A Shade of Vampire 79: A Game of Death

by Forrest, Bella

  “How are the white-haired twins coming along?” Kalon asked, drawing me from my deep thoughts. He stood close to me, one shoulder leaning against the wall of a house. “I still can’t get over how identical they look. The mirror image of one another. Gorgeous, but spooky.”

  I smiled. “They’re getting there. I think we’ll get something soon on both fronts. Today, they were rushing around from one study room to another. I’ve got a feeling they’re about to make a breakthrough. Frankly, I’m just glad the Lord and Lady Supreme allowed Amane to come over. Amal is brilliant, but together they’re unstoppable.”

  “I hope so. We’re coming up to ten infected Aeternae now,” Kalon said darkly, his brow furrowed. He’d lost his father to the disease, so I could only imagine how he was feeling about all this.

  “I’m not saying we’re going to save you all. But we will try. That much I can promise.”

  Kalon stilled for a moment, standing mere inches from me. A smile fluttered across his lips as his eyes searched my face, as if he was trying to ascertain whether I was being truthful. I was, so I held his gaze for as long as I could, wanting him to understand that I meant every word.

  My heart struggled, as the night seemed to envelop us both in a warm and pleasant kind of darkness. The narrow alleyway began to disappear. Time slowed down. Nothing else could be heard, other than our breathing.

  We had sparred. We had fought vicious attackers, and he’d saved my ass more than once. We had laughed, and we had tiptoed around one another, wondering where the limits were. Whether there was enough trust between us for this dynamic to work. So far, it had not disappointed, but part of me was still slightly wary. My instincts were sharp as razors, compelling me to keep my head clear at all times.

  That was becoming a challenge, because Kalon’s eyes had an almost hypnotic effect on me. We were drawn to each other, whether we admitted it or not. Even now, the space between us was shrinking, as if we were both leaning in closer and closer… and closer. He didn’t stop, and neither did I. The idea of “what if” persisted at the forefront of my consciousness, as my gaze dropped for barely a second, catching the precise instant in which his lips parted ever so slightly. Another breath or two, and our lips might meet. What then?

  My answer never came.

  Footsteps jolted us both apart and back into the reality of tonight. We turned our heads and exhaled at the sight of a cloaked figure coming toward us from the darker end of the alley. I was already gearing up for a fight, my muscles tightening, when the stranger’s hood came off, and Trev Blayne’s face came into focus.

  “You are late,” Kalon said, his tone flat.

  “No, you are early,” Trev replied, somewhat amused.

  They both chuckled and firmly shook hands. Trev shot me a friendly smile. I returned it, still staying close to the wall, as I realized that my knees had softened from what had to have been an almost-kiss. Since my combat anticipation had already faded away, I was left with the aftermath of the closeness between Kalon and I. It was an intense thing to get over.

  “What news do you bring?” I asked.

  “I made it. The Darklings have accepted me as an apprentice,” Trev said. “I passed the first tests, and… well, they call them conversations, but they’re like mild torture sessions, really.”

  “Torture?” Kalon replied, his eyebrows arched in surprise. “What kind of torture?”

  “Oh, they deprive you of blood and your senses. They taunt you. They poke and prod and even beat the daylights out of you, while you’re handcuffed and blindfolded,” Trev muttered. “It’s a way for them to test your resolve, apparently. Naturally, I aced it. They failed to break me, so… here I am, about to meet one of the Scholars. That’s what they call their ringleaders. Scholars. It’s the last stage of my induction.”

  Kalon and I exchanged excited glances. “When are you meeting this Scholar?” I asked, my pulse already racing, as I made plans to follow Trev using my invisibility potion. Once I had the identity of at least one of the ringleaders, I’d be one step closer to solving Nethissis’s murder and maybe even preventing more attacks on Valaine.

  “Tonight. In about an hour,” Trev said. “It will be somewhere in the palace. They’ve asked me to wait in the garden, near the fountain.” His expression shifted into one of concern as he looked at us. “You two had better not follow me. I’ll be in touch again after I meet with the Scholar. I can’t risk any of the Darklings spotting a tail on me. I only told you where I’m meeting the others because I trust you. Okay?”

  Kalon nodded. “Absolutely. It’s your operation, Trev. I’m not going to interfere until you give me the green light. I’m sure Esme feels the same way.”

  He gave me a look that suggested quite the opposite, as if he already knew what I was planning. But he couldn’t have known, since I’d kept the invisibility gimmick to myself. Nevertheless, I offered a smile. “I most certainly do,” I said, and took out a small lead medallion with Druid inscriptions, which I’d borrowed from Draven prior to leaving The Shade. “But I want you to hold on to this, Trev. It’s a little bit of magic. Break it in half if you’re in trouble, and I will know where to find you, okay?”

  Trev took the medallion and turned it over several times. It was the size of his thumbnail, with a small hole at the edge for a string to fit through. “What is it, exactly?”

  “In case of an emergency, once it’s broken, it acts as a tracker,” I said, showing him another medallion, the other’s twin. “This one will burn hot if you activate yours, and I will know where to find you. It will change color as I get closer to you.”

  “Thank you, Esme, that’s really thoughtful,” Trev replied, smiling.

  “You sure love having tricks up your sleeves,” Kalon observed, his eyes glimmering with curiosity as he looked at the medallion, which Trev stuffed inside a hidden chest pocket.

  “Give me a day, tops, and I shall have more news,” the former Rimian said.

  Kalon and I watched as Trev put his hood back on and walked away into the night, vanishing like a shadow in the far-end darkness of the alleyway. There were multiple access routes into the palace, but the most discreet ones led through the northern neighborhoods surrounding the magnificent structure, which was now illuminated from within, amber lights flickering in almost every window.

  Once we were alone again, I knew I only had half an hour, tops, before I would lose Trev. I’d lied about the medallion, of course. My copy got hot whenever it was around Trev’s, and now it was getting colder as he got farther away. I needed to lose Kalon first.

  “Let’s head back,” I said, planning to jet right out as soon as he was gone. “I’m tired. I need some sleep.”

  “I’ll walk you to your room,” Kalon replied.

  I gave him a strained smile. “That’s most kind. Thank you.”

  I kept a rapid and steady pace as we walked toward the palace, leaving the alleyway behind. My nerves were already itching, the medallion hidden in my fist and getting colder with every minute that went by. There was bound to be heat again, once Trev came into the palace garden.

  “You seem to be in a rush,” Kalon was quick to remark.

  “I’m honestly exhausted,” I replied, staring straight ahead. “I didn’t even realize it until earlier. I just can’t wait to land in the bed and not leave it until the morning.”

  Kalon didn’t reply, but he nodded slowly. I figured it was enough. Lying to him was not something I enjoyed, but the both of us following Trev around, even in invisible magic, felt like too much of a stretch, especially since Trev had warned us against it.

  On my own, I could move faster. My stealth was an advantage I was more than willing to use, especially if it would get me closer to the Darklings. I trusted Trev, but not as much as I’d let on. He was still a freshly made Aeternae, a novice. I simply couldn’t leave the whole mission in his hands, no matter how capable said hands were.

  I wanted results, and I would stop at nothing to get them.

/>   Esme

  An hour later, I was invisible, waiting close to Trev by the fountain in the palace garden. I’d put on my red lens glasses, too, just in case. The team knew about what I was planning, and I had promised to be in touch via Telluris as soon as I had something—the red lenses were in case Tristan decided to get all brotherly and follow me around. I’d warned him not to, but disregarding family requests was deeply embedded in our DNA.

  Fortunately, there was no sign of Tristan anywhere. Hopefully, there wouldn’t be, either. I needed him to stay around Valaine and to keep Kalon busy in case he came sniffing around my room. My paranoia was turned up to eleven at this point.

  The night sky was clear, the haze thinning to reveal a sea of twinkling stars again. The moon cast its milky light across the garden, dressing everything in pearl dust. The water gushing from the fountain resembled a playful stream of liquid diamonds, capturing and reflecting light in an endless dance around it.

  I would’ve taken this peace and quiet for an eternity, but there was no chance in hell that things would end this way here. Trev kept to the shadows, for the most part, since there were still palace guards and night shift gardeners occasionally walking around.

  Eventually, two gold soldiers came up the main alley, watching Trev intently. For a moment, I worried they might ask him questions… until one of them raised a hand and revealed the black-and-white thread around his wrist. My stomach sank. These two were Darklings, currently working in the palace. How many more were there? How many had slipped past Corbin’s interviews and raids?

  “Trev Blayne?” the first guard asked, his voice low.

  “Yes.”

  “Show us your sign,” the guard replied. Trev brought his hand up, showing off his own black-and-white leather strings, and the gold soldiers nodded their acceptance. “Come with us. The Scholar is expecting you.”

  They turned around and headed back down the path toward the palace, and Trev followed. I stayed close, careful of where I stepped so as not to make any noise. My nerves were stretched to a maximum, but this was it. This was as close as I would ever get to the upper ranks of the Darklings. My opportunity to deliver some justice.

  The guards took us through a servants’ entrance and a couple of tight corridors. We reached a door at the end, hidden behind a wall-mounted velvet curtain, for which the guards had a key. Trev looked understandably nervous, but he kept calm along the way.

  “Thank you for accompanying me,” he said. “Will there be more trials for me?”

  “That’s up to the Scholar,” the second gold guard replied.

  We went through the door, which they made sure to lock behind them, and down a long, spiraling staircase. The deeper we went, the colder it got. The walls became black, made of dark limestone, like the floor and the steps. Once we reached the bottom, we moved through a small maze of corridors, until we reached another locked door. There was a key for this, too.

  Yet more stairs, until shivers began to trickle down my spine. The walls were wet down here, and flames barely burned in the mounted torches, but I could still see clearly. It looked like a different world altogether, the complete opposite of the opulence and stylish extravagance of the palace above.

  This was a secret dimension, in a chilling sense. Nothing but black stone and puddles of water and whispers traveling and snaking through the hallways. And we weren’t alone here. I could feel it in my bones. Whatever this place was… it wasn’t normal. Did the Lord and Lady Supreme know about this? Did they know it was being used by the Darklings? A dozen difficult questions bounced through my head, but there were no answers.

  My only shot at getting some clarity here was to keep following Trev, which I did. He was led through a series of corridors, turning left and right several times, and eventually brought before a room with a massive iron door. My blood ran cold as I noticed the symbols carved into its padlock—they seemed familiar, but I couldn’t put my finger on why. I just knew that I’d seen them somewhere outside Visio… so what were they doing here, on this particular padlock?

  The guards opened the door and motioned for Trev to go in. “This is where we leave you,” the first guard said. “We’ll see you around.”

  I backed myself against the wall so they wouldn’t bump into me as they brushed past and headed back out. Holding my breath, I looked at Trev, who stood in the open doorway with wide eyes, his lips slowly parting. Whatever he was seeing inside that room, it had shocked him.

  Moving around so I could see what he saw, I felt my breath abandoning me in a long and muted exhale. There was a long table in the middle of the room, with high-back chairs. Everything was made from the same black stone as the walls. Five Darklings were present, standing close to the chairs, but the sixth one, seated at the head of the table and eyeing Trev curiously, stunned me.

  “Zoltan Shatal,” Trev murmured, recognizing him.

  What in the world?!

  Zoltan smirked and got up, pointing at the small gold key hanging around his neck. “Scholar Shatal, to you,” he replied.

  Holy crap.

  Once again, I wondered: Did Danika and Acheron know about him? Petra? Kalon? Corbin Crimson? Did any one of the people who were so devoted to catching the Darklings even suspect that Zoltan Shatal was one of them? Were there more like him in the higher echelon of Visio’s society? If I’d been baffled before by the mere presence of this underground realm, well… I was downright blank in the head now, trying to understand what the hell was going on.

  Zoltan Shatal was a Scholar of the Darklings. It was safe to begin with that, and to wonder who else knew, among those around him. This was a huge secret to keep from everybody. What were the odds the Darklings operated down here independently and unbeknownst to anyone else?

  Whether people knew about this or not, it still terrified me.

  “Scholar Shatal,” Trev finally said. “My apologies. I’m just surprised. I’m sure you understand why.”

  “Oh, yes, it’s only natural,” Zoltan replied.

  “Thank you for the honor and the opportunity to serve the Darklings. I will do everything in my power to rise to your expectations.”

  “Welcome,” one of the Darklings said—a young Aeternae woman with amber eyes and long ginger curls framing her oval face. “We are your people now. But you will not serve us.”

  “You will be serving the Master, like the rest of us,” Zoltan added, nodding at one of the empty chairs. “Have a seat.”

  Trev didn’t hesitate. He entered the room and sat in a chair—the farthest from the Darklings and Zoltan. I would’ve kept some distance, too, if I’d been him. Moving around the room, I analyzed each of them carefully as they took their seats. Some seemed familiar. I must have met them, or at least seen them, perhaps in the palace or the Blood Arena. They all wore long black leather hoods over their courtly outfits, their gazes cold and emotionless.

  “What brought you to the Darklings, in the first place?” Zoltan asked Trev.

  “I’ve already answered that,” the former Rimian replied, his brow furrowed. “Shall I say it again?”

  “I do not need you to recite any mantra you must’ve practiced before coming into our fold,” Zoltan said, his tone clipped. “I need you to be honest. I can smell liars from a mile away.”

  I’ll bet you can’t smell an invisible vampire, though.

  There were too many people in the room, and dampness was imbued into every inch of stone here, so it was nearly impossible for my scent to stand out. As long as I kept quiet, I would be okay.

  Trev took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “Scholar Shatal, I know the Black Fever is threatening to return. I have sources inside the palace, much like most of you. One of the reasons I became an Aeternae was so I could work with you, with the Darklings, so I can enjoy eternal life without the fear of the Black Fever taking me down, eventually.”

  Zoltan smiled, his gaze never leaving Trev. A few minutes passed in deafening silence. The other Darklings stayed quiet, l
ooking at Zoltan and waiting for him to respond. The decision to let Trev into this faction rested solely with the chief councilor, the so-called Scholar, it seemed.

  “Your motives seem pure. Admirable, even,” Zoltan said. “I’d be inclined to open my arms wide as I give you access to all our secrets and knowledge. My heart wants you to become a good and honorable Darkling.”

  Honorable. What an odd choice of words for a faction that assassinated innocent people. But Zoltan’s expression shifted from lukewarm to arctic cold and deadly dark, his voice changing, thickening, as well.

  “However, I have been watching you since you joined the Red Threads,” he added. “Given that you’re friends with people of importance, I thought I should have eyes on you. Needless to say, I have not been disappointed. You’ve been doing exactly what I assumed you’d be doing. I know, Trev. I know you’re still hurting over Luna Visentis. I know you’re planning to hurt us. I know you’ve been secretly meeting with Lord Kalon Visentis and his new vampire-lady pet, Esme Vaughn. I know everything. Therefore, although my heart says yes, I cannot, in good conscience, allow you to walk out of here alive.”

  In an instant, the Darklings shot to their feet, their claws extending from beneath their leather folds, and Trev was alone against them. My heart leapt into my throat. I tried to think of a way out for him. The door was open, sure, but I doubted it would be easy for him to get out of here. Like Zoltan had just said, they had no intention of letting him leave this place alive.

  “This isn’t going to work out in your favor,” Trev said, slowly getting up and baring his fangs. His cover was blown. Hell, it had been blown since before he’d set foot in the underground. His fate had already been sealed. The purpose of tonight’s meeting had solely been to lure him down here, away from where Kalon and I might be able to help. Of course, they had no idea about my invisibility magic. “My friends know I’m here.”