Scala (3 page)

Adair stares at the envelope in my hands, and then looks to Cissy. “Weren't there any messages from Prince Lincoln for me?”

“Nothing for you,” says Cissy slyly. “Now, you wanted to perform an inspection that would be followed by a formal announcement. What in the Tower would you like to inspect?”

Adair looks around the Tower floor. “Is Lead Warden Celia here? She could give me some guidance.”

“No, she's got the day off.” Glad I gave it to her, too, considering that Adair's asking for guidance from her. Unfortunately, that means my Celia may be Adair's source about our troubles with the Ghost Towers. Note to self: look into this situation ASAP. I hate the thought of firing Celia, but it may come to that.

Adair glances at the Cloud Carriers, but her gaze keeps flickering back to the silver envelope, which I've decided to use as a fan.

Cissy rocks on her heels. “We're waiting.”

“Everything seems fine,” says Adair quickly. “Thank you, Senator.”

“You're most welcome. And now, you have an announcement for us?”

“That I do.” Adair straightens the neckline of her medieval-style gown. “My esteemed colleagues, I'm here today to announce that as Thrax Delegate to Purgatory, I've launched a formal investigation of the Ghost Towers. I have it on good authority that these things are ready to explode, releasing millions of angry ghosts onto Purgatory's streets. And when spirits are this furious, they can tear down buildings, break through walls, even kill people.” She makes a stabbing motion with her arm, miming murder.

“We all know what angry ghosts can do, Adair.”
But thanks for the theatrics.

She rounds on me. “It's a catastrophe waiting to happen, and it's all due to your mismanagement. These Towers ran fine when the ghouls were here.”

“The ghouls didn't have to deal with Lucifer's Orb,” I say. “Do you know what the Orb does?”

“Please. Per Inter-Realm law, it's my role to ask questions in a formal investigation.” Adair pulls a sheet of paper from her pocket. “Let's begin. The souls in this Ghost Tower seem perfectly ready for Heaven or Hell. Why don't you use your Scala powers and move them all at once, in a big iconigration?”

“I tried. I could only move them all to Hell.”
In fact, I barely stopped the iconigration in time, not that I'm telling her that.
“As I started to say before, Lucifer's Orb is now in Purgatory. You know what that means, right?”

“No.” Adair shrugs. “Should I?”

I stare at her for a long minute. Could she really be that oblivious to the challenges facing Soul Processing in Purgatory? She is our Thrax Diplomat, after all. There's a smug, know-it-all look in her eyes that confirms my worst suspicions. She's absolutely and blissfully oblivious.

“Here's the deal. The Orb is the ultimate source of demonic power in the after-realms. Right now, it's forcing me to send all souls to Hell. Long story short, I'm not sending spirits anywhere until the Orb is gone.”

Adair taps her chin. “And there are no other reasons preventing you from moving souls?”

“Like what?”

“Your grip on igni, for instance. Maybe the problem isn't that Lucifer's Orb is too strong. Could be, you're too weak.”

“Weak? I sent Armageddon to Hell with my powers.”

“You were strong at one time, sure. But now? I see it as my job to use my unique knowledge of igni to assess your current state. After all, I was initiated Scala Heir by Verus, the Queen of the Angels.”

I set my fist on my hip. I can't believe she's bringing up that sham initiation. Verus only did a fake ceremony with Adair in order to activate my real powers. Adair even admitted as much herself.

“Come on. Don't you remember? We were all in a bunker, right before my battle with Armageddon. That's when you came clean that your initiation was a sham. You even confessed how your witch-friend Gianna faked your power over igni.”

Adair does an awesome job of looking totally shocked. “I don't remember that at all.”

“Senator Frederickson was in the bunker with us.” I turn to Cissy. “Do you remember the Diplomat's confession?”

“Vividly.”

Adair rests her fingertips against her throat and sighs. “The friendship between the two of you is touching, really touching. But it won't stop this investigation.” Translation: she's saying that Cissy's lying for me. My blood starts to boil with rage.

The Ghoul Delegate raises his hand. “What should we do about the Ghost Towers? I, for one, am very concerned. I'd appreciate some insight from the Thrax Delegate.”

Note to self: hate that guy.

“I don't know yet,” Adair says with a sad shake of her head. “The mismanagement issues here are pretty severe. I need time to complete my investigation.”

My hands ball into angry fists. Mismanagement issues? This has gone too far. Either I bash Adair on her turned-up nose, or I call an end to this meeting.

Le sigh. As satisfying as a punch would be, it would only give Adair more fodder to make trouble.

“Great idea to investigate,” I say sternly. “Why don't you go do that? Like, somewhere else?” I point to the door. “And right now?”

Adair neatly refolds her paper and resets it into her pocket. “Agreed. I'll depart, if that's acceptable to you, Senator.”

Cissy waves her hand towards the exit portal. “You're all free to go.”

“Thank you for your time today.” Adair grips my hands in her own. “Good luck.”

I wince. Adair's palms feel cold, clammy and stomach-churningly gross. I release them quickly. “Good-bye, Adair.”

“Follow me, people.” Adair finally walks away, happily chatting with her two diplomatic colleagues. No doubt, she's telling them horror stories about how the Ghost Towers will explode any second.

Once they're gone, I lean my head back and groan. “Oy. I really need to kill me some demons.” I raise the silver envelope. “This was your handiwork, wasn't it?”

“Yeah. I thought it would keep her inspection short, at least.”

“It totally did. She'd have actually inspected something if it weren't for you. By the way, how'd you find the demon so quickly?” Only a real sighting would've called out a thrax warrior.

A mischievous look crosses Cissy's face. “I might have imported it. Let's just say I owe the Furor Delegate a big favor.”

“Damn, girlfriend. You wheeler-dealer you. Thanks.”

“You're welcome.” Cissy frowns. “Now, are you ready for the really-bad news?”

That's right. When I first saw Cissy, she said she had bad news and really-bad news.

“Oops, I forgot about that part. Spill.”

“You know how Walker had almost found Lucifer's Orb?”

My stomach sinks to my toes. I don't like where this is going. “Yeeeeeeeeah. He was digging up a crypt in Lower Purgatory.”

“Well, the Orb wasn't in the crypt. They finally got it open. There was a coffin inside, but it was empty.”

“Not good.”

“Well, not entirely empty. A riddle was carved inside it.”

“Better. What does it say?”

“No idea. Walker's trying to figure it out.”

My tail pounds my thigh in frustration. “Does Walker have any idea when he'll find the Orb?”

Cissy shakes her head. “I'm sorry, Myla.”

“Damn. If we run out of Soul Storage, I don't have a lot of options. I can't send these folks to Hell.”

“Hang in there. You're doing the right thing. Look, I can stall on the announcement of Adair's investigation. The office of the President is the only group that has to know for now. That'll keep things quiet from the public, at least for a little while longer.”

“Good idea. With any luck, we keep this under the radar until the Orb is history.”

Cissy wraps her arm around my shoulder. “Besides, Walker's brilliant. If anyone can find the Orb quickly, he can.” She points towards the door. “Plus, your old station wagon's already waiting outside.”

“Betsy?”

“None other.”

What a great idea for Cissy to drop off my old wagon. Betsy's such a piece of crap; no one would suspect the Great Scala would tool around in it. I drive her when I want to go incognito.

“Come on, quasi girl,” says Cissy. “I know you've been fixing Ghost Tower emergencies all day. Go kill stuff. You'll feel better.”

“Thanks.” I grin from ear to ear. “You know what? I definitely will.”

I pace the dusty floor of an abandoned auto plant in Middle Purgatory. Lincoln's note was most specific. Any second now, he'll show up so we can kill us a Durus demon, a metal-loving monster that I've never had the fun of skewering before. Nice. After the unpleasantness with Adair at the Ghost Tower, I could sure use the break.

I scan the dimly-lit factory, my senses on high alert for any sign of the Durus. All I find is a huge building whose tiled floor is covered in a maze of winding conveyor belts. Random auto parts are stacked into towering piles. No Durus, though.

Bummer.

A strange noise sounds a few feet behind me: a low half-cough.

Spinning about, I find a familiar outline waiting for me in the shadows. Someone tall with broad shoulders, military bearing, and a mop of loose brown hair. His black body armor has the Rixa eagle crest emblazoned on his chest. Even in the pale light, I can see his mismatched irises: one's wheat brown, while the other's slate-gray. Joy bubbles through my chest.

Rushing over, I wrap my arms around Lincoln's neck, my tail swaying contentedly behind me. He tightens our embrace, his body feeling all warm and firm against mine. I inhale a long breath, catching his yummy scent of forest pine and leather. A deep part of me, some place that always feels lost and empty without him, starts to overflow with his touch and love. I nuzzle my head into his shoulder. “Lincoln.”

“Hello, Myla.” Lincoln leans back and eyes me from head to toe. The intensity of his gaze makes me suddenly self-conscious of how I look in my Scala robes. Curvy figure, full mouth, bright blue eyes and long auburn hair that hangs in waves down my back. He pulls me close once again. “You look lovely.”

“You're not so bad yourself.” I am a big fan of his black body armor. Yum.

Lincoln rests his left hand against my cheek, his thumb brushing my skin in gentle arcs. “It's been too long.”

“Another busy week for both of us.”

I rule the quasi-demons of Purgatory while Lincoln does the same with the thrax of Antrum. Our two realms could literally not be father apart, or more complex to manage. We're lucky if we catch each other for an hour or two each week. And if Walker says he won't schlep us around anymore with his secret ghoul portals, we won't even have that. Today's a rare occurrence, an official visit from Antrum using transfer stations. Normally, it takes days to get all the paperwork and approvals, even for royalty. Demon-related stuff gets special treatment.

“I missed you, too.” I slowly raise my mouth to his. Lincoln's lips are soft and warm. My body goes tingly all over. I feel like someone who hasn't breathed easy in ages and then, inhales pure oxygen.

Lincoln presses his forehead to mine. “What's going on? Cissy's message said it was urgent.”

There's a lot to tell, but I'll hit the most important topic first. “Remember how I thought Walker had almost found Lucifer's Orb?”

“I remember. Wasn't he digging up a crypt last week?”

“Yup.”

Lucifer was the King of the Angels; he even outranked Dad. Then, the guy went nuts and got imprisoned. His Crown holds angelic magic, while his Orb contains demonic power. Man, I want that thing out of my backyard.

I shake my head. “Walker's been tracking down leads on the Orb for months. We really thought this crypt was the end of the line. But all Walker found inside was a coffin with a riddle carved inside.”

“What did the riddle say?”

“Walker's working on it.” My voice lowers to a whisper. “I've no idea when we can restart Soul Processing. And in the meantime, the Cloud Carriers are getting more packed every day. I won't send those innocents to Hell, though. I can't.”

Lincoln examines me carefully. “There's something else bothering you, though.”

Wow. He nailed that one, for sure. Despite my worries, a warm and happy feeling rolls down to my toes. No one reads me the way Lincoln does.

“Tell me what's wrong.” His voice is low, soft and comforting.

“Adair is getting worse, too. Today, she launched an official investigation about the overcrowding in our Carriers. If Purgatory finds out those Towers could blow, my people will lose it.”

Lincoln rakes his left hand through his mop of brown hair. “This is all my fault. Adair's been asking me to play King and Queen since we were kids. I should never have even considered a marriage contract with her. Mother warned me not to, but their damned army—”

“Don't torture yourself over Adair. You were doing what you thought was best for your people.”

At the time, the House of Acca was threatening war. Marrying Adair seemed the easiest way to stop them. But once we fell in love, Lincoln called off the negotiations. Adair hasn't exactly adjusted to the new reality.

Lincoln's eyes cloud over with regret. “The minute Acca threatened war, I should've built the Alliance against them. After all, that's what finally got the Earl to back down.”

“Hey, there's more to the Adair-problem than just you. Look at Verus. She's the Queen of the Angels and a freaking oracle. You'd think she'd have known better than to give Adair a sham initiation as Scala Heir. But she did, complete with Gianna using witchcraft to create fake igni. Now, Adair is saying that the ceremony was real.”

Lincoln's quiet for a while, his eyes lost in thought. “Tell you what.” He tightens his grip around my waist. “I'm staying.”