Sinister Seraphim of Mine (Overworld Chronicles Book 8) (30 page)

I reeled, a little shocked by the unusual gesture on her part. "Same to you."

Elyssa settled for shaking hands and promising a sparring match should they both survive the war.

We left Fausta and headed toward the castle itself, located at the center of the large courtyard.

"Hold up, cowboy." Shelton left a circle of Templar Arcanes and headed our way, Bella right behind him.

"Man, I'm sorry, I should have checked in with you guys a long time ago," I said. Things had been so hectic, I'd forgotten to make sure everyone was accounted for.

"When I heard that explosion, I figured you must've channeled a demon volcano to wipe out the battle mages." Shelton chuckled. "From what I've heard, your little sister did the next best thing."

"Is the little dear all right?" Bella asked.

"She's resting," I said. "I heard the vampires were relentless."

"And stupid." Shelton grunted derisively. "You could tell they were cannon fodder. Makes me sick to see a slaughter like that."

"So many are just kids," Bella said eyes soft. "We had no choice. It's obvious the brood masters are using compulsion to make these new vampires so mindless in their attacks."

"Can they really do that en masse?" I asked.

"I've seen it plenty of times," Shelton said. "One vampire sires a group of newbies. Since his or her blood runs through the new guys, he can compel them to do just about anything."

"It was hard to find the sires," Bella said. "Once we zapped one, the brood would fall into full retreat."

"If this is what we have to look forward to, this war is gonna scar us permanently." Shelton sighed. "Actually, I'm plenty scarred already." He put an arm around Bella. "We're headed back to the mansion to rest."

"Tomorrow, we're going to visit Arcane University," Bella said. "We're going to speak with old acquaintances to see if we can recruit them."

"Let's hope they answer the call," I said.

Shelton and Bella headed for the domed structure where the portal back to the mansion was still open. Elyssa and I turned back toward the castle in the middle of the fortress. The stone structure looked about four stories high. Rounded turrets stood at each corner and a crenelated wall ran the length of the flat roof. A large metal portcullis was raised in the middle archway, allowing Elyssa and I to walk inside.

A hostess station and waiting area complete with red velvet benches and wooden floors greeted us. Beyond the next arched door was a square auditorium. Dozens of dining tables surrounded an oval dirt arena in the center. Judging by the props at the far back of the room, the arena could be configured for everything from jousting to sword fighting.

"This is really clever," Elyssa said. "They can practice in here all the time and everyone would just think it's for the shows they put on."

I grunted in agreement. "Templars don't really joust, though, do they?"

"Only as a hobby," she said.

A young Templar with a satchel under one arm appeared from the back of the room. He hurried toward the front.

"Can you tell us how to get to the meeting rooms?" Elyssa asked.

He looked at us for a moment before a light of recognition lit in his eyes. "Enter the back room and trace the seal on the portrait of the Knight Templar."

"Thanks." Elyssa headed toward the back. Once there, she headed toward the painting of a man in full medieval armor who appeared to be cutting the head off a demon or vampire. Using her finger she traced a shield and cross. The portrait slid up with a rumbling noise, revealing a levitator.

We stepped on. It dropped at an alarming rate for several seconds and came to a halt in a large corridor with several levitator niches on either side. One of the niches bore a plaque which said,
Conference Rooms
. We stepped on the levitator inside and touched a symbol on the wall. I felt my feet magically bond to the surface just before the platform shot to the side. The smooth tunnel wall blurred past until we reached an opening. The levitator stopped, depositing us in a hallway lined with doors.

We found my mother and Commander Taylor in the first one on the left. A thick sheaf of papers sat in the middle of the table next to a decanter of red wine. If the level of wine was any indication, they'd finished the paperwork a while ago. It had taken us nearly two hours to retrieve the interdictor, so they'd obviously hurried through the busy work.

"Is it done?" I asked.

Mom smiled. "Yes. We're just celebrating."

Commander Taylor nodded at me. "I'm afraid there's no time for a proper feast to commemorate the event due to the urgency of the situation."

Someone cleared their throat behind us. I almost karate chopped the man out of sheer reflex, thanks to the training Elyssa had given me.

Lieutenant Mogo employed quick reflexes of his own and jumped back. "Apologies for the intrusion, Commander, but I must speak to you on a matter of great importance."

"What is it?" she asked.

He looked around at us. "It is an internal matter."

"Let me guess," Taylor said. "Lieutenants Wilson, Cumming, and Albright have gone missing."

The Templar didn't look the least bit surprised. "Correct as usual, Commander. They apparently lifted some of my blood from the armor I had to remove after that bullet from the vampires wounded me. They removed the diamond fiber gag from Wilson and left by flying carpet."

"We are better off without them," Taylor said. "I only hope Commander Wilson doesn't decide to throw his lot in with Daelissa or we'll have to destroy the northern legion simply to protect our backs."

Mogo nodded. "Some are suggesting we open a dialog with the northern legion, and if they do not join us, we cut the head from the snake."

Taylor rubbed her chin, obviously considering the proposal seriously. "I will consult Commander Borathen first." She smiled at my mother. "After all, he is the Supreme Commander now."

"We should definitely work out the intentions of the northern legion," Mom said in a diplomatic tone. "I'm certain some sort of agreement can be reached."

Taylor sighed. "Bloody damned shame it's all come to this. I can't believe so many of our brethren have stayed with the Synod."

"My father was painted as a betrayer from the very beginning," Elyssa said. "The propaganda spread by the Synod has been very hard to overcome. Even so, we've had a trickle of those who've deserted the Synod once they figured out the truth for themselves."

"Our truthsayers will be here by the morning," Mom said. "It's a sad necessity, but everyone must be thoroughly vetted in light of recent assassination attempts."

"In that case, it is even better that Wilson left," Mogo said with a smile.

Taylor lifted her glass. "Here's to bloody good riddance." She clinked it against Mom's and both women drained the rest of their glasses.

I felt optimistic but skeptical at the same time. We had a new ally and a possible new enemy to face. The thought of destroying the northern legion simply because they had an idiot in charge made me ill. We couldn't afford to fight all these side battles, as today had proven. Too many lives had been lost and we were already at a numbers disadvantage.

I had a terrible feeling we were playing right into Daelissa's hands.

Chapter 28

The next morning I woke up feeling even more tired than when I'd gone to bed. The battle had drained all of us. Mom and Ivy had remained behind in Australia while Elyssa and I had taken a detour to the Church of the Divinity, aka the Exorcist Church, and taken the Gloom arch to talk to my minder.

Justin Minder had been pleased to see me and promised to send all orphaned minders our way to help guard our assets. I'd been too exhausted for chatting after that. Elyssa and I had gone home to the mansion, and slept like the dead.

We got out of bed, took a shower, and stumbled downstairs to the kitchen. Shelton and Bella were gone to the university already, according to a note left on the table.

Jeremiah emerged from the war room and dropped into a seat at the table. "Good morning." He rang a bell I hadn't seen before.

A bipedal golem made of wood and dressed like a housemaid emerged from the kitchen bearing a large bowl of grits and a plate piled with eggs and bacon. "Anything else, sir?" it asked in a British accent.

"That will be all." Jeremiah grabbed an empty plate and began serving himself.

"Is that a cook golem?" I asked.

He nodded. "There's a storage room next to the wine cellar where all the house golems were stored. I reactivated the staff."

"So I don't have to make up the bed anymore?" I asked.

Elyssa sighed. "Lazy." She grabbed a plate and served herself some bacon and eggs.

I followed her example.

We ate in silence for several minutes before Jeremiah spoke. "We have one functioning aether pod we're testing with a husk right now."

"Already?" I hadn't expected one so soon.

"The trolls came while you were away and supplied us with the necessary metals." He took a sip of coffee. "Grundwig has agreed to help you infiltrate Kobol Prison so you can disable the portal-blocking statues."

"He's a troll?" I asked.

"She is." Jeremiah took a bite of bacon and exhibited good manners by chewing with his mouth closed until he swallowed before speaking again. "Have you planned out the operation?"

Not at all.
"More or less. Elyssa and I will follow the troll underground and come up inside the prison near the east stairwell. We'll sneak to the roof and deactivate the first statue while Grundwig digs a tunnel to the west stairwell. Repeat the same process for the other statue, then we'll have Shelton open a portal to confirm we were successful. Next, we'll infiltrate the husk warehouse and take pictures of the best entry point for the portal. Once we can open a portal, we can transport the husks right out from under their noses."

"A sound plan." The old Arcane ate a spoonful of grits and washed it down with coffee. "Daelissa will have aerial surveillance and guards on the roof."

I spoke with my mouth full. "We'll have camouflage armor."

"When do you plan to embark on your assault?"

Elyssa and I looked at each other. I hadn't really pegged a specific date. We didn't have time to waste. Every day, Daelissa was churning out more and more cupids. "When is Grundwig ready?"

"She remained in the cavern at El Dorado to await my word on the matter." He patted a napkin to his lips.

"Could we do it today?" I asked Elyssa.

She nodded. "I already have camouflage armor. If the troll can get us in, getting to the roof shouldn't be an issue." She consulted a diagram of the prison on her phone and marked two spots with red Xs. "These are the stairwells she needs to tunnel beneath. We'll use camouflage to reach the two statues, snag them, and head back downstairs. Once we find an isolated area, we play the deactivation sequence at a low volume to avoid drawing attention. Then we have someone perform a portal test."

"Planned like a Templar," Jeremiah said, a note of appreciation evident in his voice. "I will fetch Grundwig and return through the portal before lunch. I suggest you plan your operation for night."

"I doubt the cover of night will help us much," I said.

He shook his head. "No, but it will clear the building of sleeping vampires and other nocturnal creatures in Daelissa's employ."

The old man was right, but I didn't feel like giving him credit and opted to shove a slice of bacon into my mouth instead.

"Alysea told me about the attack in Australia," Jeremiah said. "She also mentioned the powerful crucible Ivy destroyed."

"It was filled with malaether," Elyssa said. "The blast could have levelled the castle."

"The weapon design is very clever." Jeremiah pressed a fist to his chin. "I believe I could replicate it."

"We had a long conversation about weapons of mass destruction yesterday," I said. "We don't want to wipe out the world we're fighting to save."

The Arcane turned his gaze to me. "What if we could end the war in one swift stroke instead of prolonging it?" He paused, regarding each of us in turn. "One or two of those malaether crucibles within Kobol Prison would be sufficient to wipe out most of Daelissa's army."

I opened my mouth to protest, but damn it, he had a really good idea. "I think whoever made the weapon created it using the aether pods."

"Exactly what I thought," he said. "If there is no husk inside the pod to absorb the aether, it grows to a lethal concentration, much like what happened during the Chalon's long confinement to an infinite arch loop."

"Chalon?" Elyssa asked.

"The real name for the Cyrinthian Rune," I told her. "Jeremiah told me all about it." I described the engravings on it and how they matched up with the various realms and how it was also a relic of Juranthemon.

She raised an eyebrow. "Why didn't you tell me this sooner?"

I offered a sheepish grin. "Guess I got a little sidetracked."

"Let us return to the matter at hand," Jeremiah said. "By my estimates, it would take at least a day to fill a crucible with enough concentrated energy to destroy the prison."

"My god." Elyssa's forehead pinched. "They can churn out one super bomb for every aether pod they have every day?"

"Doubtful," Jeremiah said. "I found flaws in Kassus's original design and tripled the efficiency, though I did not tell him I had done so."

"Hmm." Elyssa pursed her lips. "It would take them three days to make a super bomb?"

He waggled his hand. "Three days to a week. It would be safer to assume the worst." He leaned back in his chair. "On the other hand, it is unlikely Daelissa would want to waste production capacity toward making these bombs. As you can imagine, one Brightling is worth far more than even a dozen of these crucibles."

"Couldn't they just make more aether pods?" I asked.

"They could, but it would mean sacrificing the effectiveness of the pods." He took out his wand and flicked it against the table. An old parchment map appeared on the table. He slid the breakfast foods across the large table and unfurled the map in the free space.