after creeping around the various hallways for a while, we found a door concealing stairs leading down into a lit area. elyssa descended without hesitation. at the bottom, we found what looked like a gauntlet room-a practice area where arcanes could cut loose without worry of killing anyone or damaging personal property. a couch sat against the wall near the stairs. i heard quiet sobbing and saw a petite figure lying on the cushions, face buried in a fluffy pink unicorn.

it was my sister, ivy.

chapter 34

i lowered my mask. elyssa did the same, revealing a sad look. i paused, not wanting to frighten ivy, mainly because i wanted to avoid the possibility of a deadly reaction on her part. seeing no other option but to signal our presence, i said, "ivy," in a hushed tone.

she bolted to her feet, showing a blotchy red face and wide tear-stained eyes. for a long moment she stood there, pink orbs of deadly energy coalesced in the palms of her hands. the energy whiffed out, and she ran to me, gripping me in a tight hug.

"justin," she said, shuddering. "what are you doing here? i'm so happy to see you."

i hugged her back, feeling my shirt grow damp as she unloaded fresh tears into it. "what's wrong?" i asked.

"they took mom away without even telling me," she sobbed. "they said they were moving her to a better place until daelissa decided what to do with her."

i directed her back to the couch, and sat beside her. elyssa remained near the staircase, acting as a sentry.

"ivy, i have mom," i said. "we rescued her."

her blue eyes went wide, and a smile broke out on her face. "you did?" she said in a loud voice. she covered her mouth, face contrite, and lowered her voice. "you did? how?"

"i can't explain everything," i said. "but it was a lot of hard work, and very dangerous."

"i don't like the people bigdaddy uses," she said, frowning. "he says they're necessary." her forehead pinched into a confused look. "how did you find us? did you sneak in here to tell me mom was okay so i wouldn't worry?" she smiled and continued before i could get in a word edgewise. "you did, didn't you?" she hugged me again. "i love you, big brother."

"i love you too, ivy," i said, feeling my eyes mist. "but, that's only part of the reason i came."

ivy released me, big eyes looking into mine. "oh?"

i nodded. "one of those men jeremiah uses"-i refused to use the word "bigdaddy" anymore-"his name is maulin kassus. do you know him?"

her eyes narrowed. "i don't know their names because bigmomma won't let me near them, but i have seen a few of them."

i took out my phone and displayed an image of kassus.

"oh, i've seen him," she said, nodding. "he looks mean and acts like a real poop-head."

"he's a poop-head all right," i said with an involuntary grin. "even though i rescued mom, i have a huge problem."

"did that man do something to mom?" she asked.

"sort of," i said. "he's the one who sealed the doors on her prison. it's diamond fiber, so i can't break in-"

"he blood-sealed her prison," ivy said, her lips pressing tight together. "and you want his blood."

i repressed a shudder, thinking how that trailer would become mom's coffin before much longer. "yes, but i've had a lot of trouble getting it."

her lips curled back into a snarl. "the next time he comes here, i'll get his blood."

i saw elyssa grimace.

my little sister could be scary.

"the only problem is, he doesn't come here very much, and my grandparents won't let me out of the house." ivy sighed. "i sneak out, but it's harder and harder to do it without them finding out."

"why are you down here?" i asked.

"i didn't want them to hear my crying," she said. "it's kind of embarrassing, because mom did something bad, and i guess i'm not supposed to be sad that daelissa locked her away."

"maybe you should tell them you don't like what they did to her," i said.

she shook her head. "daelissa scares me. she's so strong."

"why don't you come with us?" i said. "you can live with us, and once we rescue mom-"

"you need me here to get kassus's blood and save mom," she said. "afterward, i totally want to come live with you." her eyes sparkled. "i'll miss my grandparents, but they've been acting so weird lately, i hate being around. i hate being told what to do all the time, and they still haven't taken me to the zoo!"

"we'll go to the zoo first thing," i said. hesitated. "look, we can find another way to get kassus's blood if you really want to come now." i was definitely concerned for her if daelissa got wind of our plans.

she shook her head vehemently. "no way, justin. i got this."

"where is daelissa now?" i asked.

"i don't know. she came by a couple of weeks ago to give me some lessons and told me i would rule the world by her side." ivy shrugged. "she says crazy things sometimes. bigdaddy says it's because she hasn't been home in too long."

"it's because she's not a good person," i said.

ivy nodded. "after she tried to kill all those templar people and you, i started thinking you might be right about her. i mean, she might be just a little crazy now, but a visit back home would clear everything right up."

i sometimes marveled at ivy's naivete. jeremiah and the others had done a good job preserving her innocence-or possibly ignorance-so they could better use her. i quelled a burst of righteous anger and forced a smile. "we can let her figure out how to get home all by herself. speaking of which, what did jeremiah do with the cyrinthian rune?"

"you mean the little orb we took from you a while back?" she said, raising an eyebrow. "i don't know what he did with it."

"did he say anything about giving it to daelissa?"

she shook her head. "oh, no. bigdaddy said we had to keep it a secret from her." her lips quirked. "i think he doesn't like daelissa as much as he pretends to."

"you're growing up. you're starting to think for yourself, and realizing not everything is what it seems." i hated to quote underborn, but the assassin had a point. my sister had been brainwashed from birth. it was a testament to her inner strength that she was already starting to see through the lies. "do you know what the rune does?"

she nodded. "it's supposed to open the alabaster arch back to seraphina."

"is that the name of the angel world?"

"yep. at least that's what daelissa calls it."

"do you have a phone or any way for me to contact you?" i asked.

she produced a slim pink arcphone from within the folds of her blue dress. "i stole it. i'm not supposed to have it. bigmomma say they rot people's brains and turn them to zombies."

"she might have a point," i said, thinking of how much time i spent idly looking at mine or playing puzzle games when i wasn't out preventing the apocalypse. "give me the number." i punched it into my phone as she recited it. i considered telling her about the omniarch but didn't know if she might slip up and mention it to jeremiah. our best course would be to leave the way we came without her tagging along. something else occurred to me. "i have powers similar to yours."

her eyes brightened. "like seraphim?" she clapped her hands together and hopped once. "that's great, justin. i don't like your demon side very well."

"daemos aren't all bad," i said. "do you have any idea how to control angel powers?" i gave her a brief version of my run-in with darkwater and how i'd used the power without telling her about the kill shot on victor.

her forehead scrunched. "well, you feel warm in the heart like you said, and then you channel it into forms."

"but how do you get the warm feeling?" i asked.

"hmm." she looked up as if thinking. "i just pull on the aether around me and channel it through, or if i need a lot, i store it inside." she tapped her chest. "you can channel it out of your feet like this"-she levitated off the floor a few inches, then landed-"or collect it in your hands." pink orbs blossomed in her palms, growing larger before shrinking. "if i don't use it, i just let it go, or absorb it, though you have to be careful or you can overheat your heart, and daelissa said that could hurt me."

i focused on my heart. heard it thumping in a steady beat. tried to imagine aether flowing through it. as usual, nothing happened. "it doesn't seem to work like that for me."

she pursed her lips. pressed a hand to my chest. "i can feel something in there. feels like it's sputtering. kinda like a candle in a breeze." she shrugged without removing her hand. "daelissa said i was like that when i started to figure it out."

"when you first started channeling, did it just happen?" i asked.

she nodded. "daelissa would hurt me sometimes." a sad look flashed across her face. "she said it was the only way to learn. one day, i got so mad when she hit me with a bolt, i felt a fire light up inside me, and i hit her back." she giggled. "i scorched the front of her dress."

"sounds like what happened to you," elyssa said, eyes glued to the stairwell.

"let's see if this works," ivy said. light flashed between her hand and my chest.

breath exploded from my lungs. i staggered backward. heat flared in my chest, coursed down my arm, and an ultraviolet orb swirled malevolently in my palm. i cupped my hand before my face and marveled at the beautiful but deadly magic. i willed it to grow, pushing more heat from my chest into my hand. it whooshed and doubled in size. i flinched, lost my concentration, and the heat faded. the sphere flickered and puffed away into sparkling purple mist.