A Call of Vampires (A Shade of Vampire #51)(73)

“So you’re okay with running off and hiding in the mountains?” I shot back, though I did notice Jax and Hansa’s scowls, aimed directly at me.

“We do what we must to survive.” Caspian held his ground. “As I said, Darius is one of the Five Lords of this city. If he falls, our people are vulnerable. He wasn’t even supposed to be in there with you tonight, but he feared we’d never see you again if he didn’t at least try to keep an eye on you all. If he’d died because of your recklessness, the Exiled Maras would have had a very difficult time seeing you as friends and allies. We are willing to help you as best as we can, but you must also be respectful of our customs and us, your hosts. We do not live the way you do, nor do we expect you to understand that.”

I didn’t exactly have a comeback for that one. In fact, I felt a little silly. Sure, I had been ready to charge into that Valley of Screams, but the Exiled Maras hadn’t been. They’d been losing people for two years now, and it most likely had something to do with those invisible creatures. I shouldn’t have held it against Darius like that. They weren’t all built like me. Like us.

“That being said, we shall see you tomorrow.” Caspian walked out without bothering to wait for a reply of any kind.

A minute went by in absolute silence. The nurses continued looking after the Iman girl and Patrik, removing the rest of their bloody clothes, wiping their bodies clean, and covering them with crisp white sheets.

“Telluris Draven!” Hansa called out, her eyes closed. It didn’t work, and the failure made her let out an inaudible grumble.

“Telluris Draven!” Jax tried as well, then leaned into the wall, crossing his arms over his chest. “This is useless.”

“And this Valley of Screams is a serious issue,” Hansa replied, visibly frustrated. “We could do with some GASP assistance.”

“We’re clearly not going to get any,” Heron muttered, glancing at his brother. “Telluris isn’t working, we’re cut off from Eritopia, and, from what Hansa told us on the way here, whatever is in those gorges is now hunting closer to the city.”

“If not in the city,” Avril added.

“Let’s go outside and talk,” Hansa said, walking toward the door. “Let’s leave Patrik and the girl alone to rest.”

We all agreed and left the infirmary, stopping outside on the edge of the platform. Three moons loomed over us in white, pale orange, and amber, while darkness swallowed the world beyond the mountain.

Hansa had already brought the others up to speed with the invisible entities, what they looked like—or at least what we’d managed to see from the air rippling around them—and their attack style. They were cold and calculated, aiming to hurt first, incapacitate, then kill.

“They like to play with their food,” she added, looking out toward the Valley of Screams, “and the night is their best friend, which doesn’t bode well for the Exiled Maras.”

“This leads us to conclude that those who disappeared might be dead already,” Jax said.

“I don’t think we can say that for certain until we speak to the Iman girl,” Hansa replied. “Maybe they abduct them, keep them somewhere for some time, then kill them. Right now we don’t know for sure, and we must consider every possibility.”

“True, but I wouldn’t hold out hope for the Maras and Imen who went missing two years ago,” Heron interjected. “The ones abducted over the past few weeks, maybe, but not that far back. Let’s be realistic.”

“He’s right.” Jax nodded. “But it means we can narrow our investigation a little bit, and focus on recent disappearances only. The pattern has changed, anyway, since they’re vanishing from the city. We’ll get more clues from investigating them.”

“Yeah, which makes Sienna of House Roho a good avenue to follow,” Fiona said.

She then updated us on the visit she, Avril, and Heron had paid to the Roho mansion and the information they had gathered from Vincent and the Imen servants, as well as the secrets left untold from the likes of Arrah and her mind-bent colleagues. They also shared their plan to further interrogate Arrah during the Spring Ball tomorrow.

“What Spring Ball?” Jax asked.

“We were invited to a Spring Ball,” Avril replied. “All of us. It’ll be held at the Kifo mansion up top.”

The thought of seeing Caspian’s house gave me mixed feelings—with curiosity foremost. But it sounded like a good opportunity for us to dig a little deeper.

“Whoever saved us back in the gorge might be at the Spring Ball tomorrow night,” I muttered, thinking out loud. “We should definitely attend.”

“We all should.” Avril nodded. “Fiona can keep Vincent busy while Heron and I go speak to Arrah again. We’re hoping she’ll be more open and cooperative if none of her masters are present.”

“Sounds like a good plan.” Hansa nodded slowly. “As long as you’re careful not to get caught.”

“We’ll need to talk to more families tomorrow, too,” Caia then said. “We’ve gathered some info, but nothing concrete. Given what you guys have learned so far, however, I think we’ll focus on those who lost people more recently, rather than take on the entire list.”

“Fair enough,” Jax agreed. “Just make sure you include Imen families in your interviews.”