A Valley of Darkness (A Shade of Vampire #52)(3)

“Why don’t you use the swamp witches’ travel spell?” I asked, gulping down the last of my coffee.

“It doesn’t work with different locations on Neraka,” he replied. “It was designed purely for interplanetary travel.”

I nodded slowly. I didn’t know much about the spell itself. Viola had just recently discovered it in the swamp witches’ original tome of magic, so there had been no time to study it properly, like we’d done with the defensive charms and the invisibility spell.

“Do whatever you want.” I shrugged. “We’re still going to investigate and identify those creatures. And we’ll find a way to stop them or kill them.”

“Are you really that anxious to get killed?” Caspian scoffed.

“Not as anxious as you are to deem us incompetent,” I replied bluntly. “We actually know what we’re doing. Last night might seem like a botched operation to you, but we walked away with new and very important information. We will uncover the truth here, Caspian.”

His pupils dilated at the sound of his name, his eyes fixed on mine. The corner of his mouth twitched as he straightened his back and slowly turned to face me.

“Suit yourselves,” he said. “Just don’t expect anyone else in my city to risk their lives for you.”

He walked away, and I went back to watching the gorges, my blood boiling. He certainly had a way of aggravating me, and I had to give him due credit for such a feat. We’d known each other for less than a day and I already found myself longing to hurl heavy objects at his head.

I just couldn’t wrap my head around why he was so hard on me and my teammates. We were there to help, and his traditionalist viewpoints were counterproductive, to say the least. His vitriol was mostly aimed at me, though, and I couldn’t help but take it personally.

The real question I kept asking myself was why it bothered me so much that he was being such a jerk. I let out a long, exhausted sigh, then got up and handed the empty cup to the bartender.

The rest of our team came down shortly afterward. They’d all packed some extra weapons and healing capsules, as well. We then headed down the mountain to check in on Patrik and the Iman girl. They’d been wounded in the Valley of Screams last night, and we’d left them both under Scarlett’s watchful eye in the infirmary. During the descent, I glanced over my shoulder every now and then, noticing how many of the Exiled Maras stopped in their tracks and quietly watched us.

Their lack of expression and persistent staring creeped me out.





Scarlett





(Daughter of Jeramiah & Pippa)





I was somewhere between a dream and reality. I was running through the Valley of Screams, the gorge walls closing in on me, tall, dark, and menacing. Flashes of red eyes kept up with me. It didn’t matter how fast I was; the gorge seemed to go on for hundreds of feet, its end visible but somehow impossible to reach. The invisible beasts were getting closer. I could see Patrik at the end, standing with his arms outstretched, telling me that I was so close.

I was still so far away from him. Nevertheless, I persisted. My feet listened, my body tense against the basic laws of physics as I shot through the gorge.

Screams rippled behind me, but I couldn’t care less. Patrik was directly ahead of me, and I needed to get to him. I needed to touch him. I knew that once I could feel his skin on my fingertips, I’d be okay.

Bird trills tickled my ears, and fingers ran through my hair—so soft, so gentle. The sensation filled me with warmth I hadn’t felt since I’d been turned.

I peeled my eyes open, and felt a fine touch running down my cheek. My head rested against Patrik’s thigh, which was snug beneath the bedcover. I could see the entire length of his legs, the infirmary windows with the shutters down, and the medicine cabinets against the wall. The rest of my upper body rested on his bedside. I’d fallen asleep on one of the chairs and inadvertently sought the comfort of the one I’d been watching over.

It was his hand touching me. My cheeks caught fire, my throat constricted, and my heart thumped in an instant reaction to Patrik’s proximity. I sat up with a gasp, blinking fast as I turned my head to look at him.

He was gazing at me, his eyes half closed. Their arresting deep blue made me hold my breath for a second. What a dream I’d had! And what a way to wake up, feeling his touch…

“Are you okay?” I cleared my throat, doing my best to sound alert and professional.

The circumstances quickly came back to me. The attack last night. The Valley of Screams. His wounds, and my anguish at seeing him like that. The undeniable attraction I felt toward him, the inexplicable looks he gave me. His mourning of Kyana. The fact that he was my superior officer in GASP.

He gave me a weak smile, then rubbed his face and let out a long and heavy breath.

“Yes, the healing capsules and the Mara blood did a fine job of patching me up,” he said slowly. His gaze found mine again, those two pools of ocean blue forcing my heart to skip another beat. “Thank you for last night. You held it together, and you helped me get to safety, when I should’ve been the one looking out for you, since I’m supposed to be the more experienced officer on this team.”

There was a hint of remorse in his voice, and I didn’t like it. He had no business blaming himself for anything that had gone down in those gorges.