The Light Within Her - Book Nine

Ch. 8- A New Plan

"I am the bad daughter, the freedom fighter, the shaper of death masks. I am the snake, I am the crone." –Barbara Jane Reyes

I may have never grieved the deaths of a loved one but looking down at a bloodied corpse made me want to curl up and cry forever. Henri Falke was the first to die and now it was Bella Rutherford. It was almost the same as Henri's body but from the scratches across her skin, I could tell that she tried to fight back. Bella was only a human but she used every bit of energy to survive. But she was all alone in the street so there was no chance for her to fight back the shadow creature.

My hands were shaking as I stared at her body for a good ten minutes until Luc and my cousins showed up. When I felt too much, the shaking seems to not have any control. I let it happen because I was grieving this human woman that I never even met. Emmeline and Rosalind took both of my hands but stayed silent as they stared at the corpse. They have more experience with this, of course. With seeing a dead body and the pain of death. I do not have that much understanding, which is why they were holding my hands. I cleared my throat, "It has claws and teeth, almost like a Werewolf."

"But it is from a different world." Rosalind confessed. "We do not have a lot of information about creatures from other realms. There must be someone who is controlling the shadows."

"Lyssa de Blaire knows everything about it," Emmeline whispered, which made me shift at the mention of her name. I hate that she has to be involved in my situation, that in order to stop the murders, she needs to help us. With ever fiber in my being, I am angry that I need Lyssa de Blaire. My cousins waited for my response, for me to agree that we need her help. "S, we can find another person to help us. But we need to know their weakness."

My jaw was clenched as I said, "I know what their weakness is, Meli. It's sunlight." I stared back at Bella. "They only come out at night, like Vampires and they rip out the heart of anyone who is walking alone. One of them tried to kill me but they did not know I was made of their weakness."

"If you don't want Lyssa to help us, that is okay," Luc said from the corner. His arms were crossed over his chest as his platinum-blond hair was a mess on top of his head. He must have been sleeping before he came here, I thought. Or something else entirely. But I cannot think about that now. "We need information, though, Ari, or else we wouldn't know how to stop them together." What he meant was he did not want me to kill the shadow creatures by myself. It was not fair.

My head tilted to the side, smirking at Luc Guinivere. "You are forgetting that Lyssa is not the only God I know. And I know for a fact they will be here in a week for the King's birthday." Before anyone could interrupt, I continued. "We go to the Masquerade ball in secret and raid all the books that we have in the library."

"One slight problem with that plan," Amias locked eyes with mine. "Your family will be there and will recognize all of you from the moment you step into the doors."

Without thinking, I bent down beside Bella and closed her death blue eyes. Her black hair was caked in blood but I didn't care as I patted it down so at least she looked decent when the police found her. "From death to life, Bella Rutherford." I whispered before I stood up again and glanced at my friends with worry in their expressions. They were worried because I ran away from my home, that I would rather stay here than spend time in that palace. But if there was anything I learned about being a Breevort is that sacrifices need to be made sometimes. This is my sacrifice. "We need information, don't we? We have millions of books about the other worlds there, brought by my sister and aunt in their travels. Even books from the God's world. No one is going to miss those books, okay?"

"Do you really want to go back there?" Rosalind questioned, her golden eyes darkening with her mood.

"There is no other alternative, Rose," I replied. "And we wouldn't be in Ambrosia for a long time. We will be masked in pretty gowns so there is a chance they won't recognize us."

"But they know our scent." Meli snapped.

"Not if we bring Bea," I raised my eyebrow. "Vampires will be too distracted to know the difference. And Fae's do not have that ability, we will be fine as long as Bea is there."

Luc sighed from the corner, annoyed. "This is a terrible plan. But I will go."

Amias stared at his brother for a good minute and then turned towards the three of us. "Well someone needs to look after him, so I guess I will be going too." He shook his head, smiling. "Who knows, maybe I will get the chance to tell Sebastian Breevort how very old he is. I will even comment on his grey hair."
I rolled my eyes.

"Great," I clapped my hands together. "So it's a plan?"

Emmeline was worried, maybe too worried about what I will be like once I'm back home. But she has nothing to worry about. "We will make sure our family doesn't know you are there, Soari, while you search for the books." Rosalind nodded, agreeing with her. "We leave as soon as we can."

"Agreed."

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