Dread Nemesis of Mine

chapter 41

My grip tightened around my arcphone. Thankfully, it was a lot stronger than the nom version, and didn't crack under the strain. "Who is he?"

"The correct pronoun would be 'she', Mr. Slade. I will send you a text with a location. You have five minutes to reach the location with the map and key. If I see anyone besides you and your girlfriend, I will vanish. Your friend Felicia will die. Do we have a deal?"

I wanted to roar with frustration.

Instead, I pulled the map and key from my pockets. Stared at them. Using them, figuring out how to make them function together could give us a huge upper hand. We could strike at the enemy from any direction. Go straight where they lived and stop them in their tracks. Each one was priceless. Together, they were even more priceless-er. I glanced over at Adam. Saw the pain in his face as Meghan spoke with him. Saw the hopelessness take the life right out of his expression.

I could just keep the map. Never tell him about this conversation with Underborn. Dammit, we needed every advantage in this conflict, war, whatever the hell you wanted to call it. Giving up the relics meant doing things the hard way. But saving a life—saving Felicia—that would be doing things the right way.

"Deal," I said, my voice rough with anger.

I hung up and went over to Elyssa.

Adam, his eyes red, put a hand on my shoulder. "Thanks, Justin." He choked up. "You—you put it all on the line for Felicia, and I'll never forget that." He turned and punched a divider. Dropped his forehead against it. "If I had listened to her. Talked to her, I might actually know who her sire is. I could have saved her. Now it's—it's over."

I gripped his shoulder. "Don't give up just yet. I might have a lead."

He spun, the barest flicker of hope in his eyes. "What is it?"

My phone buzzed with Underborn's text. "No time to explain but I have an option. A deal. Wait here, I'll be right back." I looked at Meghan. "Where are Felicia and Nightliss?"

"At The Ranch. I had them relocated.

"Meet me there. Make sure Nightliss is awake and ready to go."

Meghan gave me a curt nod. "I'll be ready." She handed me a vial. "Just hold this against the sire's skin and it'll draw blood."

"I'm going with you, Justin," Adam said.

I shook my head. "Can't. If anyone but Elyssa is with me, deal's off. Understand?"

He looked like he had plenty more to say, but backed off. Nodded. "I'll be waiting with Meghan." The look of hope in his eyes made me hurt inside.

I looked at the text on my phone. Set my GPS to give me walking directions. Grabbed Elyssa's hand. "Let's go."

We blurred out the back door. The time on my GPS dropped from a one-hour walk to four minutes at the speed we were going. I was going to need every second.

The address was an abandoned building once owned by a power utility. A train rumbled past on tracks less than a hundred feet away. A row of houses lined the curving road on the other side while a chain-link fence with numerous holes provided a weak defense to the red brick structure.

We sped inside. Underborn stood in the middle. Alone.

"The relics, please," he said, holding out a hand.

"Felicia's sire first," I growled.

Underborn paused. "Phissilinth informs me you have come alone." He smiled and my blood went cold. "It's heartening to see you adhering to the terms of our agreement." He motioned with his fingers and a masked man shoved a hooded figure from behind a column.

I pulled out the ring and noticed a dim ember burning inside the gem. As I stepped closer, it brightened until the entire gem glowed.

"She's drugged," Underborn said. "And she won't offer any resistance."

"How did you know we needed Felicia's sire?" I said. "Did Michael tell you?"

He smiled. "No. Naturally, he is not my only resource."

"Then—"

His hand went up in a halting gesture. "I will say nothing more on the matter. I suggest you give me the relics, and return with your prize."

I pulled the map and key from my pockets. The pleasure on his face at seeing the map made me want to punch it right off his stupid head. My leg throbbed as the anger simmered in my blood. An icy stab of fear at having an episode right now drove the anger back into its cave.

Underborn took the relics, and motioned with his head toward me. His helper guided the wobbling form to me. I pulled Meghan's vial from my pocket and pressed it to a bare patch on the captive's arm. Blood welled inside, filling it. I handed it to Elyssa.

"Get back to The Ranch. I'll be right behind you, but don't wait up."

"No need to walk," Underborn said, walking through the door and outside. He pulled a dark green tarp off a humped shape to reveal a red Mini Cooper beneath. "I thought it only polite to provide transportation since—" he check his watch, "—time is ticking." He tossed me the keys. "I recommend, however, you not use it as a daily driver since the previous owner might report it stolen come morning."

A slew of nasty replies popped into my head. "You realize by taking away the relics you're making things a lot harder on me. They would have tipped the balance in our favor."

"Indeed." He rolled his shoulders in a shrug. "You should go. Tick, tock. Tick, tock."

Elyssa climbed into the driver seat. I shoved the captive into the back, took shotgun.

As we sped to The Ranch, my mind spun in an endless circle of reasoning. Why was Underborn doing this? Did he want the relics for his own personal power? Why had he even "helped" me before—if marking my father for death to put me through an elaborate test was considered helping. He seemed to give with one hand and take with the other. He wasn't working for the other side, or I felt quite certain I would be dead or in captivity. He definitely wasn't working for our side either—whatever side that was.

I still couldn't figure it out myself. But I knew I had a decision to make. A very important one.

"You did the right thing," Elyssa said, eyes never leaving the road as she screeched around corners like a banshee, the scenery blurring past. "You've always tried to do the right thing." She made a hard turn and skidded onto the long driveway to Big Creek Ranch. Screeched to a stop in front of the house and turned off the car. Her eyes met mine. "And I love you for it."

Meghan and Adam rushed outside. Elyssa gave Meghan the vial and the healer rushed inside. I grabbed the captive vampire out of the back and hauled her through the door. Nightliss was awake, though bleary-eyed and offered me a gentle smile.

"Are we in time?" I asked, looking at the slumbering form of Felicia on the bed where she lay with only a towel preserving her modesty. Blackened veins claimed her arms and legs, and had snaked up her neck, reaching into her chin. She looked dead.

"We will see," Nightliss said.

I pulled the hood off the vampire. Dark hair spilled across her face. I pushed the hair back to reveal the face of a woman I didn't recognize.

"Please, I need to be alone with her," Nightliss said.

I nodded, and left the drugged vampire lying on the floor. Adam, his face a mix of hope and fear, leaned over and kissed his sister on the forehead before following us out.

As we left the bedroom and headed downstairs, the constant tension gripping my body finally let go. My body ached with the release, and I faltered, almost tumbling down the stairs before Elyssa caught me. A sick feeling churned in my stomach. I rushed into a bathroom and emptied my stomach into the sink, heaving and straining until I collapsed to my knees in exhaustion.

Elyssa knelt, her face inches from mine, eyes full of concern. "Are you okay, babe?"

I gave a weak nod. "Wow, you really must love me," I said, trying not to breathe in her direction.

She smiled. "Whatever gave you that idea, silly?"

"I just puked my guts out, and you're not even complaining about my breath."

A laugh burst from her. "You've smelled far worse, believe me."

"You didn't like my vampling perfume?"

"It was wonderfully aromatic." She combed my hair with her fingers.

A pleasant chill rose on my scalp where she touched me. I curled up and rested my head on her knees, right there on the bathroom floor. "I'm the happiest man in the world right now," I said. "My sexy ninja girl."

I jerked awake with a start. Sat up, and looked at the couch. At the blazing fire in the fireplace.

"Welcome back, sleepyhead," Elyssa said.

I turned and saw her sitting behind me, a pillow on her lap, a book in her hand. "How long?"

"Oh, an hour or so," she said, looking at a clock on the wall. "I had to carry you in here." She set the book aside and touched my cheek. "Are you feeling better?"

I nodded. "I don't feel like barfing, if that's what you mean."

"Meghan checked on you. Said it was magic poisoning."

The healer walked around the corner, a steaming mug of something in her hand. "I thought I heard you." She set her cup down on the coffee table and took a seat in a divan across from the couch, a serious look in her eyes. "Justin, we have to talk."

"Do you know how many times I hear that in a day?" I asked, sitting up straight and rotating my legs off the couch. "When I'm not fighting vampires, someone is giving me bad news." I ran a hand through my hair and sighed. "What's the crisis now?"

She almost smiled, but something like concern tugged the corners of her lips back down into a neutral expression. "It's about the magic poisoning. Can you tell me exactly what happened in the crypt?"

I shrugged. "Sure." I told her all about the encounter with Conroy and Ivy, including how I'd managed to change the spell, altering it to remove the magic intended to make a person a vampire. Try as I might, I couldn't recall how I'd known it, only that the demon side of me knew the lingo.

And then I reached the part about Mom. I hadn't told anyone yet, not even Elyssa. Just thinking about it choked me up with sadness and happiness at the same time. But as I told them, the tears evaporated. I felt…happy. It was strange to feel that way when talking about my dysfunctional family.

"After she told me that, she just poof! Vanished into thin air," I said, recounting the last bit of the saga.

Elyssa gasped, a beautiful smile on her lips. "Justin, she was trying to protect you. I couldn't believe a mother would abandon her child like your mom did."

I grinned. "Just when I was ready to give Mom and Dad the 'World's Worst Parents' award." The thought of my dad robbed some of my joy. Either he didn't know about Mom's plans, or didn't care. Far as I knew, he still planned to marry Kassallandra. Damn it, if I'd only had a little more time with Mom. There was so much to tell her and so many questions to ask.

Meghan wore a faint smile on her lips, or maybe it was a joyless smile, because it turned back into a frown. "Justin, when I was examining you closely while you were asleep—"

"You didn't anal probe me with a staff did you?" I said with a wink, trying to lighten her mood.

Again, she gave me a brief, but fleeting smile. "While spawn are capable of using magic, they're usually less powerful than human Arcanes. This is true of other supernatural species who are capable of magic. Why, exactly, that is, I don't know." She rolled her wand between her fingers, looking down at it. "What you and your sister Ivy were doing required a great deal of magic. Channeling that much energy would burn out all but the most powerful Arcanes."

I sat back, confusion pressing in on me. "Well, my mom is supposedly a pretty strong Arcane."

"The Conroys are probably the most powerful Arcanes alive," Meghan said, seeming to agree. "I'm sure they could have channeled this spell. In terms of raw brute force, Shelton might even manage it."

"Shelton?" I glanced at Elyssa. "Is he really that powerful?"

Meghan nodded. "He has, shall we say, potential to be great. But his rogue tendencies and lack of attention to fine control are his undoing." She waved a hand in the air. "But that's not what I want to talk about. The thing is, when I measured your well—the non-physical place in your body where you store magical energy—I discovered you haven't even yet tapped its full potential."

"And this is separate from where I store all my evil incubus power, right?"

She nodded. "Completely separate, as far as I know, although it is a matter of some debate in high circles. Think of it like lungs. You can draw in only so much air. By training your lungs, you can increase their capacity and efficiency." She stopped fiddling with her wand and looked me in the eye. "What I'm getting at, is as you pull in more magic, you'll continue to get these sick spells until your body becomes used to it. But even without reaching the full limit of your well, you've already far exceeded how much energy I can draw in all at once."

I arched an eyebrow. "I can suck in more magic than you?"

"It's difficult to quantify the depth of a well. I can only sense its depth, like dropping a stone down a shaft and listening for it to hit bottom."

"So how long is my shaft?"

Elyssa gave me an amused grin.

"Get your mind out of the gutter," I told her.

Meghan cleared her throat. "Perhaps I should skip to the point. From what I can sense of your current ability, your well is at least three times larger than the most powerful Arcanes I have ever treated."

Shock at the revelation drew both eyebrows up my forehead. Pleasure at hearing my own potential curled my lips into a smile. "So, I'm a badass?"

"Justin, the only person I've treated who has that much ability is in the room with Felicia."

I looked around. "Who, Adam?"

Meghan groaned. "No, I'm talking about Nightliss."

I was on my feet before I knew what was happening. "Huh? I have as much power as Nightliss? But that's impossible. She's a freaking angel!"

"Nightliss still has far more power than you, but that's only because you haven't yet found the depth of your ability." She motioned for me to sit down. "What I'm about to tell you next may come as even more of a shock."

I dropped onto the couch, hands in my lap. If I'd had a seatbelt, I would have put it on. "Oh, god," I said. "What is it?"

She looked from me to Elyssa, and chewed on her lip, as though trying to figure out how to say something. Finally, she said, "I'm almost ninety-nine percent positive your mother is not an Arcane."

I laughed. "Of course she is. She freed me from Conroy's spell, and poofed herself out of there."

"Yes, and there's a very good reason why she could do such things. Your mother is like Daelissa and Nightliss. She's an angel."