It made Myst pinch the bridge of her nose. “You want to use Astra, huh?”
“Why, it’s like you’ve read my mind!” the Father replied, his eyes reduced to venomous slits. They grew wide and sweet again when he looked at me. “Brandon may have stolen your heart, but I can still make your body sing.” He paused for a second. “That came out wrong.”
“You think?” Brandon blurted, blue fires burning angrily white for a moment.
“What are you talking about?” I asked, though his acknowledgment of Brandon’s effect on me only served to amplify the feelings I had been dealing with for quite a while.
Baldur coughed lightly and offered an apologetic smile. “Hrista tapped into some very old energies to open up unauthorized portals. The same kind of energies that made you, darling.”
“Okay, now I’m the one who’s lost,” Thayen replied.
“When darkness meets light, when death meets life, the impossible is achieved. The unimaginable is unlocked,” Baldur recited, and Edda nodded in agreement. “Somehow, Hrista’s spirit contains all four components: darkness, light, death, life. Astra here has three, for sure—life, death, and light. Three that I see clearly.”
“Order said as much, more or less,” Edda said, unsure of Baldur’s direction.
“But she was wrong!” the Father laughed, downright thrilled to have outsmarted Order on this. “There are four in Astra, too! Though I cannot account for each of their origins. I mean, life comes from the Oracle genes, for sure. Light… I reckon that’s the Hermessi thread that made her, and it’s what might qualify her to become a Valkyrie beyond life. Or it could be both or the other way around! It doesn’t matter. They’re there.” Well, we’d had that wrong until now, it seemed, but I was glad to get some clarifications here. “Death comes from the sentry side. And the darkness, I feel it, I’m sure Brandon feels it, too, though he could never quite put his finger on it.” He paused to look at the Berserker.
“You’re on to something,” Brandon muttered.
“But I don’t know its source! It is so weak… merely in its infancy. But it’s there. Maybe that’s why Order missed it. I guarantee you we’re dealing with all four here. The only difference between Hrista and Astra, however, is that Astra’s spirit is still wrapped in a meat sack.”
“But wouldn’t killing Astra heighten the girl’s chances to become a Valkyrie?” Myst asked. “If I were Hrista, I’d try to avoid that.”
“I’d try to avoid killing me regardless of the level of threat I pose to that crazy lady,” I said. I did wonder about the source of my darkness. Where had that come from? Would I ever find out?
Baldur grinned. “That’s the thing. Astra is a problem for Hrista with or without a body. It doesn’t really matter. But by killing Astra, Hrista punishes her and her family by taking the girl away from them.” He looked at me. “Now, let’s get you back into portal opening mode, sweetie. I’m dying to grab a fistful of Hrista’s hair and return her to Purgatory.”
“You make it sound so easy,” I murmured.
I’d accidentally brought us here while trying to get us back into The Shade. What were the odds that I’d succeed the second time around? Brandon had promised me that practice really did make perfect when it came to these powers, and I’d proven it with my steep learning curve and rapid development thus far.
“Have some faith in yourself,” Brandon said, forever imprinting himself onto my soul. “I know I do.”
That was the sweetest truth. The bitter one had Hrista waiting for me to set foot into The Shade. We all knew now that there was more to me than we’d thought. I found comfort in having Jericho and Dafne, Thayen, the Time Master, and Aphis by my side. I had Myst, too, and this enticing Berserker, Brandon, who’d turned my world upside down. And then there was Edda and Baldur, oh, the seemingly crazy Baldur with terrible manners but such intricate knowledge of how the universe worked.
In the end, my choices were simple. Run, or keep pushing. And I had no intention of running. Somebody had to defend The Shade and our way of life. If Hrista feared me so much, then I had to rise to the occasion and make those fears justified. As Brandon touched my hand, a fire was rekindled. My resolve burned brighter and hotter than ever. One way or another, I’d get us back into The Shade.
Thayen
For a moment, I had found it hard to imagine that Baldur, this whirlwind of a Berserker with no end and no beginning might be able to bring out the best in Astra. And yet, despite Brandon’s killer frown and Hammer’s threatening growls, the Father pressed his fingers against the half-Daughter’s temples and hummed softly, while she focused on opening a shimmering portal.
She had done it before, even though she’d gotten the destination wrong.
The first hint I got that something big was coming was when her skin lit up pink. Astra glowed intensely from the inside, her Daughter nature taking over. Nurtured by Purgatory’s energies, it flared brighter than ever before. Baldur’s influence was playing its part. “That’s it,” he said, laughing as he opened his eyes. The blue fires had turned pink, and I sucked in a breath, realizing that Astra was using the Father as some kind of conduit.
“Holy smokes,” Jericho breathed, eyebrows raised in astonishment.
“You can say that again,” Dafne replied. They had their arms wrapped around one another, waiting with childlike anticipation for Astra to come through and take us where we needed to go.
“Stay with that feeling,” Brandon whispered in Astra’s ear. He’d coached her before. I knew she would respond. Baldur cried out in what sounded like pain, his skin turning paler as a shimmering portal tore its way between him and Astra. Before its upper tip could reach their heads, Baldur grunted and pushed Astra back, breaking the physical contact.
The shimmering portal grew and widened, the pink glow now concentrated exclusively in Astra’s hands as she tried to maneuver the damned thing. White light poured from inside it, an ocean of diamonds waiting to be crossed.
“There it is,” Baldur laughed, clearly pleased with himself.
Brandon took Astra’s hand in his with a determination I hadn’t seen before. I welcomed it, after the earlier uncertainties. The Berserker had proven his intentions to be pure, and Astra surely benefited from his presence, from his attention and affection. It felt good to see them like this. She needed him, and I had a feeling he needed her, too, in his own way. “Come on, we need to go,” he told her.
Hammer padded closer, giving him a faint whimper. It brought a tear to Astra’s eyes. “Turns out he’s choosing to come with you, after all.”
Brandon had not made any effort to convince the Aesir to follow him, confident that Hammer would be able to choose freely once faced with the options. This had been his moment, and the dire wolf had chosen to leave Purgatory in Brandon’s company. We had no idea what that meant for his future, but if his Berserker had gone rogue, Hammer would follow.
“You honor me,” Brandon told the Aesir, who huffed in return and licked the back of his hand. It was a wholesome moment, a much-needed breath of hope. I imagined a future for them together—Astra, Brandon, and Hammer. I had no idea where the thought had come from, but due to the warm smile on her face, it felt right.
“Are you ready?” Myst asked, and I turned my head to find her gazing at me. She leaned forward, and for a moment, I anticipated something I knew I wanted. But it never came, as Brandon pulled Astra through the shimmering portal, Baldur jumped in after them, and Edda grabbed both Myst and me and took us with her.
“That was fun!” Jericho exclaimed as he and Dafne followed us through the passageway, swiftly joined by the Time Master and Aphis.
The enhanced team was complete, and we’d safely made it… “Hold on,” I mumbled. “We’re not in The Shade.”
“Oh, come on, seriously?” Time snapped, his chin jutting angrily. “Ah… now I see it. Well played.”
We weren’t in The Shade, per se. We’d made it to a small patch of dry land just outside The Shade, se
parated by less than a mile of water. The ocean spread all around us in its precious shades of blue, glimmering under the moonlight. “But we’re home,” I said. “Or home-adjacent, at least.”
“Okay… I’m considering this an improvement,” Astra replied, her breathing labored as the shimmering portal closed behind us.
“It is an improvement,” Baldur said. His humor vanished as he turned his attention to The Shade. “But I don’t think that’s supposed to be there.”
There was something wrong. Awfully wrong. “What did she do?” I heard Edda ask, though nobody had an answer, just a pile of questions, each stranger than the other.
The usual spell that cloaked our island had changed into something… different. A dome of black smoke now covered my beloved home. Reds and greens burst through it. Blues and yellows. Every other color on the cosmic palette joined them, occasionally interrupted by white lightning.
An electric charge filled the air. The kind of heavy humidity that I could smell. It told us a storm was coming, and we had landed smack in the middle of it. The ocean rumbled, its waters choppy as they attempted to swallow our little piece of dry land. It had been calm earlier, but it was changing. The Time Master made use of some of the swamp witch magic knowledge he’d acquired over the years to elevate it above the water. His lips moved, and I dared assume he was reaching out to Death, too. We needed help.
“I don’t understand,” Myst said, stunned by the sight before us. The dome crackled and moaned, swelling and growing, ever so slowly. It was obvious, though. It could not be denied. Whatever the spell cast upon our island was, it was spreading. “What sort of magic is this? It doesn’t look like Purgatory magic.”
“It’s much worse,” Edda concluded, covering her mouth.
“This is hybrid magic,” Baldur said what the Mother couldn’t, as the shock had rendered her speechless. “Like I told you, darkness and light, life and death. Hrista found a way. I’m willing to bet that the box of Kedra, the black witch, played a fundamental part.”
Astra nodded once. “Okay, so what do we do?”
“I imagine Hrista will answer that question any moment now,” the Time Master replied, drawing his scythe as he looked ahead. Before he could use his death magic, however, a bright white pulse smacked him in the forehead, and he nearly fell into the water. Aphis caught him and held him up, while the rest of us turned to see Hrista coming.
A jetty made of ice extended from beneath the hybrid magic dome. With each step that Hrista took, the frost expanded beneath her, creating a walkway for her to approach us. My blood ran cold as I saw the woman behind her. She had cuffs on, and she seemed… different. “Unending?” I mumbled, mostly to myself.
By the time Hrista reached us, Baldur and Edda had already assumed their combat positions. The rogue Valkyrie didn’t seem frightened, however. Maybe amused, but certainly not impressed. Unending’s hands were bound with threads of black mist, and her nostrils flared furiously.
“You’ve been a very bad girl,” Baldur said and manifested his long-handled axe. Edda drew her shining trident, and they both lunged at her with everything they had. They glided across the water like birds, the moonlight dancing on their blades.
But Hrista disappeared and reappeared behind Unending with a sly grin, while the Mother and Father came to a screeching halt. Unending looked so downtrodden, it nearly broke my heart. “Don’t bother,” the Reaper said. “She’s not really here.”
“What?” Baldur needed a moment to get his thoughts back in order.
Edda held on to his shoulder for support, equally puzzled. “She’s not really here?”
“In layman’s terms, I’m projecting,” Hrista replied, then looked at the Time Master. “I shot my disabling spell at you all the way from back there. I’m a sniper, do not mess with me.”
She seemed like she was having fun. Unending, on the other hand, looked close to broken, and I couldn’t understand why. “How… what happened to you?” I asked the Reaper.
It was Time who answered, instantly recognizing her new condition. “She has a living body. I don’t know how, and I don’t know why, but Unending, my dear sister, is stuck inside that meat suit.”
“And something tells me this ray of twisted sunshine had something to do with it,” Brandon concluded. He would’ve liked nothing more than to tear Hrista’s head off, but there was no point. If we were dealing with a projection, it meant that she was well protected. She had come prepared.
Unending took a step forward on the ice, her foot slipping. She re-balanced herself carefully—having her hands bound made it more difficult, but she pulled through. “I’m a prisoner, and so is Tristan,” the Reaper said. “For a particularly personal reason, I had myself fitted into a body, and now… I can no longer leave it. If I do, it will be through death only, and then I shall be automatically reaped and sent into the afterlife. Not even Death can change that. I will never be a Reaper again.” Her voice broke, tears glazing her eyes—no longer galaxies but human-like pools of darkness and raw emotion. “I am here as proof that Hrista has a sure hold on me and my husband, as well as the entire island.”
“There… See? It wasn’t that hard,” Hrista replied, enjoying every second. “Now, my turn.” She looked to Astra first. “I knew you’d come, eventually. But I am generally well prepared, so this conversation already has an auspicious conclusion. You made it close enough, but you can never set foot inside The Shade. Ever again. I have locked all of you out. Every single Shadian, except for Tristan and his poor little wifey here, because there’s nothing I like better than leverage.”
Edda shook her head, making sure her disappointment was clear. “I don’t understand what it is you’re hoping to accomplish with this, Hrista. You don’t belong here.”
“I belong wherever I damn well please!” she retorted, immediately furious. I wasn’t the only one who noticed, either. Unending was also intently focused on the Valkyrie. “And like I said, The Shade is mine, now. Try all you want, you are never coming back to it. I’m making it into something better, far superior and beautifully evolved.”
“What the hell did you do?” I asked, horror unfurling in my throat.
“She took creation magic, and she perverted it,” Baldur said. “My biggest concern is that she may be untouchable.”
The projection claimed as much. Hrista had been able to fire a spell at the Time Master. She’d forced Unending out here to relay her message as a hostage. And she’d gotten her claws so deep into our island, I wasn’t sure how we’d free it before it was too late. Myst looked worried, but there was anger in her eyes, too. It flared white and unforgiving, then dwindled into something soft and uncertain when she glanced at me. Hope, I realized. When Myst looked at me, she had hope.
“Say what you will, do whatever you want,” Astra said, her hands still glowing pink—a shade I hadn’t seen before. It was furiously intense and infinitely brighter, a mirror of her emotions, I figured. It was hard to even look at them as I waited for my eyes to become accustomed to that light. “I will get you out of there. One way or another, I’m going to come in there and drag your ass back to Purgatory where you belong.”
Her bravery and determination made me feel like there was a light at the end of this peculiar tunnel. Sure, we’d stumbled plenty along the way. We’d won a few battles, lost some. Even so, we’d made it this far. The Shade was my home. It had welcomed me as a child, and now it needed me to protect it. It needed each of us who’d grown in its redwood embrace to come through for it.
Hrista was impressed. She wouldn’t say it, but it was written all over her face, even in that projection form. Unending picked up on it, too. “Well, congratulations, Astra. You managed to open a portal. Whoop-dee-doo. You still have the entire population of The Shade to bring over. I assume you’ll want your Reaper friends involved, too,” she added, sneering at the Time Master.
Aphis was eager to rip her throat out, but the Reaper held him back. “You’ll get your chance, just not
now.”
“Maybe never,” Hrista retorted, pointing a finger at Unending. “It’s why she’s here. Death is busy at the moment. I made sure of that. But you and the rest of your cohort might end up being a thorn in my side, so I figured Unending here would help even the playing field. If you so much as breathe in my direction, I’ll lop her head off and throw it at you across the water.” She looked at me next. I felt her hate coursing through me. Or maybe it was just mine, as powerful as hers. “And the same will happen to Tristan. Make sure you tell Esme that. I’ll have her clone eviscerate him.”
“Why are you doing this?” Myst asked the sister she’d once held in such high regard. I could only imagine how she felt in this moment. There wasn’t much I could do, unfortunately, other than make sure that Astra would keep her promise.
“Because I can. Because I am better, and because I am tired of seeing the universe punish excellence and reward mediocrity. What happened to the Spirit Bender must never happen again. I will upend the balance, and I will rearrange the entire world,” Hrista said. “And then, my dear sister… you’ll be welcome to join me. Or, should you choose to be stupid, I’ll be more than happy to reduce you and anyone else who dares interrupt my work into mere shadows of your former selves.”
Myst had deliberately chosen to keep her Aesir out of this. So had Edda and Baldur, as well as Regine before them. The only one who was practically vulnerable in this current formula was Brandon. His Hammer was close, a potential target for Hrista’s wrath. The dire wolf had chosen to come with him, though, and Brandon would never lose sight of him again. Yet the mad Valkyrie’s statement stood out, basically implying that even with the Aesirs safely tucked away in Purgatory, she still had a way to get to them. Valkyries and Berserkers couldn’t be killed or destroyed—but their Aesirs were not indestructible. And that was what Hrista was banking on.
“Time to head back, sweetie,” Hrista told Unending, then flashed us a broad smile. “It doesn’t matter what you do from now on. I already got what I wanted. I got your Shade.”
A Shade of Vampire 91: A Gate of Light Page 24