by John Corwin
"Brace for impact!" Illaena shouted.
Another sailor blew the horn.
Wood crunched. The ship shuddered violently as the starboard side grazed the cliff. I grabbed Elyssa with one hand and held onto the vine with the other. The aetherial wings on the right flickered off. The ship hung suspended in the air for a brief pause and then the bottom fell out.
My stomach journeyed to the top of my throat but it didn't stop a scream from escaping first. Wind roared past my ears. The ship groaned and tilted right. I saw Cora, teeth clenched in concentration, directing a vine to carry Illaena and other sailors to the right side of the ship.
The sky vanished in a cloud of whirling aether as we dropped into another vortex. The ship spun and twisted, rolling upside down to face the boiling ocean far below. Elyssa's grip on my arm tightened painfully. She struggled closer and kissed me.
"I will always love you!" she shouted.
"I love you!" I yelled back. "But we're not going to die. We're going to jump!"
"You can't fly in the vortex!"
I channeled my wings and spread them. "Maybe not, but I'm going to try."
The ship rolled again. The vines holding down the dead blue dragon snapped and the corpse slid across the blood and smacked into us. My head rammed the deck and stars flashed in my eyes. When I blinked them open, I saw the dragon corpse crash through railing and vanish over the side.
Elyssa held a vine with one hand, and wrapped her other arm around my waist. The vines holding me down had snapped and Cora was too preoccupied holding Illaena over the starboard side to help me. The blow to my head had disrupted my wings too. I tried to stand, but the ship lurched and shuddered. We only had seconds before we hit water. I grabbed Elyssa, determined to leap off the craft and channel my wings in midair.
A gust of wind blew sparkling dust across the deck. Small gems pelted my face and grit filled my teeth and eyes. We drifted toward the wall of wind at the edge of the vortex. The gems inside would grind us to dust. I couldn't jump off that side of the ship. Somehow, we had to make it to the other side.
The ship rattled and jerked so hard, my chin slammed into the deck and Elyssa lost her footing. The deck leveled out and my stomach dropped like a lead weight. The vortex roared around us, but we had stopped falling. Cora's vines pulled Illaena and several others back onto the deck and I saw the aetherial wings flapping on the starboard side once again.
The sailors cheered, immediately setting to work on the levers. The ship began to rise, wood creaking and groaning as it fought the wind shear. The prow grazed the edge of the vortex and Cora cried out, as if it was her own flesh in the aether storm. When the vessel backed away, the dragon nose was little more than a nub, ground away by the gem dust.
Another group of sailors deployed glowing nets into the roaring winds even as the ship fought the downward pull of the gargantuan tornado engulfing us. The nets hauled piles of gems, sparkling reds, glowing blues, sullen greens, and some that measured six feet across. With one loud groan, the ship seemed to jerk free of gravity and raced upward.
Moments later we hovered over the ocean of whirlwinds and boiling water. Just off the starboard bow hovered the rocky skylet that had nearly killed us. The floating island was small and barren of inhabitants, but with one predominant feature in its center: an Alabaster Arch.
Cora slumped against the railing, eyes dark with fatigue. "Welcome to Kdosh."
Chapter 19
We were finally here.
Illaena landed the ship on the northern side of the skylet and dropped the ramp. Sailors immediately began repairs. The two large gems on the starboard side of the ship used to channel the giant wings had been hastily replaced during our freefall. The collision with the skylet had damaged the originals and contributed to our near-death experience.
The skylet only took a couple of minutes to traverse and I soon reached the Alabaster Arch. "If there's no crystoid, jamming the aether, why isn't the Alabaster Arch working?"
Elyssa shrugged.
The tall stone arch, obsidian laced with alabaster with a wide silver circle around it, sat silent. I held a hand over the Chalon in the control socket. It popped out and hovered just beneath my hand, but willing a portal to open yielded no results. I knelt and willed the silver circle embedded in the ground to close. Aether flooded inside, running static fingers through my hair.
I tried to open a portal, but though the air flickered and the presence of an opening tickled me senses, nothing happened. "Magic definitely isn't the problem. It's something else."
Elyssa's eyes flashed. "I think I know what's blocking it."
I reached a similar conclusion. "A portal-blocking statue."
"That's what it has to be," she said.
"Wonderful." I smacked the back of my hand into the other palm. "Serena must have kept some from Thunder Rock."
"Problem is, I don't see one lying around." Elyssa got down on her hands and knees and looked under a bush. "It's going to take forever to search this entire skylet."
Cora arrived with a crew of sailors to start repairs on the pedestal and gave us a curious look. "Why are you crawling on the ground?"
"The arch isn't working." I stood and brushed dirt off my hands. "There are these small statues that block portals from working and we think one is hidden here somewhere."
"Perhaps I can help." Cora knelt and placed a hand on the ground. The red grass writhed toward her. Even the shrubs and trees seemed to lean her way.
"Creepy," I murmured.
Elyssa was entranced. "Amazing."
"Ah," Cora said a moment later. She stood and walked thirty yards from the arch and flipped a flat stone out of the way. Worms and bugs scattered in the sudden light. Plant roots pulled the soil aside, opening a hole a few feet deep. At the bottom lay a small stone statue shaped like an angel, wings folded, head bowed. A slender root snared the statue and dropped it in Cora's outstretched hand.
"You'd be a real hit on a gardening show," I said.
Cora grimaced. "Television bores me, as do most modern amenities in the mortal world." The roots filled in the hole as she stood and turned to us. "I much prefer the outdoors."
I took the statue and looked at the bottom. Symbols inscribed on the underside were actually musical notes needed to disable the statue. "You don't, by chance, still have those deactivation tones on your phone do you, babe?"
Elyssa scrolled through her phone and shook her head. "I must have deleted them after the war."
My phone still had the tones on it, but of course I'd left it back in Tarissa. "The statues have a three-hundred yard working radius if I recall correctly, right?"
"Sounds right," Elyssa said.
"Cool." I cocked my arm and flung the statue over the edge of the skylet.
"Simple but effective," Elyssa commented dryly. "You're a true genius."
I turned to the Alabaster Arch, too nervous to come up with a witty reply. "Please work." I knelt and sealed the silver circle again then anxiously stepped up to the Chalon.
"It'll work," Elyssa said. "It has to."
I held a hand over the small orb. After a brief hesitation, it popped from the socket and hovered, the intricate pattern of lines along the surface glowing happily. This time I sensed the connection the arch held to its sister in the other realm and sent a simple command.
Open.
The space between the arch columns crackled, alternating between hues of white, ultraviolet, and gray. The scent of ozone tickled my nose. With a loud boom, the air split vertically and flashed open horizontally to reveal a cave lined with small black arches.
Two Templars in black Nightingale armor stood on the other side. The tall one with arms as thick as my legs looked at the other. "Go tell the commander they're back."
The other Templar saluted and raced away. Michael Borathen, Elyssa's older brother, allowed a smile for his sister and stepped through to give her a hug. "You had us worried, Ninjette."
"Believe me, we were
all worried," Elyssa said with a laugh as Michael set her back on the ground. "We need an immediate debrief."
"Already in the works." He stepped back and nodded at the other Seraphim, though his gaze lingered on Cora for a moment. "Looks like you've gathered quite a crowd, Justin."
"It's my Axe Body Spray," I said. "Works like a charm every time."
"I will await word from the fleet," Cora said. She clasped my hand. "We will also begin work on the skyway pedestal in case the Mzodi refuse my request."
I squeezed her hands. "Thanks, Cora."
Michael looked around at the red grass, the blue trees, and the tufts of aether drifting up over the edges of the skylet. Usually stoic and reserved, even he seemed amazed by this little taste of Seraphina. His eyes caught on the Evadora. "I don't usually care for debriefings, but I think this one will be interesting."
Flava stepped into the circle around the arch. "Hello, Michael."
He nodded at her. "Welcome back, legionnaire." He stepped back as a platoon of Templars marched through the arch to guard Kdosh.
The rest of her group joined us and Michael motioned them through. I took Elyssa's hand and two steps later, we were back in Eden. I was so happy, I could have burst. I settled for gaily skipping down a long aisle of small black arches, the baby brothers of the monstrous one in the main cavern outside this control room.
We reached the wide center aisle and walked to a niche filled with black arches about ten feet tall and wide. Unlike the other arches, these omniarches could take someone just about anywhere they could clearly envision. An open portal glowed inside one of them. I recognized the underground hangar at Big Creek Ranch, also known as the Templar headquarters for most of North America.
We hurried through and found Elyssa's parents, Thomas and Leia Borathen, waiting on the other side. She ran over and hugged them.
"We were so worried," Leia said.
Elyssa took a deep breath and backed away, her smile fading to seriousness. "Cephus has more capabilities than we realized."
Commander Thomas Borathen gripped my hand and shook it. "Good to have you back."
"Great to be back," I said, and bent over to give Leia a hug.
She kissed my cheek. "We were going to send through reinforcements, but the crystoid holding open the portal went dead and we had no way to send help."
"It's good you didn't," Elyssa said. "Any reinforcements would have faced the same problems we did."
"Speaking of," I said, "let's get this debrief out of the way. I'm dying for a slice of pizza."
Flava and her gang had waited quietly behind us until now.
"Commander, I have grave news about Seraphina," she said. "The Tarissan Legion is lost."
Thomas's eyes flashed. "It sounds like we may have to adjust our plans."
Painted yellow squares demarking portal arrival zones began to flash with activity as portals from all around the world opened.
"I contacted our allies," Thomas said. "Everyone should be here shortly."
Shelton burst through the first portal, Bella right behind him. Wearing his standard leather duster with a wide-brimmed hat and cowboy boots, he looked the same as ever—not at all like a man who was about to tie the knot. He saw me and jogged over. "Holy farting fairies, man, I thought you'd finally gotten yourself killed!" He wrapped me in a one-armed hug and dragged Elyssa in as well.
"This is the second time you've left us behind while you go on a mission to Seraphina," Bella said. The petite Colombian pushed glossy black hair from her face and regarded us severely. "Perhaps I should lodge a formal complaint with the commander."
I chuckled and gave her a hug and kiss on the cheek. "Next time we'll let you and Shelton go by yourselves."
"Yeah, if you want the world to end," Shelton said. "I think I'll just stick to armchair quarterbacking."
I sighed. "I'm sorry we missed your rehearsal dinner and your bachelor party."
Shelton pshawed. "You didn't miss squat. Do you really think I'd do any of that stuff without my best man around?"
"He's been insufferable," Bella said. "Pacing all over the mansion and talking about how inconsiderate it would be if you died before attending our wedding."
Elyssa snorted. "We're not that rude."
Shelton grinned. "Thank goodness. Otherwise Cinder was going to be the best man."
"Let's grab some pizza after this," I said. "I'm sick of eating glurk."
"What the hell is glurk?" Shelton grimaced. "I thought they ate ambrosia in Seraphina."
"I wish." I spotted my parents and little sister emerging from a portal and waved to them.
"Justin!" Ivy cheered and raced over in a blur. The impact of her hug nearly knocked me off my feet. "You're alive!"
I ruffled her platinum blond hair and leaned down to kiss her cheek, though I didn't have to lean down as much as I used to. She was definitely getting taller. "Of course I am. The mission took a little longer than expected."
"That's one way of putting it," my father, David Slade, said with a grin. He squeezed my shoulder. "Your mom was getting worried."
My mother, Alysea, wiped tears from her eyes. "Worried is an understatement." She embraced me and seemed to melt with relief. "We've been through so much conflict, you'd think I'd be used to it by now."
"It's something you never grow accustomed to," Bella said.
I spotted Colin McCloud, the Lycan Nation Alpha stepping out of a portal, and Kassallandra Assad, the beautiful Maedras of the Daemos Nation appear in another one, her blazing red hair braided into something resembling a crown. Thomas walked over to greet the newcomers and everyone began to migrate toward the levitator shaft which would take us down to the conference rooms.
A new portal opened. Through it stepped a tall man with thick black hair and an angular set to his jaw. Neatly groomed eyebrows overshadowed his dark eyes. A black Arcane robe with white ruffles gave him the appearance of someone in charge—which he was. Chancellor Victus Edison of Science Academy, and Arcanus Primus of the Arcane Council saw me and offered a well-practiced smile.
"Justin, I'm relieved to see you back safe and sound." He stepped aside to make room for a tall woman, her black curtain of hair a sharp contrast to skin so pale it looked unhealthy.
Victus's wife, Delectra, still looked every bit as haughty as the last time I'd seen her, but her greeting this time was warmer. "Mr. Slade." She managed a smile and walked with her husband over to me.
Victus pumped my hand and kissed Elyssa's. "We were getting worried when you missed the second deadline."
The scent of brimstone teased my nose—a sign Victus was still playing with demons. I decided not to comment. "Things got pretty hairy," I said. "We'll cover it in the debrief."
"Fair enough," he replied. "It's good to have Eden's hero back with us again."
Delectra absentmindedly pushed her hair behind an ear to reveal a nasty bruise visible even through the makeup on her cheek. "We are pleased you made it back safely."
"What happened to your cheek?" Elyssa asked.
The other woman's dark eyes flared and she quickly rearranged her hair to shield the bruise.
"One of my experiments did not go well," Victus said with an apologetic smile.
I couldn't hold my tongue any longer. "Was it a demon?"
Delectra swallowed hard and answered in a quiet tone. "Yes."
"Ever since the demon uprising, I've been testing new ways to contain those spirits who still manage to slip through," Victus said. "I've met with mixed success."
Elyssa narrowed her eyes at the man, but said nothing.
I saw Shelton and Bella waiting impatiently near the levitator. The rest of the crowd had already gone below. "We should go to the briefing."
"Of course," Victus said. "I'm eager to hear what happened."
Two more portals opened before I had a chance to leave and more familiar faces emerged. Christian Salazar, commander of the South American Templars stepped from one, and Commander Taylor of Australia e
merged from another.
Christian offered me and Elyssa a standard Templar salute, hand across the chest. "Welcome home, Commander Slade, Lieutenant Borathen."
I wasn't big on formalities, but Christian wouldn't appreciate a big hug and wet kiss on the cheek, so I obliged him. "Thank you, Commander." I turned to Taylor. "Sorry I didn't get to say hello when I was down at the Three Sisters."
She smiled and waved it off. "I know you needed to get back to HQ quickly." Taylor gave me and Elyssa a warm handshake. "I'm happy you made it back safely."
I half-expected another portal to open and delay us, but it appeared everyone had arrived. We crowded onto the levitator with Shelton, Bella, and the others and rode it down several levels to the conference rooms.
Shelton chuckled. "Every time we have a war, it's like a family reunion around here."
Nightliss's smiling face journeyed through my mind. I nodded somberly. "Yeah."
Elyssa squeezed my hand, but didn't say anything.
We stepped into a corridor hewn from rock and stepped inside the sprawling war room.
It was time to plan another war.
Chapter 20
"Hey, sis!" Phoebe Borathen, Elyssa's sister, met her inside the door with a hug. Though the two looked almost like twins, they'd been born centuries apart. Both Templars and dhampyrs, they were two of the most skilled fighters I'd ever encountered, not including the tall enigmatic man standing in the corner across the room—Kanaan, the Magitsu master.
He met my gaze and offered a brief nod. Kanaan stood almost as tall as me and looked like his heritage had a few percentage points in Asian, and maybe a little more in Caucasian, but I knew from watching him he was a hundred percent badass. Where I dealt in raw power, this guy served death with finesse. He could do more with his lower-powered Arcane magic than I could pull off with ten times the wattage. Learning Magitsu, the magical martial arts, was something I had on my to-do list, but the forces of darkness had to give me a vacation first.
Captain Takei of the Blue Cloaks gave me a broad smile. "We were rather worried about you and Lieutenant Borathen, Commander Slade."
