Baleful Betrayal

by John Corwin

  Elyssa groaned. "Sex apparently reduces males of every kind to short-sighted stupor."

  "Of course I will want to see the child," Joss interjected before Elyssa could badmouth every male in the universe. "If Kaelissa does not want it, then I will gladly take it."

  "How does she even know if the child will be immortal or not?" I asked.

  "Flava told me a good healer can detect if the child will be short-lived," Otaleon said. "There is a darkness in the genes of those affected by the Desecration that cannot be purged."

  That got me to thinking about all the husked Seraphim we'd revived. The Desecration had affected the Seraphim in Eden much differently than those here in Seraphina. "Can Flava test the reborn to make sure they didn't lose their long lifespans?"

  "She tested me and found me free of the malady," Otaleon said. "It is possible the method for restoring us from husked form also purged whatever affects the lifespans of the Seraphim here."

  "Are you otherwise healthy?" I said. "You're not shooting blanks or anything?"

  The term obviously didn't compute because his forehead pinched into a confused V.

  "You're not sterile," I clarified.

  "I did not ask her to check that," Otaleon said.

  "Though he'd like to test it with her," Joss said with chuckle.

  "Ooh, Otaleon likes Flava?" I said.

  Otaleon sighed. "She is a beautiful sera who has proven herself fierce in combat and a great leader. What more could a seraph ask for?"

  I thought back to the earlier conversation about how important the matriarchal lineage was to the angels. "I take it women—seras—are the ones who make the moves here?"

  "Perhaps during our time," Otaleon said. "It seems things are more uncertain now."

  I expected Elyssa to make some smart remark about how it was better with women in charge, but she passed up the opportunity. Eyes pensive, she sighed. "Too bad Daelissa had to make females in charge look bad."

  "You should speak with Flava," Joss told Otaleon. "We are at war and the odds are one of you will die before it ends. Do not let the opportunity pass you by, brother."

  "I agree," Elyssa said, voice somber. "You never know what tomorrow brings."

  As if on cue, Flava stepped from the southern tree line, face smudged with dirt from burying the dead. She joined our group and said, "It is time for final rites, if you would like to join us."

  Otaleon touched her shoulder. "Of course."

  She patted his hand. "Thank you."

  As the sun dipped in the west, we walked up the incline to the plateau and regarded the rows of headstones. Lanaeia sat on a boulder, shoulders sagging, face pale with exhaustion. Even her silvery hair had lost some of its luster.

  Flava called our small group to order and began. "We were once more than a mighty thousand strong, and in one fell swoop, reduced to a hundred. From a legion to a century in the space of a moment. Over the months, our numbers dwindled as Cephus's minions hunted and killed us. Once again we have been reduced, and now we are only a handful."

  She let that sink in for a moment. "Though our numbers are small, our will to fight and win is great. Cephus has no loyalty but to himself. His evil will die, if not by our hands, by the hands of Eden's army. Today, we celebrate those who sacrificed all for the love of Pjurna and her people."

  Flava knelt and splayed her fingers, palms facing the ground as was common when Seraphim greeted each other. The rest of us mimicked her.

  "May the skies receive your souls and your lives find peace on the ethereal plane." Flava squeezed shut her eyes. "Amen."

  "Amen," Nailan and Philas said, and the rest of us chimed in right after.

  Flava rose and wiped away tears. "Thank you for coming."

  I gave Elyssa a confused look as the small gathering dispersed. "Did she say amen?"

  "Sure sounded like it," she said. "I didn't follow everything since it was in Cyrinthian, but that last word sounded pretty familiar."

  "Weird." I took her hand and led her away from the others to the far end of the plateau where it ended in a cliff overlooking a seemingly endless plain of red grass. A tall boulder shielded us from the cool breeze, but still allowed us to see into the distance.

  Elyssa leaned against me as we sat in silence and just enjoyed being with each other. It felt as if we'd been in Seraphina for weeks and not just a few days, and I'd been jonesing for some alone time with her.

  I lifted her chin and brought her soft lips to mine. She tasted sweet, and sent fire rushing through my veins. "You missed a little blood on your forehead," I told her.

  "Sorry, I washed off in a hurry," she said.

  I chuckled. "Doesn't bother me." I wet my thumb and wiped away the blood.

  "I hope the Mzodi can help," Elyssa said. "I don't know about you, but just thinking that every day Cephus is brainwashing more and more of his people makes me sick to my stomach. I can't wait to end this."

  "Daelissa was bad," I mused. "She killed humans just to feed off them, but it wasn't like she consumed hundreds a day. I mean, what if Cephus's brainwashing is irreversible?"

  "All those people lost forever," Elyssa murmured. "Justin, that's awful."

  "Cephus is just like Serena." The comparison seemed so clear in my head. "They're both scientists but without a heart or compassion to guide them."

  "They have power but no ethics," Elyssa said. "Though they're not really scientists since they practice magic."

  "Well, whatever you call magical scientists," I said.

  "Those words are complete opposites." Elyssa managed a small smile. "I'm sure you'll come up with a good name soon enough."

  "What I mean is they experiment with magic." I shrugged. "They're researchers."

  "Well, whatever they are, they're extremely dangerous," Elyssa said.

  "True that." I kissed her cheek. "I wish I knew what to expect on Kdosh. If it's another huge crystoid, we're in trouble."

  "What's keeping Cephus from launching another wave of crystoids once our army arrives?" Elyssa said. "Removing the first round from Eden took a massive effort. What's keeping him from launching another salvo to keep us from invading?"

  "That's a question I've been wondering myself," I admitted. "If he started preparing from the first day he met me, that gave him about four months to mass produce crystoids."

  "He hit the Tarissan Legion just a few weeks after they arrived," Elyssa said.

  "All he needed was a couple crystoids for that," I reminded her. "He probably used what he had here first. Since the crystoids beam all the energy back to his base, it left him sitting pretty while everyone else suffered and died."

  "So it took him about three months to produce the ones he used in Eden," Elyssa said.

  "That'd be my guess." I thought back to the final tally Cinder had given us. "At least two hundred crystoids were launched, but only a hundred and thirty or so actually made landfall and grew."

  "In other words, his manufacturing process isn't very efficient." Elyssa tapped a finger on her chin. "It probably took him three or four months to make that many."

  Cold fingers coiled around my heart. "It's been nearly three months since the invasion."

  "Which means if he's been making more crystoids all this time, he might have another volley ready to go."

  Any shred of optimism I'd had before evaporated. "All he needs is one crystoid to keep us from returning to Tarissa. I got up and started pacing. "If he launches another at the skyway terminus in the city, then it doesn't matter if we open the arch on Kdosh because we can't transport an army without the skyway."

  "If we clear the crystoid on Kdosh, that gives us clear sailing at least to Ooskai," Elyssa said.

  "Yeah, but Tarissa is on a massive floating island above a vortex," I reminded her. "We can't march overland because there's no way to fly the army up to the city once we reach it."

  Elyssa pursed her lips and remained silent. "Logistically, the other Alabaster Arches are too deep in Brightling territory fo
r us to use."

  "Then there's his threat to open a portal to the Void." Just thinking about the Beast made my skin crawl. "Cephus said it would be ready in days."

  "Whether it's crystoids or the Void, we have to figure a way inside his fortress fast." Elyssa bit her lower lip. "How are we supposed to punch a hole in his barrier?"

  "We're thinking about this too magically," I said as an idea struck me in my thick skull and trickled into my forebrain. "Why use magic when we have Victus Edison and Science Academy to help?" I clapped my hands with excitement.

  "Calm down, cowboy." Elyssa grabbed my hand and pulled me back down to earth. "Are you suggesting we use battle bots?"

  "If we can't use the skyway, we'll use lots and lots of rocket sticks." I sketched out the plan in my head. "I know we can't transport everyone and everything with rocket sticks, but we could land enough people in Tarissa to destroy another crystoid and guard the end of the skyway."

  "Totally," Elyssa agreed enthusiastically. "It's too bad we can't fit airships through the arch."

  "Yeah, I talked with Victus about that. He said he could probably break them down and reassemble them on this side. The envelopes are the problem."

  Elyssa frowned. "Envelopes?"

  I nodded. "The balloon part of the airship."

  "I thought that was the nacelle."

  "Don't get me started," I groaned. "Do you know how many times Victus corrected my airship terms when I spoke with him about it? He's brilliant, but he's a condescending jackass, too."

  She grunted in agreement. "Rocket sticks sound doable. All we need to do is maintain a foothold on Kdosh to thwart any attempts to shut down the arch."

  I leaned against her and felt the weight slide off my shoulders. "I feel much better about our chances now, but—"

  Elyssa combed through my hair with her fingers. "But what?"

  "We still need the sky fishers." I looked up at the dark clouds gathering in the dusk. "I hope Kaelissa can deliver."

  Without another means of aerial transportation, we were stuck.

  Chapter 16

  Elyssa and I spent the night in Kaelissa's house, but the village brood mother remained out of sight. Djola brought us breakfast the next morning, but remained elusive when we asked about the Mzodi.

  "What time do they usually get here?" I asked.

  "They arrive when they arrive," she said and backed out of the bedroom.

  "You know how much I love vague replies," I muttered.

  Elyssa bit into a loaf of panari and shrugged. "She probably doesn't know."

  After breakfast, we went outside and were stunned to see most of the houses already rebuilt—some of them with new additions or geometry.

  I looked at the new three-story version of the boot house. "I wonder how long it takes to build a skyscraper."

  "I'd like to know how hard it is to change the color." Elyssa glanced around at the shiny ultraviolet domiciles. "I like dark purple, but it gets a bit old."

  A loud pop jerked my attention to the west where sparkling aether lit the sky. Another magical flare soared into the air and popped like fireworks.

  "I think the sky fishers are here," Elyssa said.

  Kaelissa emerged from her house and walked toward the stone arch, Djola following close behind. Flava ran from a dome-shaped house, eyes wide and alert.

  "What was that?" she asked us.

  "Our last hope is arriving," I said dryly, though my nerves squirmed like a pouch full of snakes.

  The rest of our shrunken entourage joined us on the street in short order and we set off down the street to the valley bridge.

  Kaelissa waited at the edge of the cliff where the wide dock nestled between the rock face and the bridge.

  I stepped beside her and looked west, but a thick bank of clouds spoiled an otherwise clear morning. "Are they far?"

  "No," she replied. "I suggest you remain back while I speak with them. They are not very welcoming to strangers."

  The sound of children laughing and playing caught my ears. I looked back and saw the ward of Kaelissa's many offspring herding them down the road toward the dock, probably to see the spectacle.

  "We'll step back when they get here," I said.

  Kaelissa nodded, her eyes never leaving the west.

  I followed her gaze but the only thing in sight was the thick bank of clouds drifting unnaturally fast toward us. The clouds shimmered and slowed. A forked tongue poked through the mist. Behind it emerged long reptilian muzzle and wide organic curves. Four large Seraphim wings flapped majestically, pinions moving in perfect unison to drive the ship forward and keep it aloft. Large gems along the wooden hull shone with an inner light.

  Now clear of the cloud, the vessel resembled a whale with the head of a dragon and the wings of angels. Its construction seemed primarily of wood instead of Murk, though a crystalline sheen around the hull hinted at something in between.

  The crew raced along the upper deck. Shouted commands echoed across the distance as the Mzodi prepared to dock.

  Elyssa tugged on my arm. "Justin, let's back off."

  "B-but look at that thing," I stuttered. "It's amazing!"

  "Admire it from a distance," she ordered.

  With a long, drawn-out sigh, I walked it back a good distance and waited.

  The ship glided into port and rotated to face west while slowly drifting down to land on the dock. When it touched down on its wide flat hull, the wings flickered and vanished and a long ramp extended to shore.

  A tall sera with wide shoulders and hips appeared at the top of the ramp, eyes surveying the village. She frowned when she noticed us, but proceeded down the ramp to speak with Kaelissa.

  "I was kind of hoping for sky pirates," I muttered, "but she doesn't have a peg leg or an eyepatch."

  "Or a parrot," Elyssa added.

  Kaelissa and the presumed captain spoke for several minutes then the latter raised a hand. A side section of the hull folded away to reveal a cargo hold filled with glittering jewels.

  "Oh my," Elyssa said softly. "I want to touch those so much."

  "Admire them from a distance," I said with a grin.

  Elyssa pressed her lips tight and glared at me. "Don't make me hurt you."

  I held up my hands in surrender. "I'm sure we'll get a chance to look at the goods when Kaelissa negotiates our passage."

  Two stocky seraphs carried a large tray from within the hold and set it at Kaelissa's feet. I zoomed my vision and saw gems of various shapes and sizes on the tray. Djola knelt and inspected each gem while Kaelissa spoke with the captain.

  "I really wish she'd waited to conduct business after getting us onboard," Elyssa said.

  I was itching to walk over and talk with the captain myself, but decided my interference could ruin our chances of passage. After painstakingly examining the goods, Djola stood and whispered in Kaelissa's ear. The ancient sera nodded and motioned at the children.

  "What's that about?" Elyssa murmured.

  We soon realized horrific truth when the captain selected several girls from the crowd. One of the stocky seraphs guided them toward the cargo hold.

  "They're trading those kids!" I said. "What kind of monster is Kaelissa?" Before Elyssa could respond, I raced to the dock and skidded to a stop in front of Kaelissa and the others.

  "I told you to wait," Kaelissa said coldly.

  "You're trading children for gems?" Outrage crackled in my throat. "They're your own flesh and blood!"

  The captain stared at me. "This is not your affair, stranger."

  "Maybe not, but it's wrong." I bared my teeth. "Don't make me take them back by force."

  "The only thing wrong here is your interference," the captain replied. "Look at the children." She jabbed a finger toward the girls. "Look!"

  I saw them standing inside the cargo hold, waving and smiling at their siblings as if they were about to embark on a Disney cruise. "I'm looking."

  "Do they look frightened or sad?" the sera asked.
r />   "No, but you could've told them there's free ice cream and candy on the ship for all I know." I sensed movement behind me and saw Flava, Lanaeia, and the others forming up. A dozen of the ship's crew gathered at the top of the ramp and I knew there was about to be a smackdown.

  "Release the children," Flava said. "I cannot allow such barbarism to go unchallenged."

  "Leave us and mind your own affairs," Kaelissa hissed. "You fools have no idea what is going on here."

  "I know I'm about to open a can of whoopass," I retorted.

  Kaelissa's forehead pinched with confusion at the untranslatable word.

  I walked toward the girls and held out a hand. "Come to me."

  They backed away and hid behind the crewman.

  "We're going to save you," I said. "We won't let the bad angels take you."

  "Your interference ends now!" the captain shouted and slashed a hand through the air.

  The crew charged down the ramp with a roar. Elyssa and the others drew weapons and formed up around me. I summoned aether and gathered enough energy for a deadly strike.

  "Enough!" someone shouted from the top deck.

  Everyone paused in mid-attack and looked up. A pale sera with blazing orange hair stalked down the ramp. A tight black coat lined with silver lace outlined a thin frame. Jade green eyes bored into the would-be brawlers, causing the crew to look down and back away, faces blanched.

  The sera stormed up to me and spoke in a deadly quiet voice. "We are taking these girls from an uncaring mother and giving them to loving parents who cannot have children of their own. Now, if you are opposed to such charitable acts, I will gladly fight you here and now. Otherwise, I suggest you control yourself and leave my crew alone."

  I glanced at the frightened girls cowering behind the crew and down at the glowing orb of destruction coalesced around my fist. "Why in the hell didn't someone just tell me what was going on in the first place?"

  The orange-haired sera glared at the person I'd mistakenly assumed was the captain. "What did you tell him, Illaena?"

  The other sera looked away. "I told him it was none of his concern."

  The captain nodded. "I see." She offered a slight bow to me. "Apologies for the misunderstanding…" She looked at me expectantly.