"then you have your answer."

i knew the decision was too complicated to make without conferring with the others. "let me consider all the options," i said, quoting a military movie i'd seen before. "maybe there's a better way to handle this."

"very well." thomas disconnected without another word.

chapter 21

that afternoon, our group of six conspirators met for a late lunch and to prepare for operation clearwater, a nickname bella had given our scheme. i explained my plan to use christian to trap darkwater people in colombia so elyssa and crew could infiltrate their corporate headquarters and search for information regarding my mother's transportation route, discover whose blood would seal her transport, and, last but not least, dig up any useful information on the research darkwater was doing on the arches and control rooms. we would need the information if we had any hope of using the alabaster arch in el dorado to find the grand nexus and, if possible, destroy it.

adam had written a script to search the magic-based computer system darkwater employed. such systems were called arcsys datacenters and used spells similar to what ases used to store data. all elyssa had to do was attach her arcphone to an arcsys node and run the script-at least in theory.

i also mentioned my conversation with thomas. elyssa and the others furrowed their brows in almost perfect unison when i told them he'd left the decision up to me.

"i knew he was setting you up for leadership," elyssa said, "but this is unheard of."

"thomas borathen really said he'd give you the final decision?" shelton said, sounding baffled. "the old man is losing it."

"thanks," i replied, voice heavy with sarcasm. "i'm not sure what to do."

"we don't have enough intel," elyssa said. "we need the schedule, the identity of the person sealing the doors, and the route. then we can plan how to handle it."

"i realize that," i said. "at least we have another option on the table, and that's good."

"it's bloody wonderful," stacey said, her eyes narrowed to contented slits as she regarded me like a cat might regard a bowl of milk.

"how do you plan to let kassus know you're in bogota?" elyssa asked.

i offered her a knowing smile. "you just let me worry about that, okay?"

she gripped me by the front of the shirt and pulled me close. "fine," she whispered with a grin, and pecked me on the lips. "i love you. good luck."

shelton said his goodbyes to bella while adam did the same to meghan. it felt like we were going on a long trip and wouldn't be back for a week, though if everything went well, we'd be back in town the minute kassus fell for our ploy. ryland sauntered into the room, prowling like a wolf on the hunt. i noticed he wore his sideburns in the mutton-chop look he'd favored the first time i met him.

"you guys need a fourth?" he asked, running a hand through his short thick hair. "i'd be happy to run with you."

"kassus might add you to his lists of targets," i said. "it might not be a good idea."

he shrugged. "i ain't worried about that."

"my wolfy will make sure nothing bad happens," stacey said, her eyes examining ryland's posterior.

"won't find me turning away help," shelton said.

ryland was a templar, and he could turn into a really big wolf, so he might be handy in case things went from bad to worse. in my book, that was always a possibility. "let's go, then."

"we set up a long-range ase to keep an eye on darkwater headquarters," elyssa said. "if it spots any commotion, we'll let you know."

"we'll leave the portal open for our return from bogota," i said. "but if we see an opportunity to lead the darkwater people on a longer chase we will, especially if christian is delayed in shutting down access to the obsidian arch so they can't return."

"sounds like a remarkably well-considered plan," stacey said with a wink.

we went downstairs to the omniarch. christian had sent me the picture of an empty room in a templar safe house near la casona for the portal exit. i concentrated on the image, and the image of the room appeared in the center of the omniarch. when we stepped inside, i noticed the portal had opened in the middle of a wall. as we'd seen before, the physical world seemed to warp around the shimmering gateway, unaffected in any other way. through the thin gap between the wall and the outer edge of the portal i saw another room.

"that thing isn't gonna bring the house down, is it?" shelton asked, looking uneasily at the way the wall bent around the opening like rubber, even though it remained solid as ever to the touch.

"the wall would have already collapsed by now," i said.

"peculiar," ryland said, pressing a hand against it. "i wonder what would happen if you opened it on a person."

"nobody had the guts to be the guinea pig for that little experiment," shelton said.

we left the room, walked down a hallway, and into a large foyer. a templar sitting at a desk looked up. "justin slade and company, i presume?"

"that would be us," i said.

"the la casona way station is just down the road. we sent a couple of scouts to check it out, and they reported two suspicious individuals watching the door to the pocket dimension."

perfect.

unlike the grotto, the obsidian arch at the la casona way station was above ground and covered by a large warehouse around which jellyfish-like creatures called minders patrolled to keep out the noms. the door leading inside the pocket dimension was inside a courtyard.

"thanks," i said. "you have the image of maulin kassus?"

"of course," he said. "the minute you give the word, we'll lock down the arch and tell everyone it's because of gloom fractures."

"thanks," i said. we left the nondescript house, part of a connected row of houses lining a winding street, and headed toward the la casona way station. a minder approached us when we went to the gate guarding the entrance to the warehouse grounds, but a templar waved it off, and let us through. once inside, we headed toward the door leading into the la casona pocket dimension.

"i'll watch your backs," ryland said, slipping away into the crowd and vanishing.

as we approached the simple wooden doors disguising the entrance into the pocket dimension, i spotted black robe brotherhood thugs examining the crowd. one of them locked gazes with me. his gaze flicked to a piece of parchment in his hand and back to me. i pretended not to notice, watching him out of the corner of my eye.

there were only two of them from what i could tell. if they charged us, we could handle it.

"they're calling someone," adam said as we walked toward the stables.

my phone rang seconds later. it was elyssa.

"at least thirty men plus kassus just ran out of darkwater like their asses were on fire," elyssa said. "you're going to have company any minute."

"thanks, babe," i said, and disconnected. "looks like the diversion worked," i said to the others.

"we have a problem," ryland said, suddenly appearing at my shoulder.

i nearly jumped out of my skin.

"what is it?" shelton asked.

"every minder patrolling the perimeter just changed course."

"where are they going?" i asked.

"right here," ryland said pointing at the ground.

"can't the templars hold them off?" i asked.

"the templars on duty tried, but the minders ain't listening." he looked over his shoulder.

shelton's lip curled into a grimace. "i should have remembered, dammit. darkwater is the contractor that finds minders in the gloom and brings them here. i'll bet they have some agreement with the friggin monsters."

"let's go before they surround us," i said.

"too late for that," ryland said. "all the exits are blocked."

"if one of those things even touches you, you won't be able to move," adam said, his eyes searching the area. "we'll be dead meat."

i scowled and cursed. "there's got to be some way-" my eyes settled on the stable. "the control room, hurry!"

i saw the brotherhood members pacing us as we headed for the stables. rather than circle around the wooden structure, we dashed through. a long aisle ran between stalls holding all sorts of beasts. ryland and i pressed our backs flat against the wall on either side of the door. our two admirers entered. they locked eyes on shelton and adam ahead, never once glancing to the sides. i karate-chopped my man on the back of the neck, and sent him sprawling into a pile of steaming dung. ryland's target hit the floor a second later. i took their wands and staffs, broke them to useless splinters. i grabbed their arcphones but passwords foiled my attempts to access them. i flung them into a heaping pile of elephant manure.

we raced across the stable, out the other door, and took a left around the corner into the narrow alley between the stable and the wall. the setup was identical to the other way stations and shelton located the hidden door within seconds. he opened the door. two arch operators looked up in surprise. i ran across the control platform and looked down the center aisle. it appeared free of darkwater employees.

"you can't just come in here," one of the operators said, pulling out a phone.

"templar business," ryland said, pulling a badge on a lanyard from within his shirt. "go about your business."

the man eyed us warily, but tucked his phone away.

we jogged toward the back and found a row of omniarches on the right side in an alcove, exactly where they'd been in the other control rooms. they looked intact, but that didn't guarantee anything. we stepped inside the silver circle. i pressed a finger to it and willed it closed. the static feel of aether filled the air around us. i imagined the omniarch room beneath the mansion, picturing every detail the best i could, and willed the portal open.

the omniarch flickered with static. a jagged bolt of energy flashed against the silver circle, narrowly missing shelton. he cried out in surprise. i was about to tell everyone to abandon ship when the space between the columns flashed into an image of the mansion arch room.