Sinister Seraphim of Mine (Overworld Chronicles Book 8) (20 page)

My cell phone buzzed with a text from Shelton.
I got one to open at 180 yards.

I replied,
Should be enough coverage for the mansion. We'll be back in a few.

"Wha—who—huh?" The guy on the broom looked around woozily. "Whoa, dude, where am I?"

Elyssa gave him a stern look. "First of all, I'm not a dude, dude. Second, why are you floating around asleep on a broom with nothing but your underwear on?"

He grinned as if this were his crowning achievement in life. "I know, right?"

She blinked at him a couple of times. "Was that an answer?"

"Epic party," he said, pushing himself into an upright sitting position on the broom. "We totally raided some nom restaurants so we could get ideas for the nom New Year bash. The word got out what our frat was planning and then everyone like totally showed up, and we turned it into this huge pub crawl." He jabbed a finger at his chest. "It was my idea to turn it into a toga party, but nobody had togas, so we figured underwear was just as awesome."

I face-palmed. "Oh, brother."

"Which frat are you with?" he asked me.

"We're not," I replied.

He gave Elyssa an appreciative look. "Well, you're totally hot, so you can def come. We're gonna blow this street up on NNYE. Only requirement is you gotta dress like the normals do."

I looked down at my jeans and T-shirt. "You mean like this?"

He snorted. "Nah, dude. You know how they put on those ball caps sideways and wear those baggy pants with their underwear showing?"

"Where exactly did you go to study nom attire, again?" Elyssa asked.

We never got an answer. Something else had drawn the attention of the frat boy. His wide eyes and slack jaw were a clear indication something had totally blown his mind. "Holy hotness, dude. She is so invited."

I turned around and felt my own eyes widen when I saw the fiery redhead coming our way. It was Kassallandra Assad, the Daemas my father had to marry.

Chapter 18

Before the frat boy could extend an invite for the NNYE bash to Kassallandra, Elyssa gripped the bottom of the roller broom, spun it around, and gave it a swift super-powered kick down the road in the opposite direction. The rider's cry of surprise faded into the distance.

Kassallandra rode a large flying carpet with thick red tassels at each corner fluttering in the breeze. A form-fitting red dress hugged every curve of her body until it ended at the milky white skin of her shapely calves. Loose curls of long red hair hung over either shoulder, and her piercing crimson eyes seemed to devour everything they viewed. Hands braced against hips, she looked like a queen surveying a field of ants.

Three large men in black suits flanked Kassallandra. When the lavish flying carpet drifted to the ground, they formed a triangular perimeter and paced her as she stepped onto the cobblestone road. The odor of brimstone tickled my nose, and beneath it, the alluring scent of something indescribable, as if heat had a smell. The brimstone odor obviously came from the men—hellhounds shape-shifted to look like men.

You can make them look human, but you can't get rid of the doggy stink.

As for the other scent, I figured it must be the succubus pheromones perfuming the air around Kassallandra.

The Daemas seemed to know what I was thinking as her gaze settled on me, though she said nothing about it. She turned to Elyssa. "It has been a long while since our last meeting." Her accent sounded like a mix of British and Russian. Her full red lips curled up ever so slightly into an almost-smile.

The more I thought about this situation, the more I realized the hellhounds weren't the only things around here that stunk. Why would someone in Kassallandra's high and mighty position pay a visit to little old me? Did she know my father was here? I decided to play it cool in the hopes of gleaning some useful information. "Greetings, Anae Kassallandra," I said, offering my best Daemos manners. Unfortunately, it meant I'd have to address her by her proper title.

"I have revealed myself as the Maedras of House Assad," she said with a sniff. "You will now address me thusly."

Seriously?
I felt my teeth clack together.
Screw playing it cool
. "Let's just drop the formalities and get to the real reason you're in Queens Gate."

Her eyelids flared, and her irises glowed for an instant before settling back to normal. "It is possible you might guess, young Slade."

"Kassie—I hope it's okay if I call you that—I don't feel like guessing."

Flames flickered in her eyes. "No, you may not address me by that abominable name,
boy
."

I held up my hands in surrender. "Whoa, fine. It's just your full name is such a mouthful."

"Justin," Elyssa said in a warning tone. "Be nice."

"To the woman who's forcing my dad to marry her so she can be the most popular girl in school?" I glared at Kassallandra as a dam of repression broke and flooded me with a torrent of anger, frustration, and admittedly, a few trickles of self-pity. At the same time, I realized this was not the way to handle a person whose only desire was power. To keep myself from saying anything really nasty, I bit my tongue so hard I almost drew tears.

Surprisingly, Kassallandra didn't bite my head off. Instead, she seemed to bite back remarks of her own even though her fair skin turned a light shade of red. When she spoke it was in clipped words. "I am sorry you feel that way."

I'm sorry you are that way, you demonic bimbo.
"How may I help you?" I forced a smile.
Honey attracts more flies than vinegar. Do demon spawn like honey?
I liked honey, but I also like vinegar on my spinach.

"My wedding is scheduled for Terminati Ortis, and we have yet to sign all the legal documents and magically seal our oaths." She motioned toward the house. "May we speak inside where there are few ears to hear our conversation?"

I looked around at the empty environs. My supernaturally sharp vision didn't see anything, but considering Maulin Kassus and his battle mages had once used golem rats to spy on us, Kassallandra probably had a point. "Sure."

Elyssa jogged down the road, picked up the portal-blocking statue, and caught up with us.

Kassallandra raised an eyebrow. "Decoration?"

"For the fireplace mantle," my girlfriend replied. "We just picked it up at a shop in town."

"Interesting." The slight twitch in the Daemas's upper lip seemed to indicate she thought we had awful taste, but since she wasn't the boss of us and couldn't trash-talk us until she got what she wanted, she was content to remain silent on the matter.

As we rounded the curve in the long stone-paved driveway, the mansion came into view. "Home sweet home," I said with a grand wave of my arm. The structure was two stories high and big enough to have an east and west wing. According to the historical archives, it was built to house the Arcane Council before they founded Arcane University. A small shock of realization hit me. I could ask Jeremiah, aka Ezzek Moore, all about this place and its history.

"An impressive abode." Kassallandra's tone sounded genuine. "I remember when this estate was erected. Ezzek Moore had a grand vision."

Why don't you tell him that yourself?
I led our small group inside and to the war room, shutting the door to keep out any eavesdroppers. "We can talk freely now," I said.

Cinder was apparently out and about and had put away his large collection of ASEs, so the room was clean.

Kassallandra took a seat at the end of the long rectangular table. "I will skip straight to the point. I feel your father is avoiding me despite my having made it very clear I will not risk the future of my house on uncertainty and war unless we are united in cause."

"And you want me to talk to him," I said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"If you wish to win the war against Daelissa."

It seemed obvious by her mere presence here that Kassallandra really wanted the union of Houses Assad and Slade to happen. My father had told me she wished to prove to her demon father she was the best and could accrue power to rival even him. Less clear to me was how much power she'd actually have. "How will the power be shared once you and my father are married?"

"Your father will, of course, be Paetros of both houses with the final say on all major decisions." She folded her arms.

"As simple as that?" I asked.

"Boiled down to the essentials, it is very straightforward."

I decided to ask a stupid question. "If he marries you, does he actually have to sleep with you?"

An actual smile graced her lips for a brief instant. "He must consummate the marriage, yes. If he wishes to carry on a secret dalliance with his human concubine"—her lips curled in distaste—"I will not contest it."

"Human?" Elyssa said, looking puzzled.

"How is it possible you don't know my mother isn't human?" I asked.

Kassallandra actually looked surprised. "He ran away to be with a human woman."

"Alice," I said.

She sneered. "I do not know the name."

"She also goes by Alysea," I added.

"Alysea?" The Daemas actually flinched. "I had heard she perished in the Seraphim War." She paused. "This explains why Daevadius went into hiding and why he is so reluctant to carry out his ancient promise."

"Isn't there some other way you two can share power?" I asked. "It doesn't sound like you get much out of the arrangement if my father runs the show." My statement sent a warning signal back to my brain.
There has to be something she's not telling me.
If the Paetros controlled both houses, how did that advance Kassallandra's goal of gathering more power unto herself?

"Uniting two great houses requires marriage. One cannot simply sign over the power." She sighed, as if realizing she had a losing hand in a game of Go Fish. "After the marriage consummation is witnessed, I will not oppose your father carrying on his relationship with Alysea. It is common in Daemos society for us to take on many lovers. So long as your father does not shirk his duties, I will not take issue with him keeping your mother."

The way she said it, it was as if she were allowing Dad to keep a pet gerbil. I noticed she hadn't answered my other question, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized she didn't have to. There was no Paetros of House Assad, only Kassallandra, the Maedras. That meant she ruled it completely as far as I knew. If she married my father and arranged for a convenient accident to kill him off, she would be the head honcho of two houses. An inter-dimensional war was a great way to get someone killed.

On the other hand, our side needed everyone, including House Assad. "If the marriage doesn't go through, do you still plan to defect to Daelissa?" I asked.

"I will do whatever is necessary to protect my house," she replied. "If your father cannot commit to unification, I think it obvious he will be unable to commit and execute a full-scale war."

"And if he happens to die during the war, you take over both houses, right?" I probably shouldn't have voiced my opinion, but she had to know I was suspicious.

Kassallandra raised an eyebrow. "Correct."

I waited for her to follow it up with assurances she didn't want him to die, but no such assurances were forthcoming. "What's to stop you from killing him so you can take over?"

Her eyes blazed as she rose from the table. "You think I would stoop to lowly murder? How dare you!"

Methinks the lady doth protest too much.
I was just about to add fuel to the fire when the door opened and Ivy burst inside, followed by my parents.

"There he is," Ivy said with a bright smile. "We're having a picnic."

Mom and Dad, meanwhile, stood stock still, mouths hanging slightly open as Kassallandra turned to face them.

"
Awkward
," Elyssa said in a low voice.

Dad recovered quickly and beamed a confident smile at the glowering Daemas. "Anae Kassallandra. What a pleasant surprise."

"Very pleasant," Mom said in a monotone voice.

The air in the room seemed to drop to arctic temperatures.

Kassallandra didn't even look at my mother, instead offering a curt nod to my father. "The preparations are nearly complete. The ceremony is scheduled, and the councils have drawn up and agreed to the legal documents. All that is left is for our signatures before the councils of both houses."

Dad straightened, his typical amused grin sliding into a stern countenance. "You are efficient. Perhaps we should finish this meeting in private."

"Agreed."

"Wait a minute," Ivy blared, blue eyes flaring. "This is the home wrecker?"

The room's social temperature shot from incredibly awkward to the equivalent of ripping a fart while greeting a head of state. I saw twin orbs of Brilliance form in Ivy's hands and realized things were about to get real. I raced across the room to stop her.

"You're not stealing my mom's happiness," Ivy cried and raised her arms. Time seemed to slow as I dodged around a chair to reach her in time.

Kassallandra's body guards formed a wall in front of their mistress.

Mom gripped Ivy's arms and spun her around. "Stop it this instant, young lady."

I stopped inches away from Ivy.

The threatening spheres of death vanished. "But you're so happy, Mom." Tears pooled in my sister's eyes. "Why don't we just blast her and make her people do what we want? That's what Daelissa would do."

"We're not like that," Mom said in a soothing voice. She wiped away Ivy's tears and took her by the hand. "Let's go talk while your father deals with"—she leveled an icy gaze at Kassallandra—"this." She led Ivy from the room and closed the door behind her.

I let out a long breath I hadn't realized I was holding.

Kassallandra actually looked shaken, but quickly resumed her imperious façade. "The girl needs discipline."

"She's been in Daelissa's clutches since infancy," I said. "Megalomaniacs don't make for good teachers."

"Or good rulers," Elyssa added.