A Shade of Vampire 66: An Edge of Malice

by Bella Forrest

  “How?! She’s completely out of it!” Zeriel replied, utterly befuddled, like the rest of us.

  “It’s her connection to the elements. It’s glitching, in a way,” the old fae explained. “It’s rare, but this… this is definitely her.”

  Lightning struck on the other side of the lagoon. The thunderous bang nearly pierced our eardrums. The waters grew and angrily smacked against the shore, foaming and bubbling. The air became hot and almost unbreathable, as the storm continued to rage on around us.

  “What do we do? We have to do something!” Zeriel snapped. “We can’t just sit here and hold her down and watch her die!”

  The Tritone king was beside himself, and I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. Hell, I could definitely feel his pain. Watching someone you love suffer like this wasn’t easy. It hit you hard, like thousands of knives in your solar plexus, piercing through bone and muscle.

  But there wasn’t much we could do. Without knowing the source of the problem, we couldn’t fix the damn problem. And, with this natural disaster gradually unraveling around us, it was getting harder to focus with each minute that went by.

  “Lumi, Kale, can you do something more?” I asked. It was a shot in the dark, since they clearly would’ve tried something, if they had it.

  Lumi shook her head. “A coma might keep her heart from snapping. But it won’t guarantee a resolution. We may not find what’s wrong.”

  “But it will stop her from dying, right?!” Zeriel asked, the color gone from his face.

  “I think so,” Lumi replied.

  “Do it then. Whatever it takes!” Zeriel snarled.

  “Dude, we’re all trying to help here. Keep it together,” Taeral advised him.

  But the Tritone king couldn’t be bothered. He was too worried about Vesta, and I knew then that he’d fallen in love with her so deeply, that if Vesta died, a part of him would die, too. I recognized that look in his eyes. I’d seen it on myself. I’d almost lost River before. I understood the dread, the pain.

  Bogdana put her hands out, closing her eyes as she tried to temper the elements. Whatever Vesta was subconsciously doing, the old fae was trying to undo, inserting her own fae powers into the mix to counteract Vesta’s. It seemed to take its toll on Bogdana, who began to wobble and cough.

  “Good grief, this girl is strong,” Bogdana croaked.

  “Keep doing what you’re doing!” I said, too busy trying to hold a surprisingly strong Vesta down.

  Taeral joined the old fae and helped her, putting in his own elemental connection to help. It killed the fires that had begun eating away at the jungle on the other side—had they done nothing, the blaze would’ve spread to our side, putting us all in danger.

  “Hold on! Look,” Bogdana said, pointing at Vesta.

  Our fae’s eyes glowed blue. Her lids closed, and she stilled, her muscles finally relaxing. We all looked at each other, as if hoping that one of us might have an answer.

  Unexpectedly, the storm dissipated. The ground stopped shaking. The skies cleared, and the twinkling and tranquil night came back in the blink of an eye. Silence fell over the lagoon. The night moved forward with its dark skies and glowing sapphire moon. It was almost as if nothing had happened at all, though the lagoon did bear new scars. Dozens of trees were charred. Glass tentacles twisted outward from the sand where lightning had struck. The smell of burnt wood tickled our nostrils.

  But whatever Vesta was going through, it seemed to have subsided. Her convulsions had stopped, but she wasn’t waking up.

  Zeriel caressed her face, gently wiping the water and the sweat from her forehead and cheeks. Whatever this was, it had to be related to the Hermessi. All those qualified to assist on the matter were with us, but none knew how to fix it or how to get Vesta back.

  “All we can do right now is wait,” I said, miserable with my own assessment.

  “I’ll try to reach out to the Hermessi, if that’s okay,” Bogdana replied. “They might answer. They might tell us what’s wrong with her.”

  Lumi nodded, letting a deep sigh roll out of her chest as she made herself comfortable by Vesta’s side. She and Kailani stayed close, keeping one hand on the fae at all times as they continued to whisper various healing spells. What she had wasn’t exactly physical, so the potions we carried with us had no effect on her condition.

  No, this had to be connected to the elements.

  “We’ll wait,” Zeriel muttered, his gaze fixed on Vesta. “You do whatever you need to do, until we get her back.”

  “We will, Tritone king,” I replied. “Sooner or later, we’ll get her back.” I rested a hand on Zeriel’s shoulder, while trying to believe my own words.

  Vesta

  From nothingness, I gradually became everything.

  My body was gone, but my consciousness persisted, permeating through everything, as if I were air, water, earth, and fire all at once. I could see and hear everything loudly, at first—voices, chirps and roars, squeals and mating calls, trees breaking, rivers flowing, oceans crashing against the shore, and the wind blowing through the woods.

  It gradually died down, devolving to a soft background noise, much like my existence.

  I was a fly on the wall of the cosmos.

  Instinctively, I followed the flow of water. The stream took me everywhere on Strava—from the deepest mountain caves to the lush deltas of the southern hemisphere. I followed it through the ocean, darting from island to island until I reached a strip of thin ice. For a moment there, I thought it had been made by Nevis. It twinkled beautifully under the moonlight, but it didn’t carry that specific Dhaxanian shimmer.

  The water climbed on top, droplets moving around and merging with one another, until one large blob was created. It seemed to turn and twist, as if looking for someone. Or something.

  After a while, a tree pierced through the ice and blossomed on the surface, its branches stretching outward. Green leaves popped open, crowning the beautiful white flowers. It made me feel as though spring was coming, but I’d never seen a tree bloom in the middle of the night.

  The sight before me became even stranger, as a tornado cut across the turquoise ocean water and anchored itself to this sheet of ice. It kept twisting, as if plugged in, constantly moving the air in an unnatural fashion.

  I didn’t have a body, but I could’ve sworn I’d just felt my stomach churn, as I realized what I was looking at. What I was witnessing.

  Lightning struck out of nowhere, ripping a hole in the ice. From inside, fire began to burn and crackle. Everybody’s here, now.

  Deep down, I knew. These were the four elements. The Hermessi. Fire, water, air, and earth, gathering on a remote patch of ice in the middle of the ocean. Looking up, I couldn’t tell exactly where we were. I hadn’t learned the constellations yet, and I couldn’t use the stars to navigate or to ascertain my position. I was somewhere. At least I wasn’t everywhere, anymore.

  This moment made more sense than anything else I’d witnessed before.

  The fire blazed with anger. The tree trembled, losing some of its blossoms. The tornado swelled, as if threatening the other elements. Water, however, seemed calm, its surface rippling here and there. Voices emerged from the silence. At first, they were mere whispers that didn’t make sense.

  Whether I was really there, or I was simply dreaming, it didn’t matter anymore. Nothing was purely coincidental on Strava, and everything I saw involving the Hermessi made sense, one way or another. I belonged here, in this blink of an eye, where the natural elements converged and seemed to have a conversation.

  Before I knew it, I was listening in. I could understand what they were saying.

  “We must do something,” water said. Aya, as we knew her in the real world, was the one who pushed the others toward a course of action, from what I could tell. “They’re out of control. They’re polluting my waters. They’re killing our animals.”

  “There are too many of them,” earth replied. The Hermessi’s voices echoed
within me. The tree, the water blob, the flame, and the tornado did not have mouths to speak, but I could definitely hear them. “We’re not made for such a sudden growth. They’ve become toxic and aggressive.”

  “Let them destroy themselves,” fire grumbled. “We have no business mingling with these creatures. You saw them. You know how difficult they are to destroy.”

  “We are the life of this planet, aren’t we?” the tornado asked. “We should have a say in what’s happening in the world we’ve built.”

  From what I could tell, the fire Hermessi was the unconvinced one. Water led the way toward an alliance, followed by earth and even air. They’d yet to agree on something, but I was clearly listening in on an important conversation. How I’d gotten here, I had no idea. The last thing I remembered was Zeriel’s lips on mine.

  “We must not meddle!” fire shouted, the flames bursting and licking at the night sky. It was angry. The water Hermessi, however, seemed unaffected.

  “For how long will we let them trample our creation? Until it’s too late for us to do anything? You’ve seen the outsiders. You know what they can do. They reached out to us. They know we exist. They believe in us!” water said.

  “We are useless,” fire replied. “We don’t have the strength we once had.”

  “They can bring us fae. As many as we want,” water retorted.

  “Conduits?” air chimed in, clearly interested. My heart filled with hope. Maybe we could get them to help us, after all.

  “Yes!” water said.

  “All the fae bodies we want…” fire replied, sounding more interested by the minute. “This could change everything. You should’ve led with that, Aya.”

  “We must stop the Perfects!” earth cut in, slightly irritated. “I’ve had enough. I cannot keep up with them, and they have no respect for what they take from me. Fire and air might not care as much, but earth and water are the first to suffer when certain creatures turn from wonders to pests.”

  “And we’ve got an infection growing,” water replied. “The outsiders can defeat them, but they need our help. They will provide us with the fae bodies. All we have to do is use them, lend them our power, and make ourselves known.”

  “This could be our chance to come back into the world’s consciousness,” air said. “This might be the way to our awakening. The fire star is burning brighter with faith. The water and earth stars are thriving, now, too. The planets are rejuvenating, the Hermessi growing in strength, while we linger here, suffering at the hands of Perfects. I must say, we can do better.”

  Silence settled for a moment. I watched the elements linger on top of the ice, in the middle of this strange ocean.

  “They’re expecting an answer,” water spoke up.

  “Who?” fire asked.

  “The outsiders. They’re struggling. I feel pity for them,” water replied.

  I had to agree. I felt pity for us, too.

  “What do we have to lose?” earth asked. “We’re letting these vermin hurt us, and for what? They don’t even belong here. They’re made in vials, inside Ta’Zan’s laboratory. He’s taken creatures from different worlds, manipulating their threads of life to weave these Perfects. He’s making too many of them. They’re expanding at a toxic rate.”

  “They’re killing my pashmiri,” water added. “They’re soiling my oceans with their blood.”

  “Their industrial chimneys make me sick,” air replied. “I agree. It’s time we put an end to them.”

  “Tell the outsiders we’ll help,” fire concluded. “Bring us as many fae bodies as you can. We’ll need them.”

  “I will,” water said. “I’ll tell them.”

  Then, it seemed to turn again, as if looking right at me, though I wasn’t really there. Or was I? It could definitely see me. This was Aya’s way of telling me that the Hermessi were going to help.

  Suddenly, I felt wet. Looking down, I noticed my body. It was all back, every limb, every bone and inch of flesh and skin. The water blob slipped into the ocean, then rushed up my nose. I was drowning again, and I hated it so much.

  Don’t fight it.

  Oh, I recognized that voice. Aya.

  She’d wrapped herself around my head, and she was currently filling my lungs with water. Drowning was, by far, the scariest thing I’d ever been through—though the irony of it didn’t escape me.

  Don’t fight it, Vesta.

  How could I not fight it?! She was drowning me!

  I wanted you to see this. I wanted you to see what they’re like.

  She made it sound as if she’d shown me a congregation of Ta’Zan’s, not the Stravian Hermessi. I was genuinely confused. After all, they’d just said yes. They’d agreed to help us.

  You’ve missed the point, Vesta. But I’m sure you’ll get it later.

  What was she talking about? I’d heard it all. They were reluctant to get involved, but, in the end, they did. All we had to do was bring the fae over, for the Hermessi to use as conduits, to amplify their powers and truly cripple Ta’Zan and the Perfects. We needed to deliver a blow devastating enough for us to get the Perfects under control. With a combination of Hermessi intervention and Amane’s mass memory wiper, we could certainly accomplish something.

  Once we awaken, Vesta, once we return, we will not slink back into oblivion, Aya said. This is a long-term alliance we’re building. Do not take it lightly.

  I wasn’t going to, but Aya was speaking in extremely vague terms, making it difficult for me to follow. I was too happy to hear that the Hermessi wanted to help. It was now up to us to get the fae over to Strava.

  It hit me, then. Like me, the fae were going to be possessed. Some would drown. Others would suffocate. Many would burn. Or, at least, they would feel like their end was nigh, as the Hermessi took over their bodies, like Aya had done to mine.

  I didn’t even realize how fast I was shooting through the water. I was too busy trying to breathe again, flailing and struggling to regain my consciousness. This wasn’t my palpable reality. This was a dream, or a vision… some kind of connection with Aya.

  Don’t fight it, Vesta. It will happen, whether you like it or not.

  What exactly was going to happen, though?

  You’ll become me. And I will become you.

  Oh, this was getting officially creepy now. I needed to get out, as soon as possible.

  Everything went black, and I ceased existing altogether. I’d simply disintegrated, and it wasn’t even the first time. Something told me it wasn’t going to be the last, either.

  As my eyes peeled open, I found Zeriel holding me in his arms, slowly swaying back and forth. His face lit up, his eyes twinkling with joy and relief when he saw me wake up. I grunted from the physical pain. My entire body hurt, as if I’d been running an endless marathon, and my muscles had eventually given out.

  “Vesta… you’re okay,” Zeriel whispered.

  I nodded slowly. “I think so. I had the weirdest… dream. I think it was a dream,” I managed.

  “Welcome back.” Ben’s voice made me turn my head.

  The whole team was sitting next to me, their shoulders weighed down by concern.

  “Boy, have I got a story to tell you!” I croaked.

  “I don’t care right now. Just… shut up!” Zeriel shot back, then tightened his embrace and kissed me deeply.

  The world dissolved around me again—a recurring effect whenever Zeriel kissed me, it seemed. But I could feel his grief. His anguish. Something must’ve happened to me to bring him to such a state. I must’ve passed out, or worse, to make him look so pale, so relieved to see me awake.

  The water Hermessi had done something to me. She’d dragged me out of my body, and she’d made me witness an important conversation between the natural elements. But that could wait another minute or two.

  For now, I welcomed Zeriel’s warm embrace and the softness of his lips. It was a much-needed reward for what I’d just been through.

  Elonora

  Wit
h Ta’Zan, Cassiel, and a bunch of Perfect guards just feet away, our options were pretty clear: get out, or get caught. I motioned for Raphael and Nevis to move back, forcing the others in our group to do the same.

  “I don’t want another Araquiel episode,” Ta’Zan warned Cassiel. “If you fail, you go back to the drawing board, and you know what that means.”

  Cassiel didn’t seem scared, but rather angry. Nevertheless, he gave Ta’Zan a brief nod, acknowledging the threat. “Permanent death. Yes, Father, I understand.”

  “Now go. Find the outsiders before they do something stupid,” Ta’Zan replied. “Bring Amal back.”

  That was our cue to step farther away from the group. While Ta’Zan and his guards moved south, we headed north through the main hallway. Cassiel wasn’t going to spot us anytime soon, since we were invisible, but he was going to track our scent eventually.

  Kallisto took out the last fistful of black mineral powder she had left, then discreetly scattered it behind us while there weren’t many Perfects around. No one noticed the fine dust settling on the diamond floor, because of the many light reflections and colors shooting across the hallway.

  “We have to get Douma,” Dmitri whispered. “I know Ta’Zan looking for us is a big problem, but we’re here. We should at least try.”

  “Do we know where they’re keeping her?” Nevis asked.

  Raphael nodded. “I think I know. There’s a training hall where she might be, if she got her memories back. It’s her favorite part in this entire colosseum.”

  “What if she’s still, you know, our Douma?” Dmitri replied.

  “We’d have to look deeper in the barracks on the west side,” Athos suggested.

  The dread festering inside Dmitri got to me, to the point where my heart ached. We had to get out of here, but, then again, we could try to rescue Douma. If it proved to be too difficult or risky, we had no choice but to withdraw. But what kind of people were we, if we let Ta’Zan scare us away like this?

  “Let’s try that training hall, first,” I murmured.