by John Corwin
I jerked awake, but not because of the dream. Someone was in our room. I kicked off the covers and sprang to my feet. Ambria shouted and rolled off the side of her bed, wand held at the ready. A man with golden-blond hair stood in the doorway, blue eyes holding us in a friendly stare. He held no weapon, but I didn't let that fool me. Even so, his plaid business suit and bright red bowtie made it difficult to consider him a threat.
"Who are you?" I asked.
"Herbert Jones of the Walla Walla, Washington Vacuum Cleaner Company." He rolled in a suitcase. "Does your house need cleaning?"
"This is a hotel room, not a house." Ambria held her wand at the ready. "Now, identify yourself, or kindly leave."
The man tilted his head slightly. "So, the disguise is convincing?"
"Bloody hell." Ambria lowered her wand. "Is that you, Kanaan?"
"Indeed." He nodded slightly.
"Illusion?" Ambria tentatively touched the suit jacket.
"Contact lenses, dyed hair, and more." He stroked his blond beard and mustache. "No illusion required."
I peered closer at the disguise and recognized Kanaan's eyes despite their new color. "Do we have to dye our hair too?"
"Yes, we will travel as family." Kanaan cleared his throat. "Now, now, children, please go change." His accent sounded convincingly British, a marked departure from his typical concise tone.
Ambria flinched back at the sudden change in voice. "I didn't know you could talk like that."
"I have learned many things over the years, the least of which is magitsu." Kanaan put the suitcase on the bed and opened it to reveal a hideous striped dress and tweed trousers. "Here are your disguises."
Ambria grimaced. "Oh, how awful!"
I took out the trousers and white oxford. "Won't these clothes make us stand out even more?"
"The rush hour crowd in the arch waystation is diverse." Kanaan handed Ambria a plastic bag. "This is the temporary dye for your hair." He gave me one as well. "Simply massage it into your hair, wait fifteen minutes, and rinse."
Ambria sighed. "Wonderful."
Ambria and I went into the bathroom and massaged syrupy liquid into our hair. Fifteen minutes felt like an hour as we waited. I took a quick shower to rinse out the dye and gasped in surprise at my changed appearance. I could have passed for another of Max's brothers with my platinum locks.
Ambria gasped as well when I stepped out into the room. She ran her fingers through my hair. "You don't look half bad, Conrad."
Kanaan pointed to the bathroom. "Go."
Ambria sniffed but did as ordered. I changed into my outfit and stuffed small bits of foam into my mouth to make my cheeks rounder. When I perched round spectacles on my nose and looked in the mirror, I barely recognized myself. "It's amazing how minor alterations change appearance so much."
Kanaan nodded. "The wards will not activate on alterations in hair color since it is so common."
"So we can walk through the wards?" I asked.
"Possibly, but we will avoid them if possible."
The bathroom door creaked open and an angel stepped out. Despite the horrid sailor dress, Ambria looked radiant with fiery red hair cascading around her shoulders. Her hair was straighter and longer than I remembered it, probably because she wore it in a ponytail so often.
"You look beautiful," I murmured.
She giggled. "I sort of like red hair. I might have to get it magically dyed next time."
Kanaan stuffed our meager belongings into the suitcase. "Time to go." With that, he whisked through the door.
We gave each other surprised looks and hurried after him. Kanaan stopped by a shop and bought us biscuits and tea for breakfast, which we gobbled down at his urging. Once done, we walked into the parking deck with the secret entrance to the Queens Gate waystation and took the express levitator down.
My stomach seemed to gain wings as we plummeted deep beneath the city. Ambria's hand gripped mine. "Reminds me of the first time we took this lift," she said.
I chuckled. "Frightened us half to death."
She shivered. "Still does."
The levitator slowed to a stop at the bottom. The doors opened to reveal the huge waystation teeming with people. Cars of every kind filled the parking lot as far as the eye could see. People filed out of a bright yellow double-decker bus and headed toward the massive black arch towering in the middle of the cavern as another bus of similar color pulled in behind it.
"Goodness, I don't think I've ever been here during rush hour." Ambria gazed with wide eyes at the long line leading to the arch. "It must take forever to get your turn."
Kanaan kept walking, gaze surveying everything around us. "No distractions. Watch for suspicious people."
It was hard to see anything except the crowd right in front of our faces, but I tried to be as vigilant as possible. Arch operators in bumble-bee robes—black with yellow stripes—directed travelers into queues separated by destination. A klaxon wailed. A low hum filled the air as the Obsidian Arch powered up. The air between the monstrous columns split open to reveal a similar cavern on the other side. A throng of people from our side hurried through on beasts of burden, in nom cars, or perched on flying carpets or brooms.
Another group entered the portal from the other side and took their camels, elephants, and even ostriches to the large stables just outside the yellow caution circle.
I realized I'd become dangerously distracted and turned my attention back to the crowd around us. Kanaan took us behind the animal stables and into a narrow alley between the wooden structure and a rock wall. He ran his hand along the wall, stopped, and tapped his wand on the spot. A portion of the rock vanished to reveal a metal grill. He tapped a lock on the grill and it clicked open to reveal a long shaft. Kanaan waved us inside then followed and closed the vent behind us. It was just high enough to crouch-walk through the narrow space.
"Is this one of Underborn's secret tunnels?" Ambria asked.
Kanaan put a finger to his lips and led us through the vent until we reached another grill. He eased it open and dropped over the side. Unlike the other vent, this one was several feet off the ground. I swung my legs over the ledge and lowered myself with my arms before dropping to the floor. Ambria followed soon after, landing lightly on her feet. Kanaan flicked his wand and the grill swung shut.
We hugged the wall and followed it to the left. A few dozen yards later, we came to the niche with the omniarches nestled inside.
"What if they're blocking portals?" I whispered.
Kanaan didn't answer. He knelt and closed the circle around an omniarch with a green mark next to it. The hum of the Obsidian Arch and the warning klaxon out in the main cavern grew louder, drowning out the hum of the omniarch. A silver line split the air and flashed open.
"It opened immediately," Ambria whispered. "I don't think the area is warded against portals like the ingredients room."
"It's probably too large a space to detect atmospheric changes," I said.
A gray stone wall stood a few feet away, indistinct from any other of its kind to most people. But I instantly recognized the outside of Stoneshire. Kanaan peered down the central corridor in the control room. A lone arch operator stood nearly a hundred yards distant at the control sphere for the Obsidian Arch, oblivious to our activities.
"The niche should hide the arch unless someone comes back here," Kanaan said. "However, haste is wise."
We followed him through and into the cavern housing Stoneshire. The mansion stretched nearly fifty yards to either side of us. The hum of the Obsidian Arch and the wail of the klaxon emanated from the portal so Kanaan put a muffling spell in front of it to keep the sound from carrying.
The magitsu master hugged the wall and scurried to the left. Ambria and I trailed behind him to the corner. There was no one on the side of the mansion, so we slinked around the corner and toward the front. Gray-robed mages walked in and out of the open front doors as if they owned the place.
My fists clenched. These
people desecrated a place I held dear.
A short distance away, a square opening in the wall led to a corridor tall and wide enough to fit two buses side-by-side. Straight across was a gauntlet room used for magic training, to the right, a tunnel led to the Burrows, a maze of ancient tunnels beneath Arcane University. But the crown jewel was down the corridor to the left, a circular room with the omniarch.
Our omniarch.
Or so it had been once. I wished I could burn the poison from these caves with fire.
A group of Garkin's blooded dragged the limp body of a half-naked man through the cavern. Kanaan stiffened, but said nothing. Another cluster of battle mages practiced combat spells in the far corner. Others loitered around the front of Stoneshire, smoking, drinking, and listening to raucous noise that might be music.
The mages were all ages, sizes, and genders. A man with spiked hair spoke to a broad woman with piercings in her nose and cheeks. A group of young people with shaved heads, skin covered in tattoos, strutted toward the mansion while another group of men with long, thick beards sneered at their passing.
I identified the crescent moon tattoo of the lycan supremacist group and the twisted pentagram of the Demonists—a group who willingly gave their bodies up for demonic possession since they despised humanity. I didn't need to know the names of the other groups to know they represented the worst of their kind.
Victus had assembled an army of hate.
They were diverse in belief, but united in cause, even if only barely. Had Victus promised them something, or had he subverted their leaderships with infernus?
This dark army of hundreds was on top of the monsters gathering in the Dark Forest. With Night Watch wiped out and Justin Slade a world away, we had no hope of winning a battle.
Chapter 23
Kanaan watched for a moment, face grave. Without a word, he turned and led us back to the portal behind the mansion.
"Who was that man the blooded were dragging?" Ambria asked.
"One of my former apprentices." Kanaan's jaw tightened. "He showed promise, but now he is dead. Garkin's thugs hunt those who follow the way of the monkey and the tree."
Ambria bared her teeth. "The man is absolutely evil."
I paced back and forth. "They've got a small army out there. How in the world are we supposed to stand up to that, much less the monsters in the Dark Forest?"
"Maybe we could sabotage the omniarch," Ambria said. "That would slow them down."
"Unwise and pointless." Kanaan looked at the small windows twenty feet up the wall. "Even if we had the power to destroy the arch, they would relocate to another."
"But it would at least delay whatever they're planning." Ambria threw up her hands. "We've got to do something."
As they spoke, my mind wandered to another realization. Massive ley lines ran through this place, a necessity for the power-hungry omniarch and Obsidian Arch in the nearby waystation. Stoneshire was not only perfect for housing Victus's army, but for constructing another foundry.
I held out my hands and tapped into the ley lines, taking advantage of my newfound hypersensitivity. The magical power of the earth hummed in my ears. Aether tickled my scarred hands like electricity. There was so much power here, it sent chills up my spine and raised the hairs on my neck.
Somewhere above us, I felt something else—something familiar and powerful. I reached for it and sensed a presence. What—who are you?
Let me show you, came the response.
I whirl my glowing staff and roar a battle cry as I leap over the side of the manor to fight the enemies below. The sky burns crimson, clouds boiling with my rage. I draw upon the primal fount. Pure, sweet, energy courses into my veins. I sweep my staff at the enemy. A meteor smashes into their ranks. Bodies fly. Scores fall like wheat before the scythe. Molten rocks sear flesh. Flying boulders crush bone. The first power flows into me. I focus it into my hands and ram my staff into the ground.
A shockwave drives Daelissa and her army back a hundred feet.
Qualan and Qualas blur toward me. A torrent of Brilliance streams past me and strikes Qualas. She screams in agony and dissolves into ash. I see the Slade boy, still up on the roof of the mansion, drop to a knee after delivering the killing blow. "Fly, you fool!" My words are lost in the roar of battle.
I kill more soldiers. Drive Daelissa and Qualan back. Rain meteors down upon them. The mansion burns. The forest burns. If the Slade boy doesn't escape, the realms will burn. My life buys him precious time.
I am tired. So tired. No man is an army unto himself. I am no exception.
Daelissa and Qualan overpower me. Finally, it is time. At last, I can go home. I look to the skies and shout, "Thesha, I am coming!"
I no longer resist the end. I am ready.
I flinched in pain, jerked back to reality by a slap. Ambria grabs my hands. "Conrad, what are you doing?"
"It's Moses," I said in a shocked voice. "I—I saw his last battle with Daelissa."
"What?" Ambria looked at me like I was crazy. "Why would he see that, Kanaan?"
The magitsu master didn't have an answer. "I do not know." He pointed up. "Moses died almost directly above us."
"I've been to his memorial a dozen times and never felt anything like this." Somehow, I knew it was connected to my strange dreams.
"Perhaps he left you a message," Kanaan said.
"How would he know to leave me a message? I never met him." I tapped back into the ley lines and sensed his presence again. Minute power fluctuations reminded me why I'd tapped into it in the first place. "Hold on." I closed my eyes and diverted attention to the cold fire tickling my palms.
Standing next to the omniarch portal, I heard the distant klaxon of the Obsidian Arch. Felt the power dip in the ley lines as the arch hit full power and opened a portal. The klaxon fell silent and the power level rose once again.
I waited and waited some more. The power level spiked downward so abruptly, the void drew a gasp from me. An instant later, it shot back up. I opened my eyes. "The foundry is here."
Kanaan nodded. "As we suspected."
Ambria's eyes widened. "It is already operational?"
"I don't know." I released my hold on the ley lines and the presence of Moses faded again. That mystery could wait until we figured out what to do next. I slumped against the wall. "Victus is too powerful already. If we don't destroy the new foundry, he'll be unstoppable."
"Impossible," Ambria said. "We need an army."
"Justin Slade might not even be alive." I pounded a fist against my leg. "Even if we wait until the next alignment with Voltis and go to Seraphina, there are no guarantees we'll find what we need."
Kanaan nodded. "Conrad is right. Stopping Victus is paramount."
Ambria put hands on her hips. "How, exactly, do we do that?"
I looked up at the windows. "Cut the head off the snake."
"Assassination would be difficult." Kanaan ran a hand over the stone wall. "But easier than fighting an army."
Ambria's mouth dropped open. "Are you suggesting we break into the mansion, hope we find Victus, and kill him?"
"Well, we're here, aren't we?" I stiffened my back. "If anyone can kill Victus, it's Kanaan." Even as I said it, I knew to my very core that I wanted to be the one who killed my father.
The magitsu master tapped his wand against the stone wall. "I detect no wards protecting this wall." He looked at us. "We already know the layout of Stoneshire. All we require is a disguise."
Ambria held out a lock of her blond hair. "This isn't enough?"
"He means robes," I said.
"Yes, Conrad, I realize that." Ambria gripped my hand. "This is too sudden. We don't even have a plan."
"Yes, but we're here now and we have to try." I waved a hand at the portal. "What if we leave and can't get back to an omniarch?" I pointed at the rocky cavern floor. "Right now, this day, we could put a stake in Victus's heart and end his plans."
Ambria groaned, eyes flicking back and forth fr
om me to Kanaan. "Maybe you're right, but I think rushing in is foolish."
"To leave such an opportunity unexplored would be even more foolish." Kanaan drew his wand. "Hold out your hands." We did as instructed, and he tapped them. "Now the bottoms of your shoes." Kanaan tapped them as well, then did the same for himself. "Go slowly and the spell should hold."
"What spell was that?" Ambria asked.
Kanaan began to climb the wall like a spider, drawing gasps from us.
"Pull up gently when you need to unstick." Kanaan demonstrated by peeling his hand upward off the wall.
"That's a neat trick." Ambria tentatively touched the wall and climbed after him.
I couldn't help but miss Shushiel and wondered how she fared in the Dark Forest. I wondered if she worried about us or if she had problems of her own with the monster army gathering there.
Ambria looked down. "Come on, Conrad."
I reached up and put a hand on the wall. It didn't feel like anything happened, but when I pulled on it, it stuck in place. I jumped and stuck my feet to the wall, then followed Kanaan and Ambria higher and higher. Another time, another place, this might have been fun.
Kanaan reached the first window and tapped on it with his wand. The clear glass dissolved into a shower of glittering sand. He peered inside, flicking his wand this way and that, then climbed through. Ambria and I followed close behind.
We stood inside one of the bedrooms, this one empty except for a lamp standing in the corner. Kanaan tapped our hands and shoes to dispel the spider spell. He eased open the door and looked out into the upstairs hallway then turned to us. "Wait here." The magitsu master flitted into the hallway, quiet as death. He paused briefly to peek into the rooms on either side of the hallway. Three doors down from the grand stairwell, he stopped at a room on the left and motioned us inside.
We crept along the stone floor, careful to keep our shoes from echoing and joined him inside the room. A wooden golem maid dusted the furniture while another made the bed. They paid us no mind as Kanaan opened the wardrobe. Two gray robes hung inside, but they were large as tents.