Infernal Father of Mine (34 page)

"Well, my readings make absolutely no sense,"
Meghan said after a moment. "I suppose that's to be expected from
the Cataclyst."

I groaned. "I wish everyone would stop calling
me that."

"Well, well, well. Look who decided to wake
up," Shelton said as he and Bella walked down the stairs. His eyes
lit on the pancakes, and he rubbed his hands together. "Ooh,
breakfast for lunch? Count me in."

Bella rolled her eyes. "You're such a terrible
roommate, always eating what other people cook."

He snatched a piece of bacon and crunched down
on it. "Mm, crispy. Just the way I like it."

I looked at the group. "Why isn't Mom back yet?
Where's Ivy?"

Dad stiffened, but quickly recovered with a
smile.

Elyssa took in a breath as if she was about to
say something I wouldn't like. "When your mom went to Colombia to
help Nightliss, it was just supposed to be a day trip, but either
the Synod, or vampires allied with Daelissa put on an offensive.
The Colombian Templars went into communications blackout and we
haven't heard from them yet."

My chest went cold. "And Ivy?"

"She's at Jeremiah Conroy's."

I jerked to my feet. "Say what?"

Elyssa's eyes wrinkled with worry. "When Ivy
decides to do something, there's nothing anyone can do to stop her,
and you know it. I don't think Jeremiah can keep her against her
will even if he wanted to."

"No, this isn't good. We have to get
her."

"Justin!" cried a girlish voice.

I looked across the room and saw Ivy racing for
me, arms outstretched. She gripped me in a tight hug. I grunted at
the impact.

Ivy looked up at me. "I'm sorry you were
worried, but it was so cute watching you show brotherly
concern."

I kissed her on the forehead. "Visiting
Jeremiah wasn't a good idea."

She shrugged. "It worked out. He knows a lot
about Daelissa, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to grill
him."

"Did he tell you anything?" I asked.

"He said we're not ready to fight her." Ivy
backed away, her face serious.

"Why is Jeremiah being so helpful all of a
sudden?" I asked.

Dad cleared his throat. "Conroy has his own
agenda. He's got his finger in nearly as many pies as Daelissa
does."

"It is good to see you again, Justin," Cinder
said, walking from the direction of the planning room.

I stood and shook his hand. "Good to see you."
I looked around. "Looks like the gang's all here—at least most of
us—and we have a lot to catch up on."

"Man, is that an understatement," Shelton said.
"But first, we have something for you."

Bella burst from the kitchen with a white
frosted cake on a plate. A candle in the shape of an angel sat on
top of it with a burning wick for a halo. "You did it!" she
shouted.

Shelton stood and started a slow clap. Meghan
rolled her eyes but joined in. Dad barked a laugh, and stood as
everyone clapped faster and faster.

I stood and waved off the applause. "I don't
know whether the slow clap is a good thing or not, but yes, I
finally made the decision." Looking at the angel candle, I couldn't
help but smile from ear to ear.

"Welcome to the big leagues," Ivy said,
giggling.

I flicked a finger, and the candle poofed
out.

"Holy Mary, did you see that, Bella?" Shelton
said. "The kid finally put out a candle without destroying
everything around it."

"I'm so proud of you," Bella said, walking over
and giving me a hug. "We all are."

Elyssa kissed me on my cheek. "Happy angel day,
sweetie."

Dad met my eyes. He seemed to be beaming as
wide as I was. I noticed Ivy staring at him, apprehension in her
eyes. Dad's gaze shifted to her, and his smile faded somewhat.
She'd never really known her father. Maybe he'd faked a lot during
my childhood, but at least I'd seen him almost every day, from
childhood to adolescence. Ivy hadn't seen him since infancy. This
new family life wouldn't be easy for either of them. Then again,
Dad had to marry Kassallandra. If the good guys were going to beat
Daelissa, we absolutely required a united Daemos.

"Enough of the congratulations," Shelton said,
interrupting my thoughts. "I want to hear everything."

I put a smile back on, and sat down. "Let me
start from the beginning."

After I finished, Elyssa relayed her
adventures. I couldn't fault her for anything. If roles had been
reversed, I would've torn the world apart to find her.

Standing up, I put on my game face. "The next
order of business is shutting down Serena's army."

"And stopping the Exorcists," Elyssa
said.

"Sounds like more than we can chew at the
moment," I said.

"We should go to the planning room," she said.
"I've discovered a lot of interesting things about the Exorcists
while you were gone."

The group migrated down the hall to the room. I
took a slice of cake and a glass of orange juice with me. Shelton
grabbed the tray of breakfast food and took the whole thing with
him.

Once inside the room, I closed the door and
Shelton activated the anti-eavesdropping wards.

Elyssa placed her arcphone on the table and
projected a holographic image above it. A pyramid of pictures
appeared with Montjoy at the top. "This is Albert Montjoy, the man
in charge of the Exorcists."

"Justin and I can confirm that," Dad
said.

"During my hunt for information, I interrogated
several Exorcists," Elyssa said. "The organization keeps their
initiates in the dark, but I discovered some very frightening
facts."

"Like what?" I asked.

"There are thousands of Exorcists. Maybe tens
of thousands. They've infiltrated branches of government, religious
organizations, and corporations worldwide."

I felt my eyes widen. "They're even more
dangerous than the Synod Templars," I said.

She nodded. "Daelissa knew she needed the
Exorcists when the Templars disbanded them. She gave Montjoy
resources to take the organization underground and he grew them
like cancer into a massive organization that answers to him and
Daelissa."

"Holy crap in a cupcake," Shelton said. "I
thought we were already behind the eight ball just because the
Synod has more Templars than we do. But if this is true, we're even
more screwed than I thought."

"It's true," Elyssa said. "And we simply don't
have the resources to fight them."

"We still have a chance," Dad said after a
moment.

Hopeful eyes turned to him.

"What do you mean?" I asked. "If we kill
Montjoy, would that remove the threat?"

He shook his head. "The Daemos knew about the
Exorcists and their secret mandate, so we devised a plan to counter
them. We infiltrated nom politics, social organizations, companies,
and so forth, placing our people in high places in case we ever
needed help."

"I didn't realize there were enough Daemos to
occupy so many positions," Shelton said.

Dad raised an eyebrow. "There aren't. Do you
really think the masters of seduction would have any problems
recruiting noms?"

Shelton whistled. "That's a lot of pillow
talk."

"You realize that's against the Overworld
Covenant," Elyssa said with a tiny smirk.

Dad shrugged. "The vampires and other factions
do the same thing. Our 'human'"—he made air quotes—"resources are
much more limited. House Slade and House Assad partnered this
effort centuries ago, and it has proven to be quite
profitable."

"You said we have a chance" Shelton's lips
pressed together. "What is it?"

"Houses Slade and Assad can activate their
agents. We might be able to purge the Exorcists from high
positions, or at the very least counteract them."

"What happens if Kassallandra goes over to the
dark side?" I asked.

Dad's troubled gaze met mine. "She could expose
our entire network."

"I don't like this Kassallandra woman," Ivy
said. She'd been very quiet during the proceedings. "I can do
something about her if you want."

Dad held up his hands. "No, sweetie, that won't
be necessary."

Ivy narrowed her eyes. "Why not? If she goes
away, you can take over House Assad."

"It's not that easy." Dad pursed his lips, and
gave her a very serious look. "There are others in her house who
want to take everyone into hiding at the first hint of war. She is
the only one with the power to keep all of House Assad in
line."

"Bunch of scaredy-cats," she said. "They're so
scared of Daelissa, they won't fight." She wound a strand of blonde
hair around a finger. "Maybe I should make them scared of me. Maybe
Daelissa is right—"

"Ivy," I interrupted. "Daelissa is wrong. Fear
will make people obey you, but it doesn't command respect or
loyalty. Someone who believes in you and respects you will fight
harder and with more courage than someone fighting out of
fear."

"But Kassallandra doesn't believe in you," she
said. "She doesn't fear you. All she cares about is
herself."

"Well, maybe we can change her mind," I said.
"But now is not the time."

She sighed. "I still think we should blast
her."

Shelton snickered. I shot him a warning glare.
Ivy was still a danger. Her impressionable mind was filled with
Daelissa's lessons.

"Now that we've covered the Exorcists, what
about the Nazdal?" Shelton said. "Seems like our favorite insane
angel has been busy."

"A finger in every pie," Dad said.

"The Nazdal might join me," I said.

"But first you have to beat Daelissa?" Shelton
said. "She'll eat you like a chicken burrito."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." I pursed
my lips. "When I re-attuned the nexus in the Gloom, I exclusively
linked it to the Alabaster Arch in the Three Sisters control room.
She can't connect it to any other Alabaster Arches in Eden, and she
can't use it to bring more Nazdal from their realm. That means she
only has the Nazdal from the pit."

"From what you described, there are hundreds of
those monsters in the quarry." Shelton shuddered as he snatched
another piece of bacon. "If Maloreck got fat from the humans they
killed in Australia, imagine how big those things will grow once
they start a wholesale slaughter."

"It sounds to me as if the Nazdal must wound
their prey to steal its life," Meghan said. "The poison cloud they
secrete temporarily slows or disables the prey and drains
endurance."

"It drops humans pretty fast," I said. "If
Maloreck decides to attack a city, it'll be a massacre."

Elyssa's phone buzzed. She snatched it off the
table and answered. "Commander Salazar?" She got up and left the
room for a moment. Upon returning, she looked excited. "The
Colombian legion has completed its operation. They're off
communications blackout."

"What about Mom?" Ivy asked.

"Once they finish tying up some loose ends, she
and Nightliss will be back."

I noticed Dad's eyes flash with something akin
to alarm, though he said nothing.

"This means we have the manpower to do what
needs to be done," Elyssa said. "We can take a legion into the
Gloom and wipe out the Nazdal and the Gloom Initiative once and for
all."

"Uh, you're overlooking something huge,"
Shelton said. "Arcanes can't cast in the Gloom, and you'll be cut
off from your supernatural strength."

"Not necessarily," I said. "If I can reopen the
Shadow Nexus, the window to the real world should allow us to
operate at full power."

"What's the range?" Shelton asked. "How far can
you go from the arch before you weaken?"

"Maybe a few hundred yards." I shrugged. "It's
a gradual weakening, not a total cutoff."

"You can't open the Alabaster Arch in the Three
Sisters control room from this side," Dad said. "The Grand Nexus
doesn't have a Cyrinthian Rune, so the Alabaster Arches in Eden can
only receive portal transmissions from other realms, not send
them."

"We could use the Gloom arch in the Church of
the Divinity," Bella said.

Elyssa made a face. "That arch is tiny. I'd
have to send an entire legion through it in single file. Can you
imagine how long that would take? Not only that, but we'd have to
march across the city to the fortress, and fight our way through it
to the arch chamber. From the way Justin described the place, our
forces would be massacred."

"Serena obviously activated the Shadow Nexus
again to send the Nazdal in pursuit," Dad said. "Maybe she left it
open. The Alabaster Arch is big enough to send a legion through in
no time."

"We could check it out using the omniarch,"
Shelton said.