Dearest Mother of Mine

"Don't forget he nearly killed you in Maximus's stronghold," Elyssa said. "And he told Ivy to let you die before she saved you."



I shuddered at the memory of having my breath cut off. Of being held helpless with no hope of surviving until my mom had miraculously showed up and saved me. "He told Ivy not to save me, but he didn't interfere with her either."



Unfortunately, I had a lot on the stove that was more important than digging into Jeremiah's psyche. Part of me felt crushed, defeated. We hadn't even had an opportunity to capture Kassus. But wondering about Jeremiah also brought to mind resources I hadn't considered using. One in particular might be the answer.



"What are your orders?" Hutchins said, looking at Elyssa.



She raised an eyebrow, looking my way as if daring me to say something. "Remain on standby. Take your men back through the portal, but leave a scout. The minute you see activity, I want to know about it. If Kassus shows up, notify me and get in position. I showed the Arcane in your squad how to use the omniarch so you can get back here in an instant, if need be."



He saluted. "Yes, sir." Hutchins made a circle in the air with his finger, and shadowy forms of Templars appeared around him like—well—magic.



Elyssa took me by the arm and directed me toward the portal. "So, Almighty Commander," she said, putting particular emphasis on the last word. "Do you have any orders for me?"



We walked through the portal. Shelton and the others were crowded around the omniarch, eyes confused.



"What the hell just happened?" he asked.



I shook my head. "Your guess is as good as mine. I'm going to eat."



Elyssa and I walked up the stairs. I felt her expectant eyes on me, waiting for the talk. I wouldn't blame her if she was mad at me, but I felt justified in what I'd done. I was disappointed in the outcome, but that had been out of our control. If she'd taken the action she'd wanted to, it could have compromised everything else. I was angriest at myself. The minute Jeremiah had been alone, I should've ordered him knocked out. Then again, how the hell was I supposed to foresee the dragon warning him?



We reached the kitchen, empty of people since just about everyone else was still downstairs. Elyssa opened her mouth to say something. I gripped her shoulder and pinned her against the wall with one hand in a blur of speed.



Her eyes flared with surprise.



"You may not agree with my decisions, Elyssa, but they're my decisions to make. This was my operation, and I should have insisted the Templars be under my control before the start. Not establishing the proper chain of command was my mistake." I paused, seeing if she'd respond, but her violet eyes stared at me, smoldering with intensity. I had the distinct feeling she might actually kick my ass after this. I continued anyway.



"If you don't agree the Templars in my operations should be under my control, then we won't use them. I feel I made the best decisions under the circumstances, and if you don't agree, I'm sorry." I took in a deep breath. "I love you, but I refuse to be treated like a non-combatant after everything I've been through. I've earned your respect, and the respect of the others, just as you all have earned my respect."



Her jaw tightened. I tensed, waiting for her to punch me. She shook her head, her gaze never leaving mine. "You," she said in a rough voice, "are so"—she narrowed her eyes—"sexy when you take control like that."



She pushed me atop the kitchen table and straddled me, pressing her lips hard to mine. We rolled off the table and thudded on the floor, still kissing, as blood turned to fire in my veins. I felt my shirt rip off. Felt her fangs sting my neck. I grabbed her hair, pulling her head back and saw the fangs beneath red lips. I nipped her neck. Heard her moan. Felt her hands press to my chest.



I heard a little growl and a yip followed by a human yelp of surprise.



"For crying out loud, people, get a room!"



We looked up, panting, into Shelton's disturbed gaze. Cutsauce stood near his feet, wagging his tail.



"This is a kitchen, not a damned bordello," he said, throwing up his hands and slamming the door shut behind him.



Elyssa and I burst into laughter. Then we gathered our things and ran upstairs to finish what we'd started.



After eating and recovering some energy from the day's activities, I called Lornicus.



"You never call, you never write," he said.



"I've been busy."



"Indeed," the golem said. "You successfully retrieved your mother, or so I've heard."



"Almost." I'd considered how much to tell him, especially with regards to the possible discovery of the arch creators. Unfortunately, I already knew what his price would be for my next request. "I need Maulin Kassus's blood."



"Ah, I can see how that might be a problem."



I told him about Kassus discovering the babies, and tossed in Jeremiah's strange behavior as a bonus. "You have spies everywhere. Can you help me get the blood?"



"Indeed I can," Lornicus said. "I can have it for you tomorrow."



My mouth fell open. "You can?"



"Yes. But there is my price."



My teeth clacked together. I knew it! "I thought we were partners."



"We are, Mr. Slade," Lornicus said. "But, as with the cost of rescuing your mother, this is a bit above simple information sharing."



"Skip to the point," I said, exhibiting the part of me I'd learned from Shelton. "What do you want?" I already knew the answer, but with luck, he might have something less distasteful than baby-snatching.



"Very simple," he said. "As I stated before, I would like one of the cupids."



My hand clenched around my phone. "You want to trade blood for a baby angel. That's not a fair trade."



"It's immensely fair," he said. "You're receiving a grown angel who also happens to be your mother, and I'm receiving an angel that will require a great deal of care, changes of diapers, and all sorts of other things I can only imagine." He sniffed. "Really now, you'll have several more cupids all to yourself."



"That's not the only issue," I said, trying not to grind my teeth. "The leyworms won't let us take one. Maybe you don't remember our earlier conversation, but they won't even let us move them to keep them safe from the likes of Darkwater."



"I believe you're intentionally forgetting something which could prove indispensable in such an endeavor," he said. "Namely, your omniarch."



Damn it. This golem thinks of every angle. "And once you have the angel, you'll indoctrinate it and turn it into a terror."



"No sense in being melodramatic, Mr. Slade." A smug note sounded in Lornicus's voice.



I still didn't see any possible way I could rationalize kidnapping an infant, no matter how much I wanted to save Mom. Giving a child to a complete stranger, not to mention a golem, was just plain wrong. It's just one angel. I can rescue Mom! "You realize these babies aren't fresh out of the oven. They're different. I think the same thing happened to my mom when the Grand Nexus was destroyed. Her memories returned as she aged. What makes you think you'll be able to control whoever I give you?"



"There are no guarantees," Lornicus replied. "But I must try and hope for the best. It is better than extinction."



"Extinction?" I said. "What are you talking about?"



"Will you do it or not?" he asked in a brisk tone.



"I need to think about it." I should have just flat-out told him no, but didn't want to burn the bridge just yet.



"The clock is ticking, Mr. Slade. Your mother may not last much longer."



I choked back a nasty response. "I guess you have no conscience about it one way or the other. After all, you're just a soulless golem." I disconnected. Son of a bitch! I hissed an angry breath between my teeth. I had to find an alternative.



In the war room, I found a tray with spherical indentions designed to hold ASEs, and sorted through them until I found the one with the invoices for the supernatural transportation trucks. After flicking through the files for a few minutes, I located the routes for the trucks, and traced the one from the Conroy's house to the industrial park they'd planned to take Mom. I took out my phone and marked the spot on my map for future reference. I scanned through more and more documents, hoping to find what I needed.



I lost track of time until Elyssa showed up, a concerned look on her face. "Why didn't you answer my texts?"



Glancing at my phone, I saw two missed texts from her and one from Shelton. "Sorry, I guess I didn't hear it."



"More like you filtered everything out," she said, pulling up a chair next to me, a mug of steaming liquid in her hand. "Why are you going through this stuff again?"



I told her about Lornicus's demand.



"It's no different than before," she growled. "What do you want to do?"



My eyebrows arched. "I want to get my mom back, but I can't just hand over a helpless baby."



"That doesn't answer why you're going through the information we stole from Darkwater."



I told her what I was looking for and why.



She took a sip from her mug, eyes never leaving mine. "I guess it could work."



"Gee, don't encourage me too much." I sighed and flicked to another page, scanning the dates.



"I'll help."



"You don't have to."



She punched me in the shoulder. "Stop feeling sorry for yourself, punk."



I grabbed another ASE with a copy of the information and gave it to her. "Is that coffee?"



"It's tea."



"I need coffee. All this reading is about to put me to sleep."



Her lips curled into a smile. "Shelton just made a fresh pot."



"Maybe I can ask him to help."



Her smile turned amused. "I don't think you want to disturb him right now."