Dearest Mother of Mine

"What, did you really think he'd kill me?" I said, anger flaring. I was tempted to throw him out the plate glass window.



"I determined the possibility of his killing you to be very slight—no more than a thirty percent probability."



"You call that slight?" I said. "Maybe you need to take math again."



"I've learned a great deal from observing my creator," the golem said. "Though he has a keen eye when it comes to the big picture, I believe he leaves cards unused, avenues unexplored. As the Cataclyst, you have great power to effect change."



"Why do you keep calling me that?"



The golem tilted his head slightly. "You are a catalyst, a prime reactive in events leading to a possible cataclysm. I have heard others refer to you in this way, and believe it's an apt descriptor."



"What others?" I asked.



"Why, the others controlling the game," he said, as if it should make all the sense in the world.



"Names, Lornicus. I want to know names."



"Daelissa, Jeremiah Conroy, Underborn, and some leaders of the primary supernatural factions." He tapped his chin in thought. "I am certain there are more, though knowing their names will make no difference."



"I'm nobody's pawn," I said, slashing the air with a hand, even though I knew full well I'd been played time and time again by people like Underborn, assassin and master manipulator.



"You are a reactant," Lornicus said. "When something affects you, your response tilts the balance. Because you are the Cataclyst, your decisions impact the future in interesting ways."



"I don't want to deal with this crap," I said. "I'm a simple kind of guy. Give me my family, my friends, and leave me alone."



"And to hell with the world, Mr. Slade?"



I clenched my teeth. "Obviously, if angels enslave the human race it's going to affect my happy place. If Mr. Gray really wants to keep Daelissa from completing her diabolical plans, then he can handle it so I don't have to."



"You're still posed with rather serious obstacles when it comes to your family, however." The golem seemed quite smug at this statement. He motioned me into the elevator. "I have arranged transportation for you to a destination of your choosing."



"Queens Gate is fine." I stepped into the elevator with him, my insides roiling at his statement about my family. The golem sure had a way of spoiling my holiday cheer, especially since I knew he was right. What information did he have? Could he help me rescue my mother and Ivy? I sure as hell didn't have a plan. I didn't even know where the Conroys lived, or if they kept my mother in the same location as Ivy.



I remained silent as the elevator descended. Lornicus seemed content to leave me to my thoughts. Fantasies of having Mom and Ivy home for the holidays swirled in my head, warm fuzzy feelings mingling with ice cold reality. The golem probably had information that could lead me directly to them. Why would he have gone through all the trouble to kidnap me unless he wanted to use me in some way?



The doors dinged open to a tunnel stretching into the distance. A sleek, floating platform of some shiny metallic substance hovered a few feet off the ground.



"Where are we?" I asked.



"Not far from an arch which will return you to Queens Gate. Never worry, you are quite safe." Lornicus motioned for me to board the craft.



I stepped aboard, keeping a wary eye out, but saw no other doors in the tunnel from which gray men might spring. The shuttle whisked us down the tunnel, during which time Lornicus busied himself checking an arcphone, tapping out what looked like emails until we stopped at a cavernous room with an Obsidian Arch dominating the center.



The Obsidian Arch network provided nearly instantaneous travel for citizens of the Overworld. Hundreds of them dotted the globe, most located in way stations near the entrances to what could only be described as pocket dimensions—places like the Grotto or Queens Gate, which existed in a place other than the mortal realm, enclosed by an impenetrable barrier to whatever lay beyond. If Mr. Gray wasn't lying and the angels hadn't built the arches or the pocket dimensions, then who had? Did giants watch us from outside the barriers, tiny ants in detailed snow globes?



"Which way station is this?" I asked, looking around the empty space. Most way stations were packed with travelers much like an airport. Each usually had a stable for the menagerie of animals visitors used to transport themselves.



"It has no name. Mr. Gray knew of its existence and uses it for himself." Lornicus ushered me toward the arch.



Mom. Ivy.



I had to ask the golem for information. If I stepped through the arch, I might not have another chance. But would he help me, or rub it in my face?



The arch hummed to life as we walked toward it, the center flickering between ultraviolet, white, and gray, the thrum of energy vibrating the air around us.



Lornicus had mentioned my family on purpose. He's manipulating me. He wanted me to ask for help with my family. If I did, I'd be stepping right into his trap. My friends and I had overcome obstacles before. We could find Mom and Ivy without the help of a conniving golem. I hope.



"This will take you to Queens Gate," Lornicus said.



"Thanks," I said, and headed for it without another word as the center of the arch flashed faster and faster. Did I really just thank the jackass who kidnapped me? Each step felt leaden as my desire to turn and ask the golem about my mom threatened to overwhelm my self-control. Would just asking him hurt? I knew from experience with the assassin, Underborn, how easy it was to be manipulated.



"Mr. Slade, may I have one more moment of your time?"



I held back a sigh of relief. "Yes?" I asked, facing the golem and trying to look impatient.



He regarded me with a neutral expression. "As you are aware, the Cyrinthian Rune will restore the Grand Nexus to functionality."



"Yes, and then the Alabaster Arch network will reconnect to the angel home world. Daelissa will raise her army, and mankind will suffer an eternity of slavery and oppression." I raised an eyebrow. "What's your point?"



"It is not quite as simple as replacing the Cyrinthian Rune," he said. "There is another vital element to the process."



"She has to be capable of putting the circle in the circular hole, and the square in the square hole? We'd better make sure she doesn't kidnap any kindergarteners to help her out."



He offered a smile. "It is a bit more complicated than that."



"No way, really?"



My sarcasm failed to erase Lornicus's smile. "The first angel to activate the arch somehow attuned the Cyrinthian Rune so only they could remove or replace it."



I didn't bother to ask him how he knew this. "I assume this angel was Daelissa?"



He shook his head. "No. In order to repair the Grand Nexus, Daelissa will need this angel or risk another Desecration."



"Is that what happened during the angel war?" I asked.



He paused. "No one is certain who actually removed the rune during the Battle of the Nexus, but it most assuredly was not the angel who attuned the rune. Mr. Gray believes this caused the backlash which husked every living creature within range of any Alabaster Arch."



I tried not to think about the shadow creatures or infantile cherubs haunting the way stations with Alabaster Arches. "Can you skip forward to the part that concerns me?" I asked, suddenly realizing where he was going with this. "Do you want me to find this person for you? Kidnap them?" I blew out a breath of disgust. "Do it yourself." I turned and headed toward the arch as an image of Queens Gate appeared in the center.



"I cannot," Lornicus said. "Mr. Gray is sworn to remain neutral in these affairs lest Daelissa and others turn their hostilities upon him."



"Not my problem," I said without turning around. I reached the arch and stepped forward.



"The angel in question is Alysea, your mother."



I jumped back from the portal just before my foot made contact with the image of Queens Gate, and spun to face him. "My mom? But she's only forty!"



He shook his head, a grave look on his face. "I'm afraid she's much older than you think."



I felt a little faint. "She's the first?"



"Daelissa needs your mother to place the Cyrinthian Rune. As of yet, she does not possess the rune."



"Jeremiah Conroy has it," I said.



He nodded. "Indeed."



"But she does have my mom."



"Correct again."



"Well, do you plan to help me get her?"



"Perhaps."



I gripped him by the shirt. "What the hell do you mean, 'perhaps'? Daelissa has everything she needs to repair the Grand Nexus. The minute Jeremiah gives her the rune—" I shuddered. "Game over, man. Game over."



"Reopening the nexus is not necessarily bad, Mr. Slade."



"It's horrible, you heartless hunk of wood!"



"I am not constructed of wood."



"Yeah, you're constructed of goat crap if you think letting the angels take over the planet isn't a bad thing." I clamped my mouth shut before anything worse escaped. This was just as I'd feared. Lornicus was setting me up for something. Why else would he even tell me all of this?



"I believe I said 'not necessarily.'" The golem smiled. "I, however, believe it is in our best interests to delay Daelissa."



Hope tried to bubble up. "Then you'll help me rescue my mother."



"In a limited way. As of yet, I do not know her location since Daelissa and the Conroys have done a remarkable job hiding her."



I narrowed my eyes. "What's the catch?"



"There is no catch. I would simply ask you to look into something—"



"That's called a catch, Lornicus." I huffed out a breath. "Fine, what is it?"



He held out a tiny micro card which would fit into my arcphone.