by John Corwin
A slider floated in and landed nearby. "That is your transport to the Templar compound, Miss Glass. I thought you might like to ride with your mother and father."
My throat constricted as reality once again set in. "Thank you, George." I couldn't stop the tears.
George touched my shoulder. "You're very welcome, Emily." He cleared his throat and turned back to the healer.
Tyler and Dad loaded the stretcher with Mum's body into the slider. We slid onto the bench seats, the two men on either side of me. Dad's eyes were red, but he seemed to have cried himself out.
"Your mother was one of a kind, Emily." His voice was low and gruff. "I don't know why she chose me. I don't know what I did to deserve her."
"She was just as lucky to have you, Dad." I leaned on his shoulder. "I'm lucky to still have you."
"Luck had nothing to do with what you did to Karak," Tyler said. "You're the bravest woman I know, Emily."
Pain gripped my heart. "I'm not braver than Mum."
"Wherever she is, she is so proud of you," Dad said. "You're every bit the woman she was."
I didn't care what they said. I just wanted Mum back.
We held Mum's funeral a week later in England.
The official word to the rest of the family was that she'd died in a car accident. George and Mr. Sticks attended the service but stayed unobtrusively in the back.
"I c-can't believe it." My brother, Phillip, stared at the casket, eyes red. He attended Oxford and hadn't seen our parents very much over the past several months, though they'd spoken on the phone. "She was supposed to come visit me next week." Tears pooled in his big blue eyes.
I wrapped my arms around him and leaned against his chest. He was nearly as tall as Dad, though not quite as burly. "I know," was the only reply I could muster without bursting into tears again.
Aunt Lydia came to me just after the service. Seeing my mother's twin sister filled me with longing. My father kept his eyes averted when she was around. I couldn't imagine how painful it was to see the shadow of his wife in her sister's face.
Aside from appearances, however, Victoria and Lydia were nothing alike. Mother was bossy and headstrong, while Lydia was meek and wouldn't defend herself if her life depended on it.
"I'm sorry, dear." Lydia kissed my forehead and led me a distance from the others. "She died in the line of duty."
I wiped tears from my eyes. "A car accident isn't exactly the line of duty."
She gave me a very solemn look and shook her head. "I saw how she died, dear. I touched her and witnessed her last moments." She smiled at my confusion and rested a hand on my cheek. "I also see you're special. I've known for a long time, but now I see how."
"You can see the past by touching someone?"
"Sometimes." She rubbed the top of my hand. "Your mother had a gift of her own, though she refused to discuss it with me. She never told me what she did with her life, but when she came to visit me, I touched her and was able to relive her adventures."
I gripped her hand. "You never told her about your gift?"
"I didn't want her to pull me into that dangerous world she loved." Lydia sighed. "I'm afraid you will suffer a similar fate."
I shook my head. "It won't stop me. I know this work is dangerous, but I can make a difference."
"I wasn't cautioning you to be careful, dear." Her lips turned down. "I was simply saying you'll soon be dead."
My heart froze. "Why would you say—can you see the future?"
"Yes, sweet thing. It's very rare I see anything, but when I first touched you this time, I saw you lying pale and dead in a coffin."
"How do you know it will be soon?"
"Someone next to me at your funeral was checking their phone, and I saw the date." Tears sparkled in her eyes. "I'm afraid you have only a few months to live."
I had to know everything. "What's the date?"
"October sixth, though, keep in mind, this was the funeral."
I tried to keep calm. "Where is the funeral?"
"I can't say for sure." She sighed. "I wish I knew more."
"Is there anything else in the vision? Other people you recognized?"
She nodded. "Tyler was there."
"Dad too?"
She closed her eyes. "I'm sorry, but I didn't see him."
What in the hell was going to happen to me a few months from now? At least it gave me time to complete one more journey—finding my real grandparents. I wondered if searching for them was how I'd end up dying. Then again, I could get hit by a bus crossing the street. There were too many possibilities to contemplate. "If you think of any other details, let me know immediately."
Lydia nodded. "Certainly."
Tyler approached us. "Everyone is heading back to the house."
"Okay, I'll be there in just a moment." I looked at my aunt. "We're almost done talking."
"Sure thing." Tyler kissed my cheek and walked away.
I turned back to Lydia. "Mum told me you two were adopted. She said she doesn't know who your real parents are."
"Yes, it's always been a mystery." She smoothed a stray lock of hair from her face. "I still have the original basket we were found in."
"Someone dumped you at an orphanage?" I asked.
She shook her head. "We were left with our adoptive parents."
"How odd." I wondered if the choice had been random or intentional.
"Yes, though you couldn't ask for better parents."
"Or grandparents," I added. "I need to talk to them. Maybe they know something about our past."
"They won't be able to help." Lydia pulled her coat tight about her as a chilly breeze passed through. "Believe me, your mother and I interrogated them many times."
My heart sank, but I refused to give up hope. I would discover the truth. Victoria's real parents needed to know what kind of woman she'd been.
I hugged my aunt tight. "Thank you, Aunt Lydia." Though my aunt and I had never been close, I promised myself that I would keep in touch with her.
She gave me a puzzled look. "You thank me even though I told you about your death?"
I nodded. "Especially because you told me. Now that I know death plans to pay me a visit, I'll be ready." Discovering the Overworld had brought with it many questions about life, and doubts about my faith. Did God exist or were we fleeting specks in an infinite universe? After freeing the bound souls from the demons and seeing them fly free, I had to believe they went somewhere else—somewhere better.
I might be small in the grand scheme of things, but I planned to do as much as possible before I died. I wanted to be larger than life like my mother. I wanted to make a difference. I would not squander my gifts.
I would change the world.
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Liked this book? Try the Overworld Continuum series that continues the adventures of Justin Slade. Here's a sample from Aetherial Annihilation, out now.
Aetherial Annihilation Chapter 1
I found Nightliss sitting in the war-torn field behind Arcane University a few days after the end of the Second Seraphim War.
Wondering what she was doing out there all alone, I sat down beside her and put an arm on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"
She looked at me, her expression as bleak as the blasted landscape. "No." She wiped tears from her eyes and stood. "I don't think I can go on anymore, Justin."
"But you're the Templar Clarion—their guiding light." I squeezed her small hand in mine. "They need you—we all need you."
She took a deep breath, eyes lost in the distance. "My sister is dead and Eden is safe. Now Ketiss marches to Seraphina and into another war."
"Do
you plan to go with him?" I asked.
She shook her head. "Seraphina doesn't feel like home anymore."
I sensed something more to that statement. "And Eden?"
Nightliss blinked and looked up as if waking from a dream. "I don't know where I belong."
"With us, with your family."
She hugged me. "I love you, Justin. You are a true and dear friend."
Dread spread its cold tendrils through my chest. "You're not planning to kill yourself are you?"
Nightliss smiled and stood. "No. But I'm going away for a while." She looked around the destroyed field and over at the blackened ruins of Colossus Stadium. "I have fought too many wars in my life. I want to find peace. I want to find myself."
Her statement hit a nerve deep within me. I'd gone from hardcore nerd to supernatural warrior in the space of a year, fought demons, angels, and almost everything in between without a break. How many thousands had died under my watch? How many more would die when Ketiss invaded his homeland to wrest control of the government back from the traitor Cephus? I pushed to my feet as the past swirled through my mind.
"You're haunted by ghosts too, Justin." Nightliss looked at me with intense green eyes. "You just haven't realized it yet." She stood on her tiptoes and kissed me on the cheek. "I will see you again."
Tears stung my eyes. I embraced her petite frame. "Don't pick any fights with stray dogs."
She laughed and cried. "You will always be my hero, the man who saved a little black cat."
"I'm going to miss you so much." I kissed her forehead and reluctantly did what I had to do.
I let her go.
Nightliss wiped her eyes, turned, and walked away.
War is an ugly thing.
Even if you survive, it slowly kills you inside. Nightliss had woken something inside me—a realization that I hadn't made it unscathed through the countless battles I'd fought against Daelissa and her minions. I wasn't ready to embark on a journey to Seraphina to unseat a usurper, much less to fight a long war against more Brightlings.
Maybe Nightliss had the right idea. Maybe I needed some time away from death and destruction.
Ketiss has an army of super-charged Darklings. He won't have any problems beating Cephus.
I called Elyssa.
"What's up, babe?" she asked.
I took a breath to soothe the knot in my throat. "How would you like to see the world?"
A pause. "Right now?"
"The train leaves tomorrow."
She chuckled. "A plane or portal would be a lot faster."
"We're taking a break from the supernatural." I couldn't remember where I'd left my wallet and ID. "Do you have a passport?"
"No."
"Well, I guess we have some nom stuff to take care of."
Elyssa made a thoughtful noise. "You're serious, aren't you?"
I kicked a rock across the mud. "Yeah. I just want to be a normal guy with his normal girlfriend for a while. Is that okay?"
"There are a lot of loose ends around here, Justin." She sighed. "Now isn't really a good time."
"There will never be a good time." The more I thought about fighting in Seraphina, the more desperate I was to run away. "Please."
She spoke in a soft voice. "As you wish."
The tightness in my chest eased. "I love you."
"I love you too."
Three months later, Elyssa and I watched the sun set over the Andaman Sea in Thailand. Splashing in the water and bathing in the sun was nice after our visit to Switzerland and chillier climates. A young woman raced past us and into the water. Her dark hair, petite figure, and olive skin looked so familiar.
Elyssa looked at the woman. "Something wrong?"
I shook my head. "She looks like Nightliss."
"You've seen someone who reminds you of Nightliss in every country we've visited."
"Yeah." I forced a smile. "I hope she's doing okay."
"She's a powerful Seraphim, Justin." Elyssa squeezed my hand. "Of course she's okay."
"Emotionally, I mean." I cleared my throat to ward off the knot forming and changed the subject. "Gorgeous sunset."
"Mhm." She watched me for a moment. "You're feeling guilty again, aren't you?"
I looked down. "Are you?"
"This vacation has been amazing, and my father tells me everything is under control but—"
"You feel like you're shirking your duty?" I said.
She nodded.
I blew out a breath. "Maybe I wimped out, I dunno. When Nightliss told me how she felt, it just hit a nerve, you know?"
Elyssa wrapped her arms around my neck. "You have nothing to prove to me. I'll travel the world with you for eternity if that's what you want."
I chuckled. "I'll settle for cuddling for now."
She planted a kiss on my lips. "Maybe once it gets dark and everyone leaves, we can do a little more than cuddling."
"Like stargazing?"
She punched my shoulder. "Yes, that's exactly what I meant."
We leaned against each other and watched the last rays of the sun vanish over the horizon. Before long, it was dark. The lack of sunlight didn't deter many people, and it looked like the privacy we wanted wasn't coming anytime soon.
Elyssa pointed up. "Look, a falling star."
I noticed it as well. In fact, it was hard not to notice the massive glowing ball in the sky growing larger and larger with every passing second. "Holy farting fairies, that thing is huge."
"Shouldn't it have burned up in the atmosphere?" Elyssa asked.
I sat up and watched the massive meteor slam into the ocean just off the coast of another small island a few clicks from ours. The water didn't quench the flames. Instead, the glow grew brighter until it lit the ocean like a massive pool light.
Shouts of alarm rose from the other people on the beach. Those shouts turned to screams as a great glowing mountain of water crested and headed for shore.
A tidal wave.
People ran inland toward the small tourist town. A mountain loomed about a half-mile away, but I didn't see how anyone could possibly make it there in time—anyone except for Elyssa and me.
Despite the uncountable monsters I'd faced, I didn't know how in the world to fight Mother Nature's wrath. I might channel a magical shield to protect Elyssa and me from the wave, but that wouldn't save the stampede of normal people running for their lives.
Think, Justin, think!
Seraphim magic came in four different flavors: Murk, Brilliance, Stasis, and Clarity.
Brilliance, the element of destruction, would only turn the water to steam. Stasis might freeze the water temporarily, but channeling it required a great deal more effort. Clarity revealed a soul's deepest inner truths, but water didn't have a soul.
That left Murk, the magical energy of creation. It formed the strongest barriers, but I'd never before attempted a shield so massive.
"You've got that look again," Elyssa said.
"The one where I just ate a lot of spicy Indian food and really regret it?"
"Actually, it does kind of resemble that expression, but in this case, you're not running for the bathroom." She gripped my arm. "You're going to try to stop this thing, aren't you?"
I nodded. "I can't let all these people die."
Elyssa looked at the fleeing crowds and a look of firm resolve erased the fear from her eyes. "Then let's save them."
We raced toward the glowing ocean and the looming tidal wave. In the distance, I saw water crash across the surface of the distant island where the meteor had fallen. I wondered how many lives the ocean had just snuffed out of existence but forced the thought from my mind. I walked to the edge of the water, took a deep breath, and prayed I had it in me to keep this monster at bay.
I drew in aether, the magical energy of the world, and channeled it into Murk. My veins grew icy cold as I flooded myself with the dark ultraviolet energy, letting it build until I felt ready to freeze solid. The air rumbled and a gust of hot wind hit my
face as the water loomed like a leviathan from the deep poised to consume me and the island whole.
Despite the power coursing through me, I felt insignificant—like an ant preparing to thwart the advance of an elephant.
"Oh my god," I whispered. "That thing is huge." My confidence melted and my knees buckled. Unfortunately, there wasn't much I could do at this point but try or die. Holding my left hand out before me, I imagined a giant wall forming along the beach and opened the floodgates.
Ultraviolet energy flooded the air, shimmering and crystalizing like black ice. I drew more and more energy from the magical ley lines in the earth, until it felt as though I were nothing more than a conductor discharging aether into the air.
My body could take no more. I felt something pop, like a fuse snapping in my brain. My legs went limp and I fell. Strong arms caught me by the armpits and Elyssa spoke.
"I've got you, babe." She dragged me away from the water.
My body finally regained some strength and I climbed wearily to my feet. My crystalline wall rose fifty feet tall and a hundred yards wide, curving slightly inward. It was by far the largest shield I'd ever conjured, but it might as well have been a picket fence compared to the monstrous beast I hoped to contain.
"It's not enough," I said. "It's nowhere near enough."
Elyssa stared at the oncoming horror, futility in her eyes. "You did your best, Justin. That's all anyone can ask."
With a thunderous roar the tidal wave struck my shield. Water rushed around the sides, filling in the gap behind it while the brunt of the wave pressed against it. Cracks sprouted in the middle and I knew it wasn't going to hold for long.
I ran back to our beach towels and slid on my flip-flops. "We've got to run for it."
Elyssa grabbed her purse and slung it over her shoulder. "Are you strong enough?"
I nodded. "Yeah, I think so." My legs felt wobbly, but my demon aura was already speeding my recovery.
Fangs flashing, violet eyes glowing, Elyssa called upon her supernatural dhampyr strength. Half human, half vampire, and all Templar, she wasn't quite as strong as me, but she made up for it in agility.
