Infernal Father of Mine (37 page)

"Ouch," they said, standing up and rubbing
their foreheads in unison.

"I don't know if they're a match made in heaven
or hell." Shelton barked a laugh.

Elyssa was suddenly at my side, hands gripping
mine. "Are we about to have family drama?"

I suddenly understood why Dad had been in such
a hurry to leave. He'd known Mom was on her way.

I felt someone grip my other hand and looked
down at Ivy. Her young face looked troubled. "Should I go say hello
to Mommy now, or wait until she kisses David?"

I wasn't sure what to tell her. "Maybe wait a
minute and see what happens."

She squeezed my hand tighter. "Justin, I don't
remember David, but now that all of us are here together, I just
realized how much I want us to be together forever."

I squeezed her in a hug. "Me too, sis. Me
too."

Mom and Dad seemed oblivious to the rest of us
as they finished picking up the paper. Mom regarded my father with
liquid blue eyes. He cleared his throat nervously and handed her
the documents. "Hello, Alysea." He said her name so tenderly it was
as if he'd just told her he loved her and missed her, all wrapped
up into one word.

She smiled. "David." Affection filled her
voice. A tear trickled down Mom's cheek.

Dad gently wiped away the tear with his thumb.
"There, there, now." He caressed her cheek, and tilted her face up.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't be here."

Mom took his hand and squeezed it. "I'm glad
you are."

I looked around and saw everyone else watching
the scene like it was the best reality show ever. I steeled myself
as conflicting emotions washed over me. Seeing how much they still
loved each other filled me with happiness. Knowing Dad had no
choice but to abandon Mom and marry Kassallandra drowned my
happiness with intense regret.

This was torture. If it was bad for me, I
couldn't imagine how bad it was for my parents. "Hey, Mom," I
said.

She turned her solemn gaze on me. "Justin!
Ivy!" Mom ran over and squeezed us in a big hug, kissing each of
our cheeks. "I'm so happy to be back." She looked over at Elyssa.
"Sorry we're late."

Elyssa offered a gentle smile for my mother.
"Given the circumstances, it's perfectly
understandable."

Mom looked at the diagrams Elyssa was working
on. "What's the plan?"

A fierce look came over my girlfriend's pretty
face. "It's time to start a war."

Elyssa enlarged the diagram of the Church of
the Divinity. "Two squads of Templars will accompany our
infiltration team to the church. The Gloom infil team will consist
of me, Justin, and David." She indicated circled areas on the roofs
of neighboring buildings. "Alpha Squad will take up positions
across the street. Beta will cover the rear entrance of the church.
Gamma will occupy and secure the interior once we're inside."
Elyssa turned to Shelton. "I'd like you and Bella to accompany Adam
while he cracks the shield spell guarding the back
entrance."

"You got it," Shelton said.

Elyssa circled the rear entrance with a finger.
"I'm allowing a twenty minute window for opening the shield. Is
that enough time?"

Adam nodded. "I doubt the spell is even half as
complicated as the one we had to break in the arch room, plus I've
optimized the spell code."

"Good." Elyssa shifted to an inside view of the
church. "Once inside, Justin will activate the Gloom
arch."

"I want to accompany your team," Mom
said.

"Inside the Gloom?" Elyssa asked.

She nodded. "I have some experience at
dreamcasting."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Dad said.
"Arcanes can't cast spells in the Gloom."

"The Gloom dampens abilities, but Seraphim are
strong enough to still channel magic at a diminished capacity," Mom
replied, eyes flashing the same way Elyssa's did when she'd made up
her mind and nothing would stop her. "I'm coming."

Dad seemed to know better than to argue.
"Great. Let's have a family outing. I'll bring the picnic
blanket."

"What about me?" Ivy asked.

Elyssa paused. "I'd like you to accompany
Nightliss and the Colombian legion when we activate the Shadow
Nexus. You'll be protecting our defenses." She glanced at my
mother. "If that's okay with you, Alysea."

Mom looked uncertain. Ivy might be powerful,
but she was still a little girl.

"I can do it," Ivy said, defiantly sticking out
her chin.

"I will protect her," Nightliss
said.

It was Ivy's turn to look uneasy. She'd once
thought Nightliss evil due to her being a Darkling. Hopefully, that
was a thing of the past. Ivy smiled sweetly. "Maybe I'll protect
you." Nightliss laughed.

"Please take care of my little girl," Mom told
Nightliss.

The Darkling nodded. "I will protect her with
my life."

Elyssa exchanged a look with me. I returned an
uneasy nod. She looked back at my mother. "Looks like the infil
team will consist of the four of us then. I'll procure an extra set
of camouflage armor."

She switched to the diagram of the Gloom
fortress. "The Colombian Templar legion will take the Obsidian Arch
at the La Casona way station to the Obsidian Arch at the Three
Sisters way station. They will then form up inside the control room
and wait near the Alabaster Arch for our infiltration team to reach
the Shadow Nexus inside the fortress and open a portal to the
Alabaster Arch." Elyssa traced a line from the Exorcist church to
the fortress. "Once our team has entered the Gloom arch in the
Exorcist church, we will infiltrate the fortress by taking flying
carpets across Bellwood Quarry, landing near the rear exit of the
fortress, and waiting for a target of opportunity to open the
door."

"What happens if the camouflage charge on the
suit runs out?" Shelton asked.

"We'll have to hope no one sees us," Elyssa
said. "The flying carpets also have camo spells. We can cover
ourselves with them to buy some time."

"Smart thinking." Shelton looked at me. "Thank
goodness one of you knows how to plan."

Elyssa folded her arms and turned a questioning
gaze on my mother. "How limited will your channeling be inside the
Gloom?"

"Half power. Maybe less. It's been a long while
since I've been inside the Gloom." Mom shrugged. "I plan to rely
more on dreamcasting than channeling if at all
possible."

"How does the Gloom keep Arcanes from casting?"
Shelton asked.

Mom strode to stand beside Elyssa and turned to
address the group. "When I first experimented with the Grand Nexus
in Seraphina, I learned how to sense what lay on the other side of
the portal without completely opening it. Seraphina has a shadow
realm similar to the Gloom, as do many of the major realms I
discovered."

"Seraphina has a shadow realm full of minders?"
Shelton asked.

"I'm not sure what's there," she said.
"Seraphina, Eden, and Haedaemos are full realms. The Gloom is
essentially a shadow cast by Eden. The minders—to the best of my
understanding—are shades of the people who live in
Eden."

Shelton raised an eyebrow. "We all have our
very own ghosts floating around the Gloom?"

Mom nodded. "In a sense, yes. Because the Gloom
is not a full realm, entering it dampens your abilities. It's like
placing a translucent barrier between you and your soul. While it's
not impossible to penetrate, it is very difficult."

I turned to her. "Mom—Alysea, are you saying
it's possible for Arcanes to cast spells in the Gloom?"

"It is possible, but extremely unlikely." She
held her hand flat. "Imagine my hand is a sponge. Water can flow
through the sponge, but only in a trickle. Most Arcanes don't have
enough raw power to saturate the barrier enough so it can seep
through."

"But the Gloom is chock full of aether,"
Shelton argued. "From what Justin described, they make the stuff
there."

"Yes, but you're still out of phase from the
real world." She shrugged. "I don't know how else to explain
it."

"I think I got it." Adam's face brightened.
"When we're physically in the shadow world, we're essentially
shadows of our usual selves. Those who are very powerful in the
real world will still have some abilities. The rest of us normal
schmucks who don't have the raw power of a Seraphim can't cast
spells."

"An excellent explanation," Alysea said. "Much
better than mine."

"Kind of like someone trying to physically
enter the demon realm," I said. "Our bodies aren't made to be
there, and it screws us up."

"Exactly," Adam replied.

I turned to Elyssa. "When do we
start?"

"Just as soon as the squads involved in the
church assault arrive," she said. "That should be any minute
now."

I swallowed a ball of nerves. "Alrighty,
then."

"Are we late to the party?" said a sultry
feminine voice.

I turned to see Stacey and her boyfriend,
Ryland, enter the room. "Couldn't resist?" I said with a broad
smile.

Stacey strolled to me with cat-like grace, and
pressed her soft curves against me. "It's so bloody good to see
you, my lamb."

"She's sitting this one out," Ryland said. The
lycan stroked one of his mutton chops. "You want to tell them,
babe?"

Stacey pursed her full lips into a sulky pout.
"Bloody hell. You know I'd be perfectly fine."

I gave her a confused look. "What's going on?
Are you injured? Sick?"

"You could say I'm sick," she replied, offering
me a sly wink. "Unfortunately this particular sickness lasts nine
months."

The women's eyes went wide with
delight.

"You're pregnant?" Elyssa said.

"I'm so happy for you," Mom said, embracing
Stacey.

"What wonderful news," Nightliss
said.

"Oh, you're having a baby?" Ivy asked. "They're
so cute. How do you make them?"

The women exchanged uncomfortable looks. Mom
stroked Ivy's blonde hair and said, "Perhaps we should save that
discussion for after we save the world."

Laughter broke the tension, though Ivy seemed a
bit befuddled.

The conversation immediately devolved into
discussing whether they knew what gender the baby was, whether it
would be a felycan, lycan, or a kid who could switch between wolf
form and feline.

Shelton conjured a case of cigars from
somewhere and handed the first one to Ryland, slapping him on the
back. I congratulated Stacey and walked over to the men along with
Dad. My father took a stogie and lit it up. Adam took a cigar, but
declined a light.

"These things give me the runs," he said with
an apologetic simper.

I declined a proffered cigar, and shook
Ryland's hand. "Congrats, man. When is the baby due?"

He shrugged. "Few months, I guess. Stacey
didn't get morning sickness. I figured out she was pregnant when I
started hearing two heartbeats when we went to sleep at
night."

"Wow, what a way to find out," Adam said with a
nervous laugh. "I, for one, am nowhere near ready for kids." He
looked at his girlfriend, Meghan. She produced a wand and began
checking Stacey's vitals and those of the fetus.

I looked at Ryland. "I appreciate you offering
to help out on the mission, but you kind of missed the
briefing."

He chuckled. "Meghan told Stacey what was going
down, so I already have an idea what to expect." His expression
turned serious. "You goin' up against the Exorcists?"

"Yeah. Are you familiar with them?"

"Only 'cause I'm a Templar." He took a puff on
his cigar. "I've been busy rounding up my old pack over the past
few months. I brought a dozen friends with me. We'll patrol the
church perimeter and take out any threats coming your
way."

"That'd be awesome," I said. "Why have you been
gathering your people? I thought there was bad blood between you
and them."

"We've smoothed things out." Ryland dug into
his pocket and withdrew a folded bit of parchment. He smoothed it
out to display barely legible handwriting. "One of my old betas
sent me this message. It appears our politicians on the Overworld
Conclave are secretly working to create an alliance with Cyphanis
Rax and the Templar Synod."

A cold spike nailed me in the stomach. "Are you
telling me the lycans are looking to join Daelissa's
side?"

He shook his head. "Not all—some. Blasted
politicians. From what I've heard, she's guaranteeing each faction
their own independent country if they join her."

Shelton grimaced. "This ain't good."

Ryland chuckled. "When is it ever good when
lowlife, self-serving, political hacks get involved?"

Dad took a puff on his cigar and looked at the
parchment. His eyes flicked between it and Mom. I could tell he was
uneasy despite the easy smile he wore on his face. "I hope the bulk
of the lycan packs realize Daelissa isn't going to keep her
word."