by John Corwin
Oliver sat atop a bale of hay. "Have fun, mates."
I looked around dubiously. "Yeah, you too, kiddo."
Elyssa entered the doorway. I followed behind her and waited for Phissilinth to close it. He continued on his way down the hall. The last time Elyssa and I had been here, he'd made us sit in a waiting room. This time, however, he took us straight to the library where we'd first met Underborn.
The assassin himself stood before a round wooden table, a confident smile on his handsome brown face. A black outfit lined with small, shiny scales similar to snakeskin hugged his lean, muscular build.
Shelves of books lined the room behind him, vanishing into the distance. During my tenure at Edenfield High School, Underborn had posed as an English teacher named Mr. Turpin. If he was to be believed, he'd actually been a Templar serving under Thomas Borathen and survived an ambush at Thunder Rock that had claimed the lives of Templars and Daemos alike. In truth, the man was far more than an assassin. He was a center of information. Like Fjoeruss and Jeremiah, he was extremely powerful in his own way, and focused on an agenda all his own.
"I'll inform Pressley that we have guests," Phissilinth said. "Shall I have him bring you any tea?"
I assumed Pressley was the butler. "I'm fine."
"I'd like some oolong tea," Elyssa said.
Underborn nodded. "Have him bring me a fresh pot of Earl Grey."
"I'll inform him," Phissilinth said in a clipped voice.
I got the feeling he didn't enjoy being a messenger boy for the butler. I pulled out a chair from the table and took a seat. Elyssa sat next to me. Even though I wanted to bring up the reason for my visit, I was curious to see if Underborn had divined my intentions.
He sat across from us. "Mr. Slade, you have changed since the last time you visited this place."
I leaned back and clasped my hands behind my head. "Yeah, it's great. My pubic hair finally started to come in, and my voice is changing."
"Your sense of humor, however, has not." Underborn settled back into his chair. "I suppose we should get to the point." He paused, apparently waiting for me to commit by revealing my intentions.
"Sounds good." I looked at him expectantly. "What do you want?"
A look of surprise flashed across Underborn's face and just as quickly vanished. "How interesting." He looked from me to Elyssa. "I can see you've put a great deal of thought into this conversation."
"When meeting someone like you," Elyssa said, "it's important to discuss the options."
"Indeed." He rubbed his hands together as if this fresh challenge excited him. "Events have reached a critical juncture and it would seem Eden's fate dangles by a thread. You have helped me realize my goals beyond my wildest dreams, Mr. Slade."
I couldn't hide my surprise at his statement. "Does so much death and destruction make you happy?"
Underborn shook his head. "On the contrary. I am an advocate of precisely controlled violence. Despite my reputation as an assassin, I would describe myself as a—"
"Puppeteer?" Elyssa said.
He shrugged. "More accurately, as an adjuster. It is one reason I collected every foreseeance I could get my hands on. Knowing what we may face has made it easier to change the course of events."
"If that's the case, why haven't you killed Daelissa?" I blew out an exasperated breath. "A little bit of your precise violence could have prevented this war."
Underborn's forehead creased into a sad look. "I'm afraid the war is necessary. If not for the war, certain events would not have taken place, and other avenues would not have opened for us to pursue."
"Us?" I gave him a confused look.
"All of us." He smiled. "Now, let us get back to what I want."
Here it comes.
Elyssa's hand tightened on my leg.
Underborn seemed to relish the dramatic tension and milked the pause a little longer.
"You must not get out a lot," I said as the seconds ticked past. "Seriously, if you find this sort of thing so amusing, you need to get a girlfriend or a pet goat."
"Apologies, Mr. Slade." Underborn pressed his lips together and shook his head slowly. "I'm rather proud of the man you've grown into. I'd like to think my guidance from afar has helped."
"Guidance?" I snorted. "The godfather every kid wishes he had."
"Indeed." His expression turned serious. "Now, back to the point. In the most general of terms, Mr. Slade, I would like you to put an end to this war as efficiently as possible." Underborn's facial expression remained serious. "Unfortunately, I cannot assassinate Daelissa."
A pshaw exploded from my lips. "Can't or won't?"
"I cannot." For once, he looked mildly humbled by this statement. "I have tried several times to manipulate her into a position which would facilitate my ending her, but all attempts have failed." He leaned his forearms on the table. "Daelissa is always surrounded by her army and by battle mages skilled at warding against assassins. Even if I were to bypass all this security, Daelissa is now simply too powerful for me to kill." Underborn looked down. "She has snowballed out of control."
I threw up my hands. "Great! There goes my idea for cutting the head off the snake."
"There is more troubling news." The assassin looked back up. "Daelissa has recalled the Second Battalion from the front lines on Seraphina. They will be here by next week."
The next smartass comment I'd prepared died on my lips. "Another army?"
"The future is quite dire." Underborn slid a piece of parchment across the table to me. "After your first crushing defeat at the Grand Nexus, no less than thirty individuals with the gift of sight foresaw only one possible outcome of this war. Though this came from many sources, nearly every one of them says virtually the same thing. Rarely have I ever seen such agreement among foretellers."
What I read chilled my soul. The bright one surges to victory crushing all before her. For Eden, for the Cataclyst, there is no hope save one. An act of pure love, a true willing sacrifice, will be the only path to victory.
Chapter 26
I crumpled the parchment and threw it away. "I'm done with foreseeances. Four-three-one-one didn't predict what everyone thought it meant. This one is no different." Despite my desperate attempt to disregard the foretelling, my stomach tightened.
"Whether you believe it or not, it is very specific." Underborn glanced at the wad of parchment.
"No, it doesn't come out and say, 'Justin must kill himself to save the day,' does it?" I speared the parchment with Brilliance and watched it burn. "Just because Daelissa is, as you say, snowballing out of control, doesn't mean we can't beat her." Who am I kidding? Underborn himself admitted he couldn't assassinate Daelissa. I was one of the few people who might stand a chance at solo killing her. To get that close meant I wouldn't survive.
Sweat trickled down my face. My stomach impersonated a contortionist.
Elyssa squeezed my hand. She took my chin and turned my head to face hers. "Justin? Are you okay?"
I shook my head. "No, I'm not okay." I glared at Underborn. "Do you think we're doomed?"
"Not entirely." Underborn's expression regained some of its lost confidence. "I have some tools which might make your quest easier."
"Like the map and key?" I scowled. "If you hadn't taken them from me in the first place, we might have won a long time ago."
He waved his hand. "Water under the bridge, Mr. Slade. You and you alone possess the raw power and determination to stop Daelissa. It would appear your army, however, could use some help if we are to prove wrong this foreseeance."
"Are you offering your services?"
"I am." He looked at me as if I should fall to my knees and thank the heavens.
Instead, I narrowed my eyes with suspicion. "Does that include the entire guild?"
"Indeed." He clasped his hands on the table. "Most of us are not accustomed to fighting as part of a coordinated unit. We are, so to speak, weapons calibrated for independent operations."
A knock sounde
d on the door. The butler entered, and without a word, placed oolong tea before Elyssa and a cup of Earl Grey in front of Underborn. "Will that be all, sir?"
Underborn took a sip of tea and nodded. "Yes, Pressley."
The butler left.
From the time the butler entered to when he left, I couldn't stop trying to figure out how in the world a bunch of lone wolf assassins could help fight a war. I picked up the conversation where we'd left it. "If you and your people don't coordinate, how will you contribute? Do you plan to sit back and snipe enemies?"
"We can do far more than that." He took out an oval stone made of obsidian. "This is one of the Relics of Juranthemon we have found. It would appear there are many more than I had first surmised."
I looked at it curiously. "Is it a paperweight?"
Underborn chuckled. "I call this a blink stone. It enables the wearer to transport themselves instantly across short distances."
My interest abruptly doubled. "Does it make the user nauseous at all?"
"At first, yes." He shrugged. "After a number of uses, the wielder's body adjusts." Underborn rubbed the smooth surface of the stone. "It operates much like your innate ability to blink."
How the hell does he know I can do that? I tried to keep surprise from registering on my face. "What good will one blink stone do?"
"Who said we possessed only one?" One side of his mouth curled upward. "We found dozens of them at Thunder Rock in the same room with the portal-blocking statues you so cleverly used."
"Was this before or after I killed the horde of scorps protecting the place?"
"Some time after." He pressed the blink stone against his outfit. It stuck in place. "One must simply look where one wishes to go and will it." He vanished in a puff of shadows. "And you will appear there an instant later."
I turned in the direction of his voice and saw him behind me. "Wonderful. Are you offering these to me?"
Underborn blinked back behind his chair, pulled it out, and sat down, this time a little unsteadily. "No, I am simply showing you some of the capabilities we now have thanks to the relics. We can blink into the midst of our enemies, kill someone, and blink back out before they know what happened." He massaged his forehead. "Unfortunately, the more blinks you chain together, the more disoriented you become."
"I'd like one of these for Elyssa."
Underborn nodded quickly as if he'd anticipated this request. "Of course." He removed one from a pouch at his waist and slid it across to her.
Elyssa looked at it suspiciously before picking it up and pressing it to her Nightingale armor. "I'll test this out later. I don't feel like puking in front of everyone."
Underborn chuckled. "I'm sure one of your physical caliber will have no difficulties adjusting, Miss Borathen." He swung his gaze back to me. "Now, why don't you tell me how else I can help you?"
"Before we move on, I need to know the price." I motioned at Elyssa's blink stone. "What do you want in return for that?"
"Only that you allow us to remain autonomous."
I shrugged. "As long as your efforts aren't counterproductive to mine, that's fine with me."
"I assure you, we will mesh quite well."
Despite how forthcoming he was being, I still felt we were beating around bush. I decided to tell him what I really wanted. "Since you're in such a generous mood, I'd like to have the key and map back. We need it for logistics."
Underborn's eye twinkled as if I'd broached the very thing he expected. "I am willing to let you borrow them. In exchange, I only ask for the Chalon you took from the Grand Nexus."
By now, I'd decided that trying to figure out how he knew what he knew would only make me extremely paranoid. On the other hand, he didn't seem to know we had the original Chalon as well. Since Jeremiah had stolen it right from under our noses, it made me think that the old Arcane had been better about keeping secrets.
I countered with a question. "Why do you want the Chalon?"
"As you well know, it's useless since the Grand Nexus already has another Chalon, albeit on the Seraphina side of the gateway." He shrugged nonchalantly. "I'd simply like to study it."
"So, we get to borrow the map and key but have to give you a Chalon in exchange?" I shook my head. "I don't think so. I thought you wanted to help. Instead, you're up to your old games."
Elyssa leaned forward. "Borrowing the map and key is acceptable. We'll happily return them after the war. Why do you really want the Chalon?"
"I believe the symbols on it may offer clues about other realms and locations of other Relics." He tapped a finger to his chin as if giving a great deal of thought to something. "How about this—you may borrow the map and key for as long as I borrow the Chalon?"
That sounded like a reasonable arrangement, but his willingness to negotiate only made me more cautious. He knew something about the Chalon we didn't. I was about to pepper him with more questions when I realized what he'd just said confirmed my hunch. Only someone who'd seen the Chalon would know about the tiny symbols etched into it. Even Jeremiah hadn't known about those until he'd studied it at length. That meant only one thing.
I nodded as though Underborn's proposal was entirely reasonable and then said, "You already have a Chalon, don't you?"
Underborn blinked a couple of times. A smile slowly stretched across his face. "What makes you suspect that?"
I gave him a stern look. "Yes or no, Underborn."
If he was exasperated he didn't show it. "Yes."
Elyssa pressed for the kill. "If that's the case, why would you need a second one?"
"I would like to test some theories, nothing more." Despite our badgering, he remained calm. "Surely, it will do you no harm to let me borrow the Chalon."
"If you know of anything the Chalon could do to help us, you need to tell me now." I felt my fists tighten at the man's enigmatic posturing. Even with our backs to the wall, he was still intent on wringing out a deal for himself.
"I know nothing for certain."
I almost slammed my fist on the table, but resisted the urge. "I have the feeling you know exactly what you're looking for." I shook my head and stood up. "You know what? Keep your map and key. Just stay home and wait for us to lose this war. I'm sure you'll do just fine when Daelissa is running the world."
Underborn held up his hands, palms out. "No need to be melodramatic, Mr. Slade."
"I wish I was just being melodramatic." I pressed my knuckles on the table and leaned toward him. "If you can't be forthcoming with me, I have no use for you."
Elyssa took the blink stone off her armor and dropped it on the table. "I hope you find what you're looking for in life. I think the quality of living is about to go to hell once Daelissa takes control."
Underborn pinched the bridge of his nose as if a horrible headache had just tightened a vice on his cranium. "You two are simply intractable."
A spiteful laugh burst from Elyssa. "We happen to care about the world, not our own personal gain."
"I can't believe you used to be a Templar." I snorted with as much disdain as I could cram into a snort. "I'll bet your mother would be proud, Kevin."
Underborn reeled back as if I'd slapped him in the face. He stood and greeted us with stony silence, though his right eye twitched as if he wanted to murder us on the spot. "I can see now why I decided never to have children. Were you anyone else, I would kill you on the spot for your insolence."
I suffused my body with Brilliance until I glowed. "I'm not the same boy you toyed with before, Underborn. If you truly think you're a match for me, then let's get this over with right now."
The anger in his face smoothed over. "Just because you could kill me in a direct fight doesn't mean I couldn't end you by my own means."
"Then maybe I should just kill you right now so you're no longer a threat."
Underborn backed up a step. "I bear you no ill will, Mr. Slade, but you are very tiring to deal with."
"Right back at you." I flashed a grin. "Now, why don't you t
ell me what having a second Chalon can do?"
The assassin dropped into his chair, an air of resignation hanging about him. "There are two differences between the Grand Nexus and the other Alabaster Arches."
My curiosity was piqued. "The Grand Nexus is much larger and has a socket for the Chalon."
"Correct." Underborn clasped his hands and placed them on the table. "As you may know, Serena, Daelissa's pet Arcane, has been able to attune the Chalon using recordings of your mother singing. I managed to procure a copy of these recordings and used them with the Chalon in my possession."
I was confused. "You used your Chalon on the Grand Nexus?"
"No. I took the Chalon in my possession to the Three Sisters Alabaster Arch. Although it has no socket for the Chalon, I discovered that it will bind itself to the same area on the Alabaster Arch that it normally would on the Grand Nexus."
I ran through the possibilities in my mind. "You mean we could change the alignment of the Grand Nexus and all the other Alabaster Arches by attuning a Chalon on another arch?"
"Incredible," Elyssa said. "We could seal off the nexus from Seraphina. We could stop the Second Battalion from ever reaching Eden!"
"Ah, but there is one problem," Underborn said in a cautionary tone. "I was unable to wrest control from the nexus. The Chalon focuses and channels the power required to open a portal between realms. I believe if I placed two of them on the same arch I could overpower the Grand Nexus and assign control to a different Alabaster Arch."
I tried not to let hope override my common sense, but it was hard not to see how cutting off Daelissa from Seraphina and her new troops could help us win this war.
Elyssa's eyes shined with renewed faith. "I can see why you didn't want to tell us this, Underborn. If you pulled it off, you'd control the new Grand Nexus."
He shrugged as if it were of no concern. "Perhaps."
I stood. "You can borrow the second Chalon on the provision that you return it once the war is over."
Underborn stood and offered his hand. "I accept, Mr. Slade."