by John Corwin
Another knock sounded on the door, followed by a calm voice. "Justin, I forgot to identify myself after the first knock. Many apologies. This is Cinder. Please do not destroy me."
"Who is Cinder?" Lina asked, the spheres of energy in her hands casting an eerie glow on her face.
The light at the end of Shelton's wand winked out. "Ah, he's mostly harmless."
I opened the door. A man in a gray suit stood outside. He looked ordinary, aside from his unnaturally gray skin, although there was something different about his appearance from the last time I'd seen him.
"Hello, Justin," he said in a nearly monotone voice. "It is good to see you again."
I held out my hand. He took mine and shook it. "You're getting better," I said, motioning him inside. "Something about you is different."
"Hey, you dyed your hair black," Shelton said, slapping the golem on the back. "I like it."
Cinder paused, no doubt uncertain how to respond, before saying, "I believe it makes me look more human than the silver color." He tilted his head. "Was the strike on the back an act of aggression or one of fondness?"
Shelton groaned. "Man, you have a lot to learn."
"I don't mean to be rude," Lina said, "but what's wrong with your skin?"
"He's a golem," I replied.
"A golem?" Her eyes widened in surprise. "But, he looks so…real."
"Maximus's top Arcane, Dash Armstrong, was experimenting on gray men." I briefly explained about the gray men, how they'd attacked me and Elyssa, and that we suspected another angel I'd nicknamed Mr. Gray was the creator of the things. "Somehow, Cinder became a free man," I finished.
"He's not just an automaton anymore?" Lina walked around the golem, touching his skin. "My goodness, he feels so real."
"Thank you," Cinder said in his gentle tone. "I am working on improving all aspects of my appearance and texture."
"He wants to be a real boy," Shelton said.
Lina covered her mouth with a hand, and a sad look came into her eyes. After a moment's hesitation, she said, "Justin, you meet the most interesting…people."
"Why are you here, Cinder?" I asked as my mind finally got over the surprise of seeing him.
"As you know, I wish to improve myself." He looked around the room in a slightly robotic manner, probably in an attempt to mimic human expressions like making eye contact. "Since Science Academy and Arcane University deal in advanced applications of robotics and golems, I decided it would be an ideal location to seek out answers and meaning."
"Sounds reasonable," Shelton said. "But don't you have problems with professors wanting to take you apart to see how you work?"
Cinder nodded, and his mouth stretched into a plastic smile. "Indeed. One professor attempted to kidnap me."
"What did you do?" Lina asked.
"I ran."
Shelton snickered, covering his mouth with his hand in a vain attempt to cover it up.
Cinder tilted his head like a curious puppy. "I appear to have made a joke without realizing it, Harry. Would you explain what is funny so I may have the information for future reference?"
I dropped into my chair and realized my back wasn't nearly as sore as it had been moments ago. My feeding session with Lina had apparently helped.
As Shelton fumbled with explaining what he found funny about Cinder's statement, I looked the golem up and down. He still looked very much the same, though the black hair lent a more realistic quality to him. I wondered if it was possible to make his skin a little pinker, though. His gray, pallid "flesh" had a morbid look to it, as though he was on the verge of death.
Even though I felt the golem was being honest about his presence here, I still had some doubt. What if this wasn't the real Cinder? Whoever had disguised the other golem as a killer robot knew what they were doing. It might have even been planted by Mr. Gray. I had to be sure this Cinder was the one I knew. "How did you know we were here, Cinder?" I asked, interrupting Shelton's long-winded explanation about humor.
Cinder looked at me. "At this dormitory, or the school?"
"Both."
"I attempted to call you earlier this evening, however, you never answered. I called Bella, and she told me you were here." He touched his chin thoughtfully in the same way Shelton was touching his and continued. "It seemed to be a very interesting coincidence that you were here, so I came over."
I went to the singed and torn mess that had been my jeans before the attack by the golem and found my arcphone inside the pocket. It was magically toughened, and it didn't have a scratch. Flicking it on, I navigated to the calls screen and saw a missed call from Cinder. Katie and I had taken him to the Grotto to get his own phone when he announced his imminent journey of self-discovery, so unless someone had kidnapped Cinder, replaced him with an identical golem, and sent the clone after me, this guy was the original.
"Are you trying to determine my authenticity?" Cinder asked.
I nodded. "I'm sorry, but after what happened earlier, I can't take any chances."
"Would it help if I recounted the events of our first meeting and subsequent escape with our mutual friend Katie?"
"I think he's the real deal," Shelton said. "Can you imagine trying to recreate Cinder's deadpan personality?"
I chuckled. "No." Then again, I'd never heard another gray man talk. Either Mr. Gray didn't want them to have a personality, or it was impossible. I needed people—and golems—I could trust. We had to find out who'd sent that robot and why. Then again, whoever had sent the robot sure had given it a strange personality. What kind of robot spoke with a cockney—"Oh, crap," I said as I realized where I'd heard a voice like that. "Mr. Bigglesworth sent that robot golem doohickey. And I'd be willing to bet he was the man with the red suit."
"Fits his M.O.," Shelton agreed. "He likes to hide in plain sight."
"This is one reason I called you, Justin." Cinder regarded me with his flat gray eyes.
"Because of Bigglesworth?"
"Not precisely. He is, however, connected to a group of individuals who wish you harm. I have seen members of this group not only here, but also at Arcane University." He offered a robotic shrug. "Since I consider you my friend, I determined it wise to notify you of their"—he paused, head tilted as if searching for something—"nefarious activities."
Shelton snorted with laughter.
Before Cinder could question him about humor again, I snapped my fingers to hold his attention. "Who exactly have you seen here?"
"Your sister, Ivy, and your grandfather, Jeremiah Conroy. Although I attempted to discover their purpose, the only determination I made was they are looking for something specific in order to repair an arch."
Shelton and I exchanged glances. "Did they say what kind of arch?"
Cinder shook his head in the first natural movement I'd seen from him. "My apologies, Justin, but I was only able to overhear one of their conversations. Although I desired to learn ninja stealth techniques from Elyssa, she was unwilling to spend time helping me."
My girlfriend still had trouble trusting the golem, despite my assurances. Then again, she was a Templar, and they weren't the most trusting people in the world. "Tell us everything you heard," I said.
Cinder began to recite what he'd heard. "Ivy said, 'Why is it here, Bigdaddy?' Jeremiah replied, 'Because it was a safe place to put it.' Ivy then replied, 'If we fix the Alabaster Arch, will you take me to the zoo? Please? You promised after Maximus you would.' Jeremiah then said, 'But that didn't work out so well, did it sugar?' Ivy replied, 'It wasn't my fault. It was my evil big brother's fault.'" Cinder halted his recitation.
"Don't take up an acting career anytime soon," Shelton with an amused expression.
I raised an eyebrow at him then turned to Cinder. "Is that it?"
He nodded. "At that point, they left the building and headed for the transport to the Queens Gate arch station. I determined it too risky to follow them."
"Why don't we just take Ivy to the damned zoo?" Shelton said. "Might get her on our side."<
br />
"Your sister thinks you're evil?" Lina said, horror in her eyes. "What have your grandparents been saying about you?"
That was a can of worms I didn't feel like opening, but I told her in brief how Ivy had attempted to kill all the vampires at Maximus's Atlanta compound, and how I'd somehow managed to tweak the spell so it simply removed their vampirism instead.
"How powerful are you?" she asked, brown eyes wide. "How powerful is your sister?"
"I suck at magic right now," I said. "I came here to learn. Looks like someone doesn't think that's a good idea."
"Oh, it's a lot deeper than that," Shelton said, his eyes glowing with the kind of fervor he usually reserved for his arcane detective work. "Think about it. They want to activate the special arch in Thunder Rock, but guess what? It's not working because someone sabotaged it. They figure the missing piece is here somewhere. Then they see you here, assume you probably know about their plans, and send Bigglesworth to kill you."
"Back up a minute," I said. "They still haven't gotten those smaller arches to work yet, according to the operator at the Grotto. That means they haven't gone to Thunder Rock. So how would they know there's something missing from the special arch there?"
"Maybe Daelissa visited Thunder Rock and found out it wasn't working." Shelton shrugged. "I mean, hell, remember when your mom saved you from Jeremiah? Remember how she seemed to teleport away? For all we know, the angels can do that kind of stuff all day long."
That was something I hadn't even considered. "Pretend I'm stupid, Shelton, and tell me where you're going with this."
He snorted. "Not hard to do that."
"Hey, now!"
He held up his hands. "I kid. I kid." He removed his hat, scratched his head, eyes lost in thought for a moment. "The problem is, we don't know enough about this Alabaster Arch. We don't know if there's just the one in Thunder Rock, or more of them scattered around the world."
"Well, we could ask Arcanes at other Obsidian Arch way stations whether their control rooms are identical."
He nodded. "But I have a feeling our Darkwater credentials are only gonna last so long, especially if we start asking sensitive questions."
"They are very secretive about those arch stations," Lina said. "One of the operators nearly took my hair off when I asked about seeing one."
"He nearly took your head off," Shelton said with a smirk. "Not hair."
"Such violence seems an overwhelming response to such a question." Cinder regarded Lina. "It is good you escaped without major damage."
"You are so cute!" Lina said, smiling.
I wrenched the topic back on course. "Shelton, do you know anyone who could ask about the control rooms, or maybe tell us about them?"
His jaw tightened. "Yeah, unfortunately." He looked at the floor. "My father."
Chapter 13
"Your dad?" I asked. "There's no other way?" I wasn't looking forward to another Shelton family reunion, or whatever his real last name was—a question best kept for another time.
"Oh, I'm sure there are plenty of other ways. But none would be faster than me asking Pops about the four-one-one on the control rooms." Shelton absentmindedly twirled his wand on the table. "Hell, he might even know off the top of his head."
"How much do you know about this Alabaster Arch?" Lina asked, looking at me.
I told her the little I knew about the one I'd seen in Thunder Rock. Another memory sparked to life, and something useful bubbled to the top. "You know, I actually activated that arch while I was there."
Shelton's eyes widened. "You activated it?"
"Yeah, there was a symbol for it, so I pressed it."
He leaned forward on his elbows. "What happened?"
"Well, there was a deep bellowing sound, like an alarm, and it flashed black and white for a minute, just like the others do. I remember looking at the world map and realizing the arch didn't light up any of the stars, so I decided not to take it."
Lina touched my hand. "It is good you didn't. Otherwise, we never would have met."
"And you'd probably be angel food," Shelton added.
I grimaced. "Yeah, well, it certainly looked like the arch was working, but I never saw it actually connect with a location on the other side. Then again, I didn't stick around to watch, because a cherub grabbed my leg."
"Well, let's assume there's something bugged with it," Shelton said. "Otherwise Conroy wouldn't be hunting for this mystery piece."
I considered that for a moment, and a question I'd asked myself earlier returned to mind. "I wonder if the arch has something to do with the Grand Nexus. If it goes back to the Seraphim plane of reality—"
Shelton snapped his fingers. "Exactly. This Grand Nexus is just like Grand Central Station. It's the place all the angels came into our world. When it went kaplooey, all the angels nearby turned into husks."
"But there are husks at El Dorado," Lina said. "Wouldn't that mean—"
Shelton snapped his fingers again. "There was another arch there."
Cinder tried to snap his fingers, though it took him a couple of tries to meet success. "This gesture means I have made a startling discovery?" he asked.
Lina put a hand over her heart and gave him an oh-he's-so-adorable, squeee! look. "Something like that, yes."
"The Grand Nexus might not be one place," Shelton continued, ignoring the exchange, "but several interlinked places. Unless the husks somehow managed to take those smaller arches from Thunder Rock to El Dorado, I'd bet good money another Alabaster Arch exists in Colombia."
I pictured both places in my head. Both were abandoned relics. Both had the creepy cherubs—far too many to explain them having migrated there through any other means. It meant both places must have an Alabaster Arch or some other connection to Thunder Rock. "Okay, this is what we need to do. We need to research this Alabaster Arch and see if it shows up in either of these schools' histories. Maybe cross-reference Thunder Rock and El Dorado for starters." I turned to Lina. "I'll send you some pictures of my grandparents. Maybe you can keep an eye out for them."
"There are pictures of the Conroys in the main hall," Lina said. "They apparently donated lots of tinsel to the university. But, I would like a picture of Ivy."
"I don't actually have one of her." I no longer had pictures of anyone in my family. The thought made my breath hitch in my chest. Why did I even bother? Everything seemed so futile. As if to underscore the fact, icy cold veins throbbed through my entire leg.
Lina suddenly squeezed me in a tight hug and kissed me on the top of my head. "Everything will be okay, Justin."
I hugged her back and felt the hot sting of tears trying to break free. I let go and smiled, trying desperately not to lose it in front of everyone. "You bet!" I said, my voice brimming with fake enthusiasm. I hopped up from my chair. "I'll go to the library stacks tomorrow and hunt around for clues to the Alabaster Arch."
"I'll hunt down dear old daddy of mine," Shelton said. "I'm sure he's still trapped here with the rest of us."
"Just try not to get into any fist fights," I said.
"Pshht," Shelton said, dismissing my words with a roll of his eyes. "He ain't worth the energy."
"Who, exactly, is your father, Harry?" Lina asked.
His eyes met hers. "That's a damned good question." He stood, slapped his hat atop his head, and gathered his wand from the table. "I'm gonna take a walk. This room is stuffy." Without another word, he left.
"I should head back to the university," Lina said. "I really need to work on my elementals, but the overflow list for gauntlet rooms is so long I had to wait two hours for my turn today."
"Really?" I said. But school hasn't even started."
"Some students are here on scholarship like me," she said with a sigh. "If we don't keep a high grade average, we lose the money. Elementals are my weakest subject, so I have to practice as much as possible."
"You can't practice outside?" I said. "Looks like there's tons of open ground around the university."
>
She shook her head. "They don't allow it for safety reasons." Lina rolled one of her bracelets on her wrist. "To make it even harder, the elite students who participate in the Arcane Tourney have priority on gauntlet rooms."
"The more I learn about Arcane University, the more it sounds like every other nom school." My hand balled into a fist at the thought of the bullying I'd suffered in high school. "Elitists think they own the place and everyone in it."
Lina touched my hand and smiled. "It's not so bad. I'm sorry for complaining."
I smiled. "Thank you for, uh, helping me."
"It was my pleasure." She regarded me with her big brown eyes. "It was really good to see you again, Justin." Lina leaned forward and pecked me on the cheek.
I smiled. "You, too."
Cinder watched her go and turned to me. "Where is Elyssa, Justin? I do not ever recall seeing you without her nearby, except, of course, when we were captives of Maximus."
"Taking her Templar graduation test." I glanced at the bunk beds and felt a pang of regret. I was missing her something awful already.
"I remember her mentioning the Cho'kai on many occasions. Perhaps once she is on active duty, you will see her even less." He tried to smile, though it looked more like a maniacal leer than anything else.
"Uh, that's not something you smile after telling me," I said, frowning. "It's a bad thing for me, not good."
He considered it for a moment—at least how I interpreted his silence. "Advancement for your mate is not a good thing?"
"Not when you put it the way you did." A yawn took me by surprise, and I suddenly realized just how exhausted I felt.
"Shelton once told me when he yawns and stretches in my presence, it is a cue he wishes me to leave him in peace so he can sleep." The golem tilted his head slightly. "Am I correct in assuming that is why you yawned?"
"No." I chuckled. "I am tired though, so I think I'm gonna hit the sack."
"Very well," Cinder said. "Rest well, and dream of large women."
I felt my eyes go wide and a large grin stretch my lips. "Where did you hear that?"
"Bella told me it would be appropriate to say such a thing the next time Shelton yawned in my presence." He paused. "Was she correct?"
