by John Corwin
"But they can be effective." Percival shrugged. "Provided the patient survives them."
"Look, I'll tell Stan to stop bragging on Asha so much." I held up a hand when it looked like he was about to object. "But I won't let him know it's because of you, okay?"
Percival abruptly hugged me. "Thank you, Conrad." He left before I could say another word.
"Well, that was an awkward conversation to walk in on," Ambria said from behind me.
I jumped and spun to see her standing in the doorway. "How much did you hear?"
"Oh, all about how Stan brags on Asha." She giggled. "Poor Percy."
"I feel bad for him," I admitted. "It's like seeing him in a whole new light."
Her face sobered. "I remember the way his brother, Arthur, looked at him. It was like he was disappointed." Ambria gave a what can you do? shrug.
I told her about my call to Kanaan and where we'd have to go for the ingredients.
"Great." She squeezed my hand. "Do we have to do it now?"
I squeezed her hand back and shook my head. "No. We need to see what Asha thinks."
"It's so lovely out here in the countryside. Do you think we could take a walk or something tomorrow? Maybe just enjoy a day before we dive back into danger?"
I nodded. "Sure. I'll grab Max and we can make a picnic of it."
Ambria's eyes grew sad. "I thought maybe just the two of us, like old times." The light from the overhead glowball hit her eyes just right and flecks of gold glittered in her hazel irises.
How did I never notice how pretty her eyes are? I remembered that she wanted an answer. "I mean, sure, if you want."
She hugged me. "Thanks."
We went back into the other room. Galfandor had returned from his walk and greeted me with a sad smile. "Good to see you, Conrad. I am sorry to hear you had to leave Colombia."
"Me too." I touched Asha's arm to get her attention. "Percival needs some rare potion ingredients from Gideon Grace's vault. Do you have any idea how we can sneak in and steal them?"
"Oh, my, that is a rather difficult assignment." Galfandor stroked his long beard. "Unless they have completely redone the wards, I know of two backdoors that you might use to gain access to campus."
"We put the key to the ingredients vault back in the desk at your house," Ambria said. "Is there a way to sneak in there?"
"Doubtful," Galfandor said. "I think it unlikely they haven't warded the place."
"I can get past just about any ward or lock," Stan said. "Get me near that potions vault and I'll get us in."
"What if we have to run for our lives?" Asha shook her head. "This mission is too dangerous."
"I recommend sending a small party," Galfandor said. "There are disillusionment traps all around campus designed to dissolve illusion disguises and set off alarms, so you will have to use stealth."
"Or, we could use wigs and makeup," Ambria said.
"Have you ever wondered why no one on campus uses much makeup?" Galfandor said. "It's because those very same wards will set off an alarm if they detect excess alterations to appearance. After I discovered Victus and Delectra had been in disguise among us for so long, I'm afraid I went overboard in securing campus."
"Yes, but they used the Eye of Juranthemon," I said. "It physically transformed them into Sideon and Esma." Just speaking the name of my favorite teacher stabbed me in the heart. Esma had been my mentor. She had also been my mother, Delectra, in disguise. Victus had killed her shortly after this revelation and I still had a hard time coping with it.
Galfandor seemed to sense my shift in mood, for his voice softened. "Which is why I also added DNA to the disillusionment traps that would reveal Victus in case he ever tried it again." He sighed. "In any case, you will have to resort to stealth since any means of disguise will only set off an alarm."
"I'll go by myself," Asha said. "Cumberbatch saw me with Kanaan, but he's dead. I don't think Victus knows I'm part of the gang."
"Unless Grint or Quiff saw you at the mansion with us," I reminded her. "Besides, you've been gone for a month. You can't just show up on campus and expect no one to ask questions about where you've been."
"I'm going too," Ambria said.
Max held up a fist. "Me too."
"I want to blast some baddies," Ivy said. "I'm in."
I held up my hands. "Whoa, people. Didn't you hear Galfandor? It has to be a small party."
Asha tapped a finger on her chin. "I have a few ideas." She looked over at Galfandor. "I'd love your input and help."
"Of course," he said.
I put a hand on her shoulder. "What about me?"
"Conrad, you've been through a lot for someone your age." Asha's eyes filled with concern. "Let the adults handle this."
"I agree, young man." Galfandor leaned heavily on his staff. "I let you put yourself in danger too many times because I suspected you might turn out like Victus." He patted my arm. "You've proven yourself to be anything but your father's son."
"You can't just cut me out," I protested. "If it wasn't for me and Max and Ambria, you'd still be in one of Victus's preservation chambers."
"It wasn't just the three of you," Asha said. "Shushiel was there. I helped. Natalia helped. It was a team effort." She held up a hand to stop my reply. "Harris is dead because he thought he could handle Victus. I won't let you make the same mistake."
My hands clenched. "Harris was mental! I'm not!"
Galfandor nodded. "Yes, yes, we know. But I will not send children into the very heart of danger."
"What rubbish!" Ambria put herself between me and the former headmaster. "You never had a problem with it when you thought we might turn out to be evil."
"Look, children." Asha's eyes flashed. "If any of you can beat me in a duel, I'll gladly take you with me. The truth is, you're still students. Your faces are plastered on posters all across the Overworld and you wouldn't have a chance of defending yourselves against experienced battle mages. Odds are, Victus's minions don't know I'm connected with you. That gives me a better chance to get in and out of the university without shots fired."
"For now, you should rest, relax, and let the adults do the heavy lifting." Galfandor offered a smile, but his face looked too weary to support it.
I could tell arguing would get us nowhere, so I spun on my heel and went outside. I sat beneath the red-leaved oak. Fields of wheat swayed in a gentle breeze. A flock of sheep dotted a far-off hill. Everything seemed so peaceful this far from the chaos threatening the Overworld. I took out my arcphone and looked glumly at the blue dot on the map. We were in the middle of nowhere.
"Please don't be mad, child." Galfandor leaned on his staff, looking older than I remembered. The tearing of his soul by one of Zarin's ripper wyrms had taken a heavy toll.
"In case you hadn't noticed, I'm not a child anymore." I tried to keep the anger out of my voice, but failed.
The old man chuckled. "Quite true." He caught a leaf as it fluttered down in front of him. "I imagine your grandfather would be rather proud of you in his own way."
I frowned. "Damien Shelton?"
"I'm sorry, your great-grandfather, old Ezzek Moore himself."
"He's the father of Sasha Moore?" I knew very little about my extended family tree. "I thought he was a more distant relative."
"Ezzek, Moses, or whatever alias he had at the time, had surprisingly few marriages or children over the centuries." Galfandor looked out into the gathering darkness. "He was a bit of an enigma."
"So I've heard." I'd read everything I could on the first Arcane, from the tidbits about his role in the First Seraphim War as Moses, to his great accomplishments as Ezzek Moore, founder of Arcane University, the Arcane Council and more. The final chapter in his life as Jeremiah Conroy hardly seemed to fit in the same book. He allied with Daelissa and switched sides only after trying to kill Justin Slade several times.
Then Daelissa killed him before the final war even began, burning him to ash in front of the very mansion where Galfand
or lived before Victus kidnapped him. Every time I'd walked past that place, I could almost feel a tingling in the air, as if part of Moses's spirit still resided in that bit of hallowed earth.
"You and Asha are quite likely his last remaining direct descendants." Galfandor turned his gaze back to me. "I think he would be proud of what you've done, but caution you to listen to those who are older and wiser."
How would you know? I barely kept that retort to myself, but didn't want to argue.
Galfandor continued. "I'm glad you want to help, Conrad, but please don't be angry with your sister for keeping you out of this."
I nodded and faked a smile. "I won't. Thanks."
The old man nodded then turned and headed into the house.
Not more than a moment later, Ambria plopped down next to me. Max walked around the tree and sat cross-legged on my left.
"Did he give you a pep talk?" Ambria said.
I nodded.
Max grunted. "Did it work?"
"It's not fair." I plucked a blade of grass and tossed it to the mercy of the wind. "We did everything ourselves before, and now they think we're too young."
"They're being idiots," Ambria said. "We didn't survive this long on luck."
"Conrad, I like your sister, but"—Max looked around as if Asha might be lurking nearby—"she's a dumb adult like Galfandor."
"I know how we could get back into the university ourselves," Ambria said.
Max and I twisted our heads toward her. "How?" we asked in unison.
She let us hang for a moment before answering. "Underborn."
"Are you crazy?" Max's eyes flared. "He's just as bad as Victus."
Ambria shook her head. "I don't agree. Plus, he has several relics of Jura that could help us."
"Underborn help us?" My forehead tightened. "How in the world do you figure that?"
"Well, I'm not absolutely certain, but I don't think he wants Victus in charge any more than we do." Ambria held up her hands to ward off arguments. "Look, it's worth a try."
"Last time I checked, the only place to contact him is in the Grotto." Max raised an eyebrow in challenge. "How do we get all the way across the pond to Atlanta without using an arch?"
She raised both of her eyebrows. "We don't."
"Huh?" Max and I once again synchronized our responses.
"We ask Gwyneth Augustus to take us to him." Ambria tapped on the arcphone in my lap. "You still have her contact information, right?"
"Unless she's changed it, yes." I opened my contacts and found her symbols—the arcphone equivalent of a phone number.
Max put a hand over the phone. "Before we contact her, why don't you explain exactly how Underborn can get us into the potions ingredients room without dying."
"He has the Map and Key of Juranthemon." Ambria made a twisting motion with her hand. "We just link a door to the one in the ingredients room and it'll take us straight there. No risk at all."
"Except for the Underborn part," Max said. "I mean, he might just kill us because he's an assassin and all."
Ambria sniffed. "He's not evil, just conniving."
"Nothing with him is free," I reminded her. "What will we owe him if he helps?"
She shooed my objection with a wave of her hand. "I have no idea, but it will probably be better than letting Victus have his way with the Overworld."
"Can't really argue with that," Max said.
I nodded. "I guess it makes sense."
"Of course it does," Ambria said. "I came up with it." She met my eyes. "Unless you've dredged up some better ideas from your parental archives."
My father had once ruled the Overworld as the Overlord. Ivy Slade had led a revolt and overthrown him. Before they could be captured, Victus and Delectra faked their deaths, binding their souls to mine by using a demon. When Rufus Cumberbatch released the binding and brought them back to life, fragments of their souls remained stuck with me for so long, I'd started calling them Vic and Della just so I could differentiate the voices in my head from those of my living parents.
I'd recently freed myself of them, but vivid memories from my parents' perspectives still remained lodged in my subconscious. Through meditation, I could access them in all their horrifying details. Most of Victus's were too awful to ever want to see, so I avoided looking. My scars were deep enough already.
I shook my head. "Ever since seeing him combine human fetuses with animals, I get sick to my stomach just thinking about it."
Ambria's eyes softened. "I know it's awful, Conrad, but the more we know about Victus's past, the better we can counter him in the future."
"Did you try using keywords?" Max said. "Focusing on something specific might narrow it down."
"Like what?" I plucked another blade of grass. "I don't think any of his memories will help us get into the ingredients room at the university any easier."
"Maybe Delectra knew of a secret passage." Ambria suggested.
"Yeah, think about secret passages," Max said.
I sighed. "Fine, I'll try." I'd already suffered through memories of my mother being tortured and humiliated when she'd tried to escape Victus. I didn't know what memories of hers could possibly be worse. I closed my eyes and shut off the outside world, just as I'd been taught to do in school. It was almost automatic now, thanks to so much repetition, but the waking terrors of my past clawed at my resolve.
I saw Harris scream as Victus blasted a hole in his chest. Watched a demon devour the lycan, Brickle. Smelled burning corpses. Watched my own hand slice a man to ribbons with Fireblade. It took everything I had to empty my mind.
Finally, I looked inward at the dark abyss. Mother. Secret passage to the ingredients room. It felt strange using keywords as if my mind was a search engine. Mother, show me the secret passage.
Victus stands in front of me, a crooked smile on his handsome face. "Finally, we have found the secret passage."
"I told you it was here, master." A short, bald man grins, revealing crooked, yellowed teeth. Already, the caustic demon possessing him corrupts his flesh.
"Well done, Herbert." Victus barely looks at him. "You are an excellent finder."
I look left at the narrow crack in the cliff wall. "It looks too small to enter."
Victus grunts. "I'll widen it later, but I want to see the inside." He walks to the wall, turns sideways, and crabwalks inside.
Herbert follows closely behind.
I don't want to go with him, but darkness coils around my mind and pushes my will to the side. Unable to resist, I slide into the crevice. It's so narrow, so tight, I fear I might become lodged inside. "How did the old fool fit through here?" The voice hardly sounds like my own, a distant part of my mind realizes. Demonic impulse controls me now. I want to care, but I can't.
When I reach Victus, he stands at the edge of a starry void. It is as if we have reached the edge of the earth and beyond is the infinity of space.
He tosses a rock into the void and it lands on an invisible bridge. "We've found it!" Victus turns to me, face flush with joy. "The answer to immortality lies on the other side." He points to a crack in the void just on the other side. "The legendary Glimmer exists!"
"Then let us go, my love." I cast a spell to dust the invisible bridge with aether. It sparkles for a span of hundreds of yards. "I want to live forever."
Victus kisses me passionately. "Soon we shall, my sweet." He turns and takes a step onto the bridge.
A haunting whine rises. Two stars detach themselves from far above and drift down toward the bridge, growing larger with every second.
Victus turns to Herbert. "What are those?"
"I don't know, master." Herbert scowls up at them. "I did not venture any further than this ledge when I arrived."
"Shall I?" I aim my wand.
Victus nods.
I unleash a torrent of destruction at the orb on the left. The energy merely dissipates on impact. "Perhaps it's a ward of some kind." I use the strongest dispel I know, but the orb continues drif
ting over the path with its mate.
Victus steps back. "Herbert, cross the bridge."
"But—master. My body—"
"We can always get you a new body." Victus thrusts a finger to the bridge. "Cross it!"
Herbert gulps, but steps out onto the bridge. The whining hum from the orbs grows louder with every step. When he's halfway across, the orbs vibrate, surfaces pulsating.
"My love, I don't think—" A gout of blue energy arcs from the orbs and into Herbert before I can finish my sentence.
Herbert screams. His body seems to catch fire from the inside, consumed by blue flames. The sickly yellow mist of the demonic spirit within drifts where the body once was. Before it vanishes back to Haedaemos, the orbs change color to an angry red. A cascade of energy nets the demon spirit.
Horrific shrieks rise above the wail of the orbs and the demon soul vaporizes. The orbs abruptly revert to blue and drift away to rejoin the other stars. All that remains of the demon is a fine black dust settling into the void.
I gasped and opened my eyes back to the real world.
"Didn't work?" Max said.
"Sort of," I said.
"You only closed your eyes for a second." Ambria quirked her lips. "I thought it took longer than that."
"The memories don't take long," I said. "It's getting to them that usually takes a moment or two."
"Keywords do help." Max grinned. "See, I told you this would be useful."
"Not exactly." I told them what I'd seen. "It was the first time Victus and Delectra entered the crack in the world that leads to the Glimmer."
"I always wondered what those rift guardians would do if someone tried to cross." Max shuddered. "Now I know."
I touched my throat out of habit, but the chain with the anchor stone fragment was gone, taken back by Cora to keep me out of her realm, the Glimmer.
The shattered realm was home to a massive green moon known as the anchor stone. It held together the many realms, Eden, Seraphina, Sturg, Draxadis, and Aquilis, to name a few, and kept them from drifting too far apart in the celestial divide. Its aura granted eternal life even as it erased emotion and humanity. Victus had been after a piece of the anchor stone so he would be immortal.