Dearest Mother of Mine (Overworld Chronicles) (21 page)

"I only know how I feel when I want something to happen," she said. "I don't know how to teach it."

"You need to figure it out," I said, a little testily. "If you hadn't noticed, I need the help." I looked away and sighed. Met her eyes again. "Just try. It's all I ask."

"Please don't be angry, Justin," she said. "I will do my best. How, exactly, I do not know."

"At this point, anything would be useful." I ran a hand down my face as if it would wash away the fatigue plaguing me from the earlier fights and injuries. "When?"

"I will make time," she said. Her hand pressed against my chest. "Everything you need is locked in your heart, Justin. You must simply discover how to ignite it."

Relying on Elyssa's shock scrolls certainly wasn't the answer I needed. Neither was waiting until I was in a dangerous situation and relying on instinct. "I'll be by soon," I said. "This can't wait any longer."

Thomas called the meeting to order a few minutes later and asked for reports from the Templars investigating the crime scene atop the church. Even the building's magical protection hadn't been enough to prevent part of the sanctuary from collapsing, and the Templar Chapel where Daelissa had once given initiates their "gifts" and then wiped their minds of the entire incident, was in ruins.

"The remains were difficult to identify, sir," the Templar in charge of cleanup said. "We believe this was a suicide mission from the start. They each planned to fire a round into a commander, and then blow the church. We believe the destruction of the chapel was intentional. Probably a message from Daelissa."

Thomas frowned. "Comb the ruins. I want to know who these assassins were."

"I'm almost certain they were Synod Templars, sir," the young man replied.

"Almost isn't good enough, lieutenant," Thomas said. "Collect blood and have the healers reconstruct images."

"The bodies were all but vaporized, sir," the man said, sounding a little nervous now. "The bomb was of nom design. It charred tissue and blood to ash. There may be nothing for the healers to find. The perpetrators weren't wearing armor, just black outfits which resembled nightingale armor, making it easier to destroy all forensic evidence."

I shuddered at the thought someone's body parts reduced to mere evidence. Those assassins had been insane. Then again, Daelissa might have controlled them somehow.

The arcphone in a case on the lieutenant's side buzzed. He flicked on the screen and looked at it for a moment. "Sir, they've found something."

"What is it?" Thomas said.

"The healers found bone fragments with undamaged marrow inside belonging to a human Templar." He projected a holographic image from his phone, depicting a young man with brown hair. "This is what the man probably looked like. We're running his image through our records to see if there's a match."

"Anything else?" Thomas asked.

The man's face grew pensive. "I'm afraid the second finding is even more troubling." The image of a yellowed tooth popped from the phone. He didn't have to explain why the image might give us cause for concern.

The tooth was quite clearly a vampire fang.

Chapter 19

"Oh, crap," I said.

Elyssa gripped my arm. "The covert meeting at the Grotto between the leaders must have been about this," she said.

"Earlier, I thought we were jumping to conclusions about there even being a meeting," I said. "But in this case, I think you're spot on."

"Commander, we have more information," Elyssa said to her father. She told him about the suspected meeting and the attendees.

"What an unholy alliance," Christian Salazar said, lips peeled back in a grimace. "Renegade Templars, Vampires, and possibly Arcanes?"

"If Cyphanis wins the Arcanus Primus special election, there's no telling what he'll direct the Arcane Council to do," said one of the other commanders.

"The council doesn't have nearly the kind of control over Arcanes that the Red Syndicate has over vampires," Thomas said.

"If they declare us outlaws, it won't exactly be helpful," Christian said.

I raised my hand, forgetting for a moment I wasn't in class, and spoke. "How many Templars do we have compared to the Synod?"

"There are twenty-seven legions worldwide," Christian said. "Thirteen joined with us. Ten remained loyal to the Synod and Daelissa. The smallest four legions took neutral stances with no indication which way they might eventually swing."

"There are many individuals from both sides who have left their legions to stand with the side they believe is right in this," Thomas said. "Unfortunately, the Synod received the majority of those defectors."

"So they have the numbers advantage," I said.

He nodded. "But I highly doubt it will come down to a battle of legions," he said. "The Templars have drastically changed over the centuries from a military institution specializing in large-scale battles to smaller units dedicated to quick response and covert action."

"What they did today is a perfect example of Templar evolution," Christian said. "It means we'll have to be even more vigilant."

"How did those men get into the church?" Thomas asked the lieutenant.

The man flicked his arcphone off. "We believe they infiltrated one of our legions by posing as defectors a month or so ago. This made it easy for them to be assigned guard duty to the church."

Thomas cursed. "We can't even trust our own people?"

"We haven't had time to vet them," one of the other commanders said. "We don't have enough Arcanes in our ranks, especially those with truth-saying abilities."

"We need to make vetting a priority," Thomas said. "Outsource if you must."

"Can we trust non-Templar Arcanes?" the man asked.

"I can help with that, sir," Meghan Andretti said. She was the chief Arcane healer in Thomas's legion. "I know several truthsayers we can rely on."

"Thank you, Healer Andretti," Thomas said, some of the tension in his face easing. "We
will
get through this crisis, people."

"Commander, we thought this could wait," Christian said. "But it's obvious it can't any longer. We"—he indicated the other with his hand commanders—"have voted unanimously to elect you as Supreme Commander of the Templar forces."

Thomas regarded them with his trademark stony face. Some of the younger commanders actually gulped under his glare. Finally, he responded. "I am, unfortunately, the most qualified here to lead our combined forces. I will serve in this capacity until unable to do so." He regarded the commanders for a moment. "We have rewritten the rules, people, but this doesn't make us any less Templars than we were before the Synod abandoned the rule of law. Speak with Healer Andretti about truthsayers, and start vetting your people immediately. I'm sure we'll find out soon enough who the other traitors are."

"We should do the same to them," said one of the younger commanders. "Assassinate their leaders, and let them see how it feels. We should go after Bara Nagal first."

Thomas shook his head. "Retaliation is warranted, but not yet. They've shown their hand, perhaps squandered the ace in their deck on this failed assassination attempt." He motioned vaguely at me. "Thanks, yet again, to Mr. Slade, most of us survived."

"My sister warned me," I said. "If not for her, we might all be dead."

Thomas spoke about a few more internal matters, doling out responsibilities to the other commanders, and dismissed everyone. I was on the way out, when he motioned to me. Elyssa paused, but a look from her father sent her from the room as well. This man had nearly taken my head off in a sword fight once. Later, he'd actually apologized to me. Regardless, he still made me very uneasy.

"You impressed me, Justin," he said, his rare use of my first name falling strangely on my ears. "I saw the commotion before the first shot was fired. I believe the bullet which hit me was aimed for Nightliss, because it hit me when I dove for her."

"They were going for a clean sweep," I said, feeling sick to my stomach over the idea of Nightliss's head exploding like a watermelon.

He nodded. "You usually act in an unorthodox capacity with very little planning, sowing nearly as much chaos as you do order."

"It's not like I do this for a living," I said, trying not to sound too defensive.

"I understand. I would ask you to sit in on officer training so you could learn the value of discipline and solid planning, but I have a sense such classes would only hinder you."

I felt my eyes widen at this admission. "You think I should rush in willy-nilly?"

"No." He winced as he tried to move his injured shoulder. "You have the makings of a natural-born leader. You have good instincts and intuition. I've discovered when people with your skillset try to overthink matters, they botch it. I've been around long enough to know. I've seen natural leaders in action. I've learned much from them." He took in a deep breath. "I was not born a leader," he said. "I had to learn the hard way. Even now, I still struggle to see the best path despite all my experience." His eyes seemed to focus on the past for a moment. "Experience will serve you well, but for now, follow your gut and your heart."

"Um, maybe I should go to officer training," I said, not as confident about my abilities as he was.

He offered me the barest hint of a rare smile. "I haven't seen someone with such raw potential since the Revolutionary War," he said. "I think your time would be better spent honing other abilities." He motioned me toward the door. Apparently, the pep talk was over.

"Thanks," I said, and left, feeling a little weirded out by the whole thing. Thomas Borathen wasn't a man I'd heard praise people. Considering our rough history, such high compliments from him made me wonder if I'd somehow crossed into an alternate dimension, or if maybe my deodorant was doing a bang-up job.

Elyssa met me outside, her eyes worried. When I told her about the conversation, her face brightened. "I'm so happy," she said, her eyes misting. "I think he's finally accepted you."

"I thought he already had," I said.

"I think he was tolerating you more than anything," she said, peppering my face with kisses. "And the recognition they gave you at the ceremony was amazing."

I still didn't know what to say about that. "They surprised the heck out of me," I said. "It felt nice to be recognized, but what does it mean?"

Elyssa took my hand and led me down the hall toward the mess hall where the much-delayed lunch was being served. Her eyes narrowed in concentration. "I think my father is setting you up as a leader," she said. "The recognition was one thing, but his talk with you indicates he has bigger plans."

"So he's manipulating me," I said.

She shrugged. "He's positioning a future asset."

I sighed. "You military people make it all sound so impersonal."

Elyssa shoved me against a wall and pressed her lips to mine, kissing me until I had to come up for air. "Was that personal enough?" she breathed.

"Oh, yes," I panted, partly from lack of oxygen, but mostly from desire.

Her face turned serious. "Did your sister tell you anything else while she was here?"

I nodded. "Told me Mom is being held in the basement of the Conroy's house, but even she can't get to her." A groan emerged from my throat. "There has to be some way."

"We'll find it," Elyssa said, gripping my hand tight. "Don't lose faith."

"Yeah, I know," I said, trying to melt the frustration away with a healthy dose of optimism. "Should we tell your dad about the cupids?" I asked. It was something I'd mulled over, but I didn't want a Templar invasion of El Dorado if he saw them as either a threat or another "future asset."

Elyssa pursed her lips, eyes distant. "It's possible he might see them as dangerous variables. I don't know if he'd try to exfil them from the cave or leave them there in the hopes they're currently contained."

"Exfil?" I asked.

"Sorry, another military thing. It means to sneak them out."

"Opposite of infiltrate," I said, filing the jargon deep into the recesses of my mind. "So, I guess that's a 'no' to telling him."

She sighed. "I hate to say it, but I think there's a high certainty he'd go after them, if for no other reason than to remove uncertainty. Let's keep it quiet for now."

I nodded. "I just hope he isn't pissed later when and if we tell him."

"We should tell him about your mother, though."

My gut instinct was to say no to Elyssa's suggestion. Then again, it couldn't hurt. Thomas might even throw in a helping hand if the Templars added another angel to their arsenal. "Do you plan to tell him about breaking into Darkwater?"

Her lips parted a fraction. "On the other hand, maybe we shouldn't tell him just yet. Let's see how our plans pan out."

I spotted Katie coming down the hallway. Her eyes brightened when she saw me. "I'm so glad you're okay," she said. "The explosion—I don't know how you survived."

"Same way as usual," I said. "Blind luck and Axe Body Wash."

She laughed but sobered quickly. "It isn't luck. No matter how hopeless things look, you never give up. If anyone can beat the odds, it's you."

"Why didn't you or Nightliss tell me about her becoming the new Divinity, or whatever you call her?" I leaned back against the wall with Elyssa to my right. "She's still way below a hundred percent."

"She didn't want to tell you. She thought you'd discourage her." Katie's eyes looked worried. "You're not mad at us are you?"

"No." I sighed. "I just don't want her falling into a relapse. I don't know how much stress giving 'gifts' causes, but it's a risk, and we need her full strength for what's to come." I remembered how strong Katie's grip had been earlier. Something about her had changed, and it wasn't from working out. The answer hit me. "Did she give you a gift?"

Katie offered a sheepish grin. "I let her try it out on me to see how the strain would be. She can't protect us against the Brightling curses or make us as strong and fast as Daelissa made other Templars, but there's a huge difference." She flexed her hand. "Now I know how Ash and Nyte feel."