper and Caspian. Maybe Rudolph was trying to talk to me, in his ghoulish way, because those words I thought I’d just heard were not mine.

  “Take it easy,” I murmured. “Don’t force yourself.”

  Exhaustion from trying his various abilities could be detrimental to us. As much as I appreciated his attempt to telepathically talk to me, even though I wasn’t a sentry—which just made everything extra weird—it wasn’t necessary at this point, and it was bound to take its toll on him.

  “Let’s stick together, Rudolph. Charm these suckers until they give you more freedom,” I said, scowling at Zoltan, who shut the door to Lisl’s cell and walked Rudolph over to the next one, showing him Bert. “Don’t let any of this get to you. Make them all like you. Get close enough, grab a scythe, and I’ll let Seeley loose. We’ll avenge you all, Rudolph. You have my word.”

  I kept talking to him, encouraging him as Zoltan went ahead and showed Rudolph the rest of his teammates, each angrier and more out of control than the last. By the end of the tour, Rudolph had retained his calm composure, further impressing the chief councilor.

  “Yes, I think I will enjoy working with you, Rudolph,” Zoltan said, then looked at the guards. He must’ve learned their names while forcing them to turn. “Take him to a bigger cell. He’s earned some extra legroom. And see if you’ve got some other dissident to feed our good boy, here. I reward obedience.”

  The guards both nodded, approaching us.

  “Keep it cool, Rudy,” I said, going for the shorter version of his name. “Take your time. We’ll be free soon enough. For now, however, let them think they have you.”

  Rudolph growled a little, but he didn’t object when one of the guards took over his leash. I stayed by his side, while Zoltan went farther down the hall, doing whatever it was he did when he came down here.

  We’d gotten over the first threshold. We’d gained a lick of confidence from Zoltan Shatal, and that allowed us to plan our next move. Once the guards got slightly more comfortable around Rudolph, he could pick a scythe off one of them. If he were to get friendly too fast, it would raise red flags. We needed patience for this operation, even though there wasn’t much time left for Seeley.

  Once Rudolph was settled in his new, more spacious cell, I left him for a bit so I could update Seeley on everything that had happened. He, too, agreed.

  “We’ll get out of this hellhole eventually,” he said.

  I sat on the floor in front of him. There was a sense of peace coming off him. No matter what I’d been through since I’d died, I always found a sliver of comfort in his presence. Seeley was likely part of the reason why I’d retained my sanity until now. Maybe there was truth in his words.

  Maybe we’d get out of here.

  But then what? I wondered. Then what?

  Tristan

  “How many of you are there?” Valaine asked, relentless in her interrogation.

  One of the Red Threads we’d captured back in the southern district of the city had finally come to. Like all the others, he’d been tied to the bed, and nurses made sure he was fed and properly hydrated. His wounds were treated with droplets of Aeternae blood, and he was looking a lot better than the day he’d first arrived in the prison.

  Given the low crime rate, most of the cells in the building had been empty, allowing the nurses to bring in beds for the Rimians’ care. Much like the others who’d woken up before him, however, this guy wasn’t willing to talk much.

  We’d been in his cell for the better part of an hour, trying to get some answers out of him. But he was determined to keep quiet, even though Valaine clearly terrified him. He jumped whenever she moved around his bed, as if she might poke him full of holes.

  She repeated the question. “How many of you are there?”

  I, for one, was in awe of Valaine. Usually timid and reserved, she’d unleashed the darker side of herself since the square incident. Even during the first attempt on her life she had not been as fierce as she was now. It probably had something to do with the Red Threads trying to hurt people she cared about, like Kalon, and maybe even Esme, whom I knew Valaine was genuinely fond of.

  “I would sooner die than tell you anything, fanger,” the Red Thread replied, without so much as looking at her.

  “Don’t say that twice. I might make it happen,” Valaine muttered.

  “You will spend the rest of your life in prison, or worse,” I said to the Rimian. He seemed young enough to be worried about the prospect of growing old behind bars. Maybe that thought would persuade him to say something—it hadn’t worked on the others, though. What were the odds it would work on him? “You should do yourself a favor and cut a deal. I’m sure the Aeternae will consider leniency, perhaps a shorter sentence, if you cooperate.”

  “Our mission is greater than whatever life I shall lead in prison,” the Rimian replied.

  “Ah, what a poet this guy is,” I muttered, somewhat bored of the similar remarks I’d received so far from his colleagues. It was as if they’d all been trained accord
ing to the same manual, which included phrases to say in case of capture and interrogation. They were all reciting the same stuff, more or less. And I was losing my patience.

  “He’s not going to talk.” Valaine sighed. “Let him meet the gallows, then. The empire does not take kindly to traitors who don’t cooperate.”

  She walked out and made her way down the hallway. I followed her, while the guards locked the Rimian’s cell. Valaine was not just more assertive, she was also increasingly angry. At times, it seemed like she had trouble controlling her own reactions, especially where the Red Threads and the Darklings were concerned. I figured her patience was running thin, too, but I had a feeling that there was something else bothering her, somewhere beneath the surface.

  “What can I do to help?” I asked as we walked toward the main exit. The double doors were open, held back with heavy brass stoppers. Officers of the law moved in and out, some carrying the occasional disorderly character—usually an Aeternae who’d gotten into a street fight somewhere in the city’s western slums.

  The law was particularly harsh on the non-Aeternae, from what I’d learned so far. The Rimians and the Naloreans got longer sentences, even though their lifespans were significantly shorter. The wily Aeternae got slaps on the wrist, for the most part, or a couple of nights in jail. Granted, in some serious cases, they were also stripped of their lands and fortunes.

  “I don’t know what more you could do.” Valaine sighed. “You’re already doing so much.”

  “Tell me. I want to help.”

  “I’m aware.”

  She glided down the steps and hurried up the main street. Vision-drawn carriages clicked and clacked along, carrying the elites to their various destinations. The shops were beginning to close for the day, as the evening stretched in dark blue across the city. Shutters rattled as they were pulled shut.

  “Valaine, hold on,” I said, catching her wrist. It forced her to stop. When she turned around to face me, I saw tears in her eyes. It tore me apart to see her like this, and I knew it had to do with the Darklings and the attempts on her life. “Talk to me.”

  “What else is there to say?” she replied, her voice trembling. “These Darklings want me dead, and they will stop at nothing until they get the job done. And I don’t want to die, Tristan. I don’t. I enjoy living too much…”

  “You’re afraid,” I murmured, without letting go of her hand. She didn’t seem to mind.

  “I’m afraid, yes. And I am tired. I don’t understand why they picked me, out of all the Aeternae in this world. Why me? Do I not deserve a chance at a long and happy life? Do I not deserve a shred of happiness and the opportunity to stop the Black Fever before it claims more lives?”

  I moved closer, the distance between us shrinking, the air thickening with emotion. “They’re a cult, Valaine. Their motivations are skewed. It is no use asking for an explanation from these people. But I promise you, we will not let them win.”

  “Easy to say…”

  “Yet doable,” I replied, smiling gently. “I’ve been here for what, a week? A little more than that?” She nodded once, peering into my very soul with those beautiful black eyes. “They’ve tried to kill you three times, and we stopped them. We will keep fighting until we take down their ringleaders.”

  Esme had told me about Trev and his Darkling infiltration, having asked me not to share it with anyone—not even Valaine. But I could no longer hold the information from her. I needed her to have a little bit of hope. Clearly, she didn’t have faith in her father’s armed forces, not that I could blame her. The Darklings had infiltrated every layer of Visio’s society, and they were even working with the Red Threads, unbeknownst to the lower-level grunts.

  Valaine needed some encouragement, and the thought of Trev Blayne soon leading us to the Darklings’ ringleaders easily counted at such.

  “You should know… Trev has likely infiltrated the Darklings by now,” I said, careful in my choice of words as I analyzed her expression. It morphed from dismay to sheer surprise in a matter of seconds. But there was also hope. I could see it in her eyes.

  “What are you talking about?” Valaine asked, her voice suddenly low.

  “Kalon turned him, as his award for winning the Blood Arena tournament,” I replied. “Trev has been forging ties with the Red Threads, and he got one of their leaders to put him in touch with the Darklings. Now that he’s an Aeternae, he wants to pretend to join them.”

  A thousand thoughts rushed through her mind—it was all there on her face, as her gaze wandered across the street and all over me. “Kalon didn’t tell me any of this. How did you learn?”

  “Esme. She was with Kalon when they spoke to Trev about all this,” I said. “I’m sorry… I should’ve told you sooner, but I was asked to keep quiet. I deeply regret it.”

  “Kalon should’ve told me,” Valaine murmured, her brows drawn in an angry frown. “I cannot fault you for this, though I would’ve appreciated the information sooner. Ideally before wasting my time asking the Red Threads about their leaders, when Trev was already talking to them. But I cannot be mad at you. I’ll kick Kalon’s ass, for sure.”

  “I think they didn’t want you to know so you would do the interrogations, nonetheless,” I said after a long and heavy pause. “Otherwise, the Red Threads might’ve caught on that we were up to something.”

  “I’ll still kick Kalon’s ass, if that’s what you’re trying to avoid,” Valaine replied dryly. “How did Trev get mixed up in all of this?”

  I told her about him following my sister and Kalon the other day, along with the rest of their discussion, including Luna, Kalon’s dead cousin and the reason behind Trev’s determination to sink the Darklings, once and for all.

  Valaine scoffed, shaking her head slowly. “I should’ve realized this myself. Trev was so in love with Luna. It almost killed him when she died. It took Kalon and me months to get him out of the house again. At least now we know why they killed her. Why they’re trying to kill me.” She paused, then looked at me. “So, he’s going for the leader of the Darklings.”

  I nodded. “And he’s going to send us a message with all the Red Thread leaders’ names once he’s made it inside the Darklings. He didn’t want to risk getting himself exposed by serving them up to the Aeternae too soon.”

  “That makes sense. Dammit, I wish Kalon had told me.”

  “You seem to hold Lord Visentis to a higher standard than me. Why is that?” I asked, ever so slightly offended, when I felt so awful for having kept this from her, to begin with.

  Valaine gave me a warm smile, bringing a hand up to cup my face. “You’re still new here, Tristan. And, to be honest, I find it impossible to ever be upset with you, regardless of the reason. Kalon, on the other hand… We go way back. He’s like a brother to me. He should’ve told me. It was his operation, his friend infiltrating the Darklings, his duty to tell me.”

  Her response was so ample, so multifaceted, that I didn’t immediately catch on to the first part about me. When the words came through, and I understood what Valaine was telling me, a peculiar heat expanded inside my chest, hugging my heart and tightening its grip on my throat as I looked at her.

  “You don’t think you’d ever be upset with me?” I asked. “I find that hard to believe. I am perfectly capable of doing things stupid or reckless enough to annoy you.”

  The touch of her hand sent ripples through my skin, and when she tried to pull back, I caught it, keeping it as a warm frame for my cheek. Her gaze softened, and for a moment, only the two of us were left in this world.

  “I’d rather you didn’t,” Valaine replied, slightly amused. “I get that enough from Kalon. My brother from another mother.”

  She made me laugh, maybe a little too hard, but it was enough to break the last layer of tension left between us. Valaine threw her arms around me in a long hug, and I had no choice but to lose myself in this embrace.

  “Thank you, Tristan,” she whispered in my ear.

 
Her heart thudded against mine. I wanted this moment to last forever, so I could never be without her scent tickling my senses—night-queen and lily blossoms…

  “For what?” I asked, closing my eyes for a moment.

  “For giving me a reason to keep pushing. For being truthful and kind. For being you. Frankly, it’s refreshing in this day and age,” she replied.

  There wasn’t much else I could say to her, so I settled for holding her close, welcoming her affection, and hoping I’d done enough to lift her spirits. It killed me to see Valaine sad. It was as if her emotions echoed all around, infecting those in her vicinity—including myself.

  I, for one, preferred her smiling and determined to keep fighting. She was infinitely more beautiful that way, both inside and out. And if the Darklings were still trying to kill her, they would have to go through me first.

  Esme

  It was midnight, and Kalon and I were due to meet with Trev outside the palace, on a small and narrow side street. He’d managed to send a message to Kalon, advising him on his success in infiltrating the lower circles of the Darklings. They had accepted his candidacy, not at all surprised that a former Rimian was interested in joining their ranks. They only recruited Aeternae, yet many Naloreans and Rimians had tried to enter, thinking it was a good opportunity to throw a wrench into the empire’s wheels—little did they know that the Darklings weren’t anarchists at all…

  We settled in the darkness, away from the solitary streetlamp flickering at the corner of the street. The local residents were likely sleeping, their shutters pulled and the lights out. I listened carefully, counting the jingling steps of nearby gold guards that patrolled around the palace. They couldn’t see us from the main alley.

  I’d had some time to think about everything, and I had come to believe that I could not let Trev do any of this alone anymore. Kalon didn’t know about our invisibility potion, and the crew and I had agreed to keep it to ourselves—our safety hatch, in case anything went wrong.