Sinister Seraphim of Mine (Overworld Chronicles Book 8) (41 page)

Jeremiah was already a few paces ahead of me since he hadn't slowed to wait for me. I caught up to him easily.

"What in the hell did you do?" I asked.

He cast a dark glance at me. "It was a matter of ill timing, nothing more."

"Nothing more?" I glanced over my shoulder as more explosions lit the sky. "Who's fighting who back there?"

He didn't answer. We rushed past the vampires who now stood watching the commotion in the distance, their cigarettes dangling from limp hands.

"What's going on?" the girl asked. She looked genuinely frightened.

I gripped her by the shoulders. "If you know what's good for you, you'll leave this place and never come back. The Nazdal are going crazy!"

The group exchanged a few frightened looks and blurred away to the east.

I heard the gurgling voices of the Nazdal as they closed in on us. This entire place would be overrun with them in a hot second. I pointed down the west hall. "Tell everyone to clear out. I'll be there in a moment."

Jeremiah stopped. "You can't fight them all, boy."

I gave him a nasty grin. "I don't have to." Switching to incubus sight, I channeled a beam of destruction and obliterated part of the pattern holding the monster scorp in place. It pushed a giant leg tentatively outside of the damaged lines. Realizing it was free, it loosed a piercing shriek and skittered toward me just in time for a wave of Nazdal to slam into it.

"Clever," Jeremiah said as he turned and ran down the west hallway with me hot on his heels. "You used a problem as a solution."

I didn't have time to blush at the compliment. "Mission abort!" I shouted as we neared our sentries. "Mission abort! Get the hell out of here!"

I saw the Templars leave their positions before we reached them. The two men were already inside the loading bay giving the abort warning when we burst inside.

Aside from a meager pile, most of the cubes were gone.

"Incoming Nazdal!" I shouted. "Everyone evacuate!"

Jeremiah and I ran for the portal leading to the mansion as a Templar waved people through. The two portals back to Colombia vanished as the last Templar vanished inside. We were almost to ours when the back wall exploded, showering the room with bricks. The Templar at the portal held up his hands as a ton of debris crushed him and covered the portal.

A giant stone golem with glowing eyes stormed through the destroyed wall. It saw us. Its eyes glowed bright orange.

"We should make haste," Jeremiah said.

I threw up a shield of Murk as giant orange lasers blasted our position. The intense heat felt like it was about to bake us like an oven. For some reason, that made me think of tinfoil, and that made me think of reflective surfaces, namely the mirror spell Jeremiah had used against Daelissa. The heat was almost unbearable, but we couldn't run and the golem didn't show any signs of letting up. I willed the shield surface to turn into a mirror with the idea I could reflect the damage right back at the golem.

The shield, however, was a dome. Instead of sending it right back, it blasted a massive hole in the ceiling just above us and tore a large rent down the middle. I cursed as concrete rained down toward us. We had no choice now. Giving everything I had, I grabbed Jeremiah and bolted for the train tracks at the back of the loading bay just as I released the shield.

Heat washed over my backside the instant I ran, but the debris from the ceiling must have intercepted some of the death rays. I heard a loud shriek and turned to see the giant scorp burst through the entryway. Its shiny chitin was covered in blood and other unidentifiable body parts. A group of massive Nazdal were climbing all over the thing. They'd obviously soaked up the life force of their fallen comrades and were now actually a match for the demon spawn.

"We really must get out of here post-haste," Jeremiah said.

"No duh, man!" A battle mage on a flying carpet swooped down through the giant hole in the ceiling just as the giant scorp plowed past. His carpet spun out of control and slammed into a metal support beam.

I let go of Jeremiah and leapt at the carpet, jerked the stunned battle mage from his perch and dropped him on the floor. Orange lasers abruptly shifted my way. I flew the carpet beneath them and grabbed Jeremiah's hand as I passed him, swinging him onto the carpet behind me.

The Arcane directed his staff at a loading bay door. The rings on his finger glowed as they allowed him to channel in the interdiction field, and a burst of light blasted a hole through the metal shutter.

I heard a deafening shriek and looked back. The giant scorp and stone golem pounded each other while the huge Nazdal abandoned the fight and came after us. I slowed down and ducked so we could fit through the hole in the shutter, and then we were outside. We weren't clear yet, though. There were obviously battle mages on flying carpets out here.

The first rays of dawn touched the horizon. I saw hundreds of shadowy figures fighting to the west.

"Head due east at top speed," Jeremiah said. "We don't have much—"

A brilliant light flashed and everything went deadly silent. I looked back at a pinpoint of light on the western side of the prison. The air rumbled louder than thunder as an explosion tore through the air and cascades of white and ultraviolet lightning obliterated everyone fighting in the battle. The shockwave rushed outward, engulfing the western wing of the prison and heading for us at frightening velocity.

I urged the carpet to top speed. We raced ahead of the nebula of primordial destruction. Hot air blasted at our backs one second and shifted to howling arctic winds the next. We cleared the eastern side of the prison and whooshed over a large clearing beyond. The presence of absolute annihilation faded from my backside. I looked back. The shockwave had stopped about halfway through the prison, leaving the eastern side unscathed. Of the western side, there was nothing but smoking rubble.

We passed over empty campsites on the east side and raced into the forest. Seconds later, the tingling pressure from the interdiction field abated. The tesla coil on the east wing must have survived the blast. It took me a moment to regain my senses. I was still in shock from our narrow escape and my bowels were extremely upset with the drastic turn of events.

Jeremiah used the malaether crucibles. That son of a bitch did it without asking.

In the coldest voice I could muster, I said, "You murderer. What gave you the right—"

"I did not intend for this to happen," he said. "I—"

"Shut it, Jeremiah, Ezzek, or whatever the hell your name is." I bared my teeth at him. "You went against everything we agreed on." I pointed at the receding wasteland behind us. "Does this make you feel better? Do you think Thesha would be happy with this?"

Jeremiah roared and punched me in the face. "You will never understand loss like I have, boy!"

I deflected his next blow and put my arms up in a defensive position even as the carpet sped away from the prison. "You're nothing but a ball of hate encased in a tomb of flesh," I spat back at him. "Maybe you should just kill yourself now and spare the rest of us from your next act of vengeance."

Jeremiah stared at me for a long second. He turned to face the smoking horizon behind us as the light of a new day greeted us from the opposite direction. I looked around and detected no signs of pursuit—hardly surprising given the nuclear diversion we'd had. I realized Thunder Rock was in the direction we were travelling and changed course to head for the Templar compound. I checked my phone. The screen stayed black when I tried to turn it on. The magnetic force of the malaether must have fried it, I decided.

I hoped Nookli wasn't totally dead. I really like my phone, despite her inability to interpret my spoken instructions.

We would have to ask someone at the Templar compound to request a portal so we could return to the mansion. I didn't know what to do with Jeremiah. I'd sent him to do a mission, and instead, he'd committed mass murder.

It felt like I had been his willing accomplice.

Chapter 37

We would never be able to turn the tide of sentiment our way now, not after this. What madman would use weapons of mass destruction except for terrorists and leaders of rogue states? The Overworld news media would paint us as villains of the worst kind, and we would find no allies. I'd known we would face an uphill battle, but this particular hill seemed insurmountable.

And to think I was starting to respect the man. He hasn't changed.

I saw a swarm of black dots in the horizon and the sound of blades chopping the air. I dropped the carpet beneath the cover of trees as a formation of four military helicopters flew past in the direction of Kobol Prison.

I levitated the carpet up just enough to poke my head over the tops of the nearby trees. The helicopters suddenly swung around as more flying objects appeared over the treetops. I heard a PA system click on.

"Unknown aircraft, you are to—what the hell? Is that a flying carpet?" The man shouted in surprise as multiple lances of light burst through the helicopters. The stricken craft plummeted into the forest, lighting it up with fire. I dropped us back down and took us close to a large oak tree.

Jeremiah didn't seem the least bit affected by the destruction. He looked practically catatonic.
What a wonderful time to go insane.

I heard the whoosh of air as flying carpets passed overhead.

"Definitely this way," someone shouted.

"We can't pursue right now!" someone said. They brought their carpet to a halt just above us. "The damned noms are going to investigate their lost aircraft, you idiots. Why did you destroy them?"

"They saw us, you moron. What else could we do?" said a gruff voice.

"He's right," said a female voice. "We have to return to base and put up camouflage and anti-detection spells before the noms discover it."

The gruff voiced-man released a slew of curses, but relented. "Fine, but you get to explain to Daelissa how Jeremiah Conroy escaped."

I heard someone gulp. The carpets turned and zipped back toward the prison. I decided to play it safe and stayed low in the woods until we reached a road and civilization. There were few cars on the road, and I didn't see many people outside. I soon realized why.
It's News Year's Day.
What better way to ring in the New Year than with the firework to end all fireworks?

After a tense flight, we arrived back at the Borathen Templar compound an hour later. I was too angry to even talk to Jeremiah, and he seemed to be completely out of it. The facility seemed almost deserted. Thomas had obviously dedicated the bulk of his forces to taking the Grotto way station from Cyphanis Rax.

I parked the carpet and got off. Jeremiah stepped off as well, but didn't say a word. A Templar came from the house.

"Justin Slade?" he asked with a look of concern.

I nodded.

"Elyssa Borathen said you might come here after the portal went down," he said. "She asked me to contact her when you arrived."

"Please do. We need a portal immediately."

Within minutes, we had a portal opened. I thanked the man and stepped through and into Elyssa's arms.

"I was so worried." She squeezed me tight.

Jeremiah stepped through and regarded us with something that looked like envy. His eyes were red, though he wasn't crying. "I will wait upstairs."

I didn't know what else to say to him. My fury had faded into a dull ache of regret. There really was no punishment I could give the man for his actions. I felt betrayed. "I'll be up there soon. I want you to tell me exactly what happened."

He nodded and left.

I turned and caught Elyssa's questioning glare. "He's not the only one with some 'splaining to do," she said. "What happened?"

"How's Phoebe?" I asked.

"Way to dodge the question," she said. "Nightliss removed the mind traps. We're waiting for her to wake up so we can question her."

"Any news on Operation Grotto?"

She nodded. "They've taken the way station and are clearing the Grotto of non-combatants."

The Grotto way station was in the middle of Buckhead beneath a popular mall, Phipp's Plaza. I couldn't imagine the logistical nightmare of sneaking people into the parking deck and down the hidden ramp to the way station. The Grotto itself was a city about half the size of Queens Gate. Clearing it would still take time.

"Did our people make it out of the prison okay?"

"Most of them, yes." She frowned. "We lost three people when the roof collapsed. Some of the debris came through the portal and killed two people on this side."

I shuddered. "It was insane." I told her about everything.

Anger clouded her face. "That son of a—he detonated a malaether crucible even when we told him not to? Oh my god. How many people did he kill?" Her phone beeped. She glanced at it with a confused look.

"What is it?"

"A message from a Lieutenant Olson." She stared at her phone. "Isn't this the man Commander Taylor mentioned?"

"What does the message say?"

"Contact me."

I took her phone and looked at the message. "Maybe you should."

"Why would he want to talk to me?" she asked.

I shrugged. "Maybe Commander Taylor reached him and asked him to contact you."

We went upstairs for privacy. Elyssa dialed the number in the message and put it on speaker phone.

"Is this Elyssa Borathen?" a deep male voice asked.

"Yes," she replied. "Is this Lieutenant Olson?"

"Yes."

"I thought you were a commander, not a lieutenant."

"I was a commander," he said. "The Synod demoted me because I didn't agree with their new policies after Thomas Borathen broke from them." He continued without waiting for a response. "I had hoped to make changes from within the organization, but recent events demonstrated we are well past that point."

"Where are you?" I asked.

"I was at Kobol Prison. The legion I formerly commanded was ordered there along with two other legions populated by Synod loyalists. Somehow, the Exorcists built a new Obsidian Arch at the prison. We were to stage at the facility and later portal to our real target."