Dread Nemesis of Mine (2 page)

My forehead pinched. "Trannies?" I had no
idea how cross-dressers entered the mix.

"Yeah, the ones who transform into cats and
wolves." She made a vague shape with her fingers.

I laughed. "Ivy, it's not
what
you are
that makes you good or bad, it's what you
do
."

She opened and closed her fingers and thumb
like a mouth as she had earlier. "Blah, blah, blah."

Her mind was sewn tight against my arguments,
glued shut with the bigoted lies the Conroys had told her. I
wondered if Mom had helped taint my little sister's mind with their
propaganda as well.

"You've already corrupted the Templars," Ivy
said, interrupting my thoughts. "A whole organization dedicated to
the Brilliance and you somehow come along and corrupt it with the
Murk."

"Brilliance? Murk?"

"Yeah. Light and Dark. Whatevs."

"First of all, I didn't corrupt anyone. The
Divinity did. And once the Templars found out, you might say they
saw the light." I grinned at my clever comeback.

"Ha, ha." Ivy glanced to her right.

I glanced in the same direction and saw
nothing but headstones and tombs.

Obviously, I wasn't going to change my
sister's mind about anything, at least not today. But my goal all
this time had been to save her from the Conroys. I looked closer at
our surroundings and saw no sign of our grandparents or my mom.
Unless they were invisible, Ivy was here
alone
. She was
tall, but thin and willowy. She couldn't possibly match me
physically. As an added bonus, nearly a hundred Templars stood a
scant fifty yards away. I supposed I could grab Ivy and stow her on
the Templar compound. Maybe Elyssa and I could figure out how to
undo the mind-twisting my dear grandparents had wreaked on her.

"If you think I've really corrupted the
Templars, why don't you ask them?" I said, leaning against the
Conroy headstone and inching forward with a casual stretch.

"I'm not stupid. The Templars betrayed their
sweet angel and she'll make them pay for it, believe me."

A cold spike pierced my spleen. "Angel?" She
already knew?

She smirked. "Of course. Daelissa."

I staggered back, losing the few inches I'd
closed between the two of us. "Do you realize how dangerous that
woman is? She's the real evil behind everything. Did you know she
let a very dangerous demon spawn named Vadaemos loose and he killed
over a dozen Templars a week ago?" I pounded the bottom of my fist
against the tombstone. The blow splintered the marble, sending a
crack diagonally up to the edge. "Daelissa may claim to be an
angel, but she's a demon."

Ivy shrugged, her eyes exploring the crack
I'd opened in the tombstone. "I don't know anything about this
Vadaemos man, but when the Templars turned their backs on Daelissa,
they got what they deserved."

I gritted my teeth to keep back an angry
response. Ivy wasn't in her right mind. Good god, if Daelissa had
her claws into her, no wonder she was so messed up. Had the twisted
angel also done something to Mom? She must have. It totally
explained Mom's behavior the last time I'd seen her in the church
parking lot across from the school, telling me she never wanted to
see me or Dad again.
Sigh.
Talk about a dysfunctional
family. Since then, I'd been transported to Colombia by a
malfunctioning magical arch, fought vampiric drug lords, and
finally cornered Vadaemos, an evil spawn, in El Dorado, a city
where these so-called angels like Daelissa had ruled as gods.

Nightliss was also one of them. Except, she
seemed to be good, or at least she'd helped me so far. If it hadn't
been for her, Vadaemos would have killed me. He and I had
manifested into our demon forms and fought. It hadn't been a
contest. Vadaemos's strength and cunning dwarfed my own and only
intervention from the dark angel had saved me.

"You look scared," Ivy said. "You should
be."

I snapped out of my recollections. Enough was
enough. Maybe Nightliss could figure out what to do with my errant
little sister. Maybe she could clear her mind of Daelissa's touch
just like she'd done for Elyssa. I blurred toward Ivy. Wrapped my
arms around—thin air. Ivy's nose was practically touching mine.
Except it wasn't. It couldn't. Her body flickered where my hands
touched it. A breeze kicked up fallen leaves, sending its cold
fingers through my hair. Ivy's hair didn't move a bit.

"I knew you'd try to kidnap me or do
something bad," she said, clicking her tongue at me.

"You're a holograph?"

"A projection. Bigdaddy would freak if he
knew I was talking to you."

"How did you put this note here then?" I held
up the sheet of paper as evidence.

"Mr. Bigglesworth put it there for me."

"Who?"

"You'll meet him soon, big brother. Don't
worry. I think I figured out how to get rid of you." She smiled.
Waved. Vanished. A misty cloud approximating her shape remained for
a second before the wintry breeze scattered it.

I looked at the note again. The words had
changed and the original message was gone.

I wish you weren't evil. :( Goodbye.

Smoochies, Ivy

The funeral had ended. Elyssa stood by the
edge of the hole. Her gaze found me the moment I stepped from
behind the Conroy family headstone. She looked a little confused.
Hurt. Maybe even angry. I didn't blame her. I'd bolted on her in
the middle of her brother's funeral. What jackass would do
that?

Me, apparently.

Elyssa met me halfway, eyes narrowed. "What
happened?"

"My sister."

Her eyes widened. "Sister?"

I nodded. "She was over there." I motioned
back where I'd come from. "And she thinks I'm evil."

For a long moment, Elyssa didn't say
anything, but the confusion in the arch of her brows told me all I
needed to know. Finally she said, "She was here? In this
cemetery?"

"Well, not exactly here. She projected, or
something weird like that. She wasn't solid when I tried to grab
her." I pulled the slip of paper from my front jeans pocket and
showed it to her.

Elyssa took it and examined both sides. It
was quite obviously blank. "Uh, and this is?" She handed it
back.

I flipped the page around, peering at it.
Aside from a few creases where I'd folded it, it looked pristine. I
couldn't even make out impressions where words might have been. "Or
maybe I'm going crazy," I said, feeling even more stupid than
usual. "I could have sworn…"

Elyssa gave me an understanding half-smile
and shrugged. "Maybe someone is playing a trick on you."

I folded the paper and shoved it back into my
pocket, feeling like a complete moron. Could everything have been a
bizarre illusion? I'd made my fair share of enemies over the past
couple of months as I'd stumbled my way through the politics of the
Overworld. Maybe I'd ticked off an Arcane or some other illusionist
with the ability to make me see my sister.

Elyssa took my hand and guided us toward the
rest of her family as they walked toward a line of black SUVs
parked curbside on the winding cemetery road. This place was the
final stop for all sorts of beings from the Overworld, warded and
guarded against noms in case some of the entities buried here
weren't entirely dead. If ghosts existed, this would definitely be
the place to find them.

A Templar sprang from one of the SUVs, walked
briskly to Thomas, and spoke with him, his gestures urgent. It felt
really strange to be on the Borathen family's side of the fence,
not to mention openly dating the daughter of the head honcho in
Atlanta. Just a week ago, he'd tried to take my head off with a
sword.

Thomas turned and motioned us over. Or maybe
he was motioning to Elyssa. I followed anyway, trying not to let my
nervousness show. When we reached the group, his blue eyes settled
on me and narrowed ever so slightly. He pursed his lips and seemed
to arrive at some decision, leading us away from the crowd of
mourners.

"Colombia is out of control."

"Maximus?" I asked, already knowing it had to
be that pompous douche.

He grunted ever so slightly. "Noms in Bogota
are starting to notice. He's not even trying to keep his
recruitment activities a secret."

"What about here in Atlanta?" Elyssa
asked.

"He seems to think he can get away with it
down there. Weak local government." Thomas folded his arms and gave
me an appraising look. "I'd like to send you down to help Commander
Salazar."

Just the thought of going back to Colombia
made me shudder. "Did he request me?"

"No. But Maximus seems to have a special
hatred for you. It might be enough to draw him out." He looked
around as the crowd thinned. "This isn't the place to discuss it.
Meet back at the compound in an hour. I plan to put a stop to these
rogue vampires once and for all." He turned to go.

"Umm, excuse me?" I said, trying to make my
voice sound bold and commanding. Instead, I sounded like a scared
kid. "I'm not really an official Templar or anything, so why send
me?" Thomas's icy stare focused on me. I swallowed and continued.
"Sure, Maximus hates me, but not enough to go out of his way to
fall into a trap, if that's what you're planning."

Elyssa's father waited, the sort of learned
patience on his face someone employs when hoping an annoying dog
will stop barking. When he saw I was done yammering he said, "We'll
discuss it at the compound. One hour." With that, he rejoined his
wife Leia and headed for an SUV.

"Colombia." Michael grunted.

I turned to face Elyssa's big—actually
huge—brother. I hadn't heard him approach, which I'd learned wasn't
unusual despite his heavy muscular frame. "Are you going?" I asked,
uncertain as to whether it would be a good thing or not. Michael
didn't exactly like me, but seemed resigned to the fact I was
supposed to date his sister for the good of the world, or so he
said.

"Maybe."

"If Justin is going, so am I," Elyssa said,
her raised eyebrow daring him to disagree.

I had a really bad feeling about going back
to Colombia. I'd made new friends there, led them into ancient
vaults beneath a cursed city, and nearly died half a dozen times
thanks to a horde of mostly dead angels called husks, giant ley
worms, and a half-insane demon spawn. And now Thomas Borathen
wanted me to be bait for a crazy rogue vampire? Thanks, but no
thanks. The Templars could take care of Maximus on their own. It
was time for me to find Ivy, and—if she really was the one who'd
contacted me—convince her I wasn't pure evil.

My cell phone rang. I groaned when I saw who
it was.

"You need to answer it, Justin," Elyssa said.
"You promised him."

I huffed and wrinkled my nose, but answered
anyway. "Yeah?"

"Well, hello to you too, sweetheart," Harry
Shelton said. "You never call. You never write. And you sure as
hell didn't reply to my two texts and phone call."

I glanced at my text log and saw both
attempts about an hour apart. I'd promised Shelton and Bella I'd
let them teach me all about being an Arcane, a sorcerer, since I'd
inherited some of those abilities from my mom's side of the family.
I might have super strength, but considering the heavies I'd fought
against and those who were likely to come after me in the future,
having a few extra tricks in my arsenal couldn't hurt. I put the
phone back to my ear. "No, I haven't gone by the Grotto to buy a
new phone yet. The funeral just ended."

He snorted. "Damn, those Templar priests like
to hear themselves talk."

"Tell me about it."

"Well, it's over now. Grab a new phone—I
don't care if it's Orange or MagicSoft—just get it and meet me at
Romulus for your magic lessons."

I could never keep the names and locations of
his super-secret lairs straight. "Is that the one in Decatur
Square, or the one near Centennial Park?"

He sighed. "Decatur."

"Okay, I'll—ah crap."

"Ah crap what?"

"Thomas Borathen called a meeting in an hour.
He wants me to go back to Colombia."

Shelton snorted. "Tough titty. He ain't the
boss of you."

I gave a dubious laugh. "And you are?"

"Damned right. You promised Bella and me
could have our way with you. So unless you want to prove you're a
scum-sucking—"

"Fine, fine, I get it. I'll see you later
today."

"With a new phone."

"Yes."

"And don't let those salespeople talk you
into magical accident insurance."

I didn't even want to think about what that
might cover.

Elyssa offered a reassuring smile as I shoved
my phone back into my pocket. It was a nom phone, but I really
liked it, despite all the cracks and grime it had accumulated from
my adventures. Unfortunately, it couldn't run magic code, so I had
to go to Atlanta's super-secret place for all things magical, the
Grotto, and snag one capable of running Arc OS—something like a
magical version of Windows.

"I'll tell Dad we can't meet him in an hour,"
Elyssa said.

Thanks to his ghost-ninja skills I'd
forgotten Michael, who was standing nearby until he said, "I'll
tell him." He tossed Elyssa a key fob. "Take my car."

Her eyes went as wide as giant lollipops.
"Are you serious?"

For the first time, I detected the barest
sense of uncertainty flicker in Michael's face before he stabbed it
with a mind sword. "Yep."

We reached Phipp's Plaza in record time
thanks to Michael's black Porsche and Elyssa's supernatural driving
skills. I left a handprint embedded in the door handle, happy I
hadn't broken it. Sure, a wreck probably wouldn't have killed us
thanks to our healing abilities, but I'd lived most of my life as a
vulnerable nerd. After a terrifying ride down the spiral driveway
into the giant cavern beneath the Phipp's parking garage, Elyssa
slid the car into a parking space next to a giant Rolls Royce
someone had apparently dipped in purple glitter paint, and adorned
with decals of pink unicorns.