by John Corwin
Nightliss frowned. "Can you heal me and Ivy?"
Purah shook her head. "The memory blocks use demon magic—very difficult to counter without extensive study. The potion works better."
"Just great." Max threw up his hands. "How did Victus even capture you in the first place? I can't imagine he overpowered you."
Purah pursed her lips. "We encountered Victus while searching for ancient artifacts."
Ambria tilted her head. "Like the Relics of Juranthemon?"
Sithain nodded. "The very same. We heard rumor that a collector had gathered a significant number of them. We cannot allow that to happen."
Nightliss raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
Purah answered. "Because if enough pieces of the lost city of Juranthemon are reassembled, they will draw the realms back together. It would be cataclysmic."
Ambria paled. "Didn't Gwyneth mention someone was stealing artifacts of Jura?"
I gave a nod. "I wonder if it's the same person or people."
"Victus was searching for artifacts as well," Purah said. "Somehow—and we do not know how—he rendered us unconscious during our second meeting."
"The next thing I remember is awakening from those coffins," Gallifer said.
I held out my hands. "If you come with us, you can have your revenge on Victus."
"We have no interest in revenge." Purah's voice frosted over. "We are only interested in scattering the relics among the realms and protecting billions of lives."
"I never knew the Fallen were so philanthropic," Nightliss said. "You were banished from Seraphina for crimes I cannot remember."
Purah offered a cold smile. "Do not mistake our desires for philanthropy. Recombining the realms might kill us and it would tilt the balance of power toward the unknown. We simply wish to maintain the status quo."
Ambria huffed. "What if Victus is the one gathering the relics?"
"No." Gallifer shook his head. "Victus was not the collector."
"How do you know?" Ambria shot back.
"We once possessed the Ring of Juranthemon," Sithain said. "It allows the bearer to discern the truth in another's heart, but only if they answer a direct question."
"We asked him if he was the collector," Purah said. "He answered truthfully."
"Does he have the ring now?" I asked.
"No." Gallifer's eyes narrowed. "We left it on Olympus before our second meeting with Victus. It should still be there with our small collection. When we discover artifacts of Jura, we scatter them among the realms that they may never be put back together. There are obscure realms, some without magic, others infested with plagues, that make it nearly impossible for most collectors to reach. Someone powerful is undoing all our hard work."
Max's forehead scrunched. "Wouldn't it be impossible to reassemble the entire city of Juranthemon?"
"The relics come from the focal point of the Sundering," Purah said. "When Saila tried to protect the city from the Apocryphan, the juxtaposition of so much power in one small area split the world into realms. Most of the relics are parts of Saila and anything near her."
"Explains why there's a heart, a hand, and a ring." Asha folded her arms. "How many total pieces are there?"
"The fragments number in the thousands." Gallifer spread his hands. "Most scattered like dust into the realms. But enough pieces of Saila have been discovered over the centuries to pose a threat."
Sithain winced. "Yes, if the statue of Saila is complete, we believe it might be enough to draw the other relics together."
Max's mouth dropped open. "Like an interdimensional magnet?"
"Precisely." Purah shook her head slowly. "Even small combinations of Saila's parts will draw other relics inexorably toward them."
"They will not move on their own, mind you." Gallifer pressed his hands together. "But they will find a way to each other somehow."
"You make it sound like they're alive," Ambria said.
"The magic that destroyed Saila is the very same that gave power to the relics." Purah looked up at the sky. "The pieces wish to reunite." Her gaze snapped back to earth. "But doing so would kill billions of mortals, and destroy life in the many realms."
I frowned. "And this mysterious collector will somehow survive and benefit from that?"
The Seraphim nodded in unison. Purah spoke. "We have evidence the collector works for the Apocryphan who escaped during the war against Daelissa."
"The collector is a long-term threat, but Victus is a much more immediate danger to the realms." Ambria put her hands on her hips as if addressing a naughty child. "He sent someone to Seraphina to take it over and he's trying to do the same thing here. We have to stop him, and you could help us do it much faster."
The three Seraphim exchanged glances. Silent communication seemed to pass among them before Purah turned back to us. "We will consider it. For now, we must recover the Chalon we use to make portals through Voltis."
"That's fine." I shrugged. "We'll come with you."
"Very well." Purah clasped her hands together. "Eden aligns with Voltis one month from tomorrow."
"A whole month!" Max scratched his head. "How long does the alignment last?"
"Twenty-four hours," Gallifer replied. "Each alignment is six weeks apart."
My soaring hopes tumbled into freefall. "We can't afford to give Victus another month to do whatever he wants. We need to stop him now."
Purah looked unconcerned. "We will offer you passage to Seraphina, but your feud with Victus is not our concern."
Ivy spun toward Percival. "Make me some potion and I'll help blast Victus. Forget these old fogies."
It seemed my plans were back to square one. Without the Fallen, we had to rely on Ivy and Nightliss. That meant a week of downtime while Percival remade his potion. And what if Ivy and Nightliss didn't want to help after recovering their memories? What if they weren't as powerful as the Fallen? Then we'd have no choice but to wait until the next alignment with Voltis and hope Justin Slade and his army had survived their years of exile.
If they hadn't, then that meant Aerianas ruled Seraphina, and Victus would be unstoppable.
We couldn't afford so many risks. "Please, I'm begging you to help us against Victus." I clasped my hands as if in prayer. "He uses demons to clone people. He's already taken control of the Overworld government. He sent one of his agents to Seraphina to do the same thing there. I know you don't care who rules Eden, but Victus is no ordinary tyrant. If he takes over Seraphina, he'll be unstoppable."
"Take over Seraphina?" Sithain scoffed. "No mortal could succeed where even we failed."
"Agreed." Gallifer shook his head. "We will quash any effort by Victus in our home realm."
"It is your burden to deal with him here," Purah said. "We are not like Daelissa. We do not impose our will on other realms."
My shoulders slumped beneath the crushing weight of stress and worry. For better or worse, we were on our own. I tried not to let it show and asked them the only other question that mattered at the moment. "Where is Voltis in Eden?"
Purah pointed into the distance. "On the tiny island of Kratos in the center of what the mortals call the Bermuda Triangle."
"That's all the way across the Atlantic!" Stan said.
"Indeed." Purah shrugged. "We must make our way back to the Americas to retrieve the Chalon. If you wish to travel with us to Olympus during the next alignment, meet us in Bermuda. She landed her carpet and bent down to pick up a smooth, flat stone. A needle of white energy sizzled from the tip of her finger and carved an address: Twelve Shore Lane, Tucker Town.
"Sounds like a weird place for angels to live," Max said.
"It is one of our many abodes," Gallifer said. "This one is most convenient for reaching Voltis."
"Do you have any way we can communicate with you?" I asked.
"We typically use gems," Sithain replied, "but Victus took them."
"Here." Stan put an arcphone in Purah's hand. "Conrad's symbols are already in there. We can use it
in case of emergency."
Purah tucked it into a pocket in her jeans. "Very well."
"You know, you could totally redeem yourselves by helping us," Max said. "You don't have to be the Fallen forever. You could be the Risen if you want to."
The corners of Purah's mouth twitched up. "An amusing observation." The large carpet floated up. "We thank you, Granddad Stan, for your hospitality. May our paths cross again."
The Fallen rose and drifted away to the north along the road.
Once again, we were on our own against impossible odds.
Chapter 13
"I wonder if the Fallen will take the train," Percival said. "Surely they know better than to be seen on a flying carpet."
"If they've lived among mortals as they said, I'm sure they know how to keep a low profile." Asha sighed. "Speaking of trains, we should probably take one and get as far away from here as possible."
"And take it where?" Max said. "Our only safe house is gone. We don't have anywhere else to go."
"Maybe Gwyneth can help us again," Ambria suggested. "Once we reach a waystation, we can go anywhere."
"First things first." Asha looked down at the slumbering Galfandor. "We need a place to stay the night so Galfandor can recover."
"And I need a place to recreate the memory potion," Percival added.
Max nodded enthusiastically. "Once we get Ivy and Nightliss to full power we won't have to worry about those wandslingers anymore."
I looked around at the group. "Was anyone else injured in the fight?"
Asha inspected black and blue spots on her arms. "Minor scrapes and bruises. Nothing serious."
I noticed a trickle of crusted blood on Ambria's arm. "Hey, what happened?"
"A magic bullet nicked me." She smiled. "It's okay though."
"Are you certain?" I inspected the long welt where it had brushed against her skin. "It looks painful."
Ambria's smile stretched into a grin. "You could kiss it better."
Max groaned. "I think she'll live."
Ambria glared at him. "Maxwell Tiberius, you mind your manners."
He jutted out his chin. "You mind your hormones, Ambria Rax."
Asha burst into laughter.
"Is this flirting?" Ivy cast a confused look around. "I think I tried that once but it didn't work and the boy ran away screaming."
"Yes, dear." Stan patted her arm. "This is flirting."
Asha took a deep breath and quelled her laughter. "Look, we can't afford to just sit here. Those bounty hunters might be watching us from a distance right now. Just because the Fallen scared them off doesn't mean they aren't still tracking us."
"I suggest we head cross-country." I pointed through the woods to the west. "We can use the trees for cover, then head north or south and find a place to settle in for the night. It'll give us time to think and regroup."
Asha nodded. "Let's do that." She motioned to Galfandor. "Someone help me get him on a carpet."
"Percival's carpet blew up," Max said. "How are we supposed to fit everyone on three of them?"
Asha opened a duffel bag she'd recovered from the silver pickup. "I've got an extra."
"We'll have to triple up on two of them," Stan said.
"Lovely." Percival groaned. "Well, let's get going. I have a feeling this will be a long trip."
Galfandor's tall frame took up an entire carpet, so we let his legs dangle over the end while Nightliss piloted. I took my carpet higher with Ivy still on the back and looked where the wandslingers and their posse had retreated. The grassy field in front of the house remained visible from this distance, but I couldn't see if the portal was still there. I hoped Garkin and the bounty hunters had left.
The convoy of carpets was ready to go by the time we returned. Asha, Natalia, and Ambria looked cozy on one carpet, while Max, Percival, and Stan squirmed uncomfortably on their sagging rug.
"This isn't working," Max grumbled. "Can I get on your carpet, Conrad?"
"Behind Ivy?" Ambria smiled innocently. "Do you want to move, or are your hormones talking now, Max?"
"I have potions that can counteract teenage hormones," Percival said. "There are unfortunate side effects, however."
"We don't have time to deal with hormones or uncomfortable carpets," Asha said. "We need to go."
Stan winced. "We'd better keep low to the ground. I don't trust this carpet holding three of us that high off the ground." He took out his wand. "Before we go, I should scan everyone just to make sure none of us were tagged by the bounty hunters."
Asha took out her wand. "I'll help."
It took ten minutes to confirm everyone was clean of tracking spells, but I felt a lot better knowing for sure. It didn't matter how far we ran if Delilah and Talbot knew where we were.
Stan climbed back onboard the carpet behind Percival and Max, his back to Max's so his feet could dangle off the back. "We're good to go."
"Don't have to tell me twice." Percival urged the carpet forward and the rest of us followed.
We threaded between the trees, heading north by northwest toward Florence in the hopes that the big city would grant us some cover from pursuers. Once outside the woods, Percival managed a little extra speed from his carpet, but according to the maps on my arcphone, it would take us hours to reach our destination at this pace.
We kept off the roads and out of sight the best we could, slowing us even further. As the afternoon waned, it became apparent that we'd have to stop in another town for the night. Stan had enough Euros to get us a cabin in a campground in the small town of Monteoliveto. He went into the main office with Max and Percival while the rest of us hid to keep a low profile. Once he secured a key, we sneaked into the small cabin a few at a time.
Three bunk beds lined a wall across from rickety chests of drawers. The bathrooms were in a shared-use facility down the sidewalk from us, and the kitchenette had an empty refrigerator and a microwave. Since we had only the clothes on our backs and no food, we'd have to find a restaurant or a grocer if we wanted to eat.
"It's not ideal, but we can make this work." Stan rolled up each carpet and stored them in the corner of the room. "I'll go to the store for food."
"I'd like to go," Asha said. "Maybe we could make a list of what everyone wants."
"Anything." Max rubbed his tummy. "I could eat a litter of puppies right now."
"Eww, Max!" Ambria slapped his shoulder lightly. "That's awful!"
I helped Nightliss settle Galfandor into a bed. The old man murmured unintelligibly in his sleep, but he hadn't awoken since Sithain healed him four hours ago.
"I would like salad," Nightliss said. "Fruit, too."
"I want a big juicy steak." Ivy rubbed her hands together. "And potatoes."
Stan raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps we could come up with something everyone would like. My funds aren't unlimited."
After a great deal of arguing, we settled on the one food that seemed universal—pizza. Half vegetarian, the other half piled with Iberian ham. Stan left with Ambria, Max, and Asha to get the pizza from the restaurant and pick up other supplies.
"I'm going to scout around," Natalia said after the others left.
"In human or cat form?" I asked.
"Cat."
"People might freak if they see a leopard."
She chuckled. "I've been practicing another form. Let me know what you think." Natalia's forehead furrowed with concentration. Bones and sinews crackled. "Ow! I forgot how much this one hurts."
I winced and Nightliss covered her eyes as the awful transformation continued. Natalia's frame shrunk in up on itself. Black fur sprouted, and her cries of pain turned to yowls. Moments later, an unusually large black housecat looked up at us.
Nightliss's eyes widened. "This seems so familiar."
"In what way?" I asked.
She shook her head. "I cannot place it."
Natalia cocked her head and meowed.
I held up a thumb. "It looks great. You're a little big for a housecat, bu
t not freakishly so." Although she's close to it.
She stuck out her tongue and turned in a circle as if to show off her new figure, then stalked toward the door and pawed at it. I opened it for her, and she darted outside. Ivy yelped and jumped off the sidewalk outside. "Wow, that's a big cat!"
"It's Natalia." I moved aside to let her in. "How are the bathrooms?"
"Stinky." Ivy pinched her nose. "Where's Natalia going?"
"To scout around." I dropped into a chair. "Hopefully, we'll get a night of peace."
Ivy's fists clenched. "I'm so mad I can hardly stand it."
"About what?"
Tears sparkled in the corners of her eyes. "I can't remember anything. I don't have any powers, and I felt so helpless when those wandslingers were trying to kill us."
"It's not your fault." I took one of her fists in my hand. Her fingers uncurled and her shoulders slumped.
"I don't like feeling helpless and I don't even know why." She slumped into the chair next to me. "Where is Percival, anyway?"
"He said something about alcohol," Nightliss said. "He seemed distressed about losing the vial of potion Gallifer broke."
"I can't blame him." I blew out a breath. "He worked on that for a long time."
"Well, he needs to get back to it." Ivy quirked her lips. "Maybe we should stay at this campsite until he makes a new batch. I can't take this much longer."
Nightliss sat on a bed across from me and rested her chin in her hands. "I remember bits and pieces of my past. I see flashes. I feel strong emotions." Her green eyes settled on Ivy. "I keep seeing the face of a young man. I think he might be Justin."
"Oh, I wish he was here." Ivy leaned her head on my shoulder. "I wish I could say he always knew what to do, but I can't remember if he did or not."
A contented sigh escaped my lips as I stared at Nightliss's lovely face.
Ivy jerked upright. "Conrad, do you like Nightliss?"
I blinked from my stupor. "I—uh…" My mouth wouldn't work.
Nightliss smiled. "It's okay, Conrad. I like you, but you're a little too young."
I gulped. "I—I understand."
Ivy looked down at her hands. "That's sad."