Ominous Odyssey (Overworld Chronicles Book 13) (16 page)

The tall nerdy one who'd gotten on Racha's case earlier cleared his throat. "We were only told what to do, not why. We weren't even told that the gems we seek are called bloodstones."

"It's true," said the next soldier when I turned my gaze on her.

I stifled a groan. I'd hoped to learn something about Kaelissa's mind-control plans, but it appeared our prisoners were as ignorant as the rest of us.

Chapter 14

"What's your name?" I asked the nerdy seraph.

"Lazan," he replied.

I stepped closer to him. "Lazan, why are Brightling troops gathering in Cabala?"

"Most of the legions on or near Pjurna were recalled to Azoris," he said. "We don't know why."

"Is there something to fight in the Voltis Maelstrom?"

The three soldiers looked at each other with wrinkled foreheads. Lazan turned his head back to me. "I haven't heard any rumors about Voltis."

One of the others growled. "Don't answer their questions."

Lazan looked back at him. "What do you suggest we do, Tator?"

I slapped another opaque barrier around Tator's face so he wouldn't interfere and Elyssa continued the questioning. "How many troops remain in Pjurna?"

Lazan looked uneasy. "I'm no traitor. I can't give you that information."

I covered his head in Murk, leaving holes for his nose, and did the same for the other soldier. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I gave myself a moment to recover from the knife stabs in my skull.

Elyssa wrapped an arm around my shoulder. "Are you okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I really need to feed off a human. My magic side is recovering more slowly than I thought."

"You can feed off me," she said.

I squeezed her hand and kissed her cheek. "I know, but I'm worried if I feed too much it could have adverse side effects."

"Just take a little." She held a finger slightly apart from her thumb. "I'm sure that'll be okay."

Seraphim didn't need to feed as they naturally drew on the aether in the air around them, but Daelissa had discovered that sucking human soul essence supercharged her powers. I could probably get by without leeching from Elyssa, but it might delay my recovery. I also needed her so I could refuel my demon powers and feeding both sides of my dual nature from her might be too much for her to handle.

"It might be better to feed on Adam on Shelton since"—I shrugged—"I kinda need you to keep my incubus happy."

She pursed her lips. "Can't you feed on Seraphim?"

I noticed the gem sorters looking at us curiously as we spoke in English and wondered if any would volunteer to feed my inner demon. Humans didn't usually notice if I latched onto them, but Seraphim had a sixth sense about it, even if they'd never seen a Daemos in their life.

"Possibly." My head felt a little better, so I dissolved the Murk around Lazan's head.

He blinked and sucked in a deep breath through his mouth.

"None of your companions can see or hear our conversation," I said. "Tell me how many troops are left in Pjurna."

"As I said, I'm no traitor." Lazan's chin tilted up defiantly.

It was obvious we weren't going to get much else from him, so I let him be. Adam and Shelton walked in moments later, faces flush.

"We unlocked the door to the room holding the soldiers," Shelton told me. "Hopefully, Illaena bought your story about the spiked wine."

Adam looked at the covered faces of the prisoners. "New interrogation technique?"

I shrugged. "Racha and her buddy"—I pointed to the individuals in question—"won't answer any questions." I nodded toward Lazan. "He's been moderately helpful."

"I have a couple of spells that might loosen tongues," Adam said. "Want me to give them a try?"

I shrugged. "As long as they don't violate the Geneva Conventions or anything."

"Hell, we don't even know if they'll work on Seraphim," Shelton said. He stared at the prisoners. "But we'll give it a shot."

Lazan's worried eyes flicked back and forth among us. Even though he didn't understand English, he knew we were talking about him. I hoped he had something useful to tell us.

We finished the interrogations three hours later, not much more informed than before. Adam's spell didn't work quite as planned, making the prisoners behave like drunks. None of them knew how many troops were left on Pjurnan soil, but believed most of the skeleton force remaining had relocated to a fortress on Guinesea.

If I'd learned anything, it was that Racha was a depressed drunk. Much to the surprise of her underlings, she spent most of her interrogation raging about her dead mate and crying.

Elyssa, Shelton, Adam, and I gladly left the main hold and went upstairs for food and more importantly, wine.

Elyssa held up her crystal glass and looked at the blue liquid inside. "Now I understand why my mother always had a glass of wine in her hand when my brothers and I were rug rats."

"Smart lady," Shelton said with a grin. "Kids are hell."

Adam grinned. "You'll get to find out firsthand, buddy."

Shelton paled and gulped. "Shut your mouth before I faint."

We burst into laughter and I held up my glass for a toast. "To a bunch of little Sheltons."

"To little Sheltons," Adam and Elyssa said.

"Not anytime soon." Shelton gulped half his glass and glared at us. "You're a bunch of jackasses."

Adam winked. "Pot, meet kettle."

The gem on Elyssa's Templar armor chimed. Her eyes flashed wide with hope as she touched it. "Hello?"

"I'm in Tarissa," Thomas said calmly, as if he'd just taken a walk around the block. "Did you make it to the
Falcheen
?"

Elyssa wiped a tear from her eye and nodded. "Yes. Why can't I see you?"

The link crackled with static. "…kind of interference. The communication gems on Mzodi ships work better. We believe Kohval is trying to cut off communications to and from Tarissa."

"Why would he do that?" Elyssa asked.

"Mzodi ships spotted Gallix Legion leaving their positions in the west," Thomas replied grimly. He said something else, but static consumed it.

"Please repeat," Elyssa said.

"Scouts report Victrix Legion is moving units south toward the capital." Thomas paused as if to let that sink in. "I think they both want to take control of the city while it's weak."

"The Brightlings have withdrawn most of their Pjurnan troops to Guinesea and beyond," Elyssa said. "Kohval and Meera must realize that without the Brightling threat, they're free to move their own troops."

With no defined leaders at the helm, it appeared Meera and Kohval had set their sights on a larger prize than the territories they'd guarded for so long. It seemed they wanted the whole enchilada. "Are we looking at civil war?" I asked.

"It looks likely," Thomas said. "Flava is recruiting citizens to reform the Tarissan Legion, but the friction between them and some of the factions from Eden are causing problems."

Hints of trouble between our people and the natives had surfaced even before we left. "Let me guess—the vampires."

"Yes, but also the lycans and felycans," Thomas said. "They insist on hunting animals for food which is something the locals despise."

Elyssa grimaced. "How bad is the friction?"

"Even though the hunting has been done outside of the city, there have been protests." Thomas grunted. "If they can't get past these differences, we may have to abandon the city."

"Abandon it?" My jaw went slack. "Why?"

"I won't place our army between Meera and Kohval," he said sternly. "Our obligation to unify Seraphina hinges on Darkling unity. So far they've done the exact opposite."

"In other words," I said, "we liberated Pjurna from one dictator only to open it up to two wannabes."

"I want to go back to Eden," Elyssa said. "It wasn't supposed to be like this."

"Even if the Alabaster Arch on Kdosh worked, I think leaving Seraphina in this state would be a bad idea," Thomas said. "Kaelissa's power play is the most dangerous right now. Meanwhile, we may have to let Meera and Kohval fight over who controls Pjurna. If you don't stop Kaelissa from reaching Voltis, she'll be able to march over the bodies left from the Darkling civil war and wrest control from the weakened victor."

"We'll have a unified Seraphina, but under the wrong ruler," Elyssa said. "Kaelissa will pick up where her daughter left off and, once she figures out how to repair the arches, invade Eden."

"Precisely." The static in the background grew louder, drowning out whatever Thomas said next and then the comm link went quiet.

"Dad?" Elyssa let a few beats pass and shook her head. "I guess we lost him."

"I'm here." Thomas's calm but unexpected reply made me flinch in surprise. "The Mzodi allowed me to use one of their amplification gems. Before I lose you again, debrief me on what happened after I left you."

Elyssa quickly and efficiently summed up our recent experiences.

"Bloodstones," Thomas murmured. "This doesn't bode well."

"I have a feeling if we don't stop Kaelissa, Kohval, and Meera, we'd better find a nice remote part of Seraphina to settle in." I blew out a breath. "This is not how I envisioned things at all."

"I'm scheduled to meet with Xalara tomorrow morning," Thomas said. "I suspect she'll tell me if the
Yalaran
was successful in its diplomatic mission with the Brightlings."

"Why do you think Kaelissa wants three bloodstones?" I asked.

Thomas remained quiet for a moment before answering. "Your guess about controlling a new Trivectus is a good theory, but it's also just as likely she has bigger fish in mind."

I struggled to think of anyone. "Like whom?"

"You, for example," he said grimly. "If she wants a weapon to help her take power, you'd be a good target. She might also consider me since I control the Eden Legion."

The thought of losing my mind like that sent spiders crawling down my spine. "I need to know more about how bloodstones work and if the effects can be reversed."

"I'll also put a contingency plan in place in case I'm compromised," Thomas said. "If you're compromised, then we're all in trouble."

Elyssa's worried eyes met mine. "Should we abort the mission to Voltis and come back to Tarissa?"

"No." Thomas's voice was resolute. "Kaelissa is the biggest threat and we need to know what she's after. I had the skyways leading into Tarissa deactivated so it'll take Meera and Kohval at least a week to reach the city using cloudlets."

Elyssa smiled proudly. "Good thinking. That'll buy us the time we need."

"Find out what Kaelissa wants in Voltis and return to Tarissa," Thomas said. "Keep me apprised if possible, though I suspect the communications interference will get worse as you travel northeast into the ocean."

Elyssa stiffened and almost reflexively saluted. "Yes, sir."

"And Elyssa?" Thomas's voice grew softer. "Be careful. Borathen out." The link chimed off."

"Holy fartburgers," Shelton said. "How in the hell are we supposed to stop Kaelissa and a civil war?"

"If she takes Pjurna, she'll have no problem wiping out the army we brought from Eden," Adam said. "Once she figures out how to reopen the Alabaster Arch, our realm is toast."

"It's time we stopped thinking these defeatist thoughts and figured out how to stop Kaelissa." Elyssa set her arms akimbo and stared down Shelton and Adam. "If all else fails, we have a bloodstone to use on her."

"We don't even know how to use it," Shelton said.

"Then we'll just have to figure it out." I slapped him on the back. "After all, that's what I have you two for, right?"

Shelton looked at me dubiously. "Well, we could run our analyzer spells on it. Maybe that'll turn up some answers."

"We should get started right away," Adam said.

I tapped my gem and thought of the person I wanted to contact. "Maybe my mom has some answers."

The link chimed open, but the connection was even worse than the one with Thomas. "Justin?" Mom's worried voice emanated from the gem.

"Hey, Mom—"

"Thomas just contacted me told me where you're headed," she said, voice trembling with worry. "The Voltis Maelstrom?"

"Yes, but—"

"Are you insane?" Mom's voice crackled with disbelief. "I know you've fought against the odds and won before, but Voltis is the most dangerous place in this realm. There's a reason no one dares venture inside."

"The Mzodi have a way in," I said. "We'll be fine."

Mom sniffled. "I'm sorry. I know you can take care of yourself, but—"

"It's because of Ivy, isn't it?" My sister was trapped all alone in Eden while the rest of her family was here.

"Nothing has gone right since we've been here, Justin." Mom sighed. "It's like we weren't meant to interfere with Seraphina."

"I know, but we have to keep pushing and do our best." I caught a sad look from Elyssa. "The reason I contacted you is because I need to know about bloodstones."

Mom gasped. "Bloodstones?"

"You've heard of them?"

"They were banned long ago and for good reason, Justin." Mom sounded like she was scolding me for riding a bike with no helmet. "I hope you aren't planning to use one."

Technically, I had thought of it, but didn't want to disappoint my mother. "No, of course not, but it seems Kaelissa has plans to use them. I need to know how they work and if they can be countered."

"Daelissa once sought bloodstones," Mom said, "but the Mzodi refused. I only know a little about them because I studied the ancient legends. The Fallen subverted the will of King Thussor and caused the civil war that split the Darklings and Brightlings apart."

That part really got my attention. "Hang on—you're saying the two factions were getting along until then?"

"The population of Seraphina had increased greatly by the third generation—the first generation to realize that they were no longer equally powerful in both Brilliance and Murk, but had an affinity for one or the other." Mom had switched to the story time voice that used to lull me to sleep. "In those days, a king ruled, though his decisions could be reviewed and overturned by the Quinvectus, a body of five representatives."