Conrad Edison and the Anchored World (Overworld Arcanum Book 2) (41 page)

Galfandor stroked his beard. "I know you don't want to hear this, Conrad, but Cora's death protected Eden. Naeve remained in the Glimmer because she thought the anchor stone didn't grant immortality." He waved a hand at the heaps of dead vegetation all around. "What we witnessed today was only a sample of what Naeve might have done if fully unleashed upon the world."

My heart tightened, but what he said was true. "Even after death, Cora protected me."

"True," Galfandor said. "Had the queen not imbibed Evadora's bottle of tears and gone mad, she probably would have killed us all." He motioned toward the Dark Forest. "The queen demonstrated an ability to control nature itself. If her mind had been unclouded, she might have unleashed the monsters lurking in the forest upon us."

Ambria looked up at the old man. "Are you trying to say everything worked out for the best?"

Galfandor locked eyes with me for an instant. "I believe everything happens for a reason. I believe Cora loved Conrad, but also knew she would die if she stayed with him. Why she let that happen, I cannot say."

"She let herself die." The words threatened to choke me and tears blurred my vision.

"Perhaps." Galfandor put a hand on my back. "I must go attend to important details."

I gave him the stone I'd taken from around Naeve's neck. "You might need this."

He smiled kindly. "Thank you, Conrad."

"Wait, isn't it risky going back into the reflected world with the queen there?" Ambria said.

"The queen is most likely in this very spot on the other side," the headmaster replied. "I will return to the Fairy Garden and use the water there. That should grant me some distance from her." He climbed back on his broom and flew toward the Fairy Garden.

"Where will I go now?" Evadora said plaintively. "I have no home."

"Stay with us," Ambria said. "We have a home in the city you might like."

"Really?" The girl jumped up and down and hugged Ambria. "Happy times!"

Max kicked a bundle of vines. "I don't know about you, but I'm ready to go back to Queens Gate. I'll bet if we stay, Galfandor will have us cleaning up this mess."

I glanced into the wishing pool and wondered if Naeve was still just on the other side. If she had truly gotten the rest of Cora's soul, why wasn't she my mum? Why was she cruel and evil? Galfandor had said that some things simply didn't make logical sense, but I planned to find out all I could about reflections and souls.

Ambria squeezed my hand. "Let's go pack, Conrad."

I tore my eyes from the water and nodded. "Let's go home."

"Oh my god, they're back!" Sonia threw up her hands when we walked into the door that night. "Why can't I have peace and quiet?" She glared at Evadora. "And is that a new little brat?"

Desmond smiled. "How's school treating you?"

"You wouldn't believe what we've been through." Max took a step back from Sonia as she stomped upstairs to get ready for a night out.

"Love to hear," Desmond said. He checked the time. "I've got a few minutes."

"You want to tell him, Conrad?" Max asked.

I shook my head. "You go ahead." I took my suitcases upstairs and into my room. When I got there, I found a note on my bed. I opened it and read it.

Conrad, I'm sorry for telling Harris your secret. I liked you way too much and it made me do something mean when I thought you didn't like me. I don't expect you to forgive me, but I just wanted you to know that I feel awful and I'm terribly sorry.

-Blue

I crumpled up the note. With a flick of my wand, I set it on fire and watched it burn to black ash. What Blue had done seemed so minor now. She'd proven herself untrustworthy. While I might act friendly with her again, she would never be a true friend I could trust.

I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth and found myself staring into the mirror, wondering if it looked into the reflected world. I felt immensely sad thinking about Cora's soul bound up in the fake queen and wondered if killing the reflection would free her.

For now, the threat to Queens Gate was contained. My parents wouldn't have access to the anchor stone fragments, and Naeve was trapped in another world. Maybe Victus and Delectra would go away and leave me alone for a while.

It was probably too much to hope for.

Chapter 37

The holidays lingered for a while and then we returned to school. The remains of the fight with the Glimmer Queen had been cleared away and when I finally tracked down Galfandor and spoke with him, he assured me my parents would not have any reasons to return to the Glimmer.

Evadora did not stay with us long and vanished. When she reappeared a few months later, she told us she'd been in the Glimmer.

"The vines are still there and the people are still asleep," she told us as we walked toward the Fairy Garden.

"Can you do anything about it?" Ambria asked.

"I don't want to." Evadora giggled. "I don't like people. Your vampire friend helped me realize that."

"Sonia?" Max said. "She's an awful person who doesn't like anyone."

Ambria looked at me. "Maybe we should find a way to help the Glimmer people, Conrad."

I shook my head. "I wouldn't even know how to begin." I smiled at Evadora. "If you're happy, I'm happy."

"You are my friends," she said. "I will live in the Glimmer and come visit you."

Max frowned. "Well, if you don't care about your people, I guess there's nothing we can do about it."

We entered the Fairy Garden and went to the pond. The water was once again clean and pure, thanks to Percival's efforts.

Mirjana leapt from the water like a dolphin and landed next to us. She gave each of us a wet hug. "Thank you for restoring my home." She took my hand. "Thank you for saving my Klave."

Ambria looked sadly at the forest of tree stumps. "I wish we could do something about that."

"They are not totally dead," Evadora said. She put her ear to one of the stumps. "Maybe I will get my mother's powers. Perhaps I can revive them one day."

"I would dearly love to have them back," Mirjana said. "Perhaps it will come to be."

"Do you think we could get the gift of the sea like you gave to Conrad?" Max asked. "I'd love to see your home."

"We were just about to eat lunch," said the Lady of the Pond. "Perhaps you would all like to join us?"

Evadora giggled and jumped up and down. "Yes, yes, yes!"

"Oh, please," Ambria said.

I smiled. "I think that's a yes."

The school year continued and before I knew it, the last day of classes arrived. Max, Ambria, and I watched proud parents pick up their children and ferry them away to their homes. Once again, we would be returning to the house at the corner of Dowling and Bucket.

Max sighed. "You know what? I don't even feel sad watching all these normal kids go to their normal homes."

"I do," Ambria said.

"Why aren't you sad?" I asked Max.

He shrugged. "Because I have you two." He put his arms around our shoulders. "My parents' house doesn't feel like home. It's only when I'm with my best friends that I feel like I'm where I belong."

Ambria's eyes watered. "Why, Max, that's the sweetest thing you've ever said."

"Home is where the heart is," I said. I remembered Cora telling me that. Even though she was dead, a part of my home would always be with her.

Ambria giggled. "Max's heart is his stomach."

"Well in that case, let's go home," Max said. "I'm starving."

###

Aetherial Annihilation Chapter 1

I found Nightliss sitting in the war-torn field behind Arcane University a few days after the end of the Second Seraphim War.

Wondering what she was doing out there all alone, I sat down beside her and put an arm on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

She looked at me, her expression as bleak as the blasted landscape. "No." She wiped tears from her eyes and stood. "I don't think I can go on anymore, Justin."

"But you're the Templar Clarion—their guiding light." I squeezed her small hand in mine. "They need you—we all need you."

She took a deep breath, eyes lost in the distance. "My sister is dead and Eden is safe. Now Ketiss marches to Seraphina and into another war."

"Do you plan to go with him?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Seraphina doesn't feel like home anymore."

I sensed something more to that statement. "And Eden?"

Nightliss blinked and looked up as if waking from a dream. "I don't know where I belong."

"With us, with your family."

She hugged me. "I love you, Justin. You are a true and dear friend."

Dread spread its cold tendrils through my chest. "You're not planning to kill yourself are you?"

Nightliss smiled and stood. "No. But I'm going away for a while." She looked around the destroyed field and over at the blackened ruins of Colossus Stadium. "I have fought too many wars in my life. I want to find peace. I want to find
myself
."

Her statement hit a nerve deep within me. I'd gone from hardcore nerd to supernatural warrior in the space of a year, fought demons, angels, and almost everything in between without a break. How many thousands had died under my watch? How many more would die when Ketiss invaded his homeland to wrest control of the government back from the traitor Cephus? I pushed to my feet as the past swirled through my mind.

"You're haunted by ghosts too, Justin." Nightliss looked at me with intense green eyes. "You just haven't realized it yet." She stood on her tiptoes and kissed me on the cheek. "I will see you again."

Tears stung my eyes. I embraced her petite frame. "Don't pick any fights with stray dogs."

She laughed and cried. "You will always be my hero, the man who saved a little black cat."

"I'm going to miss you so much." I kissed her forehead and reluctantly did what I had to do.

I let her go.

Nightliss wiped her eyes, turned, and walked away.

War is an ugly thing.

Even if you survive, it slowly kills you inside. Nightliss had woken something inside me—a realization that I hadn't made it unscathed through the countless battles I'd fought against Daelissa and her minions. I wasn't ready to embark on a journey to Seraphina to unseat a usurper, much less to fight a long war against more Brightlings.

Maybe Nightliss had the right idea. Maybe I needed some time away from death and destruction.

Ketiss has an army of super-charged Darklings. He won't have any problems beating Cephus.

I called Elyssa.

"What's up, babe?" she asked.

I took a breath to soothe the knot in my throat. "How would you like to see the world?"

A pause. "Right now?"

"The train leaves tomorrow."

She chuckled. "A plane or portal would be a lot faster."

"We're taking a break from the supernatural." I couldn't remember where I'd left my wallet and ID. "Do you have a passport?"

"No."

"Well, I guess we have some nom stuff to take care of."

Elyssa made a thoughtful noise. "You're serious, aren't you?"

I kicked a rock across the mud. "Yeah. I just want to be a normal guy with his normal girlfriend for a while. Is that okay?"

"There are a lot of loose ends around here, Justin." She sighed. "Now isn't really a good time."

"There will never be a good time." The more I thought about fighting in Seraphina, the more desperate I was to run away. "Please."

She spoke in a soft voice. "As you wish."

The tightness in my chest eased. "I love you."

"I love you too."

Three months later, Elyssa and I watched the sun set over the Andaman Sea in Thailand. Splashing in the water and bathing in the sun was nice after our visit to Switzerland and chillier climates. A young woman raced past us and into the water. Her dark hair, petite figure, and olive skin looked so familiar.

Elyssa looked at the woman. "Something wrong?"

I shook my head. "She looks like Nightliss."

"You've seen someone who reminds you of Nightliss in every country we've visited."

"Yeah." I forced a smile. "I hope she's doing okay."

"She's a powerful Seraphim, Justin." Elyssa squeezed my hand. "Of course she's okay."

"Emotionally, I mean." I cleared my throat to ward off the knot forming and changed the subject. "Gorgeous sunset."

"Mhm." She watched me for a moment. "You're feeling guilty again, aren't you?"

I looked down. "Are you?"

"This vacation has been amazing, and my father tells me everything is under control but—"

"You feel like you're shirking your duty?" I said.

She nodded.

I blew out a breath. "Maybe I wimped out, I dunno. When Nightliss told me how she felt, it just hit a nerve, you know?"

Elyssa wrapped her arms around my neck. "You have nothing to prove to me. I'll travel the world with you for eternity if that's what you want."

I chuckled. "I'll settle for cuddling for now."

She planted a kiss on my lips. "Maybe once it gets dark and everyone leaves, we can do a little more than cuddling."

"Like stargazing?"

She punched my shoulder. "Yes, that's exactly what I meant."

We leaned against each other and watched the last rays of the sun vanish over the horizon. Before long, it was dark. The lack of sunlight didn't deter many people, and it looked like the privacy we wanted wasn't coming anytime soon.

Elyssa pointed up. "Look, a falling star."

I noticed it as well. In fact, it was hard not to notice the massive glowing ball in the sky growing larger and larger with every passing second. "Holy farting fairies, that thing is huge."

"Shouldn't it have burned up in the atmosphere?" Elyssa asked.

I sat up and watched the massive meteor slam into the ocean just off the coast of another small island a few clicks from ours. The water didn't quench the flames. Instead, the glow grew brighter until it lit the ocean like a massive pool light.