Ever Dark: The Vampire King's Enemy (Vol 3) by X. Aratare

Author:X. Aratare [Aratare, X.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Raythe Reign Publishing
Published: 2023-03-15T18:30:00+00:00

SPEAKER TO THE DEAD

The catacombs were cold. The chill seemed to seep into Christian’s bones. He drew his fingers along the white marble that clad the walls of the first rectangular room. He expected his fingers to come back wet, but they were dry. The marble was simply slick to the touch. He pulled his hand away and rubbed his fingers against his pants as if they were unclean. Balthazar claimed they had parties down here. He could and couldn’t imagine it.

The space was lit by a massive crystal chandelier that looked like a wedding cake. The lights were blue white and cast an almost ghostly glow around the space. Directly below the chandelier were four sarcophagi. The heavy stone lids had stone figures upon them–one man and three women–which were similar to the one that Daemon had emerged from. The figures were all beautiful and draped in robes. Their faces were disturbingly realistic. For a horrible moment, Christian had thought maybe they were like Daemon and encased in stone in a magical sleep.

But then Balthasar said, “Beautiful, aren’t they? One of our House members carved them. She based them on Vampires she knew in the Ever Dark”

“Who did this?” Julian asked.

“Aurora,” Balthazar answered. He said nothing more about her and there was a seeming reluctance in his voice to speak more of her.

It was Elena who said, “She couldn’t get past Roan.” She gave Balthazar a tired smile. “There was nothing to be done. Nothing anyone could do.”

Julian frowned. “Did something happen to her? Did she…”

Kill herself? That’s what he meant to ask.

“She’s still here,” was all that Elena said.

“Here?” Julian blinked, but Daemon touched his arm and his best friend went silent.

Julian and the Vampire King were doing that telepathic speaking again. Christian wished he knew what they were saying. In contrast, Balthazar’s expression was grim. Christian knew that there was something about Aurora that upset him.

Christian curled one hand against his leg. He was too far away to touch Balthazar. If he crossed over that space it would be obvious to everyone that he was comforting his Master. There were only the five of them there for now, Balthazar, Daemon, Julian, Elena and himself, but still he would feel conspicuous. While he wasn’t fond of drawing attention to himself, he felt that Balthazar, too, wanted this moment to pass without any more notice. So he held himself back and was surprised at how he regretted being away from Balthazar.

“The top of a sarcophagus would be ideal to perform the ritual on. We’ll need a space that is clear though. Is there any sarcophagus without a figure carved on top?” Daemon asked.

Balthazar nodded reluctantly and led them further into the catacombs. The second room was square. The walls there were covered by niches covered by stone slabs. He realized that coffins would likely be inside. Were there any? Were there any bodies? But Balthazar had joked that this was used for parties. But would Vampires be creeped out by dead people? The slabs looked clean and uniform to his uneducated eyes.

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