Adam pulled me aside after dinner. Shelton joined us.
"Thought you might be interested to know we figured out how to use the Alabaster Arch to get to the Grand Nexus," Adam said.
I felt my eyes widen. "You did?"
He nodded. "My program downloaded a lot of information on the research Darkwater and arch operators were doing on the arches. Apparently, there's a pattern you trace on the modulus, and it'll rejigger the Alabaster Arch's coordinates."
I remembered what the arch operator had tried to tell me the day we'd first run into Kassus and his men. "What's the pattern?"
"Remember when we accidentally appeared in the Grand Nexus?" Shelton said.
"How could I forget that?" I asked, my mouth going dry at the thought of control room full of cherubs.
"Yeah, well we noticed a symbol that looked a lot like the Cyrinthian character for zero, except instead of just the circle with the upside-down "V" in it, it also has a horizontal line across the center." Shelton took out his arcphone and displayed it for me. "Darkwater discovered this is the pattern you have to trace on the modulus before activating the Alabaster Arch."
"Why haven't they cleared it of cherubs then?" I asked.
Adam chuckled. "Did you see how many are in there? It'd be impossible without some serious manpower."
"Yeah," Shelton said with a nod. "No way we're going there until we figure out how to handle that horde."
I blew out a breath. "At least we know Daelissa can't get to it."
"Yet," Shelton said.
"Yeah." I grinned. "Awesome work, guys. We'll figure this out."
Shelton groaned. "Maybe we shouldn't have told him."
Adam laughed.
The Christmas party ran on into the night. I kept things casual, doing my best not to wonder about the dubious future which lay ahead. I went outside by myself, enjoying the cool breeze as it cleared my senses. The front door opened, and I turned to see Mom. She sat on the front stairs next to me, and pecked a kiss on my forehead.
"I'm amazed at what you've accomplished, Justin," she said, shaking her head slowly. "You've surrounded yourself with so many good people. Pulled them together despite their differences." She took a sip of wine. "I tried to do what I could on my own, but Daelissa always seems a step ahead."
"Ivy wants to come live with us," I said. "She was going to try to get Kassus's blood." Thomas Borathen had taken the Arcane into custody, locking him away in the specially built cells beneath the Templar compound.
Mom smiled. "I want to bring her here as soon as possible." She raised an eyebrow. "If that's okay with you."
"Yeah," I said with a grin. "I'd like that." A sigh escaped my lips as thoughts turned to someone else. "What about Dad?"
Her smile faded. "There's a lot you don't know about him. So much I swore an oath not to tell."
"Is he really an evil mastermind?" I asked. "Why would he suddenly decide marrying Kassallandra is a good idea?" Supposedly, he'd been betrothed to the red-headed Daemas before he met Mom. I wasn't so sure anymore it was the truth.
She took a sip of wine, and looked into the dark. "He wasn't entirely truthful to you about a lot of things. He's far more capable than he lets on."
"Can you elaborate?" I asked, tired of the word games that passed for answers.
"It's better if you ask him yourself."
Considering his wedding was close on the horizon, I wanted to confront him soon.
Confront, or ask?
I bit my lip. A lot would depend on him. Another question pestered me. "What does Jeremiah Conroy want, and why hasn't he given the Cyrinthian rune to Daelissa?"
"Ah," Mom said, a wan smile teasing her lips. "He is an enigma. There's something about him I feel I should know. My memory of the past is still so fuzzy and faint in many ways. I'm not sure if that's due to Daelissa's mind tricks, or simply due to the Desecration. I know the answer to who he really is must be locked in there somewhere if I could only break through the haze." She sighed, shook her head. "I don't know how you've managed so far. David and I kept you in the dark about so much, and yet, you've overcome obstacle after obstacle."
Not all of them.
Mom rose, stretched, and yawned. "I promised Nightliss I would talk with her. Perhaps we can help each other remember our past."
I stood and took her hand, looking her in the eyes. "Are you being honest with me right now? Or are you throwing up more barriers? It wouldn't make me very happy to find out later that you're intentionally hiding things from me."
"Aside from the subject of your father, I am telling you all I know," she said, squeezing my hand. "You can trust me, Justin."
I nodded. "I want to. You can understand if I'm a little leery, though."
She returned a sad smile. "I do understand." Mom kissed me on the forehead. "We'll talk later, son."
"Tell me the moment anything comes out of that noggin of yours," I said, and hugged her.
After the door closed behind her, my phone buzzed with a text message. Please come to the road. The message was from Lornicus.
I paused. Talk about creepy. I texted Elyssa. She joined me a moment later.
"I let Shelton know to charge out with the army if he doesn't hear from us," she said. A shudder passed through her shoulders. "I don't trust this golem."
"That makes two of us," I said.
We made our way down the long drive to the road. A lone figure stood silhouetted beneath a flickering gas lamp. Lornicus saw the two of us and smiled.
"Ah, Miss Borathen. So pleased to make your acquaintance," he said, offering a hand.
She looked at it suspiciously, not offering her own in return. "What do you want?"
"Ah, yes," he said, withdrawing his hand. "I can see you're uneasy about me, but I assure you, Justin and I have an agreement. I present no threat to him."
"Considering how you kidnapped him, you'll forgive me if I don't agree."
He smiled. "Understood." His gaze turned to me. "I'm happy to see you accomplished your goal without my help."
"I doubt that," I said. "You didn't get your own pet cupid."
A shrug. "It would have been fascinating to acquire one, but I am not displeased with you by any stretch of the imagination."
"What about Mr. Gray?" I said. "Did I screw up his master plan again?"
"He considers your accomplishments quite troubling, I will admit, though, at present, I believe he intends to leave you be." The golem folded his arms behind his back. "I have other offerings of information you may find useful, however."
I raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And what would you want for this information?"
"I'm sure you can guess," he said.
I snorted.
"Before you make any hasty decisions, Mr. Slade, let me give you a sample."
"Fine," I said, waving a hand dismissively. I wouldn't entrust the golem with a pet chipmunk, much less a baby angel. "Let's hear it."
"For one, I can offer you the truth behind Jeremiah Conroy."
"Interesting, but I think we'll figure that one out on our own."
"I also have fascinating insight into your father's past." He smiled.
"The truth or just conjecture?" I asked, feeling my curiosity pique.
His lips pressed into an amused smirk, as if he'd just found the weak spot in my armor. "The truth, of course. Mr. Gray knows quite a bit about David Slade."
Just walk away. My gut feeling agreed with my brain for once. "No deal," I said. "Is there anything else besides a cupid you'd be interested in?"
"For such a valuable piece of information, I'm afraid not, Mr. Slade." He sighed. "I don't understand why you're so reluctant to give me one Seraphim infant. The leyworms have their own plans for them, you know. I don't think you'd like what they have in mind."
"Enlighten me," I said, wondering what in the world the leyworms could want with the cupids. True, they were intelligent beings, and they obviously had no intention of letting anyone steal their strange brood. But were the creatures truly planning something bad?
"They are not of this realm," he said. "While I don't know their true origins, I'm certain they were put here by a greater power."
"What, to terrorize spelunkers?" I said in a scoffing tone. "They seem pretty content to stick to the caves."
Lornicus shrugged. "Mr. Gray believes they were put here by whomever created the arches. He believes they are the ones who sowed this realm with ley lines, giving rise to magic in preparation for them to create the arches."
"Great. Are you telling me there's another invasion besides the Seraphim we have to worry about?" I asked. What he said fit with the little I knew about the creatures. They had an affinity with ley lines and aether I couldn't explain.
"I do not know, Mr. Slade." The golem gave an apologetic smile. "Please consider what I've said. Allowing the leyworms to keep the cupids, as you so quaintly call them, could be a terrible mistake."
"And giving them to you would be just as bad," I said.
"Hmm, I don't agree with your assessment." He shrugged. "I suppose time will have to tell, won't it?"
"I guess so," I said.
"Until next time," Lornicus said, and walked away.
Elyssa shook her head as she watched the receding form. "That thing gives me the creeps. Never give in to his demand."
"Not if I can help it," I said.
"It acts as if a person is just something you can give away." She scowled. "I just hope what he said about the leyworms isn't true."