that simple fact stirred up a million questions, but a star in the approximate location of atlanta began to brighten and fade in syncopation with a star in south africa, distracting me like squirrel darting across a dog's path. the arcane held up a finger to eliza as a glowing white orb lifted from a pedestal centered before the map. he placed a hand atop it, and a steady hum rumbled through the room. brilliant motes of light arced from one star to the other, alternating black and white as a klaxon blared from the grotto way station housing the obsidian arch. a network of arches just like the one here spanned the globe, if the stars on the map were any indication.

the crackling hum throbbed, building in volume, echoing in the huge cavern, and sending a vibration through my body. as the sound built, the light connecting the two stars pulsed faster and faster, until with a thunderous boom, it solidified into a sparkling beam of energy, no thicker than a pencil. equal parts ultraviolet and brilliant white, it arched across the map from one point and down to meet the other.

i watched in open-mouthed fascination as miniature silhouettes, some human-shaped, others much larger, streaked through the arced beam. they traversed it so quickly, only my supernatural sight allowed me to make them out. once the last figure left the beam, the arcane released the orb. the connecting beam flickered off, and the control sphere sank back onto the pedestal, looking like nothing more than head-sized gray marble. the stars in south africa and atlanta dimmed to match the sullen glow of the other stars on the map.

as my eyes readjusted to the relative dimness of the yellow glow illuminating the rest of the room, they turned upon ivy and eliza, who stood watching the operator. he turned back to them. his mouth moved. turning my head ever so slightly and focusing my ear, i barely made out some of his words.

"...will be dangerous even going there." he pointed toward a row of black arches, which stood marginally taller than the others in the room, and shook his head. unfortunately, the bellows and brays of pack mules, horses, camels, and the rest of the noisy menagerie in the stable located across the narrow alley from the vent colluded with the distance between me and the speakers to block out what they were saying.

ivy stood on her tiptoes and fiddled with the symbols on the side of the map. one of the arches sparked to life, sending shards of black and white energy arcing on the silver circle around it. eliza waggled a finger at her, and she stopped.

"damn shame what they did to that little girl's mind," shelton said, his mouth curved down in distaste.

"wish i could hear what they were saying, but those stupid animals are making a ruckus," i said.

shelton took out his wand, made a circular motion toward the opposite end of the duct, and the sounds from the stable cut off, leaving only the ambient noises in the control room to deal with. "can you hear them now?"

eliza conroy spoke in a southern genteel drawl, her voice loud and pompous enough to carry across the distance. "jeremiah won't be pleased to hear this. we plan for our associates to use this site as a staging ground." she crossed her arms. "we would take it rather badly if you and the other workers don't assist them with a smile and a spring in your step."

the arch operator bobbed his head, a frightened look on his face. "i promise it won't be a problem."

"a problem what?" eliza said back, one eyebrow arching.

"a problem, ma'am?" the arcane replied, his tone more of a cautious question than a statement.

"i do declare, nobody teaches young folks manners these days," she said, shaking her head. "mr. tuttle, our associates will declare themselves as darkwater employees. you are not to interfere in any way, or i suwanee, i will tan your hide. do you understand?"

the man continued bowing and nodding affirmatively while ivy quirked her mouth into an amused grin and waggled her finger while her poser grandmother's back was still to her.

eliza shook her head and threw up her hands. "heavens to betsy, but the conclave must be out of their cotton-picking minds forcing arcanes to pay these ridiculous gate fees!"

mr. tuttle kept right on nodding. magnifying the scene with my enhanced sight, i saw beads of sweat on his pale, gaunt face.

eliza took ivy by the hand, as my sister squatted to peer underneath a console, and admonished her. "young ladies do not squat in dresses." she made an exasperated noise. "i suwanee!" then she and ivy strode for the door to their right, while mr. tuttle stood wiping his forehead with the sleeve of his robe.

"what the heck does 'suwanee' mean?" i whispered.

"some kind of crazy southern swear word," shelton said.

"i suwanee, those two scare the crap out of me," i said, testing out the new phrase.

shelton rolled his eyes. he put the web filter back in place, turned, and motioned me toward the stables. the animal sounds returned as his sound barrier dropped.

i heard the clack of hard shoe soles on the polished rock floor and barred shelton from taking another step with my arm. i saw ivy and eliza from the chest down as they started to pass the vent.

about halfway across, ivy gasped. stopped and tugged her grandmother's arm. "did you hear that, bigmomma?"

shelton and i froze. sweat dampened my armpits. if she saw us, it was over. my little sister had once executed a spell that would have killed hundreds of vampires in one fell swoop had i not altered it. in other words, she had skillz with a 'z' and could probably take the two of us out without much effort.

"i do declare, child, you nearly pulled your poor bigmomma's arm right out of the socket." she leaned over ivy, her voice changing from strict, to doting and affectionate. "now what did my little darlin' hear?"

ivy drew in a sharp breath as something trumpeted in the distance. "you hear that? it's an elephant! someone must have just ridden one in through the arch. can we go see it, please?" she hopped up and down, holding her hands together as if in prayer. "please, please, please?"

eliza gave her an affectionate smile. "oh, child, i'm afraid there isn't enough time. we need to get home."

ivy slumped, and her pretty but sad face appeared in profile at the end of the vent. "but i never get to do anything fun."

"once this is all over, we'll take you to the zoo. how's that?"

my sister clapped her hands. "really? can i see a koala?"

eliza's hand straightened ivy's golden locks. "we'll even take you to a zoo in australia. won't that be fun?"

ivy jumped. "yes, yes, yes!" when she landed, i saw her face again. the big smile she wore reminded me so much of our mother, i felt a pang in my heart at how twisted and bent this little girl's mind was all thanks to the damned conroys.

"how long is it going to take, bigmomma?" she sighed. "when is bigdaddy finally gonna get that rune?"

"now, don't you worry, young lady. he knows what he's doing. in fact, he'll be at your school for a while." she pinched ivy's cheek. "won't that be wonderful?"

ivy straightened. "he'll be at my school? he can see how well i'm doing?"

"you bet your pretty face, sugah. now, let's get going. he'll be back later tonight, and i want to have a special dinner waiting for him." eliza took the young girl's hand and led her away, the clomp of their shoes fading with distance.

shelton let out a long shuddering breath. "holy crap, man. i almost lost it there for a second."

"no lie," i replied, feeling the tension ease in my entire body. "i suwanee!"

shelton groaned. "will you stop it with that heinous word?"

we made our way out of the duct. i sneaked to the corner of the stable, peeked around it in time to watch ivy and "bigmomma" get into the back of a waiting black sedan. a part of me considered trying to follow them. i was probably fast enough to keep pace. but before i could work up the courage to enact my bold plan, the original sedan split, popping apart into two identical cars. the two cars split into four. as i watched, each replica divided into more. by then, i'd hopelessly lost track of the original car, and a stream of identical sedans were already filing out of the cavernous chamber and up the ramp to the exit.

"son of a monkey's third cousin," shelton said, aiming his wand at the line of cars. "i can't even figure out which ones are the fakes."

"they can't possibly know we're here," i said. "why would they go through the trouble to create all those illusions?"

"i've seen high-level diplomats who use that kind of illusion as a precaution." shelton tucked his wand into the inside pocket on his leather duster. "i think i know why they have minders guarding this place."

"because of the conroys?" i asked.

"because of this little side project they got going on here." a sly grin stretched his lips. "and i just figured out how we can get a five-fingered discount on arch travel."

i gave him a blank look.

"it means we can steal a ride-take the arch for free."

i raised an eyebrow. "for free? did i miss something?"

he chuckled and motioned me toward the door leading into the control room. "say hello to darkwater's newest employees."

chapter 6

i didn't have time to decide if shelton's idea scared the padooky out of me or made me happy before he reached the part of the wall where oliver had indicated the control room door should be. after running his hands along the seamless rock wall, shelton said, "aha!" and twisted his hand. a latch clicked, and he vanished through the rock. i followed, noting a thick, metal door which he'd opened into the control room.

tuttle stood at a table, the holographic image of plain-dressed man hovering above the surface of an arctablet.

"she said what?" the man said to tuttle. "that's insane."

tuttle nodded, his eyes wide. "yeah, and we have to bend over backwards to help. i swear, my union rep better have some advice. working for the conroys is going to give me a coronary."