A Valley of Darkness (A Shade of Vampire #52)(51)

Heron stilled, then glanced over his shoulder as we reached the infirmary, where more Correction Officers were stationed outside—ten of them, to be precise, standing tall and motionless, their hands behind their backs. Given that they were beneath the awning, they didn’t wear masks or goggles. The two who were following us passed by us and joined the others, removing their head covers in the process.

We instinctively took off our masks and goggles, now back under the terrace covers. I heard Heron grunt as he watched them for a few seconds. He then walked up to the last Correction Officer, one of our “stalkers”, bringing his face deliberately close to his in an intimidating gesture.

“Why are you following us?” Heron growled.

The Correction Officer didn’t answer. I reached Heron’s side just as he pulled his large knife out and brought it up to the CO’s neck. The others turned their heads to look at us, but did not move, their expressions firm.

“Heron, what are you—”

“Why are you following us?” Heron raised his voice, ignoring me. He glared at the Correction Officer, whose nostrils flared once—his only reaction to having a blade against his neck.

“We were ordered to watch over you,” the Exiled Mara finally replied.

Heron didn’t seem happy with his answer. He gave the other Correction Officers an inquisitive glance, then shifted his focus back on the one in front of him.

“Were you up on the third-level ledge earlier?” Heron asked.

“No, sir.” The Mara blinked once. “We watched you from the first level until you came back.”

“So who was up on the third-level ledge?”

“I don’t know, sir.”

“They were Correction Officers,” Heron retorted. “Surely you can ask a question among your ranks.”

“If Lord Kifo allows it, I will, sir,” the Mara replied, exceptionally calm given the circumstances. He then gave me a quick glance, and blinked a couple of times. “We were instructed to follow, and nothing else. But I should advise you… Keep your distance from the rogue Imen. They scamper out of the Valley of Screams and come up here to loot the lower levels. They’re filthy creatures, and they’ll stab you in the eye for a piece of bread if you don’t pay attention.”

Heron didn’t say anything, but the vein throbbing in his temple told me everything I needed to know. We had no idea who the Correction Officers who had mind-bent the Imen were, but they clearly didn’t want us talking to the “filthy creatures”.

I gently put my hand on Heron’s forearm, and pressed until he withdrew it and put his knife away. He then poked the Mara in the chest with his index finger, baring his teeth. I saw his sharp fangs for the first time, in a threatening expression, and I found myself out of breath.

“Find out who those two on the third-level ledge were,” Heron hissed. “And if Lord Kifo doesn’t want you talking to me, let me know, and I’ll sort it out with him.”

We then went into the infirmary, where Patrik and Scarlett were still looking at Minah’s body through the protection spell. Patrik nearly smiled when he saw us come in, but a frown quickly settled over the expression when he noticed Heron’s residual glare from his exchange with the Correction Officer.

We quickly brought them up to speed with what we’d done and the rogue Imen we’d come across, along with the mind-bending incident. It made Patrik scoff and cross his arms over his chest, while Scarlett sat on an empty bed.

“I didn’t think Imen could make it through those gorges alive,” Patrik replied.

“Yeah, our thoughts exactly,” I muttered.

Patrik’s expression lit up, usually the sign of a great idea coming from the Druid.

“Can you check the library for some maps of the Valley of Screams?” he asked, looking at Heron and me. “Surely someone must’ve traced at least some of the routes through the gorges. Actually, even a map of this continent would do. Any geographical references will help.”

“What are you thinking?” I wasn’t sure where he was going with this.

“Trust me.” He winked. “You’ll thank me later. Just find out if there are any maps of Neraka in that library, and get me some. I’m particularly interested in the Valley of Screams.”

I nodded. Heron put on his head cover, mask, and goggles. The staircases leading up to the library weren’t covered, and the sun was still out. We left Patrik and Scarlett with Minah in the infirmary, and headed upstairs to the city library. Two Correction Officers followed us, as per their protocol, but kept a decent distance, just in case Heron decided to flip out again.

Whatever was going on in this city, it was getting murkier each day. But Patrik had gotten me curious, and I, too, started wondering about what lay beyond those gorges. Surely the Exiled Maras had gone exploring at some point, long before their people had started disappearing.

We’d looked into records and history books, but we hadn’t thought to check their geography section. Good thing I loved a good research session.





Fiona





(Daughter of Benedict & Yelena)





I went with Hansa to the east side of the mountain, which was basically a steep limestone wall overlooking the deep, dark blue ocean. Small trees popped out from rebel ridges here and there, where some soil had fallen from the top, years ago. We’d noticed a couple of Exiled Maras trailing us through the city earlier, and Hansa had identified them as Correction Officers, based on their blue badges, but we’d quickly lost them in the second level slums.