Dread Nemesis of Mine (7 page)

"I wish—"

She gave me a steamy sensual smile and
smacked me on the bottom. "Me too. There'll be time later." She
kissed me again. "Open the stairs for me?"

As Elyssa vanished up the stairs, a longing
tugged at my heart to follow her. To race to the Grotto and take
the arch to La Casona in Bogota immediately. The urgency of finding
my little sister burrowed into my stomach and weighed it down with
dread and helpless frustration. What good would it do me to dash
down to Maximus's stronghold without an army backing me up? And
what if Thomas Borathen decided her rescue wasn't all that
pressing?

Now, more than anything, I needed a snappy
montage of happy songs and scenes of uplifting moments from my
training so I could learn magic really fast. If only real life were
like the movies.

Sigh.

Over the next few hours, Shelton showed me
how to store and use spells on my arcphone, digging around in his
archives for basic, yet useful spells I could use to get myself out
of a bind. Unfortunately, I still had problems drawing in magic
without closing my eyes, and even more problems executing a spell
with little more than a whimper of power.

"Maybe I'm just too weak," I said. It was
late. My eyelids drooped and my tummy felt like I'd just eaten a
bowlful of Ebola virus. "Why does my stomach hurt so bad?"

Shelton pocketed his phone and crossed his
arms. "It ain't weakness kid. You haven't used your well before.
It's like a muscle. The more you use it, the more it can hold. The
sick feeling is magic poisoning. Your body isn't used to storing
it."

"Is my well a physical part of my body?"

He scrunched up his forehead. "Nah, it's an
extension of aura, but it can sure feel like it's a part of your
body." He held out a hand and helped me out of my seat. "C'mon. Get
some rest and we'll start again in the morning." His phone
dinged.

I glanced at the screen and saw an image of
Elyssa standing outside the secret entrance. "Um, I would let her
in, but I think if I try to do one more spell, I'll puke."

Shelton grinned. "I'll do it."

My heart leapt at the thought of curling up
in a nice warm bed with her, even if it was just to sleep. I was
too tuckered out to do much more.

Elyssa flew down the stairs the minute the
barrier illusion vanished. "Justin, I'm sorry, I really am,
but—"

Thomas Borathen came down the stairs, a squad
of Templars at his heels. His icy blue eyes bored into me.

"What the hell?" Shelton said.

Elyssa's father ignored Shelton, folding his
arms over his chest. "So, young Mr. Slade, are you ready to
go?"

"Where?"

"Why, Bogota, of course. Elyssa explained the
situation. I communicated with Commander Salazar, and his people
are standing by."

I raised an eyebrow. "Just like that?"

He snapped his fingers. "Just like that. We
are Templars, young man, not a ragged group of misfits."

"The kid's exhausted," Shelton said. "Can't
this wait?"

Thomas glanced coolly at the sorcerer. "He
can rest upon his arrival."

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Bella said,
appearing from the hallway.

Now that the shock was wearing off, some of
my earlier depression melted away. "It's fine, Bella." I didn't
know why Thomas was so eager to get me on my way, and I didn't
care. He was ready to help, and I was ready to go. "I'll pack." I'd
stored clothes at a couple of Shelton's hideouts in case of an
emergency. Despite Thomas's offer of a place to stay at Big Creek
Ranch, aka The Ranch, aka the Templar compound in Atlanta, I didn't
feel safe sleeping in a place where he could come by and decapitate
me at any moment.

Elyssa followed me back to the bedrooms. "He
really surprised me," she said.

"Maybe he wants to get the blood potion off
the streets," I replied. "I sincerely doubt he gives two craps
about my sister."

"No, he agreed before I even told him about
the blood potions."

I shoved a handful of clean underwear into my
duffel bag and paused. "Seriously?"

She nodded. "Knowing my dad, he probably
wants to move fast before the enemy finds out about his
movements."

"How would Maximus know what your dad is up
to?"

"He might have vampires watching the compound
for all we know." Elyssa crossed her arms. "Keeping the enemy off
balance is a favorite tactic of my father's."

"You're going, right?" I grabbed a stack of
T-shirts and jammed them next to the underwear.

"Oh, yeah. I made it clear he wasn't keeping
me out of this operation."

I smiled. "Good." Some of the worry lifted
from my chest. Things would be all right.

"Better pack a little warm," she said. Bogota
isn't hot like the south part of the country."

"I don't need sweaters. I'll just cuddle with
my smoochie-poo," I said dropping my clothes and taking her in my
arms. "How's that, honey boo bear chocolate pie?"

"Sweet Jesus almighty," Shelton said from the
doorway, his mouth screwed up in disgust.

My face went red hot. "Uh—"

Elyssa burst into laughter.

Shelton waved off my reply. "Look, I ain't
about to let an apprentice of mine go wandering off into vampire
central without some backup. Me and Bella are coming along."

The embarrassment melted away, replaced by
gratitude. I grinned. "Thanks, Shelton."

"Yeah, don't get all mushy on me, kiddo. I
just don't want you to be an embarrassment to me by getting your
ass kicked." He shook his head and left, muttering.

"Honey boo bear chocolate pie?" Elyssa said
with a snort. "I'll need to do some research if I'm ever going to
top that one."

I chuckled. "Oh, my head is full of romantic
nicknames."

"I think you need to look up the definition
of romantic."

My duffel bag bulged with clothes and other
supplies. I'd even remembered to pack a toothbrush. As I
contemplated the impending journey and hopeful rescue, I thought of
Felicia and wondered if we could extract her while we were in
there. It made me think of her brother, Adam Nosti. Had she told
him anything? Did he even know where she was?

I pulled out my new phone. "Nookli, call
Meghan Andretti."

"Do you want me to search the web for
Magic Fishnets
?" my phone replied.

"What? No,
Meghan Andretti
," I said
carefully enunciating her name.

Meghan sounded surprised but happy to hear
from me. No doubt she was hoping and praying I wasn't about to drag
her into yet another mission where mutilation by an enraged demon
was a likely possibility.

"Is Adam around?" I asked.

"Sure, he's in his study," she replied, in
the voice of someone only just growing used to the quirks of dating
someone with an obsession. For Adam, it was finding out who
murdered his parents years ago and left him and Felicia orphaned.
His obsession had driven Felicia to drugs and eventually to Maximus
and life as a vampire. Unlike her brother, she had no arcane
talents.

"Justin, what's up?" Adam said, sounding
pleased to hear from me.

I hated to burst his happy bubble. "I just
heard from your sister."

"You did?" Apprehension tightened his
voice.

I filled him in.

"Son of a—Justin, she can't stay in that
vipers' lair any longer. We've got to get her out."

"I'll have an army of Templars helping, Adam.
I'm sure we can do that."

He made a frustrated noise. "I'm coming with
you. What? Justin, hang on." The sounds of muffled talking filtered
through the receiver. After a moment, I heard his hand slide off
the microphone. "Um,
we're
coming."

"Adam, I really don't want to drag you into
my mess—"

"Both of our sisters are in trouble, Justin.
Hold tight. Meghan and I will meet up with you."

I looked at Elyssa. "Are we taking the
Obsidian Arch at the Grotto?"

She nodded and checked the time. "Father says
we're shipping out at midnight."

I relayed the information to Adam and ended
the call. I knew Adam would want in. I mean, who'd pass up the
opportunity to die screaming with me as a traveling companion? At
least I'd feel a lot better adding another strong Arcane to the
group, not to mention Meghan and her expert healing abilities.
Geez, with Bella and Shelton coming along, this promised to be the
bestest Justin Party ever. Except I forgot to bring cake. Maybe one
of the Arcanes could pull cupcakes from behind our ears. "Your dad
has this all planned out, doesn't he?"

Elyssa shrugged. "Commander Borathen doesn't
mess around when he makes a decision."

When we rejoined the others near the exit,
Bella and Shelton were in a heated discussion with Thomas.

"I take it you have no compunction about
taking untrained civilians into this conflict?" Thomas said, his
voice deadly calm as always.

"Dude, I'm probably the least trained here
and you obviously don't care about tossing me to the wolves." I set
my arms akimbo and gave him the look my mom reserved for me when
she caught me doing something naughty. "Don't for a minute think
you've fooled me into believing you're doing this for my benefit.
I'm sure you have some ulterior motive I haven't figured out. Even
this morning, you seemed eager to kick me back down to
Colombia."

His cool expression didn't flicker as he
replied. "What I do is uphold Overworld law, Mr. Slade. For that, I
will do anything or sacrifice anyone without compunction. In this
instance, our goals coincide. I happen to believe you can play a
pivotal role in bringing down Maximus, thanks to your history with
that criminal."

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence
as we digested Thomas's blunt words. I forced myself to maintain
eye contact with his cool, blue gaze and found no shred of doubt
lingering within.

I cleared my throat and shifted my feet.
"Alrighty, then. Shall we go?"

Thomas turned and left, followed by the rest
of us. We piled into the back of a large black SUV, and headed
toward the Grotto. I had no idea what to expect once we reached
Bogota except for one thing.

Maximus would not go down without a
fight.

Bogota welcomed me with cold, gray arms. Dark
clouds scudded overhead, drowning the sunlight. The Obsidian Arch
at La Casona sat in the middle of a sprawling plaza in the center
of the city, seemingly in plain sight. At the back of the square
stood an ordinary wooden door, which—according to Bella—led into
the pocket dimension housing La Casona. Since Colombia was her
turf, she gave me a quick history lesson as we hustled from the
large circle of polished stone beneath the arch.

"Illusion hides this place from the noms, and
wards keep them from wandering too close," she said as we crossed
the plaza toward a group of waiting Templars.

"We're going into La Casona," Adam said,
taking Meghan's hand in his.

"I need some supplies," the Arcane healer
added. "We'll meet you at the compound in a couple of hours."

I noticed the way her face hardened every
time she looked at Shelton. I also noticed how Shelton kept a
healthy distance from Meghan. She'd told me Shelton's hands were
dirty when it came to the death of her father. That he'd had
dealings with Vadaemos Slade or someone close to him. Even though
Meghan had never made any outright threats, I had the feeling it
might be best to clear the air between the two just in case. Adam
tugged on Meghan's hand and they headed toward the entrance.

Shelton approached the minute Meghan and Adam
went through the door to La Casona. He regarded the area with wary
eyes. "I've got some contacts in the area. It's possible they'll be
able to help.

"Why do you look so uneasy?" I asked.

"Let's just say I haven't made many friends
in this part of the world."

Bella raised an eyebrow. "Really, Harry, you
didn't tell me that story."

He snorted. "It's a lot more than just one
story, darlin'."

"You'll meet us at the compound later?" she
asked. "I brought some board games along."

"No more board games," Shelton said, rolling
his eyes. "I have something more interesting in mind."

Bella pursed her lips. "Oh, really?" Her
voice took on an uncharacteristic sultry flavor. "Do tell."

"Poker."

"Unless it's strip poker, I'm not
interested," Bella said, crossing her arms.

Shelton's eyelids went wide, and his face
turned a shade of pink.

Elyssa snorted, and I gave Bella a
questioning look. Sometimes I had trouble figuring out if she was
being serious or not.

"What's wrong with strip poker between
consenting adults?" Bella said with a smirk. She tapped Shelton on
the nose. "Run along to your contacts, Harry. I'll see
you
back at the compound."

Shelton dug a finger under his collar and
tugged on it, as though it felt a bit tight. "Maybe I'll find
another place to stay."

Bella laughed. "Don't forget to layer your
clothes. I wouldn't want you to lose too quickly."

"Keep in touch," I told Shelton as he hurried
to leave. "And be careful."

He tipped his fedora at us and gave us a
lopsided grin, his eyes straying to Bella. "I'm always
careful."

As he headed for the entrance to La Casona, I
noticed Templar guards patrolling the perimeter, and turned to
Elyssa. "Didn't Felicia say Maximus used this arch to travel
recently?"

She nodded.

"How is that possible with all the
security?"

"I don't know." Her eyes latched onto
something to our left.

Following her gaze, I saw Commander Christian
Salazar, the Templar commander for Colombia, standing at ease, arms
folded behind his back, legs shoulder-width apart. Thomas Borathen
approached the other man and saluted then took Christian by the
elbow and guided him toward the exit while they conversed. I tried
to listen in with my super hearing, but the background thrum of the
arch as it wound down obliterated their words before they reached
my ears.