pokito simply stared at him, neither scared nor angry and shrugged. "it is the plan."

beck groaned and let him go, running a hand through his hair, which for once, looked messy. "i told christian we'd bag vadaemos and bring him back."

"you told christian that?" fausta said with a roll of her eyes. "i suppose you were hoping for a promotion."

"so what if i did?"

"can i help you at all?" the young stable boy asked, his large eyes wide and confused at our argument. "most of the stores are closed, but there is lodging inside."

i grinned at the kid. "nah, we're good. do you have a car we could borrow?"

"oh dear, sir, i'm afraid not." he pointed a thumb at a cart brimming with fly-covered manure. "perhaps i could give you a ride to the surface in my cart. once i empty it, of course."

"i'm not riding in a pile of horse crap," fausta said indignantly.

"at the very least, sirs and madams, you should clear the circle in case someone else comes through the obsidian arch."

we made our way outside the yellow and black warning lines circling the smooth, black slab the arch sat upon and stood there. walking was apparently our only way out, and it was a long way to the surface, but i'd take it any day over a husk-infested cave. the faint squeal of tires on the spiraling ramp leading down to this place caught my ears. within a minute, a windowless black van pulled up in front of us. whoever owned it might as well have spray-painted serial rapist inc. across the side. the driver door opened and a huge man got out. elyssa's eyes brightened and she squealed like a little girl, running to the driver.

"michael!" she squeezed him with a hug. he wrapped his muscular arms around her.

his eyes met mine. he knew who i was, i could tell. but he didn't seem surprised to see me. on the other hand, his eyes clearly conveyed a message: touch my sister and you die.

chapter 32

i gulped. this dude obviously worked out, probably by doing arm curls with trees, and bench-pressing pregnant yaks. his violet eyes gleamed with violence barely contained just beneath the surface. this guy wasn't one to fool around with, especially with his little sister involved. it seemed vaguely ironic now was the first time i would meet one of her brothers. this familial adventure didn't seem to be going any better than meeting her parents.

a question occurred to me. "how did you know we were here?"

"part of the plan," pokito said from behind me. i resisted the urge to punch him in the face.

"did you call him?" i asked the little sorcerer.

"he did," michael said in a deep voice. "everybody get in."

"you're michael borathen?" beck said, his eyes wide with wonder. "but you were so skinny the last time i saw you."

"i grew."

beck didn't belabor the point. he and fausta helped bella and curtis inside, while the others piled in. i dragged vadaemos's limp form over and set him inside. i wanted to pull michael aside and question him, but now wasn't the time. the big templar hopped in the driver seat while elyssa sat shotgun.

"where are we going?" i asked.

"a safe place, for now."

"take me to your father."

"now isn't the time."

"a good a time as any."

he glanced back at me. "so eager to lose your head?"

"no, i'm eager to give him vadaemos along with proof the spawn nation had nothing to do with thunder rock."

"it can wait a night."

i gritted my teeth but said nothing more. if he made me the least bit suspicious i would-what? jump from the van with my prisoner and make a break for it? i wouldn't get far carrying a body with trained templars after me. if i left, it'd be without vadaemos, and that wasn't happening.

we reached a dubious-looking motel sometime later. michael stopped the van and put it in park. i glanced at the weather-beaten doors lining the outside of the two-story building. a florescent vacancy sign flickered in a small office down at the corner and the glow of a handful of lights from behind closed curtains indicated at least a few other people were staying in this dump.

the motel door in front of the van swung open and a familiar face appeared. a breath caught in my chest as meghan andretti stepped outside, followed by mr. smith, aka adam nosti. what in the world were they doing here? michael approached them and took meghan aside. her eyes flared and hardened. i knew exactly why. she was a templar. thunder rock was a blight on their history. even more importantly, she might have figured out it was vadaemos who devoured her father's soul.

i left the slumbering killer and joined the conference. meghan saw me. tears gathered in her eyes. she threw herself at me in a tight hug and kissed me on the cheek. "thank you," she said. "thank you."

her actions left me speechless. the last time i'd seen her she could hardly look at me because of my demon spawn heritage. now she was kissing me. "for what?" i asked, my voice uncertain.

"you caught my father's killer."

she knows. "you know what i plan to do with him, right?"

she backed away and nodded. "i won't interfere."

"uh, good," i said, still a bit uneasy. "you do realize you just kissed a demon spawn, right?"

she smiled shyly. "you're different. you're not pure evil."

well, i had to admit, it was a step in the right direction.

smith came forward, hand extended. we exchanged grips.

"damned good to see you're still alive," he said. "your father and shelton had to go into hiding after you vanished, thanks to maximus."

"what about stacey and ryland?"

"what about us, love?" said a familiar british voice from behind me. i spun as a huge wolf melted into a dark-haired man. thankfully, ryland morphed into human form behind a waist-high bush so i didn't have to see his dangly bits. the speaker was a hot, buxom blonde in a simple, curve-hugging, black dress.

my eyes misted up and my heart gained strength at the sight of my felycan friend, stacey. i rushed over and squeezed her tight. she stood on tiptoes and kissed my cheeks as tears ran freely down her face.

"i missed you," i said, a huge grin breaking on my face.

"my lamb, i've missed you more than you know. we thought you were-dead." she choked on the last word and fresh tears ran down her cheeks.

i heard a sharp intake of breath and looked to see bella staring at stacey. when she saw me looking, she turned away.

stacey's gaze followed mine. "bloody hell."

"do you know bella?"

a mischievous grin curled stacey's lips. "a story for another time, love."

ryland approached, fully clothed, thankfully. "hey now, don't i get a kiss too?"

i laughed and shook his hand. i'd missed them all more than i realized. "do you know where my dad is?"

stacey nodded. "he's safe. he and shelton will meet us here later."

thank goodness. tonight was turning out a lot better than i'd thought. "how did you know we were here?" i asked. "and if you say, 'it's part of the plan,' i'm going to scream."

"meghan called us," ryland said. "told us you'd be here tonight."

i turned to meghan. "and you knew this how?"

she looked to michael. he nodded. "pokito called us a day ago and told us what you were planning. michael came up with a plan to get you out of there."

"but why? and how did he know to contact you?" meghan and ryland were about the only two templars besides elyssa i could trust with my life.

michael said nothing in reply to my questions.

"you're responsible for this?" elyssa said, looking at her older brother.

"elyssa!" stacey said, apparently seeing her for the first time. she wrapped her arms around elyssa's taller form.

elyssa's eyebrows arched as she uneasily hugged the blonde bombshell back. "i'm sorry, have we met?"

stacey gasped. "oh bloody hell, they really did you in, didn't they?" she shook her head sadly.

"i-" my brainwashed not-quite-girlfriend shook her head. "i'm not sure what to think anymore." she considered me with a very analytical look. "or what to believe."

"there will be time for the truth," michael said. he went to the van and hauled out the slumbering form of vadaemos.

i followed him inside the door meghan had exited. one of her ultra-strong diamond-fiber cots was inside. michael plopped the demon spawn on the cot and fastened the unbreakable straps on his legs, waist, and arms. the sight of the cot caused a nervous flutter in my chest. not so long ago, meghan had strapped me to one of those things so she could save stacey's life with my blood. the effort had nearly killed me. at least i knew vadaemos wasn't going anywhere.

michael turned for the door, but didn't exit. instead, he shut it and turned on me. i backed up a step, anticipating some form of violence. judging from his hefty build, i was certain he could dish it out. aside from the glare he fixed me with, however, he made no other move.

"let's get something straight, spawn. i don't trust your kind. i don't particularly like your kind. but i've got a duty to do, much as it goes against every instinct i have to punch you in the face for even looking at my sister."

i held up my hands in mock surrender. "whoa there, let's not get all mushy on each other." i rolled my eyes. par for the friggin course. "people like you make me sick." i jabbed a finger his way but stayed well clear of his massive arms and meaty fists. no sense in walking out of here with two black eyes. "you don't even know me. and just because i happen to share a bloodline with this loser, doesn't mean i'm his clone."

"doesn't matter. i've seen enough to know you're all bad."

"is this the part where you tell me to stay away from your sister or you'll tear off my head and poop down my neck?"