Dearest Mother of Mine (Overworld Chronicles) (33 page)

I had lunch with Elyssa, and then travelled via the portal to see Mom. She didn't respond when I knocked on the side of the trailer. I knocked again, my stomach feeling sick with worry. What if she'd miscalculated about how long she could last?

"Mom?" I said, knocking again.

"I'm here," said an exhausted voice.

I blew out a sigh of relief. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired," she said. "I considered putting myself in a light preservation spell, but the effort might cost too much of my dwindling reserves."

I should have taken the chance with Kassus earlier, I thought.
Damn it, why didn't I try?

"I'm sure my health isn't the only reason you've come, son. What do you need?"

I pushed aside the anger and took deep breaths to center myself on the task at hand. Then I told her about the cupids.

Her incredulous gasp echoed from within the container. "They live again? How is this possible?"

"I think it's the same thing that happened to you," I said, referring to the last thing she remembered at the destruction of the Grand Nexus. "It's why you were raised as a child by the Conroys."

"It's unbelievable, but it makes sense," she said, wonder still in her voice.

"Yeah, as if anything about life makes sense," I said. "Well, Kassus found out about them. Apparently, he and the Darkwater people are going to the relics with Alabaster Arches and clearing them of cherubs. That's how they stumbled across the cupid nursery. We may need to move the babies, but we're not sure how to feed them soul essence without the leyworms."

"They're consuming soul essence at this age?" Mom said. "They shouldn't require that for the first few years, at least not until they learn to channel."

"Channel?" I said.

"Yes, that's what we call it when we use our magic."

"Isn't it all channeling?" I pulled out my staff and imagined how Shelton and the others did it. "Arcanes channel through staffs and wands."

"That's actually casting," Mom said. "Believe me, I learned how to do Arcane magic, and there are many differences. The source remains the same, but the method is much different."

"Explain," I said.

"Arcanes use an internal well to hold their aether. When they use magic, they draw upon that well, focusing their will through a staff, wand, or other instrument to enact the spell. Our kind have the ability to channel aether directly from the source."

"But we have an internal well," I said.

"We do, yes, and it's much larger than an Arcane's. On the downside, we don't utilize it as efficiently as Arcanes do, possibly because they've had centuries to perfect casting from smaller reservoirs."

I still wasn't too clear on the difference between channeling and casting, except for how we utilized the aether. I could appreciate the strength we had, namely being able to draw directly from a ley line and into a spell. But we were off subject.

"Back to the cupids—you say they shouldn't be feeding off soul essence yet. Why do you think these are?"

"Perhaps they are different since they've been reborn. They are not normal Seraphim children, I can tell you that."

We talked a little longer, but she didn't have much more to tell me other than most normal angel infants breastfed like humans. Our brief conversation only raised more questions, which I didn't ask since Mom sounded so tired.

I pressed my hand to the side of the trailer, wishing more than anything I could touch her hand, or bring her comfort. "I love you, Mom."

My supernatural hearing picked up the faint sounds of crying from within. "I love you, too, son. I'm sorry for all I've put you through."

I leaned my forehead against the side, squeezing my eyes shut to dam up the tears. "It's okay," I said, my voice hoarse. When I was younger, Friday night was family night. Dad would buy pizza, and we would all watch a movie or play board games. As I'd grown older, I'd wanted to hang out with my nerd friends or play computer games instead of sitting with the parents.

What I wouldn't give to have that back right now.

Had my childhood been a sham? Had family nights been faked by my parents to make us seem normal, or had they really wanted to be that way? A part of me burned to question Mom about every aspect, but she needed rest and I needed to spend my time tracking Kassus and drawing his blood.

I knew where Kassus would be again soon. That was a huge advantage. All I had to do was figure out how to capitalize on it. I called a meeting when I returned home. Many in our gang already knew since Elyssa had told them.

"Let me get this straight," Shelton said. "You want to ambush a squad of elite battle mages?"

"We don't have to ambush them," I said. "All we need is Kassus."

"Even if we all pitch in, that ain't an easy task," Shelton said. "Those people are used to fighting. They're conditioned to respond to surprises with deadly force."

"What about a drain ward?" I asked, looking at Bella. "You know how to make them. Why don't we rig the cavern with them?"

She pressed her lips together. "Sure, we could try. It might take me a couple of days to make one, though."

We don't have a couple of days
.

"How about stealth tactics?" I said. "Can we separate Kassus and knock him out?"

Elyssa answered. "Separating him would be the tricky part. If I can get him alone, I'll just dart him and knock him out."

"How about we shoot all of them with Lancer darts?" I asked. "If we all fired at once, they'd never have a chance to respond."

She moved her head side-to-side as if considering the proposal. "It might work."

"Hold on," Shelton said holding up his hands palms out. "If these guys are worth their salt—and I know for a fact they are—their robes are warded with armor and magic resistance spells. To stand a chance at knocking them out, we'd have to hit every one of them on naked skin. That would mean neck, head, or hands."

I considered the odds of us nailing twenty-plus people with such precision. It didn't seem likely. If even a handful remained conscious, they could still put up a hell of a fight. And what if Kassus brought in even more battle mages his next visit?

"We have some pretty important unanswered questions," Adam said, rescuing us from silence. "The first is what do the leyworms want with the cupids? If we know the answer to that, we'll probably know why they don't want us moving the babies. And next, does Kassus have even the remotest chance of stealing a baby right out from under the leyworms, especially once the younger ones return from wherever they went?"

"Good questions," I said. "But that's not the matter at hand. We need Kassus's blood. Since we can't move the babies, we might as well use the situation to our advantage."

"I just feel like it might be a big risk not moving the babies," Adam said. "Using them as bait doesn't feel right."

"We're not using them," I said. "The leyworms won't let us move them, so we're making do with the situation."

"I don't think directly attacking these men is the answer," Meghan said. "While we each have our strengths, they have the manpower and firepower to kill us all."

"I'm not advocating attacking them," I said, frustration starting to rise within me. "We don't have time to sit around and hope Kassus makes a mistake. We need his blood
now
."

"We want to help you any way we can," Adam said. "None of us here wants your mother to die."

"If we go about this the wrong way, a lot more than your mom stand to die," Ryland said. "Maybe we should have a talk with Commander Borathen. He might spare a squad to help."

"I already talked with him," Elyssa said.

I huffed. "And the answer is no," I said. "Shouldn't even bother asking him. It's not like he helped rescue my mom." I knew I was being unfair. He'd left the decision in my hands and I'd decided the political consequences would be too severe, opting only for auxiliary help.

Lips pressed tight, she raised an eyebrow at me. "He said yes." I could tell from the tension in her voice she wasn't happy with me right then.

"Oh," I said.

She sighed and shook her head. "He had to reposition assets thanks to the Synod moving their own troops into my father's territory, but he agreed to provide us with his best special ops squad to resolve the situation."

"Whoa, why didn't you mention this earlier?" Shelton said.

"I just got the text from him a few seconds ago," she said. "He told me Alysea is too valuable to let die, and that, so long as the operation could be done in a way to minimize exposure, he would provide support."

"Does he know about the cupids?" Adam asked.

"No, but we'll have to tell him," Elyssa said. She gave me a cross look. "Happy?"

I looked away. "Yes."

"I'm happy you're happy," she said in a tone indicating she was anything but. "This opens up several options, including the one Justin mentioned earlier about simply knocking them all unconscious. We have other crowd-control options that might work, depending on what sort of defenses Kassus's people have."

"I'd like to know what his people are doing with the cherubs," Adam said.

I wanted to know the answers to a lot of things, but right then, nothing else mattered but blood. "Let's get these Templars here," I said, trying to ignore Elyssa's baleful glare. "If we set up a trap and nail them with Lancers all at once, maybe we can do this thing."

I dismissed the meeting. Elyssa stormed from the room. I followed her up to the bedroom, and shut the door. "Why are you so mad?" I asked.

"My father hasn't helped?" she said in a rhetorical tone. "Really? After providing a pilot and a slider to retrieve the trailer? After providing a place to keep your mother? After providing the car you and I used in the operation? After leaving the decision for his intervention in your hands?"

"I didn't mean it like that," I said. "He just wouldn't get involved—"

"And he had a very good reason for not showing his hand," Elyssa said. "You can't just plow into everything, heedless of consequences, Justin. Sometimes you have to use tact and tactics."

"Fine," I said, throwing up my hands. "I'm sorry I insulted your father. That wasn't my intention."

She sank onto the bed, tears welling in her eyes. I looked at her, completely confused. Why was she having such an overreaction? I thought back to what I'd said, but aside from some whining, I couldn't think of anything to bring Elyssa to tears. As usual, seeing her cry made me feel like a complete villain. I sat beside her, wrapping my arms around her shoulders and hugging her.

"I'm sorry, baby. I was a complete ass. Please forgive me."

She turned and buried her face in my shoulder. "It's not you," she said. "It's everything going on with the Synod and the Templars." Elyssa looked up at me, her face beautiful despite the red blotches from crying. "They tried to murder my father, Justin. They tried to kill you and everyone in a leadership position. What are they going to do next? How can we stop them if they try?" She drew in a shuddering breath. "I don't know what to do."

Her reaction suddenly made sense. I knew exactly where she was coming from. She felt powerless to stop the Synod from killing her father and other people she cared about. It was one thing to fight an army, but another thing entirely to stop one man or a group of them on a suicide mission. If Ivy hadn't warned us, there would have been so much blood spilled that day, including my own.

I kissed her on the forehead. "I understand. If we can get my mom out of that box, she'll be one more layer of protection." I hated referring to my mom like that, but it was true.

"Then that's what we have to do," Elyssa said. "Save your mom so we can save everyone else."

"How do you think we should do it?" I asked.

She wiped tears from her face. "I think your plan could work. It's simple, straightforward, and not as complicated as most of the stuff you come up with."

"It's just stupid simple," I said, offering her a grin. "You can say it."

She laughed, her hands absentmindedly picking a piece of lint from my shirt and flicking it away. "Those plans are usually the best." She surprised me with a kiss. "You always know how to cheer me up."

I wished I knew exactly what I'd said to clear the air, but just smiled as if I had everything covered. "I like seeing you smile."

She took out her phone and dialed. "Let's get this party started."

Chapter 30

Twenty-five Templars outfitted with Lancers and bearing satchels full of other crowd-control items stepped through the portal and into the main cavern outside the El Dorado control room. Thanks to our omniarch, they'd arrived a little over an hour after Elyssa's request.

I'd called ahead and spoken with Cinder to make sure the coast remained clear before coming, even though we opened the portal farther back into the main cave for easy insertion and escape should that become necessary.

"We'll set up the perimeter," said the leader of the elite Templar squad, a man named Hutchins.

The group of dark-clad Templars dispersed, placing what looked like rocks in a loose circle around the area where the Darkwater people had stood the last time.

"Those are stun mines," Elyssa explained. "We can trigger them to blind and disorient a group. Once they go off, we'll knock them out with Lancer darts and secure them."

"This is the kind of equipment I'm talking about," I said, feeling immeasurably better about our success. We spent the next thirty minutes watching the men set up. Shelton and the others remained on standby, but I didn't think we'd need their help with the pros on our team. Once everything was set up, Hutchins and his men hid behind other boulders and debris they'd moved into strategic positions and waited. Elyssa and I picked our own hiding spot with a good view. We both had Lancers equipped and ready. I figured with this many people firing darts, we stood a good chance of hitting most of the people Kassus brought through.

The dragons, for their part, merely watched, their huge heads swiveling around the cavern as the men worked, apparently unconcerned so long as nobody tried to violate the boundary of their giant coiled bodies.