Fallen Angel of Mine (5 page)

Neither of the women spoke, so I took
it upon myself to break the silence. "Underborn said House Slade
was here during the incident, but he didn't say anything about
House Assad joining the party."

Shades of red danced in Kassallandra's
eyes. "When House Slade cast out Vadaemos, Anae Orionas, to our
great shame, joined him and made her love for him public. She was
never to be shared with House Slade as a bond, but meant only for
our own males. To break custom and mate with a male from another
house without blessing is shameful."

I shuddered. "What's shameful is not
allowing a person to be with someone they love and then making them
bang their own relatives." I made a gagging sound to underline just
how nasty it was.

A scowl marred her pretty face, but she
moved on. "The Vadaemos-Orionas matter had to be settled. Once our
families learned the two fugitives were hiding at Thunder Rock, we
each sent our own task force to bring them back. Instead, a host of
Templars beset them and only one member of Assad escaped to tell
the tale. The Slades claimed the same happened to them, though we
never were able to confirm this."

"Only one Assad and one Slade escaped?"
Elyssa said. "Did they happen to be high-standing members of each
family?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, the heads of
security for each family were the ones who survived."

"And those are the ones that other
Daemos believe and respect, right?"

"Of course." Kassallandra tilted her
head slightly. "Why do you ask?"

"My father is such a person among the
Templars. He's someone others would believe without question. How
is it all sides lost everyone except for their most important
people?"

"Perhaps because they are the most
skilled at surviving."

Elyssa crossed her arms. "I don't think
that's it. In fact, I think Underborn was right, Justin. Someone
played us all."

"You truly think a
fourth
party engineered
this debacle?" Kassallandra's eyebrows arched with
skepticism.

"I think there's too much coincidence
involved." Elyssa picked up a pebble and tossed it into the murky
green water filling a large portion of the abandoned quarry. "I
never knew the story because my father never talked about it. But
hearing your side makes the whole thing stink to high
heaven."

"Then why wouldn't your father have
picked up on this?" I asked. "He's not stupid."

She shook her head. "No, but he's also
a very hard man and this is a grudge he's nursed for a long time.
He thinks his people were led into an ambush by a spawn—I mean
Daemos—informant. He's convinced it was part of a despicable plot
to severely weaken the Templars. Now he absolutely and universally
despises them. Your people, Anae Kassallandra, were led into the
same trap."

"But why would anyone go to such
lengths?" Kassallandra asked.

"The Templars and Daemos are two of the
most powerful and rigid clans of Overworld society. Daemos are the
most politically evolved, and the Templars are the backbone of
order. If those two factions were at war, then the others would be
easy pickings."

Kassallandra's eyes softened with what
seemed like appreciation. "You know a great deal for one of few
years, Templaras Borathen."

Elyssa wrinkled her nose. "I just paid
attention in history class." She tossed another pebble into the
lake. "I was supposed to be taking the Cho'kai any day now. All I
wanted to do was please my parents. Make them proud. I studied
texts on the battles my father fought over the centuries and
determined if I would've done anything differently or kept his
course."

"Centuries?" I asked. "How old is your
dad?"

"Old. But that's a story for
another time. The one thing I discovered about my father is, though
he's a brilliant tactician, he absolutely despises dishonorable
people. He never forgives betrayal or desertion. Even worse, he
couldn't care less
why
someone would commit such an act. All he sees is black and
white."

"Blinded by self-righteousness?" I
asked.

She nodded. "Unfortunately,
yeah."

Kassallandra's eyes flared. "My house
believed House Slade and the Templars were in league, though we
never found proof."

"Even though the Slades lost people
too?" I asked.

"As I said, we had no proof any of
their people were killed. Only their belated assurances and
accusations."

"So your survivor never saw any Slades
actually die."

She shook her head. "The Slades
contacted us later demanding retribution for their dead. Our people
simply assumed it was part of a ploy so we would only blame the
Templars for the betrayal. Truth be told, only the threat of open
war between both House Slade and the Templars stayed our immediate
retaliation."

"While House Slade thought the Templars
were in league with the Assads." Elyssa said.

I snapped my fingers. "And the Templars
blamed all spawn. Holy crap, what a number someone did on them. No
wonder your dad's been warring with spawn all this
time."

Light dawned in Elyssa's eyes as if a
thought suddenly occurred to her. "Justin, your father's marriage
would have healed that rift."

Her statement opened another can of
worms in my thought processes. "Not that I'm unhappy about my dad
hooking up with my mom, but what if someone intervened? Convinced
him to run away and shirk his duty to Kassallandra?"

The redhead's eyes widened.
"This deception grows deeper and more devious with every
connection." She paused, eyes narrowed. "
If
this is true. The Templars have
been relentless in their dealings with us, especially against the
minor houses, which lack the manpower to fight back. Several
smaller houses banded together so they could overwhelm the common
enemy."

Elyssa nodded. "In eastern Europe. I
heard about it. But the sides are too evenly matched here in the
States. My father knew a direct onslaught against the major houses
would not only draw the attention of the noms to the Overworld, but
the casualties would be astronomical."

"And so he resorts to sanctions and
apprehending anyone he deems suspicious." The redhead's forehead
pinched. "Sooner or later the dam will burst and noms and supers
alike will be drawn into a war no one will win."

"So who benefits the most from pitting
Daemos and Templars against each other?" I asked. "Vampires like
Maximus?"

Elyssa had an answer already on her
tongue. "The vampires are opportunists. Maximus and his rogues are
a side effect. But I can think of one person who clearly benefits
from the chaos. Vadaemos. Both sides wanted him out of the picture,
which means he benefits if the Templars and Daemos are too busy
fighting each other to care about him."

"It's simple then," I said.
"Find Vadaemos, force him to 'fess up, and everything is peachy
keen in the world again." Not to mention Elyssa's father might give
me a medal
and
ask
me to marry his daughter. The simple thought of being accepted by
him filled me with hope and terror.

"Would anyone else benefit from this
deception?" Kassallandra said, crossing her arms. Doubt still
lingered on her face, but she looked almost convinced.

Elyssa shrugged. "It's possible. Maybe
Vadaemos had help."

"At this point, I'm willing to believe
just about anything." I sighed. "With all the creepy golems, rogue
vampires, hellhounds, and crazy relatives after me, I wouldn't be
surprised if this isn't all a universal conspiracy to make my life
miserable." Vadaemos seemed like some historical figure from the
distant past who had no connection with my present. And we were
related. I wondered if Dad knew him. It made me feel gross. Like I
was related to a war criminal.

Elyssa drew in a sharp
breath.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I just realized something."

"Elvis and aliens are behind
everything, right?"

She snorted. "No. At least, I hope not.
Your dad didn't marry just any old human woman. He married Alice
Conroy, the daughter of the most powerful Arcane
family."

"House Assad was ready to go to war
with the Arcanes over the insult," Kassallandra said. "A marriage
between Daemos and human is abominable enough, but to do it in such
a way as to defy a contractual marriage between houses further
incensed both sides."

"Your people blamed all Arcanes for the
choice two people made?" I scratched my head. "That doesn't
compute."

"Daemos don't think the way we do,"
Elyssa said. "To them, any faction not of their kind is regarded as
a single unit, with a ruling council and high families with great
power. The Conroys might be viewed as the equivalent of a royal
family for the Arcanes."

I whistled. "Man. That's old
school."

"Our ancient beliefs and
morality are not subject to whim," Kassallandra said in a cold
voice. "I am much younger than most of my relatives and understand
foreign societies better than those who have adhered to the same
customs for centuries. This is why I did not order my hounds to
tear you apart when you spoke directly to me or when you insist on
calling my kind
spawn
."

"How sweet," I said. "I'm glad you're
such a rebel."

Her eyes flared for an instant.
"Suffice it to say, House Assad viewed the rebellion of Daevadius
Slade as an insult from his house and the acceptance of Alice
Conroy as interference by the Arcanes. We felt certain the Slades
decided to widen their alliance and, using the Templars and the
Arcanes as cudgels, planned to destroy us."

"But the Conroys hate my dad, and the
Slades sure as hell didn't want him marrying a human. I'm sure
someone explained that to your people."

Kassallandra's raised eyebrow and tight
lips told me what she thought of that. "If the Slades and Conroys
did not do everything in their power to stop it, they did
nothing."

I booted a rock near my foot and
grunted. "Sounds like Vadaemos's plan is working even better than
he thought. If Maximus and his clowns succeed in creating their
vampire army, it might just be the end of the world. "

"You might be more right than you
know," Elyssa said. "Vampires attacked an Arcane school in Dallas.
Killed dozens of kids and teachers. The Red Syndicate, of course,
denied all knowledge."

"Probably because it was Maximus," I
said. "What better way to keep the Reds off his back than if he
makes it look like the Syndicate is declaring war on the
Arcanes?"

A disturbed look passed across
Kassallandra's face. "I almost wish I didn't know this," she said,
her radiant confidence dimming in the light of these
revelations.

"It's spiraling out of control," Elyssa
said. "My god, when I put all these separate incidents together…"
She put a hand to her lips, as though afraid to continue her line
of thought.

I voiced what she hadn't. "What we have
here is a systematic attack against the glue holding the Overworld
Conclave together. It seems way too big for one person, even
Vadaemos." Solving the conspiracy behind Thunder Rock suddenly
became a lot more complicated in my mind, like one of those
corkboards with tons of pictures pinned to a map and a mile of red
yarn connecting them all. Detective work definitely wasn't my
forte. In fact, it was giving me a headache.

One thing was very clear, however.
Vadaemos was like the center of a wheel with spokes radiating in
all directions. He might be a real mastermind, or he might be just
another pawn. Either he was the man with all the answers, or he
knew who was. He was the reason Elyssa's father hated spawn. He
might even be the reason my parents got married. If that were
true—my breath caught in my chest at the possibilities. Having my
family together was good for Vadaemos because it kept the spawn at
odds with the Arcanes. Maybe he would help me bring my parents and
sister back together. Outsmart the Conroys.

But if he helped me, it meant I
couldn't bring him to Templar justice and exonerate all spawn-kind
for Thunder Rock. Thomas Borathen would never accept me as his
daughter's boyfriend—or anything more. It would mean never having a
chance at an extended family. No meeting the weird aunt who likes
to pinch cheeks, or having big family holiday dinners. No vampire
hunting with the brothers, or defeating supernatural attempts at
world domination with the father either. I tried to imagine Thomas
patting me on the back and calling me son. Instead, all I could
think about was how nasty he'd been to me the first time we
met.

I would be willing to do almost
anything if it meant I could ensure a future with Elyssa. Then
again, I would do almost anything to make my family whole and
rescue my mom and sister from the Conroys. There had to be a way to
have both, damn it!

I leaned forward and stared into the
murky waters of the lake. Something crinkled in my pocket. I
reached inside, withdrew several folded sheets of paper, and
unfolded them on my knee.