Dearest Mother of Mine (Overworld Chronicles) Read online

  Cinder regarded the rubber nipple for a moment. "From the informational films Harry watches, I have seen how men enjoy—"

  "Enough!" Meghan said, alarm in her eyes. "Just put the nipple in the baby's mouth, okay?"

  "Of course," he replied, head tilted with curiosity while Adam and I giggled like school girls.

  "Educational films," Adam said with a snort.

  Cinder gingerly picked up a baby from the floor, and cradled it in his arms. He offered it the nipple and the infant sucked greedily. Meghan did likewise with one of the other babies. After the bottles were empty, she waited a couple of minutes, observing the two infants who now cooed happily.

  "It looks like either formula or milk works," she said. "We'll have to keep an eye out for diarrhea or vomiting, to be sure."

  "Can't wait," I said, wondering if she'd brought nose plugs and a plastic coverall for protection.

  She handed bottles to each of us. "Let's feed them."

  I walked up to one particularly gaunt little baby, and picked it up. It stank to high heaven. I wondered if it had been peeing or pooping itself despite the lack of food. My supernatural sense of smell certainly didn't help matters, bringing forth the odor in all its glory. Nose plugs, please! The baby sucked the bottle dry in seconds.

  "Should I give it another?" I asked.

  "Give it a minute to digest," Meghan said. "In the meantime, you and Adam can unpack the cribs and baths."

  Adam indicated several tightly packed bundles. He set one down, and untied the bow on top. The bundle sprang open, forming a hammock lined with soft fur and glinting like diamond fiber. We did the same with the other bundles, lining them in two rows while Meghan and Elyssa fed the other babies.

  "Coochie-coo," Elyssa said as one baby smiled up at her, its little tummy round and full. "You are just adorable."

  "I'll need water," Meghan said to Slitheren.

  The dragon slithered away about a hundred feet and abruptly dove straight down, burrowing into the obsidian slab as if it were butter. A moment later, he returned to the surface, his body writhing through the stone, leaving a shallow channel behind. Once close to the cupids, he spun in a circle, carving out a bowl. He resumed his handiwork, creating another aqueduct on the opposite side before burrowing straight down. Water gurgled from the new hole he'd made, trickled into the channel, and pooled in the bowl, filling it and flowing into the other shallow canal where it drained down the first hole.

  "Have you ever considered a career in construction?" I asked the dragon.

  Slitheren tilted his head and blinked at me.

  "Wonderful," Meghan said. "I won't even need to use the portable bathtubs I brought." She took the baby in her arms and lowered it into the water. "Oh, it's warm," she said, smiling at Slitheren. "Thank you."

  The leyworm almost seemed to smile back, his tongue snaking in and out a bit faster than usual.

  Adam and I watched as the women bathed each infant in turn while the little buggers cooed happily. Elyssa set the clean cupids in the cribs until all thirteen were processed. The giant purple leyworm hawked up another sparkling new cupid as we looked at the nursery. Cinder picked it up by the feet, and gave it a gentle spank on its bare bottom. The baby burst into tears.

  "Coochie-coo," he said in his monotone voice, and held a bottle to the newborn's mouth.

  Adam and I snickered.

  "How interesting," Cinder said, watching the little life form drain the bottle. "Watching them feed has an almost soothing side effect."

  Adam barked a laugh, which he quickly covered with his hand, while Elyssa and Meghan looked on in surprise.

  "Can you remain and be responsible for feeding them?" Meghan asked. "I would stay, but have other pressing matters to attend."

  "Yes," Cinder said. "It will be interesting to learn how one should interact with babies."

  "Heaven help us," Elyssa said.

  "Did you find out anything about the arches in the control room?" I asked Cinder. "Like maybe how to work the Alabaster Arch?"

  "Unfortunately, I was unable to determine how to safely reactivate the Alabaster Arch," he said. "Some of the other arches seem to work, though I lacked the resources to test them."

  I didn't really see a need to spend time testing the mini-arches just yet, so long as the omniarch at the mansion worked. It might be handy having an extra omniarch here in El Dorado in case someone became stranded, but with the other problems heaped on our plates, I wasn't sure when we'd have a chance to mess with them. I told Cinder goodbye, and we left.

  "Thanks for the help, Slitheren," I told my new dragon buddy as we walked back to the control room.

  He looked at me for a long moment, almost as if he wanted to say something, nodded, and slithered back into the cavern.

  "I wish he could talk," I said, wondering what was going on in that reptilian brain of his. I cast a glance at Meghan. "Know of any good animal speech spells?"

  She smiled. "Novelty spells, perhaps, but nothing that truly translates."

  "Give Cinder enough time and he'll have them all talking," Adam said with a snort.

  "I hate to admit it, but he kind of rubs off on you," Elyssa said. "Don't get me wrong, he's still a creepy golem, but he seems to have a heart."

  "Our very own Tin Man," Adam said.

  As we walked to the open portal leading back to the mansion cellar, I gave the Alabaster Arch a wistful look. The arch operator in Queens Gate had mentioned tracing a pattern on the modulus to unlock it. Without specifics, it might be impossible to guess, and I didn't dare go back with Kassus or his people waiting. We stepped through the portal, back into the mansion cellar. I deactivated the omniarch, and we headed upstairs.

  "I guess I should call Lornicus and tell him we accept his help," I told Elyssa.

  She nodded. "Waiting won't help, especially if the BRB is hunting us."

  I shuddered. This was not a good situation. Cutsauce greeted us with a happy bark as we appeared at the top of the stairs. I scratched behind his ears and idly thought of Yolo, wondering if the shaggy beast was lonely or best buds with the leyworms. Maybe he and Cutsauce could be best buds.

  "I could ask for help from Vallaena," I said. "Surrounding this place with hellhounds might be super effective."

  "The university won't allow it," Meghan said. "Plus, hellhounds would be very conspicuous."

  I hated to admit she was right. On the other hand, I could summon hellhounds if the going got rough. I'd have to do it well in advance since it took me a while to find a suitable spirit on the demon plane and manifest it on this side.

  It looked like Lornicus was our best bet. I called him.

  "Have you reached a decision, Mr. Slade?" he asked.

  "We'll partner with you," I said. "But the minute I get wind of treachery, we're out."

  "Quite reasonable," he said. "Have you anything else to report on the infants?"

  I fought back the urge to lie and told him about the day's activities.

  "I wondered if they require food," he said. "It greatly concerned me."

  "Really? Then why didn't you mention it before?" I said. "Don't blow smoke up my butt, Lornicus. The only reason you care about the babies is so you can use them."

  "Regardless of my reasoning, Mr. Slade, I do have concern for the welfare of the infants."

  I'm sure you do. "Fine. You have your information. Do you have anything for me?"

  "Indeed," he said. "I discovered something rather troubling for you."

  My stomach clenched. "And that is?"

  "During your encounter with the brotherhood, you struck one of the attackers."

  I decided not to tell him it had been an accidental discharge. "Yes."

  "He's dead."

  A shock of cold froze my chest. "He—he's dead?" Everything had happened so fast I hadn't had time to see the results of my strike.

  "Yes, from what I have determined, he died upon impact."

  I didn't exactly go around killing people, and even thou
gh the man had been trying to kill me, I still felt sick to my stomach. I'd accepted killing in self-defense as something necessary, but hoped I would never cross the line to cold-hearted lack of concern for life.

  Lornicus resumed after a brief pause. "Unfortunately, this man also happened to be Victor Kassus."

  "Kassus?" I said, my dread deepening. "You mean—"

  "Yes. The man was Maulin Kassus's brother."

  Chapter 13

  His brother? "Now it's personal." A nauseating feeling turned my stomach. I'd seen enough mafia movies to know gangsters never gave up. It might be ten years later or a hundred, but a bullet to the brain was inevitable.

  "Indeed," Lornicus said. "I must admit Kassus surprised me with the sheer manpower he devoted to finding you, and determined there must be some other factor in play. True, he would still want you dead for the insult of attacking any of the brotherhood, but would typically content himself using an outside contractor."

  "Like an assassin?" I said, trying not to gulp.

  "Precisely." Lornicus paused a beat. "Once I discovered the death and the deceased's relationship to Kassus, I immediately understood why this was a personal vendetta."

  "They tried to kill us!" I said. "Doesn't he understand we're going to defend ourselves?"

  "He only cares that you die, I'm afraid." Lornicus sighed. "Men like that are rather stubborn. He and his people will come after you until either they or you are dead."

  "All of them?" I said, my voice sounding weak.

  "Quite likely," he said.

  I ran a hand down my face and groaned. This had gone from worst to most worsterest. "Anything else I need to know?"

  "My assets are now actively patrolling and keeping a wary eye out for you," he said. "If you happen to notice anyone following you, it could be one of them."

  "Uh, Elyssa might cut one of your golems to pieces if she thinks it's a member of the brotherhood," I said.

  "Point well taken," he replied. "If you are unsure about someone's affiliation, simply tap your forehead twice. If it is one of my assets, they will respond by scratching their head."

  "How do you tell them what to do?" I asked. "Is it a shared consciousness?"

  "Not precisely," he said. "I can, however, send commands to multiple units at once."

  "Sounds really complicated," I said. "Especially considering how many you have under your command."

  "Not as complicated as one might think," he said. "Arcphones are rather handy."

  I imagined using a program to command thousands of golems. Even that sounded unwieldy.

  "I'm glad you decided to partner with me," Lornicus said. "I see a bright future ahead, Mr. Slade."

  With mafiosos stalking me I didn't see how such a thing was possible. I disconnected and updated the others.

  "We're even more screwed than I thought," Shelton said, shaking his head.

  "Now, Harry, don't be so glum." Bella patted him on the back. "After all, we have an army of golems watching out for us now."

  "An army that was, until recently, trying to kill Justin," he said.

  "We need to be proactive," Adam said. "Let's track them down first."

  "Already working on it," Bella said. "Speaking of which, it's time for another planning session." She, Elyssa, and Stacey left, heading to the war room.

  "By the way," Shelton said after the women left. "We figured out how Jeremiah Conroy was spying on us."

  "You did?" I asked, thinking back to how he'd stolen the Cyrinthian Rune right out from under our noses.

  "Yeah, he was using nom equipment."

  "Hidden mics?" I asked.

  "Yep." Shelton sighed. "It's easy to overlook the ordinary when you're living inside a magical pocket dimension."

  "The place is clean of bugs now?"

  "If it ain't, we're screwed," he said with full confidence.

  "I'm not entirely confident Darkwater will have the location of the Conroys," I said. "And I sure as hell don't want to pay Lornicus's price for finding Mom and Ivy. Have you made any progress using your bounty hunter contacts?"

  He nodded. "Remember Oliver over at the Grotto?"

  I pictured the stable boy who was one of Shelton's assets. "Yes."

  "He's going to sneak a tracker onto the Conroy limo before it splits into illusions."

  I felt my eyes go wide. "Are you sure using a kid like that is smart? What if you get him killed?"

  Shelton held up a hand. "Relax, he knows what he's doing."

  "Won't the limo be warded against trackers?"

  Shelton shrugged. "Probably. Doesn't hurt to try though."

  "Coming from you, that's pretty optimistic." I stood and paced restlessly. Even with golems watching out for our wellbeing and the other precautions we'd taken, sitting around felt too defensive. It seemed like we were always reacting to evildoers instead of whatever the opposite was—proacting? Elyssa's plan to break into Darkwater—much as it scared me—was a positive first step. But placing all our eggs in that basket was risky. We needed to split push on several fronts until something gave.

  Shelton took his leather duster from the coat rack and shrugged into it. "Doesn't look like you're any better at waiting than I am."

  I sighed. "It makes me feel like we're just sitting around waiting for the axe to fall."

  "I know the feeling," he said. "But jumping into a fight with the brotherhood will only get us killed faster."

  "Then why did you put on your coat?" I asked.

  He chuckled and placed his favorite wide-brimmed hat on his head. "I just realized that not every problem needs a complicated solution."

  "Oh?"

  He motioned me down the stairs toward the arch. "I got to thinking about how Jeremiah bugged us with simple nom tech that Bella and I didn't think to search for. Using a magical tracker is just the sort of thing the Conroys ward against."

  "But if they use nom tech for spying, wouldn't they also think to have countermeasures to it?"

  "Of course," he said, walking through the cellar and toward the staircase to the arch room. "So we go even simpler."

  "We steal a variety of bird eggs and train the hatchlings from birth to follow the Conroys, leaving a trail of bird poo along the way?"

  He stopped in his tracks to give me a look. "You and that mouth of yours." He resumed walking. "What I have in mind is stupid simple."

  "Lead the way. I can't wait to see you do something stupid."

  We traveled via the omniarch to a dingy alley on the west side of Atlanta, and closed the portal behind us. Shelton said a word, and a nearby brick wall vanished to reveal a non-descript blue sedan, quite a departure from his pickup truck. The inside of the car smelled like stale sandwiches and old coffee. Brown stains on the upholstery confirmed my suspicion that he'd used this car for stakeouts.

  "Ever heard of a car wash?" I asked, wrinkling my nose since my supernatural olfactory senses launched background smells into nauseating hyper-drive. I noticed an old fast-food wrapper in the floorboard, and realized with disgust mold had overgrown it. Using my fingers like pincers, I tossed the long-dead remains into a trash heap in the alley, figuring nobody would notice the addition.

  "Don't want it too clean," he said. "Sparkling clean cars draw attention even if the model is common."

  "I'm talking about cleaning the interior," I said, noticing even more discarded food wrappers in the back. "It's like a rat's nest in here, man."

  He waved away my complaints. "Ah, you'll get used to it." He drove us to Phipps Plaza in Buckhead, a ritzy place in North Atlanta. We entered the parking garage through the back entrance, and drove straight through a concrete wall—rather, the insubstantial illusion of one. A winding ramp led deep underground to the Grotto way station where an Obsidian Arch allowed Overworld citizens to travel across the extensive network. Before we reached the way station, Shelton stopped near the base of the ramp. He put on his hazard lights, threw the car into park, and got out. He walked across the driveway holding what looked li
ke the kind of colorful handlebar streamers one might see on a kid's bike. Removing some duct tape from his duster, he attached the streamers to the wall.

  I stared at him as he slid back into the car and drove inside the cavern housing the Obsidian Arch. A large parking lot spanned nearly half of the massive space.

  "Not only stupid simple," I said, "but also plain stupid. What the heck are handlebar streamers gonna do?"

  Shelton sighed. "Think about it. What's the difference between an illusion and the real thing?"

  I thought about it a moment before his meaning clicked. "Illusions are immaterial. They go through physical objects. They also don't make a breeze when they go past."

  "Exactly."

  "But what about solid illusions?" I asked, thinking about the barrier illusions we'd used in the past to block off places we didn't want people wandering. They were solid.

  He shrugged. "Spells don't come free. They cost aether. An illusion spell is already pretty expensive to cast, even if you have arcane generators helping. Illusion plus solidity doubles the cost. Now imagine casting that spell times a dozen illusions. We're talking astronomical aether usage." He nodded toward the streamers. "So the Conroys hop into their car as usual. It duplicates into illusions, and they drive out of here in a line, right?"

  I thought back to the last time I'd seen their car split into illusions to confuse any would-be stalkers. "Yeah."

  He nodded. "So when the duplicate illusions of the Conroys' car drive past the streamers, they won't make a breeze. We just sit back and make note of the car that does."

  "I guess it's not quite as stupid as it sounds," I said. "Are we just gonna sit here and wait until we see them?"

  Shelton drove up and down the rows of parked cars, eyes roving. "Nah. I'm checking to see if their limo is even here."

  My eyes caught on a leopard-print Hummer with dark-tinted windows and chrome spinner wheels. I saw no sign of a black limousine. "Is there any guarantee they're still using the same car?"

  "The illusion spells are charmed into the limo," he said. "It's not a spell someone casts every time they get in." He stopped to inspect a black car. Grunted, and eased off the brake. "They either bought it or leased it from Overworld Security, a company that provides protection to celebrities and politicians. Even if they got another one, it'll look the same."