by John Corwin
"Who placed them?" I asked.
"Templars," Elyssa said. "They did it during the war for obvious reasons."
"I need to check the statue." I started walking around the pedestal when Adam shouted and grabbed my arm.
"Wait!" He pulled me back. "Something's wrong with the floor."
I looked down but didn't see anything different.
Adam took out his wand and flicked it through a pattern. Soft white light shone from the tip. Dark patterns appeared on the floor where the light touched it. "A triggering ward," he said, shining the wand all across the hall. Shadowy symbols floated like dark ghosts in the air and on the walls. His nostrils flared and he spun around. "Oh, crap."
"What?" I said.
"Nobody move." Adam shined the light behind us to reveal more symbols in the air behind us and all along the walls and ceiling. Only the floor where we stood was clear of them. "We triggered the wards when we walked in here. If we try to walk through any of them, it'll probably set off the bomb."
"If I read those runes correctly, this thing is designed like a roach motel," Shelton said. "You can check in, but you can't check out."
"Yeah, it's a one-way rune," Adam said. He swept the light back and forth, revealing runes between us and the crucible, giving us no way to defuse it.
Shelton growled. "Son of a—I'm gonna kill Serena with my bare hands."
"I will gladly help," Bella said, mustering a cute scowl that wouldn't scare anyone, even though she could easily back it up with magic and enhanced dhampyr strength.
Thomas Borathen stood calmly near the back of the group, an occasional blink the only sign he hadn't gone catatonic. "Serena knew we'd all be here tonight." He stepped forward and looked at the pedestal. "Somehow she disabled the portal-blocker and received an image of this hallway so she could open a portal here."
"When was the last time anyone checked those portal-blockers?" Shelton said.
"Probably not since the war ended," Elyssa said. "There was no need, or so we thought."
"Cuckoo!" A high-pitched warble echoed through the hall.
"Where the hell did that come from?" Shelton said.
"Cuckoo!" Something fluttered down from the chandelier where the portal-blocking statue should have been and landed on the crucible. A clockwork bird, brass gears and insides visible, tilted its head and gazed at us with creepy glowing eyes.
"I think I know how she pulled it off," Shelton said in a worried voice.
The bird's metal feet tinkled on the crucible. "Cuckoo!" It tapped on the glass with its sharp beak.
Everyone, except maybe Thomas, shouted and jumped back in alarm.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Shelton said. "Death by cuckoo?"
Adam took out his arcphone and flicked through spells. "Shut up and start scanning, Harry."
"I'm on it," Shelton grumbled, taking out his own phone and scrolling through a list. "Try the rune decoder we wrote for the Darkwater job."
"Already using it," Adam said. "Try to find a backdoor in the code."
"Nothing so far," Shelton said.
"Cuckoo!" the bird struck again.
"It's striking every minute," Bella said.
"It's not hitting the glass hard enough to break it," Stacey said.
"Yeah, but after a dozen pecks in the same place, that crucible is going to crack," I said. I drew in more aether. "If it comes down to it, I might be able to shield us."
"At this range?" Elyssa said. "You barely held together a shield at the fringe of a malaether explosion, and that was with your mom helping."
"What else can I do?" I said. "I have to try something."
Bella frowned and looked at the floor. "Adam, were there any runes on the floor?"
"Maybe we can dig," I said, converting some of the built up power into destruction.
"Don't do it," Shelton said. "We're boxed in on all sides. If you breach the floor, you'll set off the ward."
"Cuckoo!" the beak pinged against the crucible. A thin crack formed in the glass.
"What if I crush the bird with Murk?" I said.
"You can't channel or cast magic through the rune," Shelton said.
Another idea hit me. "I'll summon a hellhound."
Shelton's eyes lit up. "Try it."
I reached through my demon half and found a minor demon spirit. Focusing on a section of floor behind the crucible, I imagined the hellhound emerging there. It was like ramming my head into a brick wall. Tears of pain blurred my eyes and I lost the connection.
"Dammit, she even demon warded it," Shelton said.
"Found something!" Adam said. "Looks like Serena missed something crucial in all the coding she jammed in here."
Shelton dropped to his knees next to his friend. "I see it."
"What is it?" I asked.
"Twenty-one, twenty-two," Stacey counted the seconds to the next strike.
"One of the runes is in the wrong order," Adam said. "We can exploit it to insert our own runes and break the wall."
"Try this snippet," Shelton said.
Adam took the arcphone and projected a series of runes into the shadow runes in the air. The ghostly images slid aside and made room for the new code.
"Fifty-eight, fifty-nine," Stacey continued.
"Cuckoo!" Another peck against the glass. A spider web of cracks raced along the surface.
"One more hit and we're done for," Elyssa said. She gripped me in a tight embrace and kissed me. "I love you."
"I love you too," I said, "but I'm not letting us die."
"What can I do to help?" Bella said. "Can I strengthen your shield?"
"I'm going to form a sphere," I explained. "We'll roll with the blast."
"Do you know how fast we'll travel?" Shelton said as he watched Adam push more code into the rune. "We'll fly out of here quick enough to achieve orbit."
"Escape velocity, sure," Adam said. "But we'll go the wrong direction and splat against a wall."
Thomas spoke quietly with someone on his phone. "The closest Templars are coming, but they won't make it in time."
"Why don't they open a portal here?" I asked.
"The portal blocker is back on," he replied grimly. "Serena must have reactivated it after dropping off the bomb."
"Vindictive bitch," Stacey said. "Though I suppose hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."
"I think we're way past scorned with her," I said.
Stacey looked at her arcphone and held up the timer for all to see. "Twenty seconds."
"I put Commander Salazar in command in case of my death," Thomas said.
Elyssa hugged him. "I love you, Dad."
His crystal blue eyes didn't betray a hint of fear, but they didn't mask the sadness lurking there. "I love you too, daughter."
Not long ago, he never would have uttered such words. Thomas had lightened up on his oh-so-serious ways, but the forces of darkness hadn't really given him a break to play the loving father.
"Oh crap," Adam said.
I threw up a shield as time ran out, channeling Murk into a dense dome around us.
"Cuckoo!" The bird smacked the crucible and everyone gasped.
Jagged cracks joined the ones already present, but the vessel held.
"Hurry!" Bella said.
I dropped the shield and Meghan began a new countdown on her phone.
"Almost there," Adam said. "Almost there."
"Insert the code break right there!" Shelton said.
"Where?" Adam frantically searched the smoky runes.
Shelton jabbed a finger toward a section. "Right freaking there, man!"
Adam quickly projected a new line of code from his phone. "That's it, we did it!"
The ghostly runes began to fade.
"Serena really made a rookie mistake with that one," Shelton said.
Adam whooped. "Time for her to go back to school."
"Uh, Harry?" Bella stared at the runes as they contorted into a new shape, a holographic image of Serena, blond hair
pulled back into a tight bun, a smirk on her face.
"Goodness, you really are gullible, aren't you, Harry Shelton?" Serena sighed. "Don't fret, you wouldn't have broken free anyway."
"Daelissa lost!" I shouted. "Get over it already, Serena."
The image was apparently a recording, not a live transmission, because Serena's floating head didn't acknowledge the outburst.
Adam furiously tapped on his arcphone but he looked up, face drawn with defeat. "We're done."
The countdown on Meghan's phone hit twenty seconds. I thought about what Shelton had said if I created a sphere around us, how we'd be shot like a bullet. Enclosing us in a shield probably wouldn't work, but what about enclosing the bomb? No, that would increase the explosion. Just like gunpowder encased in paper made the explosion that much bigger, wrapping the malaether bomb in Murk would only stop our destruction for an instant before the pressure burst the bubble.
But what if I did what a gun barrel did—direct the deadly force anywhere but at us? It was our only hope.
"If I channel through the barrier, it'll trigger the bomb, right?" I said.
Adam wiped sweat off his forehead. "Yes, why?"
"Wish me luck." I drew in a torrent of aether and threaded Murk and Brilliance into Stasis. Whirling my hands, I twisted the Stasis into a long funnel.
"How is Stasis supposed to stop it?" Shelton said.
"That's just the inside." I didn't have time to explain further. The next part would have to be fast. I thrust my hands forward and stretched them apart. The funnel twisted through the rune barrier and engulfed the crucible while at the same time stretching all the way up to the high ceiling. I instantly channeled a thick tube of Murk around the swirling foggy mass.
Serena's face burst into laughter and faded away. "Goodbye, little Slade."
"Cuckoo!" I couldn't see the bird since it was inside the Stasis, but the sound of shattering crucible glass echoed. A loud bang made everyone except Thomas jump with fright.
I braced for the explosion, but aside from fizzling lights, nothing happened.
"Did the Stasis neutralize it?" Shelton said.
I maintained the channeling just in case and shook my head. "I couldn't channel nearly enough Stasis to counteract a malaether bomb. It was just enough to soften the blow so the blast would travel up the barrel and through the ceiling."
Adam picked himself up off the floor and stared with confusion. "I don't get it. What happened to the boom?"
I just knew it had to be a trick. "Everyone get out of here, now."
"Wait," Thomas said. "I think I know what this is."
"Seems pretty obvious to me," Shelton said. "That crazy bitch wants us dead."
"Remove the funnel, Justin." Thomas stepped toward the area where the runes had once been.
I decided to trust his instincts and released the threads. The Murk and Stasis faded away to reveal the broken crucible and the cuckoo bird lying on the floor next to the pedestal. A rod with a stiff flag jutted from the shards. Like a fake gun with a Boom! sign sticking from it, the malaether bomb had its own message for us.
Farewell heroes of Eden.
"What the hell does that mean?" Shelton said. "She had us dead to rights."
"She didn't want to kill us," Thomas said. "She wanted to send a message."
"I don't understand the message," Bella said. "She could have killed some of our most important leaders tonight."
"True," Thomas said. "But then she would still have David Slade, Alysea, and plenty of others to worry about who would have turned their sole focus on finding her."
"Let's not forget she's just crazy," Shelton said.
"Crazy like a fox." Adam shook his head. "Why tonight instead of the wedding tomorrow?"
"She must have assumed it would be easier to crash the rehearsal dinner," Elyssa said.
"It's not like the crowd will be much bigger tomorrow," Shelton said. "Just a few extra people."
"Our security has grown lax," Thomas said. "It was a foolish oversight on our part."
"Won't happen again," Elyssa said. "I'm ordering a review of protocols."
"I still have a really bad feeling about this," I said. "Serena didn't do this for nothing."
"Agreed," Thomas said. "I'll have the mansion swept."
"Does this mean the bachelor party is cancelled?" Cinder said.
Shelton blinked and stared at the golem before bursting into laughter. "Are you kidding me? After this, I need a drink."
"I'm certain you will enjoy the mimosas tonight," Cinder replied.
Even Elyssa looked a bit disgusted by that. "Mimosas at a bachelor party?"
Bella snickered. "La vida loca."
Templars rushed into the grand hallway, swords out and raced all the way up to us. "Sir, what's the sitrep?" the first asked.
"Contained," Thomas replied. "I need this scene forensically examined, and the mansion swept from one end to the other."
"I'll debrief them," Elyssa said. She gripped my hands. "I think it's time you boys went to the bachelor party."
"We'll start our own party after Elyssa is done," Stacey said.
"I dunno," Shelton said. "I mean, we coulda been killed. Maybe—"
I still felt giddy with adrenalin and fright and wondered if maybe we shouldn't call it off.
"Nonsense!" Bella said. "Go have fun."
"What are you going to do?" he asked.
Stacey smirked. "Darling, do you really want to know?"
Shelton got a wild look in his eyes. "I know you two used to do some crazy stuff back in the day, but try to tone it down, okay?"
Stacey tilted her head back and laughed.
"We don't know how to tone it down," Elyssa said. "We're about to get cray-cray."
Adam and I snorted at the frightened expression on Shelton's face. We each grabbed an elbow and escorted him away, Cinder right behind us.
"I studied bachelorette parties in an attempt to refine the selections for your celebration," Cinder said, "but brides tend to get much wilder than the grooms."
Shelton gulped. "Wilder than strip clubs and hookers?"
"Much wilder," Cinder said. "Do not fear, Harry. I believe this will be a cray-cray time for you." He said it in such a deadpan tone it caused me and Adam to burst into fresh laughter, though we both sounded a bit hysterical from the brush with death.
"A very wild time," Adam said in a trembling voice.
My hands shook, and I felt cold. I could hardly wait to get out of there.
Chapter 24
Cinder took us back to his lab where he made us change into tight black outfits with capes that reminded me of Templar armor, except this material didn't feel like it could protect me from a toothpick. Then he brought out a pitcher of sangria and board games.
"I thought we were having mimosas," Adam said in a voice tinged with regret.
"Hopefully, sangrias will be just as enjoyable," Cinder said.
Shelton gulped down a cup. "Man, I need a stiff drink after Serena's nasty prank."
I took a sip and savored the sweet fruit-laced wine. "Wow, this is really good."
"Thank you," Cinder said, and laid out the board games on the table. "Would you prefer Chutes and Ladders, or Candyland?"
"Oh god." Shelton face-palmed. "We're really doing this aren't we?"
"Well, hey, at least it's safe." Adam twirled to flare his cape. "Nothing like playing board games after thinking you're gonna die."
"Chutes and Ladders." Shelton sounded on the verge of tears.
"Excellent," Cinder said. "For each chute you fall down, you must drink a shot."
"Of sangria?" Adam asked.
"Precisely," Cinder replied. "Who will go first?"
Shelton looked so miserable that I volunteered. "I'll go."
Cinder placed the spinner in the middle of the table. "Proceed."
"You know, there's a half-decent strip club I know of," Adam said. "Maybe after a round of this we could ditch the capes and check it out."
Shelton brightened a bit. "Yeah, that sounds like a real bachelor party."
Cinder's expression didn't change. "That will be fine after we play this game."
I flicked the spinner. It stopped at three and I moved my pawn. Adam and Cinder went, then Shelton glumly thumped the spinner to take his turn. "I'll bet the women are gonna live it up tonight."
The lights flickered and the sound of boots stomping down the corridor outside reached our ears.
"I must request that no matter what happens tonight, you abstain from using magic." Cinder handed each of us thick black rods about six inches long with runes inscribed on the end.
"What the heck are these?" Shelton asked.
Cinder gripped his rod. "Remember, no magic."
The rest of us exchanged confused expressions. A dozen men in robes raced around the corner and stopped. Holding rods like ours, they flicked them and blazing energy swords extended from the ends with a buzzing thrum.
"Holy farting fairies," Shelton whispered with excitement. "Am I dreaming?"
"By the order of the Emperor, we are here to destroy you," the leader of the group said, and charged.
Shelton flicked on his own blazing sword and shouted, "Long live the rebellion!"
Adam, Cinder, and I followed suit, and with a roar, charged the enemy. The battle was quick and furious, the enemy relentless. Though one of the attackers hit me with his light sword, it did no damage. When we struck them, they dropped like rag dolls.
After defeating the emperor's minions, we discovered a princess was in trouble and followed Cinder up a winding corridor that exited into the grass field behind Arcane University.
A ship with a large forward saucer and long nacelles waited. There was just room enough for four in the cockpit—a captain's chair, two gunner positions, and a science station. Shelton hopped in the captain's chair and we flew up toward a large black orb hovering above the Dark Forest.
A swarm of starships rose from the trees and attacked.
"Shields up, weapons online!" Shelton commanded.
"Shields at one hundred percent," Cinder said from the science station.
"Weapons ready," Adam and I said.
The first wave attacked. The ship shuddered violently with every hit.
"Lock lasers on target!" Shelton shouted. "Fire!"