by John Corwin
"Let me down," Elyssa groaned.
I set her gently on her feet. Her deathly pale face and the tears streaming down her cheeks told the story. "Can you walk?" I asked.
She took a few steps, nodded. "Let's go."
I remembered we didn't have time to dawdle, thanks to the soulless versions of ourselves now coming this way. Elyssa began to jog, whimpering every step of the way. Broken ribs were no fun—I knew that from experience.
"You sure you don't want me to carry you?" I asked.
She shook her head and spoke through clenched teeth. "Hurts just as much."
We made our way back to the crack leading from the reflected version of the Glimmer and into the rift. Despite the vertiginous void of space beneath our feet, we soldiered onward to the crack on the opposite side of the starry bridge and crawled through.
Elyssa was gasping by the time we emerged in the reflected version of Queens Gate. She put an arm over my shoulder. "Carry me."
I cradled her again and ran around the ruined mansion and through the dryad forest. As we emerged from the trees, two figures blocked our path, black eye sockets smoldering with darkness.
Our reflections.
Elyssa's reflection held her ribs, face contorted in a grimace. Mine limped forward, hands grasping with longing.
My good knee went weak. "The pebble, babe!"
"So below, as above," Elyssa hissed.
I ran straight for the reflections. Their lips stretched into horrific smiles as they saw their prize coming straight into their grasps. With Elyssa in my arms, I couldn't use magic, I couldn't dodge around them. Hoping my reflection couldn't instantly mirror everything I did, I waited until the last instant and then leapt as high as possible.
I sailed over my creepy doppelganger. He leapt straight up, fingers grasping, but barely missed my foot. I almost overshot my target, hitting the water only inches from the other shore. We flew back into the real world, all the momentum from my jump translating into even more air. I bent my knees on landing, trying to reduce the jolt to Elyssa.
She shrieked and slumped in my arms, mercifully passing out from the pain. I set her easily on the ground and used her phone to call for a portal. "This is a medical emergency," I told the portal coordinator. "Hurry, please!" I texted an image of the area and seconds later, a portal opened.
I sighed with relief. We'd survived the Glimmer and fulfilled our promise, but the true battle lay ahead.
While healers tended to Elyssa's wounds, I met with Thomas and debriefed him on the Glimmer.
"This Glimmer Queen sounds extremely dangerous," he said. "If she decided to launch an attack on Eden, it could be catastrophic."
"Especially if she brings those cat bats with her," I said. "It would be cat-batastrophic."
Thomas stared unblinking at me for a moment to let me know he wasn't amused. "One problem at a time."
"It seems like we have a line of bad guys waiting in the wings." I was going to list them all, but Thomas's raised eyebrow let me know he was focused on the current priority. "Is Victus bringing robots?"
"His robot crews are disassembling airships and taking them through the arch for reassembly." Thomas projected the holographic image of a weaponized airship under construction. "I anticipate we'll have at least three of them ready to go for the mission start."
"Which is?"
"The moment our troops and supplies are boarded," he replied. "The Mzodi fleet arrived a couple of hours before you returned and we've been loading them ever since."
"Kdosh must be awfully crowded right now." I imagined the island couldn't hold more than a few hundred people at a time.
"Even with the flying ships, we'll be lucky to fit everyone onboard." Thomas switched to an overhead map of the island. Curving arrows showed two courses leading to the north and south of the city. "We'll flank Cephus's fortress from both sides. Once we've secured a beachhead, Daemos forces will begin summoning demons on the other side of the barrier to throw the enemy into disarray. That should give Fjoeruss's golems enough time to do whatever it is they're supposed to do."
"I believe they're filled with Stasis."
"But you have no way of knowing for sure."
I shook my head. "If Fjoeruss says they can do the trick, I believe him."
"There's no room for mistakes," Thomas reminded me. "Our people will be most vulnerable when they're up against the shield wall. Without the golems, there is no breaking through that barrier."
I sat on the edge of the table and stared at the image of the enemy fortress. "Then we'll just have to make sure nothing goes wrong."
We left unspoken just how impossible that would be.
Elyssa greeted me with a smile when I entered the healing ward. I peeked beneath the white robes and winced at the deep purple bruises running up her left side. "Ouch."
"I don't feel the pain right now," she said in a dreamy voice. "They gave me something to drink."
"You may have to stay behind tomorrow," I said. "You need time to heal."
"No." The declaration cut through the fuzz in her voice. "I sent for Flava to accelerate my recovery."
"Alrighty, then." I stroked her fair cheek and kissed her forehead. "When will she be here?"
"Soon." Elyssa yawned. "How many plans did it take for us to get out of the Glimmer?"
"I think Plan E was the last one." I counted on my fingers. "Five plans."
"What about the plan to leap over our reflections?"
I grinned. "Fine, six plans."
Elyssa clasped my hand and held it to her cheek. "How are the battle plans for tomorrow?"
"Finalized." I gave her the short version.
"Sounds like my father used the attack pattern I recommended."
"He used almost everything you recommended." I kissed her forehead. "How does it feel to be the favorite child?"
"Hah." Elyssa's eyelids drooped. "That would be Michael."
"Not anymore." I watched her until she drifted to sleep then leaned back in the chair and waited for Flava to come.
I blinked awake and saw Flava covering Elyssa with the robe. She looked over at me. "You looked so peaceful, I didn't want to disturb you."
I wiped the gunk from my eyes. "How is she?"
"Healed enough to throw herself into harm's way again." Flava turned in her chair to face me. "You went to Cora's realm?"
"The Glimmer." My mouth felt dry as cotton so I found a pitcher of water and poured myself a glass. "I had to deliver a gift to her daughter."
Flava pursed her lips. "To atone for breaking a promise to her."
"Technically, I didn't break my promise, but yeah, I should've kept my big mouth shut." I took a swig of water and felt relief melt into my parched throat. "I guess it gives you one more thing to bust my balls about."
Flava looked puzzled. "Why should I wish to destroy your genitalia?"
"You're mad about me not coming with the army to Tarissa in the first place. You blame me for the destruction of the legion." I resisted the urge to slam the glass down on the night stand. "I did this for Cora so she'd bring the sky fisher fleet to help us."
"My accusations were wrong. Commander Borathen told me many things I did not know." Flava's lip trembled. "Before our army left, the commander warned Ketiss that Cephus had long planned the sequence of events leading to the murders of the other Trivectus leaders." Her eyes focused on the past. "He told Ketiss that assaulting the stronghold before we'd had time to recover from the war and assess the situation would be a mistake."
"Ketiss didn't tell you any of this?" I asked.
She shook her head. "Ketiss simply told me he believed a quick offensive was necessary and that we would free Tarissa before the forces of Eden arrived." Flava reached a tentative hand and touched my arm. "If we had but waited, the legion might still be alive."
I shook my head and looked away. "I wasn't there for the Darklings. I ran away from war, from responsibility."
"But you came back when you were needed."
I blew out a derisive laugh. "I came back after a crystoid nearly leveled the island I was vacationing on."
"You returned and you destroyed the crystal menace." Flava's hand tightened on my arm. "You returned to Seraphina and you will once again lead us to victory." She smiled. "Don't you see, Justin? You are always there for people when they need you most. You are here for us now."
Her logic held a certain amount of appeal. True, I'd put my head under the covers and hoped someone else could clean up the mess before I had to pull back on my combat boots and go fight the Seraphim. The question remaining in my head was, would I have returned to Seraphina to unify the Seraphim if the crystoid incident hadn't happened, or would I have been content to procrastinate for a few centuries?
It was a question I couldn't answer. Things being the way they were, I guessed it didn't really mater.
"Cephus wanted to cripple us, to keep us out of Seraphina," I said. "His attacks have directly contributed to our return." I put a hand over Flava's. "I just want peace, but the bad guys won't give me a break."
She smiled. "Then we will have to break the bad guys, Justin."
I couldn't have put it better myself.
I carried Elyssa home and tucked her into bed, then curled up next to her, glad to finally get some rest. For the first time in weeks I didn't dream about Nightliss's final words to me, I didn't replay the horrors of war over and over in an endless nightmare. What Flava told me must have connected with the part of me that felt such awful guilt.
Because I slept like a baby.
Breakfast the next morning was a big affair. Shelton and Bella returned early in the morning from their short honeymoon and whipped up pancakes, bacon, freshly squeezed OJ, scrambled eggs, and mimosas.
Meghan, Adam, Stacey and Ryland joined the four of us and we enjoyed each other's company despite the battle looming ahead.
"Ever notice how Shelton conveniently leaves out the part where Justin threw him in a dumpster?" Adam said as we relived some early adventures. "He always skips to the part where the vampires attack."
Shelton polished off another piece of bacon and shrugged. "It's not something I enjoy remembering."
"I don't think you actually remember it." Bella giggled. "Probably because Justin knocked you out."
"Justin was so sweet and innocent back then," Elyssa said with a sigh. "Now he's all growed up."
I groaned. "Can we talk about something that doesn't involve me throwing Shelton in a dumpster?"
"But it's my favorite story," Adam said.
Cutsauce yipped at Shelton as he grabbed another piece of bacon. Shelton held the treat out and laughed as the tiny dog tried unsuccessfully to jump high enough to reach it. Adam flicked his wand and knocked the bacon out of Shelton's hand with a spell.
"No torturing the pup," Adam said.
I got up and rubbed my hands together. "It's time we reported to our duty stations."
"Aww," everyone chorused, but they finished off their food and began cleaning up.
I hugged Stacey goodbye and shook Ryland's hand.
"I do so wish we could go," Stacey said. "I could get a babysitter for the little ones."
"While you go off to fight a war?" Meghan set her arms akimbo. "That's awful! What if you died?"
Ryland wrapped an arm around Stacey. "Maybe I ought to tie her up just in case."
Stacey smiled suggestively. "That sounds deliciously fun, my dear."
Meghan's face turned bright red. She grabbed a couple of plates and vanished into the kitchen.
Before long, we were ready to go and went to the mansion's omniarch. I opened a portal directly to the Three Sisters where the rest of the army filtered through the Alabaster Arch. My stomach tightened with apprehension.
The countdown to invasion had begun.
Chapter 30
Elyssa and I spotted my parents and walked over to them while Shelton and the others joined the Arcane forces rallying near the front of the control room.
"Where's Ivy?" I asked.
"Yuuki asked us to help House Wakahisa hunt down a gang of rogue vampires who have been kidnapping Daemos in an attempt to duplicate the blood serum made by Maximus." Dad cast an uneasy glance at Mom. "Ivy developed a crush—"
"On a young incubus," Mom finished. "Your father decided it was okay for Ivy to remain behind and come when House Wakahisa rendezvous with the last ship out of port a few hours from now."
Dad pumped a fist threateningly. "Don't worry, I told that boy what would happen if he broke my daughter's heart."
I snorted. "Ivy would burn him to pile of ashes."
"That's more or less what I told him too." Dad grinned. "At least I never have to worry about pulling out the shotgun with my daughter."
Mom sighed. "I don't like leaving our impressionable young daughter with a pubescent incubus."
"Ivy may be thirteen," I said, "but she can take care of herself."
Elyssa grinned. "I'd be more concerned about the boy."
The group of us walked over to the Alabaster Arch. Auxiliary forces raced back and forth between the control room and Seraphina, carting supplies and siege units between realms. We stepped through the portal and onto Kdosh. A breath caught in my throat at the sight awaiting me.
"Wow." My jaw went slack.
A glossy black sky ship floated just off the skylet, ramp extended to take on passengers and equipment. Wide and flat on the bottom with bulging curves and sharp fins along the sides, it looked more like a spaceship than anything terrestrial. Pulsating gems studded the bottom and sides of the hull. Unlike Cora's ship, it had no wings to keep it aloft. Though I was no sky ship expert, it seemed likely the gems had something to do with its feat of magical levitation.
All it needs is a skull and crossbones on the side and it'd be perfect.
Three other similar ships were docked to other sides of the island, while a fleet of a dozen more of their brethren hovered several hundred yards offshore. Each one bore its name in sparkling Cyrinthian symbols engraved in the crystalline hulls. They ranged in size from that of a galleon, to the absolutely massive mother ship drifting in the center of the formation.
I shivered. "That thing's the size of an aircraft carrier."
Elyssa wiped the side of my mouth. "Stop drooling, babe."
"This is gonna be the coolest invasion ever."
"Holy Hairy, mother of Bigfoot." Shelton came up beside me and took off his wide-brimmed hat in a moment of sacred reverence.
Adam grabbed his friend by the arm as a column of other Arcanes marched past. "Dude, you're not supposed to break formation."
"I'm a freelancer, not an enlisted man." Shelton tugged his arm away. "Can't a man get a moment to appreciate a freaking fleet of flying ships?"
"They are pretty cool." Adam gazed upon them adoringly.
Bella broke formation and stood beside her new husband. "I'll bet the view is even better from the ship."
Shelton slapped his hat back on his head. "Hell yeah." He squeezed my shoulder. "See you guys at the war."
I clapped him on the back. "See you soon."
Elyssa and I watched as our friends boarded the ship straight ahead of us—the Pstra, if I read the Cyrinthian correctly. I felt a moment of panic, contemplating how awful it would be to lose another friend in this battle.
It's all a part of war.
I'd do whatever it took to make this battle short and victorious.
Victus stepped up to my side. "Quite a fleet."
"Pretty amazing," I replied. I glanced over where robots worked efficiently reconstructing the nacelles of three airships. "How long will they take to finish?"
"Maybe thirty minutes," Victus said. He motioned toward three containers the size of train boxcars. "Each of those is filled with battle bots. Once the airships are ready to fly, they'll carry the cargo into the city."
The containers sparkled in the sunlight. "Are those made of diamond fiber?"
He nodded. "Impossible to destroy.
When the airships set them down, both ends will open so bots can deploy from both sides, using the container as a shield from magical attacks."
"Nice." I didn't much care for Victus, but at least he had both feet in the war.
"Good luck, Justin. Delectra and I will be on an airship." In place of his typical plastic smiles was something far more genuine. "I think celebrations will be in order at the end of today."
"You're really that confident?" Elyssa asked.
Victus looked at her and joy radiated from his face. "Oh, yes. By the end of today, I think it'll be clear sailing from here on out." He shook my hand warmly, his grip lingering as if savoring the moment.
"Wish I could be so confident," I said, a bit puzzled by his behavior. "Good luck, and stay safe."
"I certainly will." Victus turned and walked toward the airships, a skip in his step.
"That was really weird," Elyssa said. "He must be on drugs."
I snorted. "Or maybe he's looking forward to finishing this as much as I am." I took Elyssa's hand and we headed toward the Evadora. Cora met us with an expectant look when we reached the top deck.
"Evadora has the bottle," I told her.
A tear sparkled in the corner of her eye. "Did she use it?"
"She tried a yellow one," I said. "Happiness, if I had to guess. When we left, she was skipping around."
Cora wiped her eyes. "Thank you, Justin."
Elyssa cut straight to the chase. "The queen tried to kill us. She had the path warded to alert her if anyone went to the Soul Tree."
"My blessing should have protected you," Cora said.
I shook my head. "Not from the venom in those vines."
"She must have thought I would try to sneak back in," Cora said. "That trap was meant for me."
I wasn't sure if I should be angry or not. I didn't think Cora had intentionally sent us off to die, but she should have warned us if she suspected any traps. "If she has part of your soul, doesn't that mean she thinks like you?"
Cora paused. "In some ways, yes. In other ways, she is much different. Then again, I have been exposed to emotion and she has not."
A horn sounded from one of the other ships. "Sounds like we're ready to get underway," Elyssa said.