A shade of vampire 76 a.., p.1
A Shade of Vampire 76: A Phantom of Truth, page 1
A Shade of Vampire 76: A Phantom of Truth
Bella Forrest
Contents
Also by Bella Forrest
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Main Cast List
Family tree
1. Taeral
2. Amelia
3. Eva
4. Taeral
5. Taeral
6. Seeley
7. Sofia
8. River
9. Vesta
10. Kailani
11. Harper
12. Amane
13. Vesta
14. Kelara
15. Amelia
16. Taeral
17. Eva
18. Varga
19. Riza
20. Taeral
21. Taeral
22. Amelia
23. Taeral
24. Taeral
25. Seeley
26. Kelara
27. Kelara
28. Kelara
29. Taeral
30. Amelia
31. Varga
32. Taeral
33. Taeral
34. Kelara
35. Amelia
36. Taeral
Ready for the grand finale Season 9?
Read more by Bella Forrest
Also by Bella Forrest
A LOVE THAT ENDURES
(New! Contemporary romance)
A Love that Endures
A Love that Endures 2
HARLEY MERLIN
(Fantasy/romance/adventure series)
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)
HOTBLOODS
(Supernatural romance. 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)
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)
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)
A SHADE OF VAMPIRE SERIES
(Supernatural romance)
Season 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)
Season 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)
Season 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)
Season 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)
Season 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)
Season 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)
Season 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)
Season 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 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
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
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Copyright © 2019
Nightlight Press
Cover design inspired by Sarah Hansen, Okay Creations LLC
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Main Cast List
Amelia (daughter of Erik and Abby Novalik – vampire)
Eva (daughter of Azazel and Tamara – druid/lamia/vampire)
Herakles (creation of Ta’Zan – Faulty)
Raphael (creation of Ta’Zan – Perfect)
Riza (daughter of Horatio and Aisha Drizan– jinni)
Taeral (son of Sherus and Nuriya – fae-jinni)
Varga (son of Ashbik and Ruby Goode – vampire-sentry)
Family tree
If you’d like to check out the Novaks’ family tree, visit: www.forrestbooks.com/tree
Taeral
My heart was broken a thousand times over, yet I still couldn't bring myself to yield before Brendel and the Hermessi. We'd come too far. We had Eirexis and Zetos already. Phyla was missing, and was the last piece to complete Thieron, Death's scythe, an instrument that had absorbed a lot of her power. I had been trusted with this mission, along with Eira and Lumi. The three of us had been marked by Death, immortality forced upon us at least until we returned Thieron to her.
Amelia, Raphael, Nethissis, Riza, Herakles, Eva, and Varga completed our crew, and we were also joined by Seeley, an envoy of Death herself, the Widow Maker, and the Soul Crusher. Widow and Soul were free agents now, but they'd chosen to help us. Kabbah completed the set of extraordinary allies, occupying Fallon's body to amplify his own powers.
After all, what kind of world would they be looking at if they let Brendel get away with her ritual? Nothing but death and destruction awaited, simply because the Hermessi had gotten into their heads that a reset button needed to be pushed. That everyone needed to be wiped out, just so the elementals could start over again. Too many lives would be lost for the antiquated tradition.
Brendel had taken my father to deter me from pursuing Thieron. He'd already fallen under the Hermessi's influence at the time. Derek and Sofia's crew had brought him back, along with the Hermessi children held captive on Yahwen. But Brendel had somehow found out that they'd been brought to The Shade. Even after I'd maimed her with an incomplete Thieron, she'd managed to pull herself together. She wormed her way into the Earthly Dimension and snapped my father's life-chain, killing him in the process… Her revenge for my obstruction.
I still had a shot at saving him, though. According to Soul, I could use Phyla to revive him.
Shortly after killing my father, Brendel had vanished, gone from the Earthly Dimension. We knew the next time we saw her there it would bring the end of days, since the ritual would be complete. We were quick to prepare for the next part of our mission. Our destination was Aledras, where Soul said we'd find Phyla.
We were given a small shuttle to fly while on the planet. Lumi and Nethissis packed it full of serium batteries and put together a fortified interplanetary spell around it. The two of them worked together to steer the whole damn thing. We only had soil samples from Yahwen, courtesy of Derek and Sofia. From there, the swamp witches would have to push the interplanetary spell to Aledras, which was pretty much next door.
"It's been bugging me all night," Raphael said, disrupting my thoughts. "How the hell did Brendel know where to find Sherus and the children? Derek and Sofia's mission was literally on a need-to-know basis. No one in GASP would've told that elemental bitch about it. They didn't even mention Yahwen by name while they were on Calliope or anywhere else outside the Earthly Dimension. It doesn't make sense."
I shook my head slowly. "She had help. I told you. Someone or something helped her. Maybe not GASP. Maybe it was one of the rebel Hermessi… I don't know."
"Nah, Ramin would never—" Amelia started, but Kabbah cut in.
"The rebels would rather die than tell Brendel where we took their children," he said. "If you want to look for culprits, you won't find them among the resistance. Brendel had outside help, not only finding the children, but also recovering from the blow you delivered and breaching into the Earthly Dimension. That was no easy feat. That was heavy-duty, transcendent magic."
I shrugged, struggling to get the image of my father's spirit out of my head. "Any culprits in mind?"
The interplanetary spell hurtled across space, traveling through hundreds of galaxies as it made its way toward the In-Between's oldest twenty-planet solar system. We'd slipped through the portal from The Shade into Calliope, and we'd taken the shuttle from there. Quiet. Unseen. Unheard.
After what had happened with Brendel and my father, we'd had very little time to act. Derek and Sofia shut the portal down with Corrine's help, allowing only certain people through, and always under strict monitoring, just in case Brendel or some other Hermessi might be brave enough to sneak in.
I left my father with my mother and Corrine, knowing that he'd be well looked after while I was gone. Thankfully, Seeley had left my father’s spirit visible to everyone, making it easy to talk to him, to comfort him. My mother's heart was torn to shreds, but at least she was with him, leaving Aisha and Horatio to deal with the Fire Star kingdom and its administrative matters. Being with my father mattered more than anything to her, at this point.
Armed with Devil's Weed (sewn into our combat suits), pulverizer weapons and magic paraphernalia, as well as Yamani's scythe and two thirds of Thieron, we'd settled into the shuttle, getting a full-screen view of the cosmos through the windshield. Thousands of galaxies unraveled before us, spirals of stars and planets, many of them still undiscovered. For a moment, I wondered if there were worlds on them, living creatures who were at risk of complete annihilation because of Brendel's stupid ritual.
We'd been out for a couple of hours, having left Eritopia behind. Kabbah had liaised with the rebel Hermessi for assistance on Aledras. We knew Brendel and her cohorts would likely be waiting for us down there. After all, we were coming for Phyla. The last piece of the puzzle before Thieron was ready to be returned to Death. Brendel had been the one to steal it from Death, the one who'd broken it into pieces and scattered them across the In-Between and the Supernatural dimensions. She would never stop hunting us, even if we succeeded and made it back to Mortis. Until the last moment, Brendel would seek to keep Thieron out of Death's hands, by whatever means necessary.
"No culprits in mind, no," Kabbah finally replied. "But I will personally vouch for the rebels. Even those who only turned against Brendel after their children were taken from Yahwen. It's got to be someone else."
"We can spend an entire day assuming and passing theories around, if you want. But we have better things to do than contemplate the unknown," Lumi interjected. "Let us focus on what we do know. The Hermessi children are safe in The Shade, at least until the ritual. Afterward, the Hermessi will have enough power to spill out of the Supernatural Dimension and the In-Between, right into the Earthly Dimension."
"I hope it doesn't get to that." Eva sighed, leaning into Varga. We were all strapped in our seats, weapons and backpacks at our feet. Lumi and Nethissis stood by the ship's control panel, though there wasn't much use for it yet. Once the interplanetary spell wore off, they'd have to move back and allow Varga to fly the shuttle. That would only happen once we pierced Aledras's atmosphere.
"What about Derek and Sofia? What will GASP be doing while we're out here risking our necks to complete Thieron?" Herakles asked, his hand covering Riza's. He squeezed it gently once in a while, prompting her to steal a glance at him.
"They're keeping the portal under control, with Ibrahim's help," I said. "And they're taking care of the Hermessi children. Getting to know them, trying to sway some of them against the Hermessi… Many of them come from worlds we've yet to explore. It would be a shame if we didn't try to pinpoint as many of their origin planets as possible, while we're at it."
"And the sanctuaries?" Herakles replied, his brow furrowed.
"Under witch supervision, just like before. I know Kelara is also helping on Calliope. I'm not sure about the other sanctuaries, though," I said.
Seeley smiled. "Kelara is dependable. Calliope is safer with her on it, at least where the fae spirits are concerned."
Amelia checked her tablet. It had been beeping every other minute—notifications of incoming messages. The corner of her mouth ticked as she looked at me. "Harper says there's a Reaper in every sanctuary now, visible to the living. Only for the purpose of communication and coordination."
