Dearest Mother of Mine (Overworld Chronicles) (38 page)

"Ivy, I have Mom," I said. "We rescued her."

Her blue eyes went wide, and a smile broke out on her face. "You did?" she said in a loud voice. She covered her mouth, face contrite, and lowered her voice. "You did? How?"

"I can't explain everything," I said. "But it was a lot of hard work, and very dangerous."

"I don't like the people Bigdaddy uses," she said, frowning. "He says they're necessary." Her forehead pinched into a confused look. "How did you find us? Did you sneak in here to tell me Mom was okay so I wouldn't worry?" She smiled and continued before I could get in a word edgewise. "You did, didn't you?" She hugged me again. "I love you, big brother."

"I love you too, Ivy," I said, feeling my eyes mist. "But, that's only part of the reason I came."

Ivy released me, big eyes looking into mine. "Oh?"

I nodded. "One of those men Jeremiah uses"—I refused to use the word "Bigdaddy" anymore—"his name is Maulin Kassus. Do you know him?"

Her eyes narrowed. "I don't know their names because Bigmomma won't let me near them, but I have seen a few of them."

I took out my phone and displayed an image of Kassus.

"Oh, I've seen him," she said, nodding. "He looks mean and acts like a real poop-head."

"He's a poop-head all right," I said with an involuntary grin. "Even though I rescued Mom, I have a huge problem."

"Did that man do something to Mom?" she asked.

"Sort of," I said. "He's the one who sealed the doors on her prison. It's diamond fiber, so I can't break in—"

"He blood-sealed her prison," Ivy said, her lips pressing tight together. "And you want his blood."

I repressed a shudder, thinking how that trailer would become Mom's coffin before much longer. "Yes, but I've had a lot of trouble getting it."

Her lips curled back into a snarl. "The next time he comes here, I'll get his blood."

I saw Elyssa grimace.

My little sister could be scary.

"The only problem is, he doesn't come here very much, and my grandparents won't let me out of the house." Ivy sighed. "I sneak out, but it's harder and harder to do it without them finding out."

"Why are you down here?" I asked.

"I didn't want them to hear my crying," she said. "It's kind of embarrassing, because Mom did something bad, and I guess I'm not supposed to be sad that Daelissa locked her away."

"Maybe you should tell them you don't like what they did to her," I said.

She shook her head. "Daelissa scares me. She's so strong."

"Why don't you come with us?" I said. "You can live with us, and once we rescue Mom—"

"You need me here to get Kassus's blood and save Mom," she said. "Afterward, I totally want to come live with you." Her eyes sparkled. "I'll miss my grandparents, but they've been acting so weird lately, I hate being around. I hate being told what to do all the time, and they still haven't taken me to the zoo!"

"We'll go to the zoo first thing," I said. Hesitated. "Look, we can find another way to get Kassus's blood if you really want to come now." I was definitely concerned for her if Daelissa got wind of our plans.

She shook her head vehemently. "No way, Justin. I got this."

"Where is Daelissa now?" I asked.

"I don't know. She came by a couple of weeks ago to give me some lessons and told me I would rule the world by her side." Ivy shrugged. "She says crazy things sometimes. Bigdaddy says it's because she hasn't been home in too long."

"It's because she's not a good person," I said.

Ivy nodded. "After she tried to kill all those Templar people and you, I started thinking you might be right about her. I mean, she might be just a little crazy now, but a visit back home would clear everything right up."

I sometimes marveled at Ivy's naiveté. Jeremiah and the others had done a good job preserving her innocence—or possibly ignorance—so they could better use her. I quelled a burst of righteous anger and forced a smile. "We can let her figure out how to get home all by herself. Speaking of which, what did Jeremiah do with the Cyrinthian Rune?"

"You mean the little orb we took from you a while back?" she said, raising an eyebrow. "I don't know what he did with it."

"Did he say anything about giving it to Daelissa?"

She shook her head. "Oh, no. Bigdaddy said we had to keep it a secret from her." Her lips quirked. "I think he doesn't like Daelissa as much as he pretends to."

"You're growing up. You're starting to think for yourself, and realizing not everything is what it seems." I hated to quote Underborn, but the assassin had a point. My sister had been brainwashed from birth. It was a testament to her inner strength that she was already starting to see through the lies. "Do you know what the rune does?"

She nodded. "It's supposed to open the Alabaster Arch back to Seraphina."

"Is that the name of the angel world?"

"Yep. At least that's what Daelissa calls it."

"Do you have a phone or any way for me to contact you?" I asked.

She produced a slim pink arcphone from within the folds of her blue dress. "I stole it. I'm not supposed to have it. Bigmomma say they rot people's brains and turn them to zombies."

"She might have a point," I said, thinking of how much time I spent idly looking at mine or playing puzzle games when I wasn't out preventing the apocalypse. "Give me the number." I punched it into my phone as she recited it. I considered telling her about the omniarch but didn't know if she might slip up and mention it to Jeremiah. Our best course would be to leave the way we came without her tagging along. Something else occurred to me. "I have powers similar to yours."

Her eyes brightened. "Like Seraphim?" She clapped her hands together and hopped once. "That's great, Justin. I don't like your demon side very well."

"Daemos aren't all bad," I said. "Do you have any idea how to control angel powers?" I gave her a brief version of my run-in with Darkwater and how I'd used the power without telling her about the kill shot on Victor.

Her forehead scrunched. "Well, you feel warm in the heart like you said, and then you channel it into forms."

"But how do you get the warm feeling?" I asked.

"Hmm." She looked up as if thinking. "I just pull on the aether around me and channel it through, or if I need a lot, I store it inside." She tapped her chest. "You can channel it out of your feet like this"—she levitated off the floor a few inches, then landed—"or collect it in your hands." Pink orbs blossomed in her palms, growing larger before shrinking. "If I don't use it, I just let it go, or absorb it, though you have to be careful or you can overheat your heart, and Daelissa said that could hurt me."

I focused on my heart. Heard it thumping in a steady beat. Tried to imagine aether flowing through it. As usual, nothing happened. "It doesn't seem to work like that for me."

She pursed her lips. Pressed a hand to my chest. "I can feel something in there. Feels like it's sputtering. Kinda like a candle in a breeze." She shrugged without removing her hand. "Daelissa said I was like that when I started to figure it out."

"When you first started channeling, did it just happen?" I asked.

She nodded. "Daelissa would hurt me sometimes." A sad look flashed across her face. "She said it was the only way to learn. One day, I got so mad when she hit me with a bolt, I felt a fire light up inside me, and I hit her back." She giggled. "I scorched the front of her dress."

"Sounds like what happened to you," Elyssa said, eyes glued to the stairwell.

"Let's see if this works," Ivy said. Light flashed between her hand and my chest.

Breath exploded from my lungs. I staggered backward. Heat flared in my chest, coursed down my arm, and an ultraviolet orb swirled malevolently in my palm. I cupped my hand before my face and marveled at the beautiful but deadly magic. I willed it to grow, pushing more heat from my chest into my hand. It
whooshed
and doubled in size. I flinched, lost my concentration, and the heat faded. The sphere flickered and puffed away into sparkling purple mist.

Ivy looked at me with wide-eyed wonder. "That was dark light."

"Is that a good thing?" I asked.

"Well, technically it's a little evil, but since I don't think you're evil anymore, it's probably okay."

I felt my eyebrows rise. "I thought you didn't like Darklings."

Ivy looked at the floor, pressing her bare toe into the carpet. "I think maybe they're not so bad. I kinda liked Nightliss."

Relief warmed me.
She's thinking for herself
. "Why is your magical energy pink?"

"Oh, I can change colors, but that doesn't mean anything, really." She held up a hand, displaying a white energy orb. "I can make it ultraviolet, but that doesn't mean it's dark light."

"What's the difference?"

A shrug. "I'm not sure. Daelissa just told me it was bad." She inspected my hand. "Can you do it again?"

I sighed. "No, the heat went away and I can't turn it back on."

"Want me to light it again?" She gave me a mischievous grin.

I backed away. "Uh, maybe not right now." Even though I really wanted my angel powers to work, now wasn't the time to knock myself silly trying to accomplish miracles.

Ivy reached up and patted my shoulder. "It's okay. You're not a failure."

"Thanks, sis." I couldn't hide the grin. It felt so good to know my sister didn't think I was evil anymore.

"We should probably go," Elyssa said. "We had to knock out a guard. It means Jeremiah will know someone was here."

"Where did you put him?" Ivy asked, concern stitching her brow.

"In a closet in the library."

"I can make him forget." My sister smirked. "I'm not very good at blanking, but since you just did it, it shouldn't be a problem. Can you put him somewhere else so he won't wonder why he's in a closet when he wakes up?"

"Yeah," I said. "Better do it now."

The three of us crept back upstairs to the library. Bob was nowhere to be seen, probably off perfecting his proposal, I hoped. We moved the unconscious man to a chair at a desk.

"I'll make him forget," she said. "You'd better go. And watch out for trolls in the yard." She grimaced. "They're gross."

I hugged my sister, and kissed her on the forehead. "Be careful when you get Kassus's blood," I said. "Please don't put yourself in danger."

"Don't worry about me," she said, flashing an innocent grin. "I can be devious."

How well I know that.

We crept back to the stairs. The foyer looked clear, so we went up the stairs, and made our way to the stairs leading up to the third floor. We straightened from our crouches, stretching, and happy to be almost out of this place as we walked toward the third-story hallway. I opened my mouth to say something when Elyssa's eyes went wide with horror. Her hand clamped over my mouth, and she stopped dead.

I followed her gaze and saw a silhouette in the first room on the right. The room with the rocking chair. My night vision flickered on.

Jeremiah Conroy sat inside.

Chapter 35

My bowels and bladder attempted mutiny. It was all I could do to keep my wobbly knees from dropping me to the floor. I felt Elyssa's arm on my chest, pushing me gently backward. We backed up to the edge of the door, hidden from sight.

The Arcane sat in a rocking chair with his profile to us. A candle flickered on the small round table next to him. I remembered how creepy this setup had seemed to me upon entering the house. Seeing the old man there alone multiplied the creep factor by about a zillion. His gaze rested on something in his hands. I peered at the object, and realized it looked like the statuette of a woman carved from rock. The paint looked faded, though it was impossible to judge the age based on such a thing since a preservation spell might protect it.

Jeremiah produced a clay flagon from his right, took a long draw from it. A trickle of red liquid down the corner of his mouth looked like red wine. Surely it wasn't blood. I was wondering why a man with such wealth would use a clay container for his wine when I noticed his clothing. He wore the rugged robes I might picture on someone from the Middle East. His goatee was no longer gray, but black, and his skin looked olive by the dim candlelight.

I rubbed my eyes. The man looked just like Jeremiah Conroy, but much younger and of a different nationality. I felt a pinch on my arm, and looked to Elyssa. She mouthed, "Who is that?" to me.

"Jeremiah," I mouthed back.

She shook her head slowly with disbelief.

I texted Shelton, and told him to open the portal in the hallway. A second later, it blinked into existence. I was immensely grateful it didn't put off more light than the sconces on the walls. Shelton peered in from the other side of the portal. I put a finger to my lip, eyes wide with urgency.

He nodded and remained still.

Before we made a run for the gateway, temporary insanity gripped me. I took out my phone and set it to a low light option, praying I had the flash set to off. Then I snapped several pictures of Jeremiah and his strange statue. There was something very odd about this man, and I intended to get to the bottom of it.

Just as we took a step, the man moaned, and said something in a foreign language. He pressed the statuette to his lips, and murmured, "Thesha."

Elyssa pinched me again, probably because we'd frozen in plain view of the doorway. I suppressed a gasp and quickly stepped out of sight. I heard the scrape of the rocking chair against the hardwood floors and wondered if Jeremiah was standing. Elyssa and I ran for the portal. My entire body felt weak, as if I were trying to scramble out of a swimming pool while being chased by a shark.

We leapt through the portal. I looked at Shelton, and slashed a hand across my neck. The portal winked off.

Elyssa and I let out long gasps at the same time. Her face looked as white as mine felt. That had been a close one. Then we burst out laughing.

"Oh my god, I thought I was gonna crap my pants," I said.

"You should have seen your face," Elyssa said, tears of mirth gathering in the corners of her eyes. "I can't believe you didn't faint."