"i win."

she slapped the ground with the palm of her hand when i let her go, growling, eyes blazing. "i'm happy you can actually defend yourself," she said, her expression clearly anything but happy. "but now you're pissing me off."

i laughed, low and guttural. "looks like we're tied two-two."

"not for long." she sprang to her feet, looking me up and down as she walked back to her side of the ring.

i had a sneaking suspicion she had a dozen ways to take me down in this form, but decided i could use the extra strength and stability it afforded me. as we prepared for the last round, i heard running footsteps in the hallway outside. shelton rounded the corner, huffing and puffing.

"i just found out something really bad," he said, leaning over to catch his breath. "we've got a more serious situation than i thought."

chapter 11

i let my demon form slip away, melting back to my usual size. "what is it?"

"adam and i were talking about the battle mages we fought earlier." he drew in a deep breath and continued. "remember the guy who was walking up the aisle near the end?"

"the one who looked like he owned the place?" i said, thinking it would be hard to forget a bald man who wielded dual staffs and had bizarre eye tattoos. "what about him?"

"he ain't no ordinary battle mage," shelton said, motioning us to follow him. we went upstairs and found adam looking at the three-dimensional image of the man as it hovered above his arctablet. stacey and bella stood behind him.

"meet maulin kassus," adam said without preamble. "head honcho of the black robe brotherhood."

"no girls allowed?" elyssa said, narrowing her eyes at him.

"they have female members," adam said. "but they never changed their name like the assassins guild."

"these people are the arcane mafia," shelton said. "they don't play by the rules."

"okay, so he's dangerous," i said. "it's not like we haven't faced scary supers before. why the rush to tell me about him?"

shelton exchanged a glance with adam. looked back to me. "because they will find out who we are. they will watch us for an opportune moment. and then they will kill us."

"still nothing new," i said.

"i disagree," elyssa said. "this is completely new. we usually have to hunt down our targets. these people are hunting us."

"and we'll never see them coming," shelton said.

"so let's find them first," i said.

shelton gave me a crazy look. "how do you propose we do that?"

"don't they work for darkwater?"

"well, yeah-"

"and you know where they're headquartered," i said. "now we have one more reason to go after them."

"you ain't ready to go up against kassus's level of badassery yet, kid." shelton stared at the man's image. "you remember when i told you there were very few battle mages who'd mastered all the arcane attack forms?"

i nodded.

"yeah, well he's one of them."

my confidence crumbled like a dry biscuit. "maybe we should ward the perimeter and build a really tall wall."

"another thing," shelton said. "i used to train under kassus. he knows who i am."

that sent a shock of apprehension through me. "did he see you?"

"i don't think so," shelton said, rubbing his jaw. "adam and i were behind the column when he appeared, and he was focused on you when i attacked with the meteor."

"it's not like they know our names then," i said. "not a lot of people know about us being here."

"lornicus sure did," adam said. "if he does, who else might?"

"i'll put up some ase sentries," elyssa said, rummaging through her duffel bag. "i have access to a number of other defensive devices that should be helpful."

"i've had a lot of practice at hiding," adam said. "i'll put down some diversion wards around the perimeter. unless they know for sure we're here, those ought to fend off anyone cruising the area."

"let's not forget we have an arch that can take us anywhere and an underground tunnel to the school," elyssa said. "we don't have to use the front door all the time."

"excellent point," adam said, grabbing his staff. "i'll get started with warding."

"me too," elyssa said, following him out.

shelton gave me a knowing look. "how do you do it?" he asked.

my eyebrows pinched. "do what?"

"take us from zero to 'we're all gonna die' in less than a week?"

i sighed. "i dunno. practice, i guess." my phone chimed with an unknown number. i excused myself and walked into another room to take it. my heart constricted with dread. had kassus already found me? should i answer? hoping for once it might actually be a telemarketer, i answered.

"hello, mr. slade," said the nasal voice of lornicus. "i hope you found the visit to el dorado worth the effort."

"what makes you think i went?" i asked.

"your desire to save your mother and simply curiosity." he paused. "did you find the trip enlightening?"

the golem sounded awfully sure of himself. was he going entirely off calculations about my personality, or did he have another means of knowing i'd been? he'd also couched his words in generalities. i had to assume he didn't know anything and try to give away nothing.

"why did you want me to go in the first place?" i asked, deciding to neither confirm nor deny his allegations.

"you saw them, didn't you?" he replied, seeming to ignore my statement.

"what, the stress pimples on my nose?" i asked. "i get those when an army of gray men chases me from my own house."

the golem sighed. "you're being obstinate."

"you're manipulating me, and i'm not falling for it," i said, feeling a tiny bit smug.

"of course i am," he said. "but it is for your benefit and the greater good."

his admission caught me off guard. "then you'll understand if i don't tell you anything. for all i know, you're waiting for me to give something away."

"understandable. very well, i will give you information in return."

"the location of my mother?"

"unfortunately, i still do not possess such information." the golem cleared his throat. "this information is, nonetheless, quite valuable." he seemed to pause for dramatic effect. "my master has created other golems who look as alive as i do. they blend into crowds and spy for him. this was how i found your residence."

a wave of cold shivered down my spine. "are they as convincing as you?" i asked.

"they do not have personalities, no," he said. "they can talk and mimic very specific behaviors, if necessary, but they are nothing like me. i feel this information is quite valuable, mr. slade. do you agree?"

valuable? it was crushing. if mr. gray really had such lifelike spies everywhere, how could i trust anyone? lornicus was right, though. he'd just given me a very valuable bit of intel. now i knew, and knowing was half the battle.

"what do you want to know?" i asked.

"what did you see in the el dorado way station?"

he asked it as if he didn't know. then again, he could be testing me to see if i'd play tit-for-tat on the information sharing game. but if he didn't know about the baby angels, sharing what i knew could be very dangerous. if mr. gray found out his kin were being resurrected by leyworms, what would he do? kill potential rivals before they grew up, or raise his own seraphim army?

"if you're wondering, mr. slade, i already know about the infant seraphim, and can understand why you would hesitate to enlighten me."

"then what possible use could you have for any information i give you?" i asked. "if you know, that makes it worthless."

lornicus chuckled. "despite my knowledge of what lies beneath the city, i do not know the particulars. please enlighten me."

i realized i already had. now he knew i'd been there. he knew i'd seen the babies. man, i suck at intrigue. "there are about a dozen babies," i said. "the leyworms eat the cherubs and spit out resurrected angels."

"anything else of note?" he asked.

"there was a dead leyworm," i said. "i think it swallowed too many cherubs. the overload killed it, and the reaction petrified the cherubs, killing them as well." i heard a slight intake of breath on his end, almost as if he'd stifled a gasp. i wondered if the golem had practiced human emotions for so long he reacted automatically, or if this was feigned.

"i did not realize husks could die," lornicus said. "how interesting."

i knew for a fact he found it more than interesting. i'd seen cherubs take all sorts of abuse, and nothing seemed to faze them. now we knew they could die or be reborn. something about that gave lornicus pause. "it surprised you," i said. "why?"

the golem didn't answer for a moment. "perhaps it is knowing my master can die. seraphim have died before, but i have never witnessed it."

"are they more vulnerable in angel land?" i asked.

"no," lornicus said without pause. "they do not die of old age. they do not reproduce without permission of their leadership. they simply exist for eons."

i paused at this new bit of information. "leadership? they have a government?"

"indeed. it is quite different than mortal governments. i sense a great opportunity to trade information, mr. slade. perhaps you would be interested in-"

"no," i said. "anything you tell me about the seraphim is for entertainment purposes only. so what if they have a nifty government? that's not going to help me. i need to find my mother, and this banter isn't getting me any closer."