A Shade of Vampire 63: A Jungle of Rogues

by Bella Forrest

  Amane stilled. Judging by the look on her face, she agreed. Regret seemed to weigh down on her shoulders, her lower lip trembling. “I was afraid. I was afraid you would all side with him,” she said. “You see, Ta’Zan had a way of turning us against one another, whenever it suited him. A rumor here, a whisper there. Enough to fuel the paranoia and to make me think that I was in the wrong, that I was being watched. And that no one would stand with me if I spoke out.”

  Samael got up, stretching his arms and legs in the process. He then chuckled softly and placed a hand on Amane’s shoulder.

  “Don’t sweat it,” he replied. “We were all too busy being ignorant, anyway. We never questioned him like you did. All we knew was how to obey and only do things that helped him. Ta’Zan. Our maker. Our so-called father. Nothing but a selfish fraud. We’ve been following the wrong leader, it seems.”

  I wondered what Douma thought of all this. One look at her, and I realized she was as surprised as Leah, Samael, and Rasmus. The moment she saw me looking at her, though, she looked away, not wanting me to see her reaction. She was still trying to keep us at bay, but I had a feeling she would soon be willing to listen and to consider the possibility that Ta’Zan’s notion of perfection was just his, and not universally applicable. This was definitely the first time she was hearing about Amane’s pleas to Ta’Zan regarding their reproductive rights, and, as much as she tried to hide it, I could tell she wasn’t happy.

  “Listen, if it’s any consolation, you can always count on us, provided we live through this,” Rose said. “If you need a new home, if you want to have a family and friends, we’ll help. If we manage to stop Ta’Zan, Strava will be all yours, presumably to share with the surviving Perfects. Alternatively, any of you will be welcome to come back to Eritopia, Neraka, or The Shade, and live among our people. Your abilities and skills would be an extremely valuable addition to GASP.”

  “What’s GASP?” Samael asked.

  “It’s an organization we established some decades back, meant to protect and nurture supernaturals. It stands for “Global Agency for Supernatural Protection” because it started in our world, first, but then we expanded. First to Eritopia, then Neraka. We help broker peace between different nations. We have helped multiple planets rebuild their homes and government structures after centuries of bloody wars. We support all creatures who wish to live a free and happy life,” Rose replied.

  “Sounds like a dream,” Leah mumbled.

  “We work hard to make our dreams come true,” Ben quipped. “It’s never easy, but it’s a million times better than mindless violence and forcing our ideas on others. And I stand by what Rose just said. I’m sure our parents will agree, too. You would always be welcome in GASP. There are many of us from different species and corners of the universe, and we all get along.”

  “Again, sounds like a dream.” Leah chuckled, then grew serious. “But I’m okay with doing whatever it takes to make it real here, too.”

  “That makes three of us,” Rasmus added, smiling.

  Ta’Zan had hurt them in ways they never would’ve been able to fix. But we’d just given them something better and far more important to fight for. We had Faulty allies on our side now, because we’d managed to make them envision a better world—like our Shade, where everyone simply got along and where we stood up for what was right.

  If we succeeded in stopping Ta’Zan, they would have the opportunity to build better lives for themselves, to live freely, and to thrive like they all wanted. However, we had to take Ta’Zan out first, by any means necessary. And it was damned good to see they were with us.

  Our next step was to find Raphael, the only Perfect to have been rejected by Ta’Zan. Provided we survived that future encounter and got him on our side, we were going to finally have a decent advantage, a better chance at surviving and at stopping this nightmare from unraveling any further, without having to destroy the planet.

  The better I got to know the Faulties, the more I actually liked them.

  Derek

  Several hours passed as we were left on our own again inside the diamond dome. Nightfall covered the sky above in dark shades of indigo, while the moon cast its shimmering blue light through the hall. The diamond sheets broke the moonglow into billions of colors, offering a breathtaking visual spectacle—a way to make our capture seem less gloomy.

  Claudia was fully recovered from the shock collar and her encounter with Abaddon. However, she was extremely grumpy, which caused her to generate an average of five curse words per minute, muttered under her breath whenever she remembered what Abaddon had said. If I were in her shoes, I would’ve felt the same way. Hell, I, too, had tried to hit Ta’Zan when I saw what he’d done to our fleet. I’d paid a similar price.

  I knew the pain and the frustration brought by the inability to do anything against these creatures. But I also knew that it wasn’t enough to keep us down. We always got up. We kept going, no matter what.

  “How are you doing?” Sofia asked Claudia, after a long period of absolute silence.

  The other prisoners were slowly drifting to sleep, huddled in their beds. Some were still wiping tears, struggling to get some rest. The diamond dome’s base was lined with several rows of beds, leaving the central area clear and big enough to hold all of us without packing us up like sardines.

  Claudia offered a scoff in return, lying in her bed, which was close to ours. “Just peachy.”

  Yuri was sitting on the ground, his head close to hers, and was holding her hand in his.

  “Give her a few more hours,” he said. “Takes a while for the ego bruises to heal.”

  Claudia groaned, then turned over on her other side, pulling her hand back. The gesture made Yuri smile. Knowing them well, I wasn’t worried. This was just Claudia in a bad mood.

  “Abaddon is going after our kids,” I said. “I admit I’m scared.”

  Sofia was lying in bed, glued to my body, with her arms wrapped around my waist. She raised her head so she could look at me. “I’m scared, too,” she murmured. “But Ben and Rose are fierce, darling. You know that. Not to mention the others.”

  “Don’t let the idea of Abaddon scare you,” Lucas interjected from his bed. Marion had already fallen asleep in his arms. I could hear her slow heartbeat. “Just because he’s going after them doesn’t mean he’ll succeed in doing anything. He’s a loose cannon, and our kids out there have managed to elude the Perfects before.”

  “On top of that, you heard Isda. They’re making new friends.” Xavier chuckled softly.

  Vivienne let out a long and tortured sigh and slowly opened her eyes. Xavier frowned, holding her close as they lay in their bed—a single and narrow one, like the others, but it worked. It didn’t matter where we slept, as long as we could be close to our soulmates, after all. I did yearn for our king-size canopy bed from The Shade, though.

  “You’re awake,” Xavier whispered. “Are you okay, babe?”

  Vivienne shook her head slowly. “I think… I think I had a vision,” she replied, her voice trembling.

  Both Sofia and I got up instantly. My heart jumped, as I realized the implications of Vivienne’s statement. It had been a while since she’d had a vision. Many years, to be precise. She didn’t have much control over them before, anyway. They were never frequent or particularly clear. Most of the time, we’d had to guess their meaning.

  But, given our circumstances, a vision from Vivienne could provide precious information.

  Xavier gently pulled her long black hair back, clearing her face and neck, which were covered in a sheet of sweat. Her violet-blue eyes found mine as she took deep breaths and found her words.

  “Are you sure?” I asked her. I didn’t want to get my hopes up too high.

  She nodded. “It wasn’t a dream. It felt very different, Derek. Like in the old days… Like my brain was on fire.”

  “What?” I blurted out, then shot to my feet and reached her side, while Xavier helped her sit up. “What did you
see?”

  “Destruction like nothing I’ve ever witnessed before,” she replied. I could see the fear in her eyes. It sent chills down my spine.

  “Caused by Ta’Zan and the Perfects?” I asked.

  “No. They didn’t stand a chance,” she said.

  “You saw them?”

  “I saw everyone, Derek. Each and every person we know and have ever met. Including Ta’Zan and the Perfects. You. Me. Lucas. Everyone. We were on this seemingly endless platform made of metal and plastic. The floor looked like a circuit of sorts. Lights were flashing here and there. I felt the hum in my feet.”

  “We were all there, on that one platform?” I replied.

  Vivienne nodded. “It was weird. We were just standing there, staring up at the black emptiness of the cosmos. We were floating through space, basically. Then, out of the blue, all hell broke loose. Everything warped around us, and we were… Ugh, how do I say this in a way that makes sense?” she murmured, pressing her index and middle fingers against her temples. “A planet swallowed us all, basically.”

  A moment passed in awkward silence. “Yeah, that didn’t make as much sense as you would’ve wanted, Viv,” Corrine replied. She and Ibrahim were in the bed next to Xavier and Vivienne, both sitting on the edge and watching her with renewed interest. Neither had said much since we’d been brought to the dome, but I figured it had to do with their state of mind. Corrine wasn’t the type to talk just for the sake of talking, anyway.

  “I know,” Vivienne replied. “But it’s what happened. Earth, lots of dirt and stone and minerals… Oil and water… Rivers of lava and entire oceans… Mountains and forests… Beaches and orchard hills… they all came together in dazzling layers. One after another, they wrapped over us. They crushed us. Water, earth, fire… even winds rammed into us at gale force. I felt like I was being squished, like a helpless little bug. And the worst part is that not one of us said a thing. We just stood there and took it. We accepted our demise without so much as a peep.”

  “What else did you see?” Lucas then asked, his brows pulled into a dark frown.

  “That was it,” Vivienne said. “Just destruction at the hands of… nature, I guess? Everything happened quite fast. I’ll try to remember more, but it was brutal. Like nothing I’ve ever seen before.”

  Lucas looked at me. “It sounds a lot like a dream I’ve been having since we got here,” he breathed. “Mind you, not a vision, like Vivienne. A dream.”

  My instincts flared. A sense of alarm gripped my muscles and pushed me into overdrive. I could feel panic and fear seeping into my bones, but I refused to give in. I took deep breaths and shifted my focus to Lucas, instead.

  “A planet swallowed you, too?” I asked.

  “Sort of,” he said. “I didn’t see as much as Vivienne, though. I only remember flailing through a constant avalanche of earth, snow, entire forests, and bedrocks. It was like the whole world was a clothes dryer, and I’d been thrown in. I kept tossing and falling, over and over, while everything came at me. I always wake up once my mouth is filled with dirt.”

  “So, yours is somewhat similar, but a dream,” Vivienne concluded.

  “Yes. But the devastation that you described? I saw it. All of it,” Lucas replied.

  “Holy moly!” Aiden croaked, then discreetly slipped out of bed, where he left Kailyn sleeping. “Kailyn had a similar experience last night. We didn’t think much of it. We blamed it on stress, given the obviously dire circumstances, but to hear you and Viv describe it… Kailyn dreamed it, too. It was like a natural apocalypse of sorts.”

  “That’s extra weird,” Claudia grumbled, sitting up and frowning. “Three of you having the same dream, that is.”

  “Mine was definitely a vision,” Vivienne replied. “It was different. It felt different.”

  “Okay, but clearly related,” Corrine interjected. She looked at Ibrahim, who gave her a faint nod, before she set her sights on me. “Derek, it has to be the Hermessi. They’re alive and well, and probably getting stronger.”

  “The elemental spirits? How’d you reach that conclusion?” I asked, slightly confused.

  “Lucas and Kailyn have only one thing in common. They’re fae. Connected to the elements,” Corrine explained. “I can’t make sense of why Vivienne is having visions related to them, but it’s connected, for sure. Nothing in this world and at this point in time is random. Nothing ever was for us, remember? It was all connected somehow.”

  “Quite the holistic approach, but I agree,” Ibrahim added. “We’ve talked about this before. After Harper came back from Neraka and talked about the Hermessi, the faith was reignited back on the fae stars. I’m thinking that the more people believe in the Hermessi, the stronger these entities become, to the point where more of them are able to reach out, albeit only through dreams and visions.”

  “The Hermessi are all over the universe. They’re pure energy, broken into their four basic categories. Fire, water, air, and earth,” Corrine said. “What Viv described in her vision, along with the dreams of our Shadian fae… it adds up! This could very well be the Hermessi sending us some kind of message, maybe. Or simply trying to reach out. Either way, it’s worth exploring!”

  Lucas groaned, rubbing the back of his neck. “Ugh. This is getting complicated. Why are we dealing with the Hermessi now? And why the gloomy dreams? I don’t get it.”

  Corrine smirked. “Lucas, remember how we kept saying that what Ta’Zan is doing is unnatural? That it goes against everything in this universe? That his desire to destroy entire civilizations to get to the top of the food chain is totally insane?”

  “Of course,” he replied. “My feelings haven’t changed.”

  “Well, think about it this way. Harper was able to defeat Shaytan because of a Hermessi. Come on, man, we talked about this. Be smart!” Corrine said, somewhat amused.

  “Oh, damn!” Lucas managed, his eyes nearly popping out. “If we establish a link with the Hermessi—”

  “We could get them to help us against Ta’Zan,” I finished his sentence, equally enlightened. “Even Ta’Zan can’t go against nature itself. But the Hermessi will need some more faith, for them to be effective. I think.”

  Corrine pointed at all the prisoners in the dome. “We can start with these guys, I suppose.”

  “Is no one worried about the catastrophic implications of these dreams and visions?” Vivienne asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “I don’t think we can afford to concern ourselves with that, right now. I say we take it one disaster at a time, starting with the one we’re already neck-deep in,” I said.

  One of the double doors opened on the other side of the dome. Despite the darkness around us, I recognized Amal as she quietly snuck inside. Looking around, she was careful to stay out of the Perfects’ sight. The guards were still patrolling the dome on the outside, sticking to their usual rounds.

  Our Hermessi-related conversation suddenly took a back seat, as we all stilled, watching Amal and her cat-like moves. She was light on her feet, and she was headed toward me. Her bright orange eyes were fixed on me.

  This was completely unexpected, and a part of me dared to hope that she’d come to help us, somehow. Based on her movements, she was going to great lengths to get closer to us, undetected.

  “Everybody stay quiet,” I whispered. “We’ve got company.”

  Derek

  I didn’t say a word until Amal reached me.

  Her eyes darted around, nervously, as she tried to speak. She was having trouble finding her words, from what I could tell. Her heartrate was extremely high, her blood rushing through her veins. She’d pulled her white hair back in a bun and covered herself in a dark gray silken robe. It helped her stand out less than usual.

  “Amal,” I murmured. “What brings you here?”

  “I’m already regretting this,” she whispered. “But it’s too late. I’m here.”

  “You’re here to do what, exactly? Change a bandage?” Lucas said.

&nbs
p; Amal shushed him. “Keep your voice down. If I’m caught here, I’ll get in trouble.”

  “Why are you here?” I asked her.

  She sighed. “You have questions, I’m sure. And Isda is really not well-equipped to answer them. I figured you’d want to know more about what’s going on, especially where Abaddon and your people outside are concerned.”

  “Your sister is with them, right?” I replied.

  She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. It wasn’t an easy subject for her. “Amane. Yes. Or so it seems,” she said.

  “What’s going on out there, Amal?” Sofia asked. “What can you tell us?”

  “I shouldn’t tell you anything,” she replied dryly.

  “It’s not like we can do anything about it,” I retorted, mirroring her pose. “We’re stuck here. The collars keep us in check. We’re useless. But you’re right to come here. We deserve to know what’s going on, at least.”

  “Father says you shouldn’t know, since false hope will later hurt you,” Amal said. “No one knows I’m here, by the way. So I’d appreciate it if we kept this to ourselves.”

  “I promise,” I muttered.

  “I’m honestly surprised to see your people still out there,” she replied. “I’ve checked the reports. They’ve eluded four different Perfect attacks, and trust me, Araquiel alone is nearly impossible to defeat. They’ve disabled him twice now, and took Douma, one of his crew, as their prisoner. They’ve teamed up with my sister and another rogue Faulty. But we don’t know what they’re planning to do next.”

  “What about Abaddon?” I asked.

  “Oh, he’s trouble. I’m afraid your kids’ luck will run out soon. Abaddon may be evil and volatile and highly unstable, but he’s also one of the most cunning and most resourceful hunters that Father has ever created. No one tracks prey like Abaddon,” Amal explained. “Granted, he’s not the sharpest tool in the shed, but he’s effective. He gets things done, and, right now, Father wants your children and the others on their team. The only thing that works in their favor is that he wants them alive. He’s impressed by how they’ve succeeded in staying free and alive so far.”