Free A Shade of Vampire 22: A Fork of Paths by Bella Forrest Page A

one hand while the other ripped away the clothes from her body, rendering her emaciated form stark naked. Her breasts had flattened, and in fact all fat on her body had shriveled away. Her once rounded cheeks had closed in on themselves, and she now looked gaunt as a ghost.
    I looked around for Colin and Frederick. I wanted to take them all with me to the witch’s island, but it would look too suspicious to Aisha if I handpicked Frederick and Colin—especially because they bore a slight resemblance to Braithe, even in his wraithlike form. She might even guess that they had been my companions, or “accomplices” as she had referred to them. As it was, she was ignorant of the fact, and I had to try to keep it that way.
    Now that I was above the deck, a crowd of Bloodless noticed me but, to my relief, shuffled further away from my reeking self.
    “Hey,” Aisha called down to me. I looked up to see the jinni hovering over me. “What happened to you?” She glared at me with disgust, wrinkling her nose. “Augh. What did you just take a bath in?”
    “The fluids of a werewolf corpse,” I replied darkly.
    “Ohhh.” A contented smile lit up Aisha’s face. “I forgot about that little surprise. So did you manage it?”
    “Yes,” I grunted, uncertain how she knew about the werewolf—or heck, how she’d even escaped the box to begin with. “I managed to get one Bloodless into the box.”
    “Well, that is surprising,” Aisha murmured. “I didn’t expect you to make it out alive.”
    I looked at her sourly before returning my gaze to Arletta. Maybe I could try to bring her with us at least… I cleared my throat, still holding my nose to avoid the stench. “It occurred to me that we ought to bring a female too,” I said, trying to make my voice sound casual.
    Aisha furrowed her brows. Suspicion had already sparked in her eyes. “Why do you say that?” As her gaze shifted to Arletta, I saw that she’d already guessed the answer.
    “I just thought—”
    “You just thought nothing,” she interrupted. She shook her head, her eyes narrowing on me. “I wasn’t born yesterday. You simply want to bring your friend along.”
    “No,” I protested, albeit unconvincingly. “We could take another female. It doesn’t have to be Arletta.” I should’ve just shut up. Aisha had already seen through me regarding Arletta, and by trying to save face, I was just digging a deeper hole for myself. I didn’t want to have to go hunting after another one of these creatures—likely needing to cover myself with another few handfuls of maggot-ridden intestines in the process.
    Thankfully, Aisha wasn’t in the mood for waiting around longer. “No. You’ve caught one. He’ll be enough of a specimen to take to the witch.”
    I decided that it was best not to press the matter, even as I looked back over at Arletta, now completely bald. She’d left her spot in the corner of the deck and had wandered over to the rest of them.
    At least I’d managed to get Braithe. Aisha had no idea that he was one of my comrades. I didn’t see how she would ever find out.
    Now we could take him to the witch and perhaps, just perhaps I could strike a deal with her and persuade her to find a cure for him.
    “So where’s the box?” Aisha asked.
    “I’ll take you there,” I said. Aisha thinned her body until she was in her subtle state—a state that allowed her to pass through solid walls. I led her back down through the trap door and along the corridor to the storage room where I’d left the box.
    “God in heaven!” Aisha cried, coughing. “Ugh, that is so gross!”
    I was in no mood to listen to her grumbling, as I stood here with practically every inch of me covered with bits of the corpse. I pointed to the box. “You should know it well enough by now,” I muttered darkly.
    “And whereabouts exactly is the exit that leads to the lifeboats?” Aisha asked. “There are a few strung up over the edge of the