Sinister Seraphim of Mine (Overworld Chronicles Book 8) (2 page)

"Wait!" Montjoy cried, backing away, his face locked with pure terror. "I have recently discovered something which will be invaluable to you, Divine One."

"What could possibly interest me now?" Already, she envisioned boiling the man's skin from his face as he screamed. When she had blessed him with immortality and given him his mission so many centuries ago, he had been her brightest follower. Now he was nothing but a blubbering failure—one of her greatest disappointments.

"It involves Jeremiah Conroy," Montjoy said with an audible gulp.

"Perhaps you could learn from him," Daelissa said. "He is my most loyal and faithful servant." He was also the only human powerful enough to rival a Seraphim—the only Arcane worthy of her respect.

"Perhaps not so loyal." Montjoy held up trembling hands.

Anger burned through Daelissa's veins. "Who are you to question his loyalty?"

"I have been ever loyal to you, Divinity." Montjoy awkwardly dropped to a knee. "I worship you. You know it to be true."

"What is loyalty without ability?" Daelissa countered. "What is worship without action?"

"We have purged thousands of demons from humans," he said. "Surely that counts for something."

She slashed the air with a hand. "It means nothing. Demon possession is no threat to my plans. Those spirits care only for idle amusement. The demon spawn are the threat."

"I have proof Jeremiah Conroy is not the loyal subject you believe him to be," Montjoy said. "In fact, he is the enemy."

Daelissa nearly killed him on the spot. Curiosity swayed her hand. "I would see your proof."

Montjoy snapped his fingers. A tall man strode forward with an arcphone. Lips curled with distaste, Montjoy took the device and stared at it for a long moment. "Who here can work this infernal device?"

A hooded Exorcist stepped forward. The figure lowered its hood to reveal a female with dark hair tied back in a strict bun. She took the arcphone. With a few deft flicks of her fingers, the device projected a holographic video in the air. She handed it back to Montjoy.

Daelissa watched, fingers itching to slice the fat fool to ribbons. His screams would be music to her ears. Men with even a modicum of power thought so much of themselves when, in truth, they were nothing but ants.

The video had obviously been recorded by a human in great fear for his safety, if the shakiness of the image were any indication. Jeremiah Conroy stood in center frame attired in his usual long-tailed suit with a black top hat. He sported a gray goatee and neatly trimmed sideburns. In his genteel, southern accent, Jeremiah spoke with another man. Despite the collegial tone of his words, the underlying authority was pure steel. Daelissa couldn't help but admire this one human, this man who rose above the other cattle. He commanded fear without threat. He was her greatest ally.

Montjoy dares question Conroy's loyalty? I will make him suffer long and hard before ending his miserable life.

The recording followed Conroy up several flights of stairs. Daelissa had been to this mansion not long ago. She remembered visiting Ivy and consulting with Jeremiah about something. Whatever it was, she could not quite remember thanks to the increasing frequency of the madness.

As Conroy climbed the stairs, his figure slumped. He stopped several times as if using the railing for support. The person recording the video took cover behind the solid wood balustrade several times as the Arcane turned to look behind him. The more stairs Conroy climbed the more distraught and distracted he seemed. His usual calm, controlled manner dissipated. He leaned against a wall for several seconds before walking down a hallway and entering a room.

The recorder followed him.

Someone cried out in a strange language. Daelissa realized with a start she recognized the words. It was an ancient tongue, one she hadn't heard for some time. The recorder edged around the door frame for a clearer look inside the room.

Daelissa felt her eyes flash wide. Anger simmered, growing to a boil.
This cannot be. He is long dead!

"Bring me another to feed from," she said in a calm, cold voice.

Within seconds, Exorcists brought another struggling human before her. She drained it and turned to Montjoy.

His teeth chattered as she stared into his eyes. "I told you I was right, Divinity."

"So you were," she hissed between her teeth. The humans had a saying.
Don't kill the messenger.
Daelissa had killed so many messengers over the centuries, she believed the saying had originated because of her. This news was so horrible, so unbelievable, she wanted to flay this messenger and make him eat his own skin.

"We can use this information to our advantage," Montjoy said. "Already, I have devised—" He bellowed like a wounded cow as Daelissa sliced off his left ear with a razor-thin beam of Brilliance. Smoke rose from the cauterized flesh and the smell was rather unpleasant.

Even so, she felt a smile tug at her mouth as the fat man rolled on the ground, howling and braying. Faint smiles lit the faces of other Exorcists. She turned to the young woman who'd helped Montjoy operate the video. "Are you the one who spoke before?"

The woman met Daelissa's eyes. "I am."

"Do you understand tactics?"

"Intimately, Mistress."

"And the newer magical technology?"

The woman nodded. "I can manipulate it to suit my needs."

"Excellent. It is time to bring the Exorcists out of the Dark Ages." Daelissa lifted a hand. "Kneel." The woman dropped to a knee. Daelissa noted with satisfaction the woman seemed unafraid, or at least extremely confident. She was sick to death of grovelers. Closing her eyes, Daelissa pressed a hand to the Exorcist's forehead and sensed the woman's abilities. She had almost non-existent Arcane talent, but her mind and body were incredibly gifted. In fact, the woman had already received enhancements to her physical prowess.

Who is this woman?

Daelissa blessed Exorcists, though not usually with physical enhancements since most of them possessed Arcane talents. This woman's physical abilities could be improved no further, but her talented mind was another story.

Daelissa bestowed the blessing. Before she withdrew from the woman's mind, Daelissa sensed something familiar.
I have touched this woman's mind before.
She suddenly remembered why. A satisfied smile curled her lips.
Oh, irony, how I love thee.

The woman drew in a long breath as if tasting fresh air for the first time. "Thank you, Mistress."

Daelissa cupped the woman's chin and pulled her to her feet. She peered into the woman's glowing white eyes, an aftereffect of the Blessing which would fade with time. "You can thank me by dragging this rotting corpse of an order into the present time. Montjoy will serve you. If he does not accede to your every whim, let me know."

"Yes, Mistress," the woman said, eagerness brightening her eyes.

"What is your name?"

"I am Luna."

Daelissa graced her with a benevolent smile. "Prove your worthiness to me, child. Show me my faith in you is not misplaced."

The new Exorcist leader bowed. "I will create a new strategic plan and present it to you forthwith, Mistress."

Daelissa turned without another word, boarding her flying carpet, and directing it up out of the quarry pit. It was time to kill an old friend, and an even older enemy.

Chapter 2

"We need all the warm bodies we can get," I said to Elyssa as she followed me downstairs to the mansion cellar.

My girlfriend grabbed my arm and wrenched me around. "We can't trust him." She pointed to a bracelet on her wrist. A gem in the middle glowed blue. "See? My even my bracelet agrees."

I raised an eyebrow. "Say what?"

"It's my prediction bracelet." She touched the gem. "When it glows blue, it means we're making a bad decision."

It took me a moment to realize I'd seen this bracelet before. "You've worn that thing plenty of times right when I was in the process of making awful decisions and you never said anything." I crossed my arms. "In fact, you were wearing it when I took us to that Indian restaurant and that spicy curry made us—"

She threw up a hand to stop me. "Please don't say another word."

I chuckled and nodded my head toward her magic bracelet. "What does it really do?"

She sighed. "It's a mood bracelet."

"And blue means what?"

"I don't remember." Elyssa poked the gem. "I think it means I'm feeling feisty."

I snorted. "That would be all the time."

She crossed her arms. "This is still a bad idea."

I took out my arcphone and showed her the numbers on the screen. "When Cinder showed me this, I almost had a heart attack. We've been wasting too much time reacting to Daelissa, and not enough time proacting."

She rolled her eyes. "That's not a real word."

I resumed walking down the stairs. "You know what I mean. We need to recruit more allies or we're screwed. We need Jeremiah Conroy."

Elyssa sighed. "I'll admit the numbers are a little scary—"

"A little scary?" I scrunched my forehead. "The forces of darkness have five times the number of supernatural allies we do, not counting their secret agents in the nom government."

"You're not being proactive. You're being stupid," she said.

I reached the bottom landing just as her words hit me, and turned to face her. "Ouch. I can't believe you just said that." I touched her bracelet. "If I was wearing this, it would turn dark blue."

"Dark blue?"

I gave her a hurt look. "It means you're about to make me cry."

She sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I just think you're being a little reactionary."

"Proactionary," I corrected her.

"Still not a word," she said defiantly.

I held out a hand. "Can I have the picture, please?"

"Maybe we should bring your mother." Elyssa took my hand. "Please?"

"You're just saying that because she's in Australia and you know I'd have to wait." The Templar legion there hadn't sided with the Synod or Borathen Templars, but Down Under had been getting more than its fair share of supernatural action lately. Elyssa hoped my mom could woo their support.

"Of course I do." She frowned. "Let's wait for them to come back."

I took out my phone and scrolled through the pictures. "Never mind. I think I still have the picture of the hallway."

"Fine," she growled, and handed me her phone. On it was the picture of a bedroom. Stuffed animals covered the four-poster bed, and the walls were pink. It was obviously a girl's bedroom. More specifically, it was my sister's old room at Jeremiah Conroy's mansion.

I stepped through the door at the bottom of the stairs and into the chamber deep beneath our mansion near Arcane University. In the center of the room stood a black arch bordered by a band of silver. An adult elephant might be able to squeeze through it, should such an animal somehow find its way down here.

Stranger things have happened.

We stepped inside the silver circle. Pressing a finger to it, I willed it closed, stood, and focused on the image in the picture. A shimmering portal appeared within the arch. It was like looking through a window at the precise location in the picture. Elyssa and I stepped through the gateway and into Ivy's former bedroom.

"Where's his office?" I asked. Elyssa and Ivy had visited Jeremiah only a couple days ago while trying to rescue me from the Gloom. The old man had told her I was destined to go to the shadow dimension and make a choice, which would affect everything. He'd been right. I'd had to make a choice between the light, the dark, and the gray. After overanalyzing my choices, I'd finally decided to go with all of the above.

Thankfully, the universe hadn't immediately imploded.

"Follow me," Elyssa said. Her hands reached back and touched the hilts of her sai swords where they protruded diagonally above her shoulders, as if seeking some reassurance from them.

We stepped into the hallway. To the left, the door to the master bedroom hung open. I peeked inside, glancing around to make sure nobody was in there. Elyssa waited at the top of the master staircase. The last time I'd been here, she and I had sneaked around the house in search of Ivy. It felt strange to be walking around like we owned the place. I sniffed the air. "Do you smell something?"

Her nostrils wrinkled. "Smells like someone left on the oven."

"Didn't he have guards last time?" I asked, looking over the balustrade at the floor below. With my newfound powers I wasn't terribly afraid of confronting guards, but knowing I wouldn't have to bitch slap anyone for getting in my way made me feel a little better.

"He didn't have guards when I came with Ivy," Elyssa said. She headed down the stairs and stopped at the bottom, pinching her nose. "I found the source of your odor."

A human skeleton lay amidst a pile of ashes. I backed away in horror. "Maybe Jeremiah fired him?"

She gave me a troubled look. "Can't you be serious? Something is terribly—" She held up a hand. "Listen."

The sound of a female voice echoed down the hallway. Against my better judgment, we crept toward the talking. It appeared to emanate from a room halfway down the corridor.

"I feel as if I have not rewarded you enough for being my most loyal and faithful servant," said the woman in icy cold tones.

Daelissa!

Elyssa's wide eyes met my gaze.

My knees went weak as I scoured the hallway for someplace to hide. Anything, a closet, a blanket, or a fortress of couch cushions would work. Elyssa flattened against the wall on the same side of the hallway as the room, and frantically motioned me to do the same.

"Don't waste my time with this passive-aggressive nonsense," Jeremiah said with southern flair. "I can tell you're madder than a mule with a mouthful of bumblebees. Perhaps you can tell me why."

Daelissa laughed, but there was no warmth to it. If anything, it seemed to suck the heat from the air. "When we first met, I wondered how anyone could be so confident and unafraid when facing me, no matter how powerful an Arcane they might be."