A Valley of Darkness (A Shade of Vampire #52)(42)

“This is a protection and preservation spell,” Patrik said. “I’m powering it with my own energy for now, but I’ll need some from you later on, to keep it going. It preserves Minah’s body in its current state, regardless of the passage of time. The spell records everything, and it’s linked to my senses. I will know the moment anyone touches her.”

He glanced at the Five Lords as he mentioned his knowledge of anyone touching Minah’s preservation spell. The Exiled Maras nodded, none giving away any sense of displeasure toward the Druid’s caution.

“My Correction Officers will come down shortly,” Caspian said.

“What for?” I asked, glaring at him.

“For your and Minah’s protection,” he replied, his head cocked to one side.

“We don’t need protecting,” I retorted.

“And we don’t need any Exiled Maras near Minah, preservation spell in place or not,” Jax added.

“Sorry to say this, Emilian, but I agree.” Hansa gave Lord Obara a semi-sympathetic look. It didn’t sit well with Jax, who scowled at the senior Mara. “We can’t have anyone from Azure Heights in the same room with Minah while we investigate.”

Emilian opened his mouth to respond, but Caspian placed a hand on his shoulder and stopped him.

“My Correction Officers will be stationed outside the infirmary,” he said. “No one will come in. I will also instruct the nurses to seal the door leading to the other halls, just to be safe, until you finish your investigation and tell us who the hell is killing Imen in our city.”

“Is that necessary?” Hansa tried to act as a mediator, stuck between angry GASP agents and offended Exiled Maras. I couldn’t help but sympathize with her situation for a second, just until I caught Caspian glowering at me. I mirrored his expression, and he looked away.

That’ll teach you…

“I’m afraid it is,” Caspian replied. “You have your rules; we have ours. I can’t leave a crime scene unprotected. My COs will look after the infirmary, even if just from the outside.”

“That’s fine,” Jax conceded, then nodded at the door. “Now, please excuse us. We have a lot of work to do.”

Farrah and Rowan were the first to walk out, followed by Darius and Caspian. Emilian lingered in the doorway for a second, his gaze moving from Jax to Hansa.

“You will keep us in the loop with your progress, I hope?” he asked.

Hansa and Jax nodded simultaneously. Emilian sighed and walked out. Avril was quick to lock the door behind him, then turned to face us with a stunned expression.

“What. The. Hell. Was. That?” She gawked at me, Jax, and Heron. “What the hell were you three thinking?”

“Suspects are suspects.” I shrugged, unwilling to revisit the issue.

“We need to keep our cool.” Hansa sided with Avril. “We can’t just wave our swords around like wildlings. We represent GASP, not some rogue tribe of lawless misfits!”

A minute passed in silence. We heard the door leading to other parts of the infirmary get locked, followed by several knocks and thuds—something was being nailed into that door to seal it, as Caspian had promised.

These guys move fast!

“What now?” Heron scratched the back of his head, glancing at Jax.

“Harper,” Jax replied, staring at Minah’s body. I instinctively straightened my back in response. “Can you do a thorough search of her body? What do you call it, a ‘deep scan’?”

“Yeah.” I nodded, then moved closer to her bedside.

I could use my True Sight to do an in-depth analysis of Minah’s body, her organs, her blood vessels, and her spine. If there was anything wrong, I’d spot it with a thorough look.

Avril came over on the other side, sniffing around Minah’s body without touching the preservation spell. I started scanning the Iman girl, looking for anything that was missing or wasn’t supposed to be there.

Time for a GASP-style autopsy…





Scarlett





(Daughter of Jeramiah & Pippa)





Patrik’s mention of dreaming about me kept replaying in the back of my head. I inadvertently visualized the scene in which Kyana, the love of his life, transformed into me. I’d gone for so long thinking he’d never look at me the way he’d looked at Kyana, only for his subconscious to bring up the fact that I was, in a way, on his mind... Me, not anyone else. It baffled me, and it took some work to convince myself to push it down and focus on it later. I had work to do.

I helped Patrik get all the herbs and crystals he needed from his supply bag, while Jax and Hansa spread the map out on the table again, and Caia, Fiona, Blaze, and Heron kept the notebooks open and scanned their pages for key notes.

Avril and Harper were busy with the autopsy, the former using her scent-tracking skill and the other her True Sight.

Patrik’s jaw was clenched as he pulled some scrolls out from the bag and spread them on his bed, reading through each and setting aside the ones he needed for the city protection spell. I wanted to comfort him, to tell him it wasn’t his fault, but I knew it wouldn’t do any good. He’d watched a lot of people die during his days as a Destroyer, and he took the loss of every soul personally.

“There’s a faint scent here… something floral,” Avril muttered, sniffing around the Iman girl’s body. “It’s fresh, too, and it’s not hers. But I can’t put my finger on what it is…”