Dire Destiny of Ours (35 page)

By now, I'd decided that trying to figure out how he knew what he knew would only make me extremely paranoid. On the other hand, he didn't seem to know we had the original Chalon as well. Since Jeremiah had stolen it right from under our noses, it made me think that the old Arcane had been better about keeping secrets.

I countered with a question. "Why do you want the Chalon?"

"As you well know, it's useless since the Grand Nexus already has another Chalon, albeit on the Seraphina side of the gateway." He shrugged nonchalantly. "I'd simply like to study it."

"So, we get to
borrow
the map and key but have to
give
you a Chalon in exchange?" I shook my head. "I don't think so. I thought you wanted to help. Instead, you're up to your old games."

Elyssa leaned forward. "Borrowing the map and key is acceptable. We'll happily return them after the war. Why do you really want the Chalon?"

"I believe the symbols on it may offer clues about other realms and locations of other Relics." He tapped a finger to his chin as if giving a great deal of thought to something. "How about this—you may borrow the map and key for as long as I borrow the Chalon?"

That sounded like a reasonable arrangement, but his willingness to negotiate only made me more cautious. He knew something about the Chalon we didn't. I was about to pepper him with more questions when I realized what he'd just said confirmed my hunch. Only someone who'd seen the Chalon would know about the tiny symbols etched into it. Even Jeremiah hadn't known about those until he'd studied it at length. That meant only one thing.

I nodded as though Underborn's proposal was entirely reasonable and then said, "You already have a Chalon, don't you?"

Underborn blinked a couple of times. A smile slowly stretched across his face. "What makes you suspect that?"

I gave him a stern look. "Yes or no, Underborn."

If he was exasperated he didn't show it. "Yes."

Elyssa pressed for the kill. "If that's the case, why would you need a second one?"

"I would like to test some theories, nothing more." Despite our badgering, he remained calm. "Surely, it will do you no harm to let me borrow the Chalon."

"If you know of anything the Chalon could do to help us, you need to tell me now." I felt my fists tighten at the man's enigmatic posturing. Even with our backs to the wall, he was still intent on wringing out a deal for himself.

"I know nothing for certain."

I almost slammed my fist on the table, but resisted the urge. "I have the feeling you know exactly what you're looking for." I shook my head and stood up. "You know what? Keep your map and key. Just stay home and wait for us to lose this war. I'm sure you'll do just fine when Daelissa is running the world."

Underborn held up his hands, palms out. "No need to be melodramatic, Mr. Slade."

"I wish I was just being melodramatic." I pressed my knuckles on the table and leaned toward him. "If you can't be forthcoming with me, I have no use for you."

Elyssa took the blink stone off her armor and dropped it on the table. "I hope you find what you're looking for in life. I think the quality of living is about to go to hell once Daelissa takes control."

Underborn pinched the bridge of his nose as if a horrible headache had just tightened a vice on his cranium. "You two are simply intractable."

A spiteful laugh burst from Elyssa. "We happen to care about the world, not our own personal gain."

"I can't believe you used to be a Templar." I snorted with as much disdain as I could cram into a snort. "I'll bet your mother would be proud,
Kevin.
"

Underborn reeled back as if I'd slapped him in the face. He stood and greeted us with stony silence, though his right eye twitched as if he wanted to murder us on the spot. "I can see now why I decided never to have children. Were you anyone else, I would kill you on the spot for your insolence."

I suffused my body with Brilliance until I glowed. "I'm not the same boy you toyed with before, Underborn. If you truly think you're a match for me, then let's get this over with right now."

The anger in his face smoothed over. "Just because you could kill me in a direct fight doesn't mean I couldn't end you by my own means."

"Then maybe I should just kill you right now so you're no longer a threat."

Underborn backed up a step. "I bear you no ill will, Mr. Slade, but you are very tiring to deal with."

"Right back at you." I flashed a grin. "Now, why don't you tell me what having a second Chalon can do?"

The assassin dropped into his chair, an air of resignation hanging about him. "There are two differences between the Grand Nexus and the other Alabaster Arches."

My curiosity was piqued. "The Grand Nexus is much larger and has a socket for the Chalon."

"Correct." Underborn clasped his hands and placed them on the table. "As you may know, Serena, Daelissa's pet Arcane, has been able to attune the Chalon using recordings of your mother singing. I managed to procure a copy of these recordings and used them with the Chalon in my possession."

I was confused. "You used your Chalon on the Grand Nexus?"

"No. I took the Chalon in my possession to the Three Sisters Alabaster Arch. Although it has no socket for the Chalon, I discovered that it will bind itself to the same area on the Alabaster Arch that it normally would on the Grand Nexus."

I ran through the possibilities in my mind. "You mean we could change the alignment of the Grand Nexus and all the other Alabaster Arches by attuning a Chalon on another arch?"

"Incredible," Elyssa said. "We could seal off the nexus from Seraphina. We could stop the Second Battalion from ever reaching Eden!"

"Ah, but there is one problem," Underborn said in a cautionary tone. "I was unable to wrest control from the nexus. The Chalon focuses and channels the power required to open a portal between realms. I believe if I placed two of them on the same arch I could overpower the Grand Nexus and assign control to a different Alabaster Arch."

I tried not to let hope override my common sense, but it was hard not to see how cutting off Daelissa from Seraphina and her new troops could help us win this war.

Elyssa's eyes shined with renewed faith. "I can see why you didn't want to tell us this, Underborn. If you pulled it off, you'd control the new Grand Nexus."

He shrugged as if it were of no concern. "Perhaps."

I stood. "You can borrow the second Chalon on the provision that you return it once the war is over."

Underborn stood and offered his hand. "I accept, Mr. Slade."

I rose from my chair and accepted his hand. "The map and the key, please?"

"Of course." He reached to a shelf behind him, withdrew a book, and removed the map and key from behind it. "I will show you how to operate them."

He knew what I wanted all along.
"Good, I'll need instructions."

"You'll need much more than that, Mr. Slade." Underborn took out an arcphone and projected an image showing Daelissa standing before an army of battle golems, each one every bit as massive as the five we'd fought in our first battle. She appeared to be inspecting them with Serena. "I'm afraid Daelissa showed you only a fraction of her capabilities in the last battle. Even if we prevent her reinforcements from arriving, she has more than enough might to crush you."

The surge of hope I'd felt drained like melting snow in a fire pit. My forces would be hard pressed to stop her next attack. Without some kind of reinforcements, we weren't going to last long.

Elyssa took me aside and spoke in a low voice. "Justin, I'll retrieve the Chalon. You stay here and find out how to operate the map and key."

I nodded. "Bring both Chalons."

She gave me a dubious look. "Are you sure that's wise?"

"What if two aren't enough to overpower the nexus?" I slashed a hand through the air. "We don't have time for games."

"We just have to hope Underborn feels the same way." I kissed and hugged her tight. "I'll be waiting here for you." I walked to Underborn and told him the plan.

"Phissilinth will escort you back to the Grotto and wait for you to return with the Chalons." Underborn pursed his lips and looked at me. "Two Chalons, Mr. Slade? It appears I've underestimated you yet again." He picked up the blink stone from the table and handed it to Elyssa. "Don't forget your gift."

She regarded it uncertainly for a moment before taking it and pressing it to her uniform. "I'll be back soon." She and Phissilinth left.

"Now, let's get to the map." Underborn smoothed the parchment open. A myriad of crisscrossing black lines covered the tan surface. I could hardly make heads or tails of it. Underborn stared at it for a few seconds. Most of the lines faded away until all that remained was a three-dimensional drawing of a door.

"Did you clear the map?" I asked.

He nodded. "I find it easier to scroll the map to a desired location first. Once there, I focus on a smaller area until I find the door I want to use. In this case, I've selected a closet door in a highrise condominium in downtown Atlanta."

"No wonder the lines were so dense." It had been like looking at a blueprint of the structure.

"Precisely. The map will draw every detail unless you direct it to simplify the illustration." He touched the drawing of the door and narrowed his eyes. The door glowed a dull yellow. "I've now selected the first door." He pinched his fingers on the map and zoomed out much like a person did with the map on an arctablet. "This is how you zoom out." Outlines of the Atlanta skyline appeared. Underborn tightened his fist and twisted it sideways. The map rotated to an overhead view. "That is how you shift the orientation."

I watched as he zoomed in on a house in the northern suburbs and selected a closet door. A glowing yellow line connected the two doors.

"To confirm the connection, you simply pluck it." Underborn pinched the line with two fingers and pulled at it like a guitar string. The line actually lifted from the map and vibrated when he released it. As it grew still, the yellow glow faded and left a light blue line behind. "The connection between the two doors is now established."

He continued with the lessons, showing me how to break a connection, how to form multiple connections between doors, and how to select a specific one with the key. The map didn't require a door to have a handle or even a lock to work. If a person wanted it to home in on their location, they simply had to think about it and tap the map twice. Underborn refused to let me do it, however, lest I discover the location of his secret hideout.

Thirty minutes into the lesson, Elyssa texted me to let me know she'd gone into Jeremiah's vault and was procuring the Chalons. I was texting her back when I heard a cry of pain from somewhere outside the library. Underborn and I exchanged concerned glances. He folded the map, placed it and the key in a small leather pouch, and handed it to me.

"Keep it safe." Underborn opened the door and crept into the hallway.

Another agonized shout reached our ears. Quick as a cat, Underborn raced down the hallway, his feet making no sound. I followed him. The Nightingale armor masked most of my footsteps. He stopped at the portrait of a devilish-looking man dressed in all black. Underborn slid the picture to the side and waved a hand across the stone wall. The wall turned transparent to reveal the waiting room.

"Illusion," Underborn whispered.

I was too busy staring at the bizarre scene on the other side of the wall. The source of the screams was a man dressed in butler livery. A doughy white blob encased his right leg. A humanoid figure with sickly pale skin watched with a smile.

"Where is the entrance?" the doughy man asked in a gurgling voice. "Tell us now and we'll make your death quick."

A grinning tooth-filled mouth formed in the blob around the butler's leg. It opened wide and then clamped down. The man clenched his teeth, but the pain was too much. He screamed.

An army of spiders seemed to crawl up my body as the identity of the attackers dawned on me. They were beings I'd hoped never to see again.

Flarks.

Mr. Bigglesworth, Ivy's shape-shifting protector, had been the last and only Flark I'd ever encountered. The creatures were nearly immune to direct magical attack, and could shift like putty into virtually anything.