Dread Nemesis of Mine (35 page)

Thomas Borathen, a man I'd never seen crack
under pressure, looked almost alarmed at this sudden gesture from
his daughter.

"Thanks for standing up for me," Elyssa
said.

Thomas opened his mouth to speak, but Elyssa
cut him off with a wave of her hand.

"But don't for a minute think I've forgotten
about the White or all the hell you've put me and Justin through,
Father. You have a long way to go before you make up for
everything."

Her father's face regained composure. "I—" he
stopped whatever he was about to say and shook his head. "You're my
daughter. My own flesh and blood. Templar Knight Artemis made me
realize something very valuable today. He made me realize what it's
like when someone in a position of authority over you refuses to
listen to reason and sees only what he expects to see." Thomas
sighed. "I must have looked exactly that way to you, Elyssa."

She returned a stern nod. "Did he also show
you how a pompous ass looks?"

Her father's lips curled into the faintest
smile. "Indeed."

"The way I see it," said a female voice from
behind, "you owe someone an apology."

I turned and spotted Leia Borathen, Elyssa's
mother walking down the ramp toward us.

"Yes, you were right, Leia," Thomas said.
"Right all along." He walked away from the table, face set in grim
lines. "I have commanded loyalty from my soldiers, and gone without
defeat for so long, I thought I was always in the right. My focus
shifted. And when we finally had another family, I saw them only as
Templars."

"
Another
family?" Elyssa said. "What
does that mean?"

Leia shook her head. "We can discuss it
another time."

Thomas turned back to us. "I let my own
foolish pride and sense of self-worth stand in the way for too
long. And because of it, we lost Jack." He took a deep breath. "I
am so proud of you, Elyssa. Forgive me for not listening to you.
Forgive me for not being the father I should have been."

Tears glistened in Elyssa's eyes. She nodded,
and wiped her cheeks. "I forgive you, Dad."

Thomas Borathen, mighty warrior, commander of
a legion of Templars, and the scariest, most overprotective dad a
boyfriend could ever meet, hugged his daughter.

It was enough to make my eyes mist up.

When he pulled away, he cleared his throat
and looked a little uncomfortable. I figured, within the last five
minutes, he'd used up his emotional quota for the next century.

"There's still one apology left," Leia
said.

Thomas looked at me, his eyes displaying what
had to be pent up horror. "Surely, you don't—"

"Surely, I do," Leia said.

Elyssa's eyes went wide. "What's going on?
Since when do you even like Justin, Mother?"

Leia smiled. "You have shown time and time
again there is no force on this Earth that will keep you two
apart." She shrugged. "Not even a mind wipe."

Thomas turned his glare on me. "I hoped you
would drop off the radar as most of the boys who have met me have
done. But after everything that has happened, I must admit,
painfully and under duress," he shot a look at his wife and sighed.
"You have proven yourself adequate."

It took everything I had not to respond to
that backhanded compliment in kind. Instead, I simply said, "Thank
you, sir."

He extended a hand. Not wanting to keep him
hanging, I extended my own. Thomas shook it.

"You may be spawn, but you've proven yourself
more a man than others." He leaned in closer, his grip tightening
until I heard the bones crunching in my hand, and whispered, "And
if anything happens to my daughter, there is no place safe on this
Earth for you to hide."

I forced a smile as his grip relented.
"Understood."

Thomas released my hand and grunted. "Now
that this is settled, I believe we are ready to proceed. Correct,
Commander Salazar?"

Christian, who, up until now had been
pretending to read something very important on his phone looked up,
and nodded. "We're nearly ready to ferry troops over to La Casona.
The Custodians report that Maximus's compound is sterilized and
there is no longer a need for the perimeter your people are
holding."

Thomas pulled up the holographic map of the
compound. "I'll have them report to La Casona. We can send everyone
over in one wave to the Grotto and use my compound, The Ranch, as a
staging area."

A rap came on the doorframe at the top of the
auditorium stairs. Christian looked up and waved the man to
enter.

"What is it, Hernandez?" Christian asked.

"Bad news, sir," the Templar said. "We
received word from the Arcanes at La Casona—someone put a hex on
the Obsidian Arch. We can't send anyone through it. Not until the
hex is defused."

"A hex?" Christian said. "How long to
defuse?"

The Templar shrugged. "They said it was so
complex they'd have to send for outside help."

I groaned. "Dollars to donuts Daelissa did
it."

Christian nodded curtly at the Templar.
"Dismissed."

The man turned and left.

"This puts a wrench in things," Thomas said.
"Even if I summoned our entire fleet of sliders, we wouldn't have
enough to transport everyone to Atlanta in a timely manner."

"We only have one high-speed slider,"
Christian said. "The rest of ours are meant for local transport.
They're too slow to ferry troops all the way to Atlanta."

"We have two high-speed sliders," Thomas
said. "But each one only holds eighteen."

"How is it possible you guys don't have a big
plane somewhere meant for troop transport?" I asked. "Aren't you
the Overworld equivalent of the army?"

Christian shook his head. "We're more like
local militias. That's why there are legions dispersed around the
world, a legacy from the Roman Empire. The Synod never saw a use
for aircraft since Obsidian Arches are usually sufficient."

I groaned. "God only knows what Maximus is
doing in the meantime."

"Most of my forces are down here," Thomas
said. He scowled. "I nearly ordered them to remain in Atlanta, and
then received word of Artemis Coronus's intent to order off our
attack against Maximus. I now wonder if Daelissa let me know this
so I would divert more troops here."

"Webs within webs," Christian said. "And now
Maximus has nearly free reign in Atlanta."

"Do you think that was the plan all along?" I
said.

Elyssa shook her head. "Before Daelissa wiped
my mind, she acted crazy half the time. For all we know someone
else is pulling her strings."

"It won't stop us for long," Thomas said. "If
I have to hijack transports from the Colombian government, we'll
find a way back."

"There is a way," I said, a shiver running
down my spine at the thought. "You'll need to contact the Arcanes
near El Dorado for help."

"El Dorado?" Elyssa said. "What could
possibly help them there?"

"Thunder Rock has a huge room full of arches.
El Dorado might have one too." I shrugged. "It's not the best plan,
I know, but—"

"It's suicidal," Elyssa said, crossing her
arms. "Remember the hordes of husks and shadow people down there?
And didn't you tell me there are more of those things in Thunder
Rock?"

"Well, what about the arch in Maximus's
compound?"

"Our people inspected it," Christian said.
"The magical energy required to send through so many troops would
be staggering."

"We could capture another leyworm," I
said.

Elyssa's eyebrows shot up. "That's as crazy
an idea as using El Dorado."

Thomas, looked at me with a strange light in
his eyes. "Sending an army of Templars inside those caves to search
for an arch room that may or may not exist could be disastrous,
especially with enemies that cannot die by the sword." He shook his
head. "No. Commander Salazar and I will weigh the options and come
up with a plan."

I sighed, though I couldn't blame him. El
Dorado was the last place on Earth I wanted to return to. "At least
talk to the Arcanes near El Dorado. There's a whole town of them.
Maybe they'll know how to deal with this hex."

"I agree," Christian said. "I have their
contact information."

"Then let us proceed." Thomas looked at
Elyssa. "I suggest you get some R and R in the meantime."

"Yes, sir," Elyssa said. She took my hand and
we exited the building. The streets were clear, save for a harried
Templar or two jogging past with some important duty awaiting them.
Or maybe they'd just eaten spicy Indian food and were looking for
the nearest latrine.

I brainstormed for possibilities as we walked
back to the cabin. Inside, Nightliss lay sleeping on the bed, her
face still wan and pale. I'd hoped she might, at the very least,
have some useful information, or use her angelic powers to zap the
Templar army north.

Not gonna happen.

Nightliss had been Plan C. As with most of my
plans, I'd probably end up using all the letters in the alphabet by
the time it was all said and done.

"Might as well pack," Elyssa said. "When
Thomas and Christian make a decision, it'll come down the pipeline
fast."

"I really need to wash my clothes," I said,
grabbing my duffel bag. It was the same one I'd used when escaping
hellhounds as they attacked the home I grew up in. After returning
to the States from Colombia the first time, Shelton had given it
back to me. Inside it were all my remaining worldly possessions and
a few thousand dollars in cash I'd raided from my parents' rainy
day fund.

I turned the bag upside-down over the table,
emptying all my clothes into a heap. I picked up a pair of shorts
and sniffed them. Tossed them back into the bag. Sniffed a pair of
boxers. Wrinkled my nose and tossed them on the floor.

Elyssa laughed. "That's disgusting."

I gave her a sheepish grin. "I meant to wash
all this stuff, but Shelton didn't have a washer or dryer in his
hideout." Within a couple of minutes, I was left with two pairs of
tighty-whities, cargo shorts, and a single sock. Everything else
smelled or looked dirty.

"You're in luck," Elyssa said, opening a door
to the side of the kitchen to reveal a washer and dryer. She eyed
the pile of dirty laundry and grimaced. "I think I'll let you
handle it from here."

While I shoved in the load, Elyssa emptied
out the other compartments on the duffel bag to make sure I wasn't
missing anything. The companion sock to the lonely one on the table
spilled out of an end pocket. Two large bundles of cash, my wallet,
and an old folded piece of parchment tumbled from the others.

"What's this?" Elyssa asked, unfolding the
thick yellowed parchment on the table.

I shrugged. "Meghan found it on Vadaemos when
we brought him back to Atlanta. I figured it might be something
important, but forgot about it."

"It's a map," she said. "A really old
map."

When fully unfolded, it formed a rectangle
two feet by three feet. Black ink outlined streets and buildings in
what appeared to be a small town, or maybe a portion of a town. For
all I knew, it was a map of Disney World. A black dotted line ran
from the edge of the map and intersected a house, terminating in an
"X".

"Is that where the treasure is buried?" I
said, touching the mark and tracing my finger along it. "I'd
definitely like to know how to get there."

The lines on the map shifted. I jerked my
finger back and stared. "Did I imagine that?"

Elyssa shook her head. "I saw it, too."

The black lines soaked into the parchment,
vanishing altogether. As if by an invisible artist, the map redrew
itself, showing crooked little streets, and birds-eye outlines of
buildings, detailed down to shingles and ridges. Trees, shrubs, and
other details sketched themselves into place. The black outline of
a stick figure appeared within the outline of a house. The
invisible pen drew a dotted line, running down a nearby street and
vanishing off the edge of the map.

"Whoa, this is trippy," I said.

"Wait a minute," Elyssa said. "I recognize
those streets." She grabbed the map and ran outside the house.
Stopped beneath a tree, and gaped at the map. "This
is
trippy. Look!"

I stared with disbelief. The stick figure had
moved outside the house and now stood beneath the outline of a
tree. "What kind of map is this?" I said.

"Show me a wider view," Elyssa said.

The map redrew itself, showing more of the
surrounding area.

"Show me all of Bogota," she said.

Nothing happened.

"Show me this entire city."

Again, the map redrew itself. Though almost
too fine and cluttered to make out, Bogota was clearly the
city.

"Show me where I am," I said, and watched as
the map circled our location. I looked at the amazed expression on
Elyssa's face, certain my own looked about the same. A light bulb
flickered on in my head. "Show me where Maximus is."

Nothing happened.

"I've seen a lot of crazy things," Elyssa
said, "but I've never seen a magic map like this one."

"You told me about the Key of Juranthemon," I
said. "And that it required a map to create new connections from
one place to another. What if this is it? Maybe Vadaemos was hoping
to find the key so he could stay one step ahead of everyone."

Elyssa said an unladylike word. "And I was so
close to stealing it from Underborn."

"Where's the key you stole from him?" I
asked.

She dug in her pocket and pulled out an
old-school skeleton key. It was made of thick steel with a head
shaped like a skull. Two rubies glittered in the eye sockets.

"It looks exactly like I imagined it," I
said, taking it in my hand.

"It definitely didn't look like that when I
took it," Elyssa said.

Our eyes met.

"Where's the place Underborn used it?"