Cole shut the water off and the bathroom door swung open.
Danny glanced over with a yawn. "You want to fly?" He groaned. "You know I hate transforming into the hawk. I'd rather run. I won't even complain when you beat my time again."
"Notice anything?" Cole's tone was flat.
Danny shrugged, Cole's voice chiming in his head the same it always did when they transformed into their avian selves. "Besides the fact that you like to taunt everyone with the fact that your true form is better than everyone else's? Not really. Was there something you wanted to confess to me as the falcon that you couldn't say in your human skin, or...?"
"Dan—" Cole glanced at his feet.
"You look like you always do. Arrogant."
“Danny." Cole raised his voice.
"Although, you'd say, bad ass. Same difference."
"Dan."
"What?"
"Look at me!” Cole motioned at his legs.
Danny's mouth opened, and his gaze tracked from the falcon's head down to Cole's bare feet and back up. "What...where are your wings? And your...where's the rest of you?"
Cole held up his right hand, red lines snaking around his wrist and over his palm.
"What the hell?"
"It was a fusionem crystal," Cole said. "The one we found. It can create amalgamations. Cross-breeds. I accidentally used it when Kadence fell in the snow when we couldn't find hers. I thought I was using my own." Cole let out a sigh. "I don't know what the hell it did...what it's doing, so I've been researching it. Only an Anamolia can wield a fusionem crystal from what I've read." He motioned toward the stack of books at Danny's feet.
"What the hell?" Danny repeated, staring as if he hadn't heard a word Cole said.
"It's the same as a caelestes crystal for us, or luna ad lapidem for Jake's crew."
"Do you always have to speak in Latin? Just say celestial and moon stone crystals."
"Seriously? That's all you have to say? Don't say celestial and moon stone in Latin? English is not natural for me!”
"Are you...you're not stuck like that are you? Half way?"
Cole transformed into his human skin. "There's some kind of resistance happening when I transform now. Like my mind knows what I really am, but my body disagrees. And it's painful."
"Painful?"
"Like nothing I've ever felt.” Which was saying more than Danny would ever be able to imagine.
"How long has it been happening?"
"A couple days. I'm still transforming, but it's gotten worse, so I try to stay that way for longer. Keep watch that way, do my rounds."
"Is this...I mean have you asked Kadence about it? If you used the fusionem crystal on her then she'll be having similar affects, right?"
"Have I asked Kadence about it?" Cole's eyes were wild. "What might I have said, Dan? 'So, yeah, we tweaked your memory the other night, Kade, so I know you don't remember me rescuing you from Dracon, but I was wondering...do you have red streaks tracking up your arm, 'cause I do.'" He stared at him. "Seriously? I have no idea what she even knows at this point. Besides the little bit about the Primordial, she seems basically clueless."
Danny mumbled something about being clueless.
Cole reached for one of the books. "When I was young, my dad made me read everything, stuff I probably shouldn't have been reading. He even gave Plumb a list for me to study after I moved into the Brotherhood. Demonology, theology, and Primordial history."
"I remember."
"One of the history books talked about the Primordial race in its earliest times."
"Right. We've all read about that," Danny said, sounding bored.
"No. We read Ward-issued textbooks, the stuff they wanted us to learn. I read histories that my dad handed down, old texts with information the Ward didn't want the younger generations to know. He said I needed to know it. I had no idea what he meant, but I read all the texts, followed his rules of secrecy, and never told a soul about what I'd learned. My dad was all about keeping secrets, never letting anyone know what he knew, and he told me that if I wanted to amount to anything as a Primordial, and do right by the Celestial Plane, then I needed to do the same, so I have."
"What are you trying to say?"
"In the early days, Primeva didn't even exist. All Primordials were called Primori."
"What?"
Cole exhaled. "We all learned that the reason for the split in the race was to maintain a balance. Light and dark, right? Positive and negative forces. Just like the natural magnetic fields. Everything has to even out."
Danny nodded.
Cole shook his head. "The Ward lied. Someone discovered a fusionem crystal and what it could do about two thousand years ago. It changed the Primordial race. Altered it. The crystal introduced the Devil's blood. The crystal created the Primeva. That's the reason for separating us into different common houses. To limit the risk for further contamination to the race, not to maintain balance."
"And you never breathed a word of this to anyone?"
"Didn't see the point. Our split has been going on for thousands of years, and there were no more crystals to cause any more damage."
"Okay, go on."
"So, the book said that everyone had a theory about why the fusionem crystal altered some of us. I mean, what was the purpose? The gain? Some theorists said it was because the Filios Daemoneum wanted to take over, others said no, that could never happen because only half of the Primordial race had been affected by the crystal, and most of those, although they now had traces of devil's blood, were still faithful to the Primordial and its cause. It wasn't like the Primeva were created and they all hopped ship to join the Devil's Children. A few did, but the majority stayed faithful to the Ward."
"Please get to the damn point."
"One theorist had an idea that everyone dismissed. He believed that the point of introducing Devil's blood into the Primordials with the crystal was not to create Primeva at all—that was just a glitch—but to create amalgamations."
Danny's brows cinched.
Cole grinned. "No one gave the theory any credit because no one exhibited the traits that they were looking for, so eventually it was dismissed as nonsense, and they accepted the Primori and Primeva, separating them into houses and forgot about it."
"So way back when, one of the Devil's Children tainted the blood of the Celestial Children with a fusionem crystal in the hopes of creating a super-powerful cross-breed?" Danny asked.
"Yep. The Ward realized it, gathered up all the crystals and destroyed them, so nothing ever came of it. I didn't recognize what the crystal was when you found it in the Hive on Saturday night because it looked pure. But afterward I realized a fusionem crystal only works if it's activated between two opposing forces. Opposite magnetic fields. When that happens, it sort of turns on." Cole held up his left hand. "Show me yours."
"Show you my what?" Danny smirked.
"Jesus, you're perverted. Show me your hand."
Danny held it up. "Okay?"
"They match, asshole. We both have birthmarks of a star. The star. The mark of the Celestial Plane. The ancient gods."
"Thanks for the lesson."
"What birthmark does Jake have? Alex? All of the Kinship?"
"A moon. The point?"
Cole nodded. "A moon. Of the Infernal Plane. The Devil's Children mark."
Danny looked slightly dazed.
"What is the definition of an amalgamation?"
"Hybrid."
"Exactly." Cole grinned. "And what is an Anamolia?"
"Anamolia are a myth."
"I'll take that as you don't know the definition. An Anamolia is a true born Celestial child whose blood has been mixed with the blood of a true born Devil’s child. They are an equal split. Fifty, fifty—god and devil. That was the purpose of the fusionem crystal, and the intent of using it on Primordials thousands of years ago. Whoever was using it was a true born devil trying to create an amalgamation out of a true born Celestial Child. To create an
Anamolia."
"Cool theory, I guess, if you believe in conspiracies. I don't. Why are you so convinced you're right?"
"Besides the fact that the Shadow said an Anamolia would destroy us all?" Cole smirked. "I don't forget anything I'm told, even if it's from the mouth of a scheming Nefarius. So while you were putting books away for Plumb the other day, I was researching. An Anamolia, in the wrong hands, can wield incredible power." He raised his eyebrows, trying to get Danny to understand.
"You mean, in the wrong hands, an Anamolia—the imaginary creature." He gave Cole a straight smile that vanished.
Cole smiled back. "An Anamolia would have the power to manipulate all the Leylines. The entire planetary grid. Positive and negative energy, light and dark. Aren't you getting this? A literal devil god. A creature that could create more creatures just like it. A creature that could look and act as beautiful as an angel before it ripped your throat out."
"Sounds scary. Sorry. It's like trying to convince me that Peter Pan is real. Where are all these so-called history books?"
"Stolen from my room. Years ago. I wanted to report it to the Ward, but since I wasn't supposed to know any of this, I couldn't."
"You're still not telling me why you believe a bunch of books written forever ago, or why the one theory that was dismissed by everyone has you convinced."
Cole grabbed his shoe off the floor and pulled it on. "Two reasons. One." He held up his hand, red lines bleeding over it. "This the first stage of a fusionem crystal alteration. I've seen the pictures. Eventually, in some Primori, it creates a moon in the palm of their hand, altering the blood, then the lines fade, and they turn into a Primeva, or in worst case scenario, an Anamolia. In best case scenario, the lines fade, and it doesn't do anything at all. Think about that for a minute, Dan. These days Primeva aren’t made, they're born. So, the fact that I have lines crawling up my arm proves the crystal worked, that it works. It altered our entire race. And two." Cole yanked his other shoe on and stood up, hands on his hips. "My dad was the amalgamation theorist everyone thought was crazy."
Danny blanched. "Whoa, hold up a second. Are you telling me that since you held that crystal at the same time Kade did, and she's dark, while you're light, that it's turning you into a Primeva?"
Cole exhaled. "That's just it, I don't know."
17
THE DRIVE FROM BOULDER to the old ghost town outside of Denver took longer than either Cole or Danny had guessed. The sun was already sinking behind the mountains by the time they pulled up in front of a falling down clapboard schoolhouse. The abandoned town had a total of five buildings that still stood upright. The rest had either burned to the ground years ago or fallen over and now sat in a pile of wood.
The entrance into the mine had been cut into the side of the mountain and reminded Cole of a doorway into an underground bomb shelter. A wooden frame had been built into the rock, complete with a working door. Usually entries were just big holes blasted into the mountain, like cave entrances. What Cole hadn't seen before was the symbol over the door header. The Mortal Coil.
"Looks like we've come to the right place." Danny zipped up his jacket and fastened the buttons at his wrists.
"Looks like it." Cole lifted the collar of his shirt over his nose and mouth, secured the high collar of his jacket to rest below his chin, and eased through the doorway. From two feet inside the mine, the smell was enough to wake someone from the dead.
"We really need to talk to Dracon about his hygiene." Danny came in behind Cole.
The floor sloped downward and ended with an abrupt drop off into a narrow shaft. Letting his fingertips trail along the hewn walls, Cole entered the pitch black underground chamber and withdrew his telum, allowing the facets of the crystal weapon to cast light on the tunnel walls. With a groan, he dropped through the shaft and landed on his feet at the bottom. A plume of dust billowed from the ground, caking his body in coal film. He coughed and spit as much grit out as he could. Danny dropped beside him, stirring up the dust and blanketing Cole again.
"Why is it that every single time we're investigating a new Hive, I go first? Every damn time I'm either getting splashed with water, coated with coal dust, or inundated with reptile funk first." Cole wiped his mouth with the collar of his shirt.
"It's not like I'm asking you to go first." Danny wiped his cheek with the sleeve of his jacket. "You just always do. If you would rather order me around and make me go first like Jake does Alex and Kyle, it's within your rights."
Cole shot him a scowl. "Shut up with the 'sir' and the 'rights' crap all the damn time. You have just as much right as I do."
Danny grinned, his white teeth shining in the dark. "You brought it up."
"Next time, you're going first."
"Fine. I'll go first." They inched down the tunnel.
"Even if it's a sewer, you're leading," Cole clarified.
"Fine. Even a sewer."
"Abandoned railroads, too. I hate those."
"Do you hear that?" Danny whispered.
Cole placed his hand against the underground wall. It had a distinct thump under his palm. Like bass. "I hear it."
Danny mimicked him. "If we got sent down into a mine that's about to collapse, I'm going to be really pissed."
"It's something else." Cole took off, the faint glow of his telum illuminating the way. The shaft dead-ended and dozens of Leygates shimmered in a semicircular pattern of silver light.
"Whoa." Danny took a step forward, and Cole grabbed his arm, holding him in place.
"Not any closer.” Cole took a step back, nudging Danny behind him with his arm. "Recognize anything?"
"Eeny, meeny, miney, moe, catch a devil by his toe." Danny gave a sarcastic grin.
The defense system was awesome, Cole had to admit. Sheol gates, chasm gates, and Leygates. Pick the wrong one and they could end up dead, or worse. Pick another wrong one, and they would be lead straight into a Hive. A Hive that it took no amount of brain power to realize had to be massive with this many gates guarding it. Cole realized how the Ward had gotten a lead this big. Lay out the bait, have the young Primori follow it, and let them get killed due to inexperience. Unfortunately for the Hive that created the mass of gates, the Ward hadn't sent anyone inexperienced. They'd sent Cole.
"So? Master of the Gates,” Danny said. "Which one?"
"Don't move any closer than you are."
"How am I supposed to help if I don't move any closer?"
"You're not." Cole waved a hand through the air, and a trail of faint red light followed in its wake and fluttered over one of the shimmering waves spitting from the ground. With a loud sucking sound, like water being drawn into a drain, the field came down and popped closed, disappearing. “One down.”
Danny shook his head. "How come you can do that, and I can't?"
"Because your dad didn't make you learn about the power of energy by forcing you to electrocute yourself every time a lightning storm passed over your house."
Danny closed his open mouth. Cole knew Danny had heard enough stories about Cole's dad and all the terrible things that he forced him to do in the name of “training.” Cole had never gone in too much detail, and Danny never pushed, but Cole knew he'd seen the scars.
"But I'd happy to teach you if you want?” Cole raised a hand over another, much darker field. The silver had turned deep metallic gray. Blacked. Blacked gates were the sketchiest to deal with and the hardest to close and wield. Some had lost souls within the energy field itself. Trapped there. Faces, severed hands and heads, but that didn't bother Cole nearly as much as the screams. The deafening cries for help, but although the Primordial could see the dead, they couldn't help them. Once a soul passed onto the Infernal Plane, they were trapped there.
With another red emission of his corona, Cole brought the Sheol gate down and moved to the next, shimmering with a faint trace of gold. "Here we go."
"You're sure?" Danny asked.
"Positive." Both telums slipped from inside hi
s sleeves, resting in his hands. "Ready?" He glanced back at Danny. "It'll be instant."
Danny nodded, weapons gripped in each hand.
"On three." Cole readied himself to jump into the gate that would take them straight into the Alveare. "One." He rolled his neck. "Two." He glanced at Danny. “Three."
Cole stepped into the energy field, and a shooting sound, like a shotgun, blasted somewhere on his left. His right arm seized up, the red lines running through his hand, writhing like worms. A volt of electricity streaked into his shoulder. His body rocked where he stood in the center of the gate, holding him in place.
“Cole!" Danny reached out, his hand traveling through the wave of shimmering energy. His fingers grazed the sleeve of his jacket, but Cole was being sucked backward, into the gate. Danny couldn't stop the momentum. “Cole!"
Cole's body shuddered violently, eyes rolling upward into his head. Crackling energy surrounded him, and he realized with a sickening lurch, that he was being electrocuted from the inside out.
The Sheol gate closed with a deafening slam.
Danny screamed.
Cole was gone.
***
Lindsey honked the horn from the driveway.
Shoving the rest of her cold pizza in her mouth, Kade strode down the front steps and across her yard to the car.
"Hurry up." Giselle jumped in her seat.
Kade climbed in the back seat.
"We have plenty of time, G. Relax." Lindsey backed away from the house.
"All the good dresses will be gone," she complained, switching the radio station at least a dozen times.
"They have over a hundred dresses, you'll find one." Lindsey swatted Giselle's hand away from the radio.
"You don't know that. They could all be too short, or too long, or too ugly." She rolled her window down, freezing Kade and Lindsey with the influx of thirty degree wind, rolled it up again, and rolled it back down.
"Oh, my god, G." Lindsey locked the automatic window switch. "Stop fiddling."
Kade wondered if maybe Giselle really did have ADHD and if it was triggered by riding in cars. She didn't seem all over the place at school.
CRYSTALLUM (The Primordial Principles Book 1) Page 18
