Dread Nemesis of Mine

by John Corwin

Page 42

 

  "You can't save everyone," Elyssa said, squeezing my hand.

  "I guess if nobody else is going to say it, I will," Katie said, her eyes fixed on Nightliss.

  "Say what?" I raised an eyebrow as a female mind once again succeeded in confusing me.

  "How very convenient the one person you need suddenly shows up on your doorstep. " She crossed her arms and gave me a look that dared contradiction.

  Elyssa groaned. "Damn it, she's right. I didn't want to say anything but…"

  "Does it matter how she got here?" I said.

  "I was so happy to see her, to think you might be cured, Justin. " Elyssa shook her head. "But miracles like this don't just happen. Not in the real world. "

  "Since when was the Overworld the real world?" I said, crossing my arms tight against my chest to keep my hands from shaking, even though deep inside, I knew they were right.

  "Maybe she was already looking for you," Katie said. "Maybe she got in trouble and you're the only person she could turn to. " She shrugged. "It doesn't explain how she knew where you were, of course. But we need to be careful. Someone messed her up bad. That same person might have done something to her and dumped her here as a trap. "

  "You're sounding as paranoid as me," I said. "Cripes, I guess it's contagious. "

  "Justin—" Elyssa started.

  "I don't want to talk about it anymore. " I slashed my hand through the air and suppressed a growl threatening to rise out of my chest. "She's here, and that's all that matters. Whether she's the answer to all our prayers remains to be seen. "

  "I found this outside," Cinder said, appearing at the doorway. He held up a clump of blonde hairs that looked as though someone had grabbed a handful and yanked them out. "They were caught in the grass outside the door where your friend was. "

  "Meghan's a blonde," Elyssa said, then glanced at Katie. "And so are you. "

  "Yeah, but someone tore these out," Katie said. "I sure didn't see any bald patches on Meghan.

  "An angelic cat fight," I said. "I'll bet they're Daelissa's. "

  "So Daelissa brought her here?" Elyssa's eyebrows pinched.

  My stomach rumbled. Not good. "We'll just have to ask her when she wakes up. " The happiness I'd felt upon first seeing my prayers answered all but evaporated. I could see the hope fading in Elyssa's eyes as well.

  Katie wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry, Justin. I hope I'm wrong. I just don't want anyone to get hurt. " She sniffled and turned. "I'm going to take a walk. It's stuffy in here. "

  Elyssa watched her go. "I'll keep an eye on Nightliss. Maybe you should go talk to Adam. Make sure he doesn't get too—you know. "

  "Too excited? Overly optimistic?" I sighed. "Story of my life. "

  She gave me a sad smile, and nodded.

  I kissed her on the forehead. "I'll go talk to Adam. Let me know if anything changes. "

  "May I go?" Cinder said, rising from his seat.

  "Sure. " I motioned him along and stepped outside into the dark chilly night.

  We headed for the long Quonset the Templars were using to temporarily house the injured. I figured they hadn't had to deal with such a large number of casualties as this before. Then again, nobody had expected an army of vampires armed with cursed bullets.

  "Justin, is Nightliss truly an angel?"

  I stopped and looked at Cinder, surprised by the uncertainty in his typically deadpan voice. "I think so, though not in the biblical sense of the word. Just like vampires aren't exactly how most books portray them. "

  "Do you believe she is a being of great power?"

  I nodded. "No doubt. Why?"

  His gray eyes focused on something in the distance. "Can she make me real?"

  "Real? But you are—" My mouth dropped open as my slow wits picked up on the significance of his remark. "You want to be like me?"

  "Perhaps not a demon spawn," he said. "Real flesh and blood would be enough. "

  "Why?"

  "I believe my grasp on emotions is improving. " He pressed a hand to his midsection. "Based on the way something inside me reacts to Elyssa's willingness to end my existence makes me desire humanity. I do not wish to elicit negative emotions in others because I am magically animated and not, according to most standards, real. "

  I put a hand on his shoulder. "I understand what you're going through. I've been there. " Glancing back at the cabin where the angel rested, I wondered what she would think of his request. "I have no idea if Nightliss can turn you into a human. Your creator, Mr. Gray, might know the answer. "

  "The Mr. Gray you mentioned earlier…he made me?"

  I grimaced, realizing I hadn't exactly sat the poor golem down and explained my history with the gray men. "Uh, I think so. From what I know, he's an angel like Nightliss. "

  "Oh. " Cinder looked at the ground. "Then perhaps it is impossible. Otherwise, why did he not make me more human?"

  Aside from gray being his creator's favorite color, I had no answer for him. "Look, let's talk about this later. " I motioned him onward. "Once Nightliss is up and about, she can tell you for sure. "

  He stayed where he was. "Justin, I am sorry for deceiving you. "

  My chest went cold. "What do you mean?"

  "I did not actually desire to accompany you to Adam. Instead, I wished only to ask you this question in private. "

  I sighed in relief that his following me wasn't part of an evil plot. "You don't have to come. "

  "Perhaps I will practice being bored as you suggested earlier. It may further my understanding of emotions. "

  "Are you sure you actually feel?" I asked.

  "According to definition, I believe I do. " He held out his hands and looked at them. "I also sense things by touch, smell, sight, and sound. " His arms dropped to his sides. "It appears, however, I was not meant to experience or utilize emotions. It was not until I awoke in Maximus's lab that the first tingling of awareness or emotion entered into me. Whatever caused such a change was not part of my original composition. "

  "Did Maximus do something to you?"

  He opened his mouth, and then with robotic precision, shrugged. "I do not know. "

  "Look, we'll talk about this. Just practice your emotions, preferably somewhere away from Elyssa for now. Okay?"

  He nodded. "Thank you for listening, Justin. "

  "No problem. " I left him standing there and headed for the corrugated steel building with a semi-circular roof at the other side of the complex. A familiar figure emerged from the front door and stormed toward one of the two-story dorm buildings. Adam.

  I hurried to catch up to him, following inside where he slid a key into a door lock.

  "Adam," I said.

  He jerked. Looked at me. "Oh, Justin. " He opened the door. "Come on in. "

  I followed him into the dorm room. Two unopened suitcases sat atop a still made bed. He moved them to the floor then opened a duffel bag and dug out a memory card. I hoped for a cue to start my talk, but he didn't say anything else, content to keep messing with his arcphone, popping the memory card in and looking at something on the screen.

  "What you got there?" I asked.

  He grunted. Flicked his finger and activated the holographic display. A dizzying array of symbols filled the air. Something about them seemed awfully familiar. He waved his hand across the sea of symbols, arriving at a complicated pattern I felt certain I'd seen before.

  "Remember this?" he said.

  I narrowed my eyes, trying to recall. "I think I do. "

  "The spells you took from your mom's computer. You asked me and Shelton to look them over. "

  My heart clenched. "The spells of mass destruction? The ones someone could use to wipe out an entire race of supernaturals?"

  "Time we put it to use, Justin. " He turned off the display and shoved the phone in his pocket. "I deciphered the runes for one of the spells. Got them all in place. Now all I need to do
is power the spell. "

  "You mean you're going to—"

  "Yeah. We're going to wipe out every vampire in Atlanta. "

  Chapter 29

  "Adam, this is a really, really bad idea. " I held out my hand. "Why don't you give me the memory card, and we'll figure out a safer way to contain Maximus?"

  His eyes flared. "After all the evil Maximus and his army have done, you just want to let him go?"

  "I never said that. "

  "No, but you might as well. " He crossed his arms. "Think about it. Maximus knows by now about what happened here. He'll also know the Templars will make a play for him in Atlanta. I'm sure his brainwashed minions are ready to go toe-to-toe with Templars again, especially armed with those bullets. "

  "Yeah, but he won't have Dash to help him. He's out of places to run. "

  "He still has Daelissa on his side. And there's nothing more dangerous than a cornered animal. " Adam threw his hands up. "Think about it, Justin! What's worse—losing more Templars, or taking the vamps down without a fight?"

  "Not every one of them is evil. And like you said, he's brainwashed a lot of them. " I shook my head. "And what about other vampires—those who aren't even involved with Maximus? That spell will kill them as well. "

  "Maybe they deserve it. They're bloodsucking parasites. "

  Deep down, I really didn't have a soft spot for vampires, but Felicia had proven not all of them were bad people. "What if somebody else's sister is in there? Someone's brother? Someone's kid? You'll be killing them. Felicia showed us people can change, even vampires. " I held out a hand imploringly. "Adam, everyone deserves a chance to prove they're not a monster. "