Dread Nemesis of Mine

chapter 12

Elyssa

"What—how did you get in here?" Elyssa asked as shock rippled through her.

Underborn gave her a lopsided smile. "May we come in before someone notices our presence? I took a considerable risk coming to you."

"You're not coming inside until you explain what the hell you want." This man was responsible for leading Justin through a gauntlet of gray men, hellhounds, and god only knew what else all so he could test his mettle. Underborn's real name was Kevin Sorensen, but he'd also posed as Mr. Turpin, an English teacher at their high school. As a former Templar, this man had survived the massacre at Thunder Rock, unbeknownst to Thomas Borathen, the leader of the ill-fated mission to apprehend Vadaemos all those years ago.

The large man pushed past Elyssa like she was nothing. Underborn followed, slipping in like a greased eel. He pulled a chair from the table in the center of the room, spun it around, and took a seat, propping his arms on the back of it. The big man leaned against a wall and crossed his arms.

"You've got a lot of nerve coming to me," Elyssa said. The desire to smack the smile off Underborn's face threatened to overcome her good sense.

The assassin held up his hands in surrender. "Believe me, Miss Borathen, I did what I did to be sure Justin was up to the task at hand. So far, he has proven himself most capable, if a bit clumsy. He took down Vadaemos." Underborn seemed genuinely impressed.

"He wasn't alone." Elyssa didn't care about credit, but Justin wasn't infallible. Nobody was.

"I know, Templar. It is Justin's ability to form the unlikeliest of alliances and forge a resolution that makes him so remarkable." Underborn scratched his head and looked at the silent, looming figure in black for a moment before continuing. "Unfortunately, it appears we have been outsmarted."

"By Maximus?"

Underborn shook his head. "By Daelissa."

Elyssa smacked a fist into her palm. "I just knew that bitch was involved somehow." She narrowed her eyes. "And what do you mean by we?"

"Naturally, I mean all of us in the collective sense."

"No." She shook her head. "I know you wanted Justin to take on Maximus. Somehow, you have a hand in this mess, don't you?" She crossed the room and looked down at him. "Did you have something to do with the kidnapping of his sister?"

A grim-lipped smile crossed the assassin's face. "I assure you I had nothing to do with that. However, it would appear the entire kidnapping was an elaborate setup."

Elyssa felt a jolt of surprise. "Ivy wasn't kidnapped?"

Underborn shook his head. "As I said, this entire fiasco has Daelissa's fingerprints all over it."

"What do you suggest we do?"

"The plan your father detailed will not result in the outcome you desire, I'm afraid."

"What do you—wait a minute, the war room's doors are sealed against magical eavesdropping. How do you know what the plan is?"

The former Templar tapped his temple. "I have my resources."

Elyssa brushed aside his reply with a wave of her hand. "Whatever. I don't care. If you have a plan to rescue Justin, I'm all for it."

"That's the spirit, young lady."

Elyssa lashed out lightning-quick toward Underborn's chair with her foot. The man was out of the chair even before her blurring kick connected with it, and watched calmly as her foot splintered the chair into kindling.

He raised an eyebrow at the ruined furniture. "I take it you don't like being patronized."

Though she was shocked at the speed with which he'd moved, Elyssa controlled her expression and gave him an even stare. "You might say that. Treat me like an equal and maybe you'll have someplace to sit next time."

She heard a chuckle from somewhere behind her and turned to see Underborn's looming companion watching the pair of them. "Who's the slab of meat you brought with you?"

Underborn flicked his fingers as if her question were unimportant. "Just some muscle."

As if the assassin needed anyone else. Elyssa had never seen someone move as fast as Underborn. "Fine. Back to my original question. What's the plan?"

"I have resources on the inside, though it took some considerable effort to put them into place. They will free Justin and lead him out. We'll meet them outside the compound and make away with him."

Elyssa crossed her arms. "That simple, huh?"

"Indeed."

She had to admit it sounded pretty simple and doable. No need to sneak in, find him, and rescue him, like she and Justin had to do for his father. Maximus had captured Justin's father, David, and used him as his own special blood reserve. Vampires considered spawn blood something of a delicacy.

Elyssa took a minute to think. Maximus's desire for spawn blood had to be twofold. First, of course, he probably enjoyed the taste. Second, the vampire was too young to turn a nom into one of his kind and most likely thought drinking enough spawn blood might enhance his ability to do so. Elyssa had no idea if Justin's blood could do such a thing or not. She figured Maximus was simply a desperate vampire grasping at straws. Until his blood aged, he'd be unable to turn anyone, and those he tried to turn would be infected with a curse. One that would turn them into a member of the walking dead, a vampling.

"When is the rescue scheduled?" Elyssa asked.

"At four in the morning. Since your father plans to begin the assault at noon, we don't have much time."

"But won't the vampires be at their strongest during the night?"

Underborn nodded. "It can't be helped. We have to get Justin out before the assault or Maximus might move him to a secret location. A place we'd never find him."

The downside to this subterfuge was relying on someone else to rescue her boyfriend. Elyssa itched to get in on the action. To make sure all went to plan. She was a dhampyr, after all. She could hide her heat signature from the vampires and pose as one.

"Believe me, Miss Borathen, things will go more smoothly if you don't try to interfere with the operation."

One word in his sentence piqued her suspicion. Interfere? "Why are you telling me this if my only job is to wait around until Justin is led outside? You don't even need me for that." Elyssa searched his expression for a clue, but he was too skilled at hiding his intent behind a poker face. "Tell me what you really want."

Underborn pursed his lips. "It isn't so much what I want as what I don't want."

"Maybe you can say that again, but this time, try to make sense."

"The Templars are patrolling the perimeter, keeping eyes on the comings and goings of the vampires."

Elyssa shrugged. "Normal procedure. Our intel would be dangerously outdated if we didn't keep a constant watch."

The assassin nodded. "Unfortunately, it means when we go in to retrieve Justin, those same eyes will be watching us."

"So what?" Elyssa tapped her chin in contemplation as she tried to unravel the weave of Underborn's plot. He had to have ulterior motives. All anecdotal evidence about this man indicated he was exceptional at leading his victims into the exact place he wanted them before ending them. He was known not simply for killing, but for manipulating everyone involved with the deal. And his price was always the most valued possession of the buyer. When Underborn said it would cost an arm and a leg, he wasn't joking.

"I don't wish Templars to see me or my inside agents. While they may not know who I am at first, they would certainly figure it out."

"You want me to clear the perimeter?" Elyssa wasn't sure how to accomplish such a thing. Her father or Christian could give the command to clear the perimeter, but she certainly couldn't. Even if she knew where the lookouts were stationed, distracting one of them wouldn't be enough. The location of Maximus's stronghold left few, if any, concealed approaches thanks to a wide road looping about it and roundabouts on all corners. A tall wall towered over those streets and offered few entrances to anyone wanting inside. From the history Elyssa had uncovered, the place had once served as a military fort, later converted into a mansion with several outbuildings.

In other words, the Templars using the cluttered buildings around the stronghold would see everyone coming in and out. The vampires on the walls would as well.

Underborn already seemed to know this. "Not feasible, I'm afraid. What we need, however, is nearly as impossible."

Here it comes, Elyssa thought. "Spit it out already."

"What I'm about to tell you may come as a shock."

"After all I've been through lately, your revelation had better be about Godzilla or aliens, because I can't think of much else that would shock me."

Underborn chuckled. "True. After surviving the horrors of El Dorado, fleeing from husks, wraiths, and even facing down leyworms, I don't imagine there is much in the physical realm that could surprise you."

A shudder ran through Elyssa's back at the thought of the husks, short and infant-shaped creatures with smooth oily skin and nothing but a maw of sharp teeth on an otherwise featureless face. Justin called them cherubs which wasn't far from the truth. Vadaemos told them they were the leftover husks of angels nearly killed when the Grand Nexus tying their plane of existence to Earth was destroyed.

She shook the troubled memories from her thoughts and returned to the question at hand. "So tell me then. What's the shocker you have in store for me?"

Underborn seemed to pause for dramatic effect and said, "There is a spy among you."

Elyssa raised an eyebrow. "That's not shocking. It's silly." She glanced at the dark hulk leaning against the wall, and wondered who he was. "Do you agree with him?"

The man didn't respond.

She rolled her eyes. "Maximus has a spy in our ranks? That's your shocking news?" She had no doubt the rogue vampire was spying on them somehow, but to have an actual spy, a member of the Templars, implanted in their ranks hardly seemed feasible. "You realize we can sense vampires, right? I mean, you were a Templar."

"I'm quite aware of that, Miss Borathen. However, Maximus has been rather adept lately at avoiding and outsmarting the Templars. How else do you think he knew about Justin's arrival at La Casona, hmm? Or when, exactly, to hit the convoy? Or how to hide so many vampires from Templar senses until it was time to strike?"

"Easy." Elyssa directed a condescending look at the assassin. "He probably has eyes on La Casona and the Grotto. It's not like we veiled our forces or tried to sneak into Colombia."

Underborn reflected her condescension with a condescending grin of his own. "I would agree with you, except Maximus wouldn't have had enough time to mobilize such a force, not to mention positioning scroll casters in strategic firing locations at a moment's notice. If he had watchers at the Templar compound in Atlanta, he would have had less than thirty minutes to organize before you arrived at La Casona. The cars there to pick you up arrived only moments before you did."

Elyssa ran some calculations through her mind and came to the conclusion Underborn had a point. Unless Maximus maintained a force outside La Casona, he couldn't have mobilized such an organized ambush and kidnapping in so short a time. A chill settled in her stomach. As impossible as it sounded, someone she knew, someone close to the commanders might be a traitor.

"Crap," she said, running a hand through her hair as faces of friends ran through her mind. Could one of them be the spy? She gave Underborn a quizzical look. "Why do you care if there's a spy?"

"If your people see one of my agents inside Maximus's camp bring Justin outside, they'll likely take video with an all-seeing eye and send it up the chain. The Templar spy will see my person and report them to Maximus who will likely torture them until they reveal the identities of my other insiders." He shrugged. "I have spent considerable time and resources putting my agents into place, and can't afford to withdraw any of them at this stage of the game."

"They're just resources to you, aren't they?"

"We're all resources to someone, Miss Borathen." He smiled. "Just ask your father."

Much as she wanted to punch the man in the mouth for his mocking smile, she couldn't disagree. Thomas Borathen had trained her to be a resource more than a daughter. Rather than a father, he'd always been her commanding officer. Had he ever held her as a child and spun her around in his arms, a smile on his face, a gleam in his eye? Had he ever kissed her and told her he loved her no matter what she wanted to do with her life?

The cruel but true answer was no. Any time he'd been proud of her was for her advancement in the Templars. For her fighting prowess. He'd been all too quick to have her mind wiped when she'd stepped out of line and fallen in love with Justin.

Why, then, had her heart ached when she'd thought he was dead? And why had it nearly flown away when she found him alive?

Damn her traitorous heart.

"Do you have any idea who the traitor might be?" she asked.

"I'm afraid not. However, this person is likely close to Commander Salazar or your father. He or she would have to be to gather timely information."

That left very few people. Elyssa's mother, Leia, and her brother, Michael were the two closest to her father. Even so, he rarely told anyone what his plans were until it was nearly time to execute them. As for Christian, she knew Beck was now a top advisor. But who else? "I think I know where to start," she said.

Underborn nodded. "Good. But you'll need to hurry." He checked a pocket watch. "You have five hours until the operation." The assassin withdrew a disposable arcphone and handed it to her. "You can reach me with this once you've succeeded. Don't try to trace the number. It's magically encrypted.

Elyssa took the thin rectangular device. "What if I can't find the traitor in five hours?"

"I said five hours until the operation, Miss Borathen. You have four hours to find the mole."

"Just four hours? Why?"

"Because, young lady, if you don't find them, I will scrub the mission."