A Valley of Darkness (A Shade of Vampire #52)(21)

“What’s going on here, Arrah?” I asked.

“My mother is missing, too,” she replied, tears coming to her eyes. “She vanished almost a year ago, to the date. I wish I could tell you more, but I fear for my safety, and that of my brother.”

“You have a brother? Where is he?” Heron took a step closer.

“He’s in prison,” she said with a pained expression.

“Arrah, we’re trying to get to the bottom of this. We want to help, and we need you to tell us everything you know,” I insisted.

“I can’t!” she shot back, visibly frustrated. “Not as long as my brother is where he is, and not while the gorges are riddled with those killers. I’ve lost too much already. I’m not taking any more risks!”

“Why is your brother in prison?” Heron asked, brushing his hand against mine, as if sensing my own nerves stretching. We were standing in front of someone who could tell us more about this entire mess, but was too afraid to come forward. And we had absolutely nothing to offer in return at this point, besides the promise that we’d try to help her brother. Of course she wouldn’t just give it all away.

“He was accused of conspiring against the city, but they never gave any details,” Arrah replied, holding back tears. “I only got the notice letter. I’ve tried appealing, but I’ve been blatantly ignored.”

“How does one conspire against a city?” I asked Heron, not sure I understood the accusation. His shrug made it clear that he knew as much as I did on that point. “Arrah, do you know where the prison is?”

“No. No one knows, except the Correction Officers,” she said. “Kifo’s henchmen. They enforce the laws, and they take the criminal Maras and Imen away. No one ever sees them again.”

I took a deep breath, trying to piece together everything she’d told us so far. We’d heard about Correction Officers during our library session, mere mentions in the Maras’ editorials.

“I tried following the Correction Officers a few times,” she mumbled. “I just wanted to see my brother. He’s been in jail for three months now. But I couldn’t get far. They could always tell when I was tailing them.”

“Is there any connection between the prison, the Correction Officers, these disappearances, and the Valley of Screams?” Heron asked.

“No.” Arrah shook her head. “I doubt it. The Correction Officers have been around since the founding of Azure Heights. The prison, too. The disappearances… They’re more recent.”

“What about the creatures in the Valley of Screams?” I tried the daemon avenue again.

“I told you, I can’t help with that!”

“Heron, I think they have leverage over Arrah with her brother,” I said, drawing a reasonable conclusion. Arrah stared at me, but said nothing. I took her silence as a form of confirmation.

“Okay.” Heron nodded, scratching the back of his head. “What if we get your brother out of prison?”

“You can’t. You don’t even know where the prison is,” Arrah replied bluntly. “But you can follow the Correction Officers. They wear a blue insignia on their coats. Not easy to spot in the crowds, but you can certainly try. They might lead you to the prison, if you manage to tail them all the way there.”

I took Heron aside, my fingers digging into his arm.

“What are you doing?” I whispered. “We’re supposed to get information on Sienna and the others’ disappearances, not meddle in the Exiled Maras’ internal affairs!”

“Arrah knows something about these disappearances, but she’s being kept quiet by these internal affairs, Avril. I’m exploring options, and I will put everything forward to Jax and Hansa before we do anything.”

I mulled it over. Heron turned to face Arrah again.

“Can you hang on here until we figure out the best way to help you?” he offered.

“Yes. Listen, everyone knows there’s a prison in Azure Heights, but we just don’t know where exactly. And there were plenty of innocents taken away by Correction Officers, too. The system is too strict, abusive, even. Please be careful, and please don’t tell anyone about this conversation. They might trace it back to me, and I need to stay safe and alive for my brother!”

“Thank you, Arrah,” I said.

“Don’t thank me yet,” she replied, then opened the glass kitchen door leading into the backyard. “Now go, before anyone else comes back.”

“We’ll see you soon,” Heron reassured her, then walked out.

I followed, glancing over my shoulder as she locked the door behind us and went back to wiping plates. We snuck off the Roho property and followed the pebbled road to the Kifo mansion, where the Spring Ball was in full swing, the entire building still buzzing with music and laughter.

“Are you sure it’s a good idea?” I asked Heron, walking behind him.

He stopped a little too fast, and I bumped into him. He turned around, then lowered his head to look at me. The closeness cut off my air supply.

“Avril, she knows something that could help us get to the bottom of this. I know we’ve been told not to piss off our hosts, but honestly, I don’t really care. People are missing, and judging by the state in which Minah was brought back from the Valley of Screams, they didn’t run off to some vacation resort. Let’s pass all the info we got to Jax and Hansa, and see what they say.”