by John Corwin
"As I said—"
Anger flashed-fried my manners. "Don't make me hunt him down."
Lornicus made a tutting noise. "Such bad manners. Surely you've learned that honey catches more flies than vinegar."
He wants me to wheel and deal as usual. "Is there something you want?"
"Information, as usual, is highly prized, provided you have anything of interest."
"What will I receive in return?"
Lornicus made a pleased sound. "Face time with Fjoeruss."
I decided to go with the most shocking news I had even if it wasn't a certainty. Mr. Gray would certainly be interested to know Daelissa had the Chalon and might have already slipped into Seraphina. "It just so happens I have some very interesting news. If you want to hear it, you'll have to wait until Fjoeruss is present."
"Such vague assurance is unacceptable. I may already possess the information."
"I guess you'll just have to wait, then." I shrugged. "If it turns out the information is redundant, I have plenty more where that came from." Mr. Gray had a network of golem spies, many of whom looked like real people even if they didn't have much of a personality to fall back on. We had measures in place to detect them, making me feel confident Lornicus wouldn't already know what I planned to tell him.
Lornicus said nothing for a long moment. "Very well, I will arrange the meeting and text you the information."
"I'll be waiting." I disconnected and took a deep breath to ease the knot of tension in my chest. If simply meeting with Mr. Gray required a payment of information, how much would it cost to ask him how he fed on both sides of the spectrum? I didn't like the way Lornicus rigged the pay scale, but there wasn't much I could do about it.
I went to the war room. With Thomas and the other Templar leaders out on various missions, the place was empty for once. I reviewed footage from our most recent conflicts, and studied the map of Obsidian Arches. We controlled a little over half a dozen, though most were of little strategic value. Out of all the Alabaster Arch nodes, we controlled only El Dorado and soon, I hoped, also the Three Sisters in Australia.
Daelissa might be in Seraphina.
The thought itched in the back of my mind, but I didn't dare do anything to investigate the rumor on my own. If I went to El Dorado and the arch there did open to the Seraphim home world, there might be guards waiting on the other side. Then Daelissa would know that we knew and, knowing would be half the battle—at least for her. I needed to put together a strike force. If the Alabaster Arch opened to Seraphina, and if there were Brightlings waiting on the other side, we had to put them down quickly.
I could only hope that any Brightlings on the other side hadn't fed from humans and wouldn't be nearly as powerful as Daelissa. I took out the tablet and began plotting our next move.
"There you are," Elyssa said.
I flinched and looked up to see her standing at the door. "Sorry. Did you text me?" I glanced at my phone and saw a missed text from her.
She walked over and kissed me. "I figured you'd be in here."
I sighed. "All this responsibility makes me feel like I'm nineteen going on fifty."
"Believe me, I know exactly what you're saying." She dropped into a seat next to me and took a sip from a foil blood bag. "Dealing with these noobs all day makes me want to scream." She shook her head. "Even with our recruits, I don't know how we'll get the numbers we need to match the Synod if it comes down to an all-out battle."
"Considering all the vampires they have, it would be impossible to match them man for man."
"I know." Her lips quirked into a wistful expression. "I'd take a trained Templar over a dozen untrained vampires any day, but they outnumber us by a lot more than a dozen to one."
"Is there any way to increase recruitment?"
"Even if there were, we don't have the personnel to train them all."
I bit my lip in thought, stood, and paced. There weren't any easy answers in this conflict. "I'm running into a similar problem when it comes to feeding the Darklings."
She raised an eyebrow. "How's that operation going?"
I shrugged. "I guess if you consider a few nauseated Darklings a success, then we're doing great." I told her about my plan to recruit vets and noms who'd been exposed to the supernatural.
Elyssa's eyes lit. "Hold on a second. What if we could recruit those same vets into the Templars?"
I felt my forehead wrinkle. "These guys are super old. They'd have to go into battle using their walkers."
She laughed. "Not if Nightliss blessed them."
"Would they revert to youth again?"
"I don't know what would happen."
It wasn't a bad idea, but there were plenty of other issues I could think of off the top of my head. "Some of those vets have mental issues. Some of them have seen horrible things."
"I'd be willing to bet many wouldn't want to fight either," Elyssa said. "If it were up to me, I'd recruit straight from the nom military. Unfortunately, that's just not an option."
I told her about the possibility of Daelissa already being back in Seraphina and my idea for seeing if we could open a portal to Seraphina. If the Grand Nexus wasn't attuned to anything, the other Alabaster Arches would simply open a portal to it. If it was attuned to another realm, then the other arches would open a gateway there.
Elyssa's lips curled into a grimace. "We are so screwed if she's already back there."
"No doubt." My phone chimed, letting me know it was time to go back to Kassallandra's crib in the Swiss Alps for the formal ball. It would be my last chance to recruit more Daemos, so I had no choice but to put on my best face.
I held out my elbow for Elyssa. "Shall we go get gussied up?"
She groaned, sucked the blood pack dry, and then looped her arm in mine. "Let's do this, Prince Charming."
I wiped a fleck of blood from her lips and kissed her. "As you wish."
Chapter 9
Daelissa
Waterfalls sparkled down the side of Mount Hein far below the cottony clouds of the skyway carrying Daelissa, Qualan, and Lanaeia toward Zbura.
The capitol city of the Seraphim Empire sprawled across the great plateau spanning the mountaintop. Where it had run out of room, alabaster houses dotted the steep slope. Large islands of earth called skylets hovered in the air around the mountain. Each skylet had been uprooted from the ground by the immense tides of aether flowing through Seraphina. The same currents of aether now suspended them. Eden lacked so many wonders of home. Her throat knotted with joy to see her fair land again.
Even with the skyway, the journey from the Grand Nexus, where it resided atop the Cliffs of Eternity, had taken longer than expected to finally reach this place.
I am home, but everything has changed.
Zbura had been a quarter this size the last she'd seen it. It most certainly had not possessed the great crystal palace dominating the highest point near the mountain peak. A plain government building for the Trivectus had formerly occupied that land.
Despite the differences, Daelissa could barely contain her glee.
"The city among the clouds," Lanaeia said in a quiet voice. Her eyes took in the fluffy halo a third of the way down the mountain. "It is so different than I remember."
"Of course it's different," Qualan snarled. "We have been gone thousands of years."
Lanaeia tucked a lock of her glossy white hair behind an ear and ignored the other Brightling's outburst. "I think the palace is lovely."
Daelissa had left her human entourage back at the gateway to Eden, but brought the two revived Brightlings with her. She could already feel the madness fading from her mind as her home realm restored her. Even so, she felt a familiar ache in the palm of her right hand. She'd practically gorged on soul essence before leaving Eden. She flexed her hand and examined the small scars on her palm. The pain is of no concern. She returned her gaze to the city. Raising my army is all that matters now.
The moving cloudbank of the skyway took them above the palace. If Skaz
aeleus was still in power, he would likely be there.
She willed the skyway to take them to the palace doors. A cloud parted from the main path and descended at a steep angle, upsetting a triangular formation of doves. The cooing of the doves was the only other noise besides the wind at this altitude. As the cloudbank carried them closer, the sounds of the city seeped through the calm. Unlike Eden, there were no sounds of automobile traffic or industry. The city had no roads, only pedestriums on the ground and the skyways above. Machines did not play a major part in life on Seraphina—at least not in the human sense. Instead, everything was aided by channeling through gemstones.
"Why did we never build skyways in Eden?" Lanaeia asked. She knelt and ran a hand through the billowing mist.
"I believe we once did," Daelissa replied. "It is why so many noms believe we lived in a cloud city." She expected Qualan to make a disparaging remark, but he was lost in his own world again, judging from the tears streaming down his face. The Slade boy had incinerated his twin sister, Qualas, so she could hardly blame the man—the seraph—for his grief.
It had been too long since she'd spoken Cyrinthian or thought in native Seraphim terms. She would have to adjust some of her vocabulary. In Eden, she found herself referring to even male Seraphim as men when, in fact, they were seraphs, while females were called seras. In the old days, referring to a Seraphim as a man or woman was a mortal insult.
The skyway deposited them outside the palace gates instead of inside as Daelissa had expected. She took a deep breath to calm her mind in anticipation of the madness, which usually consumed her when presented with an obstacle. Instead, cold logic remained firmly in control. She felt a smile stretch her lips. It was a delight to be rid of the chaos.
A line of Seraphim waited outside the gates and stretched down the walkway for a good distance. Guards in translucent crystal armor stood watch while an officious bureaucrat in red robes listened to citizens petition for an audience with the royal court. He wore a bored look on his face and turned away a family with a whisk of his hand.
"Next," he called.
"This reminds me of the way nom royalty treated their subjects." Lanaeia wrinkled her forehead. "It appears Skazaeleus has adopted their methods."
"Come." Daelissa strode to the head of the line.
The guards stepped forward to stop her.
"You would do well to step back," she said in Cyrinthian.
The stone-faced guards said nothing but drew Brilliance-forged swords of glowing white crystal.
She ignored them and looked at the bureaucrat. "Take me to Skazaeleus."
The Seraphim's eyes widened. "You dare call the emperor by his name?" He pointed a finger at Daelissa. "Arrest her."
Anger heated Daelissa's cheeks, but she held her hand. "Do you know who I am?"
The bureaucrat sneered. "I know who you are not, and that is all I need to know."
"You have just killed yourself." Daelissa looked to Qualan. "Dispose of him."
The bureaucrat hardly had time to utter a response when Qualan unleashed a burst of Brilliance that burned a gaping hole in the Seraphim's chest.
The guards froze at the sight and the waiting crowd burst into a frenzy of screams. Seraphim scattered. Some took to the skyway while others ran down the winding paths in the city. Daelissa threw up a shield as the guards recovered and thrust their swords at her. She bound the hilts with ropes of Brilliance and jerked them from their grasps.
The two seraphs channeled rays of destruction at her shield, but their efforts were pitifully weak. If Daelissa were any ordinary Seraphim they could have cut her down, but centuries of feeding from humans had enhanced her. She was no mere Seraphim, but a goddess.
I am the Divinity.
"Take me to Skazaeleus or I will annihilate you both," she said in a cold voice.
The seraphs bared their teeth and tried to cut through her shield, all to no avail.
Daelissa blurred from behind her shield and backhanded the closest guard. He flew backward and slammed against the crystal gates hard enough to crack them. She gripped the arm of the other seraph and squeezed it hard enough to make his bones crack. He screamed and fell to his knees.
She leaned over him. "I ask you one last time, you pitiful speck. Take me to Skazaeleus."
He groaned. "As you wish, mistress."
"You will call me Divinity." She released him.
"Y-yes Divinity." Holding his arm against his body, he staggered to his feet.
By now, the crowd had completely dispersed, aside from a single seraph who looked at Daelissa with adoring eyes. "You have returned at last," he said falling to his knees. "Seraphina, our fair Daelissa has arisen!"
At least I have not been wholly forgotten. Daelissa felt a blush creep over her cheeks. She motioned the seraph to approach. He did so, bowing and scraping the entire distance. She lifted his chin to face her. "I give you a holy mission."
He groaned with pleasure. "Speak, and it will be done, Divinity."
"Spread the word that I am back. Soon we will purge Eden of the vermin plaguing it and take it for our own." She pressed a hand to his forehead and blessed him. His eyes glowed white, marking him in such a way others would have no choice but to believe. Only Seraphim who had spent a great deal of time in the human realm could bless others. Since the way between realms had been closed for so long, the ability would have long ago faded from Seraphim living here.
"At once!" The seraph sprang to his feet and raced away.
She turned back to the guard. "Proceed."
The guard glanced at the still form of his comrade on the ground before the gate, but seemed to realize Daelissa would brook no more delays. He channeled a thin ray at a gem on the white crystal gate and it silently swung open. The seraph led them down a shimmering path the color of platinum. It wound through a garden filled with flowers and vegetation Daelissa recognized as being native to Eden. Though the two realms shared common plant and animal life, it was obvious most of this had been imported long ago.
Lanaeia oohed and touched a turquoise rose. "This garden is so lovely." She stopped to run her fingers across the broad ivory leaf of another plant. "I could be happy wandering this place for days."
Qualan slapped her hand and shoved her forward. "Keep moving, you little fool. We don't have time for such nonsense."
Lanaeia's eyes welled with tears. "You cruel brute. What value is all the world when you cannot stop to appreciate its beauty?"
He gripped a handful of her hair and jerked her close to his snarling face. "There is only beauty in power."
Daelissa resisted the urge to backhand them both across the garden. "Stop with your bickering and move before you injure my calm."
Qualan released Lanaeia's hair and offered a slight bow to Daelissa. "As you command."
With his sister no longer around to keep him occupied, I must keep an eye on him. Qualan had never been particularly ambitious, but now that he was without his other half, he might look for other ways to fill the hole in his life. He might try for her power. He is still no match for me.
The path ended at a wide courtyard that led to the palace stairs. Two more guards waited at the doors. Judging from the consternation on their faces when they saw the injured guard, they knew something was wrong.
"Halt!" they shouted in unison.
Daelissa clenched her teeth tight to repress the outrage at this treatment. Somehow, she stopped herself from killing them both. Since she was no longer on Eden with easy access to humans, she needed to conserve her power.
"She is clear to pass," their guide said.
"I do not see signed papers," the taller of the two guards said. "Without them—" His sentence broke off in a scream as Qualan raked a thin beam of Brilliance across the seraph's cheek.
"I could just as easily kill you," Qualan said. "Let us pass."
Instead, the other guard called out for help. Within seconds, another dozen guards raced from inside the palace, their crystal swords blazing.
Qualan burst into laughter and levitated as glowing spheres of destruction blossomed in his palms. The guards looked on in open astonishment. Very few Seraphim were strong enough channelers to levitate, and fewer still could summon so much destructive energy.
"Lay down your swords or die!" Qualan roared.
The guards attacked. Several of them aimed their swords and fired white rays at Qualan. He shielded himself easily. The guards who chose to attack with their blades slammed against the shimmering barrier. Some slashed at it to no effect.
"Pitiful ants," Qualan said. He dropped his shield and laughed with joy as he butchered the guards where they stood. Steaming flesh and entrails exploded from the first group of guards. Qualan raked the others with searing beams, laughing all the while, his eyes shimmering with delight.
Daelissa heard retching and turned to see Lanaeia on hands and knees. She pursed her lips in disgust. This girl was nothing like her parents. Perhaps a few weeks under Qualan's tutelage would fix this.
The gate guard had ducked into a ball. He looked up at the slaughter, eyes full of terror. "How is such power possible?"
"Easily," Daelissa said. "Join my army in the march on Eden and such power will be yours."
"I had though Eden a myth," he said in a quiet voice. He looked up. "Are you truly the Daelissa from the legends?"
I have been away long enough to fade into legend. Daelissa almost laughed at the absurdity. "I am indeed." She stabbed a finger toward the doors to the palace. "Now lead us onward."
Qualan pulled Lanaeia from her knees and prodded her forward, making the girl walk through the worst of the carnage. "This is beauty." His voice reverberated with pure pleasure.
She squeezed shut her eyes and almost tripped over the gutted torso of a dead guard. "It is horror!"
They walked through the palace leaving behind a trail of bloody footprints. The crystalline structure engulfed them in its enormity. The floor was made of pure alabaster, and the walls boasted ornate columns of pure energy supplied by aether wells in the floor. The energy lit the crystal from within.
It must look wondrous at night.