Wicked War of Mine (Overworld Chronicles Book 9) (29 page)

All eyes turned to see who spoke. I turned in my chair and saw the person who'd once commanded the enemy forces.

Phoebe Borathen.

Chapter 25

"Who's this?" McCloud asked.

Elyssa gasped. "Phoebe?"

Her sister gave a tired smile. "Nightliss cleansed me of Daelissa's tampering. Now that I know the error of my ways, I want to help."

Thomas froze for a moment and leaned down to converse with Nightliss. She looked none too certain herself.

"That's Luna," Captain Takei said. "She was Daelissa's chief strategist."

Murmurs went up around the room.

Nightliss stood. "Quiet, please."

"I'd be bloody interested to know why that woman is here," McCloud said.

"I am Luna no longer," Phoebe said.

McCloud put a hand to his heart. "Ah, well what a relief. Why don't you come sit in on our top-secret meeting then, lass?"

"Why is she walking free through your compound?" Captain Takei asked Thomas.

Thomas looked at Phoebe. Uncertainty flickered through his face but vanished behind a wall of resolve. "During the American Civil War, I lost my daughter and two sons battling vampires. My daughter was taken by Daelissa, her mind implanted with falsehoods to turn her against me. Over the decades, those falsehoods festered and grew. True, she was leading Daelissa's forces, but Nightliss has managed to heal her damaged memories."

Captain Takei looked uncertain. "How can you be sure she is free of Daelissa's influence?"

I spotted every woman's favorite Magitsu master leaning against a wall in the back of the room. He watched the proceedings with a neutral expression. I stood. "Kanaan, what do you think?"

Takei raised an eyebrow. "How could he know if her mind is free?"

I motioned toward Lanaeia. "He took one look at her and said she held no evil in her heart. Maybe he can do the same with Phoebe."

A smile broke on the captain's face. "He said that, did he?"

I felt my forehead wrinkle. "Why's that so funny?"

"It was merely a gut feeling," Kanaan said. "I'm no mind reader."

I gave him a dirty look. "Well, that's good to know."

A female cleared her voice loudly. I turned toward the noise. Nightliss stared at the assembly with narrowed eyes and hands on her hips. "I have been working nonstop with Phoebe. Though she is still weak and tired from the treatments, I am confident her mind is once again her own." She directed a glare at Takei and raked it over McCloud as well. "If you have any doubts, you can take it up with me."

"Oh, my." Takei gave her an apologetic smile. "I will take your word on the matter."

McCloud gave her a tooth-baring grin. "I'd much sooner stay on your good side, Clarion."

Nightliss folded her arms and looked slightly less peeved. "Now that the objections have been cleared, perhaps we should let Phoebe speak."

Phoebe looked like the perfect combination between Elyssa and their mother, Leia. She had black hair, fair skin, and was Elyssa's height. Phoebe's nose, however, was more like Thomas's, and her lower body was a bit thicker than Elyssa's. The last time I'd seen her, she'd been convinced her family had intentionally abandoned her and her brothers to their deaths over a century ago. Thankfully, we'd managed to capture her and subsequently discovered the tampering Daelissa had done to her mind.

"Come to the front and speak," Thomas said. His voice sounded rough.

Phoebe made her way toward him. She moved slowly, and it was obvious removing Daelissa's influence had taken a physical toll on her.

I felt Elyssa's hand tighten on my forearm. I met her moist eyes.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

She wiped a tear gathering in her eye and smiled. "I'm just happy."

I freed my arm, wrapped it around her shoulder and squeezed.
At least this is something we can be happy about.

Thomas leaned toward Phoebe and whispered something in her ear. She nodded and whispered something back my supernatural hearing couldn't pick up. I suspected he'd asked her if she was up to this. Considering how effectively she'd managed Daelissa's troops against us, I prayed she was.

"I watched an ASE recording of the battle at the Grand Nexus provided to me by Nightliss," Phoebe said, getting straight to business. "I'm still analyzing it for weaknesses in the Seraphim fighting technique, but with their superior armor and weapons, I'm afraid we'll have to resort to trickery."

"Do you plan to trick them into removing their armor?" McCloud asked.

She shook her head. "You need a diversion that looks like a full-scale invasion. I know how to make it look like one."

I snapped my fingers. "Just like you did during the attack on the Australian Templar legion."

She gave me an apologetic look. "Yes." She opened her hand to reveal an ASE. It projected what it had recorded as a three-dimensional holograph. "Using about a hundred of these, I was able to make our force of battle mages look magnitudes larger than it actually was."

"The question is, will Daelissa's forces fall for it?" I asked.

"You'll need an initial show of force," she said. "I'd suggest a battalion at least two-hundred strong to strike the first blow."

"How many ASEs will you require?" Thomas asked.

Phoebe bit her lip. "In order to make them think we have a full army, I'd need several hundred."

"We don't have that many," he said. "Ever since our split from the Synod, we haven't been able to spare Arcanes to make them." He tapped something on his arctablet. "According to inventory, we have one-hundred and fifty-three not in service."

"That poses a problem." She folded her arms, a pensive look on her face.

The solution seemed pretty clear to me. "Why don't we record formations of four people for each ASE? Heck, we could record an entire army and have it project that."

"The ASE wouldn't be strong enough to project a full-sized recording of an army," Phoebe said. "At most, it can project two people at full size."

"How many could it handle at half size?" I said.

"What good would that do?" McCloud asked. "We won't frighten them with an army of midgets."

I shrugged. "Maybe if we dressed them up as clowns we would." That raised a few eyebrows. I waved my hands. "Sorry, bad joke."

"I personally find clowns terrifying." Phoebe flashed a smile. "To answer your question, an ASE could project about ten people at half size."

I did some quick math. "An army a thousand strong would work."

McCloud's forehead wrinkled. "But, midgets!"

"Everyone hold your thumb and forefinger in front of one eye." People shifted in their chairs and exchanged confused looks, but eventually complied. I repressed a grin. "Now, holding your thumb and forefinger a few inches from your eye, look at the person's head across the table and pinch it."

McCloud chuckled as he pretended to pinch Thomas's head. "I think I see where you're going with this."

"Everything is a matter of perspective." I put on my most devious look. "We simply need to position the holographic troops in a place that makes them look full sized from a distance."

Phoebe pursed her lips. "I think that would work."

"We need to include every Darkling and Brightling we have in the real strike force." I held up a hand before anyone could object. "We pack a strong punch for such a small force, and once Daelissa gets word that Nightliss, Alysea, and I are hitting her, I guarantee she'll turn her army right for us."

"I can't agree to that," Thomas said. "If anything should happen to you, this war is lost."

I stood and pressed a fist to the table. "I absolutely disagree." I met the gazes around the table. "Even without me, you are still stronger than Daelissa. She fights for one thing only—power. There is nothing more hollow than power. It fills you with an insatiable need you can never fill." I touched Elyssa's shoulder. "We fight for the ones we love and the realm we hold dear. Eden is our home. We will never let Daelissa take her from us."

"Aye!" McCloud shouted and pumped a fist into the air. "We'll give her a nip in the arse and send her packing."

"Hear, hear!" Dad said.

Cheers erupted around the table.

Brave words, but are they true?
I hoped we could follow through.

"I think Mr. Slade is right," Phoebe said after the cheers died down. "All our available Seraphim should initiate the attack."

"I'm going with several wolf packs," McCloud said.

Dad stood. "I'll commit however many Daemos we need."

Nightliss rose. "I will be by your side, Justin."

"As will I," Mom said.

Phoebe looked a bit dazed as her gaze wandered around the room. "It's settled then." She turned to Thomas. "Commander, can you disperse the ASEs among the various factions and have them record groups of ten soldiers?"

"Immediately," he said. "We don't have time to spare."

One of Thomas's advisors came forward and whispered in his ear. His face turned grim. "We have even less time than I thought. Daelissa has hit another suburb of Atlanta and is pillaging its citizenry even as we speak." He handed his assistant the tablet. "See to these orders immediately." Thomas turned to us. "Assemble your squads and meet in the hangar. Commander Salazar's people will open portals to La Casona within thirty minutes." He stood. "Dismissed."

The crowd in the room diminished quickly. I saw Thomas speaking with Phoebe but the other commanders drew his attention away.

Elyssa stared at her sister. "Now that she's cured, I don't know what to say to her."

I stroked her fair cheek and smiled. "Why don't you start with something simple, like hello?"

Elyssa giggled. "Such sage advice. I'll give it a try."

Thomas gripped Phoebe's hands and spoke with her a moment before leaving with his entourage of Templar leaders. Phoebe looked across the table at us, violet eyes filled with uncertainty. She looked so much like Elyssa I had to blink a couple of times to see the differences again.

Elyssa walked around the table. Phoebe met her halfway. Without a word, they gripped each other in a tight hug. Tears trickled down Phoebe's cheek.

She pulled away from Elyssa and said, "Thank you for saving me, sister."

Elyssa wiped away tears of her own. "Anytime, sis."

Phoebe looked at me. "It's no wonder I couldn't win battles against you. You really know how to encourage the troops."

I shrugged. "I guess when you talk as much as I do, something inspiring is bound to pop out every once in a while."

"You two are a couple?" Phoebe asked Elyssa.

Elyssa beamed a lovely smile at me. "He's all mine."

"I'm glad to see you on your feet," said a deep voice. I looked toward the source and saw Michael Borathen filling the doorway with his hulking form.

Phoebe regarded him for a long moment. "I'm sorry. You are?"

"Your brother, Michael." He shrugged. "I should have introduced myself sooner, but Nightliss was rather adamant about us leaving you alone."

Phoebe gave him an apologetic smile. "Nightliss ordered me not to leave my bed, but when I heard about what had happened at the Grand Nexus, I had to see if I could help. To see if maybe I could reverse some of the damage I've done." Her lips pressed together in a wistful look. "I just wish I could offer more than simple tricks."

"We need help figuring out how to overcome the Seraphim armor and swords," I said. "Maybe you could help Leanne in the armory examine them."

Michael grunted. "You certainly aren't ready to go into the field."

"If I can be of help, I will." She sighed. "I will examine the Grand Nexus battle recordings as well and see if I discover anything that might help."

I folded my arms. "I'm just glad I don't have to get my ass kicked by you anymore."

She giggled. It reminded me of Elyssa's laugh. "You could use more practice, though I believe you never used the full extent of your powers against me."

"He won't kill if he can help it," Elyssa said.

"For that, I am immensely grateful." Phoebe gathered her arctablet from the table. "I will go to the armory and see what assistance I can provide."

Michael offered her his elbow. "I'll be happy to show you the way."

She took his arm and looked up at him. "I don't know why I didn't see it before, but you look so much like your brothers. I wish you could have met them."

"Goodbye." I waved. "Thanks for not beating me up this time."

Phoebe laughed and waved goodbye as Michael led her out of the door.

Elyssa gripped me in a tight hug. "Was that real? Did I really hear my long-lost sister laugh?"

I kissed her forehead. "As real as the fart I just cut."

She lightly slapped my chest. "Be serious for two seconds."

I kissed her cheek. "Heck, I'll even shoot for three."

We ran down to our quarters, put on our Nightingale armor, and met the others in the underground hangar bay. Mom, Nightliss, Joss, and Otaleon stood at the front of a large mixed contingent of Daemos, lycans, felycans, and Templars. Lieutenant Hertz led a force of Blue Cloaks toward us.

"How's the arm?" I asked him.

He rotated it. "The healers patched me up. I'm good to go."

"Excellent." I handed him several ASEs. "Have your people record themselves in groups of ten."

"You want action shots?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Whatever makes it look convincing."

He nodded. "We're on it."

I dispersed ASEs to the other factions and watched as they recorded footage. We might have a lot of duplicate holographic soldiers, but hopefully the enemy wouldn't realize that until it was too late. Before long, the hundred ASEs were filled with video and hovering nearby, waiting for me to deploy them.

"Where's Ivy?" I asked Mom.

"I don't want her along on this mission," she said. "I know she can take care of herself, but this is extremely risky."

Fjoeruss walked in with a formation of elite gray men. He strode over to me. "Am I to accompany the Seraphim contingent?"

"Can your golems take care of themselves?" I asked.

"Yes." He met a glare from my mother. "Is something bothering you, Alysea?"