A Shade of Vampire 84: A Memory of Time Read online

  A Shade of Vampire 84: A Memory of Time

  Bella Forrest

  Contents

  Also by Bella Forrest

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  Family tree

  1. Sofia

  2. Esme

  3. Derek

  4. Tristan

  5. Esme

  6. Tristan

  7. Esme

  8. Tristan

  9. Taeral

  10. Taeral

  11. Esme

  12. Sofia

  13. Esme

  14. Esme

  15. Derek

  16. Esme

  17. Nethissis

  18. Nethissis

  19. Tristan

  20. Tristan

  21. Tristan

  22. Esme

  23. Esme

  24. Esme

  25. Derek

  26. Ridan

  27. Esme

  28. Derek

  29. Kailani

  30. Amane

  31. Esme

  32. Tristan

  ASOV 85: A Shard of Soul

  Read more by Bella Forrest

  Also by Bella Forrest

  DARKLIGHT

  (NEW! Vampire romance)

  Darklight (Book 1)

  Darkthirst (Book 2)

  Darkworld (Book 3)

  Darkblood (Book 4)

  HARLEY MERLIN

  (Fantasy/romance/adventure)

  Harley Merlin and the Secret Coven (Book 1)

  Harley Merlin and the Mystery Twins (Book 2)

  Harley Merlin and the Stolen Magicals (Book 3)

  Harley Merlin and the First Ritual (Book 4)

  Harley Merlin and the Broken Spell (Book 5)

  Harley Merlin and the Cult of Eris (Book 6)

  Harley Merlin and the Detector Fix (Book 7)

  Harley Merlin and the Challenge of Chaos (Book 8)

  Harley Merlin and the Mortal Pact (Book 9)

  Finch Merlin and the Fount of Youth (Book 10)

  Finch Merlin and the Lost Map (Book 11)

  Finch Merlin and the Djinn’s Curse (Book 12)

  Finch Merlin and the Locked Gateway (Book 13)

  Finch Merlin and the Forgotten Kingdom (Book 14)

  Finch Merlin and the Everlasting Vow (Book 15)

  THE GENDER GAME

  (Action-adventure/romance. Completed series.)

  The Gender Game (Book 1)

  The Gender Secret (Book 2)

  The Gender Lie (Book 3)

  The Gender War (Book 4)

  The Gender Fall (Book 5)

  The Gender Plan (Book 6)

  The Gender End (Book 7)

  THE GIRL WHO DARED TO THINK

  (Action-adventure/romance. Completed series.)

  The Girl Who Dared to Think (Book 1)

  The Girl Who Dared to Stand (Book 2)

  The Girl Who Dared to Descend (Book 3)

  The Girl Who Dared to Rise (Book 4)

  The Girl Who Dared to Lead (Book 5)

  The Girl Who Dared to Endure (Book 6)

  The Girl Who Dared to Fight (Book 7)

  THE CHILD THIEF

  (Action-adventure/romance. Completed series.)

  The Child Thief (Book 1)

  Deep Shadows (Book 2)

  Thin Lines (Book 3)

  Little Lies (Book 4)

  Ghost Towns (Book 5)

  Zero Hour (Book 6)

  HOTBLOODS

  (Supernatural romance/adventure. Completed series.)

  Hotbloods (Book 1)

  Coldbloods (Book 2)

  Renegades (Book 3)

  Venturers (Book 4)

  Traitors (Book 5)

  Allies (Book 6)

  Invaders (Book 7)

  Stargazers (Book 8)

  A SHADE OF VAMPIRE SERIES

  (Supernatural romance/adventure)

  Series 1: Derek & Sofia’s story

  A Shade of Vampire (Book 1)

  A Shade of Blood (Book 2)

  A Castle of Sand (Book 3)

  A Shadow of Light (Book 4)

  A Blaze of Sun (Book 5)

  A Gate of Night (Book 6)

  A Break of Day (Book 7)

  Series 2: Rose & Caleb’s story

  A Shade of Novak (Book 8)

  A Bond of Blood (Book 9)

  A Spell of Time (Book 10)

  A Chase of Prey (Book 11)

  A Shade of Doubt (Book 12)

  A Turn of Tides (Book 13)

  A Dawn of Strength (Book 14)

  A Fall of Secrets (Book 15)

  An End of Night (Book 16)

  Series 3: The Shade continues with a new hero…

  A Wind of Change (Book 17)

  A Trail of Echoes (Book 18)

  A Soldier of Shadows (Book 19)

  A Hero of Realms (Book 20)

  A Vial of Life (Book 21)

  A Fork of Paths (Book 22)

  A Flight of Souls (Book 23)

  A Bridge of Stars (Book 24)

  Series 4: A Clan of Novaks

  A Clan of Novaks (Book 25)

  A World of New (Book 26)

  A Web of Lies (Book 27)

  A Touch of Truth (Book 28)

  An Hour of Need (Book 29)

  A Game of Risk (Book 30)

  A Twist of Fates (Book 31)

  A Day of Glory (Book 32)

  Series 5: A Dawn of Guardians

  A Dawn of Guardians (Book 33)

  A Sword of Chance (Book 34)

  A Race of Trials (Book 35)

  A King of Shadow (Book 36)

  An Empire of Stones (Book 37)

  A Power of Old (Book 38)

  A Rip of Realms (Book 39)

  A Throne of Fire (Book 40)

  A Tide of War (Book 41)

  Series 6: A Gift of Three

  A Gift of Three (Book 42)

  A House of Mysteries (Book 43)

  A Tangle of Hearts (Book 44)

  A Meet of Tribes (Book 45)

  A Ride of Peril (Book 46)

  A Passage of Threats (Book 47)

  A Tip of Balance (Book 48)

  A Shield of Glass (Book 49)

  A Clash of Storms (Book 50)

  Series 7: A Call of Vampires

  A Call of Vampires (Book 51)

  A Valley of Darkness (Book 52)

  A Hunt of Fiends (Book 53)

  A Den of Tricks (Book 54)

  A City of Lies (Book 55)

  A League of Exiles (Book 56)

  A Charge of Allies (Book 57)

  A Snare of Vengeance (Book 58)

  A Battle of Souls (Book 59)

  Series 8: A Voyage of Founders

  A Voyage of Founders (Book 60)

  A Land of Perfects (Book 61)

  A Citadel of Captives (Book 62)

  A Jungle of Rogues (Book 63)

  A Camp of Savages (Book 64)

  A Plague of Deceit (Book 65)

  An Edge of Malice (Book 66)

  A Dome of Blood (Book 67)

  A Purge of Nature (Book 68)

  Season 9: A Birth of Fire

  A Birth of Fire (Book 69)

  A Breed of Elements (Book 70)

  A Sacrifice of Flames (Book 71)

  A Conspiracy of Realms (Book 72)

  A Search for Death (Book 73)

  A Piece of Scythe (Book 74)

  A Blade of Thieron (Book 75)

  A Phantom of Truth (Book 76)

  A Fate of Time (Book 77)

  Season 10: An Origin of Vampires

  An Origin of Vampires (Book 78)

  A Game of Death (Book 79)

  A Veil of Dark (Book 80)

  A Bringer of Night (Book 81)

  A Circle of Nine (Book 82)
>
  A Bender of Spirit (Book 83)

  A Memory of Time (Book 84)

  A SHADE OF DRAGON TRILOGY

  A Shade of Dragon 1

  A Shade of Dragon 2

  A Shade of Dragon 3

  A SHADE OF KIEV TRILOGY

  A Shade of Kiev 1

  A Shade of Kiev 2

  A Shade of Kiev 3

  A LOVE THAT ENDURES TRILOGY

  (Contemporary romance)

  A Love that Endures

  A Love that Endures 2

  A Love that Endures 3

  THE SECRET OF SPELLSHADOW MANOR

  (Supernatural/Magic YA. Completed series)

  The Secret of Spellshadow Manor (Book 1)

  The Breaker (Book 2)

  The Chain (Book 3)

  The Keep (Book 4)

  The Test (Book 5)

  The Spell (Book 6)

  BEAUTIFUL MONSTER DUOLOGY

  (Supernatural romance)

  Beautiful Monster 1

  Beautiful Monster 2

  DETECTIVE ERIN BOND

  (Adult thriller/mystery)

  Lights, Camera, GONE

  Write, Edit, KILL

  For an updated list of Bella’s books, please visit her website: www.bellaforrest.net

  Join Bella’s VIP email list and be the first to know when her new books release. Tap here to sign up: www.forrestbooks.com

  Copyright © 2019

  Nightlight Press

  Cover design by Okay Creations LLC

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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  Family tree

  If you’d like to check out the Novaks’ family tree, visit: www.forrestbooks.com/tree

  Sofia

  “Valaine!” Corbin’s voice rumbled through the Nightmare Forest, cold and demanding.

  Esme groaned in frustration. “He won’t stop.”

  For the past twenty minutes, we’d been staring at the considerable army of Aeternae soldiers, Crimson guards, Darklings, and Knight Ghouls that Corbin Crimson, Master of Darkness, had brought to the north gates of Orvis. The Darklings had occupied Dieffen as a ploy to draw our people there, so they could attack them and follow anyone who happened to survive the unexpected insurgence. Fortunately, the entire crew had returned alive, though Ridan was still nursing some of his Reaper scythe wounds. Unfortunately, the Darklings had been able to track them, thus reaching the protective shield that Lumi and Kailani had cast over Kalla’s village.

  At almost the very same moment, Derek had broken the green bead, signaling he was ready for an extraction—whether that meant he was in immediate danger, we didn’t know. But the Darklings had blocked the entire area around Orvis with death magic, and our Reapers couldn’t teleport themselves out of here. We had no way of reaching Derek until we got out of the death magic’s range.

  The protective shield itself was not capable of withstanding powerful Reaper spells—of which the Darklings had plenty—for long, and neither were any of us. Our only option was to evacuate, but even that was an awfully tricky scenario.

  “He’s hoping to bring down my defenses, brick by brick,” Valaine murmured, unable to take her eyes off her father. The man she’d trusted her whole life, her protector, had turned out to be the very man leading the charge against her. In many ways, Valaine and Thayen shared a few crucial things in common—the young prince’s mother was a Darkling Whip, a sociopathic opportunist who was working hard to convince an entire empire that hers was the right way, no matter how bloody.

  “You’re not going out there,” Tristan reminded her.

  “If I do, you’ll all be safe,” Valaine replied.

  Kalla scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous. Corbin will never let us walk out of here alive. If there’s one thing I know about the Darkling leadership, it’s that they’re all spiteful bastards. You know that, too. Your memories should serve you well at this point.”

  “I want to believe that my father isn’t beyond salvation.”

  “But he is,” I said. “We can’t trust him. We can’t trust a single word that comes out of his mouth. Right now his sole purpose is to kill you, Valaine, so he can reset the cycle and keep this whole nightmare going for another ten millennia.”

  Kemi came back from a quick tour of the village’s border, joined by the Soul Crusher and Kelara. “It’s not looking good,” the Senior Aeternae said. “They have Darklings and Knight Ghouls positioned all around Orvis, and they have canons ready to fire if we try to take the shuttles.”

  “We can’t use the shuttles,” Kailani replied. “We’ve already established that. Our only way out is through an underground tunnel. Lumi and I can open one up, but we’ll need help holding the structure’s integrity to prevent the whole thing from collapsing and burying us all.”

  “The Seniors will gladly assist with that,” Mira said, keeping her voice low. We were only about fifty yards from the northern entrance where Corbin and some of his most trusted lieutenants stood, unable to see us. Not sure how impervious the Aeternae’s ears were to swamp witch magic in this case, we all assumed there was a possibility that they might still hear us. So we did our best to keep out of earshot.

  “We’ll get the villagers out first,” Seeley said quietly. “Kalla can lead that group. The witches will stay at the front with some of the Seniors to open the tunnel farther out. The rest of us will follow right behind the people of Orvis.”

  “Some of us should also take care of the village itself and the shuttles,” Ridan added with a grunt, holding his side. Amane had an arm around his waist, holding him close. “Once the Darklings break through the protective shield, they’ll be looking for us.”

  Lumi nodded. “One of the Reapers will seal the tunnel once we’re all a safe distance away.”

  “We’ll have to blow the shuttles up, too,” I said, though my heart felt heavy at the thought of losing such precious magi-tech. We had no way of getting the vessels out safely, since the Darklings had learned to look for air ripples—a sign of movement beneath the invisibility spell. It was the one fault of this kind of Word magic and not something we had the time or the energy to fix. Not with the enemy basically breathing down our necks. “Get everything we can carry out of the shuttles first, but everything else must be destroyed. The last thing we need is a Darkling with our technology.”

  “I say set fire to the village, as well.” Kalla sighed, then continued. “Let them find nothing but flames and ashes in our wake.”

  “We’ll do what we can to keep them off our tracks.” Lumi took my hand. “As soon as we are safely away from Orvis, Sidyan and I will get Derek. It’s killing me that we’re not able to go immediately.”

  “The Darklings are a huge pain in our asses right now.” I heard my voice tremble ever so slightly. “Derek has Maya with him. All I can do is hope she’s able to keep him safe.”

  The one other thing that gave me a semblance of comfort was the fact that we weren’t alone anymore. It wasn’t just our GASP team. We had Reapers and a few ghouls left. The Seniors and all the young fighters of Orvis were on our side. We had Valaine and Kalon, Ansel, Tudyk, and Moore. We even had Thayen, the brokenhearted crown prince I’d sworn to keep safe and as far away from his depraved mother as possible. We had Trev Blayne, too… and Word magic.

  “One question remains,” Mira said, her gaze occasionally darting back to a remarkably calm Corbin. “In which direction should the tunnel lead?”

  “West,” Kalon interjected. “We head west, toward the ro
cky shores.”

  Mira’s eyes lit up. “I think I know the perfect place. We’ll end up eight hundred miles north of the imperial palace.”

  “The Nightmare Forest stretches far west,” Kalla agreed. “We’ll have to be quiet as we leave Orvis, but also as we move through the tunnel. We cannot risk the Darklings tracking us by sound. Corbin will almost certainly realize what we’re doing.” She paused, glancing back at her people—all of them gathered around the dark tower, quivering and silently waiting for her reassurance. There wasn’t much of that left, but I trusted Kalla to be able to guide her people in the right direction. “I’ll get them organized.”

  Lumi moved next to Kailani. “The two of us will head to the westernmost point of the village. We’ll open the tunnel there.”

  “And we will join you,” Mira declared. “I did not come all the way out here after two million years on an isolated island to have to deal with Corbin and his Darkling ilk. Our strength is of better use by your side, helping to hold the tunnel up.”

  “We have enough building experience from our time on the island,” Kemi added with a proud smile. “Count on us.”

  I watched them leave, unaware of how fast I was breathing. Every time I heard Corbin calling out Valaine’s name, my anxiety peaked to new levels. I knew he wasn’t just standing there waiting for his daughter, the Unending, to come out. No, he had a plan, and his Darklings were probably already implementing it. They’d figured out the protective shield’s limits and dimensions. Whatever death magic they had, they could use it to bring the swamp witch spell down. Time was definitely not on our side.

  My stomach churned as I thought of Derek, and I prayed to all the possible and impossible deities that he’d be okay. That Lumi and Sidyan would get to him in time, once we were all safely removed from this nebulous mess.