Wicked War of Mine (Overworld Chronicles Book 9) Read online

  "Five hundred golems? Is that it?" I'd expected him to have thousands of the things. On the bright side, he didn't have thousands of lifeless beings ready to obey his every command or he might have taken over the world for himself by now.

  "Those are the forces I can most readily commit." He pressed a button on the watch and the screen blinked off. "I have experimental units, but they would be unsuitable for an operation in such tight quarters."

  "Such as?" Elyssa prompted.

  Fjoeruss seemed hesitant, but finally spoke. "Let us say they rival even the behemoths one might see at the Grand Melee."

  I whistled. The golems at the Grand Melee could range up to three stories high. "I think you're right. As large as the Grand Nexus way station is, it's already going to be packed with our forces."

  Elyssa was busy tapping away on her arcphone. It chimed a couple times as she received text messages. She looked up. "I have your units slotted with the lycans. You'll be responsible for taking down any vampire forces present."

  "What are the enemy's numbers?" Fjoeruss asked.

  "At this point, we're not entirely sure," Elyssa said. "Daelissa's forces seemed small and uncoordinated during our operations to take back Obsidian Arches. Since we captured her lead strategist, we don't know if they've pulled back to the nexus, or if we'll arrive to find only a token force."

  "We've planned for the worst," I assured Fjoeruss.

  He stroked his chin. "I should hope so. I find it rather disappointing you haven't done a better job with reconnaissance."

  "We didn't want to tip our hand by opening portals and sending through scouts," I said. "With the element of surprise, we might win this battle handily."

  I motioned everyone back toward the control room. "I'll send you wherever you need to go with an omniarch to ready your forces."

  Elyssa showed Fjoeruss something on her phone as we walked. "La Casona is your rally point and this is the number of the arch operator. He can arrange an omniarch portal wherever you need one."

  "I already have an Obsidian Arch at my disposal," he replied as he tapped the information into his watch. "I will send my units through to the La Casona Obsidian Arch if that is acceptable."

  She nodded. "It is."

  We arrived in the control room.

  Fjoeruss stepped up to one of the functioning omniarches. "I will use the arch myself." He stopped and turned to me. "Once my sister is in a pod, I will transmit the instructions for creating my special breed of golems."

  "I might need some lessons to go along with that," I said.

  "Perhaps. It will take time and patience." Fjoeruss touched a thumb to the silver circle around the omniarch and sealed the magical circuit. He turned toward the arch, and activated it. A room with the tapestry of a woman in a pink dress hanging from the wall appeared. He turned to face us. "Don't attempt to use this tapestry to open a portal to this location. I change it with every use."

  I gave him an unconcerned look. "Wouldn't dream of it."

  "Until tomorrow," he said, and stepped through the portal. It winked off a second later.

  "He changes it?" Elyssa arched an eyebrow. "Talk about paranoid."

  I turned to Cinder. "You're not going to let him mess with your brain are you?"

  The golem gave me a blank look. "I do not have a brain." He touched a finger to his forehead. "Though, in a general sense of the word, I suppose my spark is like a brain." He shook his head. "I decided it was not wise to let him study me. To him, I am likely still just a tool."

  I gripped his shoulder. "To us, you're a friend, and we don't want to lose you."

  Elyssa touched his other shoulder. "Exactly."

  "Why have I been given no role in the assault?" Cinder almost managed to look a little hurt at being left out.

  I had a good reason. "Your work here is far too important to interrupt. Come over here." I led him to the briefcase with the prisms where I'd left it near the null cubes. I opened the case and showed him the small crystals. "These might help the Darklings feed without becoming sick."

  Cinder took one and held it between his thumb and forefinger. "How interesting. Will you show me how they work?"

  "Right this way." I headed back into the cavern, walked to the dragons, and into the large space between their coils. The space in between was partitioned by stone walls molded from the cave floor by smaller leyworms. One area was a nursery for the newly reborn Seraphim. An adjacent area was filled with bunk beds for the older ones. Joss and Otaleon were inside this area. Joss was reading a thick book entitled Science and You. Otaleon was fiddling with a deck of cards.

  The two Darklings stood when we entered.

  "Are we to take part in the assault?" Joss asked. He looked eager.

  "Maybe," I said. "Cinder, can you fetch one of the nom volunteers?"

  "I'm here," Abe said, coming around the corner. "I heard you all talking and was feeling nosy." He smiled.

  I returned the smile. "We'd like to test something again, if you don't mind."

  "Go right ahead, son."

  I showed Joss the prism. "Put this this in your right hand with this symbol facing Abe." I showed him the symbol for light.

  Joss put the object in his hand. As with Fjoeruss, it seemed to adhere to his skin. He gave it a wondering look. "What next?"

  I waved a hand toward Abe. "Feed."

  The Darkling's fingers twitched. Abe's hand rose toward Joss's and white soul essence trickled out slowly through one finger. More essence began to stream from his other fingers until he was feeding at a normal rate.

  Joss's eyes went wide. "I—I seem to remember this device." He narrowed his eyes as if reaching for distant memory, then shook his head. "I cannot quite remember why I recognize it."

  "These were used by Brightlings to force Darklings to feed on Brilliance." I motioned to his other hand. "Feed with your left."

  He raised it. Abe's left arm rose toward his and smoky tendrils of Murk drifted from his fingers and into Joss's.

  "This is amazing," Otaleon said, eyes bright. "How does it feel, Joss?"

  "Incredible." Joss's right eye glowed white, while his left glimmered with ultraviolet. "I feel so strong now."

  I handed the briefcase to Cinder. "This is how they need to feed from now on."

  Abe's knee's wobbled, and I gripped Joss's arm. "That's enough for now."

  The Darkling flinched, but stopped feeding. "My apologies, Abe. The feeling was so wondrous, I forgot myself."

  Abe leaned against the wall. "No problem, son." He looked at me. "We put the word out for recruits, and, boy, have they answered the call. This place is gonna stink like a veterans' hospital in no time."

  I laughed. "We'll make sure our healers take care of everyone. You'll obviously want to be in top shape for feeding."

  Abe wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. "Tell me about it."

  Joss clenched his fists. "I feel as if I could take on Daelissa herself, Justin." His eyes lit with determination. "I want to take part in the assault."

  "As do I," Otaleon said. "How long do we have until it begins?"

  I checked the time and held back a groan. "Eight hours until assembly. Are there enough volunteers for you two to feed from?"

  "I believe so," Otaleon said.

  Cinder checked his arcphone. "There are four who should be recovered enough from the last feeding."

  "I gotta admit, this double feeding takes it out of me faster," Abe said. "Better keep a close eye on the fellas while you're doing it."

  Joss walked over to the man, put a hand on his shoulder and looked him directly in the eye. "We will exercise utmost caution, my friend."

  Abe grinned. "Good man—err—angel."

  I looked at Cinder. "Do we have any more Darklings who are ready for prime time?"

  "Not yet." He checked his arcphone. "It will be at least another week before our first batch reaches maturity."

  I didn't like that it was taking so long, but once we had more volunteers, I hop
ed we'd be able to field our new batches more quickly. I got Joss and Otaleon's attention. "Elyssa and I need some shuteye. Meet us at La Casona in eight hours, okay?"

  "We will," Otaleon said.

  Elyssa and I said our goodbyes and walked back between the dragons' coils and into the main chamber. Cinder followed us.

  "I wish you luck," he said. "Please, be careful."

  "We will," Elyssa said, stifling a yawn.

  "I also request that you kick ass and chew bubblegum." A slightly manic grin stretched his mouth.

  I kept a straight face. "I assume you got that little nugget from Shelton."

  He nodded. "I keep a record of his colorful sayings so I can use them when appropriate."

  "Good idea," Elyssa said with a smile.

  She and I waved goodbye to Cinder and headed back into the control room where we took an omniarch portal back to the Templar compound. I was dead tired and tomorrow was going to be a brutal day.

  Chapter 17

  La Casona was a madhouse.

  I could only imagine what the other way stations looked like. Templars clad in black Nightingale armor raced around taking care of last minute tasks as the countdown to the assault reached T-minus thirty minutes. Several Templars-at-arms distributed swords and other equipment. Templar Arcanes tucked rolled-up flying carpets beneath their arms so they could hover in the rear ranks and cast spells over our front lines.

  Elyssa and I overlooked the activity from a flying carpet of our own. "He's not here yet," I said.

  She bit her lower lip. "I hope he hasn't wriggled through another of his loopholes."

  "I wouldn't be surprised." I looked down at a large group of people who weren't nearly as color coordinated as the sea of black uniforms around them. "At least it looks like we have plenty of lycans."

  "Are those felycans?" Elyssa pointed at another smaller group standing well away from the werewolves.

  Massive cats with bristling fur and bony protrusions on their spines were curled up on the floor behind the strangers. "I think so, because those oversized housecats behind them are definitely moggies." I spotted the huge lion man from the meeting. He seemed to be the one in charge.

  Elyssa's eyes flashed surprise. "I'm surprised there are so many."

  I spotted Stacey walking across from the lycans to her fellow felycans. Even with her preggers bulge, she still managed to walk in the most seductive way, hips swaying, her body moving with liquid, feline grace. She even captivated the eyes of a few Templars. Stacey clapped her hands and got the attention of her kitty comrades. I couldn't make out what she said thanks to distance and the general hubbub of activity, but whatever it was seemed to galvanize the felycans.

  Some of them roared like lions even in human form, causing some lycans to howl in response.

  I elbowed Elyssa in the ribs. "Brings a whole new meaning to cat calls, doesn't it?"

  She groaned. "Maybe you can defeat Daelissa with bad jokes."

  "If only."

  A trumpet sounded. There was a flurry of activity and suddenly the mass of Templars melted into neat formations. The lycans and felycans were a lot less organized, but an OCD Templar had thoughtfully marked the floors where those two groups should line up, making it a paint-by-numbers exercise.

  A klaxon sounded and a low hum filled the cavern as the Obsidian Arch powered on. The space between the towering arch columns flickered between white, gray, and black. The humming noise wound higher and higher until, with a loud crackle, the air within the arch split open. Three platoons of gray men appeared on the other side.

  Without a shout of command, the perfectly aligned formations marched through.

  The first platoon was comprised of golems in their standard gray business outfits complete with dark sunglasses and slicked-back silvery hair. They merged into a double-file line at a position marked by Templar organizers.

  Elyssa breathed a sigh of relief. "I guess your Mom's contract held up."

  A knot of pressure in my chest loosened a little at the sudden appearance of Fjoeruss's forces. "Thank god." I felt my forehead wrinkle as the next group of gray men marched through.

  The golems in this platoon wore gray trench coats and matching fedoras. Their clothing glittered as if coated with sequins. Futuristic guns hung from leather holsters at their waists.

  "What the heck are they supposed to be?" I said. "Disco cowboys?"

  Elyssa squinted. "I think their clothing is made of diamond fiber."

  "Ah." I magnified my vision. "They must be the anti-Arcane golems."

  "Those guns sure look weird." She looked at me. "Looks like something from one of your space movies."

  "More like something from a black-and-white sci-fi movie from the fifties." I was really curious to see what they did.

  The members of the third and last platoon emerged from the arch portal. These golems wore gray leather outfits with burgundy lightning symbols on the sleeves. Black leather gloves and tall matching jackboots completed the outfit. Curved sabers with sparkling hilt guards hung from both sides of their sword belts.

  "Diamond fiber sabers," Elyssa murmured. "Wow. I can't imagine how expensive and difficult it was to make those."

  "More difficult than making the trench coats?" I asked.

  She nodded. "Diamond fiber is almost indestructible, so you can't sharpen it. You have to layer the blade, and even then, it's nearly impossible to give it a sharp edge before the spell resistance kicks in."

  I'd seen diamond fiber used in all sorts of capacities. Unfortunately, the magical resistance that made it so strong also made it somewhat useless for people who used spells because it interfered with magic. I assumed the anti-Arcane golems could wear the diamond fiber clothing because they didn't use magic.

  "I have a feeling Fjoeruss might be into cowboys and pirates." I suspected if I could make golems like he did, I might build armies of my own toy soldiers.

  Elyssa chuckled. "They're like full-sized dolls for grown men."

  Fjoeruss flew through the arch on a large carpet. He saw us and glided to our position as the Obsidian Arch powered down with a low hum. "Is the assault ready to commence?"

  "Better almost late than never, huh?" I said.

  "I am a very busy person," Fjoeruss said. "It behooves me to be efficient with my time."

  A voice boomed across the cavern. "Leadership, take positions."

  "Guess that's us," I said, giving Fjoeruss a pointed look.

  He didn't seem the least bit fazed. "I will follow your lead, Mr. Slade."

  I directed our carpet over the heads of the troops and took us through the control room door. Most control room doors were hidden by illusion and only wide enough for two people to walk through side-by-side. In advance of this operation, Commander Salazar's people had remodeled the doorway so an elephant could fit through the thing. I swooped through easily and zipped down the center aisle to a niche filled with omniarches.

  We held position on our carpet, hovering across the aisle from the omniarches. Fjoeruss stopped to our left. Commander Salazar arrived a moment later on his rug and was followed by a carpet bearing Colin McCloud. Stacey and Ryland appeared on a carpet of their own a moment later.

  I waved at my friends. "How in the world did you get felycans to help?" I asked Stacey.

  Ryland barked a laugh. "Might wanna wait and hear that story later."

  "A bloody nightmare," Stacey said, gracing us with a smile. "I believe it will be worth it."

  "Mutants," Fjoeruss said under his breath.

  My super hearing, however, heard it just fine. "I don't appreciate you calling my friends names."

  "Simply an observation," Fjoeruss said without a hint of shame. "Though we Brightlings were responsible for creating vampires, it is interesting how humans mutated into magical beings on their own."

  "Call it what you will," Stacey said. "I consider it evolution."

  Another trumpet echoed in the main way station outside. Templars activated each of the three funct
ioning omniarches across the aisle. Portals winked on. Through the gateways, I saw a cavernous hallway lined with ornate marble arches and a black marble floor veined with white. A massive statue loomed in the center of the corridor. The middle portal looked upon the front of the statue while the other two portals viewed it from diagonal angles.

  "I think it's rather ironic we used Daelissa's statue as a reference for our portals," Elyssa said.

  Fjoeruss grunted. "I suppose it is rather poetic."

  "Forward troops advance," boomed the voice of the head coordinator.

  Templar troops swarmed into the control room in ranks six soldiers across. As the line reached the first portal, the first two columns veered into it. The middle two columns entered the center portal while the last columns entered the portal to my left. Within minutes, the Templar force was through.

  The coordinator sounded another command. "Leadership, advance!"

  I took us through the portal. My vision warped as if looking from inside a fishbowl for a split instant as we entered the traversion tunnel and just as quickly snapped back to normal as we reached the other side thousands of miles away. Fjoeruss emerged from a portal thirty yards to our left while the other carpets came through the right portal.

  Climbing higher, I took us to a position twenty feet above the troops. Looking at the arched ceiling hundreds of feet overhead, I felt like a Lilliputian might while walking into the house of a giant. Even the massive statue of Daelissa reached only halfway to the ceiling. The corridor was at least a couple hundred yards wide, and far too long for me to even guess its length. Other large statues lined the hallway. My eyes caught on one that bore a striking likeness to Fjoeruss.

  As I gaped like a tourist, I spotted scouts racing ahead while, far behind us, Templars in the rear ranks set up pedestals with symbols on them and transmitted the pictures to our troops located around the world. Portals blinked open in front of each of the paintings. Blue Cloaks streamed through one, while other Arcanes came through another. A sortie of flying carpets zipped through another portal and hovered above the Blue Cloaks. I saw Shelton and Bella on one of them.