A Rip of Realms (A Shade of Vampire #39)(44)

“With what army?” Ash snapped. “We need a proper force, and most of our men are in the Memenion kingdom—we’ll only get one shot at this.”

“I’ll send word out; they can join us as we travel.”

Ash nodded reluctantly.

“All right then. We depart in two hours.”

We all hurried inside. Tejus went to speak with the guards to send messengers off to the rest of the kingdoms, and Ash disappeared with the ministers.

“I’m coming this time, by the way,” Benedict announced stoutly.

“You are,” I agreed.

He looked surprised at how easily I’d given in, but there was no way I was leaving him on his own again. We would be stronger together, and somehow we would just have to survive this. With any luck, it would be the last hurdle we faced before freedom from Nevertide.

“I need to go and speak to Abelle.” I turned to Ruby. “Make sure Julian and Benedict are ready?”

“I will. But Hazel, be careful. It might not be the best idea.”

I hadn’t had to mention why I wanted to see the herbal apothecary—Ruby had instantly guessed that I wanted to regain my powers for the fight ahead. It was risky to have them, I knew that, but it was riskier not to have them. And it was the only way I had a hope in hell of protecting Benedict and my friends.

“I know, but I need to do this, Ruby.”

She bit her bottom lip, her eyes concerned.

“Trust me,” I replied. “It’s the only way.”

I left them, going off in search of Abelle. I hoped that she would have something to reverse the effect of the potion—I wasn’t sure that I had time for it to wear off on its own. I quickly searched all the rooms on the upper mezzanine. When I found no trace of her, I tried the rooms downstairs, finally finding a large room where all the syphoned ministers, guards and villagers were recovering.

I scanned the room, looking for Abelle, but could see no sign of her. I turned to one of the villagers who was propped up against the wall, looking tired and dazed, but not too badly injured.

“Have you seen Abelle at all?” I asked.

The woman thought about it for a few moments, and then nodded slowly.

“I did,” she replied after a while, her voice drawling and soft. “I think she went to get more herbs from the garden…she’s been such a help.”

“Thanks!” I darted back out of the room before the woman could reply, and made my way through to the kitchen and out onto the lawn through the busted wall.

I peered out into the darkness, wondering where the sentry had gotten to. Impatience and frustration were starting to get the better of me, and I stalked out toward the surrounding forest.





Hazel





Low mists wrapped themselves around the tree trunks, making it harder to see what might lie beyond. I was reluctant to travel too deeply into the forests. Their eerie silence still made me feel as if I was being watched, and the dark, unfathomable shapes created by twisting roots and rock formations made my body tense.

I wondered if Abelle would have even bothered to go so far into the woods—what herbs would grow in the constant shade of the dense trees? But she was nowhere else. She had to be around here somewhere.

“Abelle?” I called out into the night.

No reply. I tried a couple more times, but felt like my voice was being drowned by the heavy clusters of trees and dank mists. The only other option I had was to try to use my faulty True Sight skills to see into the forest.

I leaned against the trunk of a tree, closing my eyes briefly to calm myself and summon the energy I needed. I took a few deep breaths, determined to make this work, and reopened my eyes. Trying to follow Tejus’s instructions, I fixed my gaze way ahead in the distance—acting as if the shroud of the forest wasn’t really there, like a curtain I could part and reveal what lay behind it.

It took a while. I could feel perspiration beading on my forehead, and my breaths becoming heavier and more labored as the mental energy took its toll. Even my eyes started to ache, growing dry and uncomfortable. Eventually I was rewarded with a slight wavering of the scene before me, and my sight extended to see past the first cluster of trees, then the second, and then on beyond that. The outlines of objects grew more blurry the further my sight reached, but still just about distinguishable.

Slowly I started to move my head, taking in more of the forest.

Where are you?

I couldn’t see anything other than trees, rocks and thick clusters of undergrowth, none of it stirring. The complete absence of wildlife, and the strange trance-like state that using True Sight created, made me feel totally isolated, like I was the only person left alive in a dead world.

Just when I was about to give up and return to the palace, I saw a movement out of the corner of my eye. Turning, I could see the blurry outlines of two figures. I still couldn’t see in color, which made it harder for me to make out who they were. I started to move closer, not wanting to call out just yet—there was something shifty about the way they were moving through the forest, slow and warily, as if they didn’t want to be seen.

Trying not to make a sound, I reached a point where I could make out one of the figures—it was definitely Abelle, the large and slightly rotund silhouette was unmistakable. The second figure was just as tall as Abelle, and dressed in a black robe with the hood entirely covering the sentry’s face.