“How are you feeling?” he asked, looking rather worried.
My palms rested on his chest, only a layer of thick cotton-like fabric keeping my skin from his. “I’m thankful to be alive,” I said. “Trust me, I’m really doing fine. I wish I could say the same about other people we both hold dear.”
“You mean Nethissis and Valaine.”
“And Sofia, too. She’s holding it together, but I know she has to be suffering on the inside while Derek is still held captive,” I replied.
“I don’t know how I could possibly help Valaine, so I try not to worry about it too much,” Kalon said. “I’ve found comfort in knowing she’s got the Reapers with her. They’re the best equipped to support and guide her. That being said, I still can’t believe she’s a Reaper, too.”
“Only the physical manifestation of one, as it turns out,” I muttered.
“But she’s still my friend, and I know I will do everything in my power to make sure she’s okay. I’m sure you feel the same way about Nethissis.”
“Hers is a more… complicated situation.”
“It is. But things happen, and we can’t turn back time,” Kalon said, his knuckles brushing over my cheek. “The best we can do is keep moving. Adapt. Adjust. Resist.”
“I know. Nethissis knows it, too. But it doesn’t make any of this more palatable, that’s for sure.”
Kalon grunted. “And it’s only the beginning. My instinct tells me we’re in for rougher days yet.” He didn’t have anything specifically ominous in mind, but I understood his concern. We all felt the same thing—Sofia most of all. She’d already seen so much over so many years. This was probably more like a bump in the road for her. With Derek in danger, I was certain she was suffering as much as the rest of us, but I had a feeling she’d bounce back faster.
“Let’s go downstairs. I think Kalla is waiting for us,” Kalon added. He planted another kiss on my forehead before we made our way to the ground floor.
A table had been set in the middle, close to the modest bar. Sofia, Amal, Amane, Ridan, Rose, Caleb, Hunter, and Kailani had already taken their seats. Ansel and Thayen were looking through some books at a corner table, away from the “grownups,” and I was thankful to Kalon’s brother for that. Thayen needed to be a kid for a while longer, especially in the face of so much adversity.
“Where’s Tristan?” I asked.
Soul walked in, joined by Widow, Night, Seeley, and Nethissis. “He’s outside with Unending. Morning and Phantom want to start working on our sister’s memories,” he said.
We settled in with the rest of the crew, but Nethissis remained standing, constantly moving around. She looked worried, occasionally checking the door as she waited for Lumi to return.
“Any news from Sidyan?” Sofia asked, noticing Nethissis’s silent impatience.
Seeley shook his head. “He should be in touch soon. We have a protocol in place.”
“Protocol-schmotocol,” Lumi said as she and Sidyan appeared in the middle of the wide room. Maya was nowhere to be seen. “Sidyan told you to wait for him to contact you. Stop making everything sound so well planned.”
I stifled a chuckle as Lumi grabbed a chair and joined our table.
Sidyan crossed his arms. “We’re back.”
“Had you not told us just now, I’d have thought I was losing my mind,” Soul grumbled.
“Where’s Derek?” Sofia asked, understandably alarmed.
“Yeah, about that…” Lumi’s cheeks were flushed. “He decided to stay.”
Sofia shot to her feet so fast, her chair flipped backward. “What?! What do you mean he decided to stay?”
Lumi told us everything she and Sidyan had witnessed in the imperial palace since their last communication. The more she spoke, the more afraid I felt. We’d only been scratching the surface where the Darklings were concerned. Kalon’s instinct was proving correct. There were definitely worse things ahead for us.
“So if Danika’s comfortable with Derek in her hold, he thinks she’ll tell him stuff?” Sofia gasped, trying to come to terms with her husband’s unpopular decision. “Is he being reckless? I’d have expected more from him.”
“He’s actually onto something,” Sidyan replied. “Chances are good that Corbin and the Whips were aware there might be at least one of us tailing them. If Lumi and I stuck around much longer, there’s no telling what they might’ve done. I’m not a ghost like Nethissis, but even I am vulnerable to some death magic.”
“I left Derek a signal to let me know if he needs us to come back for him,” Lumi added. “And Maya stayed behind to watch over him. But as long as you have Thayen, Danika won’t lay a hand on Derek. She doesn’t expect him or any of us to survive this, and she’s quite loose-tongued when she’s comfortable, so Derek will probably find out what that option B is once the Darklings realize Spirit isn’t coming back.”
Widow let a deep sigh pour out, as if the weight of the entire universe had been resting on his shoulders. “I shudder to even think what backup Spirit left for them.”
“We’ll have to be prepared for the worst,” Lumi said. “Which is why Derek is fine where he is for the time being. I don’t like it either,” she continued, looking at Sofia, “but right now he’s more useful to us there.”
Sofia wasn’t pleased, but she conceded. “Even after all these years, Derek still makes me question his judgment sometimes. I know I shouldn’t, but—”
“You love him, and you want him back alive and in one piece, Mom,” Rose said. “I feel the same way.”
“We all want to see Derek here with us and out of harm’s way,” I replied.
“Okay… well, let’s hope Danika tells him what we need to know,” Sofia muttered, pulling her chair back and taking a seat. “Meanwhile, what are we going to do?”
Trev took a deep breath and spread a map across the table. Its black ink lines depicted the main continent, along with its roads, rivers, and other significant geographical elements. He pointed a finger somewhere north of the Nightmare Forest.
“There’s a small town here, by the Albus River,” he said. “I know from multiple sources that it was recently occupied by Darklings. Only, unlike in Laramis, they didn’t let any of the locals live. They killed them all. Every Aeternae, Rimian, and Nalorean. Every man, woman, and child.”
“Oh, no…” Kalla murmured, horror settling on her round face. “Why would they do that?”
“Perhaps it’s retaliation for Laramis? When did they take over?” Nethissis asked, gazing at the map. Trev shrugged.
“I’m not sure. Maybe a day or two ago, tops,” he said. “I get messages in the wind from various scouts. This one came to me a couple hours ago through a flying wisp.”
“Flying wisp?” I asked.
“Just one method of passing messages around,” Trev explained. “Flying wisps are small birds that reach high speeds. They can be trained for this, and they’re very good at concealing themselves. You almost never see one unless it’s a dot in the sky.”
Kalon frowned. “Are all your sources trustworthy?”
“I hope so,” Trev replied, only half joking.
“We can’t let this stand,” I said. “How many people did they kill?”
“From what I remember, there were about a thousand people living in Dieffen,” Trev answered.
Ansel straightened his back, his attention captured by our conversation. “Wait, I’ve heard about Dieffen,” he said. “We had a Darkling cell there, but… no one ever talked about taking over the whole town! Then again, I was never privy to much information in that sense.”
“Did you ever go there yourself?” Kalon asked, and Ansel nodded once.
“About two weeks ago, for some errands. The locals were still there, and the Darklings were keeping a low profile, as usual.”
Lumi scoffed. “I don’t get it. If the Darklings are planning this elaborate campaign to come out in the open and get the people of Visio to fully accept them, why did they just kill off an
entire town?”
“It was definitely retaliation,” Hunter said. “For Laramis. The timeline fits, too.”
“The cell was already there, after all,” Kailani pointed out. “All they had to do was go out and let the ghouls loose on those people… Ugh, what soulless bastards.”
“Aren’t they afraid of the public backlash?” Lumi insisted. “It just doesn’t make sense!”
Kalon had a theory, and I was inclined to agree with him. “They’ll probably try to keep it under wraps for as long as they can. Though, if the scouts were able to tell Trev about it, I doubt the coverup will last much longer, in which case they’ll probably try to pin it on us and the Reapers. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Darklings tried to make us look like the bad guys, while they continue to paint themselves as saviors of the Aeternae species. It would definitely fit with their political campaign.”
The mere concept of such a complex but dangerously effective plan made me tremble. Then again, this was politics in its purest form. Public opinion could move entire worlds. If the people were all against us, what chance did we stand to make them see the truth? How could we go about convincing millions that we weren’t the villains at all, and that the Darklings were in the wrong?
In everything I’d learned about the Aeternae, there was one characteristic that stood out—they didn’t like change, especially on a fundamental level. This was their empire, their way of life. The Black Fever threatened it all, and the Darklings had positioned themselves as ruthless protectors, while we’d run off with the source of the curse.
“The only thing we can do is fight the Darklings. Now, while they’re still stuck in their old ways. While the public has yet to fully accept or legitimize them,” I said.
Trev nodded in agreement. “Yes. We can strike Dieffen now, while they’re still settling in, while they’re still comfortable.”
“How many Darklings and ghouls should we expect to find there?” Seeley asked.
“I don’t know. But I’ll ask my scouts to circle the town and get as close as they can to give me an estimate,” Trev replied.
“Well, I’m on board with taking them out in Dieffen,” I said firmly. “It’ll send the right message to Corbin and the others, too. We have to defeat them before they can manipulate public opinion against us. It’s bad enough we’re fighting the Darklings. We can’t take on civilians, too.”
Night got up and leaned over the table, his starry gaze moving across the map. He circled the town of Dieffen with his index finger.
“My colleagues and I will organize the ghouls around town,” he said. “They’ll be ready to enter at a moment’s notice, and they can sweep the side streets fast. The rest of us will go through the main roads into Dieffen,” he added, his finger stopping at cardinal points around the town borders. “North, south, east, and west.”
“Yes, we all go in at once,” Soul replied. “In groups, with Reapers in each unit.”
“I’ll give you some of my men, as well, if you need them,” Kalla chimed in. “They’ll be more than happy to fight those evildoers, especially since they’ve become so brazen and destructive.”
For the second time today, I could see the direction we’d chosen quite clearly. It was the just and right thing to do. It would be bloody, but violence was the only way to move forward. The Darklings had proven that by killing an entire town.
They deserved retribution.
Tristan
Valaine sat on the porch steps with Morning and Phantom flanking her. I was right in front of her, one step below, holding her hands in mine as we discussed the trance she was about to enter.
“Will I remember everything?” Valaine asked, looking at Morning.
Both Reapers shook their heads. “This is only the beginning,” Phantom said. “We’re only starting to dig into your memories. We’ll start with your previous life and see how you fare. The process is complex and cannot be rushed, because your Aeternae body isn’t equipped to handle so much information.”
“Have you done this sort of spell before?” I replied.
The shadow of a smile danced across Phantom’s face. “A long time ago, before I was bound to Phyla,” she said, “a precious artifact was lost, and Death tasked me with finding it. I tracked it across the universe until I reached a small planet named Merida. At first glance, it didn’t seem like anything out of the ordinary. Just another marble where humanoids had developed, much like Earth and this cluster here. But then I noticed how they organized their funerals. They weren’t cause for grief, but rather celebration, because they believed the departed were starting a new life. It sounded like a cultural thing until I investigated further and discovered that they had once been visited by a high-ranking Reaper. I forget his name now, but he did one hell of a number on Merida.”
“What did he do?” I asked.
“Before he surrendered his scythe and ate a soul, he taught the locals some old and forbidden death magic. In hindsight, I’m willing to bet he learned it either from Spirit or Unending here.” She chuckled, giving Valaine a vague smile. “He showed the Meridians the secret of rebirth, of their spirits being bound to new, infant bodies. They got away with it for a long time—at least a few centuries—before I got there. I spent a year or so studying them and trying to figure out how they were able to do it. It wasn’t all that complicated, really. The spell for rebirth had been put in place, and it did all the work on its own whenever someone died. It didn’t require any fixes or refreshing magic.”
“It worked on a loop?” Morning asked, fascinated.
Phantom nodded. “Yes. The people of Merida were basically cursed—or, as most of them thought, blessed to go through multiple life cycles, their spirits never moving on. The thing with the unborn is that their souls take time to form in the womb. And the spell basically took old spirits and shoved them on top of the developing ones. It was cruel, in a sense, because it snuffed out the potential new lives.”
“What did you do?” Valaine asked.
“First I had to find the artifact. The reborn Meridians weren’t able to retain memories of their past lives because their bodies weren’t adapted to hold so much information,” Phantom explained. “In that sense, they were quite similar to other humanoids. I needed to get one particular Meridian guy to take me to the artifact. In order to do that, he had to remember a distant past life, and that was where this spell came in.”
“And it worked,” I tried to conclude.
“Yes. It gave him terrible headaches, but he was able to remember. After I retrieved the artifact, I found the very first Meridian who’d been reborn and killed him with my scythe. It was the only way to break that spell. Merida has been working on a natural cycle ever since. The souls are reaped, new souls are born… all is right again. Well, at least it was. That was millions of years ago. I’m not even sure the planet is still there.”
Looking at Valaine, I noticed concern drawing shadows under her black eyes. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Everything. It’s a difficult question to answer,” she murmured, trying to smile.
“Don’t worry, sister,” Morning said. “You’re safe with us, and we’ll help you get through this.”
“I really want to believe you,” Valaine replied.
“But in your mind, you’ve never met us. You’re not sure how you can even trust us,” Phantom deduced, and Valaine gave her a faint nod. “Listen, you won’t feel anything. You’ll simply be a visitor in the past. It’ll be like watching a story unfold. A story that has already happened. You’ll need to be firmly in place once you’re in there, so you don’t slip away from the memory, but you’ll also need to be mindful. As long as you remember to keep yourself emotionally detached from whatever you might see, it’ll be okay.”
“And if I don’t?” Valaine asked. “If I get sucked in?”
Phantom sighed. “Then you’ll get the headaches I mentioned. That’s the trick, really. Keeping your brain from actively participating.”
�
��You’re free to hold on to me,” I said, squeezing her hands in mine. They felt colder than usual, and I knew her nerves were frayed.
“If you keep physical contact, you’ll have to prepare yourself, Tristan,” Phantom noted. “You’ll be connected to the remembrance spell, and you’ll see and hear everything Unending sees and hears. The same warning applies to you, too. Don’t try to get involved. Remember that it’s only a vision… that way your head won’t hurt. For what it’s worth, we’ll witness everything, though my sister and I are used to easily discerning between memories and reality.”
Tristan gave a faint nod. “Out of curiosity, wouldn’t this be more fitting for Dream and Nightmare to handle?”
“Why?” Phantom replied, confused and maybe a little offended. “They deal with dreams and nightmares, fictional bits of one’s subconscious. What role would they serve? Morning and I have done this before, to other Reapers, in different circumstances and settings. Dream and Nightmare would both get tangled in the web of Valaine’s subconscious, while Morning and I are able to move past it.”
“I didn’t mean to upset you,” Tristan said.
“I’m not upset. Just pointing out that our Death-given names and abilities are not linear and limited. We can color outside the lines, sometimes.” Phantom offered a smile.
“Are you ready?” Morning asked, gazing lovingly at Valaine as she placed a hand on her shoulder, while Phantom touched the other. The spell clearly involved physical contact and the transference of some kind of energy.
“As I’ll ever be,” Valaine whispered.
“Close your eyes,” Phantom said. Her eyes glowed white, as did Morning’s.
My skin crawled, an electrical current flowing through me as the Reapers’ lips moved, words leaving them and diffusing into the ether. Death magic engulfed the four of us, flowing freely like a cold current of ocean water. It seeped into my bones, cutting my breath short.
A Shade of Vampire 83: A Bender of Spirit Page 5