Infernal Father of Mine (36 page)

"Yeah, yeah," Shelton slashed a hand through
the air. "We don't care who's spreading their wild oats. We need
more practical information."

"I would be delighted to help." Cinder tilted
his head slightly. "What would you like me to find?"

"Can minders be killed?" I asked.

"I will search until I find something," he
said.

"The Colombian legion deals with the minders at
La Casona," Elyssa said, taking out her phone. "I'll ask Commander
Salazar what he knows." Elyssa stepped outside the room.

"Searching now," Cinder said. "Unfortunately,
the information acquired from Darkwater is scattered within these
ASEs. It may take some time to parse them all."

"Do what you can, please." I turned to Shelton.
"I highly doubt Serena is going to reopen the portal between the
Shadow Nexus and the Three Sisters any time soon. Elyssa and I
think a small team can enter the Gloom through the arch in the
Exorcist church and infiltrate the fortress."

Shelton's forehead wrinkled. "That's the arch
the Exorcists used to banish you in the first place,
right?"

I nodded.

"Sounds like sweet irony in the making." He
tapped a finger to his chin. "Didn't you say the sentinels nabbed
you the second you got close to the place?"

"Yeah." I bit my lip. "We have to figure out
how to sneak inside their perimeter without the minder brain
knowing."

Shelton mulled it over. "Could you dreamcast
something to fight the sentinels?"

"Maybe." Dad and I hadn't tried it. "The
minders rule the Gloom, so they might be more powerful than we are
when it comes to that sort of thing."

"Mind over matter."

"A fight we probably won't win against
creatures that look like floating brains." I pondered the problem.
"Maybe my minder could help."

Shelton's face brightened. "Yeah, it could even
the odds."

Dad stepped through the doorway. "If you need a
team, count me in."

"Are you really that eager to go back?" I
asked.

"Hardly." He snorted. "You and I have the most
experience with the Gloom. It makes sense for us to lead the
way."

Elyssa entered the room. "I spoke to my father.
Commander Salazar will be on standby to attack the fortress once
the Shadow Nexus is opened either by us or by Serena."

"What about the Exorcist church?" I
asked.

"Borathen Templars will help us secure the
church."

"Justin, I believe I've found something,"
Cinder said, displaying the image of a familiar contraption on the
screen.

"Is that a picture of Serena's lab?" I
asked.

"Yes," he said. "This device is called a
psionic disruptor."

A hexagonal arrangement of large Tesla coils
surrounded a device composed of interlocking rings at the very
center. "I saw that thing when we were there," I said. "What does
it do?"

"It was created so they could experiment on
minders." Cinder retrieved the image of a control panel with
glowing symbols on it. Next to the control panel was a legend with
various combinations of symbols. One combination had the word
terminate
next to it. Cinder highlighted the word. "I
believe entering this combination will kill any minders within the
perimeter of the disruptor."

"You're amazing," I said, patting him on the
back. "Can you send this image to my phone?"

The golem nodded. "Right away."

I turned back to Elyssa. "What do you know
about the church?"

Elyssa displayed a holographic diagram of the
Exorcist church. She touched a finger to an area on the front and
the back of the structure, marking them red. "These are the only
two ways in."

"What about the windows?" I asked.

"Magically reinforced." She shifted the view to
the side of the building. "They use the same kind of spells the
windows on the mansion use."

I'd found out how tough those windows were when
trying to dive through one. The material stretched and repelled
attacks. Even demons summoned by the Black Robe Brotherhood hadn't
been able to smash through them. "Are the doors warded?"

"Magically locked," Elyssa said. "We'll need
someone to crack the spell." She scrolled the image and pointed at
rows of cross-shaped holes in the sides of the church. "When we
tried to get in, the Exorcists shot at us from these holes. We may
need someone to shield whoever is cracking the wards on the
door."

"Adam Nosti can crack the wards," Shelton said.
"I should be able to shield him while he does it."

"What's the plan once we're in?" Dad
asked.

"Templars will secure the sanctuary," Elyssa
said. "Justin, didn't you say the Gloom arch was blocked when you
tried to come back through?"

I nodded. "We'll need to remove that before we
can use it."

"Adam again," Shelton said.

"Justin, this information may be useful."
Cinder whirled an ASE and brought up a holographic display of a
Gloom arch over the table. "Darkwater acquired some of the Exorcist
training videos."

"Videos?" Shelton laughed. "I gotta see
this."

"They are quite informational," Cinder said.
"As explained in the video, The Gloom arch does not open to a
remote destination, but creates a portal to the Gloom in the same
place as the arch."

"The Exorcists used a singing ritual," I
said.

"The singing ritual is unnecessary, according
to the video." Cinder flicked the image of the arch. It vanished
and was replaced by the video of a man dressed in the monk-like
robes of the Exorcists. Awful easy-listening music sounding like a
duet between a pan flute and an organ played in the background. The
man spoke to the camera.

"During your time as an Exorcist, you'll see
many amazing things. The Gloom arch is one such wonder." He touched
the gray structure. "Since exorcism is successful in most cases,
banishment isn't used very often. However, you may come across
tough cases every once in a while." He offered a reassuring smile
as another man in a robe appeared on camera. "Remember, always ask
your backup buddy to help you move the possessed into the
containment circle." He pointed to his eyes. "Keep a sharp eye out
for any silver objects that may have fallen across the circle and
might prevent it from closing." The man touched his ears. "Listen
for signs of danger from the possessed subject, and don't be afraid
to ask your coordinator for more help." The two men smiled
vacantly. "Remember, look, listen, and ask."

Shelton roared with laughter.

I sighed. "Cinder, can you fast-forward to the
important parts?"

"Of course." Cinder waved his hand over the
video and advanced it.

"…the ritual is just for show," the man said,
and pressed a finger to the silver circle in the floor around the
Gloom arch. "You seal it like any other arch, and will it to open."
A portal flickered on in the arch. "If you simply will it to open,
it won't rupture the veil between realms and cause the vacuum
usually associated with Gloom fractures. The Exorcist ritual
leaders typically use the slashing method when opening the portal.
This tears through the veil and causes the vacuum between the
mortal realm and the Gloom." The man smiled. "This is often used to
demonstrate power to prisoners. Don't be afraid to use
intimidation. Remember, the possessed are dangerous, and the Gloom
is no place you want to end up on accident, right, Phil?" He turned
to his partner.

"That's right, Roger. Know your surroundings.
Know how to operate equipment. Know how to handle the possessed.
Remember the three Ks" Phil turned to Roger. "Now you
know."

Roger smiled. "And knowing is half the
battle."

Cinder stopped the playback as the two men
clasped hands and raised them overhead in some sort of victory
pose. The golem turned to us. "This means you can safely enter and
exit the Gloom via the arch."

Shelton slapped Cinder on the back. "Nice job,
buddy."

The golem regarded Shelton for a moment. "Thank
you for your non-aggressive show of appreciation,
Harry."

Shelton rolled his eyes. "You sure do have a
way of ruining the moment."

"This is perfect," Elyssa said.

The new knowledge encouraged me. "It also means
we'll be able to cast spells, at least within range of the
arch."

"Will magic carpets work in the Gloom?" Shelton
asked.

I shrugged. "I think so. Their levitation
spells are self-contained."

"There's a great deal of speculation in the
Darkwater database about the Gloom effect on supernatural
abilities," Cinder said. "So far, I have found no definitive
answers."

"I should be able to use my abilities," I said.
"My Seraphim side seems to help me overcome the Gloom
limitations."

"Can you draw us a diagram of the Gloom
fortress?" Elyssa asked me.

I hadn't seen the entire structure, but
remembered enough of Jarvis's tour to sketch the basics. Using my
finger, I drew a map on an arctablet and displayed the image above
the table. "Here's the pit," I said, drawing the quarry. The pit
extended like a semi-circle around the back of the fortress like a
barrier. Next, I drew a long rectangle in front of the pit and
another large circle behind the complex. "This is the fortress"—I
touched the rectangle—"and the circle is the arch chamber." I
marked the front entrance and outlined the corridors as best I
could. Each bottleneck resembled a roundabout where the sentinels
could eliminate any threats. Near the back, I drew Serena's lab,
marking the location of the minder brain on the left. Behind the
lab, I sketched the round chamber with the Shadow Nexus inside. I
drew an X on the back wall of the fortress to the left of Serena's
lab. "I think that's where the rear exit is."

Elyssa studied the diagram for several minutes.
"The pit provides plenty of incentive not to come through the
back." She narrowed her eyes. "Unless flying carpets work. Then we
could fly across it and enter via the back."

"The minder brain controls the doors," Dad
said. "We'll need to open them somehow."

"What about an invisibility spell?" I asked.
"We could wait near the door until someone opens it."

"You're talking about a major power drain,"
Shelton said with a shake of his head. "Even if an Arcane could
cast inside the Gloom, they'd be too tired to do much else after
maintaining an invisibility veil."

"We can use Nightingale armor," Elyssa said.
"It has rudimentary camouflage, but it won't last long."

I raised an eyebrow. "How long?"

"About ten minutes before it needs to
recharge."

"That's not very long," Dad said.

I sighed. "It'll have to do."

Elyssa looked over the holographic diagrams of
the Exorcist church and Gloom fortress floating side-by-side above
the table. She drew circles, lines, and squares of different colors
on both of them. Grunted, and erased them before starting
again.

Adam Nosti and his girlfriend, Meghan Andretti,
entered the room. Adam gave me a wave and walked over to Shelton.
"Got your text," he said.

Dad pulled me to the side. "Why don't you fill
me in on the plan later? I'm going to take a walk or
something."

I felt my forehead crinkle. "Um, okay. You look
a little pale. Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine. I just need some fresh air." Dad
headed for the door.

I gripped his arm. "What's wrong? Why are you
acting so antsy all of a sudden?"

The door to the war room opened. Dad stiffened.
A petite woman entered. Nightliss was the spitting image of her
sister, Daelissa, though her dark hair, green eyes, and olive-toned
skin were in sharp contrast to Daelissa's blue eyes, blonde hair,
and fair skin. I wasn't sure there was a term for the kind of twins
they were—identical mirror twins?

"Justin!" Nightliss said, and gave me a firm
hug. She kissed me on both cheeks. "It is so good to see you." Her
eyes grew troubled as they gazed at Dad. "David?"

He grinned, reminding me of the smartass with
whom I'd entered the Gloom. "Good to see you again,
Nightliss."

"I have not seen you since Vadaemos," she said.
"But lately I have begun to remember things from the far past about
you and—"

"I was just leaving," Dad said, tipped his
head, and headed for the door.

Nightliss shot me a puzzled look. I
shrugged.

Dad headed through the door, and plowed right
into someone rounding the entrance. He grunted. Blonde hair
flashed, and a bundle of parchment paper flew apart and scattered
across the floor.

My father's face went white. He recovered
quickly with a smile. Alysea, my mother, looked at him in
surprise.

"David?" Mom paused a heartbeat before bending
down to retrieve her parchment papers.

"Here, let me get that for you." Dad leaned
down to help her at the same time. They bumped heads so hard I
heard the
thunk
from across the room.