Dearest Mother of Mine (Overworld Chronicles)

by John Corwin

  That sent a shock of apprehension through me. "Did he see you?"

  "I don't think so," Shelton said, rubbing his jaw. "Adam and I were behind the column when he appeared, and he was focused on you when I attacked with the meteor."

  "It's not like they know our names then," I said. "Not a lot of people know about us being here."

  "Lornicus sure did," Adam said. "If he does, who else might?"

  "I'll put up some ASE sentries," Elyssa said, rummaging through her duffel bag. "I have access to a number of other defensive devices that should be helpful."

  "I've had a lot of practice at hiding," Adam said. "I'll put down some diversion wards around the perimeter. Unless they know for sure we're here, those ought to fend off anyone cruising the area."

  "Let's not forget we have an arch that can take us anywhere and an underground tunnel to the school," Elyssa said. "We don't have to use the front door all the time."

  "Excellent point," Adam said, grabbing his staff. "I'll get started with warding."

  "Me too," Elyssa said, following him out.

  Shelton gave me a knowing look. "How do you do it?" he asked.

  My eyebrows pinched. "Do what?"

  "Take us from zero to 'we're all gonna die' in less than a week?"

  I sighed. "I dunno. Practice, I guess." My phone chimed with an unknown number. I excused myself and walked into another room to take it. My heart constricted with dread. Had Kassus already found me? Should I answer? Hoping for once it might actually be a telemarketer, I answered.

  "Hello, Mr. Slade," said the nasal voice of Lornicus. "I hope you found the visit to El Dorado worth the effort."

  "What makes you think I went?" I asked.

  "Your desire to save your mother and simply curiosity." He paused. "Did you find the trip enlightening?"

  The golem sounded awfully sure of himself. Was he going entirely off calculations about my personality, or did he have another means of knowing I'd been? He'd also couched his words in generalities. I had to assume he didn't know anything and try to give away nothing.

  "Why did you want me to go in the first place?" I asked, deciding to neither confirm nor deny his allegations.

  "You saw them, didn't you?" he replied, seeming to ignore my statement.

  "What, the stress pimples on my nose?" I asked. "I get those when an army of gray men chases me from my own house."

  The golem sighed. "You're being obstinate."

  "You're manipulating me, and I'm not falling for it," I said, feeling a tiny bit smug.

  "Of course I am," he said. "But it is for your benefit and the greater good."

  His admission caught me off guard. "Then you'll understand if I don't tell you anything. For all I know, you're waiting for me to give something away."

  "Understandable. Very well, I will give you information in return."

  "The location of my mother?"

  "Unfortunately, I still do not possess such information." The golem cleared his throat. "This information is, nonetheless, quite valuable." He seemed to pause for dramatic effect. "My master has created other golems who look as alive as I do. They blend into crowds and spy for him. This was how I found your residence."

  A wave of cold shivered down my spine. "Are they as convincing as you?" I asked.

  "They do not have personalities, no," he said. "They can talk and mimic very specific behaviors, if necessary, but they are nothing like me. I feel this information is quite valuable, Mr. Slade. Do you agree?"

  Valuable? It was crushing. If Mr. Gray really had such lifelike spies everywhere, how could I trust anyone? Lornicus was right, though. He'd just given me a very valuable bit of intel. Now I knew, and knowing was half the battle.

  "What do you want to know?" I asked.

  "What did you see in the El Dorado way station?"

  He asked it as if he didn't know. Then again, he could be testing me to see if I'd play tit-for-tat on the information sharing game. But if he didn't know about the baby angels, sharing what I knew could be very dangerous. If Mr. Gray found out his kin were being resurrected by leyworms, what would he do? Kill potential rivals before they grew up, or raise his own Seraphim army?

  "If you're wondering, Mr. Slade, I already know about the infant Seraphim, and can understand why you would hesitate to enlighten me."

  "Then what possible use could you have for any information I give you?" I asked. "If you know, that makes it worthless."

  Lornicus chuckled. "Despite my knowledge of what lies beneath the city, I do not know the particulars. Please enlighten me."

  I realized I already had. Now he knew I'd been there. He knew I'd seen the babies. Man, I suck at intrigue. "There are about a dozen babies," I said. "The leyworms eat the cherubs and spit out resurrected angels."

  "Anything else of note?" he asked.

  "There was a dead leyworm," I said. "I think it swallowed too many cherubs. The overload killed it, and the reaction petrified the cherubs, killing them as well." I heard a slight intake of breath on his end, almost as if he'd stifled a gasp. I wondered if the golem had practiced human emotions for so long he reacted automatically, or if this was feigned.

  "I did not realize husks could die," Lornicus said. "How interesting."

  I knew for a fact he found it more than interesting. I'd seen cherubs take all sorts of abuse, and nothing seemed to faze them. Now we knew they could die or be reborn. Something about that gave Lornicus pause. "It surprised you," I said. "Why?"

  The golem didn't answer for a moment. "Perhaps it is knowing my master can die. Seraphim have died before, but I have never witnessed it."

  "Are they more vulnerable in angel land?" I asked.

  "No," Lornicus said without pause. "They do not die of old age. They do not reproduce without permission of their leadership. They simply exist for eons."

  I paused at this new bit of information. "Leadership? They have a government?"

  "Indeed. It is quite different than mortal governments. I sense a great opportunity to trade information, Mr. Slade. Perhaps you would be interested in—"

  "No," I said. "Anything you tell me about the Seraphim is for entertainment purposes only. So what if they have a nifty government? That's not going to help me. I need to find my mother, and this banter isn't getting me any closer."

  "You never know," he said in a cautionary tone.

  This dude was pulling me into deep waters. I had to get off the phone with him before I gave up the family cow for magical beans. "I don't think we can do business," I said. "I get the feeling you're just toying with me, and talking with you is very dangerous."

  "I can also help you with the Black Robe Brotherhood," Lornicus said as if it were an afterthought.

  I couldn't speak for a moment. How in the hell did he already know about that?

  As if sensing my question, he said, "My spies reported members of the brotherhood asking about a young man fitting your description. I also had spies question the arch operators. If you like, I can have my assets watch out for you and send warning."

  "For what price?" I asked.

  "Free share of information," he replied.

  I gritted my teeth. "I can't do that without asking my friends."

  "They won't like it, I suspect."

  "I don't like it either," I said. "We can defend ourselves."

  "Can you spare enough people to track members of the brotherhood? To find out how close they are to discovering your location?" Lornicus pressed his attack. "Defensive measures are all well and good, Mr. Slade, but I have an army at my disposal. If you need them for a fight, I will help. These people stand between you and your mother. If they kill you or your friends, nothing else matters."

  My heart skipped a beat at the thought of losing my friends. Much as I hated to admit it, his point was valid. Unfortunately, his leverage over me had just ballooned. "You obviously just want us to help you get the baby angels out of El Dorado," I said. "You want them for some reason."

  "Indeed," the golem
said. "They should be rescued."

  "I won't agree to hand them over to you," I said. "They're either staying in El Dorado or coming home with me." I shuddered at the idea of caring for a bunch of whiny babies, but leaving them in a cavern of eternal darkness seemed awfully cruel. Maybe if they were raised right, they wouldn't turn out like a bunch of spoiled buttholes who wanted to rule the world.

  "What if I discover your mother's location? Would that be worth the price of one Seraphim child?"

  Yes! "Absolutely not," I said after a slight hesitation. Of course it would be. I just couldn't let him know that without bargaining the price down. "Like I said, they stay in El Dorado or with me."

  "I suppose I could agree to that," Lornicus said.

  My eyes narrowed as a thought crossed my mind. "You keep talking about you, but what about your boss?"

  "I am acting in his best interests," Lornicus said.

  "And he knows what you're doing?"

  "I keep him well informed," the golem replied.

  I decided not to press the issue. Obviously, the golem wasn't beyond ignoring his master's commands if he thought it was for the best. I really didn't care if he hid this information from Mr. Gray or not. "Let me talk this over with my friends. I'll let you know."

  "Very good, Mr. Slade. Until then." The golem disconnected.

  "I think it's a good idea," Shelton said the minute I finished telling everyone about the golem's offer.

  Elyssa squinted. Nodded. "I agree. We can't trust him as a complete ally, but more eyes would be good. And he's right, Justin. We have no hope of saving your mother if the brotherhood finds us."

  "Does anyone else find this idea questionable?" Bella asked. "What if the brotherhood makes him a better offer? What if they agree to help Lornicus remove the babies and he decides to get rid of us?"

  "Lornicus sees Justin as the Cataclyst," Shelton said. "He wants to use him, not kill him."

  "A warded perimeter will help to an extent against surprises," Adam added, "but if someone of the brotherhood's caliber takes a close look and sees all those wards, they might get suspicious, especially since this house is supposedly abandoned." He shrugged. "They could de-ward the place and slip in without us being any wiser."

  "The ASEs are hard to spot," Elyssa said. "I think they'd give us advance warning, but for now, we should accept the help." She drew in a breath. "Besides, Lornicus agreed to let us do what we want with the angels."

  "Yeah, but the leyworms haven't," I said with a grim note. "I don't know what would be best for them."

  "They're in a dark disgusting cave," Bella said. "It might be dangerous moving them, but I think we have to consider it."

  I didn't sleep well that night with dreams of little angels toddling around and wreaking havoc while golems tried fruitlessly to breastfeed them. The next morning Elyssa and I opened the arch back to El Dorado and found Cinder sitting cross-legged near the front of the control room. He stood, brushing off his pants, and approached.

  "Justin, I have made a number of interesting discoveries," he said without so much as a "Hello". "The cherubs do not affect me, nor do they seem interested in devouring my essence. I believe this means I have no soul for them to consume." His voice sounded almost wistful, as if the most wonderful thing would be for a cherub to want his soul.

  "Good to know," I said. "Anything else?"

  "Yes," he said with a nod. "I believe the babies are dying."

  Chapter 12

  "Dying?" Elyssa said in a shocked tone. "How?"

  Cinder tilted his head. "The leyworm Justin befriended allowed me to approach and observe. It seemed intent on communicating something I could not at first understand."

  "It tried to talk?" I asked.

  "I believe so, if hissing and growling is a method of communication."

  "Oh, brother," Elyssa said. "What did you find out?"

  "It carved an image in the floor using its boring abilities in a very interesting fashion—"

  "Stay on target," I said, not wanting him to go off on a tangent.

  "Perhaps I should show you," he said, and walked for the exit.

  "Hang on," I said, and went to the modulus on the control platform. Tracing the pattern the arch operator had shown me, I activated the ambient lighting in the cavern outside.

  "Interesting," Cinder said, looking out the door as the dim yellow light suffused the cavern. "I will disable the glowballs since they are no longer necessary."

  "What were you going to show us?" I asked him.

  "This way, please." The golem left the room.

  We followed. I noted a trench carved in the stone floor to our right. Several cherubs whined inside, trying futilely to climb the side as we walked past, their screeching cries like nails on a chalkboard.

  "Where did the trench come from?" I asked, unable to repress a shudder at the horrific cries of the husks.

  "I asked the leyworm to set up a perimeter," Cinder said. "It carved the trench across the room and knocked wandering cherubs inside. We patrolled the area and determined this side is now free of them."

  "Good job," I said, patting him on the shoulder. "I never would have thought of that."

  Cinder paused a moment. "Thank you, Justin."

  "Can we keep moving?" Elyssa asked, casting uneasy glances at the nubby hands of cherubs as they opened and closed, straining to reach us.

  The golem continued without comment. I spotted a glowing, shaggy form racing toward us and braced for impact as Yolo skidded to a halt a few feet away, his tongue lolling while he panted musty breath. The glow from his body seemed just a little brighter than the yellow light.

  Elyssa scratched his ears. Yolo purred. "I can't believe he would help Vadaemos," she said. "He must be awfully lonely down here."

  "An interesting creature," Cinder said. "He seems quite intelligent, but is prone to disappearing regularly."

  "Maybe he has ADD," Elyssa said, giving Yolo one last pat on his furry mane.

  We continued onward, Yolo tagging along behind us for a bit before huffing, legs going rigid as he stared into the distance, and abruptly streaked away for parts unknown.

  "Wonder if he saw a squirrel," I said, peering after him.

  The small leyworm approached, its parietal eyes blinking at me. It hissed and slithered into a U-turn to precede us. We came to the carving Cinder had mentioned, and I knew almost immediately what the problem was. It was the image of a calf sucking the teat of a cow. How the leyworm knew what a cow was, I had no idea, but didn't feel like playing Pictionary with it to find out.

  "They need milk?" I said.

  The leyworm hissed, stopped, and seemed to sigh. Then it nodded.

  "What the—" Elyssa's mouth dropped open.

  "I taught it elementary methods of human communication," Cinder said. "Yes-no questions should be a feasible form of discovery."

  "Baby angels need milk?" I said in a wondering tone, trying to imagine Daelissa breastfeeding. "How is that going to work?"

  "Uh, this is getting a little ridiculous," Elyssa said. "We can't run a nursery."

  "The leyworms already are," I said. "They feed them soul essence, somehow pulling it from ley lines. I guess they need a supplement." I turned to the leyworm, decided I was tired of referring to it in the generic, and thought up a name. "Can I call you Slitheren?" I asked, figuring it was an accurate if not equally generic description of the creature.

  It tilted its head, eyes blinking several times. If it had shoulders, it might have shrugged. Instead, it nodded.

  "Okay, great, Slitheren." I paused, wondering what to say next when Elyssa spoke.

  "Can we take the babies back to Queens Gate?" she asked.

  Slitheren shook his elongated head, forked tongue working in and out.

  "How are we supposed to feed them?" she asked.

  The dragon offered no response.

  "We'll have to set up shop down here, I suppose," I said, not seeing an alternative, and dreading the idea of bringing the lit
tle tykes back. "Besides, what if the little tykes try to feed off our souls? I wouldn't know how to deal with that." Not to mention the impossibility of kidnapping a bunch of babies with Slitheren and his gargantuan pals ready to give chase the minute we tried anything of the sort.

  Elyssa tapped her chin. "I wonder if they can handle formula or regular milk."

  Slitheren didn't offer an opinion.

  "We will have to experiment," Cinder said.

  "Maybe Meghan can help," I offered. "She's a healer after all."

  "Good idea," Elyssa said. "Let's ask her."

  I called Meghan and reached her on the second ring. I told her our idea.

  "How interesting," she said. "I'd be delighted to help."

  I didn't bother to ask the details because I wasn't ready to play doting parent just yet. We walked to the nursery. I could tell the babies weren't having a good time of things with their constant wailing. Some of them looked pale and gaunt. I figured their hardy angel physiology, as Meghan had put it, might be the only thing keeping them from starving to death.

  Meghan showed up an hour later, Adam in tow, with a flying carpet laden with supplies.

  "I'll test different forms of milk," she said. "I asked Nightliss her opinion, and she said angels eat food much the same way humans do, though the memory of her home is still fuzzy."

  I told Meghan about the trench. "I wonder if Nightliss can come down here with the cherubs out of the way."

  "Speaking of which," Elyssa said, "aren't these babies more like real cherubs than the husks?"

  I shrugged. "It'd be confusing to change things up and start referring to them as cherubs. Maybe we can come up with a better name."

  "Cupids?" Meghan asked.

  "I love it," Elyssa said, eyes soft as she regarded the starving little Seraphim. "Itsy bitsy little cupids."

  Adam and I looked at each other and rolled our eyes.

  Meghan produced some bottles, filling some of them from cans of infant formula and others with what she said was goat milk. "My childhood friend, Netta, was allergic to everything but goat milk," Meghan said. "Hopefully the cupids will find it palatable." She handed Cinder a bottle. "You know how to feed a baby?"