by John Corwin
"I got this!" I shouted, pumping a fist into the air.
Now you need to do it in the real world.
My heart sank. In the Gloom, I'd have no way of doing magic. I might as well enjoy it while I'm here. I channeled through the gray orb, and the elephant cloud held its shape instead of drifting apart.
I felt so different. So alive. Something stirred inside me, and I felt the demonic part of my soul for the first time since the ripper had torn a hole in the portal from the real world. It seemed somewhat happy to sense me again. But there was something else there as well, as if another presence had suddenly found me for the first time.
Great, now you have another voice inside your head, my minder said.
"No, this is different," I said. "It's like a window opened, and a fresh spring breeze hit me in the face. I don't know what it is."
It's your Seraphim side finally connecting with you.
I felt my jaw drop. "At last."
Tell me about it. How do you think everyone else feels about you taking so long to grow some hair on that chest of yours?
"Welcome home, Seraphim Justin." I smiled from ear to ear, and tried not to think about how powerless I'd be when I woke up from this dream. Right now, it felt like I'd opened a window to the various parts of my soul, and we were all meeting and greeting for the first time, sans name tags. If only I could do that in the Gloom.
Maybe you already are.
I jolted to an upright sitting position. The island was gone. I was back in the arch room of the fortress.
Dad was sitting up and staring at me, white faced. "What was that?"
"What was what?"
"It felt like a wave swept over me." His eyes went wide. "You did it, didn't you?"
"I did it," I said, beaming from ear to ear. "I did it!"
He gripped me in a firm hug and we whooped like we'd just won the Superbowl.
I had made the decision. Now I just had to survive to play my part with destiny.
Chapter 26
Elyssa
The forecast had been for a sunny day, but thick stormy clouds rolled in over the Templar compound in Decatur, blotting out the sun, and obscuring what little of the Atlanta skyline Elyssa could see from the top deck of the house. She'd been waiting and hoping her father's campaign would go well against the Synod Templars as they attempted to chip away at her father's forces.
So far, she'd heard no word.
Ivy had returned to Jeremiah's to find out more about Daelissa and her plans. Elyssa hoped she could squeeze more out of the old man than she had.
She sighed. Her heart felt heavy. Where is Justin? Is he still alive? She had no answers and no obvious way to go after him until the Borathen Templars could spare soldiers to take the Exorcists' church. She'd even offered to help her father, but he'd consigned her to guarding the compound along with about a hundred other Templars at the horse ranch which served as headquarters.
So far the Synod had raided only safe houses and other assets held by the Borathen Templars, but it might be just a matter of time before they attempted a strike here at the seat of power.
A wolf howled. Elyssa tensed at the sound. It was one of the lycans assigned to patrol the perimeter. Using a pair of binoculars, she scanned the area. Her arcphone dinged as security wards around the outlying area warned of intruders. She looked at the map and saw the location of the wards in question. Multiple icons blinked red to the east, behind the house. She redirected her gaze to the area in question. The skeletal branches of the trees allowed her to spot movement rustling the bushes.
Dark forms rushed toward the compound. She zoomed in and saw the face and fangs of the enemy. Vampires!
Vampires wouldn't usually be effective during a daytime assault, but the thick clouds overhead prevented the sun from weakening them and burning their vulnerable skin. Elyssa swiped a finger, setting off the general alert. The vampires emerged from the trees, heading across the open pastureland around the buildings. Gloating leers flickered across their faces as they saw an enemy fortress unguarded. She counted about fifty intruders. As they closed in, Elyssa pressed another icon on her arcphone and sprung the trap.
Templars burst from illusion-concealed trapdoors in the ground behind and in front of the enemy in the east pasture. Silver darts flew from lancers attached to soldiers' wrists, immobilizing dozens of vampires before they could react. Vampires leapt at defenders. Some aimed pistols, no doubt using cursed ammunition, which penetrated Templar armor.
Bowmen atop the chapel to the side of the house rose from behind the crenellated walls, nocked arrows, and let them fly while Templar Arcanes aimed bolts of energy at the gun-wielding enemies.
Steel flashed as Templars swordsmen engaged the vampires who hadn't fallen from lancer darts. Elyssa itched to be down there in the thick of the action, but knew her role as coordinator was far more important. Within minutes, the vampire force was neutralized with minimal Templar casualties.
The soldiers bound the unconscious forms of vampires and checked for signs of life from those who hadn't been incapacitated in the first volley. A crew of Custodians, Templars who usually served to keep noms unaware of supernatural events, emerged from within the house with floating platforms designed to carry heavy loads. They helped the soldiers pile the vampires on the platforms so they could carry them to underground holding cells until Commander Borathen decided what to do with them.
Elyssa breathed a sigh of relief. That was easy. She took out her phone so she could reset the perimeter wards when she noticed something strange. There were blank spaces where several icons for wards had been. Another icon vanished, followed by another, this one on the west side. As the wards disappeared, a realization suddenly hit her. The first wave had been a feint to see what the Templar response would be.
She scrolled through a list of names on her phone and touched one. "Lieutenant Hutchins, perimeter is not secure. I repeat, perimeter is not secure."
"What's the situation, Coordinator Borathen?" he asked.
She told him.
"I planned for a contingency," he said, and shouted something to someone.
"Explain," she said.
"Watch the map on your arcphone," he replied.
Elyssa did so and noticed icons appearing, indicating a tighter perimeter around the compound. "You had the Arcanes set up more wards?"
"Yes. They just activated the secondary line. Let me know when they're tripped." He barked another command and then returned to her. "My wife and the other healers will have the wounded inside soon. We've loaded up the first enemy wave, and they'll be out of the way shortly."
Elyssa spotted Healer Hutchins and her group of Arcane medics moving a floating platform of injured Templars off the field. The woman usually worked at Arcane University, but had taken a leave of absence to assist the Templars.
"Are the secondary wards your contingency plan?" Elyssa asked.
"Part of it—" Elyssa heard someone speaking to Hutchins in urgent tones and took the time to look back at her arcphone. The secondary wards to the east and the west blinked red.
"Hutchins, rally your forces," Elyssa said. "The enemy has breached the second perimeter."
"On it," he said, and disconnected.
As if the oppressive cloud cover wasn't bad enough, even more gathered overhead, almost as if summoned to further underscore the stormy situation on the ground. The Templars gathered in ranks, several neat rows facing the east and west against the oncoming danger. Those on the front lines readied long shields designed to repel even cursed bullets while the back rows readied long swords to attack anyone attempting to breach the defenses.
Attackers arrived at the edge of the woods. The sounds of guns firing punctuated the air. Templar Arcanes on the roofs aimed their staffs at the lines of enemies and cast large balls of fizzling static electricity. The spheres hit the ground, flattened, and released waves of jagged energy. Cries of surprise rang out as guns were wrenched free from the grasps of the shooters.
The weapons stuck together in clumps as the electrical pulses magnetized them, rendering them useless.
A few vampires broke from the tree line, trying vainly to recover their weapons, only to fall to lancer darts or blasts from the Arcanes. They quickly reformed ranks and marched from the trees. Elyssa gasped at their sheer numbers. There were hundreds—far more than the defenders. Even with their defensive lines, Elyssa knew there was little they could do to stop them all.
She saw sneers on the attackers' faces as they advanced on the Templars. The soldiers stood their ground. A cry went up from the attackers and they raced to sandwich the defenders between their masses.
Howls pierced the cold air. Dozens of lycans in wolf form raced from the north. The vampires turned to face the new threat, but even with the werewolves added to the defenders, they still vastly outnumbered the Templars.
The vampires attacked. Steel flashed. Bolts of arcane energy blasted into the attackers, sending them flying. Lycans bit into the flanks of the eastern line. The wall of Templar shields buckled and broke under the mass of bodies.
Elyssa felt useless watching from above. There wasn't anything more she could do from her observation platform, so she raced down the stairs and into the fray. A vampire came at her from the right. She shot a lancer, and his body went limp, crashing to the ground. Another attacker swung a sword at her neck. The vampire lacked proper training, she realized as she parried the clumsy attack, disarmed him with another stroke, and ran him through.
Enemies on the west had flanked the line. She raced in to counter their attack, ducking a sword thrust, and taking off the legs of the attacker. Her body flowed in and out of parries, thrusts, and kicks, disabling and killing vampires with a practiced ease she barely noticed thanks to years of training. Even so, a part of her realized their lines were crumbling, and the number of Templar bodies on the ground grew faster than those of the vampires.
She felt a strange sensation pressing against her and wondered if she'd been run through with a sword. Others nearby seemed to feel it as well, some pausing in mid-attack and backing away from their opponents. A wave passed over her, leaving a pleasant but odd feeling. She felt sunlight on her back and looked up to see the clouds clearing, as if a great wind had carried them away. But the gentle breeze had not been the cause.
The sun turned the battle. Vampires cried out as the rays hit their sensitive skin, burning many like fair-skinned people in the sun too long. Some collapsed. Others ran for the woods, but the winter had stripped the trees bare of leaves, offering no cover from sunlight. The Templars roared. The vampires, weakened by daylight, fell in droves, and before Elyssa could catch her breath, the battle was over.
A sense of well-being settled into her, as if something very important had just happened. Hope welled deep inside her. Templars straightened and looked into the sun as if they too felt it.
Hutchins came up to her, a grim look of satisfaction on his scarred face. "What happened?" he asked, looking around. "Was that a spell?"
Elyssa shook her head slowly. "I have no idea. But it feels…good."
He nodded. "We'll clean up the mess and get casualty numbers." His lips pursed. "We lost a lot of good people today."
"If the Synod is using vampires, that means Daelissa is giving her full backing." She looked at a vampire writhing on the ground, his blistered face turning purple from sunburn. "Let's subdue them and get them underground. No sense letting them suffer."
Hutchins bared his teeth. "I'd as soon let them burn, but I'm tired of hearing them scream."
Elyssa turned her face to the sky again. This battle was just a taste of what was to come. But whatever had just happened gave her one of the most important things a warrior needed to be effective.
Hope.
Chapter 27
After Dad and I finished celebrating my victory, a gurgling noise caught my ear. I turned slowly and saw Maloreck watching me from a position near one of the pylons outside the ring. If the size of the drool puddle beneath his mouth was any indication, he'd been there for a while. I shuddered, and felt grateful he hadn't eaten me.
"I felt the surge as well," he gurgled, red eyes glowing. "I felt your power radiate. But are you stronger than the bright one?"
"I am," I said. "Join me."
He looked at me a moment longer. "Perhaps you will be our new master, but first, you must defeat the bright one. You must prove yourself."
"Tell your leader I will."
He nodded. "I will do so." Maloreck crawled away.
Creepy, Minder Justin noted.
I rocked back and forth on my heels with glee, and realized with a shock how strong I felt. Gravity no longer pinned me down. I felt as if I could fly.
You opened a window to your soul, said the voice of my minder.
"I did it," I said in a quiet voice. "I really did it." I still felt the connection to my demon half, but another strong presence also filled me.
Dad clapped me on the back. "I knew you could do it, son."
I looked at the other minder and the silent sentinels. "Now we have to figure out how to get out of here. Let's take a look at the arch."
"Lead the way."
Can I come? Minder Justin asked.
Of course. I paused. Can you convince other minders to help us defeat Serena?
It might be possible, but without their humans present to give them autonomy, breaking us out of our dream duties is almost impossible.
I nodded. Do what you can.
The three of us went to the arch, and I made a show of inspecting it. Can the other minder hear me?
Not over here, my shade replied.
I told Dad everything I'd experienced in the vision.
"The choice is clear, huh?" He glanced with amusement at my minder. "Sounds like you two are peas in a pod."
Boy and how, my minder and I thought at the same time. I think we looked at each other, but since the minder didn't have eyes, it was hard to tell.
Dad bit his lip. "I guess the only question remaining is can you sing?"
I tried a few experimental notes and felt the equivalent of a cringe from my minder.
Don't quit your day job, he said.
Dad grimaced. "You might be part angel, but you sure as hell can't sing like one."
I sighed. "No." I kicked at the floor. "What are we going to do?"
"So close," Dad said. "I can remember Alysea singing it so vividly."
"Me too," I said. The recalled memories burned bright in my mind. "But I don't have the voice for it."
You two are clueless, my minder said. If you can remember it, you can dreamcast it.
I felt my jaw go slack, and followed it up with a facepalm. "We can dreamcast her singing it," I told Dad.
He groaned. "Why didn't I think of that?" His eyes gazed into the darkness. "I can't stop thinking about her, Justin. Every time I close my eyes, she's there."
I put a hand on his back. "That's a good thing. You seem to be better at the dreamcasting, do you want to try it?"
He looked back at the sentinels. "I wonder if they'll notice."
"I don't know how much longer we have before Serena tightens her demands on us. We're all here, so let's do it now."
He nodded. "Let me get ready." He sat cross-legged on the floor and closed his eyes. After a few moments, a ghostly figure formed to his right. The nebulous figure sharpened into a feminine shape. Details formed, the hair, face, and a long white dress. The process seemed to take forever. I kept looking over my shoulder, hoping Serena didn't decide to make an appearance. The other minder stayed put as well, which I hoped was a good sign.
Dad rose from his sitting position and wiped sweat from his forehead. He looked with longing at the statuesque form of his wife. She looked at him and smiled. He caressed her jaw, and ran a thumb over her dimples. "Sing for me," he said.
She opened her mouth, and the haunting melody flowed forth. There were no words to accompany the chilling highs or alternating cadence. Her voice ra
ng long sonorous notes one moment only to race through hundreds of staccato tones the next. Goosebumps ran up and down my spine at the sound of a true angel singing while memories from my childhood flooded my mind. I couldn't wait to see Mom again.
I looked at the rune. The glowing lines flickered a multitude of hues. I concentrated on it, trying to sense what was happening, but felt nothing. Alysea's voice held the last note, and faded to silence. There was one thing I hadn't considered. Even if the rune was now linked to the mortal realm, where in Eden would it open? I hoped it wasn't linked to the Grand Nexus, because going there wasn't an option, not with all the cherubs infesting the place. Darkwater had been clearing the relics of the husked angels, but I didn't think even they could clear the sheer number of shadow creatures haunting that place.
I reached out a hand to the rune. It floated from its socket and glowed.
I hope this works, Minder Justin said.
"It has to," I said.
I'm going to go before you activate it. I don't want to be around when Serena comes back.
"Probably a good idea," I said.
In the meantime, I'll see what I can do about rounding up minders to help you tear this place apart. When and if you return, just think real hard about me, and I'll come.
Thanks for the help, I thought back.
Just don't do anything stupid. And, good luck, dude. It floated away and vanished through the door at the far end of the chamber.
Serena practically ran into the chamber a moment later. "I felt something," she said, her excited voice echoing in the cavernous chamber. "It shook the fortress to its foundation."
"Sorry, just a little indigestion," I said, trying to stand in front of the effigy of my mother.
Serena's eyes widened. "Brilliant. You dreamcasted Alysea. Were you successful?"
