by John Corwin
"That guy must be part incubus," I said, noting the smile still on Elyssa's face.
She giggled. "I guess there's something alluring about the dark, mysterious type, especially one with his reputation."
"He is very handsome and stoic," Lanaeia said. "He makes me feel secure."
I looked at my girlfriend. "I've never heard of him. Who is he?"
"Something of a legend." She squeezed my hand and kissed me on the lips. "Go clean up. I'll fetch clean clothes for Lanaeia and Kanaan."
"You trust me here alone?" Lanaeia said.
Elyssa nodded. "No peeking in the boys' locker room though."
Lanaeia blushed deep red. "I would never do such a wicked thing."
I snorted. "You're definitely not Daelissa's type."
Her eyes widened. "Daelissa likes to look at unclothed males?"
A laugh burst from Elyssa. "I think he means if you blush just thinking about peeking in the men's locker room, you're probably not evil."
"Oh." Lanaeia pursed her lips. "That is quite a relief."
Elyssa handed her a towel. "I'll be back soon."
By the time we were all clean, my insides felt like I'd imbibed a bottle of drain cleaner. My incubus side was desperate to feed.
"Your irises are white," Elyssa said, alarm on her face. "Feed off me before you rampage in the middle of dinner."
I switched to incubus vision and saw my girlfriend's brilliant halo shimmering around her body. She'd obviously fed on blood recently. I latched onto her with ethereal tendrils of my own essence, and slowly drew in sustenance. It took all my self-control not to gorge myself. Doing so usually led to highly inappropriate behavior.
We met the Templar commanders in Thomas's private dining quarters and ate. The atmosphere was grim, and few words were spoken, even though I was bursting at the seams with the desire to discuss our next moves. Unfortunately, I had no idea what to do next. With the Grand Nexus closed off, and no idea where Daelissa would take her troops from there, the future was filled with uncertainty.
Once we were done eating, Thomas turned to Lanaeia. "Please tell us what you know."
The girl patted her lips with a napkin. "I will start in the far past. My parents sent me to Eden hoping I would achieve some modicum of greatness as had the other Seraphim who ruled this realm at that time." Her eyes saddened. "I had no desire for their bloodlust or cruel games. I merely wanted to learn about the mortals. I was at Thunder Rock with my parents during the Desecration. Needless to say, I do not remember anything until the time I became self-aware after my revival."
Lanaeia's hands trembled. "I was among the first to be revived along with Qualan and Qualas. I remembered their cruelty and tried to avoid them whenever possible." She gripped her hands together to stop them from shaking. "After the battle at Kobol Prison, we went to Queens Gate where Daelissa's minions attacked your mansion. A man named Kassus put a statue artifact somewhere beneath your mansion to block omniarch portals." She regarded her hands. "He bragged about how he betrayed your trust. He also told her that the Grand Nexus was likely blocked as well."
"It was," I said, looking at the others. "We didn't know until recently about his betrayal."
"He is a hateful man," Lanaeia said. "I felt terrible watching as they killed Moses. During the first war, I often heard stories of him and hoped he would be able to stop Daelissa's conquest." She looked at me, eyes fierce. "I feel no shame admitting that when you killed Qualas, I felt no sorrow."
"That girl and her brother are cray cray," I said.
She nodded. "Yes, very cray."
"Please continue," Thomas said.
Lanaeia took a sip of water. "After the mansion was destroyed and Moses was dead, Daelissa sent minions looking for you while some of us went to the Grand Nexus."
Thomas leaned forward. "Who went with you?"
"Serena, Kassus, Qualan, myself, and, of course, Daelissa." She tapped a finger to her chin. "There were others, but I do not remember them all." Lanaeia paused as if in thought and resumed her story. "Once in Seraphina, we took the skyway from the Eternal Cliffs to the capital city of Zbura."
"Skyway?" I asked.
"It is a moving path of clouds in the sky." She flattened her hand and glided it through the air as if demonstrating. "We also use small cloudbanks much like flying carpets."
"That was what Daelissa was riding," Elyssa said. "How do they work?"
"We'll discuss how they function later," Thomas said. "Please continue with your story."
Lanaeia told us how Daelissa and Qualan had forced their way into the palace and commanded Emperor Skazaeleus the Fourth to ready his troops. We were surprised to learn that the Desecration had somehow affected Seraphim lifespan and that there was also a Darkling nation.
"The Desecration didn't appear to affect Seraphim strength or ability," Thomas said.
Taylor looked pensive. "Once they feed on humans, they'll only grow stronger."
"How did Daelissa reopen the Grand Nexus?" Elyssa asked.
"There was an ancient scepter supposedly created by the first Skazaeleus," Lanaeia said. "From the documents I read, the Chalon on the Seraphina side of the nexus fell from its socket during the Desecration. He had no way to reattach or attune it, so he put it in his private art collection and named it the Divinity Scepter."
"With a name like that, there was no way Daelissa wouldn't take it," I said.
Olson leaned back in his chair. "Her troops could go anywhere from the nexus. I don't see how we can prevent them from feeding on humans."
I told him about the prisms we were using so revived Darklings could feed on both essences. "We should have more human volunteers helping us, but we don't have nearly as many Seraphim as Daelissa has."
A smile broke on Elyssa's face. "No, but I know where we can get an army."
I caught on to her meaning. "The Darklings in Seraphina."
Taylor snapped her fingers. "We control several Alabaster Arches." She took out an arctablet, projected a map, and turned to Lanaeia. "Do you know where the Darkling nation is?"
"Pjurna." The elfin girl pointed to Australia.
My hopes rose. "We control the Three Sisters." I stood up. "We can travel there tonight and go to Seraphina."
Thomas didn't look as enthused. He turned to Lanaeia. "Do you think the Darklings will help us?"
She shrugged and shook her head. "I do not know. Skazaeleus and his people did not offer much information about them."
I pushed my chair back. "It doesn't matter. We need an army and they have one."
"Even so, you're too valuable to send as an emissary," Thomas said. "Perhaps your mother—"
"No." I slashed a hand through the air. "She's a Brightling. Nightliss would be far more effective."
There was a knock on the door.
"Come," Thomas said.
A Templar entered. "Sir, the nom news is reporting something you should see." He placed an arctablet on the table and projected the broadcast from one of the twenty-four hour news networks.
A grim newscaster looked at the camera. The image of a small town with Mystery Disease? in large green letters splashed across it hovered over his left shoulder.
"According to the last official word we received, there are three-hundred confirmed dead in Lithia Springs, Georgia," he said. "Our very own Jan Vincent is on the scene."
The still image over his shoulder switched to a live video feed. A young, blonde woman smiled and nodded. "That's right, Dave. The bizarre snow storms which ravaged the metro area drove many people in this small community to seek shelter in the local high school gym. We were on our way to cover a story about it when a large military convoy passed us."
Elyssa and I exchanged guilty looks. We caused that snowstorm with the snow globe in the vault.
"What sort of vehicles were in this convoy?" Dave the newscaster asked.
Jan turned and pointed toward a cordon of military vehicles blocking a small two-lane road. Snow covered the ground, but the road had been cl
eared. Most of the vehicles looked like regular Humvees, though a couple had machine-gun turrets on top. "So far, I've been unable to get a comment from them, except that the CDC is on the way to the scene."
A ghastly moan sounded. Jan's eyes locked on something behind the camera. She screamed and leapt back. The camera view panned to show a man crawling on his hands and knees out of the snowy woods bordering the road. He looked up. Blackened veins ran down his face and his eyes swirled with darkness.
"Help," he moaned, reaching toward the camera.
Another woman appeared from off camera and knelt next to the man. She turned him over on his back and gave him some bottled water.
"Don't touch him," Jan shouted. "He's infected!"
The woman directed a fierce glare at Jan and turned back to the victim. "What happened to you?"
The camera zoomed in on the man's pallid face. "Angels," he wheezed. "Angels of death." A final breath rattled from his throat and his body went still.
Chapter 24
"Did he say angels?" Newscaster Dave asked.
Jan stared at the dead man, her mouth hanging open.
"Jan?"
She shuddered and looked at the camera. "Yes, Dave. Whatever sickness killed this poor man obviously causes hallucinations."
Thomas paused the playback. "How old is this news broadcast?"
"The Custodian monitors sent it over less than twenty minutes ago," the Templar said.
Taylor stared at the frozen image. "Where is Lithia Springs?"
"Just outside Atlanta," I replied.
"There's no question a Brightling fed on that man." Elyssa's lips curled in disgust. "From the casualty reports, it sounds like Daelissa's entire army fed there."
"Why Lithia Springs?" The more I thought about it, the more it seemed an odd place for Daelissa to take her army.
Thomas projected a map from the arctablet and scrolled it. "It's not far from Thunder Rock."
"Daelissa knew her army wouldn't be at full strength until they fed on humans," Olson said. "Unlike Seraphim allied with us, she has no compunction letting her troops feed on unwilling subjects."
I stared at the map. "She could have taken her people to any city, but she brought them here." A sick feeling built in my stomach. "There's only one target that would bring her to Atlanta."
"The Grotto?" Taylor said.
I shook my head. "She has Thunder Rock so she doesn't need the Obsidian Arch way station at the Grotto." I traced a line across the map all the way to Decatur. "She's coming for the Ranch."
Thomas's eyes narrowed. He stood. "Justin is right. Daelissa wants to uproot the headquarters of the resistance."
"Is she just going to march her army across Atlanta to get to us?" Olson said.
"Daelissa probably feels invincible right now," Thomas said. "Unless she has sensible military advisors, she probably sees no danger in taking her forces wherever she wants."
"What about the nom military?" Taylor said. "Do you think they'll pose a threat to her?"
"Unlikely." Thomas highlighted several points on the map. "These are the closest bases. They may dispatch aircraft, but it will take land units much longer to reach the city."
After having seen a group of battle mages take down a small fleet of military helicopters, I knew most nom aircraft wouldn't be a match for Seraphim. "What do we do?"
"We can't force a battle in the middle of the city. The number of casualties would be enormous." Thomas scrolled the map. "If we want to save lives, we'll need to attack Thunder Rock."
"How will that save lives?" Lanaeia asked. "Daelissa has many soldiers stationed there."
"It will force her to turn from Atlanta and fight us," Thomas said.
"We need to include our allies in this discussion," Olson said. "Our soldiers melted like butter to those Seraphim warriors."
"Their crystal swords shattered ours." Elyssa bit her lower lip. "If we don't have swords, we can't fight."
"Their armor and weapons are infused with aether," I said. "Whatever that crystal material is seems to hold the energy like a charge."
"Our people brought in the bodies of two Seraphim soldiers." Thomas brought up a picture of one of the swords. "We believe this material is forged with Brilliance, which is also why it can hold an aether charge."
I blew out a breath. "The Seraphim soldiers aren't going to need those swords much longer."
"Justin's right," Elyssa said. "Once they feed on enough humans, they'll be far more powerful."
I turned to Lanaeia. "Any idea how much they need to feed on humans before they turn into super Seraphim?"
She shrugged. "It can take weeks or months. I do not think it is a matter of how much one feeds on humans, but how consistently one feeds over time."
"In other words, the power accumulates," Thomas said.
"I believe so." Lanaeia tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "When I first came to Eden, I fed sparingly on humans because I did not wish to harm them. After a few months, I discovered my abilities were on par with many who gorged themselves on human essence."
Thomas turned to the Templar who'd shown us the news broadcast. "Send an emergency broadcast to the faction heads. We need to meet immediately."
The Templar saluted. "At once, sir."
"Can I have a look at one of those crystal swords?" I asked Thomas.
He nodded. "They're in the armory."
"I'll take him." Elyssa rose and took my hand.
"I would like to accompany you," Kanaan said.
"Of course," Elyssa said.
Lanaeia stood. "May I come as well?"
"Yes, fine," I said impatiently. "Let's get a move on."
When we stepped outside, it was like entering a winter wonderland. Since our quarters were underground, I hadn't actually gone for a stroll and seen what shaking the snow globe had done.
Elyssa's hand tightened on mine. "We doomed all those people to death. They wouldn't have been gathered in the gym if this snowstorm hadn't hit their town so hard."
"How could you be responsible for a snowstorm?" Lanaeia asked as she shivered in the cold. "Is it not winter here?"
"A magic snow globe caused the storm." That was something I certainly never expected to say.
Elyssa pressed her face to my shoulder. "A whole town, Justin. My god, what have we done?"
"Such an outcome would have been likely even without the snow," Kanaan said. "Those same people would have been out doing their daily business when the army marched through." He looked up at the gray sky. "This storm may save lives. It will keep humans indoors and perhaps save them from Daelissa's soldiers."
Elyssa looked at him with a spark of hope.
I squeezed her tight. "It was an accident, babe." I kissed her forehead. "Kanaan's right. I'll bet a lot of people got out of town or stayed indoors when the storm hit. That means thousands of people won't be on the roads between us and Daelissa."
She looked at the snow-covered ground and begrudgingly nodded. "Maybe you're right." Elyssa seemed to steel herself and strode forward. "I can't let it affect me now."
We walked to the large barn and took a levitator underground to the armory. After the Synod, the ruling council of the Templars, declared Thomas a traitor, he'd been forced to significantly broaden his scope of his legion's duties. A year ago, the underground portion of the compound had been little more than a few holding cells since, in the past, most prisoners were moved to centralized compounds run directly by the Synod. Now it was a veritable labyrinth running through the bedrock hundreds of feet below the surface.
We rounded a bend in the wide tunnel and came to a warehouse the size of a wholesale discount club. Shelves filled with all sorts of gadgets both mundane and magical loomed behind a transparent barrier of diamond fiber. A Templar with horn-rimmed glasses looked up from an arctablet.
"Can I help you?" His head jerked back when he saw Elyssa. He jolted to his feet and saluted. "Yes, Sergeant Borathen?"
Elyssa rolled her eyes. "Stop
brown-nosing, Roger. That's what got you desk duty in the first place."
Roger sighed and deflated, shoulders slumping. "Sorry." He swiped a finger to the diamond fiber barrier and a door swung open.
"If you're a Templar, why do you need glasses?" I asked him.
He took them off and held them out so I could see through them. "They're not prescription. I just like the way they make me look."
"Glasses are so peculiar," Lanaeia said, taking them from him and putting them on.
Roger's eyes turned dreamy. "Wow, you look totally geek chic." He narrowed his eyes as if trying to figure who she was. "Are you a Templar?"
Elyssa raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "Where's the equipment we took from the Seraphim soldiers?"
"In the testing section," Roger said. "Just take a left—"
Elyssa nodded. "I know where that is, thanks." She plucked the glasses off Lanaeia's face and handed them back to the clerk.
"They are lovely spectacles," the Brightling girl said.
Roger practically drooled as he looked at her. "Thanks. Maybe later—"
Elyssa clapped her hands. "Back to work, Templar!"
He jerked back and saluted. "Yes, Sergeant!"
My girlfriend motioned us to follow her and took off at a brisk pace.
"Are you usually so quiet?" I asked Kanaan as we walked.
He carried himself with a casual grace that left no question in my mind he could respond to any threat in a heartbeat. "I prefer to listen rather than speak."
I waited for him to say more, but he remained silent. "I've tried listening before, but I like the sound of my own voice too much."
Kanaan smiled. "There's no shame in that."
I almost asked him if he'd teach me the wax-on, wax-off technique and maybe toss in some crane-kick lessons, but a loud bang startled me from my smartassery. I looked forward and saw a person in a black lab coat hammering away on one of the crystal swords with a sledgehammer. She stepped back and made a notation on an arctablet.
"Hello," Elyssa said.
The woman shrieked, jumped, and dropped her tablet. It stopped just shy of the floor and floated back up to her. She stared at it a moment before snatching it out of the air. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kanaan holster his wand.
