by John Corwin
Ivy's brow furrowed in concentration. The light between her hand and Nightliss's chest flashed bright. "This is a terrible curse," Ivy said, lifting her hand.
Filmy white fluid oozed from Nightliss's pores. Every inch of skin emitted the milky substance. The angel's back arched. She screamed. Ivy swirled her hand over the angel's body as the sickly white poured from Nightliss's skin, her mouth, her nostrils, and even her ears. One last drop hung reluctantly to the tip of her nose before drifting up into the swirling mass now hovering beneath Ivy's hand.
Sweat formed on Ivy's brow. She took her other hand, placed it on the opposite side of the mass, and spoke a word. The substance crystallized with an icy crackling sound. She directed the orb to float and land in a biohazard disposal container.
Nightliss coughed.
Ivy looked at Elyssa. "You're very pretty."
"Thanks," Elyssa said, her a confused look on her face. "You're very pretty, too."
Ivy grinned, but it faded quickly. "I don't like making these kinds of choices, Justin. It's scary. Grownups usually tell me what to do." She looked at Nightliss. "I mean, what if she's really evil, and you're lying to me?"
I embraced my little sister, and kissed her on the cheek. "I'm not lying, and I want you to trust me. Will you stay with me, and not go back to the Conroys?"
Her eyes went wide with horror. "No, I can't do that. Mom is there, even if she is in an astral prison, and I love my grandparents. Please, don't make me make that choice."
They're not your grandparents! I resisted the urge to emphasize the point and simply nodded. "You can visit me any time, okay?"
She smiled. "Maybe I will." She stood on tiptoes and gave me a kiss. "Goodbye." With that, she blinked away, vanishing in a cloud of shadows.
"Whoa," Elyssa said, mouth hanging open. "Did she just teleport out of here?"
"Sort of," I said, my attention elsewhere at that moment.
"She did it," said Meghan, who'd apparently been standing in the back of the room, her voice soft with wonder. "Leave the room, please. I need to feed her." She opened a cabinet, and withdrew a mason jar filled with glowing white soul essence. I'd seen her feed it to the angel before, and did as she wished so my demonic side wouldn't try to hog it.
Moments later, the healer stepped out. "She's exhausted, but her skin, her muscles are already filling out again."
"Do you have any chocolate?" I heard a weak voice ask within the room.
"Are you kidding me?" Meghan said, laughing. "I have tons of chocolate!" She vanished somewhere and returned with an armful of dark chocolate bars.
"Can I go in?" I asked.
She nodded. "I think Nightliss would like that very much."
The angel was sitting up. Her face still looked gaunt, but her olive coloring was back. Elyssa approached her, trepidation in every step. Nightliss smiled and held out a shaking hand. Elyssa smiled back and took it. I wondered if that meant Elyssa trusted Nightliss, or if she was just playing nice.
For now, I decided, it didn't matter. We had a brief moment of peace, and I intended to enjoy it. It wouldn't be long before the real storm arrived.
Chapter 49
A week passed. Nightliss grew stronger. The rest of us licked our wounds and regained our sanity. The university canceled classes while they investigated the rampaging stone golem. The golem had killed two members of the Arcane Council by the time Michael was able to free the others.
Zagg's girlfriend, Kayla would be released from prison within a few days, along with all of the other people wrongly imprisoned due to Jarrod Sager and Daelissa's plot. Zagg could hardly contain himself. He was even being nice to Shelton for a change, but I wasn't sure how long that would last.
I called a meeting and invited everyone, including those friends of mine who hadn't been involved in the latest adventures of Justin Slade. Felicia, Adam's sister, appeared, a new boyfriend in tow.
"Justin!" she said, wrapping her arms around me, and giving me a firm kiss on the cheek. "This is Larry."
Larry looked human. I shook his hand and smiled. He didn't seem troubled by the company I was keeping, however. "Are you a nom?" I asked him.
He nodded. "I'm in the Overworld rehab program." A shrug. "I was attacked by vampires, but Felly here saved me and kicked their asses."
She smiled. "I turned over a new leaf, Justin. I want you to be proud of me."
I couldn't help but smile. "I am proud of you," I said. "But, if you take pride in yourself, that's even more important." Bella had told me that once. I hoped she didn't mind me stealing it from her so I could sound wiser than the typical eighteen-year-old.
Felicia leaned close. "He's such a nerd, but he's so good to me."
"Aren't you tempted to drink his blood?" I asked.
She gave me a sheepish smile. "I am, but I'm on the wagon. The Templars have a great blood bag program as an alternative to drinking live." She grimaced. "It doesn't taste very good, but it keeps the hunger at bay." She looked back at her date. "Larry's been begging me to introduce him to Cinder. Do you know where he is?"
I glanced around and spotted the golem sitting in a corner, mimicking the expressions MacLean made as he told Zagg a story. "There he is," I said, and pointed him out. Larry looked a little disturbed as Cinder's eyebrows waggled above a maniacal grin.
"Thanks!" Felicia kissed my cheek again, took Larry by the hand, and led him to meet the golem.
A hand rested on my shoulder. I looked back to see Adam Nosti, Felicia's brother, a grin plastered on his face. "Isn't it amazing?" he said. "She's a different person, man."
I nodded. "I'm really happy to see her coming along so well."
"You've done so much for us—" Adam looked away for a moment as emotion overwhelmed his voice. "You helped us find out who killed our parents and why." He took a deep breath. "If you ever need anything, we're here for you. Meghan, too."
I didn't know what else to say, so I simply said, "Thanks. Maybe we can all survive to enjoy happier times."
He laughed. "True. Guess we'd better be glad for the time we have before the crap hits the fan."
Nightliss appeared in the doorway alongside Katie Johnson, and a hush fell over the group. The angel smiled. Her cheekbones still showed a little, but the glow was returning to her skin. I excused myself from Adam and greeted the two women.
"Justin!" Katie nearly cracked my back with a hug. "I'm so sorry I missed out on everything. I didn't even find out until Nightliss told me."
I laughed. "You're starting college, right?"
She nodded. "Yeah. I was hoping to attend Arcane University, but they don't admit noms." She made a sad face. "Anyway, I'll give you some alone time with Nightliss." She looked across the room and waved at Meghan. "I've got some catching up to do."
"You're looking better," I said to Nightliss after Katie left.
"Thanks to you," the angel replied, her voice still sounding a bit weak.
"Thanks to my sister," I said back.
The angel nodded. "She is a puzzling girl." Her dark eyes softened. "We will save her, from the Conroys, Justin. Your mother too. I promise."
"Baby steps," I said with a grin. I pulled a chair from the table. "Have a seat. I'm going to start."
She touched my hand for a moment, eyes welling with tears. Nightliss wiped them away, and nodded, taking the proffered seat.
I clapped my hands to get everyone's attention. Shelton and Bella entered the room, their faces blushed, and clothes looking a bit rumpled. They looked at each other and laughed, like two kids. I hadn't seen Shelton look so happy before, though he seemed to realize his slipup and reigned in his smile before too many people noticed he wasn't being his usual grumpy self. He had a reputation to uphold, after all.
It took me a while to go from beginning to end of the story. Larry's eyes went round as saucers, and my super hearing overheard his whispered questions to Felicia. "Is this guy for real?"
That guy was gonna need balls of steel to hang with this crowd.
"If Jeremiah Conroy gave the rune to Daelissa, why haven't we heard reports of angels storming the world?" Ryland asked. He stood with his felycan girlfriend, Stacey, who regarded me with her trademark sensual smile.
"Maybe they're still preparing," I said.
"It is unlikely they will invade immediately," Cinder said. "They require time to return the Alabaster Arch to full functionality."
"Daelissa might want to visit her home for a while, too," Zagg said. "From what you said, all this time in the mortal realm was slowly driving her crazy. Maybe she needs some downtime before marching in an army of Seraphim."
"She's unpredictable," Bella added. "Let's hope whatever she's doing will give us enough time to stop her."
"I've got something to add," MacLean said, his voice rising above the hubbub. "But I don't think you'll like it."
"Can't be much worse than Daelissa having the rune," Shelton said.
MacLean ignored him. "It concerns Foreseeance Four, Three, One, One."
I felt my eyebrows rise. "You said it could happen this year."
He nodded. "In fact, I think we already witnessed it."
Murmurs went up around the room as people exchanged worried looks.
"Maybe I'm bloody crazy," the big Scot said, "but I'll break it down." He took out his arcphone and displayed the entire text for everyone to see in a holograph hovering over the table.
In the year of plague comes the Unmaking or the Remaking. The half-damned will make a choice. Each will ally with a harbinger. Should the light prevail, all will be cast in shadow. But should one light the flame in the dark, the shadow may not rise. With either choice comes the end.
After giving everyone a minute to read it, he said, "The widespread outbreaks of the vampling curse make this the year of plague. The half-damned refers to either Justin or Ivy, according to most popular translations. Each one is allied with a harbinger—Ivy with Daelissa, and Justin with Nightliss."
Alarm lit Nightliss's face at this.
"Then it all boils down to the choice," MacLean said. "The only one specifically mentioned is lighting the flame in the dark. I think the flame was lit."
"Well, that's good, ain't it?" Shelton said, looking at Bella as though for confirmation.
The big Scot tilted his head side-to-side. "The only problem is, Ivy is the one who made the choice."
Alarmed conversations erupted. I felt shocked. What choice was he talking about? I didn't remember any flames being lit. The scene remained vivid in my mind, maybe because my death had been so close. I remembered Ivy's argument with Jeremiah. The burst of heat running through my body when she healed me. The nasty black slug I'd barfed. The answer suddenly hit me.
"When Ivy healed me, it burned through me like fire," I said. "She made the choice to save me, and lit a fire in the darkness within me—the vampling curse."
MacLean gave me a proud smile. "Exactly, lad. You told me Jeremiah warned her about the choice. Told her it could cost them everything."
I leaned back, trying to understand what this meant. "You're saying the Foreseeance has come to pass, but wasn't I supposed to have a choice as well?"
He nodded. "According to another corollary foreseeance, two choices would be made. I believe when you decided not to betray her, you made your choice, and that one led to her saving you."
"Hang on a minute," Shelton said, looking as confused as I felt. "If the bad guys made the choice, but lighting the flame means the shadow may not rise, then where the hell is this train headed? Did we come out ahead, or are we doomed?"
MacLean shook his head slowly, eyes serious. "I'd like to think it means we came out ahead. But I don't know for sure."
I looked at Bella. "You've had a foreseeance about me before. What do you think of MacLean's interpretation?"
She gave me a shrug. "I think he's right. I don't know if it's for better or worse. There are other related foreseeances, which say we're doomed. There's also the one which says you have to unite the splintered alliance to stand a chance against the angels." Bella bit her lower lip. "Maybe Foreseeance Four, Three, One, One has come to pass, but this isn't over."
That was one thing I knew for certain.
"There's one other thing I don't understand," Shelton said. "How did Jeremiah Conroy get the drop on us when we were getting the runes? How did he find where it was? How did he drop the shield? It was like he already knew everything, and just waltzed over us to get it right on cue."
Those were questions I'd been asking myself. Bigglesworth had died before he could have told the Conroys anything.
"Remember what he said when he got the rune?" Zagg said. "Something about not having much longer, and miscalculating. And then he said something about it being too early, but it would have to do."
I nodded. "Yeah, you're right. I didn't think about it until just now. But if he knew about the arch and the rune, why wait all this time? Why not go get it? And why would Bigglesworth torture MacLean for the information if they already knew?"
"Remember, lad," MacLean said. "Flarks serve the Seraphim. If Jeremiah knew the location, he didn't tell the Flark."
"In other words, Jeremiah Conroy is in this for himself," Shelton said. "I'll bet he wants to control Daelissa, but hasn't figure out how to yet."
"And we probably did him a favor by killing Bigglesworth," Bella said.
Silence settled on the assembly as we digested these unsettling new revelations. Just when I thought we had answers, we were right back to square one.
"Well, thanks for coming," I said at last. "Lunch is being served in the main hall."
The room cleared in seconds.
Elyssa took my hand and squeezed it. She and I had been doing a lot of catching up the past week. I turned my head and smiled. "I'm going to visit a friend," I said. "Want to come?"
"Another girlfriend?" she said in a joking tone. "You seem to pick up new ones all the time."
I nodded. "She's really pretty, too. Don't get jelly, okay?"
Elyssa laughed. "I know I don't have to be jealous."
"Because you'll ninja kick me in the face if I get out of line?"
She tangled her arms around my neck and heated my lips with a kiss. When she pulled away, leaving us both a bit breathless, she smiled. "No. Before I met you, I didn't know what real magic was." She touched my lips with her fingers, and pressed them to her heart. "That's what we have, Justin. I've fallen in love with you twice. I'd do anything for you."
"I'd take a bullet for you," I said.
She smiled. "I think you already did that once."
"You took a tragon for me," I added.
We laughed. I took my girlfriend's hand, and we made our way across campus.
When I reached the infirmary, Morgana jumped from her bed and ran to me, clamping her thin arms around my waist. Tears streamed from her eyes as she looked up at me. Her parents stood from their chairs, smiles lighting their faces. Meghan's drain runes had done the trick, sucking the malaether from the stricken bodies and allowing them to recover.
"Thank you for making our family whole again," Morgana's mother said.
"Michael did it," I said. "All I did was ask him to look into it."
The Findelays still looked tired and undernourished from their time in prison, but the joy in their eyes overpowered everything else.
"Can Justin be my big brother?" Morgana asked, both of her hands clamped around mine. "His family left him."
I choked up and looked away as hot moisture built in my eyes.
"I think that's a question Justin needs to answer," Morgana's mother said, an apologetic look on her face.
I knelt next to the girl, and kissed her on the cheek. "I would love to be your honorary big brother," I said.
Morgana squee'd and hugged me around the neck so tight I almost choked.
Lina appeared at the entrance to the room. She looked much better than the last time I'd visited her a couple of days ago. "Mind if I borrow your new brother?" she asked Morgana.
The girl smiled. "Sure. My parents are taking me out for ice cream anyways. Do you all want to come?"
I thought back to the times I'd had ice cream with Ivy and felt a twinge of sadness. I hadn't heard from her since the last time I'd seen her. I hoped and prayed she was okay, and not imprisoned along with our mother for helping me.
"Justin?" Morgana said, snapping me from my reverie.
I smiled. "Heck yeah, I'd love some ice cream!" I made a concerned face. "I don't know if Elyssa can have any, though. She's got to watch her weight for the Templars."
Elyssa punched me in the shoulder. "Maybe you do need a ninja kick in the face," she said, grinning.
Lina led us into the hallway, and gave us both hugs. "I'm ready to help you in whatever way I can," she said.
"The odds of us stopping Daelissa are looking pretty bleak," I replied. My voice sounded tired.
"You're wrong, Justin," Lina said, her voice stern. "A week ago, the healers thought I would die. They thought all of us with aether poisoning would die. A week ago, that little girl, Morgana, thought her parents would never get out of prison. She thought she was doomed to be alone in this world." Lina wiped away a tear. "Don't you understand, Justin? You make the impossible possible. You give us the one thing that keeps us going and makes us strong."
"And what would that be?" I asked, since all it seemed I did was give people around me multiple opportunities to die in spectacular ways.
"Hope."
The word triggered a cascade of emotions. My mother had left me. My father was marrying another woman. Ivy loved me, but she was still with the Conroys. And still, I persisted. Still, I fought against incredible odds and powerful enemies. Why did I continue to hope? What gave me that inner drive to keep going?
I met Elyssa's eyes, and, in an instant, I knew.
Love.
I loved my girlfriend. I loved my crazy friends. They were my adopted family. And knowing they returned that love, knowing there were people in this world who cared for more than power or money or world domination—it gave me hope.
A sudden smile lit my face as I thought of having ice cream with my newly adopted little sister. One day I would have my family back. I would have my sister back. And then I would treat them all to ice cream, even if I had to mug someone to afford it.
