A Shade of Vampire 82: A Circle of Nine

  Bella Forrest

  Contents

  Also by Bella Forrest

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  Family tree

  1. Derek

  2. Nethissis

  3. Seeley

  4. Esme

  5. Amal

  6. Esme

  7. Tristan

  8. Tristan

  9. Ridan

  10. Kelara

  11. Seeley

  12. Nethissis

  13. Seeley

  14. Esme

  15. Esme

  16. Derek

  17. Derek

  18. Derek

  19. Sofia

  20. Esme

  21. Tristan

  22. Esme

  23. Lumi

  24. Seeley

  25. Nethissis

  26. Nethissis

  27. Seeley

  28. Esme

  29. Amal

  30. Ridan

  31. Derek

  32. Esme

  33. Kelara

  34. Lumi

  ASOV 83: A Bender of Spirit

  Read more by Bella Forrest

  Also by Bella Forrest

  DARKLIGHT

  (NEW! Paranormal romance)

  Darklight (Book 1)

  Darkthirst (Book 2)

  Darkworld (Book 3)

  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)

  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 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

  Derek

  Life was a funny occurrence.

  For me, it had always come as a rollercoaster ride, plunging me into darkness and despair before throwing me upward into the luminous arms of bliss and happiness. Visio, however, had strayed from the pattern I’d become familiar with. It had hope, and it had secrets. It had beauty, and it had evil. Most importantly, it had the key to giving sunshine back to all vampires.

  It began as a relatively simple mission. An exploratory adventure. The discovery of Aeternae, the next evolutionary step for vampires—or so I’d thought. They had their flaws, of course. What culture didn’t? But they had been dabbling in matters they had no business getting into, ever—death magic.

  Life was a funny occurrence, yes, but death was final. Unavoidable. The concept of eternity was a beautiful dream we’d all been chasing, but the end was always nearby, hidden behind a corner or inside a nook along the way. The Aeternae had broken the balance between life and death. Now everything was out of place on Visio, and we’d landed ourselves smack in the middle of a hellstorm.

  “I didn’t think it was possible since we became vampires, but my back hurts,” Sofia grumbled as she eased herself up off the floor and out of my embrace. We’d slept in this abandoned house, our bones cold and our souls shaken by everything we’d witnessed inside the courtroom.

  “They’ll be here soon enough,” Tristan said, standing by one of the partially boarded-up windows. Valaine was fast asleep in the corner, mere feet away. “We can’t stay much longer.”

  Amal handed out more invisibility pellets, her eyes bloodshot from exhaustion. Faulties needed more sleep than vampires, much like humans, and they’d barely gotten any rest during the night. To be fair, the rest of our group hadn’t done much better. Ansel, the poor soul, was terrified and speechless, likely still reassessing his options and wondering where it had all gone sideways for him.

  “As long as we’ve got our magic, they can’t catch us,” Amal replied.

  “I still can’t get Acheron out of my head,” I muttered, getting up. The image of his severed head persisted in my mind’s eye, like a ghostly apparition. I remembered the exact moment in which the Nalorean nanny had gone into autopilot and killed him. I remembered the horrified look on Danika’s face, followed by her bloodcurdling scream. I remembered the gold guard rushing to shield Thayen from that awful sight even though it was too late. The boy had seen enough to understand that his father was gone. “What they did to him…”

  “Danika has lost it. Completely.” Sofia said, shaking her head. “I don’t know how we’re going to get through to her, but we’ll have to try. Somehow.”

  “She just watched her husband’s assassination,” Tristan replied. “Instinct took over.”

  Valaine sighed, rubbing her eyes as she stood and leaned against the wall. Paint came off in faded green flakes, like mint snow falling softly across the hardwood floors. Our voices echoed through the house. “I don’t know how we’re going to convince her I’m not at the root of the Black Fever, considering we don’t actually know that for sure. The Lady Supreme is just trying to protect the people.”

  “Innocent until proven guilty,” I said. “That’s how it should be.”

  “Not on Visio. Not always, anyway. Not when the lives of millions are at stake.” Ansel finally spoke. I’d almost forgotten the sound of his voice. All eyes were on him now, and he didn’t seem comfortable with our attention. Nevertheless, he’d gotten it. “But the Darklings are convinced you’re the one they need to kill, Valaine. There has to be some basis for it.”

  “You’re not ready to admit you were entirely wrong, huh?” Tristan chuckled, but there was tension in his tone. A certain bitterness that made me realize it wasn’t Ansel who struggled with a form of denial. It was Tristan. He wasn’t ready to accept that maybe, just maybe, the former Darkling was right. That Valaine had a real connection to the Black Fever, which she clearly knew nothing about.

  “Perhaps he wasn’t entirely wrong.” Valaine sighed, her gaze fixed on the floor.

  “No, don’t say that,” Tristan replied.

  “Why not?” Valaine frowned. “Maybe they’re all right. Maybe Danika has every reason to fear for the safety of the Aeternae, and I’m just clueless about it all. Maybe I am connected. The blood tests seem to confirm that already.”

  Amane shook her head. “No. All the blood tests confirm is that you have certain elements in common with the Black Fever. Not that you’re the source of it. Biologically and chronologically speaking, it still doesn’t make sense.” She shot Ansel a harsh look. “You need to get that through your head. We have absolutely no proof for what the Darklings are saying.”

  The young Aeternae nodded slowly, giving Valaine an apologetic smile. “Either way, it doesn’t matter what I think. I’m not a threat to you. Not anymore.”

  Valaine couldn’t help but chuckle. “I doubt you ever were a threat to me, but I do admire your bravery. You have potential. Perhaps now you will use it wisely.”

  “After my own faction tried to kill me? Yeah.” Ansel sighed, his head lowered in shame.

  Amal cleared her throat, making us all look her way. “Petra is a Whip of the Darklings. Most of her sons and even her brother are Darklings,” she said. “To me, that is the scariest part of this. I trusted her. I followed her lead in everything to do with the Black Fever and the Aeternae. And now she’s still out there, scheming and plotting… Will we do nothing to stop her?”

  “Oh, we definitely will do something,” I replied. “It’s time we take matters into our own hands. With the empire in disarray and Danika lending her ear to the hearsay of Darklings, we have no other choice.”

  Sofia raised an eyebrow at me. “What do you mean?”

  “It’s time to sneak a team onto Visio,” I said. “Unfortunately, we no longer have Acheron’s green light for a bigger operation, but we can still try to bring over a few people to help us find Petra and anyone else involved.”

  “I can definitely talk to Rose and Caleb about it,” Sofia replied. “But the airships and the telescopes will spot them. I’m pretty sure the Aeternae have their eyes on the sky now more than ever, since we’ve escaped.”

  Tristan groaned with frustration, running a hand through his dark hair. “Sofia’s right. Two possible scenarios Danika might be considering at this point are that we’ll either try to get off the planet or that we’ll bring in GASP troops. She’ll be pointing every lens she has at anything that might be headed for Visio.”

  Amal gasped. “Our shuttle! We can use it!”

  “As a distraction,” Amane continued. “If we find a way to get it back, that is.”

  “Exactly. We fly the shuttle around to get the Aeternae’s attention focused on us. We’ll have to coordinate with whomever you’re thinking of calling over,” Amal said. “Once we know the Aeternae are busy sending their airships after us, the team can come in and immediately switch on the invisible forcefield.”

  I found myself nodding and smiling, finally seeing a light at the end of what had briefly felt like a wretched, dark, and never-ending tunnel. There was hope. We had options. The Aeternae were not superior to us from a techno-magical standpoint, even though the Darklings did dabble in death magic. We could wriggle our way out of this mess with just the right amount of coordination and determination.

  “We need more of our people,” I said. “Acheron’s death must not go unpunished, and the Darklings are a clear threat. We have to take them out before they get the whole empire amped up about capturing and killing Valaine.”

  “Good trackers,” Tristan suggested. “The Darklings are very good at hiding when they have to. It took Valaine and me some work to stay on their trail.”