Sinister Seraphim of Mine (Overworld Chronicles Book 8) (24 page)

Elyssa and I returned to the mansion cellar and went upstairs. Shelton had cleared a lamp and other decorative trinkets from a table in the parlor and now had the badge charm on it.

"Can't you make a mess in the war room instead of out here?" Elyssa crossed her arms and glared at him. "Bella and I spent a lot of time making the parlor look nice."

Shelton grunted and looked up. "This thing is a modified magic poisoning charm." He motioned me closer. "It filters—"

"I know how it works," I said. "Jeremiah told me."

"Why in the hell are you letting me waste my time, then?" He blew out a disgusted breath. "If you intended to let—"

I put up my hands. "Whoa! I'm sorry, okay? I didn't realize you'd get upset."

"I'm not upset," he said. "But I could've been doing something better with my time."

Elyssa raised an eyebrow. "Something better than saving the world?"

"Whatever." He waved his hand as if clearing smoke from the air. "Just let me have my moment of glory and explain this to you, instead of making me feel useless."

I suppressed a grin. "What is this thing, Shelton?"

"I'm glad you asked." He repeated mostly what Jeremiah had told me. "For someone who channels magic, this charm is worthless."

"Because it can't filter aether quickly enough."

"Yep." He dropped the badge on the mahogany table, scratching the surface and drawing a glare from Elyssa. He gave her a sheepish look. "Sorry. I'm sure it'll buff out." Before she could respond, he spoke. "My best guess is those enforcers are somehow poisoning the aether in the area so it sickens anyone who tries to channel with it."

"Well, don't get upset, but Jeremiah told us about the device that's causing it." I told him about Dash Armstrong's invention.

"Interesting." Shelton tapped his chin and paced back and forth a couple of times. "In other words, the interdictor is actually changing the magical polarity of aether using some sort of electrical magnetism."

I shrugged. "If you say so."

"This magic poison charm is a crappy workaround." He shot a disdainful look at the badge. "The problem is, I'm not sure how to reverse the polarity without a strong power source to send out a counter-pulse opposing the interdictor."

"Jeremiah said if I wore several of the badge charms, they might be able to filter enough aether to allow me to channel inside an interdiction zone."

He nodded. "You'd look like some kind of rapper, but yeah."

Elyssa smiled. "You could accessorize. A badge, a giant watch, maybe some gold caps for your teeth."

I crossed my arms and struck a pose. "O.G. Slade in da hizouse!"

"Maybe Daelissa will laugh herself to death," Shelton said.

"I'll challenge her to a rap-off."

"This plan is going downhill quickly." Elyssa took my hand. "Let's rest and then we can start planning your rapping career."

"My rapper name should be Unicorn Jones." I tried to make a beat-box sound but released a cloud of spit instead.

"Gross." Elyssa wrinkled her nose. "More like Donkey Jones."

Shelton barked a laugh. "Jackass Jones."

I threw up my hands in surrender. "All right, nap time." I turned to head up the stairs when Bella appeared at the balustrade, her eyes wide with distress.

"I was just watching the Overworld News and saw something dreadful," she said.

My stomach twisted. "What happened?"

"Cyphanis Rax has shut down the Obsidian Arch at the Queens Gate way station." She hurried down the stairs. "There's word his people are doing the same at the Grotto."

Chapter 22

"My father won't be able to send reinforcements from Atlanta," Elyssa said. "Even if Commander Salazar maintains control of the Obsidian Arch at La Casona, he'll still need an Obsidian Arch in friendly hands at the destination."

Shelton blew out a breath. "In other words, we have thousands of troops without a quick way to get them into Atlanta or Queens Gate."

"Anything else on the news?" I asked.

Bella took out a new arcphone Shelton had recently bought her. She fiddled with it for a moment before cursing in Spanish. "How do you watch the recordings?"

Shelton took the device from her and brought up the newscast within a couple of seconds. "It's just that easy, sweetheart."

"I will show you easy the hard way," Bella said, her violet eyes flaring with a warning signal even Shelton couldn't miss.

He backed away a couple of steps. "Whoa. No need for bloodshed." Shelton flicked the screen and projected the newscast as a three-dimensional holograph.

A pretty blonde news woman smiling wide enough to display vampire fangs watched a handsome man in teal Arcane robes as he spoke in a British accent, "The squirrel, little Jimmy, and the twenty-three people injured by the shape-shifting ritual are all expected to recover." He grinned, turned to the woman.

"Sounds like little Jimmy went nuts for squirrels, Dennis." She laughed.

Dennis guffawed. "Indeed he did, Darcy. Here's hoping everyone involved will come out of this bright-eyed and bushy-tailed."

Darcy's laughter trailed off as she turned to face the camera, her vampiric red eyes glowing. "The blood drive for homeless vampires hit a new milestone today as hundreds of noms lined up outside one of the Red Syndicate's mobile clinics to donate blood."

The scene switched to a busy parking lot with people waiting in line. Two voluptuous women in skimpy outfits held up signs which said, "Help the homeless. Give blood!"

It was evident from the vacant stares of the noms in line the women were using some form of vampiric compulsion on them.

"I like giving blood real good," said a man in a sleeveless T-shirt as an interviewer stuck a microphone in his face. A string of drool dripped from the corner of the man's mouth. "I like beans 'n' grits, too."

The scene switched back to the studio and the newscasters. The Arcane newscaster smiled and said, "Looks like a
bloody
good time, Darcy." He burst into hearty laughter.

Darcy grinned, baring her fangs. "Those noms really opened up their hearts and their veins."

Dennis stopped laughing abruptly and looked to the camera with a serious expression. "In other news, Arcanus Primus, Cyphanis Rax, has temporarily taken the Obsidian Arches at Queens Gate and the Grotto offline for routine maintenance. Travelers should book alternate methods of transportation." The picture of a large council chamber with a massive round table appeared over his left shoulder. "In political news, the Overworld Conclave is one step closer to passing the Unity Amendment which will create the office of Overworld Prime Minister."

Cyphanis Rax appeared on screen in all his square-jawed hunkiness. "A Prime Minister will allow the various factions to overcome the differences that prevent us from passing meaningful legislation." He smiled, displaying pearly white teeth. "Even the obstructionist lycans should be able to agree on Unity."

The scene cut to a burly man with mutton chop sideburns and fierce green eyes. He spoke with a strong Scottish accent. "I returned to lead the lycan faction because our lily-livered politicians were going along with this farce they call Unity." The camera panned to show other men and women standing behind the speaker.

I gasped when I recognized one of the people there. "That's Ryland."

"Isn't that Stacey?" Elyssa said, pointing to the curvy blonde next to him.

An off-screen interviewer asked a question. "Mr. McCloud, do you think having a Prime Minister would solve the problem of gridlock in the Conclave?"

The lycan growled. "Unity is an excuse to give one person more power than they ought to have. The mere fact that only council members can elect the minister should raise alarms to any sane citizen."

The newscast returned to the news room. Darcy showed her fangs. "As usual, the lycans are snarling things up." She tittered with laughter.

Dennis employed his fake laugh again. "They do like to make things ruff." He turned back to the camera. "When we return, Evelyn Farnsworth speaks to us about magical beauty tips."

"And Tom Cruise talks with us about how he went from homeless vampire to famous Hollywood actor." Darcy stretched her smile even further. "We'll be right back."

Shelton stopped the playback and muttered a growl of his own. "Now I remember why I don't watch the news anymore."

"I prefer the morning talk shows myself," Bella said.

"Does Rax have full control over the Obsidian Arch network?" I asked.

Shelton shook his head. "When my father was primus, he had to shut down an arch a time or two, but the Overworld Constitution only allowed him to do it for up to seventy-two hours unless a longer outage was approved by the Conclave."

My stomach clenched. "In other words, the Arcanus Primus has the right to shut down any Obsidian Arch for up to three days?"

"He can shut down only so many arches within a certain time span or he has to ask permission from the council." Shelton took out his arcphone and tapped on it. "Ah, here it is. The Arcanus Primus can, for emergency purposes, restrict access for up to two Obsidian Arch way stations within a thirty day period. Any further action must be carried out by unanimous conclave vote."

"In other words, a single faction could veto the request," I said. I'd spoken to Ryland just before the Battle of Bellwood Quarry. "Ryland said he was trying to bring an old respected alpha back to unify the lycans because their politicians were on the verge of voting for Unity. McCloud must be the man he was talking about."

"Thank god," Elyssa said. "He might be the only person standing between Rax and his ability to restrict access to the entire Obsidian Arch network."

"This Unity Amendment sounds like a backdoor for Rax to achieve the same power," Bella said. "I would be surprised if the new prime minister didn't have the power to declare martial law."

Shelton looked up from his phone. "Any amendment to the Overworld Constitution has to be passed unanimously."

"Thank the heavens," Bella said. "Has Daelissa really gained such control over all the factions? What about the Daemos?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Who is the Daemos representative on the conclave?"

Shelton glanced down at his phone again. "It's—" He looked up. "No wonder your dad is so keen to keep Kassallandra happy."

I didn't like the tone of his voice. "Spill it, Shelton."

"The Daemos representative is Yuria Assad." He gave a dry humorless chuckle. "All Kassallandra has to do is give the word and that's one less vote Rax needs." His forehead wrinkled. "Unless…"

"Unless what?"

"A supermajority of the council can suspend the rules of voting and lower the requirements of passing an amendment." He counted on his fingers. "In other words, if Yuria joins with the vampires, the Arcanes, and the Synod, they could change the voting rules."

"The number of votes needed for an amendment aren't specified in the constitution?" I really had to familiarize myself with the stupid thing.

"Not that I can find," Shelton said.

"I think we're overlooking something," Elyssa said, a distant look in her eyes. She snapped her gaze to me. "If Rax can only use this emergency power once every thirty days, why did he choose today of all days to restrict Queens Gate and the Grotto?"

The group went silent as we contemplated the question.

"Think it has anything to do with our encounter in Queens Gate?" I asked Elyssa.

"If they recognized you, sure," she replied. "Maybe they want to prevent you from leaving Queens Gate."

"They could do that by screening everyone who leaves the pocket dimension," Bella said. "That's no reason to close an entire way station."

"Can't they close down a way station by claiming technical difficulties?" I asked. "They've done that plenty of times when they thought Gloom cracks were forming."

Shelton grunted. "Sure, they can close the Obsidian Arch, but they can't evacuate the entire way station without declaring an official emergency."

Elyssa made a thoughtful noise. "In other words, they could use this tactic to hide troop movements."

"Massive troop movements," Bella breathed.

"Maybe Queens Gate isn't empty because of the interdiction zone," I said. I looked at Shelton. "Do the Arcanes have their own army?"

"Of course," he said. "They have a small specialized military force called the Blue Cloaks. It's comprised of battle mages and full support groups like healers and engineers." His forehead wrinkled. "Queens Gate has the highest percentage of Arcanes living in it because of Arcane University and the number of military personnel."

Elyssa finished the thought. "In other words, this place is a ghost town because the troops have been secretly deployed to Atlanta."

"Why would they close the Grotto? Doesn't Thunder Rock have a functional arch now?" I asked.

She pursed her lips. "I suspect that's to prevent my father from transporting Templar reinforcements from La Casona to Atlanta."

"This must be the response to the raid on Kobol Prison." Bella looked at me. "Your father was right. Daelissa is massing her army."

"Overwhelming force." Shelton ran a hand down his face.

"It could be a good thing," Elyssa said. "It might lessen the pressure on our forces in Colombia. Commander Salazar still has La Casona, but they've had to fight off several vampire attacks to maintain control."

"Do they command the minders there?" I asked.

She made a so-so gesture with her hand. "I think they're loyal to whoever feeds them, but nobody knows for sure."

Minders looked like floating brains with tentacles and had a rather unique diet. They fed on dreams. The creatures primarily existed in the Gloom, Eden's shadow realm. When humans slept, they dreamed. Minders recreated the dreams in the Gloom, fed on them, and generated lots and lots of aether. While my father and I had been trapped there, I'd met my own Justin Minder and found out he was just about as cool as me. The minders existing in the real world, however, were different.

Every human had their own minder in the Gloom. When a human died, the minder was orphaned and would fade away unless they fed frequently on human dreams directly from the source. They made excellent guardians because they could freeze a person in place simply by touching them and placing them in a dream state.