I had to make an executive decision. I had to break her out of this state. And the only way I could think of was probably going to get me slapped. “Well, better to be slapped than to die in the arms of pure despair,” I muttered and pushed myself up.
I kissed Valaine, my lips pressed against hers. A strange tingling sensation quickly replaced the gloom in which I’d been sinking, and she moaned softly. I deepened the kiss, and she parted her lips in response. It was working. I was finally getting through to her. I caught her head in my hands and showered her with kisses. Her lips. Her nose. Her cheeks. Her forehead. I gave her everything I had, without expecting anything in return.
Her eyes finally found mine, and she searched my face for a long moment. “Tristan…” Valaine whispered, and I kissed her again, glad to have her back.
This time, however, it was incredible, because we were both participating. She wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me closer. We lost ourselves in one another, hungrily kissing and eagerly searching for a way out of this mess.
My heart swelled, and my head felt light. The darkness was gone, and a future could be seen ahead once more. It wasn’t all death and destruction. There was hope. There was love. There was all the good stuff GASP had always fought for.
I’d fallen in love with Valaine. I’d fallen in love with the Unending, too, and I had no idea how it might end for us. But in this moment, in this brief blink of an eye, we were together. We were fighting it all, and we were one.
Derek
Sleeping was impossible. Darklings brought me fresh blood to drink once in a while, and I accepted it, but only because I needed sustenance. I needed a strong body in case I had to get out of here at a moment’s notice. But I couldn’t rest. I couldn’t even sit down for too long.
All I could do was pace my cell from left to right, aware that Maya was nearby, watching me in her subtle form. I had the green bead in my pocket, and it took a lot of thinking and convincing myself not to break it. Every fiber in me wanted out of this place, but I needed information, and the Darklings’ upper echelon had it.
I thought about Sofia a lot, hoping I’d see her again. Knowing that Rose and Caleb were with her did comfort me a little, but it irked me that I couldn’t speak to them directly. Our Telluris link had been broken, and the earpiece had been destroyed. I was isolated in this cramped and mostly dark place.
The iron door swung open, and my muscles stiffened with anticipation. This was either another Whip visiting or one of the Darklings. I seemed to have become quite the attraction for the other Whips. Some of them had taken turns coming to my cell to talk to me, to ask me things—where my people were, what we were planning. The usual. They never got any answers, but they still came by. I had a feeling they were more fascinated with me than interested in any intel I might give them.
This time, however, Petra stood in front of my cell. She had her hands in her dress pockets and her ruby-red lips pressed into a thin line.
“I really hope you’re not here to ask me more questions,” I muttered. “I thought I made myself clear to your colleagues.”
She didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she just glared at me, and I could almost feel her hate burning through me like fire.
“You know, with everything that happened, I haven’t even had a moment to grieve for my son and brother,” Petra finally said. “I haven’t even cried.”
“Am I supposed to feel sorry for you?” I replied. “You brought your whole family into this, Petra. You reap what you sow.”
Her blue eyes lit up. “You, Derek... you should’ve stayed out of all this. You and that stupid witch of yours. Had she not gotten herself killed, we wouldn’t be here. I’d still have Simmon. My brother, Aganon. My Kalon and Ansel are out there, consorting with your kind. It makes me sick to my stomach.”
I shook my head, crossing my arms. I refused to let her place any blame on me or my people. “You and the Darklings have been tormenting the Unending for eons. I get that only the higher ups actually know what is being done to her, but all the Darklings are responsible for perpetuating this cult, this violent and cruel faction. That is a cosmic crime, and everything that’s coming to you now is the universe’s attempt to rebalance itself. You’re drawing immortality from Death’s first Reaper, and you’re keeping her in a painful cycle, killing her over and over. Frankly, I’m surprised you’ve only lost a son and a brother to this mess so far. Oh, right. Your first husband, too. Simmon and Kalon’s father. The Black Fever got him, right?”
Petra took out her scythe and pointed the blade at me angrily. But I had no fear, and certainly no mercy, for someone like her. “We had a good thing going here. Sure, I wasn’t that crazy about doing my noble work in the shadows, but I’d grown accustomed to it. My sons were by my side, and I had my brother’s support. Now, here I am on the verge of what will either be our salvation or our destruction, and I’m looking at you, Derek, and making you a promise.”
Her voice wavered, but she had something to say. Chills traveled down my spine as I realized how much she despised me, personally, as the embodiment of the forces of chaos that had disturbed her otherwise good life.
“I will catch your wife. I will catch everyone who matters to you,” Petra said, “and I will flay them in front of you. I will make you watch as I kill those you hold dear, yet even then I won’t be done. I will make sure Danika keeps you alive for as long as possible so you can experience true eternity without your beloved Sofia. Only then will you possibly understand how I’ve been feeling without my husband, knowing that he died because of the Unending.”
“So you don’t deny knowing you’re in the wrong here by holding the Unending in this vicious and bloody cycle,” I replied dryly, appearing unaffected by her promise. The absence of a reaction from me threw Petra off her game. She hadn’t seen it coming. Sure, I was trembling on the inside, terrified at the prospect of any of her promises ever coming true, but I certainly wasn’t going to let her see my weakness. “On top of that, you’re still waltzing around like you’re the victim in all this. You make me sick, Petra. You’re nothing but opportunistic trash.”
“Trash or not, I am free. You, on the other hand, are doomed to wither away in here,” Petra shot back. She’d made an ominous promise, and I had virtually rebuffed her. This was her last chance to save face, considering how splintered her family had recently become.
“I actually feel sorry for you,” I said. “Your family is broken. Kalon wants nothing to do with you. Ansel is with him, and they both reject their mother. Tudyk and Moore are in our custody, and knowing my people, I’m pretty sure you’ll never see the boys again. We have this protocol where we don’t give children back to unfit mothers.”
That made her explode. She darted toward me so fast, I only had a second to pull back as the scythe slipped between the steel bars and nearly cut me in half.
“You’re not taking my sons, you bastard!” Petra shrieked. She tried to reach me in a furious frenzy, but the bars held her back. “I’m getting my family back, and I’m going to obliterate yours!”
“We’ll see, Petra. So far, we’ve been quite resourceful,” I replied. I was glued to the back wall, but I kept my chin up, challenging her. “And you are forgetting one thing…” I paused as she moved back and put the scythe away, tears glazing her eyes. “I am not alone in this. And neither are my friends. If I have to bring in the whole of GASP to destroy you and the Darklings, I will. The only thing that’s stopping me right now is the risk of hurting innocents in the process.”
I wasn’t exactly sure of what I was saying, but I liked the impact my words had on her. If I did bring the whole of GASP into this mess, we risked a dirty war. The Darklings would use the innocent Aeternae, Rimians, and Naloreans against us, and they also had plenty of death magic tricks up their sleeves. It would likely get bloody fast.
At least in this current situation, we still had some semblance of control. Besides, Petra had no idea how many Reapers had come here or
that we were allied with them—it wouldn’t have taken a genius to figure that one out, but I didn’t want her to think about it. The more emotionally distraught she was, the better. Clouded judgment made the head fall faster.
“But if you push me, Petra—if you all push me—I will make it rain fire on Visio with an army of dragons,” I added when she didn’t immediately respond. “Your empire will be leveled, and everything you’ve fought to protect will be gone. All because you just couldn’t abide by the natural laws of the universe. Because instead of setting the Unending free, you all chose to leech off her like parasites!”
Petra mulled over my words for a while, then gave me a faint smirk.
“We’ll see who prevails, Derek. My money’s on my people because the Spirit Bender left us one hell of a legacy. We’ve never had to use it before, but rest assured that we will now.”
She walked out, and I knew she’d just referenced option B. I wanted to know what it was, but I still had a lot of waiting ahead before they’d figure out that the Spirit Bender wasn’t coming. With little time on my side, I decided to speed things along. Another Whip would visit me soon, and when they did, I’d take the opportunity to let them all know the Spirit Bender was gone.
Angst gnawed at my stomach, but I couldn’t give up. Even confined to this cell, I’d already come far. I’d learned a lot, and I was barely scratching the surface.
I didn’t have to wait long. Barely an hour later, Rodique Argyros stopped by my cell with a pitcher of fresh Rimian blood. She’d been the first to visit me after Lumi and Sidyan had left. Now, she wore a delicate smile on her face, and I wasn’t sure what to make of it.
“I owe you thanks,” she said.
I raised an eyebrow at her. “For what, exactly?”
“Well, you and your friends stirred up so much crap here that the Darklings must now come out in order to get ahead,” she replied. “I’ve always wanted that, though I never voiced it myself.”
“What about the others?” I asked.
“Ah. Mixed bag, those people. Some like the secrecy, others are all in for public acknowledgment. No one dared to say it aloud, though. Not until Petra came back from Laramis with an opinion poll from other Darklings.”
“Why would no one ‘dare’ to say it aloud?”
Rodique leaned against the wall next to my cell. Her smirk began to annoy me, as it never changed. It just stayed there, as if it had been drawn in ink, persistent in its arrogance. “Corbin liked the Darklings as the nation’s best kept secret. From the moment he took over, we all complied without a single protest. He’s fearsome, you know.”
“The Master of Darkness? I’d imagine so.” I tried to understand her deeper meaning. Rodique had a story to tell, and maybe it would also bring me closer to the information I needed.
She laughed lightly, as if I’d said the silliest thing. “Oh, no. Derek, you don’t know. You can’t even begin to imagine. When he became Master, Corbin was a killing machine. No scruples, no remorse, no ability to empathize with anyone. Heads fell at the snap of his fingers, no questions asked—and trust me, we all had questions surrounding some of his decisions. But then Valaine was born, five thousand years ago, shortly after the last Black Fever subsided. He lost his wife in the process, but he gained a daughter. He was so happy. Fatherhood changed him.”
“Then he doesn’t sound as fearsome as you implied.”
“Derek. You’re not following me. I thought you’d be smarter than this,” Rodique said. “Right now, after five thousand years in the company of the only creature he truly loves—his daughter—Corbin has to kill her in order to save us. Can you imagine what it’s doing to him?”
I scoffed. “He didn’t seem all that affected. Just cold. Determined.”
“Yes. That’s the Corbin we’re all afraid of. He’s back, and he’ll have plenty of steam to blow off once Valaine is dead. You’re one of the unfortunate ones, Derek. Petra might have a bone to pick with you for an eternity, but Corbin has forever to torment you, to make you bleed, to make you suffer solely for the purpose of making him feel better about himself.”
Exhaling sharply, I sat down on the floor, crossing my legs.
“I suppose this is your way of what, exactly? Scaring me?” I asked, unable to hide my contempt. “Corbin will keep me here and torture me. Is that what you’re getting at?”
“Mm-hm. Just so you don’t get too comfortable. I’m trying to prepare you for what comes next.”
It was my turn to chuckle. “So... have you guys talked about what’s going to happen if the Spirit Bender doesn’t show up? I mean, you’ve summoned him, but has he said anything? Has he sent a message? A sign?”
“How do you know?” Rodique narrowed her eyes at me.
“I’ve got very good hearing,” I replied dryly. “So, anything yet?”
“Nothing. But I’m not concerned. He will come. He promised. This is the first and only time we’ve summoned him in five million years. He knows it’s serious.”
“Well, then… I’ve had enough of you for the time being. You’re not giving me anything interesting to work with here,” I said. “Why don’t you make yourself useful and bring Danika over? I’ve got something to tell her.”
For a Whip, Rodique didn’t seem as threatening as, say, Petra. But I knew her skills lay elsewhere. That smile of hers was deceitful. Her curves were meant to distract. Her raspy voice was designed to spin men’s heads. All pretty covers beneath which she hid her scythe. I didn’t want to be on the receiving end of her wrath.
And since I didn’t give her what she’d come here for—my fear—she was also befuddled. She didn’t know what to make of me, and she definitely had no idea how to break me. For a moment, she looked downright empty. Vapid. Brainless.
“I’m serious. Bring her over. I have something to tell her. Actually, you know what? Bring everyone over. I think you all need to hear it,” I said.
“What game are you playing?” she asked, as if trying to understand me.
“You’ll see,” I replied. “Come on. Gather around. Let good ol’ Derek tell you all a story.”
She opened her mouth to say something, but she changed her mind and walked out. Minutes later, all the Whips were present, Danika included, but there was no sign of Corbin. I wondered where he might be, but his presence wasn’t exactly a requirement at this point. Frankly, I would’ve liked to see the look of absolute helplessness on his face, but alas… I had these twelve to contend with.
“What do you want?” Danika demanded, pursing her lips at me. “You’ve gotten quite the attitude since we locked you in here.”
“Heh… what can I say, Your Grace?” I looked up at her. “Prison makes me snarky.”
“Go on, then. Speak,” Petra hissed. “Don’t waste our time.”
“Ah, right. I called you all here. Right, right,” I muttered, dragging things out for as long as I could. I knew they wouldn’t kill me. Both Petra and Rodique had confirmed it. They planned on killing Sofia and everyone else that mattered, but not me. That changed the way I interacted with them. “How’s the Spirit Bender? Has he said anything yet?”
Danika stiffened. “Why do you ask?”
“Good question,” Rodique muttered.
“Well, you didn’t have an answer, so I thought I’d ask the rest of them,” I said to Rodique.
“Why do you want to know?” Danika interjected.
“Oh, just curious. How long do you plan on waiting for an answer?”
She pointed an angry finger at me. “You’re up to something!”
“I’m not up to anything, Your Grace. I just figured I’d spare you the trouble of waiting around like lost little lambs,” I said. “As much as I’d like to watch you sit around and twiddle your thumbs, you’re better off if I put you all out of your misery.” I paused for effect. “The Spirit Bender isn’t coming.”
Silence ensued. They didn’t know the details of our history with the Spirit Bender. We’d told Danika about our Hermessi tro
ubles and the First Tenners, including the fact that one of them had started the whole mess, but we’d never shared the names of those who’d helped us and those who’d worked against us. They’d seemed like unnecessary details at the time—but ironically, Spirit’s name was a crucial piece of the puzzle now.
“How would you know?” Danika replied.
“Because we destroyed him a year ago.” I sighed. “We watched him disappear into nothingness after we cut him down with Death’s scythe, the fabled Thieron.”
More silence, as none of them were prepared for this development. They hadn’t seen it coming, and I really enjoyed the startled expressions that had settled on their faces. They wouldn’t be lost for too long because of option B, but I was now closer to figuring out what that was. It was bound to happen sooner or later, and the more we knew about it, the better prepared we’d be. Had I held on to this knowledge of Spirit’s demise for a little while longer, I would’ve bought us a couple of days, tops, given the urgency of the situation. Surely, the Darklings had ways to find out if Spirit was still in existence—I didn’t put anything past them. In the end, this was the more reasonable path to follow.
Petra gasped. “You’re lying.”
“Not lying. Why would I? Wouldn’t he be here, otherwise?” I said. “I watched him die his forever death. He betrayed his people. He betrayed the universe itself. He almost wiped us all out—you included! The Hermessi were threatening to take over all our worlds, and Spirit had made it happen. He’s gone. No more Spirit for you.”
They were speechless. Some looked scared. Others gloomy, their brows pulled tight as the wheels inside their heads turned slowly. I wondered what they might say, but they didn’t seem to have any words left. They’d come here to bring great change upon the Darklings, but they’d ended up at the dead end of a faulty road.
A Shade of Vampire 83: A Bender of Spirit Page 7