i didn't want to bear responsibility for killing anyone in a freak gloom rift accident. "without a star to mark this place on the map, we don't even know if we're in el dorado or one of the other abandoned way stations like thunder rock."

"this appears to be the symbol for the alabaster arch," cinder said, pointing out a large icon consisting of a solid circle with an upside-down "v" in it. in cyrinthian, it was the symbol for zero. a line of symbols ran down the left side of the map, each one a number corresponding to the rows of small black arches behind me. touching one of the symbols should light one of the arches, provided the device still worked. unfortunately, it wouldn't light a corresponding star at this location.

shelton stared at the symbol for activating the alabaster arch. "should we turn it on and send through an ase?"

i met eyes with elyssa. she shrugged. "sure," i told him. i pressed my hand against the symbol. a deep klaxon bellowed throughout the room. meghan jumped and shrieked.

elyssa's arms blurred, reaching for the swords strapped across her back. she stopped with them halfway out. shoved them back in and gave me a dirty look. "next time you scare me like that, i might take off one of your fingers."

i smirked. "sorry, couldn't resist."

the black-and-white-striped arch pulsed with ultraviolet and white energy, jagged bolts arcing from the twisted columns to the silver circle bordering it. the klaxon thrummed again as the arch continued sparking massive amounts of energy into the circle around it. we waited for several minutes, but no destination appeared within.

"can i have an ase?" i said, holding out my hand to elyssa. she deposited one of the marble-like spheres in my hand. i walked to within a few feet of the silver circle, not daring to get another step close to the deadly looking storm of lightning bolts dancing across its surface, spun the ase, and directed it to go through the arch.

the ase obediently hovered across the circle and made it to within twenty feet or so of the arch before exploding in a cloud of sparks as a flash of ultraviolet nailed it.

"holy zeus on a tricycle," shelton cried out in surprise. "that thing is broken as hell."

i jogged back to the control button and touched it again. the klaxon wound down as the alabaster arch de-energized .

"perhaps there is another button to access the grand nexus," cinder suggested, looking the rows up and down.

"i ain't going near that thing," shelton said.

i looked toward the exit and shuddered. "then i guess it's time to go out there."

shelton flicked off and on his glow vest a few times. the rest of us took his cue and tested ours to be sure. now was not the time to rush blindly. the arcanes took out their staffs, eyes set in concentration for whatever lay outside. bella brandished a wand in addition to hers. elyssa retrieved a compact pole from a pocket on her side, and at first i thought she'd brought her own staff. i gave her a puzzled look. she grinned and snapped out a quarterstaff.

"swords won't do much against cherubs," she said. "but if i can knock 'em across the cavern, that'll keep them out of the way."

"smart thinking," i said.

she kissed my cheek. "naturally. i'm a girl."

shelton and adam took up positions on either side of the door. i twisted the handle, and pulled it open. the industrial sized glowballs drifted outside, lighting the immediate vicinity outside the control room. i checked the map on my arcphone. the cavern was as large as the way station in the grotto, which meant the "x" on the map was a couple hundred yards away in the center.

"i don't suppose anyone can cast one of those light burst spells like curtis did?" i asked, looking at bella. curtis had come along on our expedition through el dorado during our mission to apprehend vadaemos. he'd scoffed at my suggestion to take along flashlights, and screamed like a little girl when a drain rune sucked us dry of aether and nearly left us helpless against shadow people.

"it's a waste of energy," bella said. "curtis is a bit of a showboat."

"talk about blowing your entire load for one spell," shelton said with a chuckle. "amateur."

adam sent the glowballs drifting higher until we had a clear view in a hundred-foot radius. i led the group forward until the door remained barely visible at the back edge of light, held up my hand for everyone to be quiet, and listened. elyssa closed her eyes, presumably doing the same thing. i heard shuffling noises. low groans from giant throats somewhere ahead. and then i heard the sound that sent a pant-wetting chill down my back.

"dah nah," croaked an infantile voice.

a whistling gurgle answered. cherubs were ahead of us, but not by far. i assumed the things could see us highlighted in the middle of the light, or maybe they just sensed our delicious, creamy souls.

shelton's staff burst into a roiling inferno. "maybe i should do that light spell after all," he said.

elyssa threw out a handful of tiny glowing orbs which swept through the area around us. the last time we'd been here, cherubs literally carpeted the cavern floor. elyssa had used them like stepping stones. light glistened off shiny pitch-colored skin as the orbs drifted along the path toward the center. each time one spotted a cherub, it took up a position directly over their heads. by the time the path was scanned, wisps of light bobbed above at least twenty cherubs. on the bright side, we had a fairly clear path.

bella pointed ahead. "do you see a light?"

"i see light everywhere," shelton replied, waving a hand at the glowballs above.

"no, it's yellow, not white." she squinted. "i think the light we're putting out makes it hard to see."

adam spoke a word, and the huge glowballs winked out. shelton flicked off the roiling fireball above his staff, leaving us in nearly pitch black aside from the wisp markers over the cherubs.

"what the hell?" shelton said in a harsh whisper.

my eyes adjusted, and i saw what bella had pointed out. a yellow glow, like a campfire, flickered ahead. if i was any judge of distance, that put it about where lornicus had marked the map.

"that's where we're going," i said. i heard another cherub cry out and my teeth chattered in response. "can we get the lights back on, adam?"

the glowballs burst into light. i noticed shelton huddled tight against bella. the petite dhampyr wore an amused smile.

"don't worry, dear, i'll keep you safe."

shelton growled.

we moved ahead. as we drew closer to the wisps marking the cherubs, they began to move toward us in a wobbling motion. the first cherub waddled in, the white light reflecting off the glossy black flesh. a circular orifice lined opened in the featureless face. "dah nah," it cried, holding nubby little hands out to us. "dah nah!"

my butt cheeks clenched tight as a bank vault. "don't let that thing touch you."

elyssa sprang into motion, spinning her quarterstaff so fast, it blurred like a propeller. she connected with the cherubs head. there was a meaty thwack and the creature flew into parts unknown, vanishing into the dark. two more cherubs walked into the circle of light. my ninja girl handled them with equal aplomb, sending their bodies careening away, their tortured cries vanishing into the dark.

"justin, i see something," cinder said, pointing to the side.

we sent a glowball that way and found a still form in a gray suit. the body was crushed.

"one of my kind," cinder said, kneeling to inspect the motionless form. "something very large ran him over."

"leyworms," i said.

"maybe we should run away," shelton said.

"we're almost there." adam gazed toward our destination. "besides, elyssa is pretty handy with that staff."

"i don't know about a staff versus a leyworm," elyssa said.

"we've come this far," meghan said. she hadn't said much, choosing to remain in the center, her staff held ready.

"fine, fine," shelton grumbled. "lead on, pocahontas."

elyssa narrowed her eyes at him.

we pressed forward. the low groans i'd heard grew louder. while they weren't quite monstrous bellows of anger, they still made my stomach clench. after clearing the path of a few more stray cherubs, we finally found the source of the light. a slab of polished obsidian took over from the stone cavern floor, and a yellow nimbus provided a dim light by which to see. giant scaled forms lay in the center. parietal eyes big as boulders blinked at us. a long narrow muzzle opened wide, revealing jagged black shards and a dull yellow glow deep in its maw.

the leyworm hissed.

ruby red slits appeared in the dark to the side of the first creature, opening wider, regarding us. the earth dragon rumbled. the first one seemed to reply with a low groan and hiss.

"we should probably keep a safe distance," adam said, sending the glowballs higher, bolstering the yellow light suffusing the air.

the first leyworm suddenly threw its head back and let out a shrieking roar as if it were in intense pain. the creature loomed as tall as a two-story building. a person could drive a monster truck down its throat and it probably wouldn't notice. what could cause something so huge such pain?

i shifted to my incubus sight. what i saw made me gasp. a river of aether flowed through the ground beneath the obsidian slab. the leyworm was funneling nearly all of it into its body. a flash of brilliant white exploded from the creature's mouth, and it made a horrible gagging noise. something very small jettisoned from the giant's maw, landed, and rolled on the floor to stop a little more than a hundred feet away. the tiny figure opened its mouth and cried. i felt my mouth drop open as i looked at what appeared to be a baby. as it continued to wail, tiny puffs of white blazed on its back, fluttering. this was no ordinary baby.

it was an angel.

chapter 7

"you gotta be kidding me!" shelton said.

"we can't just leave it there," elyssa said, already running toward the infant.

i heard a slithering noise from ahead, and two smaller red eyes coming straight for us. a much smaller leyworm appeared, mouth open as it roared. elyssa snatched the infant from the floor, and ran.