Conrad Edison and the First Power

by John Corwin

  We discussed assassinating Xander, Grint, Quiff, and the other Victus lackeys, but they were nearly impossible to reach, surrounded by so many battle mages. If we could return with Justin Slade and an army, we could force the issue.

  Percival made a modified version of his memory potion and gave it to Cora. She remembered some things right away, but Percival warned it would take months, perhaps a year, to reconstruct all her reversed neural pathways. I was just ecstatic to know there was a chance to have the old Cora back.

  At long last, the time came to meet with the Fallen. I looked up the address on the internet and used the maps app to zoom in for an image so I could use the omniarch to open a portal there.

  Kanaan found a picture of a small cove on the beach nearby. "Open the portal there. Less chance of noms seeing it."

  The portal winked open to sugar-white sand and sapphire water. Warmth washed over us in the small omniarch room. Ambria went through first, eyes wide with joy. "How beautiful!"

  Ivy and Evadora raced through close behind and splashed into the water, heedless of wet clothes. The rest of our expeditionary group, me, Kanaan, Cora, Nightliss, and Max stepped through into the heat.

  We wore shorts and atrocious shirts with tropical fruit patterns on them to simulate what noms wore to the beach. Since there was no one in sight on the cove, I didn't know how effective our camouflage was. We still had three days to go before the alignment, but I didn't want to waste any time or risk the Fallen leaving without us.

  "Let's go," I shouted to Ivy and Evadora. "You can play in the water after we contact the Fallen."

  Dripping but deliriously happy, the pair splashed to shore.

  Kanaan inspected the portal. Since it faced the rock and not the water, it wasn't visible unless someone walked around it. "It should be safe to leave open for now, but I will close it before departing to Seraphina."

  Ambria hooked her arm in mine. "I'd love a romantic walk on the beach later."

  "Me too." It was actually the last thing on my mind. My stomach twisted in knots at the thought of going to another realm. At what we might discover there.

  We climbed up a rocky path to the road. This part of the island was meticulously manicured, the houses pristine and huge. I knew from the picture we'd seen in the maps app that the address Purah had given us belonged to a two-story house with a deck overlooking the ocean. White with light blue shutters, it was modest compared to the others along this stretch of road.

  A man with a loud machine strapped to his back blew leaves off the road while another man trimmed a hedge at the neighboring house. They paid us no mind as we turned onto the long drive.

  But the house wasn't there. All that remained was splintered wood and rubble.

  I waved down the man with the blower. He turned it off and gave me a curious look. "Yes?"

  "What happened to the house that was here?"

  "A freak tornado tore it apart a couple of weeks ago." He looked up the drive at it and shook his head. "The poor people inside were killed."

  "Killed?" I tried to wrap my head around it. "Are you certain?"

  "I don't think they ever found the bodies, but they were definitely inside." He pointed down the road. "I was working on their lawn when it happened. Most of these houses are just vacation homes for rich people, but I saw two blond women and a man with a head of poofy hair get out of a car and go inside."

  "Sounds like them," Max said.

  The man continued. "We had clear blue skies for miles. Everything went gray in an instant and a huge tornado dropped straight down on the house." He blew out his lips. "Never seen anything like it."

  The door to the neighbor's house opened and a man walked outside. He wore a white linen oxford and matching shorts. His eyes regarded us suspiciously. "Who are you?"

  "My name is Conrad. We knew the people who lived in that house."

  The man flinched and his irises paled until they looked white. "Please come inside," he said in a stiff voice.

  Ambria and I looked at each other then over to Max.

  Kanaan followed the man up the driveway without a word. We followed them inside and stood in a wide tile foyer. A tiny dog yipped and ran into the room.

  "How cute!" Evadora yipped back and picked up the dog. "Lulu doesn't like the food you feed her."

  The man turned stiffly. "This is Purah. I have implanted a message into this man's mind for Conrad. We investigated the relic collector while we waited for the next alignment with Voltis. This drew the attention of the Apocryphan to us and this island. Despite our powers, we are in mortal danger. He is too powerful even for us. We will leave here and find a place to hide until the alignment is upon us."

  "Did you fake your deaths?" I asked.

  The man ignored the question and continued speaking. "Take the boat, Angel Wings, from the boathouse behind this residence. The keys and directions to Voltis are inside. We have also left a Chalon and instructions for opening a portal in case we are unable to meet you there. Go now and do not linger on the island, lest you draw the attention of the Apocryphan to you." The man slumped, as if puppet strings had gone slack and walked over to the divan. He lay down and peacefully went to sleep.

  Once again, things were not going to plan.

  Chapter 36

  "I really should leave him a note about Lulu's food," Evadora said. "She absolutely despises it."

  "We need to go." Kanaan sounded anxious and that set the rest of us on edge.

  "Um, then let's go." Max ran through the house to the back door where a winding sidewalk led to a pier.

  The boathouse stood two stories tall and with good reason. Angel Wings was a double-decker yacht nearly as large as the house we'd lived in at the corner of Dowling and Bucket in Queens Gate. Long and sleek, it looked like a toy for the super-rich, and the Fallen had left it at their neighbor's dock for us as if it was nothing.

  "Whoa, this thing is huge!" Max stepped off the pier and onto the back deck of the boat. The rest of us piled onboard and inside. A staircase took us to the top deck and the bridge. We found the promised directions and instructions in a compartment next to the captain's chair. Beneath them was a cube of clear crystal. In the center was a small black orb etched with lines.

  "How curious." Nightliss took the crystal. "There's a Chalon in the center of this gem."

  "That's a crystal, not a gem," Max said.

  Nightliss turned it over in her hands. "In Seraphina, there are storms so intense, the pressure solidifies the aether into gems."

  "Whoa, really?" Max reached out tentatively and touched it. "I didn't even know that was possible."

  Nightliss's gaze went distant. "Aether is so abundant on Seraphina, that my home city of Tarissa literally floats on a cloud of magic."

  "Ooh, sounds beautiful." Evadora danced in place. "I can't wait to see it."

  "Do you know how to use this gem?" I asked.

  "As far as I know, the only way to use a Chalon to activate an Alabaster Arch is to sing it into alignment." Nightliss shook her head slowly. "Justin's mother, Alysea, was the only person I know capable of that."

  Ambria groaned. "If we have to sing to it, we're doomed."

  "I can't sing as good as my mom," Ivy said. "What do the instructions say?"

  Kanaan looked at the letter and summarized. "The Fallen call the Chalon gem a volon since it only opens portals through Voltis. A Seraphim must channel through the gem to generate the power for a portal." He handed the instructions to Nightliss and climbed into the captain's chair. "There is plenty of time to read while we travel to Kratos."

  He zapped a crystal on the console with his wand and the electronics on the control console came to life. A large touchscreen with a map allowed us to input the destination, and the boat pulled out of the dock of its own accord and started us on the twenty-hour journey.

  "Is this boat built with arcnology?" I asked.

  Kanaan nodded. "Ironically, it was built by Xander Tiberius's company."

  "Wha
t?" I couldn't contain my surprise and turned to Max. "Your father owns a ship building company?"

  Max looked down. "Arc Corp doesn't just build ships. They make flying carpets, air ships, rocket sticks, and everything in between. His company manufactured hundreds of killer robots for Victus back before he became Overlord."

  "You never told us any of this before," Ambria said in an accusing voice. "Why not?"

  "Because I hate talking about my family." Max slumped. "Why do you think I never took you to meet them after all this time?"

  I patted his back. "I understand Max." I offered him a smile. "Hey, at least the boat is really cool."

  Max looked up at me. "Yeah, it is pretty nice."

  Ambria sighed. "I understand too, Max. It just seems like a really big thing to not mention."

  "It is another reason why removing Xander as Arcanus Primus will be difficult," Kanaan said.

  "Maybe we should've taken our monster army to take him down," Max said.

  Cora shook her head. "If a foreign power invaded Queens Gate, we would be looked upon as the aggressors, not the saviors. Besides, it takes tremendous effort to control so many creatures who are not of my world. The only reason we had such success is because I literally pointed them at the enemy and unleashed them. If we had other allies fighting beside us, the insects might have attacked them as well."

  "Don't worry," Ivy said. "We'll get my big brother and his army and kick Xander's sorry ass when we get back."

  "Victus is dead. His army is wiped out." I leaned back into a chair. "Xander can't make things much worse by himself."

  "I'd be surprised if he doesn't step down out of fear," Ambria said. "He can't have much support left."

  "Xander has always craved power," Kanaan said. "Now that he has it, he will cling to it as tightly as possible."

  Max looked down, as if ashamed. "I'm afraid you're right."

  By late afternoon the next day, we reached our destination.

  The island of Kratos was little more than a hill with a patch of sand and a few palm trees. We anchored offshore and counted down the hours to the alignment. It happened in the early hours of the following morning. A dense fog rose from the water around the island, covering the land, but going no further. Lightning raced up and down the fog, drawing angry hisses when it hit the water.

  Kanaan eased the boat up to the edge of the magical storm and put down the anchor again. Nightliss walked to the prow and channeled through the crystal cube. The lines of the Chalon glowed white. Beams of light projected from the other side of the cube and into the fog.

  Nightliss focused on an image Purah had left with the instructions. A portal split open. On the other side, a black rock towered above an alien ocean. Beyond it rose an immense gray wall of thunderclouds and lightning. It was Voltis proper, unlike this tiny representation of it here in Eden.

  Everyone exchanged frightened looks, but Kanaan steered us through the portal before anyone could voice concern.

  Violent waves caught the boat and tossed us toward the huge black rock. Kanaan flicked through an option screen on the control console. Angel Wings rose from the water and a shield flickered on to protect us from lashing rain and wind.

  Nightliss looked up the endless wall of writhing gray, mouth agape. "Am I supposed to create a portal through that massive storm?"

  Kanaan nodded grimly. "Purah's instructions say this boat has handled the journey many times."

  "Let's hope she's right," Ambria said.

  Kanaan eased Angel Wings closer to the towering storm. Despite the gale force winds, sleet, and balls of hail as large as my head, the boat remained unscathed, thanks to the shield. When we were a few yards from the storm wall, Nightliss went to the prow and channeled through the cube again, focusing on the picture of a blue tree in a field of bright yellow grass.

  "Where is that?" Max asked.

  "We shall soon find out," Nightliss said as the portal flickered open, a portrait of calm in the raging storm.

  The ship flew through and landed on a tiny island. But it was no ordinary island. Just like the fragments of land in the Glimmer, this island floated in a sea of clouds, far above the ocean below. Dozens of the floating islands spread into the distance.

  Ambria gaped and pointed toward one of the larger chunks of land. Crystal ships of all hues and organic curves hovered in the air around the island. People seemed to be loading the ships. In fact, it almost looked as if everyone on the island was running to the ships.

  Far in the distance, black clouds gathered on the horizon. I wondered if it was another storm, or something more ominous.

  Nightliss continued to channel into the crystal cube to keep the portal open. "Perhaps we can negotiate with the Mzodi to take us to Pjurna since their ships are much faster than this one. It is likely Justin is with my people." She released the channel and the portal winked away.

  Cora gasped. "Mzodi. Evadora." She looked at me. "I remember these ships. I used to have one named after my daughter. Perhaps they'll remember me."

  "I hope so," Nightliss said. "The Mzodi can be difficult to negotiate with."

  "Flying ships, floating islands." Max blew out a breath. "I can't wait to see what else Seraphina has."

  Ambria turned to me and graced me with a beautiful smile. "We're actually here in another realm. Can you believe it?"

  "Barely," I admitted.

  "I can't wait to see my brother," Ivy said. "Oh, I hope he's okay."

  "Justin Slade is good at surviving," Kanaan said. "I believe he is."

  Cora took my hand. "This brings back so much, Conrad. I remember taking you onto my ship. I remember seeing Justin there."

  Ambria leaned her head on my shoulder. "It sounds like we have a lot to discover."

  My heart swelled with hope. We had finally reached Seraphina. We'd finished one journey and started another. I pointed to the graceful flying ships in the distance. "Let's go find the heroes of Eden and bring them home."

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  Copyright © 2018 by John Corwin.

  ISBN- 978-1-942453-11-6

  All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

  The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

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  About the Author

  John Corwin is the bestselling author of the Overworld Chronicles. He enjoys long walks on the beach and is a firm believer in puppies and kittens.

  After years of getting into trouble thanks to his overactive imagination, John abandoned his male modeling career to write books.

  He resides in Atlanta.

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  Books by John Cor
win

  THE OVERWORLD CHRONICLES

  Sweet Blood of Mine

  Dark Light of Mine

  Fallen Angel of Mine

  Dread Nemesis of Mine

  Twisted Sister of Mine

  Dearest Mother of Mine

  Infernal Father of Mine

  Sinister Seraphim of Mine

  Wicked War of Mine

  Dire Destiny of Ours

  Aetherial Annihilation

  Baleful Betrayal

  Ominous Odyssey

  Insidious Insurrection

  Assignment Zero (An Elyssa Short Story)

  OVERWORLD UNDERGROUND

  Possessed By You

  Demonicus

  OVERWORLD ARCANUM

  Conrad Edison and the Living Curse

  Conrad Edison and the Anchored World

  Conrad Edison and the Broken Relic

  Conrad Edison and the Infernal Design

  Conrad Edison and the First Power

  STAND ALONE NOVELS

  Mars Rising

  No Darker Fate

  The Next Thing I Knew

  Outsourced

  For the latest on new releases, free ebooks, and more, join John Corwin's Newsletter at www.johncorwin.net!