A Shade of Vampire 85: A Shard of Soul

by Bella Forrest

  “Their masters are gone,” I replied. “Maybe we can turn them to our side.”

  “Once we get the rune collars off, perhaps.” He paused, then chuckled softly. “Well, Stan and Ollie are back, and they’re taking care of the collars for us.”

  “What?” I croaked and dashed to his side to see for myself.

  Indeed, Stan and Ollie had returned from their hiding spot, wherever that might’ve been, and were cautiously circling the four Knight Ghouls that had been guarding this property. They took a few minutes to hiss and sniff one another, but eventually all the ghouls appeared to land on the same page. Stan used his claw to try to remove one of the collars. It didn’t do anything, and the Knight Ghouls looked disappointed, slouching on their hind legs and lowering their heads.

  “They need a scythe’s blade to crack open those collars,” I breathed. “Let the others know we’re okay, Trev.”

  Picking up one of them off the floor, I hopped over Jolie Jasperstone and Rennert Gauss’s bodies and practically flew down the stairs. I stopped on the back porch as the ghouls all stilled and gawked at me with wide, dark eyes. Ollie whispered something in their ghoulish language, and neither made a sound or a single movement as I carefully made my way toward them.

  “I’m not going to hurt you,” I said, slowly raising the scythe so I could show it to the creatures. “You need this to crack open the collars.”

  The four Knight Ghouls didn’t respond, but they didn’t react negatively, either. I stopped mere inches from them. They eyed the curved blade, then one of them gave me a slight nod, allowing me to get closer.

  “I’ve only heard how to use this on a rune collar, so you’ll have to bear with me for a moment,” I muttered, reaching the first Knight Ghoul. He tilted his head to the side, making it easier for me to access the collar’s latch. A rune glowed red over it, engraved into the metal. Slowly biting the tip of my tongue, I used the point of the blade to scratch at it until sparks flew, and the red glow faded.

  The ghoul let out a low growl, but he remained still. With trembling fingers, I managed to loosen the latch until the collar came off. He was finally free, giving me a long and curious look before he huffed with excitement and moved back. Stretching his long limbs, muscles taut beneath the translucent skin, the ghoul whispered to the others and shook his whole body, finally tasting freedom after who knew how long.

  A second Knight Ghoul came closer, bowing before me. He stilled as I repeated the operation and released him, then his other two friends. The four of them gathered with Stan and Ollie, baring their fangs at me—it wasn’t a threatening sneer, but rather an attempt to smile, to offer me their gratitude. Chills traveled down my spine as I realized how good it felt to have been able to give them this much.

  “How long have you been in the Darklings’ service? Do you remember?” I asked, occasionally looking around to make sure we hadn’t overlooked any other Darkling guards around the house. The whole neighborhood was quiet, and only the songs of nocturnal birds nestled in the nearby trees could be heard. What I would’ve given for this brief tranquility to last forever.

  The first freed Knight Ghoul raised his head for a second. He used a claw to scratch the dirt between us, drawing six short lines.

  “Six years?” I replied, and he shook his head. “Decades?” Again, he indicated a no. “Centuries?” He nodded. “Okay. That’s a long damn time to put up with these bastards. What about you three?” I asked the others.

  Using the first Knight Ghoul’s method and a few more questions, I was able to ascertain that they had spent a varied amount of time under the Darklings’ rule. The second ghoul had been around for two million years, while the other two for five and six hundred thousand years, respectively. My heart broke for them, because I knew they hadn’t chosen this path for themselves.

  “I’m sorry this happened to you,” I sighed, my shoulders dropping. “Truly sorry. No one deserves this kind of misery and subservience, especially not those of you who didn’t even ask for it.”

  Stan and Ollie came closer, flanking me on both sides. They all looked up, as if waiting for me to give the next order. I couldn’t help but smile, somewhat overwhelmed by their general softness. They were, by all intents and purposes, ruthless monsters and killing machines—and yet, they’d retained a sort of vulnerability.

  “You’re free now. I’m not sure how much good that does, considering what you were forced to become, but at least you’re not the Darklings’ slaves anymore. That’s got to count for something, right?”

  We’d lost two soul shards in this fight, long before we’d even set foot in the villa and despite Thayen’s best intentions. But I couldn’t count this as a complete loss. I’d released four tormented ghouls—former Reapers who’d come to Visio to do their jobs in maintaining the universal balance, which the Darklings had broken, hopefully not beyond repair.

  I was angry, yes. But I was determined, too. Spirit’s underlings hadn’t heard the last of us.

  “Esme!” Trev said as he ran outside and joined us in the garden. “I found this.”

  Breathlessly, he handed me a small piece of yellowish paper. It had been folded and marked with a red wax seal. I recognized the sigil. It belonged to the Nasani dynasty, and my stomach churned a little. “Where was it?” I asked.

  “Inside Rennert’s coat pocket,” he replied. “We both know where it came from.”

  We most certainly did. I exhaled sharply and tore off the wax seal, unfolding the paper to find a message scrawled in black ink. I’d seen the swirly handwriting before… on documents signed by Danika Nasani.

  “It’s for us,” I muttered, skimming through the lines before deciding to read it aloud. “Dear GASP worms, you might have noticed by now that neither steel nor fire nor death magic or Death’s tools are enough to stop me. I’ve taken two more soul shards, and soon I’ll have them all. You can keep fighting us if you want. Resist at your leisure. Be stubborn and foolish. Insist on your garbage, faux self-righteousness, if you must. But the outcome is and will always be the same. The Darklings will prevail. The Spirit Bender will rise again. And we shall retain our empire and glory, even if we have to crush your skulls and souls for it. I’ll see you all back in Roano. Your Lady Supreme and Undeniable Victor, Danika Nasani.”

  Trev remained silent. The ghouls didn’t even blink, while I tried to take it all in. My blood ran cold, ice stiffening my joints and tightening its grip on my throat as each of Danika’s words sank in.

  “She’s the ultimate bitch, even in writing,” I managed.

  “I’ll see you all back in Roano,” Trev repeated. Not only had we been too late to get the Whips away from her, she’d also made sure to rub it in properly by leaving this letter for us to find.

  “Danika knows where our people are,” I said.

  Tapping into the comms system, I immediately warned Derek and Sofia, though I had no more details to give other than a description of the events that had led up to this moment, contents of the found letter included.

  We had nowhere else to go in terms of searching for Danika. We knew now that she was actually headed our way. I wasn’t sure how she’d learned about Roano, but it didn’t even matter at this point.

  “We have to go back,” I told Trev, my voice shaky. “If Danika breaches Roano’s defenses, Thayen will be as good as dead.”

  “Tristan and Valaine, too,” Trev replied, equally terrified by the implications of Danika’s letter. “She’ll find a way to get to them. If Petra was so dastardly resourceful, imagine what the Lady Supreme will do, if the dragon’s fire wasn’t enough to pin her down.”

  I didn’t even want to imagine how Danika was faring. She’d been burnt to a crisp. It was a miracle she’d been able to write a damn letter, let alone make her way to Roano. Miracle aside, however, the facts were indisputable. She knew where to find us, and Trev and I couldn’t get back there in time on our own.

  “Stan, Ollie, we need your help,” I told the ghouls, while Trev fin
ished collecting all the Reaper scythes to bring back to Roano. “The horses aren’t fast enough, but you two can travel across vast spaces because of your subtle nature. Can you help us?”

  Stan and Ollie glanced at one another, then at the other four ghouls. They exchanged a series of chirps and whispers that I couldn’t understand, but their collective nod made my heart swell a little. They had a solution for our urgent need of returning to Roano. They huddled together, and Stan extended a hand, his lanky fingers stretched out. I took it, feeling the coolness of his translucent skin against mine.

  Ollie did the same with Trev. Once we were all connected, the first Knight Ghoul roared, throwing his head back as he lit up from the inside.

  “Whoa. What… what’s happening?” Trev asked, his eyes widening.

  “I have no idea,” I replied, unable to look away. It was clearly different from Harper’s description of how she’d traveled with Herbert. This was something else entirely.

  The other ghouls gripped the first one’s bony shoulders. The unnatural shimmer didn’t subside, but he started moving. We walked with them, our hands linked to their group.

  Darkness surrounded us. The temperature dropped. A heavy weight settled in my stomach, while the ground vanished from under us. For a moment, I was tempted to flail and scream, until I realized I wasn’t falling. I was still walking, but no longer like a living vampire—I was walking like a ghoul. The world shifted around us in a plethora of dim colors and blurred shapes.

  Turning hundreds of miles into mere yards, the ghouls helped us make our way back to Roano much faster than on horseback. My chest tightened with anticipation. This was the worst-case scenario finally and unavoidably coming true. We’d all been fools to think it might end differently.

  The Darklings had worked too hard for too long to let us defeat them.

  But I wasn’t done fighting, dammit. I had so much to lose if the Darklings had their way. I would be forced to say goodbye to Kalon if Danika managed to resurrect the Spirit Bender. The Unending would be killed again, and the cycle restarted.

  “I’m not letting them win this,” I heard myself whisper as matter shifted and brushed against my cheeks. It was an odd feeling, but nowhere near as odd as staring into the abyss of a future where the Darklings prevailed.

  They’re not going to win this…

  Kelara

  Understanding how Rudolph must have felt during his captivity prior to turning was not something I’d ever planned for myself. In fact, I’d hoped I would only imagine it sometimes, when nothing else occupied my mind. But to find myself in his shoes filled me with the sort of dread I wouldn’t wish upon the worst of my enemies. Yet here I was, with a rune collar tightened around my neck and my scythe secured on Corbin’s belt.

  He forced me to sit beside him on a large wooden chair in the middle of the camp. The green fires continued to burn slowly, their light dancing through the pitch-black night beneath the Nightmare Forest’s foliage crown and between the thick, tall trees. Defeat left a bitter taste in my mouth that lingered on the tip of my tongue. The Master of Darkness had bested us, and I’d pretty much seen it coming.

  I’d put myself in harm’s way on purpose because I knew they would’ve gone for Soul first, and I could not, under any circumstances, let the Darklings get their claws on a First Tenner—especially not the guy I seemed to have fallen for. I cared about him, and I gave him better odds out there than in here with a rune collar. Anxiety persisted like a simmering ball in the pit of my stomach, but I did my best to ignore it.

  The road had not come to an end just yet, and I planned to make the most of my stay here—regardless of how it would turn out. The collar stopped me from telepathically communicating with any of my colleagues, but I knew Soul was out there, trying to find a way to set me free. I just wasn’t sure he’d get to me in time.

  “What are we doing here?” I asked Corbin, who’d settled comfortably in his chair and was occasionally checking his pocket watch. “Waiting for someone?”

  “I have friends coming, yes,” he said, matter-of-factly.

  Looking around, I didn’t spot any movement outside the protected camp. But that didn’t mean there weren’t other Darklings out there and on their way to our location. The ones that Soul had killed were still around, their bodies stiff and partially covered with dried leaves. It was cold, judging by the steam rolling out of Corbin’s mouth whenever he spoke.

  A twig snapped somewhere nearby. I turned my head, hoping I’d spot the source of the brief but sharp crackle. It made Corbin smile. “Your friend won’t save you. He can’t get past the fires.”

  “You underestimate Death’s agents,” I replied, stiff as a board. Being in his proximity made me want to hurl. I’d never imagined a living creature to be as evil and as lacking in morals as Corbin Crimson—the same judgment applied to all the Darklings, actually. Choosing to disrupt the natural order between life and death solely to retain one’s immortality… it was despicable. Unforgivable. “You’re not going to win this, Corbin.”

  “It’s Master, Kelara. That is how you address me.”

  I didn’t respond. Instead, I chose to look away and hope I might see Soul somewhere around the camp. Even the slightest glimpse of him would take the edge off, because I was bordering on hopeless. I blamed my state of mind on the rune collar. It was doing something to me. It had to be the first stage of how Darklings turned Reapers into Knight Ghouls—stripping them of hope and strength, forcing them to succumb to the darkness that eventually pushed them to consume the souls of living creatures.

  “It’s only the polite thing to do. I am your Master, now,” Corbin added.

  I shot him a cold stare. “You will never be my Master. I only answer to Death.”

  “Death can’t save you, sweetheart, but I must say… you’ve got fire inside you. I like you,” he replied, smiling as if we’d only just met for coffee at the local café. There wasn’t a single care on his mind. No shadows dancing across his face. Only the serenity of a man for whom everything was falling into place, one piece at a time.

  “Can’t say the same,” I muttered. “Who’s coming?”

  “Oh, it’s not your concern,” he said. “It’s out of your hands now, Kelara. You might as well start accepting your fate. It’ll make the process easier when you turn, believe me. Less painful, too.”

  “You’re not turning me into a ghoul.”

  “You’re in my grasp, with a rune collar around your neck. Your friend can’t reach us. What makes you think anyone will be able to save you, if Death herself cannot?” Corbin asked, still very much amused. “I’m not an underling like a scout or a silver guard. I’m not a Whip.”

  “You’re not a Reaper, either. We still have that edge.”

  “I’m the Master of Darkness, Kelara. Your edge means nothing to me. I have the Spirit Bender’s wisdom ingrained into my very soul. Every word and sub-word and sound he ever taught us is deeply embedded in my mind. You may have put up a half-decent fight, but my people are making progress. In the end, you will not stop us. We will have our way, and you will all perish for being bold and stupid enough to defy us. If only Derek and Sofia had stuck to their day-walking cure, it would’ve made everything so much easier.”

  It was my turn to laugh, and it seemed to irritate him. “You were the ones who asked us for help with a cure against the Black Fever.”

  “We knew you’d fail, obviously. We didn’t expect you people to be so damn persistent! It was our assumption that once you realized that the Black Fever couldn’t be cured and you had your day-walking cure, you would leave Visio and be none the wiser. In hindsight, I see that was a mistake on our part.”

  “Everything you’ve built here was never meant to last. Everything that the Spirit Bender did was ephemeral, and Death will come for you all, eventually. You’ve disrupted the natural order of things. You’ve deprived the afterlife of millions of precious souls. You’ve destroyed the existence of hundreds of Reapers by turning the
m into ghouls—”

  “Thousands, actually. Thousands of Reapers,” he cut me off, his expression proud. “There are so many of you out there that your bosses can’t seem to keep a straight record anymore. I’d have expected armies of your kind knocking on our doors by now, and yet… nothing. Just you. A handful brazen enough to think you can pull one over us. I don’t know what Death has been doing lately, but I imagine her entrapment has rendered her useless.”

  I’d almost forgotten that Derek and Sofia had told the Aeternae leadership about Death and the Reapers a while back, long before we’d reached this suffocating boiling point. Long before Corbin, Petra, and Danika had been revealed as the upper echelon of our enemy. Our GASP friends had given these people too much intel, even though they’d had the best intentions at the time. I couldn’t fault our allies for the error, but I did wish they’d kept some of this information to themselves.

  “Either way, your empire is made of glass, Corbin. It’ll break.”

  “Maybe, maybe not. We’ll find out. In the meantime, I’m doing my part to preserve my world, my traditions, my immortality.”

  “By killing your own daughter,” I scoffed, not hiding my disgust. “You must be so proud.”

  Corbin took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a long second. Upon reopening them, he stared somewhere in the distance, and his lips pressed into a hard line. His jaw was clenched, and I could see a muscle twitching. I’d definitely hit a sore spot, but I wasn’t sure it was going to do any good, since Corbin still retained his calm attitude despite the brief shift.

  “I’m not proud at all. It is a sacrifice, and it pains me,” Corbin finally spoke. “But it must be done for the good of my people.”

  “Your daughter. Blood of your blood. The little baby you held in your arms and raised into a beautiful woman. You’re going to kill her. Your legacy.”

  “I suppose the universe has a way of reminding me that nothing comes easy in this world.”