A Call of Vampires (A Shade of Vampire #51)

“So, whatever is taking people from or near the Valley of Screams has now moved to snatching victims directly from Azure Heights?” Jax frowned, glancing around at the Imen, registering their subtle nods.

“Yes.” Emilian let out an exhausted sigh. “Something dark and evil lives in those gorges, something that we’ve tried to confront but have never seen or heard. The fighters we’ve sent after it never returned. The most upsetting part is that we have to rely on our livestock for sustenance. We can no longer go hunting. The bigger beasts with the tastiest and most nourishing blood only come out at night and live in the gorges. It’s made life a little bland, and believe me, we’ve already had it bad with our brothers, our sisters, our children, and our friends missing… Having poor food really is too much for our city.”

“This doesn’t taste bad at all,” I replied, sipping from my blood cup.

“It’s mostly spices and herbs.” Emilian scoffed. “Long gone are the days when we could enjoy pure, untainted blood. There are large grazing animals in the gorges, with thick, twisted horns and hooves, and by the stars, their blood is perfect! Fleshy and slightly smoky, with a heady finish and a long-lasting aftertaste. You don’t even have such beasts on Calliope. You wouldn’t understand…”

“So why haven’t you tried relocating, instead?” Jax asked.

“Would you leave your home so easily in front of such a threat?” Darius replied. “Would you let it drive you out of your city? We’ve been here for thousands of years. Our lives are on this mountain. This mountain is our life. We won’t surrender so easily! It’s why we reached out to Eritopia. If you can’t help us… I don’t know, maybe we will have to consider finding a new home, but we’ve yet to lose hope.”

A minute passed in silence. We glanced at each other on our side of the table, then shifted our focus to the Five Lords, Rewa, and Vincent. I did my best to avoid Caspian’s glare, but it was becoming difficult. I gulped down my blood, then followed an Iman servant with my eyes as he came around the table and refilled my cup.

“Then it’s settled,” Jax concluded, pursing his lips. “We need to go to the Valley of Screams and find out what’s in there.”

He was met with silence and surprised looks, the latter mostly from our team, including myself. I’d thought we’d focus on interviewing the families of the victims and maybe surveying the valley, but not go directly into it.

“I like how you make it sound as easy as polishing your sword.” Hansa chuckled, leaning against the back of her chair.

Jax stifled a smile, then looked at the Five Lords.

“This won’t be much of a recon trip if we don’t at least visit the place. It’s the only way we’ll get any answers,” he said. “I’ll keep a few of our team members here, to interview the families of the Exiled Maras and Imen that have gone missing, and take the rest with me to the Valley of Screams. You’re free to join us, but it’s not mandatory.”

“I think you’re being reckless.” Caspian frowned.

“Maybe, but I don’t think so,” Jax replied bluntly. “You’ve all been trembling in your boots for two years straight, now. It’s time we get to the bottom of this, but that won’t happen until we start looking in the obvious place. None of you are trained for any of this. We are. We have protocols in place. It’s risky, yes, but I think we can handle taking a quick peek inside that gorge.”

“I feel like I must join you on this mission, then,” Darius said, sighing. “I will also bring some of my squires and guards, for good measure. You should bring the Druid, at least.”

“That makes all the sense in the world.” Jax nodded. “Thank you, Darius, your assistance is appreciated.”

“Don’t think for a second you’re leaving me here in fashion land,” Hansa growled, her emerald-gold gaze settling on Jax’s profile.

“I couldn’t even if I wanted to,” Jax replied. “You’re too stubborn for your own good. Harper.”

I instinctively straightened my back at the sound of my name.

“Yes, sir!” I replied automatically.

“You, Patrik, Hansa, Scarlett, and I will go to the Valley of Screams tonight,” he said, then glanced to his side at Heron. “Heron, you take Avril and Fiona to check the Roho residence and see if you can pick up a trail for Sienna from where she was last seen.”

I held my breath for a couple of seconds, measuring my own excitement and anxiousness. I was definitely looking forward to exploring the Valley of Screams. Call it my morbid sense of adventure, but I had a feeling it would surprise me on more than one level. At the same time, my muscles tensed. I was heading into a danger zone. I needed my sentry senses perfectly attuned, and I needed to feed for that. Caia was always happy to spare some of her energy, so I squeezed her hand and looked into her eyes.

As if instantly knowing what I’d asked of her, Caia gave me a nod and a wink. My sentry dinner was taken care of.

“Cool, so I get the sniffer, then.” Heron grinned, giving Avril a friendly nudge in the ribs. It got him a harder nudge in return, forcing him to cough and grumble.

“Blaze.” Jax looked at the fire dragon. “Normally I’d take you with us for this one, but we’ll have plenty of armed guards with us and the Druid. I’d rather you stay behind, take Caia, and start interviewing the victims’ families. The more you can cover over the next few hours and tomorrow, the better.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come along?” Blaze frowned slightly.

“Nah, you’re like the nuclear option.” I grinned. “Jax won’t whip you out unless he has no other choice. We’re doing recon for now.”

“Don’t worry, Blaze, once we switch to extermination mode you’re the first creature I’ll let loose in those gorges.” Jax gave him a reassuring smile.

“I’ve never seen you in dragon form, though. How big do you get?” Heron muttered, then glanced at Jax. “How big does he get? You don’t want him getting his ass stuck in those gorges. That would be terribly counterproductive!”

Chuckles rose from our group as Blaze rolled his eyes, then groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. Heron gave him a friendly pat on the back.

“It’s okay, buddy, I’ll get you out if you need help.” Heron winked. “I’ll have these lovely Imen ladies pack a barrel of oil to use and we’ll be good to go.”

We burst out laughing, and I noticed the Imen girls, including Hera, blushing and looking away, pressing their lips together. Leave it to Heron to make every female in this room blush. My gaze shifted around the table again, and I found Caspian once again staring at me, a permanent frown casting dark shadows over his eyes.

I raised an eyebrow in response, as I no longer had the patience to tiptoe around him. Whatever problem he had with me, he could either voice it or shut the hell up. He didn’t. Instead, he scoffed and looked at his fellow Lords, as if deeming me unimportant.

Darius then stood up, his hands behind his back, and bowed.

“I’ll go get my people ready then,” he said. “They will bring out horses, as well. Can we meet downstairs in the Main Square in, shall we say, half an hour?”