Overworld Chronicles Books 1-2: Sweet Blood of Mine & Dark Light of Mine (65 page)

"Like the Matrix?"

"Except in this case, there is a spoon and you can make it bend by editing the laws on a tiny scale."

I really wanted to take Shelton up on his offer to teach me all this magic stuff since he'd told me I might have inherited some of my mom's mad skillz. But now was definitely not the time to embark on a secondary education. Still, I felt so much better knowing my mom was not a mass murderer. But nothing so far explained
why
she had these spells. Was it part of some research? The more I found out about my mom, the more I realized how little I knew of her. She might have raised me, but she was almost a complete stranger to me otherwise.

"I do have another thing to ask you," I said uneasily. "I want to contact Underborn."

Smith nodded. "I just emailed you instructions. But it won't be easy."

"What?" I said, surprised. "You're giving it to me just like that?"

He nodded, an amused expression creeping over his face. "I'd do the same thing if I were you." Pain and sorrow erased the amusement from his features. "I just hope you have better luck than I did."

"He'll have me," Elyssa said, flashing a confident grin.

Smith nodded grimly. "Whatever you do, follow the instructions exactly."

"Or we'll die?"

"Nah, most likely you'll just never make contact."

I shook his hand. "Thanks for everything, man. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. Especially putting up with Shelton."

He laughed. "He's not all bad once you get past his serious character flaws." Smith winked. "Good luck." He turned and went back down the stairs, flicking his wand behind him and closing the entrance.

Elyssa and I looked at each other for a long moment. Then I pulled her in for a long deep kiss. It was so much nicer not feeling the pressure of everyone's eyes on my back when I made out with my girlfriend. Her hand wandered down to my butt and squeezed.

"Want to try out the mattress?" she asked, looking at the abomination.

I shuddered. "Much as I want you, there's no way I'm getting close to that disease-riddled monstrosity. It might eat us." I checked the email on my phone and found a message from one Buzz Masterson, Smith's latest randomly selected email account, waiting for me.

It read:

1. Go to The Laughing Dog in the Grotto.
   

2. Purchase a Mr. Nutter's Angel Biscuit.
   

3. Go to Grotto Park.
   

4. Sit on the northeast bench facing Orange and MagicSoft.
   

5. Wait. Wait some more. Keep waiting.
   

P.S. You can eat the Angel Biscuit if you get hungry.

"An Angel Biscuit?" I said, scratching my head.

"I guess you've never been to the Grotto, have you?" Elyssa said.

"What is it, a shopping mall?"

She smiled. "It's time you found out."

We walked down the trash-strewn alley toward the road. I'd grabbed more cash from my duffel bag so we could take a taxi. Running wasn't really an option for me just yet, at least not until I fed and let my body recover. Voices echoed from around the corner and one of them had a familiar British quality to it.

"You really are a filthy animal," Stacey said.

"Very filthy," came the reply. It was Ryland, judging from the southern drawl.

Elyssa and I stepped around the corner. Stacey stood on the sidewalk, arms crossed and gaze stern as she stared Ryland down. He leaned against the wall, one foot pressed against the brick, his demeanor cocky and confident. And something was very different about his face, but I couldn't quite place it.

"What are you guys doing?" I asked.

Stacey started, nearly jumping out of her skin. "Good lord, Justin. You just about gave me a heart attack."

"Seriously? You didn't hear me or sense me coming from a mile away?"

"I was somewhat preoccupied, thank you very much, sir." Her face flushed pink.

"We're keeping a lookout," Ryland said. "Seems quiet for now. After the whoopin' we gave those hellhounds, I doubt Kassallandra will be making another move soon."

"You guys made a great team," Elyssa said. "The way Ryland drew their attention so Stacey could flank was like watching art."

I glanced at Elyssa and saw she was deadly serious. In fact, she looked kind of jealous, maybe because she couldn't turn into a panther. Which, come to think of it, would be totally badass.

Stacey flushed red. "No, we do not make a
team
, nor could we ever. Wolves and panthers do not hunt in packs."

"I got it!" I said snapping my fingers. "You shaved your mutton chops."

Ryland rubbed a hand over the bare skin where the long sideburns had been. He looked a lot better and younger without those nasty things. "Yeah. Decided it was time for a change."

Elyssa looked from Ryland to Stacey and back, a slightly wild look entering her eyes. "Uh, well, we're off to the Grotto. We'll be back soon."

Ryland pushed himself off the wall. "I got Meghan's Prius around the corner. We can be there in twenty minutes."

Elyssa shook her head. "Don't bother. Justin and I will be fine."

"Sugah, I ain't about to let you go wandering off by yourself after what we've been through. Your dad would kill me."

Elyssa put a hand on Ryland's shoulder and looked him in the eyes. "I'm sorry, Ryland. We can't bring anyone else along for this."

"But—"

"No buts."

"Surely, I'm coming too," Stacey said, stepping closer to me. "I owe you my life, lamb, and I don't intend to let you run off to the slaughter."

"I'm going to meet Underborn," I said. Shocked silence met my little admission. "I can't risk that he won't meet with me if I have a whole gang tagging along. Please, don't follow us or try to keep us from going. I have to do this for my dad. I have to try."

"What an absolutely disagreeable idea," Stacey said. "Then again, planning has never been your strength, has it, dear?"

"I'm a doer, not a thinker," I said. "Now promise me you'll stay here and keep an eye on things."

Stacey made a mewling noise and a black streak dashed from across the road and up to her.

"Nightliss!" I said, picking up the little black cat and petting her. She purred and rubbed her face against mine. "I've missed you, little girl." I'd been certain she'd lost her life with the other cats.

"She found me while we were pulling bodies from the rubble of my former abode," Stacey said, a tear in her eye. "I was so worried about her."

"She's so brave," I said, scratching behind her ears. I held her up and kissed her nose. "Aren't you just the bwavest kitty in the world!"

Nightliss's ears flattened and her eyes narrowed, as though I'd gravely insulted her.

Stacey sniffed. "She's not a child, Justin."

"I'm sorry," I said, putting her down after one more kiss on her cute little nose. "I got carried away."

Ryland laughed as Nightliss ran up his leg and perched on his shoulder. She gazed at him with her serious green eyes, and then sniffed his hair. Apparently she liked the odor because she rubbed her cheek against his face and purred.

Stacey looked aghast. She mewed. Nightliss looked at her and made some really bizarre noises that hardly sounded like kitty talk. Stacey's mouth dropped in disbelief. "Well, I never," she said.

"What did you say?" I asked.

"I'd rather not talk about it," Stacey said. She gave Nightliss a withering stare before looking back at me. "Nightliss informed me she would be most agreeable to accompanying you and providing some assistance."

"Great," I said, remembering how Nightliss had saved my rear end during my dad's rescue. I looked at the little black cat. "You ready to go?"

She leapt the short distance from Ryland's shoulder to mine and settled down.

"I guess so," Elyssa said, giving Nightliss a strange look. "That is one smart cat."

Stacey hugged me. "Good luck, my lamb. Please do be careful."

"Don't die or your father
will
murder me," Ryland said, his tone deadly serious as he tossed Elyssa the keys to the Prius.

"I don't plan to," Elyssa said.

We walked down the street and found the Prius parked behind a dumpster.

Then we went to meet with an assassin.

Chapter 24

On the way to the Grotto, we stopped for food and so I could recharge my supernatural batteries. Fifteen minutes later, we were back on the road, headed for Buckhead, one of the ritzier parts of town.

"Is the Grotto a big restaurant?" I asked as we reached Phipp's Plaza, a real uppity mall full of stores catering to folks with more money than sense.

Elyssa grinned. "Just wait. You'll like it."

She pulled into the parking deck and, ignoring the big green arrow pointing toward the mall parking spots, headed straight for a concrete wall to the right.

"Watch out!" I yelled, bracing for impact as we…went straight through the wall.

Elyssa laughed so hard tears of mirth leaked from her eyes. Nightliss flattened her ears and glared at her.

I released my death grip on the door handle and growled. "You punk."

"That was so totally worth it," she said between laughs. "It's an illusion so the noms won't find this place."

"Lovely."

As I recovered my wits, Elyssa wended the car down a dark spiraling ramp with rough-hewn rock walls on either side. Ten minutes later, we reached a cavernous underground garage rivaling the shopping mall on the surface in size. Massive marble columns reached from the asphalt and vanished into the darkness hiding the ceiling. Elyssa found a parking spot right behind what looked like a mobster car from the 1920's. I saw everything from plain-Jane Toyotas to a sleek red Maserati and a purple Lamborghini. Seriously, anyone who had the cash to buy a purple Lamborghini had to have a spare million or so I could have. Odder vehicles sat in roped-off sections and stalls of their own.

Horse-drawn carriages, rickshaws, and even an old wagon with a mule awaited their owners. A team of sleek white Clydesdales whickered softly to each other, munching on grub from the feedbags attached to their heads. The mule brayed at the horses, its lips splaying out from large buck teeth. It was probably jealous. In a large wooden stall to the right, a team of camels rested on the floor, their legs folded beneath them as they contentedly chewed their cud. Nightliss raced from our side and, using the camels as stepping stools, leapt to the top of one of the stall dividers.

A large red circle with yellow stripes painted diagonally across it dominated the center of the huge garage. In the center of the painted area sat an imposing black arch mounted upon a shiny black slab of circular stone. It looked big enough to drive several semi-trucks through side-by-side, though I couldn't imagine what purpose it had sitting there aside from decoration. The material making up the arch seemed to twist and bend in a peculiar way, hurting my eyes when I stared at it too long, even though the arch itself was flawlessly curved.

"What in the world is this place?" I asked, unable to stop gawking at the menagerie and bizarre structure.

The thrum of electricity filled the air before Elyssa could answer. A klaxon went off with a harsh growl and the animals brayed, whinnied, and even bleated. Apparently there were goats somewhere behind the carriages. Lights embedded in the concrete around the perimeter of the red circle flashed on and an azure sheet of shimmering energy flickered into existence. The space in the center of the black arch flashed black, gray, and then white, alternating with ever-increasing speed until the electric thrum turned to a crackle.

I looked at Elyssa. She looked back at me and grinned, probably enjoying my complete befuddlement. Nightliss sat atop one of the carriages, ears flat and eyes narrowed. I couldn't blame her for not liking the racket.

"Look, or you're gonna miss it," Elyssa said, pointing back at the arch.

I looked just in time to see the area in the center of the arch burst into crackling black and white static before clearing. Instead of seeing the garage on the other side, however, I saw a rolling gray mist and what looked like the green foliage of a jungle. A massive emerald waterfall cascaded down a rocky cliff face where people swam in the crystalline water. In the center of the arch stood a big gray pachyderm, almost tiny by comparison. The elephant carried a large covered deck atop its back where three people sat with imperious looks, as if arriving via elephant was the only way to travel. Obviously, they hadn't seen the purple Lamborghini yet.

The huge animal stepped through the arch, coming from the jungle and into the garage, tracking mud and other debris across the circular slab. As it lumbered toward a large stall supplied with fresh hay, a boy raced from a small building I hadn't noticed before and took hold of a rein the elephant driver dropped down to him. The boy led the creature to what I supposed was the elephant unloading zone and stopped it next to a set of stairs.

One of the riders, a dark-skinned man dressed in vibrant clothes reminding me of something out of a Bollywood film about ancient royalty, stepped to the top of the stairs and helped a woman and girl step from the deck. The girl, who looked about my age, flashed me a bright smile as I stared dumbfounded at them.

"It's not polite to stare," Elyssa said, taking my chin in her hand and turning me to face her.

"Wh—what in the world is this place? What the heck is that arch?"

"This is the entryway to the Grotto, one of the major marketplace hubs of the Overworld. The Obsidian Arch is a gateway connected to others like it across the world. It can transport people almost instantly from one place to another if they have the money."

"You have to pay to use it?"

"Yeah. The Arcane Council has a monopoly since they're the only ones who know how to activate and use them."

"No buttons to push?"