“Oh… that can’t be good,” I whispered.
“It’s not.” Phantom’s shoulders dropped as she looked at Valaine. “I used your pain to help us tread through the forest faster. You brought us here, but I didn’t imagine we’d find her like this…”
“What’s… what’s wrong with her?” I asked, shaken.
“The symptoms of her suffering are amplified. It’s getting worse,” Phantom said.
A low hum persisted around Valaine, rippling outward and causing a strange pressure to build in my stomach. I couldn’t take my eyes off what I could only describe as a… black glow. Her hair flowed down her back, and her fingers were splayed, but she didn’t move. She simply existed in what looked like tremendous suffering.
“She’s shutting herself down.” Morning gasped, tears rolling down her cheeks. “There will likely be an increase in Black Fever victims soon. Everything we’re seeing here now is also manifesting beyond the Nightmare Forest. She’s starting to remember, but with those memories come plenty of buried feelings. They’ve caused her so much pain that she has become toxic.”
The death that had taken over the trees around the clearing was starting to spread. Healthy green leaves turned yellow, then brown and black as they fell. The branches darkened as life withered away in real time before my very eyes.
“She’s killing the forest,” I murmured.
Phantom nodded slowly. “It’s the opposite of who she really is. Unending is supposed to represent eternal life, yet she’s killing everything around her.”
“How do we stop it?” I asked, my emotions jumbled and increasingly intense. It was only a matter of time before I’d drop to my knees and weep uncontrollably. I was feeling as though nothing was worth it anymore, like I could just curl up into a corner and wait for it all to simply… end. But that wasn’t me. That was the effect Valaine’s suffering had on me, and I needed to find my way out.
“I don’t know,” Phantom said. “It’s… She has to wake up. She has to break out of it on her own because she’s the only one who can control it.”
“Unending was always the most powerful among us. The brightest. The strongest.” Morning stared at Valaine. “We were never able to suppress her. I doubt we’d be able to do anything now. The three seals only serve to hold her in this endless cycle of Aeternae rebirth. What she’s doing now is merely a response. I doubt even the Spirit Bender would’ve known what to do.”
“What about Death?” I asked. “Wouldn’t she be able to stop this?”
“If she were free, sure. She could end it all with just the snap of her fingers.” Morning sighed. “But she’s trapped, too. We’re on our own, and we must find a way to get Unending back before she wipes out the entire Nightmare Forest.”
“She wouldn’t stop there.” Phantom scoffed, crossing her arms. “There’s so much pain inside her. It’ll keep spilling and infecting everything in its path. Unless she’s awake, she’ll end up turning Visio into a wasteland.”
My blood ran cold. “Like Night did to Cruor?”
“Maybe worse,” Phantom said quietly.
With no other option in sight, I braced myself for what was to come. I’d managed to bring Valaine back from the brink of darkness before. I could try to do it again. Taking several steps forward, I felt my knees buckle.
“Argh,” I croaked, almost losing my footing. Phantom helped me stand back up.
“Are you okay?”
I shook my head. “She’s affecting me.”
“The closer you get, the worse it will feel. She’s practically oozing Black Fever here,” Phantom replied.
“It won’t kill me,” I said. “It can’t kill vampires. I need to get closer. I need her to feel me.”
“I know,” Phantom replied. “She won’t respond to Morning or me. You’re our only hope, Tristan. She’s bound to you, and…”
Her voice faded as she looked at me. I could see the hope glimmering in the myriad of stars nestled in her eyes. For a second, she no longer looked like the fearsome Reaper that she was—but a girl, not a day past her teens, waiting for me to make things right and give her sister back to her. I wasn’t sure I could pull it off, but I couldn’t let Valaine’s suffering destroy Visio before we had a chance to save it, either.
Taking deep breaths, I righted myself and continued walking toward Valaine. The closer I got, the more everything hurt. My muscles. My bones. My joints. Every internal organ began to bleed, and I felt a fever burst through me in a merciless blaze. It devoured everything in its path, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t.
“Valaine, listen to me!” I called out. “I’m here. I’ve come for you!”
She didn’t react. I’d have to do more… get closer.
My insides burned, but I took another step. And another, closing the distance between us. The Black Fever took over, gripping me tightly with its invisible but bloodthirsty claws. I struggled to stand, and I knew I only had a minute left, at most, to make my case and break Valaine from this horrible trance-like state.
“Listen to me, Valaine.” I grunted, beads of sweat trickling down my face. “I’m not leaving you to go through this alone. I’m not letting you succumb to this pain you’re feeling. You are stronger than this, and I am a better man for knowing you.”
Briefly glancing back over my shoulder, I saw Phantom and Morning watching, their eyes wide and glassy—a strange sight, considering all the galaxies that swirled beneath those tears. I felt their helplessness and anguish at the sight of their sister, and I knew I would’ve been the same had it been Esme suffering like this. I owed it to them—and to myself, as well—to not let this continue.
But my energy was fading. My body was weak. I began to cough up black blood. It spurted all over my sleeve, drenching the fabric and reminding me of my own physical weakness. Even so, I couldn’t stop.
“Valaine, I’m about to do something crazy, maybe even borderline stupid, and I hope you’ll forgive me because I think it’s the only way I’ll be able to stop you… to get you back,” I whispered.
Here goes nothing.
With one final push and battling organ failure, I jumped. I snapped my arms tightly around Valaine, hovering above the ground with her. “Whatever happens, know that I love you,” I said with what felt like my last breath.
She didn’t move, but she burned hot in my arms, her flesh tender beneath the glowing blackness and the velvet of her dress. I kissed her, surrendering to it all—the good and the bad and everything in between. I felt her soft lips against mine. A fleeting breath. A sigh of longing.
Then darkness blanketed me like a devastating wave. Whatever happened next, I prayed it would bring me back into the light, because I felt myself disappearing. Dying, one aching cell at a time.
“I love you,” I heard her say.
But I could no longer react. I sank into the nothingness.
I was nothing.
Tristan
A warm embrace was something I didn’t think I’d feel again. The Black Fever had taken me. I’d broken down and fallen apart into a million pieces. So how was it that I was still strung together? How was I still breathing and experiencing all sorts of sensations?
Only darkness existed around me, cold and heavy. It seeped through me, filling my feet with lead and my chest with something even denser. Was I dead? Was this just a crappy dream I’d eventually wake up from? Had I gotten myself stuck in an elaborate nightmare while still back home in The Shade?
“Tristan, I’m sorry…”
Valaine’s voice startled me. I’d been drifting in this black sea for so long, I hadn’t thought I’d hear another voice again. There was no sense of time passing, but Valaine had finally found me. Therefore, I didn’t dream it all.
“Tristan, please, come back to me…”
I dared not reject such a heartfelt request. A golden ribbon came into view. I reached out and grabbed it. I felt a kiss on my lips. My skin tingled with delight and relief as I used both hands to hold on to the gold
en ribbon.
Something tugged from the opposite end. I pulled.
“I need you,” Valaine said, her voice trembling. “I need you… Forgive me…”
Weightless but determined, I followed the golden ribbon. Forms emerged from the darkness. Twisted branches on dead trees. Three figures looking down at me. Beyond, a clear sky. I couldn’t immediately remember where I was or what I’d been doing here, but as the image came into focus, so did the ghost of all the pain I’d experienced upon touching Valaine.
I was okay. Phantom and Morning stared at me, and Valaine held me up in a seated position, though my head was lolled back. Blinking several times, I took a deep breath. My lungs didn’t hurt anymore. My flesh didn’t burn. My throat felt sore, but that was pretty much it.
“The Black Fever,” I mumbled, my lips barely moving.
Valaine exhaled sharply, laughing and crying at the same time. “It subsided. I made it stop. I undid its effects on you. Don’t ask me how, because I have no idea.”
“Where am I?” I asked.
“The Nightmare Forest. We found Valaine, and you put yourself through unimaginable torture to bring her back,” Phantom said, summarizing my ordeal.
“I’m okay. Thanks to you,” Valaine added, giving me a warm and most loving smile. I nearly disintegrated in her embrace. Compared to her, I was a mere blip in the greater scheme of things, yet she’d fallen in love with me. She’d given me her heart, and that simple and selfless act had helped me break her free from the pain.
“Are you sure?” I asked, slowly raising a hand to touch her face.
“As okay as I’m going to be until I’m free, anyway,” Valaine replied. She looked around, her brow furrowing at the sight of all the damage she’d unwittingly done. The trees were still dead. This part of the woods might never recover. The very life had been drained from the earth. “I’m so sorry.”
“Stop saying that,” Phantom muttered. “It’s not like you’re doing it on purpose.”
I managed to get up, though Valaine stayed close and offered me some support. Pressing my lips against her temple, I breathed a sigh of relief, thankful to be able to hold her like this.
“Your anger got the better of you,” I said.
“I know. I lost control,” Valaine replied. “But I’m back. And I’m not stopping until I’m free. Until I’m the Unending again.”
Morning moved in for a hug, her arms encompassing both Valaine and me. “She found her resolve. The moment she snapped out of it and saw you on the ground, she… she came back,” Morning said, affectionately looking at Valaine.
“The Darklings want me like this. Alone. Suffering. Empty on the inside,” she said. “But I’m done doing their bidding. I’m done giving in to despair. And I am certainly done playing into the schemes of a defunct Reaper. Half of what he did was out of pure spite because I rejected his advances.”
“And the other half was because he wanted you out of the way so he could mess with Death,” Phantom reminded her.
“That too. But I’m taking this personally,” Valaine said. “Point is, I’m done being a victim. The Darklings have upheld these seals for too long. No more. They have killed so many people. Innocent people. Entire families and bloodlines perished because of them—and not strictly in the name of the Spirit Bender’s instructions, either.”
Snaking an arm around her waist, I pulled Valaine closer, and she didn’t resist. In fact, she giggled and kissed me, leaning into my embrace. For a split second, everything disappeared again as I closed my eyes. But there wasn’t any darkness. Only light. Sweet daylight, despite the evening setting in overhead.
“I cannot begin to express how relieved I am to hear you talk like this,” I said, dropping another kiss on her delicate, rosy cheek.
“I’ve been my worst enemy this whole time,” Valaine replied. “I didn’t even realize it until I felt the pain I was inflicting upon you. That was what woke me up. The thought of you being hurt, Tristan.”
“I told you that the bond between you was special,” Phantom whispered, stifling a satisfied grin, as Morning laughed and moved back to look at us.
“We’ve made it this far, sister,” she said to Valaine. “This wasn’t the worst of all the hurdles, I’m sure, but if you cracked this, you’ll crack the others, too.”
Valaine took a deep breath, raising her chin defiantly. “I am a damn Reaper. The first ever made. I need to start acting like it. These past few days, all I’ve done was feel sorry for myself. In the meantime, the Darklings have been advancing and pushing their sick agenda. You were right, Phantom—I need to distance myself from my Aeternae roots,” she said, her voice breaking. “And if that means tossing my father aside, then so be it. He has no qualms about killing me. I might as well give him a proper reason to attempt such a heinous crime.”
“Corbin won’t lay a finger on you,” I replied. “We’ve got this, Valaine.”
“I’ll keep pushing through my memories,” she said, giving Phantom and Morning a brief glance. “I trust you two will help me dig deep, as deep as possible, until I find myself.” She paused to look at me. “And I trust you will talk me off the ledge, like you’ve done before, if you feel me slipping again. I will work hard to not break down again, I promise. I’ll work harder than ever before. As long as we’re together, Tristan, I doubt there is anything that can stand in my way.”
Her optimism was infectious. My heart grew a couple of sizes, pride swelling my chest as I gazed upon her beautiful face. Her black eyes glimmered excitedly, and she beamed at me with the energy of a newborn star. From all the darkness and death she’d exuded before, Valaine was emerging in triumphant light and life, returning to her existential origins as the Unending.
Our work was nowhere near finished. In fact, it was just getting started. Valaine leaned in to whisper in my ear. “In case you didn’t hear me earlier—I love you, too, Tristan. I want you to remember that when things inevitably go awry.”
At least she’d retained her sense of realism. But that didn’t stop me from smiling as I held her in my arms. “I heard you loud and clear, my darling,” I said and kissed her again.
“Okay, enough with the sweet stuff. I’m feeling nauseated.” Phantom groaned and walked toward the eastern edge of the clearing. “Come on, you weirdo lovebirds. We need to get back to Orvis.”
“From what your friends said, it sounds like they’ll be in need of some counsel and emotional support when we see them again,” Morning said, following Phantom into the healthier part of the Nightmare Forest.
I’d heard Kailani’s message through the comms system earlier, but I’d been so busy searching for Valaine that I’d barely managed to bring Esme up to speed before getting myself temporarily crippled and knocked out by Black Fever. Ridan and the others were returning to Orvis, and we needed to put our heads together and rehash our initial strategy.
“The Darklings had more forces in Dieffen than we expected,” I said to Valaine. “Our crew had to flee. They lost three quarters of the ghoul regiment.”
She frowned, then took my hand and pulled me away from the dead clearing. We caught up with Phantom and Morning in less than a mile. They would zap us back to Orvis in no time.
“It’s okay,” Valaine replied. “We’ll figure out a way to beat them. The Spirit Bender wasn’t invincible, and neither are the Darklings. I know we’re not invincible either, but dammit, we’ve got truth and righteousness on our side. That’s got to count for something.”
I couldn’t take my eyes off her, marveling at how strong she’d become. Valaine had crossed an internal threshold, and as bad as that earlier darkness had been, it had also brought out the fighter in her. The Unending was now even more determined to return, to reclaim herself and her freedom. That alone was a gamechanger.
She was right, though. As long as the two of us were together, we would eventually pull through. My only hope was that I’d bring the Unending back before the Darklings found her. I knew they would stop at nothin
g to kill her—and I would stop at nothing to protect her.
Derek
My mind was a jumble of storms and anxious thoughts. While I had chosen to stay in captivity for the sake of obtaining information from the Darklings, it was doing a number on my psyche. Four tight walls in a semi-dark room will do that to a person.
Maya had tried to keep me company as best as she could, but she was no longer a creature of words and conversation. I’d spent the past couple of hours reeling from Danika’s revelations regarding the Spirit Bender’s soul and trying to figure out a way to find out more before I’d have to leave.
“Maybe I should break the bead and get Lumi over here,” I muttered, mostly to myself.
The ghoul shook her head at me, though she couldn’t tell me why. I could think of a few reasons. One, Lumi might not have another green bead to leave me, and since I wasn’t yet ready to leave, that would leave me without an exit strategy. And two, this place looked a little too quiet for my taste, which meant there might be an ambush waiting for Lumi and Sidyan if I brought them over now.
I’d already decided to use Maya as a diversion somewhere away from this room when I called for Lumi. The ghoul could take care of herself, and I just needed her to tease the Darklings and let them chase her around for a while. Lumi and Sidyan would then have a clear path to get me out without the risk of a trap. That wasn’t the kind of mischief we could pull twice, so if I were to break the bead, I would have to go with them, and there was so much I had yet to learn here.
“You’re right,” I said to Maya. “But when the time comes, you know what to do, right?”
She nodded energetically, but her good humor faded as she glanced at the iron door. A split second later, Maya had reverted to her subtle form, moving away from my cell as Petra walked in. She’d changed into a navy-blue dress with silvery ruffles around the neck and wrists, her long gray hair braided and swirled into an elegant bun. Despite the family drama she’d recently endured, Petra looked sharp.
A Shade of Vampire 83: A Bender of Spirit Page 19