by John Corwin
Green eyes with vertical slits stared blindly up at us. The reptilian body was no longer than my arm, studded with brilliant red scales. It had a long lean muzzle with black whiskers and a forked tongue lolling on the grass. Its body was lithe as that of a snake, but with four small legs and a pair of leathery wings.
A series of loud pops behind me sent me scrambling forward. I spun around and saw another small dragon body bouncing off the barrier of the house next door, each impact scorching the scales with a burst of white electricity.
Elyssa knelt next to the dragon and gently touched its scales. "They're like glass." She pressed one between thumb and fingers. "But hard as diamonds."
I heard shouts in the plaza. Elyssa ran to the corner of one of the shops and looked around it. She spun back to me. "They're cleaning up the bodies! We've got to hide!"
I ran over to the phone and looked at the screen. It gave an estimate of five minutes. "We can't just leave this here or they'll see it."
Elyssa ran around the yard, tossing dragon bodies out onto the road. "Don't you know a cloaking spell?"
"Yeah, but I'm not very good with it." My mom had shown me a way to bend light around a bubble of Brilliance, but I'd never mastered it. I probably had an Arcane cloaking spell on my arcphone, but it was busy hacking the door gem. In other words, I didn't have a prayer of cloaking me, Elyssa, and the phone.
Elyssa seemed to know what I was thinking just from the expression on my face. "We're screwed, aren't we?"
"Yeah—unless…" I snapped my fingers and turned to the phone and my makeshift platform. I channeled Murk into the tripod to supply it with enough energy to maintain cohesion, then shifted to Brilliance. Instead of forming a bubble around all of us, I made a tiny one around the phone and platform.
Alysea's instructions echoed in my head. Will the light to go around it. Imagine it is not there at all.
I'd tried using this weave during the Seraphim War and things hadn't gone well. Then again, the bigger the bubble, the harder it was to conceal. I folded a small warped bubble around the phone and tripod.
"I can still see it," Elyssa said from her position near the shop corner. "They're almost here."
Light, go around it. Bend, stupid light! Nothing happened. Just be invisible, dammit! The bubble shimmered, but instead of vanishing, it turned into a mirror surface, reflecting the blue grass and the walkway. It wasn't invisible, but as long as no one stepped right up to it, it gave the illusion that nothing was there.
Elyssa hurried over to a dragon body and hefted it on her shoulder. "Grab one. Hurry!"
I snatched up a body just as a group of Brightlings in crystal armor came around the corner with a hovering platform piled with deceased dragons. Elyssa and I nonchalantly tossed our loads onto the platform.
"Thank you, good citizens," said one of the soldiers.
"We saw more fall on the houses." Elyssa pointed toward the other McMansions. "Do you require our help?"
"If only you could," the seraph replied. "Unfortunately, only soldiers are allowed in the restricted zone." He pointed to the plaza beyond. "There is plenty of work to be done out there, if you would."
Elyssa nodded. "Of course."
I swallowed nervously and hoped the soldiers didn't inspect the yard behind us too closely. "We are happy to help, good soldier."
"And that is why we will win," the seraph replied. He motioned his comrades onward. They briefly glanced at the yard with my concealed arcphone, but continued past it since Elyssa had cleared it of corpses.
We walked back toward the plaza where other crews worked, but stayed out of sight at the corner of the building. Within a few minutes, the soldiers were gone, but it wouldn't be long until others came this way. Already, the sounds of battle had died and life would soon return to business as usual during the peaceful interim.
I released the bubble weave around the phone and watched the countdown. The completion bar hovered around ninety-nine percent for a seeming eternity until finally the screen lit up with green text: Hack Successful. Switching back to demon sight, I watched the energy barrier fade away. Once it was gone, I zapped the door gem and the wall blinked away.
We were in.
Elyssa and I whisked inside and closed the door behind us.
We reconnoitered the residence from top to bottom. Like most houses in Seraphina, it didn't have normal windows. Instead, you could zap a gem in the room and will a window to appear in one of several configurations. I opted for privacy mode, which meant those inside the house could see out, but those on the outside couldn't see in. The top story offered a nice view over Kaelissa's citadel wall.
Scores of soldiers in crystal armor protected the courtyards beyond the wall, and my demon vision revealed magic lasers defending the buildings. I described the situation to Elyssa. "This is hopeless."
"So much for catching Kaelissa off guard." Elyssa bit her lower lip. "We need to survey from a building on the opposite side." She pointed to a tower with a mushroom dome balanced on top. "Let's see if we can get in over there." She took out an ASE—all-seeing eye—and put it in record mode.
"All right." I pushed to my feet. "But unless she comes out of her turtle shell, we don't have a chance of getting to her."
We walked along the outskirts of the forbidden zone, sticking to a road that took us into another residential area where it ended in a cul-de-sac. A simple gravel path led beneath a crystal arch. Vines wrapped around the arch, red tendrils bearing yellow flowers and sweet scents. We stepped beneath it and into a garden.
The path wandered over bubbling brooks, past tall trees covered in blue flowers, and into shelters woven from red and green vines. This place reminded me of the fairy gardens near Arcane University, like something out of a wonderland. Glowing mushrooms offered places to sit, though they were vacant at this hour.
As the glow balls over the city faded away, the mushrooms and bright flowers lit the path.
"Beautiful," Elyssa breathed.
I couldn't break out of my dour mood and simply grunted. The gardens wrapped around the large estates near Kaelissa's compound, a gravel path leading into the back yards of each. This offered us the unexpected bonus of not having to worry about soldiers marching past every few minutes. Apparently, they figured the barriers around the domiciles would be enough to keep citizens out.
I set up the phone hack at the giant mushroom house and waited impatiently for it to complete. Elyssa kept a watch, but this time we finished the task uninterrupted. A wide empty space greeted us inside the stalk. A levitator just inside the door whisked us up and into the living quarters in the mushroom head.
The view from the top was better than from the lighthouse, but no more encouraging. Elyssa counted fifty of the city guard patrolling the interior of the compound. When Arturo and his archangels returned, the number swelled to around a hundred, though they vanished inside one of the domed buildings. Archangels apparently were too good for patrol duty.
Elyssa set up another ASE to record and made sure it sent video to her arcphone before turning to leave.
"Should we try to send an ASE into the compound?" I asked.
She shook her head. "These two are our last ones. We can't risk them getting disabled by the shield protecting the citadel."
"Are we really that low on supplies?"
"Thanks to the surprise attack back in Kohvalla, we're practically down to the clothes on our backs." Elyssa tucked her phone away beneath her dress. "Let's get back to the ship."
We took the skyway out of the city and reached the ship just before dawn.
Shelton greeted us at the top of the gangway with a look of relief and both sets of our parents close behind. "Man, I was getting worried." He clapped me on the back. "So, what's the word?"
"Not good." I yawned so hard my jaw cracked. "We need a pow-wow."
"Dude, you look beat." Shelton held up a steaming mug of coffee. "Want some caffeine first?"
I shook my head. "No, I'm hitting the sack
the minute I'm done with this report."
"We've seen a lot of strange activity off the coast," Thomas said.
"Strange doesn't begin to cover it." My stomach grumbled for breakfast.
Alysea took me by the arm. "Why don't we discuss everything over food?"
Shelton clapped his hands together. "Now we're talking!"
We headed down the ramps and reached the galley a moment later. In addition to the standard vegetarian fare the Mzodi preferred, Shelton had stocked the preservation chambers with bread, cheese, eggs, and bacon. Alysea heated up a couple of plates with her angel skillz and we sat down to eat.
Cinder and Adam came in a moment later. Adam's face lit with excitement when he saw us. "What's the word?"
Shelton rubbed his hands together. "That's what we're about to find out."
I let Elyssa do the talking because I was too busy stuffing my face to say a word. She told them about the small dragons, the restricted zone, and then showed them live video from the ASEs we'd left in the houses.
"And all this time we thought Kaelissa moved all her troops west so she could invade Atlantis." Shelton studied the holographic pictures Elyssa had taken of the dead dragons. "I think you're right. These dragon attacks were the perfect diversion to draw all the Brightling troops west."
"That's probably part of it," Thomas agreed. "Judging from the size of the dragons, I think these forces are a prelude to a major invasion."
"I don't understand," Alysea said. "You can't just open gateways between realms without the help of an arch."
"That we know of." Adam took out his arcphone and flicked on the screen. "Cinder and I collected data from the previous rift we encountered out at sea, and the one that opened while you two were in town." He projected the image and scrolled through rows of symbols. "The magical signatures for these rifts are identical, which means the same device opened them."
"The same arch?" Shelton said.
"We don't think it's an arch." Adam pointed to a row of symbols. "An arch doesn't project beyond its boundaries, but whatever created these rifts is projecting the portals into the sky."
"Wonderful." Shelton grimaced. "All we need is a bad guy equipped to project portals to Draxadis anywhere he wants."
"But how?" I said. "And can we use this magic to take us home?"
"We are hopeful it might provide a way," Cinder said, "but there are no guarantees."
Adam switched to an overhead map of Voltis. Bright tendrils snaked out from the massive storm, many of them crossing thousands of miles to distant shores. One of them reached all the way to Cabala. "Remnants of Atlantis extend beyond the borders of Voltis, each a tiny fragment of the original Earth. These fractures rub against reality and spawn aether vortexes."
I stopped chewing for a moment. "You mean Atlantis isn't wholly confined to Voltis?"
"Precisely." Cinder traced a line with his finger. "Adam and I believe the device causing the rifts is tapping into these fragments. Since Voltis is like one large malfunctioning portal, each of these fractures are smaller versions."
"Whoa." Shelton snapped a piece of bacon in half. "No wonder you guys were so excited earlier. That means we could probably find this thing and get home."
"That is our hope." Cinder said. "We must stop whoever is behind it before they open a rift that allows through the large dragons, for they would surely doom this realm to a major war."
Chapter 29
Shelton let out a long, low whistle. "Holy farting fairies. This has Baal written all over it."
Elyssa nodded. "That was our conclusion as well."
Adam shrugged. "Baal might be behind it, but that means he has a physical agent on the ground somewhere in this town."
Cinder tilted his head, eyes curious. "I believe I have had a revelation."
Shelton snorted. "You know who Luke's father is?"
The golem turned his deadpan eyes on the Arcane. "I was not aware we had a travelling companion named Luke."
Elyssa sighed. "Cinder, just ignore Shelton and tell us what you're thinking."
Cinder blinked and turned to Adam. "I require a better map of Seraphina."
Thomas took out his arctablet and projected his strategic map, complete with skyway routes, stronghold cities, and estimated troop numbers. "How's that?"
"That will suffice." Cinder studied the map a moment then traced his finger from Tarissa to Guinesea, made a circle, then traced a line east toward Cuital, a major Brightling city in Sazoris.
Shelton rapped his fingers on the table impatiently. "Well, are you going to tell us or just draw lines on the map all day?"
Cinder ignored him and traced his finger up the northern skyway from Cuital to the capitol city of Zbura.
"Yes, that makes complete sense," Thomas said.
Cinder backed up from the map and pointed to Guinesea. "The two Darkling legions led by Aerianas will easily crush any resistance in the city of Novus and the troops loyal to Victus will likely join with the superior force in order to avoid annihilation."
"And Aerianas gains a few hundred more troops," Elyssa said.
Cinder continued to follow the line. "I suspect that by now they have already reached Cuital via the Imperial Skyway."
"It's only a three-day ride," Thomas said.
"In which case, they have already absorbed the skeleton troops left behind, along with any citizenry they conscripted to join their army." Cinder moved his finger north. "I suspect they are well on their way to finish their mission in Zbura."
Shelton frowned. "I think we already established that she's headed there sooner or later."
Cinder tilted his head. "True. She will likely control the capitol city within days. That is all the time we have before a major dragon invasion occurs and all is lost."
A moment of silence filled the room as reality punched us in the face.
"I knew we didn't have much time, but this is ridiculous." I turned to Thomas. "We can't let Aerianas take Zbura that fast. We need more time to clone Kaelissa."
"We have nearly created our prototype dolem," Cinder said. "Once we have Kaelissa's soul fragment, there is no guarantee we can clone her on the first try."
"Here's the next question," Shelton said. "Who is Baal's agent in charge of the rift device?"
"All evidence points to one person," Cinder replied. "Cephus."
Shelton nearly spit out his coffee. "Cephus? He's dead!"
"More accurately, a Cephus dolem." Cinder turned to Adam. "Do you concur?"
Adam pressed his lips tight. Nodded. "Baal would want an agent familiar with the crimson arch construction. Making a Cephus dolem would be easiest."
Shelton pounded the table with a fist. "He's worse than a cockroach."
"There are other possibilities," Adam said. "It's possible Cephus had assistants with the knowledge to build the crimson arch."
"But Cephus wanted to open a portal to the friggin Void." Shelton chewed his bacon suspiciously. "If he planned to let the Beast destroy Seraphina, why would Baal keep him around?"
David grunted. "I think that's a case of Cephus having no idea what he was doing."
"Baal may be powerful, but he's not omniscient," Alysea said. "Perhaps Cephus wished to end everything, or perhaps he thought the Beast could be an ally. The reality was certainly something none of us expected."
"The Beast is and has been an enigma." David's gaze lost focus. "I wonder if it was created by the Sundering, or if it already existed."
"Just knowing that the consumer of realms is only a dimension a way gives me the chills." Shelton stared at his bacon as if he'd just lost his appetite. "If Xanomiel combines the realms, what's to stop the Beast from coming back with everything else?"
"Nothing," Thomas said. "What we choose to do on this day could put the realms on the path to salvation or doom."
"When it rains, it pours." David chuckled. "So, in addition to cloning Kaelissa, we have to deactivate this rift apparatus and then march to Zbura to liberate it from Aerianas if
we don't want billions to die at the hands of Baal or Xanomiel."
"Perhaps we can delay the full-scale dragon invasion." Thomas tapped out some figures on his arctablet. "If the Falcheen leaves today, we could reach one of the skyway nodes on the island of Cuba, several hundred miles south of Zbura. If we disable it, we can trap Aerianas's forces in the middle of nowhere. That might push back Baal's time table for unleashing the dragons."
David pursed his lips. "That's a tight schedule." He nodded his head in the general direction of Cabala. "What about Kaelissa?"
"We'll have to leave a crew here to take care of Operation Dolem." Thomas turned to Adam. "How long would it take to unload everything you need from the ship?"
"An hour." He looked at Cinder. "Sound right?"
"I believe so," the golem replied. "We will need to find a suitable place to create our foundry."
Thomas got up from the table. "Justin, choose your personnel and make preparations. We don't have time to waste."
"Wait a cotton-picking minute," Shelton said. "How are we supposed to make this happen without a base of operations? What if we need to get the hell out of Dodge?"
The commander shook his head. "Fighting an entrenched enemy in Zbura will waste countless lives. If we can cut them off, we'll have a much easier time, provided we're successful here."
"Rushing off and leaving us here might set us up for failure." Shelton got up and slapped his hat back on his head. "You ever think about that?"
Thomas gave the Arcane an icy stare. "Improvisation is a part of war, Shelton. If there was any other way to do this, I would, but the Falcheen is the fastest way for us to reach Cuba." He looked at me. "Do you agree, Justin?"
His question caught me off guard. Once Thomas Borathen made a decision, it was nigh impossible to make him change his mind. Thankfully, I wouldn't have to do that. I gripped Shelton by the arm. "Look, this won't be easy, but we've got the brains and the brawn to do it even without the Falcheen here to babysit us."
Shelton groaned. "Fine, but I'm taking all the bacon with us."
