Infernal Father of Mine (31 page)

"What's the situation, Coordinator Borathen?"
he asked.

She told him.

"I planned for a contingency," he said, and
shouted something to someone.

"Explain," she said.

"Watch the map on your arcphone," he
replied.

Elyssa did so and noticed icons appearing,
indicating a tighter perimeter around the compound. "You had the
Arcanes set up more wards?"

"Yes. They just activated the secondary line.
Let me know when they're tripped." He barked another command and
then returned to her. "My wife and the other healers will have the
wounded inside soon. We've loaded up the first enemy wave, and
they'll be out of the way shortly."

Elyssa spotted Healer Hutchins and her group of
Arcane medics moving a floating platform of injured Templars off
the field. The woman usually worked at Arcane University, but had
taken a leave of absence to assist the Templars.

"Are the secondary wards your contingency
plan?" Elyssa asked.

"Part of it—" Elyssa heard someone speaking to
Hutchins in urgent tones and took the time to look back at her
arcphone. The secondary wards to the east and the west blinked
red.

"Hutchins, rally your forces," Elyssa said.
"The enemy has breached the second perimeter."

"On it," he said, and disconnected.

As if the oppressive cloud cover wasn't bad
enough, even more gathered overhead, almost as if summoned to
further underscore the stormy situation on the ground. The Templars
gathered in ranks, several neat rows facing the east and west
against the oncoming danger. Those on the front lines readied long
shields designed to repel even cursed bullets while the back rows
readied long swords to attack anyone attempting to breach the
defenses.

Attackers arrived at the edge of the woods. The
sounds of guns firing punctuated the air. Templar Arcanes on the
roofs aimed their staffs at the lines of enemies and cast large
balls of fizzling static electricity. The spheres hit the ground,
flattened, and released waves of jagged energy. Cries of surprise
rang out as guns were wrenched free from the grasps of the
shooters. The weapons stuck together in clumps as the electrical
pulses magnetized them, rendering them useless.

A few vampires broke from the tree line, trying
vainly to recover their weapons, only to fall to lancer darts or
blasts from the Arcanes. They quickly reformed ranks and marched
from the trees. Elyssa gasped at their sheer numbers. There were
hundreds—far more than the defenders. Even with their defensive
lines, Elyssa knew there was little they could do to stop them
all.

She saw sneers on the attackers' faces as they
advanced on the Templars. The soldiers stood their ground. A cry
went up from the attackers and they raced to sandwich the defenders
between their masses.

Howls pierced the cold air. Dozens of lycans in
wolf form raced from the north. The vampires turned to face the new
threat, but even with the werewolves added to the defenders, they
still vastly outnumbered the Templars.

The vampires attacked. Steel flashed. Bolts of
arcane energy blasted into the attackers, sending them flying.
Lycans bit into the flanks of the eastern line. The wall of Templar
shields buckled and broke under the mass of bodies.

Elyssa felt useless watching from above. There
wasn't anything more she could do from her observation platform, so
she raced down the stairs and into the fray. A vampire came at her
from the right. She shot a lancer, and his body went limp, crashing
to the ground. Another attacker swung a sword at her neck. The
vampire lacked proper training, she realized as she parried the
clumsy attack, disarmed him with another stroke, and ran him
through.

Enemies on the west had flanked the line. She
raced in to counter their attack, ducking a sword thrust, and
taking off the legs of the attacker. Her body flowed in and out of
parries, thrusts, and kicks, disabling and killing vampires with a
practiced ease she barely noticed thanks to years of training. Even
so, a part of her realized their lines were crumbling, and the
number of Templar bodies on the ground grew faster than those of
the vampires.

She felt a strange sensation pressing against
her and wondered if she'd been run through with a sword. Others
nearby seemed to feel it as well, some pausing in mid-attack and
backing away from their opponents. A wave passed over her, leaving
a pleasant but odd feeling. She felt sunlight on her back and
looked up to see the clouds clearing, as if a great wind had
carried them away. But the gentle breeze had not been the
cause.

The sun turned the battle. Vampires cried out
as the rays hit their sensitive skin, burning many like
fair-skinned people in the sun too long. Some collapsed. Others ran
for the woods, but the winter had stripped the trees bare of
leaves, offering no cover from sunlight. The Templars roared. The
vampires, weakened by daylight, fell in droves, and before Elyssa
could catch her breath, the battle was over.

A sense of well-being settled into her, as if
something very important had just happened. Hope welled deep inside
her. Templars straightened and looked into the sun as if they too
felt it.

Hutchins came up to her, a grim look of
satisfaction on his scarred face. "What happened?" he asked,
looking around. "Was that a spell?"

Elyssa shook her head slowly. "I have no idea.
But it feels…good."

He nodded. "We'll clean up the mess and get
casualty numbers." His lips pursed. "We lost a lot of good people
today."

"If the Synod is using vampires, that means
Daelissa is giving her full backing." She looked at a vampire
writhing on the ground, his blistered face turning purple from
sunburn. "Let's subdue them and get them underground. No sense
letting them suffer."

Hutchins bared his teeth. "I'd as soon let them
burn, but I'm tired of hearing them scream."

Elyssa turned her face to the sky again. This
battle was just a taste of what was to come. But whatever had just
happened gave her one of the most important things a warrior needed
to be effective.

Hope.

After Dad and I finished celebrating my
victory, a gurgling noise caught my ear. I turned slowly and saw
Maloreck watching me from a position near one of the pylons outside
the ring. If the size of the drool puddle beneath his mouth was any
indication, he'd been there for a while. I shuddered, and felt
grateful he hadn't eaten me.

"I felt the surge as well," he gurgled, red
eyes glowing. "I felt your power radiate. But are you stronger than
the bright one?"

"I am," I said. "Join me."

He looked at me a moment longer. "Perhaps you
will be our new master, but first, you must defeat the bright one.
You must prove yourself."

"Tell your leader I will."

He nodded. "I will do so." Maloreck crawled
away.

Creepy
, Minder Justin noted.

I rocked back and forth on my heels with glee,
and realized with a shock how strong I felt. Gravity no longer
pinned me down. I felt as if I could fly.

You opened a window to your soul
, said
the voice of my minder.

"I did it," I said in a quiet voice. "I really
did it." I still felt the connection to my demon half, but another
strong presence also filled me.

Dad clapped me on the back. "I knew you could
do it, son."

I looked at the other minder and the silent
sentinels. "Now we have to figure out how to get out of here. Let's
take a look at the arch."

"Lead the way."

Can I come?
Minder Justin
asked.

Of course.
I paused.
Can you convince
other minders to help us defeat Serena?

It might be possible, but without
their humans present to give them autonomy, breaking us out of our
dream duties is almost impossible.

I nodded.
Do what you can.

The three of us went to the arch, and I made a
show of inspecting it.
Can the other minder hear
me?

Not over here,
my shade
replied.

I told Dad everything I'd experienced in the
vision.

"The choice is clear, huh?" He glanced with
amusement at my minder. "Sounds like you two are peas in a
pod."

Boy and how
, my minder and I thought at
the same time. I think we looked at each other, but since the
minder didn't have eyes, it was hard to tell.

Dad bit his lip. "I guess the only question
remaining is can you sing?"

I tried a few experimental notes and felt the
equivalent of a cringe from my minder.

Don't quit your day job
, he
said.

Dad grimaced. "You might be part angel, but you
sure as hell can't sing like one."

I sighed. "No." I kicked at the floor. "What
are we going to do?"

"So close," Dad said. "I can remember Alysea
singing it so vividly."

"Me too," I said. The recalled memories burned
bright in my mind. "But I don't have the voice for it."

You two are clueless
, my minder said.
If you can remember it, you can dreamcast it.

I felt my jaw go slack, and followed it up with
a facepalm. "We can dreamcast her singing it," I told
Dad.

He groaned. "Why didn't I think of that?" His
eyes gazed into the darkness. "I can't stop thinking about her,
Justin. Every time I close my eyes, she's there."

I put a hand on his back. "That's a good thing.
You seem to be better at the dreamcasting, do you want to try
it?"

He looked back at the sentinels. "I wonder if
they'll notice."

"I don't know how much longer we have before
Serena tightens her demands on us. We're all here, so let's do it
now."

He nodded. "Let me get ready." He sat
cross-legged on the floor and closed his eyes. After a few moments,
a ghostly figure formed to his right. The nebulous figure sharpened
into a feminine shape. Details formed, the hair, face, and a long
white dress. The process seemed to take forever. I kept looking
over my shoulder, hoping Serena didn't decide to make an
appearance. The other minder stayed put as well, which I hoped was
a good sign.

Dad rose from his sitting position and wiped
sweat from his forehead. He looked with longing at the statuesque
form of his wife. She looked at him and smiled. He caressed her
jaw, and ran a thumb over her dimples. "Sing for me," he
said.

She opened her mouth, and the haunting melody
flowed forth. There were no words to accompany the chilling highs
or alternating cadence. Her voice rang long sonorous notes one
moment only to race through hundreds of staccato tones the next.
Goosebumps ran up and down my spine at the sound of a true angel
singing while memories from my childhood flooded my mind. I
couldn't wait to see Mom again.

I looked at the rune. The glowing lines
flickered a multitude of hues. I concentrated on it, trying to
sense what was happening, but felt nothing. Alysea's voice held the
last note, and faded to silence. There was one thing I hadn't
considered. Even if the rune was now linked to the mortal realm,
where
in Eden would it open? I hoped it wasn't linked to the
Grand Nexus, because going there wasn't an option, not with all the
cherubs infesting the place. Darkwater had been clearing the relics
of the husked angels, but I didn't think even they could clear the
sheer number of shadow creatures haunting that place.

I reached out a hand to the rune. It floated
from its socket and glowed.

I hope this works,
Minder Justin
said.

"It has to," I said.

I'm going to go before you activate
it. I don't want to be around when Serena comes back.

"Probably a good idea," I said.

In the meantime, I'll see what I
can do about rounding up minders to help you tear this place apart.
When and if you return, just think real hard about me, and I'll
come.

Thanks for the help,
I thought
back.

Just don't do anything stupid. And, good
luck, dude.
It floated away and vanished through the door at
the far end of the chamber.

Serena practically ran into the chamber a
moment later. "I felt something," she said, her excited voice
echoing in the cavernous chamber. "It shook the fortress to its
foundation."

"Sorry, just a little indigestion," I said,
trying to stand in front of the effigy of my mother.

Serena's eyes widened. "Brilliant. You
dreamcasted Alysea. Were you successful?"

"Now or never, son," Dad said.

Grinning, I said, "As a matter of fact, I think
so." I held a hand to the rune. It sprang from the socket, rotating
beneath my fingers, tickling each one with static. I willed the
arch to activate. The silver ring in the floor flashed bright.
Aether filled the air around us, and sheets of black and white
energy flashed across the center of the arch. I sensed the arch
questing for an Alabaster Arch in the real world, since that was
the only way for it to open a portal to another realm. It
connected, but I sensed dark, deep cold all around the unseen
destination.