Zoltan frowned and quickly whispered a spell. Its words sounded familiar. His eyes lit up as he revealed Seeley to the living. Like me, the Reaper was shocked beyond repair.
“Ah, there you are,” Zoltan said, beaming with delight. “I haven’t seen one of you in a very long time!”
“Seeley…” I managed.
He looked at me, and, for the longest of seconds, time stood still. We knew each other. There had been something between us, a fleeting thought. A distant “what if” that had never come to fruition. I hadn’t seen him since we’d defeated the Hermessi’s ritual, and yet here he was, standing here in his black suit, with his galaxy eyes focused on me, grief twinkling inside.
“Nethissis,” he whispered. “I’m… I’m sorry. I’m too late.”
“What’s going on?” I asked.
He briefly glanced at Zoltan, who seemed confused but immediately realized the ghoul had failed to eat me. “We still have a loose soul, fellas,” Zoltan said.
“I’m not sure,” Seeley replied, looking at me again. “But I need you to get out of here.”
“No, I can’t leave you—”
“Run and don’t look back!” Seeley snapped, raising his weapon.
Despair took over at the sight of another scythe coming out from between the dark blue folds of Zoltan’s coat. Seeley didn’t see it coming, either.
“You’re not the only one with nifty toys,” Zoltan hissed and uttered another string of Reaper magic words.
Seeley reached out and pushed me so hard, I flew back through the narrow corridor, then the door. Ghouls snarled and thumped into it, but they couldn’t get through. They’d been limited to that room, so all they could do was angrily scratch at the black iron, unable to reach me.
My breathing was ragged, fire burning in my chest, as I tried to wrap my head around what had just happened. Seeley had somehow come here, and he’d saved me from a ghoulish death. He’d said he’d been too late, which meant… he knew I was here?
Chains jingled and clanged across the floor inside the round chamber. Shaking like a leaf, I pulled myself closer to the door, listening to the movements inside.
“Put the ghouls back on their leashes,” Zoltan said. “I’ll handle the Reaper.”
“You can’t kill it, can you?” one of the guards asked.
“No, you oaf, but I can make sure he never sees the light of day again,” Zoltan replied.
“Seeley…” I whispered, almost touching the door.
My hand trembled, and I couldn’t even cry. My eyes stung, but tears didn’t come out. All I could do was struggle with the mixture of pain, agony, and helplessness, as I knelt in front of the iron door, coming to terms with every single event that had brought me to this particular moment.
Seeley was inside, somehow captured by Zoltan. The Aeternae had knowledge of Reapers and Death magic. They had dungeons and at least one Reaper scythe. They had ghouls under their control, using them as mindless flesh- and soul-hungry beasts.
And I’d gotten myself stuck right in the middle of it all, with my neck snapped and the life snuffed out of me. How the hell would I get myself out of this predicament?
“What about the Lamia’s soul, sir?” the second guard asked.
“It’s just a soul. It can’t do anything. The veil between the world of the living and that of the dead is abnormally thick here,” Zoltan said. “She won’t be able to break through. It’s part of the reason we’ve been able to do our honorable work for so long.”
Honorable. What a weird choice of word for a creature as despicable as Zoltan Shatal. I should’ve known that he was up to no good. I should have seen this coming, somehow. I should have paid attention!
Hopelessness threatened to break me down into little pieces. I understood the unforgiving reality. I couldn’t have seen this coming. I couldn’t have even guessed that there were Aeternae here who dabbled in the dark arts of Death magic. Where’d he get the scythe from? Zoltan wasn’t a Reaper. How’d they captured the ghouls? How long had they been doing this? What was their endgame? What were they trying to do?
Look at you, all dead and still investigating.
What other choice did I have? A thought hit me like a cold draft. If Seeley had come to save me, where was the Reaper assigned to carry me into the next world?
My death wasn’t natural…
It certainly hadn’t felt natural. But I had no answers. I only had a ton of questions, a Reaper trapped in a cell with four ghouls, and a creepily knowledgeable Aeternae, and only my soul to move around. I couldn’t even reach out to Sofia and Derek.
What would I do? What could I do, from this moment onward?
If this was what Zoltan was into, then my friends, my crew… they were in danger, and they didn’t even know it. I had no time to grieve my own death. I had to do something. Anything. I had to find my way back to the surface and protect my people—including Seeley. Out of everyone, he needed my help the most now, and I had to come through for him.
Derek
I could only see a thin beam of light as it escaped through the pulled curtains. It was morning, and I’d slept like a log. My dreams had been an amalgam of unsettling things, of some of my worst fears coming true.
I’d found myself embroiled in secrets and deadly plagues. I’d lost my team. I’d stood in front of their tombs, having to explain to their families and friends what had gone awry. What had killed them. I swallowed back the knot that had been filling my throat, finding relief in knowing that it had all been a dream. A terrible, terrible figment of my subconscious, and nothing more.
Sofia stirred in my arms, the satin covers shuffling like textile whispers over our bare bodies. She raised her head slowly, her sleepy eyes searching my face.
“What’s wrong?”
I couldn’t help but smile, thankful that I had her to wake up with. “Just a bad dream, my love,” I said, running my hand through her hair.
Her lips found mine, and she melted in my embrace, a blaze quickly kindling between us. We rolled between the sheets, chuckling and kissing and exploring each other’s bodies.
“I know I say this a lot, but I love you,” she whispered as I rolled back on top, pinning her down. I kissed her deeply, tasting the sweet ambrosia of her lips and inhaling her summery scent.
“I love you more,” I said, covering her face with fluttering kisses.
“But we need to get out of bed,” she said, scrunching her nose. “The kids will be banging on our doors soon.”
I stilled, narrowing my eyes at her. “What makes you say that?”
“We’re on a foreign planet with the original vampires and a horde of unanswered questions. Do you really think we’ll get a moment’s worth of peace in this place?” She raised an eyebrow, making me laugh.
Last night’s dream was nothing more than a fuzzy, distant memory. My only hope was that it would stay that way. I kissed Sofia again, unwilling to return to reality just yet. It felt so nice to be here, lost between layers of satin… just the two of us.
“Five more minutes?” I asked innocently.
She pursed her lips, and all I could think of was kissing her again. “Three?”
A solid knock on the door spoiled it all. I groaned, hiding my face between her neck and collarbone. “No…” I grumbled.
“Sorry, my love. I called it.” She giggled, just before the second knock.
“Coming! Hold on!” I shouted, already irritated by the prospect of a third knock. Reality was calling, merciless as always.
We jumped out of bed and slipped into our silky robes. Sofia opened the door, welcoming Esme, Tristan, and Amal into our lounge. Candles still flickered over the fireplace, which was all the light we’d left burning overnight. I would’ve pulled the curtains open to welcome the sunlight, but only Amal and I would’ve been able to enjoy it. It reminded me of why we were here in the first place, and suddenly the thought didn’t seem that bad anymore. Soon enough, we’d all be able to enjoy sunny mornings.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. “Where’s Nethissis?”
Esme sighed. “We don’t know. She wasn’t in her room.”
“Well, maybe she’s out for a stroll,” Sofia suggested, though her smile was already fading.
“That’s not all,” Tristan said. “We need to talk. There’s something going on here, and it’s more complex and fractured than we originally thought.”
I invited them to sit down and spent the better part of an hour listening to their accounts of yesterday, learning about the Black Fever’s unexpected return and the Darklings’ attack in the process. By the time Tristan and Esme were done, I genuinely and wholeheartedly regretted getting out of bed. This was not how I’d planned to start the day.
Our progress with the day-walking protein was going to be slow, by default, given the work Amal had to put into it. For us to deal with the Black Fever and murderous Darklings and who knew what else the Aeternae had been keeping to themselves… well, it just didn’t feel right. On top of that, I had a nagging feeling that these troubles were only the beginning.
“I mean, where do we draw the line, Derek?” Esme asked. I’d tuned out, and I hadn’t caught the first part of her statement.
“What do you mean?” I replied, rubbing my face, hoping I was still stuck in that nasty dream which I no longer remembered—I only remembered the uneasy feeling that it had left me with.
“I know the core objective of this mission is to get the day-walking protein,” Esme said, “but what about everything else? We said we’d help them with the Black Fever, too, but… last night, Tristan got caught in the crossfire of a Darkling conflict. Where do we stop being explorers, and where do we begin being GASP agents again?”
“Frankly, I’m worried about Nethissis,” Amal murmured, her orange eyes wide and so expressive, she nearly broke my heart. “It’s not like her to vanish like this. Last night, she went out in snake form to search this place. She would’ve checked in with us, at least. She would’ve said she found nothing… or whatever.”
“Amal has a point,” Esme said, adding to her previous argument. “If something happened to Nethissis, then the Aeternae are involved, and we need to do something about it.”
This was quickly devolving into something far worse than anything I could’ve dreamed. We had to be careful with how we proceeded. As nervous as Nethissis’s absence made me feel, I couldn’t disregard the protocol we’d set up for this place. Pacing the room, I listened as Sofia and the crew exchanged impressions and assumptions.
It didn’t take long for me to reach a conclusion.
“Listen, we can’t go out guns blazing,” I said. “Whatever we do, we must be cautious and diplomatic. These are Aeternae, and their existence is extremely important to us. We won’t jump to conclusions, because they’ve been nothing but kind and welcoming. Reserved, sure… but they haven’t done anything to hurt us.”
Sofia nodded. “Derek is right. We cannot fault all of them for something we have yet to investigate. Have you tried Telluris with Nethissis?”
“Of course,” Amal said. “I can’t even feel her.”
“We’ll certainly help them with the Black Fever,” I replied, looking at her. “I suppose you won’t have a problem with that?”
She shook her head. “No. But I could really use Nethi’s help for this,” she said. “We need to find her, Derek. Something doesn’t feel right.”
“We’ll start our search right away,” I concluded, keeping many other concerns at bay. Nethissis going missing was big and troublesome enough as it was. My heart couldn’t deal with more for the time being, at least not until we got her back, safe and sound. “We’ll report this to the golden guards, and Danika and Acheron, as well. We’ll let everyone know she’s missing.”
Tristan frowned. “We can use a tracking spell,” he said.
“True, but we need to see their reactions, before anything else,” I replied. “You and Esme are right. We need to know who we’re dealing with.”
Amal got up. “I’ll go fetch the ingredients from her room,” she said. “I know she left her backpack behind, because she went out in snake form.”
“We’ll meet you back here,” Sofia said, walking her out. As soon as she shut the door and turned around, she let a deep sigh roll out. “Derek… what are we going to do?”
Glancing at Tristan and Esme, I knew I couldn’t let them down. I couldn’t let any of them down. I stopped by the fireplace, watching the flames die in the candle stumps, one by one.
“We take this one step at a time,” I said. “First, we find Nethissis. Then, we deal with everything else.”
Ready for the next part of the journey?
Dear Shaddict,
Thank you for reading An Origin of Vampires!
The next book—ASOV 79: A Game of Death—releases August 15th, 2019.
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Bella x
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Read more by Bella Forrest
HARLEY MERLIN
(Fantasy/romance/adventure series)
Harley Merlin and the Secret Coven (Book 1)
Harley Merlin and the Mystery Twins (Book 2)
Harley Merlin and the Stolen Magicals (Book 3)
Harley Merlin and the First Ritual (Book 4)
Harley Merlin and the Broken Spell (Book 5)
Harley Merlin and the Cult of Eris (Book 6)
Harley Merlin and the Detector Fix (Book 7)
Harley Merlin and the Challenge of Chaos (Book 8)
Harley Merlin and the Mortal Pact (Book 9)
Finch Merlin and the Fount of Youth (Book 10)
HOTBLOODS
(Supernatural romance. Completed series.)
Hotbloods (Book 1)
Coldbloods (Book 2)
Renegades (Book 3)
Venturers (Book 4)
Traitors (Book 5)
Allies (Book 6)
Invaders (Book 7)
Stargazers (Book 8)
THE CHILD THIEF
(Action-adventure/romance. Completed series.)
The Child Thief (Book 1)
Deep Shadows (Book 2)
Thin Lines (Book 3)
Little Lies (Book 4)
Ghost Towns (Book 5)
Zero Hour (Book 6)
THE GENDER GAME
(Action-adventure/romance. Completed series.)
The Gender Game (Book 1)
The Gender Secret (Book 2)
The Gender Lie (Book 3)
The Gender War (Book 4)
The Gender Fall (Book 5)
The Gender Plan (Book 6)
The Gender End (Book 7)
THE GIRL WHO DARED TO THINK
(Action-adventure/romance. Completed series.)
The Girl Who Dared to Think (Book 1)
The Girl Who Dared to Stand (Book 2)
The Girl Who Dared to Descend (Book 3)
The Girl Who Dared to Rise (Book 4)
The Girl Who Dared to Lead (Book 5)
The Girl Who Dared to Endure (Book 6)
The Girl Who Dared to Fight (Book 7)
A SHADE OF VAMPIRE SERIES
(Supernatural romance)
Season 1: Derek & Sofia’s story
A Shade of Vampi
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A Shade of Blood (Book 2)
A Castle of Sand (Book 3)
A Shadow of Light (Book 4)
A Blaze of Sun (Book 5)
A Gate of Night (Book 6)
A Break of Day (Book 7)
Season 2: Rose & Caleb’s story
A Shade of Novak (Book 8)
A Bond of Blood (Book 9)
A Spell of Time (Book 10)
A Chase of Prey (Book 11)
A Shade of Doubt (Book 12)
A Turn of Tides (Book 13)
A Dawn of Strength (Book 14)
A Fall of Secrets (Book 15)
An End of Night (Book 16)
Season 3: The Shade continues with a new hero…
A Wind of Change (Book 17)
A Trail of Echoes (Book 18)
A Soldier of Shadows (Book 19)
A Hero of Realms (Book 20)
A Vial of Life (Book 21)
A Fork of Paths (Book 22)
A Flight of Souls (Book 23)
A Bridge of Stars (Book 24)
Season 4: A Clan of Novaks
A Clan of Novaks (Book 25)
A World of New (Book 26)
A Web of Lies (Book 27)
A Touch of Truth (Book 28)
An Hour of Need (Book 29)
A Game of Risk (Book 30)
A Twist of Fates (Book 31)
A Day of Glory (Book 32)
Season 5: A Dawn of Guardians
A Dawn of Guardians (Book 33)
A Sword of Chance (Book 34)
A Race of Trials (Book 35)
A King of Shadow (Book 36)
An Empire of Stones (Book 37)
A Power of Old (Book 38)
A Rip of Realms (Book 39)
A Throne of Fire (Book 40)
A Tide of War (Book 41)
Season 6: A Gift of Three
A Gift of Three (Book 42)
A House of Mysteries (Book 43)
A Tangle of Hearts (Book 44)
A Meet of Tribes (Book 45)
A Shade of Vampire 78: An Origin of Vampires Page 29