A Shade of Vampire 63: A Jungle of Rogues

by Bella Forrest

  “You and me both, babe,” Sofia replied gently. “I understand the concept of ‘stir crazy’ now better than ever.”

  “Yeah, you’re not prison material.” Claudia chuckled from her bed, where she was resting in Yuri’s arms.

  “How are you feeling?” Sofia asked her.

  “I’m okay. My ego’s still bruised, but I doubt that’ll ever heal,” Claudia replied, then looked at Varga. “We need to find a way to get you out of here.”

  Varga exhaled. “We need to find a way to get all of us out of here.”

  “Fair enough, but if you vanish first, it won’t stir this place too much. You could find your sister and her team, maybe even help them!” Claudia insisted.

  “Grandma, you’re forgetting something,” Varga replied, pointing at his collar. “This thing won’t let me go anywhere. Besides, I wouldn’t even know where to look for Lenny, no matter how badly I need to see her again.”

  The young vampire sentry was clearly preoccupied. I couldn’t blame him, though. His sister was out there, probably worried about him, maybe even thinking he was dead. Claudia wasn’t talking gibberish, though. Ta’Zan had a connection to us, the founders’ group. He would notice one of us missing right away. But Varga, considering the presence of the other prisoners, could actually pull it off. Of course, the collar had to go, first.

  “What if we convince Amal to help us with the collar?” I asked. “It doesn’t sound like such a crazy idea. After all, Varga and the others came here to help Lenny and her group. I certainly trust him to make it out in the wilderness and find the crew,” I added, then gently squeezed Sofia’s shoulder. “Our son and daughter are out there, too. They could use all the help they can get, and we might as well try and see what happens around here if they lose a prisoner.”

  “Heck, you know what?” Lucas interjected. “Now I’m curious, too. You’re right, though—it can’t be any of us,” he said, then looked at Varga. “What do you think, kiddo? If we manage to get that collar off you, would you get out there and help Ben, Rose, Lenny, and the others?”

  Varga nodded enthusiastically. “Hell yes, I would!” he declared. “But I can’t think about it too much,” he added, frowning. “I can already feel the collar heating up.”

  He had a point. I could feel it, too. The circuit inside our collars was linked to our brainwaves, after all. It could read and interpret the signals quite accurately. Once it was alerted to a potentially hostile action, it electrocuted its wearer—as so eloquently proven earlier by Claudia, who’d managed to slit Abaddon’s throat before the collar took her down.

  As if remembering that sensation, Claudia squirmed in Yuri’s embrace, then fixed her gaze on the domed, diamond glass ceiling. “I’m gonna go ahead and think about puppies, and kittens, and baby elephants, and baby rhinos. Those are cute, too. Oh, and geckos. Geckos are funny. And raccoons, with their grubby little paws,” she said, giggling.

  “Gosh, if anyone listened to this without any context, they’d fit Claudia with a classy straightjacket,” Lucas muttered.

  “Hey, man, I’m happier to fawn over ducklings and whatever than to get my ass fried again!” Claudia retorted.

  That made us all chuckle. It was good to see Claudia still keeping her spirits up, despite everything that had happened. I also knew it wasn’t easy for her to let Varga go, but she understood the importance of giving Lenny and her team a better fighting chance, since they were on the outside. We couldn’t do much from in here, except maybe gather information and eventually get the Faulties in our corner. The latter was proving more difficult than I’d thought, but Amal was already showing some goodwill, and Jovi was close to cracking Monos, too. Isda was harder to convince.

  The dome’s double doors opened, making us all freeze. I slowly turned my head to see who had come in. My heart jumped into my throat at the sight of Ta’Zan standing in the doorway in the company of two Perfect guards.

  “Derek, what does he want?” Sofia whispered, holding me tighter.

  I gave her a reassuring smile, then gently removed myself from her embrace and stood up. “It’ll be okay, baby,” I said to her. I looked at Lucas, Xavier, and Vivienne, then the others who were still awake. “I’ll go. It’s probably me he wants, anyway.”

  Ta’Zan didn’t move from the doorway, and his gaze was fixed on me. It didn’t take a scientist to figure that one out. I took a deep breath and walked over to him, leaving my people behind. My pulse quickened, but I kept my cool and calm demeanor. I’d learned enough about Ta’Zan to understand that he appreciated a composed companion, rather than an emotional or hysterical one.

  This could be a good opportunity to gain some more intel from him, and I wasn’t going to let it slip by. Ta’Zan smiled at me. However, it was reserved and somewhat flat. It didn’t seem to come naturally for him. It sometimes felt as though he was simply mimicking our expressions to establish some conversational dynamic and empathy from us. We did tend to be more responsive with creatures who mirrored our expressions. It was in our nature.

  “I trust you’re well rested,” Ta’Zan said.

  I nodded once. “And well fed, too. Thank you,” I replied.

  “Good. Would you like to go out for a little bit? Perhaps join me on a walk?” he asked.

  It came as a surprise. I’d thought that, after my previous outburst at the sight of our ravaged fleet, Ta’Zan would’ve abandoned any idea of taking me out for walks again. I certainly wanted to get out, but, at the same time, I was worried I’d find out something else along the way—something that would make me angry enough to want to attack him again. It wasn’t going to end well for me. It never did.

  “Why?” I asked, crossing my arms.

  “Derek, I believe you’ve learned your lesson already. The collar around your neck protects me from you, but it also protects you from yourself,” Ta’Zan said. “Besides, you strike me as the kind of creature who would go crazy in an enclosure, without getting out once in a while. The more obedient you are, the greater my pleasure to take you on such walks. You could use some fresh air, I think.”

  “Why me, though? Why not the others in my group, too?” I asked.

  Ta’Zan raised an eyebrow, and I instinctively felt silly for asking such a question. “Derek, I find you more trustworthy than, say, your brother, who would love nothing more than to scalp me. I’m trying to show you the wonderful world I’m creating here. You’re more likely to understand and appreciate my work than anyone else. Then again, you’re always free to stay here, in the dome, with your wife, your siblings, and your friends. I’m fine either way,” he replied, then smiled again. This time, it made him look more playful, even mischievous, like a devilish little boy. Like Phoenix, when he figured out he could use mind control, and started pranking the humans in the Vale. “Besides, I doubt you’d miss out on an opportunity to gather some intel from your enemy.”

  I laughed lightly, relaxing my arms by my sides. Body language seemed important to Ta’Zan, too, as he carefully noticed each of my gestures and expressions. They were his cues to say and do things that would either keep me in check or anger me. My reactions mattered, from what I could tell, and he also relaxed when my arms came down to my sides.

  He motioned for me to follow him. “Come, Derek,” he said. “It’s a beautiful night outside. You should feel the air on your skin.”

  It wasn’t the air I was interested in. It was what he wanted to show me. Ta’Zan wouldn’t have bothered to come down here unless he was interested in chipping away at my morale. That usually worked when he forced me to face some unpleasant truth. Our last encounter had made me aware that an entire fleet of over eight hundred supernaturals, dragons included, was not enough to defeat his Perfects.

  Underneath the politeness and faux friendliness, Ta’Zan was asserting himself as the dominant male. He was the one with the power, the skills, the resources, and the mind to create a whole new world. As the so-called father of The Shade and leader of my crew, I was the one who was
supposed to be in awe of him and his creations. This was going to be another display of greatness from Ta’Zan.

  I could feel it in my bones. I could almost taste the excitement on the tip of my tongue. A creature’s ego could be his downfall, if I played the cards right.

  Ta’Zan may have been a genius and a fearsome, godlike creature here, on Strava, but to me he was still as predictable as a simple human. He had needs and desires, fears and dreams. He was simply acting on them. Everything around me, every Perfect and Faulty and inch of diamond glass, every tool and screen and artificial womb—it was all a manifestation of Ta’Zan’s wildest dreams.

  And he wanted to impress me. Or frighten me. Or both.

  Either way, he was right. I was dying to get some intel.

  Derek

  We walked in silence for a while as we made our way through a diamond glass passageway that connected the dome to the gigantic colosseum. I took my time to take in the surroundings—the dark, lush vegetation outside, the Perfects patrolling the dome, and the movement ahead, visible through the crystal walls.

  The bluish moon cast its peculiar light over this strange world, breaking into millions of colorful shards as it pierced through every diamond sheet. Ta’Zan watched me, quietly, as I made mental notes of Perfect guards’ positions and movements.

  “You know, Derek, I’m genuinely impressed by your people,” Ta’Zan finally said, prompting me to shift my attention back to him.

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “The group that is currently evading my Perfects out there,” he replied. “Judging by your reaction just now, I’m inclined to assume that at least one of them is close to you. Perhaps a blood relative?”

  “I thought you had everything figured out by now,” I breathed, internally pleased to realize that Amal hadn’t told Ta’Zan about Ben and Rose. That said a lot about her, as well.

  “Not everything. But it never takes long. For now, however, I’ll give you this little win. You’ve trained your people well. They’re getting help from my banished children, it seems, but still. I must offer credit where it’s due.”

  “Thank you, I guess?” I replied with a shrug.

  Ta’Zan grinned. “You like playing the fool, don’t you? You know exactly who’s in that group. They’ve been here since before the fleet came down, so chances are that any one of the new prisoners was aware of them, as well. You’ve already been briefed.”

  I nodded. “You know I’m not telling you anything.”

  “I don’t expect you to. Sooner or later, they’ll all join you, anyway. My Perfects are very good at what they do, Derek. I may not know your people’s names, but I know what they are and what they can do.”

  I looked at him again, frowning. “I take it you’re given field reports?”

  “Precisely. And, with all the specimens I’ve gathered in the dome and studied so far, I was able to identify each and every one in that group you’re so protective of, and so worried about,” he said. He had a way of getting to me, but I’d made a promise to myself to at least not let him see it. “A vampire, a vampire-sentry hybrid, a fire dragon, a Dhaxanian, a werewolf, a half-wolf hybrid, a witch, two fire fae, and a Tritone. I have similar specimens in the dome already. Except for that specific witch. According to my Perfects, this one is special. She’s using a different kind of magic, which I’ve only been partially able to counteract. Without one like her in my laboratory, I’m unable to do further testing. Don’t think that doesn’t annoy me.”

  He was talking about Kailani and her swamp witch abilities. Her presence was suddenly far more valuable than I would’ve imagined, even with the Perfects’ powers. Ta’Zan had crossed witch genes with mine and others in order to create them, yet he’d failed to figure out a way to neutralize the swamp witch magic. His words left room for interpretation, though. He was being vague on purpose.

  “But rest assured, I’m working on it. Your people won’t stay out there for too long,” he added.

  “I wouldn’t underestimate them, if I were you. I think they’ve still got a few tricks up their sleeves,” I said.

  Ta’Zan sighed. “I’m aware of that. And having Amal’s sister with them doesn’t hurt. Though that might become a double-edged blade, in the end.”

  “What do you mean? Amal has a sister?” I asked, playing the ignorant fool.

  He stared at me for a while, the corner of his mouth twitching. I instantly regretted asking him that. He’d gotten to me already, the cold bastard.

  We reached the top of the colosseum, from where we could see everything for miles and miles. Hundreds of islands stretched out across the ocean, moonlight reflections trembling on its surface. Diamond colosseums shimmered in the distance. Lights flickered inside each of these magnificent constructions. Unlike the last time I’d seen them, though, they were all quiet. The Perfects definitely weren’t nocturnal by nature. Most of them were probably resting.

  That, I figured, gave my kids a slight advantage. Hunters were much better during their natural time of the day to be awake. Rose and most of the others in her group were used to The Shade’s nocturnal atmosphere. The Perfects were more active in the daytime.

  “Aren’t you wondering what I’m going to do with the genetic samples I lifted today from your friends? You haven’t asked about it,” Ta’Zan said, changing the subject.

  Again, that was on purpose. I was now stuck doubting Amane and her intentions. The last thing my son and daughter needed was a traitor in their midst. Then again, this could all be Ta’Zan playing mind tricks. I wasn’t going to get much else from him on the topic, anyway.

  But he did ask a good question. “I assume you’ll tell me,” I replied.

  “I’ll do you one better. I’ll show you.”

  “You’re being far too kind, Ta’Zan. What’s going on?” I retorted.

  He cocked his head to the side, narrowing his eyes at me. “I think I’m finally able to fully comprehend sarcasm, as a behavioral tool,” he said. “You use it to sting or to defend yourself in conversation, most of the time. It’s usually a mask that covers your fears and insecurities. I find the whole concept… interesting. Anyway, follow me.”

  He went back down the diamond stairs, and I followed. I regretted leaving all that natural beauty behind. Despite my circumstances, I could still enjoy five minutes of that stunning view. I deserved that much, and my psyche needed it. Nevertheless, I took a quick mental picture and joined Ta’Zan on one of the upper floors of the colosseum.

  Several Perfects in white silk tunics moved up and down the grand hallway. They all looked at me with a mixture of disdain and curiosity. They’d been taught to see me as inferior, but they were also aware of the fact that, if it hadn’t been for me, they wouldn’t be alive. Or at least, that was how I pictured Ta’Zan teaching them about us, anyway.

  My stomach churned as we approached a large pair of double doors. The diamond walls were quite thick, distorting the image of its interior, but I could still make out the shapes and colors. It was a lab of some kind, with large metal equipment and instruments, white tables, and creatures moving around something placed in the middle of the room.

  “I was able to study the data that my Perfects sent back from their encounters with your people. I’ve seen them move and fight already,” Ta’Zan said, stopping in front of the doors. “I’ve collected genetic materials from some of the same species today, on top of what I already have. It’s been a long journey for me to get to this point, but I think I’ve cracked another step in the evolutionary stage.”

  I blinked several times, trying to wrap my head around what Ta’Zan was trying to say.

  I stilled when Amal’s voice reached my ears. “Father didn’t feel confident that Abaddon might succeed in his mission,” she said as she joined us. “He was right to be doubtful, it seems. Abaddon failed.”

  “It was a close call, too,” Ta’Zan replied. “You won’t hear me say this often, because it never happens, but I’m reasonable enough to
admit that I’ve made a mistake with Abaddon.”

  “Wait, what happened?” I asked, my throat closing up.

  “Your people escaped,” Amal said. “Abaddon lost control. He became a liability. Araquiel and the others tried to contain him, but, in the end, the targets ended up taking him down.”

  Ta’Zan didn’t seem happy about this, not that I could blame him. But I had a feeling he and Amal were holding something back. They weren’t telling the whole story.

  “So you’ve called Abaddon back?” I asked.

  “Not yet. I’m merciful by nature. I’ve given him one last chance before I recall him.” Ta’Zan sighed. “If I do have to recall him, however, chances are the others will have to subdue him and drag him back before he tries to kill your people again. I want them alive, now more than ever.”

  “But you let that psychopath loose!” I retorted, doing my best to keep my cool.

  My collar was beginning to heat up—the first sign that it had identified a hostile attitude on my part. There were no intentions shaping up in my head, but the collar technology seemed to work on a predictive model. The temperature change was meant as a subtle warning, and I was glad we had finally begun to notice it.

  “Like I said, that was a mistake,” Ta’Zan said. “I thought Abaddon would fear me enough to obey me and do his job. He’s the best tracker I’ve ever created, and I’m not sure I would ever be able to duplicate him.”

  “You would need Amane for that, Father,” Amal murmured.

  “Well, she isn’t here, is she?” Ta’Zan said, slightly irritated.

  Amal lowered her head for a moment, as Ta’Zan glowered at her.