Insidious Insurrection (Overworld Chronicles Book 14)

by John Corwin

  David chuckled. "I like a man who's got his priorities straight." He slapped my back. "Well, son, looks like you get to give us the nickel tour of Cabala."

  I frowned. "I don't know if taking everyone to Cabala is the greatest idea. Wouldn't it be better to set up shop in a hidden location outside of town?"

  "Not really." Elyssa narrowed her eyes in concentration. "It would be best if we used one of the residences near Kaelissa's citadel. That means we have to smuggle everyone inside."

  "Does this mean I have to wear a kilt?" Shelton said.

  Adam grinned. "You'll finally get to showcase your pretty legs."

  Shelton looked like he was going to cry.

  The next hour was a whirlwind of activity. Adam and Cinder packed up everything they'd need to build a dolem foundry and put it in one of the levitating crystal chests the Mzodi used to transport gems along with several preservation cases filled with food. Since the chests were commonly used for transporting goods, this one wouldn't stand out.

  Illaena provided us with clothing and more gems in case we needed to pay for anything in town. When it was all said and done, we had two crates and a small crowd accompanying us. Shelton, Adam, David, and Cinder compromised the core of our dolem crew with Issana accompanying us for reference.

  Michael, Elyssa, Alysea, and I would be responsible for gathering a soul sample from Kaelissa and eventually replacing her. Bella came along to assist us, and because she wasn't about to travel across the world and leave Shelton behind.

  Eor made our group an even eleven. No one had wanted to bring along the grouchy gem sorter, but we needed him to help us attune the gems needed to make the summoning pattern soul spheres.

  Meghan wanted to come with us, but Thomas requested that she come with them in case they needed the Templar healer.

  We said quick goodbyes to everyone, then the Falcheen lifted off from the cove and hugged the coast heading north. Once they were safely away from Cabala, the ship would turn southeast and make a beeline for Cuba.

  "I still can't believe Cuba is called Cuba in Seraphina," Shelton said as he unrolled a flying carpet and stepped onboard.

  "Maybe it's spelled differently," Adam said.

  Shelton turned around and gave him a look. "How in the hell else would you spell Cuba?"

  Adam got on his own carpet. "With a Y."

  "You need to go back to spelling school." Shelton activated the hover spell on the crystal chest and guided it upward next to his carpet. "And take some geography lessons while you're at it."

  Adam snorted. "God, I love messing with him." He activated the other crystal chest and followed Shelton up the cliff.

  Elyssa climbed on a carpet behind me and wrapped her arms around my waist. "Ready to go, flyboy?"

  "Ready as I'll ever be." I jabbed a finger upward and the rest of our crew piloted their carpets up to the top of the cliff. We flew as far as the skyway then stowed the carpets in one of the chests since no one used carpets in Seraphina.

  The others changed into their Brightling clothing and lined up to get onto the skyway. I heard scuffling and shouting from behind one of the chests as Bella shoved Shelton out into the open.

  Adam clapped his hands together. "Oh my god, you look adorable."

  Elyssa clamped a hand over her mouth, face red with laughter. I couldn't suppress giggles of my own. Shelton wore a handsome red shirt and a matching kilt. His pale white legs practically glowed in the sun. Even more ridiculously, he still wore his wide-brimmed hat.

  Bella jerked it off his head and shoved it in the chest. "Harry, you're worse than a child."

  "I look like a friggin idiot!" he shouted, face red with embarrassment. Shelton buried his face in his hands. "Just kill me now."

  "Aw, you look fine." Adam glanced down at his own skinny legs. "I mean, I look pretty chic myself."

  Shelton grunted. "You look lovely." He sighed and shook his head. "Man, I miss my jeans. I miss my duster."

  "You're barely through your twenties and you're more set in your ways than an eighty-year old man," Bella tutted. "Change is good, Harry."

  Cinder and Adam guided the crystal chests to the skyway node one at a time. Cloudlets formed beneath them and carried them up to the highway of clouds. The rest of us followed and jogged to catch up since the skyway moved at a healthy pace.

  "How suspicious will it look to take two chests through town?" Alysea asked Elyssa. "Provided the two are kept close to each other, I can bend the light around them."

  "I saw about a dozen of them around town yesterday," Elyssa said. "I think as long as we look like we know what we're doing, no one will give us a second look."

  "The mushroom house is the best location to set up shop," Adam said. "That garden gives us a buffer of privacy we won't have in the lighthouse residence."

  "Provided there is enough space in the stalk," Cinder said. "The summoning pattern must be laid in the ground, preferably bedrock, and we dare not do it outside."

  "Not a problem," Elyssa said. "The stalk is about fifty feet across at the base and sits on a foundation of rock. There's literally nothing in there except the levitator shaft since all the living quarters are up in the cap."

  "Perfect." Adam tapped on his arcphone. "We located a suitable demon to summon. We just need to inscribe the pattern and have Eor set the gems in place."

  "What are the gems for?" David said. "Usually the pattern is all you need."

  "The gems support the soul sphere so the body can form around it," Cinder said. "They also magnify the magical energy in the summoning pattern which seems to give the demon flesh added cohesion."

  "Gems make everything function better," Eor said in his usual humble way. "Without me, your plan would fall to pieces."

  "Glad to know it," I said. "What about the soul capturing process? Do we have soulstones?"

  "Even better," Eor said. "Thomas explained precisely what your soulstones do, and it turns out we already have gems which serve a similar purpose."

  My thoughts flashed back to the restaurant. "When we were at that restaurant, some of the patrons paid for their drinks with soul essence." I described how the waiter had transferred it to a large globe.

  "Yes," Eor said. "That would be soul essence, but to get what we need, we require an actual fragment of the soul, not just the essence."

  Alysea's mouth dropped open. "Are you telling me that Brightlings are paying for common goods with their soul essence?"

  Elyssa and I had forgotten to mention that detail since it didn't seem important at the time. I nodded. "That's what it looked like."

  "Is it valuable?" Elyssa asked.

  "While it does not amplify powers like human essence, it could certainly increase the powers of anyone who consumes it." Alysea shuddered. "I cannot believe civilization has sunk so low."

  "Before you know it, they'll have discount warehouses where you can buy glurk in bulk," Shelton quipped.

  "Eww!" Elyssa shivered. "I'd rather eat Cheezy Poofs all day."

  I got back to the subject at hand. "I take it there's a difference between soul essence and a fragment?"

  Eor nodded. "I have modified a gem, which will cut a bit deeper, past the essence and into the soul itself."

  "Will the person feel it?" I asked.

  "There is no way to lose a piece of your soul, no matter how small, and not feel something." Eor shrugged. "Unfortunately, you will need the subject to willfully open their soul essence to you for this to work."

  "Willingly?" Shelton snapped. "How in the hell are we supposed to get Kaelissa to give anyone her soul essence? She's the freaking empress, for god's sake. Royalty doesn't pay for anything."

  "If your willpower is strong, you can, of course, force her to raise her hand," Eor said. "But I doubt any of you have what it takes to force Kaelissa to open up."

  Daelissa had been strong enough to force others to allow her to feed on them, but her mother was something else altogether. "Willpower isn't the same as being magically or phys
ically strong. It's a test of inner strength that usually comes with experience and time." I looked at Alysea. "I hate to say it, but you're the only Seraphim old enough to stand a chance."

  "Kaelissa is centuries older than me." Alysea shook her head. "I was affected by the Desecration and lost a lifetime of memories and experiences. I don't know if my willpower is strong enough."

  In other words, the most important part of our plan seemed impossible.

  Chapter 30

  David took Alysea's hand. "What if Kaelissa is under full demonic assault at the same time you try to coerce her?" He winked. "I can mess with her mind in ways that will make her lose all willpower."

  "Not alone," Alysea said. "Seraphim are able to resist the lure of the Daemos better than most."

  "Yeah, but if you and I hit her at the same time, I'll bet we could get the job done." He pecked her on the cheek. "Teamwork, babe."

  Alysea's cheeks blushed. "I remember the first time I willingly opened my mind to you. It was exciting."

  My stomach squirmed. "Hell to the no, Mom!" I held my fingers in the sign of the cross. "Not another word about that."

  David and most of the others burst into laughter.

  Cinder tilted his head. "Justin, coitus is a natural and, in fact, necessary component of procreation. Had your parent foregone intercourse, you would likely—"

  I clamped a hand over his mouth. "Cinder, I know how I got here, but that doesn't mean I want to ever think of it in my entire lifetime. Got it?"

  The golem blinked at me then nodded, and I removed my hand.

  "I am sorry, Justin." Cinder simulated a frown. "I will not speak of your parents' sexual relations again."

  I took a deep breath to ward off my rising gorge, much to David's amusement, then managed to speak again. "Will we need to capture Kaelissa for you two to work on her?"

  David shook his head. "Look, if there's one thing I've learned, it's that the more guards someone surrounds themselves with, the safer they feel. That means they let their guard down—pun intended." He winked. "Deception is the key here."

  "Why am I not surprised to hear a Daemos say that?" Shelton muttered.

  David flashed his trademark grin. "Because it's what we're good at." He tapped a finger on his chin. "Now, if I remember correctly, Kaelissa is on a quest to repopulate the world with healthy, immortal Brightlings."

  "I know she was when we first met her," Elyssa said. "Most of the children in Ooskai were hers."

  I gagged again. "Yeah, she forced the men to mate with her in the hopes one of her offspring would be like the Seraphim of old instead of weaker in power and limited to a few centuries of life."

  "She required Joss to mate with her in exchange for her help," Elyssa said. "For all we know, she's pregnant right now."

  "She porked Joss months ago," I said, "but she didn't look pregnant when I fought her in Atlantis."

  "Porked." Shelton chuckled. "I love that word."

  Alysea gave him a sideways look. "Yes, she would have been showing when you fought in Atlantis. I also suspect if she was pregnant, she wouldn't have been leading a battle."

  "She could have mated with someone else in the meantime," Adam said.

  "What if we offered her a Brightling with a sterling pedigree?" David said. "A seraph who wasn't affected by the Desecration in Eden, or the Schism, as they call it here in Seraphina. A seraph who is immortal and powerful, with the purest semen in all the land?"

  Shelton barked a laugh. "No woman can resist gold standard sperm!"

  Bella sighed. "Did I really marry this man?"

  Alysea folded her arms and looked at David. "Sometimes I wonder the same thing about David."

  "Umm, who's this seraph we're talking about?" I asked.

  David jabbed a finger at his chest. "Me."

  Cinder stated the obvious first. "But you are Daemos, not Seraphim."

  "She won't know that until it's too late." David raised an eyebrow in challenge. "I think it's the perfect way to get close to her."

  I looked around at the others, but no one offered a better solution. "Well, work out the details and let me know how you're going to pull it off."

  "Already on it," David said, eyes glinting mischievously.

  Worry flashed across Alysea's face. "David, you do remember what happened when you tried something similar with Daelissa, right? It completely blew up in your face."

  He stroked Alysea's hair, twirling a long golden lock in one finger, adoration twinkling in his eyes. "Lessons learned, darling."

  She raised an eyebrow. "Those lessons being?"

  David's lips quirked. "This time, I'll listen to your suggestions."

  "Wise man," Bella said.

  Shelton narrowed his eyes in disbelief, but wisely kept his mouth shut.

  The crystal cliffs and buildings of Cabala came into view. Milky white clouds concealed the ocean far below and the late morning sun cast velvety red strokes on the cottony surface.

  David whistled. "I'll give the Brightlings one thing—they know how to build a beautiful city."

  I nearly argued that the Darklings were just as skilled, but their prevalence of drab ultraviolet and black added dark overtones to their structures that looked dull in comparison to the diamond-like walls ahead.

  No one looked twice at us as cloudlets delivered us and our cargo inside the gates of the city. It was instantly evident why. Dozens of other groups pushed around levitating chests in a mad dash to repair the city after the latest dragon attacks.

  I thought we were in the clear until a soldier approached us. "What's your cargo?"

  "Food, clothing and other supplies, good soldier," Alysea replied.

  "High Cyrinthian?" The guard's eyes flared and he offered a hasty bow. "Apologies, my sera. I did not realize you were a noble."

  Alysea seemed a bit taken aback, but flattened her face into an imperious mask. "We must all do our duty to help the empire, soldier." She shooed him with a hand. "Go about your business."

  "At once." He backed away, bowing every so often until he reached the safety of the crowd.

  David put a hand to his chin. "Hmm, that was interesting."

  "It's your accent," Elyssa said. "You must speak as they did back in the old days."

  I hadn't given it much thought, but now that I'd heard her accent compared to the guard's, it was obvious High Cyrinthian was a dialect all to itself.

  "We did not differentiate Brightlings on accent when I was child." Alysea's forehead creased with sadness. "The masses have grown, but their culture has declined. Oh, Daelissa, what have you wrought on our people?"

  "Your mom is starting to sound like Shakespeare," Shelton said.

  Shakespeare was alive and well in Atlantis, thanks to a group of angels called the Fallen. His poetic mode of voice had made me want to punch him in the throat. I cleared my throat. "Let's move out before another soldier decides to get nosy."

  I led our party toward the plaza from the night before then detoured down the street that ended at the garden. Of the few Seraphim we passed, none seemed the least bit curious about us. There was a bit of an issue fitting the levitating chests through the vine-covered arch, but we managed to squeeze them through.

  Alysea looked sadly at the vines and plucked a leaf. She squeezed David's hand. "It's ivy." A tear trickled down her cheek.

  David wrapped an arm around her. "I know she's okay," he said in a hushed tone. "She's probably running the Overworld by now."

  "I hope so, David." Alysea wiped tears from her cheeks. "I don't think I could forgive myself if something happens to her."

  "It's not your fault, Mom." I took her hand and rubbed it. Despite her immense power, it felt small and frail in my hand. "Besides, Daelissa trained her, and if anyone could teach her to survive, it was her."

  Alysea rubbed her eyes and nodded before continuing silently down the gravel path. David put a hand on my shoulder and watched her go. "Can't wait to break Victus's neck with my bare hands."

&n
bsp; I smiled grimly. "You and me both."

  We continued to the mushroom house without incident. Some took the levitator up into the cap. I remained with David, Adam, Shelton, and Cinder in the stalk. David staked out the best area for the summoning pattern and then got straight to work tracing it with the aid of a holographic outline from Adam's arcphone.

  Shelton stood next to me, shifting uneasily from foot to foot. "Man, I hate how my daddy bags hang loose in this friggin skirt."

  "They need to air out on occasion." I tried to keep a straight face. "Keeping them locked up in jeans all the time is how you get jock itch."

  He scowled. "That's why you slap on some baby powder, especially before a big fight."

  I grimaced. "That's an awful visual you just planted in my head."

  "Good." Shelton chuckled. "I guess it doesn't matter where my sack hangs if we get into a firefight with Brightlings."

  "Still obsessing?"

  "Damned right I am." He spit on the rocky floor. "I dug deep in my battle mage arsenal. Came up with squat."

  I sighed. "You're too focused on brute force."

  "What else is there?"

  "You've seen how Kanaan fights, right?" I flicked imaginary wands in a poor effort to mimic the Magitsu master's moves. "He fights with guile and some wicked sick flips."

  "If I tried to do flips, I'd die of a pulled groin before a Seraphim burned me to a crisp." Shelton shook his head and looked down. "There's got to be some way I can be useful in a fight."

  "You are useful in a fight, dammit." I punched him in the shoulder. "Use your head. Outthink someone more powerful than you."

  Shelton raised an eyebrow. "That's not how you operate. You run in with all cannons firing."

  "I've pulled off a few sneaky moves before." I tapped a finger on my chin and tried to think of an example. "Like the time I turned my shield into a mirror and reflected the death rays coming at me."

  "I can't make shields as strong as yours." Shelton sighed. "Wish I could get a few tips from Underborn. Now, that's a sneaky son of a bitch."

  "That's because he manipulates the entire game and not just one fight." I thought about how the assassin had put a death mark on my father just to test me.