Wicked War of Mine (Overworld Chronicles Book 9) (16 page)

"I'll do the same and meet you outside," Thomas replied.

Dad headed toward Mom and Ivy.

Thomas turned and extended a hand toward me.

I recovered from the shock of him and my father planning a boys' night out and accepted his grip.

"I don't know how you united the Daemos," Thomas said, "but I am very impressed."

"I'm not entirely sure either," I said.

He leaned toward me and lowered his voice. "The battle of the nexus will be our greatest challenge yet. We will spare nothing to close the gateway."

"I understand."

"Good." He paused as if considering something and finally voiced it. "If anything should happen to me, I want you to know that I'm glad Elyssa has you."

My next breath caught in my throat. Thomas Borathen wasn't one to get sentimental. "I'm so glad to have her too," I said.

He laid a hand on my shoulder. "Take care of her, son." With that, he turned and left.

Elyssa came up to me a moment later, her forehead wrinkled. "Something strange is in the air." She looked at our fathers as they left together. "Since when does my dad go drinking beer with anyone?"

I shook my head in amazement. "Since when does he call me son?"

Elyssa gripped my arm, her eyes lit with delight. "Are you serious?"

I nodded. "I'm a little freaked out."

"Me too." She blew out a breath. "We have twenty-two hours until operation commencement and I, for one, would like to spend it alone with you."

"Date night?" I said. "Gross adult activities?"

She pressed her soft lips to mine, pulled away, and smiled. "Oh, yes."

"I've been dying to investigate the pocket dimension here at La Casona." I pulled her closer and kissed her again. "With how often we've been here, it's amazing we never checked it out."

Elyssa's face lit with a delight smile. "There are some awesome—"

My phone buzzed.

We glanced at it. There was a text message from Lornicus.
Fjoeruss will speak with you. Please meet me at this address in one hour.
The golem obviously knew I had access to an omniarch because the address was in Shanghai, China. He'd included the picture of a spacious lobby with marble floors.

Elyssa and I exchanged concerned looks.

"How does Chinese food sound?" I asked.

She sighed. "It's never ending, isn't it?"

I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed. "I can ask him for more time."

"Absolutely not." She seemed to steel herself. "If there's even a remote chance we could recruit Fjoeruss, we need to take it."

"Don't get your hopes up." Even as I said that, I imagined his armies of gray men fighting alongside us. I had no idea how many he had, but even they would pale compared to what Fjoeruss himself might be capable of. Realistically, I knew just getting him to help me teach the Darklings how to feed on both Brilliance and Murk was a long shot. "Let's go tell my mom where we're going."

Elyssa narrowed her eyes with suspicion. "Maybe we should bring some backup."

"That would probably be a deal breaker." I held up my hands before she protested. "Don't worry, I'll figure out something. Maybe we could leave the portal open with a rescue force ready to rush through at a moment's notice."

"That would be a good idea."

I found Mom talking to Elyssa's mother, Leia, with Ivy standing to Mom's side. The three were laughing about something but Mom and Leia broke off with guilty looks when they saw us.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"Did you really throw your poop at the monkeys?" Ivy said with a giggle.

I felt my face grow hot.

"Ooh, this sounds interesting," Elyssa said. "I definitely want to hear this story."

"No." I shook my head vehemently. "You really don't."

Ivy, unfortunately, obliged. "Justin went to the zoo when he was three and he saw a monkey throw poop. So he reached into his diaper and threw his poop right back, but he missed and got it all over some man's pants." She burst into fresh giggles. "And then he starting yelling, 'stinky monkey!'"

Elyssa, Mom, and Leia all exploded with laughter.

I buried my burning face in my hand and shook my head. "Most embarrassing story ever."

Leia gave me an understanding look. "About as embarrassing as the time when I left four-year-old Elyssa in the bathtub so I could grab shampoo from another bathroom. She decided to run naked downstairs with her toy sword while her father was speaking with his lieutenants."

"Mom!" Elyssa said, her fair skin turning pink.

Leia shook her head. "To top it off, she declared that she was her father's little ninja."

It was my turn to laugh.

"I did something like that when I was living with Jeremiah," Ivy said. "He and Bigmomma wouldn't get me a puppy, so I snuck out of bed when he had guests over and told them I'd blast them to ashes like Daelissa taught me if he didn't get me one. I blew up the dessert table just to show them I was serious." She grinned. "It was funny." Her face turned sad. "I still didn't get a puppy."

Mom looked mortified, but quickly covered with a smile and a total change of subject. "We were going to get some food in La Casona. Would you like to join us?"

"Actually, we have to pay someone a visit." I felt the lighthearted moment slip away. "Fjoeruss."

"Fjoeruss?" Mom said in a shocked voice. "Why in the world would you see him?"

I told her about my plan to help the Darklings feed. "I suspect with all his talk of balance and gray he might know how Darklings can feed on both the light and the dark."

Mom's eyes grew worried. "Perhaps, but he never gives information for free."

"I'm hoping it'll be an even exchange of information." I squared my shoulders. "I really have no choice but to try."

"We need backup in case," Elyssa said. She turned to her mother. "Can you arrange for a rescue force in case things get hairy?"

"Of course," Leia replied, her usual reserved expression back in place.

"I'll be standing by as well," Mom said.

Ivy piped up. "Me too!"

I hugged my little sister. "Now I feel safe."

She kissed my cheek. "I won't let anyone hurt my brother."

We met Mom, Leia, Ivy, and a squad of Templars at one of the omniarches twenty minutes later. It was time to enter the wolf's den.

Chapter 14

I opened the portal using the picture provided by Lornicus.

The golem stood on the other side, a friendly smile on his square-jawed face. He wore a black suit with a red tie and his silvery hair was slicked back. "Mr. Slade and Miss Borathen, how pleasant to see you again," Lornicus said in his nerdy voice. He looked past me at Mom and the Templar squad. "My, my. Were you expecting a trap?"

"Just precautions," I said, and stepped through with Elyssa by my side.

He nodded. "You have nothing to fear so long as you behave."

I looked at the massive atrium stretching around us. A twisting shell of glass encased walkways that wound between plots of grassy earth, each with neatly sculpted trees and bushes. Rounded columns with glass elevators vanished into the upper section of the superstructure where I imagined offices must be. I whistled. "Fancy digs."

"Thank you," Lornicus replied. "It was an exciting project."

"Does Fjoeruss own this entire building?" I asked.

"That is not what you came to discuss," Lornicus said. "Let's save further questions for the meeting."

I pshawed. "Geez, you'd think I just asked whether Fjoeruss prefers boxers or briefs."

"All information is valuable, Mr. Slade." Lornicus led us toward one of the elevators.

I decided to keep further remarks to myself.

We stepped inside. The golem slipped a card through a reader. The doors closed and the elevator zipped upward. As we rose, the glass car offered a stunning view of Shanghai as the last rays of the sun touched the city. Two impressive skyscrapers loomed next to this building, one shaped like a wedge with a rectangle cut from the top, while the other looked square and dull in comparison. We soon rose higher than the building's two neighbors, and the view vanished behind a blank gray wall. A moment later, the elevator stopped with a ding.

The doors slid open to reveal a wide, round office with clear views of the city in all directions. Short walls made of what appeared to be dark mahogany boasted tapestries and paintings. Glass cases held vases and other decorative pieces. I wondered if some of those dated back to ancient times, or if they might even be magical artifacts.

Mr. Gray—Fjoeruss—stood by one of the windows looking out at the city. He turned to face us and offered a brief nod to Elyssa. "Good day, Miss Borathen." He looked identical to Lornicus, but unlike his golem assistant, his voice was deep and commanding. "What did you wish to discuss, Mr. Slade?"

I held back a shudder. Seeing a man who looked identical to my friend Cinder was always unsettling, especially knowing this man—this Seraphim—had created him. "I need your help."

"Perhaps you could be more specific." Fjoeruss motioned toward a set of four leather divans spaced around a table. "Have a seat."

He's certainly being friendlier than I expected.
Elyssa and I sat down. Fjoeruss sat across from us, but Lornicus remained standing next to the elevator doors.

I leaned forward, bracing my arms on my knees. "As you know, Seraphim have an affinity to either the Brilliance or the Murk."

He raised an eyebrow. "Of course."

I continued. "You, however, seem to have an affinity for both, or perhaps a way to feed from both spectrums."

"I'm waiting on the point, Mr. Slade."

I'd been thinking a lot about how to phrase my next question so Fjoeruss wouldn't know my plans. "Can you teach me how to feed from both the light and dark?"

Fjoeruss crossed a leg and regarded me for a moment. "Which hand do you write with?"

My forehead scrunched. "My left. Why?"

"Could you teach yourself to write with your right hand?"

"Sure." I flexed my right hand. "It might take some time."

Fjoeruss waited a moment, as if hoping I'd get his point.

Amazingly, I caught his meaning right away. "You're saying it could be taught, but it takes time." My heart thudded into my stomach's basement.

"Precisely." He motioned to Lornicus. "Fetch one of the prisms."

"At once, sir." The golem opened one of the glass cases, removed a crystal pyramid, and brought it to Fjoeruss. I noticed it had the Cyrinthian symbol for light on one side, and the symbol for dark on the other. It appeared to have symbols on all sides, but I couldn't make them out.

"The other option is to use one of these." Fjoeruss touched the pyramid to the palm of his hand. It seemed to stick there like a magnet. He rotated it so the light symbol faced me. "If I were to feed on Murk, this prism would reverse the spectrum and draw Brilliance instead. He twisted it so the dark symbol faced me. "This would do the reverse."

My heart took the elevator from my stomach and rose with hope, but I kept my neutral expression. "How many of these do you have?"

"Hundreds." He tilted his head ever so slightly. "At one time the Brightlings used them in a misguided effort to change the affinity of Darklings. Brightlings can naturally withstand enormous amounts of light essence, but Darklings will go quite mad if they are force-fed a singular diet of Brilliance."

I knew my next question would give away my intent, but I had no way around it. "Are they for sale?"

He shrugged. "To me, they are useless trinkets. I have never required their assistance as I have a natural affinity for balance."

"Is that a yes?"

Fjoeruss plucked the prism from his palm and held it between a thumb and forefinger. "So, you wish to have Darklings feed on Brilliance." He wrapped his hand around the crystal. "I must admit I cannot understand why you want to drive them mad. I assume you have run into the problem most Darklings face when feeding from humans."

I didn't answer. Then again, I probably didn't need to. Elyssa met my eyes, but kept her facial expression in check.

His gray eyes lost focus for a moment. "Ah. Perhaps if they balance their feeding between both spectrums, they will not be so sickened." His gaze settled on me. "You seek to counter Daelissa's revived Brightlings with more powerful Darklings."

"Balance," I said, trying not to betray the disappointment in my voice that he'd figured out my plan. Then again, he'd had plenty of clues to work with and he wasn't an idiot. "If the Darklings can match her revived Brightlings, then we can at least achieve a stalemate."

A knowing smile faintly curved his lips. "Perhaps." He flicked the prism at me.

I caught it and felt surprise flash across my face.

"That one is free, Mr. Slade." He leaned back in the divan, causing the leather to creak, and crossed his arms. "For you to earn the rest, you must give me truly remarkable information."

Here goes nothing.
"The Grand Nexus is working. Daelissa is in Seraphina."

Fjoeruss's face went absolutely blank—not surprised blank, but completely unanimated. I turned to look at Lornicus and saw a look of utter shock on his face. Elyssa gripped my arm and squeezed it.

"Seraphina?" Lornicus said in a strained voice.

Fjoeruss apparently recovered from his surprise. "Are you certain?"

I turned to see a very concerned look creasing his forehead. "Aerianas confirmed it."

"Aerianas is alive?" Lornicus said. His hands gripped the back of my divan.

I squinted at the golem and turned back to Fjoeruss. "I find it hard to believe you didn't know that." Holding the prism between my thumb and forefinger, I held it up. "I think I've earned more of these."

"Your plans are clear to me now," he said. "With Daelissa in Seraphina, there is nothing to prevent you from attacking the Grand Nexus and taking it offline." He rose to his feet. "Daelissa would be trapped in Seraphina, and you would have free reign here in Eden."

Elyssa and I stood and backed away ever so slightly. I kept sight on Lornicus from the corner of my eye.