by John Corwin
"But he can't harvest a soul fragment by himself," Elyssa said. "And Djola certainly wouldn't help him do it."
"Maybe he hopes to trick her into doing it." I shook my head. "Nah. Too hard."
"He must have another team helping him," Elyssa said. "That's the only answer."
"Too many questions," I said. "Let's hope he talks when we catch him."
Fakor and Djola vanished around a bend in the garden. If they continued this route, they'd end up at the exit near Kaelissa's citadel.
Shelton's voice emanated from my pendant. "Turkeys spotted. Ready when you are."
"Ready," Michael said.
"No civilians present," Phoebe said. "Capture is a go."
It was over in an instant. Michael and Phoebe blurred in from opposite sides and grabbed Fakor and Djola while Shelton and Adam shackled them with diamond fiber. Shelton wore his hat and duster instead of the local garb. "Why are you outside without your disguise?"
"Didn't have time to change," Shelton said. He turned toward our prisoner. "We'll have him nice and tucked away before anyone sees me."
Fakor didn't look the least bit perturbed. "Hello, Justin Slade."
His voice sent ice spiders skittering down my back. "In case you hadn't noticed, you're our prisoner now." I stepped closer to him. "Maybe you should be a bit more concerned about your future."
Djola stared impassively at me. "Once again, the Destroyer seeks to shatter order with untamed chaos."
"Order?" I scoffed. "All I've seen is a warmongering empress who wants to pick up where her daughter left off."
"Mother provides," Djola said. "She will show you the error of your ways."
"It is as I said," Fakor told Djola. "I have seen the recorded history of the Eden War. I instantly recognized the face of Daelissa's murderer when I saw him."
"Mother will be pleased," Djola said. "She may even grant you a blessing."
"Are you two insane?" I threw up my hands. "You're our prisoners, not the other way around!"
Michael frowned, head cocked to the side as if listening for something. I heard a faint susurrus in the skies above. Alarm bells rang in my head.
Metal sang as Elyssa drew her sword from a sheath hidden in the folds of her dress. "Something's not right."
Shelton whipped out his staff. Bella and Adam followed his lead.
Armored figures crashed through the trees above. Branches crackled and the ground shuddered with the impact of dozens of armored feet landing all around us. Primarion Arturo's blazing wings flickered away as he regarded me down the length of his nose.
Murk and Brilliance burst into spheres around my fists. "You!"
Fakor smiled smugly. "Consider yourselves baited."
That son of a bitch had led us straight into a trap.
I flung a hand toward him, but archangel lightning spears angled toward my jugular. Arturo held up a hand. "There is no need to die this instant, young Slade." He offered a faint smile. "You will, of course, be publicly executed."
"No!" Elyssa shouted. "We'd all rather die first."
"I know," Arturo said. "Since the execution of the Destroyer would be far more symbolic than simply killing you all here, I propose a deal."
This is hopeless. Even on my best day I couldn't take on more than a couple of archangels at once. Elyssa and Michael could probably take out a few, but without Nightingale armor to protect them from the lightning spears, even our resident ninjas wouldn't last long.
I lowered my fists and snuffed the burning power. "What's the deal, Arturo?"
"I will spare your friends if you come peacefully." He raised an eyebrow. "Your death is the one that matters."
"You give your word?" I said.
"On my honor." Arturo pressed a hand to his heart.
I swallowed the hard lump in my throat. "Then I accept."
"No, Justin!" Elyssa gripped my arm. "I won't let you!"
Shelton gave me a haunted look. "Justin, you can't just—"
"I can, and I will." I turned back to Arturo. "What now?"
Arturo looked at Michael and the others. "Lower your weapons."
I nodded at the others. "Put them down."
Elyssa stepped in front of me, her sword at the ready. "I won't let them take you, Justin. I won't let you die without a fight."
I gripped her wrist. "Babe, we can't fight them all." I gently took the sword from her hand. "If we fight here, we die now," I whispered. "Let's buy some time. Maybe there's a way out of this mess."
She shuddered, nodded. "I won't let you die alone."
"Believe me, it's not at the top of my list either." I held the sword out to a nearby archangel. "We're ready."
Archangels released Djola and Fakor from their bonds then snapped crystalline bands around each of our wrists. At a word from Arturo, the bands hummed and glowed. A magnetic force jerked my wrists and the wrists of my friends together with a snap. Then our new wards herded us toward Kaelissa's citadel.
My nerves tightened with every step. "Can I talk to you, Arturo?"
The primarion nodded and stepped closer to me. "Speak."
"Do you know the name Cephus?" I said.
He shook his head. "No. Why should I?"
"Djola's friend." I tried to spot him in the throng of archangels, but couldn't.
Arturo's expression gave nothing away. "What of him?"
"He's part of a plot to overthrow Kaelissa."
Arturo raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.
"Look, the Darkling legions are controlled by a Daemas named Aerianas." I tried not to let the desperation creep into my voice. "Using demon magic, she's already cloned the leaders of the Darkling legions and controls them now. Djola's friend is part of that plot."
Arturo gave me a sideways look. "I find your story hard to believe."
"Not only that, but he's the one opening the rifts to Draxadis." I motioned my bound hands toward the sky. "It was a ploy to draw all the Brightling forces here and leave Zbura and your other cities undefended."
Arturo pursed his lips. "The rifts are caused by instabilities in aether storms. Our theorists assure us they will eventually cease."
I'm not getting through to him. "I know it sounds crazy, but that seraph with Djola isn't even a real person. He's one of the demon clones Aerianas made."
"Let's assume you speak the truth," Arturo said. "How can I tell this Cephus person is a clone?"
Since Seraphim didn't have demon vision, I couldn't tell him to check it out that way. Dolems bled and died like anyone, so that wasn't proof either. "There's only one way." I knew he wouldn't go for it. "If you cut him open, there's a soul sphere inside his chest."
"Enough of this." Arturo's face hardened. "As a warrior, I know you fear death by execution, Justin Slade. I would rather kill you in open battle than lead you to slaughter. It is beneath your dignity to seek escape by pretending to care for Kaelissa's welfare." He gave me a pointed look. "You nearly killed her in your last encounter."
"That was kind of the point," I muttered. "She tried to use a bloodstone on me, Primarion. She wanted to use Sirens so she could slaughter helpless people. Where's the honor in that?"
"No, she merely wanted the Sirens to help hold the dragons at bay," he said. "It would spare lives on both sides until the rifts stop manifesting."
"Kaelissa is not honorable," I repeated. "And neither is that seraph with Djola." I hissed a frustrated breath between my teeth. "Look, I want what's best for Seraphina. A unified Seraphina is stronger and better."
"That is eventually our goal," Arturo said as our formation came to a halt outside the citadel gates. "Die well, Justin Slade." He left my side and signaled for the gates to open.
The soldiers led us inside and stopped in front of a low square building behind the citadel. One of the guards zapped a gem. The air shimmered and a door appeared in the wall. The archangels herded through the door and into a wide room.
My parents looked up in surprise and dismay.
"Son of a
bitch," David said. "I really hate being outsmarted."
"Pardon the sparse accommodations," Arturo said. "The citadel does not have a dungeon."
"What kind of a hellhole is this?" David muttered. "Doesn't even have cable television."
Arturo ignored the jibes. He and his soldiers backed out of the room and the doorway materialized into a wall. I heard a faint hum as the shield activated. My wrists sprang apart as the bangles deactivated.
I tried to channel a beam of Brilliance to see if I could burn them off, but my magic fizzled in a show of fitful sparks.
"Magic blockers," Alysea said grimly.
I pounded the crystal floor with the bottom of my fist. A miniscule crack rewarded my efforts. "Doesn't affect my strength."
"I can still aetherate," Adam said. He held up thumb and forefinger and displayed an arc of magical energy. "The bracelets affect channeling, not casting."
"As if it matters," Shelton said darkly. "Even at full strength I couldn't take down an archangel with his hands tied behind his back."
Adam blew out a breath. "You're so friggin negative. Of course you're not going to overpower them." He reached into his pocket and groaned. "I feel naked without my arcphone."
Elyssa paced restlessly back and forth. "We've got to figure out how to get out of here. I won't let Kaelissa execute Justin."
"We need to lose these bracelets." David held up his wrists and clanked the offending bangles together. "I can't summon a damned thing with them on." He winked. "Pun intended."
I rolled my eyes. "Kaelissa's going to execute me, and you're making jokes?"
His irreverent façade dropped into a scowl and he pounded a fist on the ground. "What else can I do? I'm powerless."
I held up a hand to calm him down. "What happened with Kaelissa?"
"We met with her, worked our spiel, and snagged a bit of her soul essence." David tugged on a bracelet to no effect. "Then we ran into your old buddy Fakor and twenty city guards."
"Somehow, he knew who we were and why we were there." Alysea shook her head in disbelief. "He took the stone with Kaelissa's soul fragment in it and locked us in here."
I dreaded the next question nearly as much as my impending execution. "Did you have to do anything nasty with Kaelissa?"
"Just a bit of talk and touching." David shrugged. "She fell for our ruse hook, line, and sinker."
"That's it?" I dared feel hopeful.
"Yep." He frowned. "Then Fakor came along and ruined everything."
My mother's forehead creased. "How could he have possibly known about our plans?"
"He used Djola to get on the inside," Elyssa said. "He probably knows most of what Cephus knew, and we just did the work of getting Kaelissa's soul fragment for him."
"Man, I thought we'd outfoxed Fakor." Shelton reached up as if to take off his hat, but the guards had confiscated it and his duster. "Looks like we played right into his hands."
I closed my eyes and rewound to earlier today, replaying the encounter with Fakor. He stood maybe fifty yards away from where Shelton and I sat. All I had to do was turn around to see him. When he and I locked gazes, something important was missing from his expression. "Fakor wasn't surprised to see me," I said. "He knew I was there. In fact, I think he intentionally showed himself to me, knowing we'd track him."
"How could he possibly—" Shelton clamped his mouth shut and growled. "We have a traitor—probably Bliss or one of the other dolems."
"We left Bliss on the ship," Adam said. "She had no way to communicate with him, and I know she didn't sneak off the ship."
"We kept close tabs on her at all times," Elyssa said. "I don't see how she could have spoken with Fakor."
Shelton steepled his fingers. "I'd bet dollars to donuts she has a way to communicate with him."
Michael nodded. "It makes sense. For all we know her soul sphere has built-in communications magic."
"Gah!" I smacked my forehead. "Why didn't I think of that?" I smacked a fist into my palm. "If that's true, Fakor knew we were here all along. He knew the Falcheen went to Zbura and left us on our own!"
Adam ran a hand down his face. "I feel like a complete moron for not checking her more closely."
"Too late," David said. "We'll be dead before long, and Fakor has everything he needs to make a dolem of our beloved empress."
Chapter 33
"Well, ain't this a pickle?" Shelton ran a hand through his hair. "By the time Aerianas arrives, we'll be dead and she'll have all the ingredients to make herself a nice Kaelissa clone."
"If Bliss found a way to communicate with Fakor, it's likely Aerianas knows our plans." Elyssa bit the inside of her cheek and her gaze went distant. "What if Aerianas sent her army to Zbura while she and a small contingent came to Cabala to clone Kaelissa?"
Adam grimaced. "The Imperial Skyway branches west and northwest before it leaves Sazoris which means she could totally bypass Cuba."
"And the nodes Commander Borathen sabotaged," Michael finished.
"That's all fine and dandy," Shelton said, "but how does knowing that help us? We're trapped like rats in here."
"Simple," Adam said. "Let's tell Kaelissa what Fakor is up to."
"She may think it's a desperate attempt to save our hides," David said.
Shelton snorted. "That's because it is."
I shook my head. "I tried to tell Arturo, but he wouldn't listen."
"We have to assume that Fakor concocted a story we'll be hard-pressed to prove false." Bella held up her hands helplessly. "We have the disadvantage of being prisoners while Fakor has connections within the imperial court."
"Agreed." Elyssa's eyes grew worried. "Kaelissa won't listen. All she cares about is executing Justin."
Alysea's eyes flared. "Unless we come up with a plan, we'll all be in line for death."
I cleared my throat. "Not exactly." I swallowed the knot forming in my throat. "I made Arturo promise not to execute anyone else."
"Did he include your parents in that plan?" Shelton said.
A chill worked down my spine. "I-I don't know."
"Doubtful," Shelton said. "Especially since you specifically mentioned us and not them when you made the deal."
"It's moot anyway," David said. "Kaelissa doesn't have to abide by Arturo's promises."
"She has no honor," Michael said.
"Let's say we convince Kaelissa." Shelton swept his gaze over the groups. "All that means is that Fakor ends up on the chopping block next to us."
Elyssa pursed her lips. "I just don't think we could earn her trust no matter what."
David chuckled wryly. "Justin nearly killed her in Atlantis. I'm certain Fakor convinced her that Alysea and I were there to poison her or something. There's no way to overcome that trust deficit."
Elyssa fiddled with the bracelet cuffs. "If only we could get out of these!"
"Maybe if I had my arcphone," Adam said.
Bella wrapped her arms around Shelton's waist. "I just want you all to know that no matter how terribly this turns out, I love you all and am proud to call you friends."
Shelton leaned down and pecked a kiss on her forehead. "Hey, I got to marry the woman of my dreams."
I slipped an arm around Elyssa. "I can't complain either."
"Plus, we've saved the world at least five times," Adam said. "I mean, that's not too bad."
"Stop it!" Elyssa slipped out of my arm and shoved me in the chest. "What about Eden? What about Ivy?" Tears streamed down her face. "What about me?" Gone was the cool composure of my ninja girl, replaced by raw emotion, and it broke my heart.
"Elyssa, I swear if there was any other way—"
She bared her teeth. "If you let them execute you, I will make them execute me alongside you."
"Ninjette." Michael shook his head. "That's not the answer."
"I don't care if I have to fight barehanded," Elyssa said. "I would rather die fighting than let them lead you like a sheep to the slaughter."
The doorway flickered op
en and our wrist cuffs snapped together. Instead of Arturo and his archangels, soldiers in the crystal armor of the city guard entered.
The leader, a seraph with gold insignias engraved in his breastplate sneered at us. "Line up, you traitorous filth."
"I only count thirteen," Michael murmured. "Wait for my signal once we're outside."
Shelton's eyes widened, but he nodded along with everyone else before lining up. Michael's signal never came. The moment we stepped outside, the number of city guard swelled to nearly a hundred, forming a neat box around us and snuffing any hopes of fighting our way out of this. I looked to the skies and prayed for a timely rescue from the Falcheen. Hell, even a major dragon attack would be nice at this point. But Fakor probably controlled those rifts, meaning there was zero chance of a last-minute rescue or diversion.
Cinder was the only one of us at large, but he wasn't going to mount a rescue all by himself. I hoped he'd figured out what happened and gotten himself out of town.
We marched through the square and into the citadel tower. Golden tiles led down the center of a great hall. Brightlings thronged inside, most dressed in finery I hadn't seen among the common folks.
"A noble audience," Alysea said from behind me. "Kaelissa wants to parade our heads before a crowd."
I heard my name in whispers as we passed by.
"Is that the one who slew Daelissa?"
"Is that Slade?"
"…the Destroyer who leveled Tarissa?
"I've heard he's half-demon, half-Seraphim!"
I forced a grin and addressed the crowd as we walked past. "I'll sign autographs after the executions."
One sera reached out and tried to touch me, but soldiers blocked her hands. Another female next to her looked scandalized at the attempt. I expected for anger in their faces, but instead found mostly confusion and awe.
Apparently, I'm something of a legend. Like all legends, I was about to come to an end.
When we reached the empty throne at the end, the captain of the guard shouted, "On your knees, filth."
"I'll have you know I take showers regularly," I shot back, trying to keep a bit of levity before I lost my head.
Rough hands gripped my shoulders and tried to force me down along with all the others. Strong as they were, one guard wasn't enough to overcome my strength. I bared my teeth at him. "Do you even lift, bro?"
