"Exactly," I said. "Which is why going to El Dorado would be a terrible idea."

A slow grin spread over Elyssa's face. "I agree. We should go right away."

Chapter 4

I did a double-take. "Wait a minute. Did you just say we should return to the bowels of hell?"

"Drama queen," Elyssa said, shaking her head. "Think about it. There's an Alabaster Arch, a mystery prize, and possibly access to our own arch control room. You remember those omnidirectional arches you discovered? What if we can get those working?"

"That's a big if," I replied. "And what if the mystery prize is a gruesome death?"

"It's not," she said with certainty. "This is totally worth the risk. If we take a look, Lornicus will help us save your mom."

"Mom and Ivy," I clarified. "Once we have them, we won't need to take the rune from Jeremiah since Daelissa can't do squat without my mom."

Elyssa nodded. "The golem called you the Cataclyst. You're no pawn in a chess game. You're a queen."

"I guess it's time I came out of the closet."

She rolled her eyes. "He wouldn't send you to your death if he thinks he has a chance of controlling you."

"Yeah, but what if he doesn't think he can control me and this is a convenient way to have me dispose of myself?"

She quirked her lips. "Sure, he might get rid of you then. But so far, I don't think he's determined if he can control you or not. If you go, he'll think he has you." Elyssa tapped her chin. "We also have another unused resource in the dungeons."

"Rusty chains?" I said.

"No, silly, the arch."

Ezzek Moore and the original Arcane Council had used the arch in question to hide the Cyrinthian Rune from Daelissa by placing the rune into the arch here beneath Ezzek's mansion, and closing off both ends with shields to keep it from coming out either end. Unfortunately, the result of the rune pinging back and forth between each end of the traversion tunnel over the centuries had caused a pulsar of malignant aether to build up which might have eventually gone nuclear and husked everyone in Queens Gate.

We'd stopped it, but Jeremiah Conroy had stolen the rune right out from under our noses.

"Cinder calculated that the arch's destination is in Antarctica or the North Pole," I said, giving her a confused look. "Why would we want to go there?"

"We never actually explored it," she said. "What if it goes to another control room?"

She brought up a good point. After surviving another close call, we'd all been busy enjoying life instead of carelessly throwing our bodies into the unknown. "I hadn't thought about it." My mind ran through the possibilities. "We'd have our own private control room full of gateways."

"Exactly."

I pursed my lips and regarded her. "Since when did you become the instigator of dangerous adventures? Usually, I'm the one ready to lead us off the cliff."

"You've been slacking lately," she said, poking a finger in my ribs. "It's time to spice things up."

"Oh, yeah?" I tickled her tummy, causing her to giggle and guard it with her arms. "I know how to spice things up."

"I know you do," she said, and disarmed me with a kiss. Her smile faded. "In all seriousness, I think we should check out the arch in the cellar. I also think we should talk to Bella about putting together a small group to look at El Dorado."

"You're just as curious as I am, aren't you?" I said.

A smirk lifted the corner of her mouth. "Maybe."

"You've been hanging out with me too long."

Cutsauce yipped in agreement.

I dispatched an email to my inner circle—Shelton, Bella, Nightliss, and others who'd been with my through thick and thicker—requesting a meeting for that evening. Nightliss was the first to show. She still looked a bit wan and pale from her ordeal with Daelissa's deadly curse despite Ivy healing her.

I gave the petite angel a hug, and even Elyssa seemed glad to see her feeling better.

"Have you felt any different since Ivy removed the vampling curse?" Nightliss asked me.

I shook my head. "Aside from sprouting wings in front of the Lady of the Pond, I haven't noticed anything else to indicate my angels powers are ready to shine."

She sighed. "It's frustrating. Instinct has guided me all this time, but made me a poor teacher. And even if I wanted to teach you, I am still too weak."

"I feel fully recovered since Ivy healed me," I said. "Did the curse permanently damage you?"

"Perhaps not permanently, though it may have set back my recovery from the Desecration by a few years." Her brow crinkled.

I touched her hand. "You'll bounce back. Nobody comes that close to death and makes a complete recovery in a couple of months." Truthfully, though, I'd expected her to be back to full power by now. The Desecration had severely weakened her just as it had Daelissa, and it had taken them centuries to recover. Even half strength for an angel was like double strength for most Arcanes, and Daelissa only seemed to get stronger while my side lost powerful allies like Nightliss.

Bella and Shelton walked through the front door, Cinder close behind. Adam Nosti and his girlfriend, Meghan Andretti, showed up shortly thereafter. Neither Katie nor Stacey could make the meeting so I decided to go ahead and start with the current group. I filled them in on my meeting with Mr. Gray, including his assertion that the Seraphim had not created the arches, and the importance of my mother.

"This is unbelievable, Justin," Nightliss said.

"You didn't know?" Bella asked.

She shook her head. "The Desecration damaged my memory. I remember some things with uncanny clarity while others only seem to return with time."

"Who built the arches if the angels didn't?" Meghan asked.

I met Shelton's eyes. "Remember the omnidirectional arches?"

"Yeah." A shrug. "It looked like the angels added them on later because they didn't fit with the original design of the room."

"Right. What if the angels figured out how to build arches, or tried to make versions of their own?"

He nodded. "Makes sense they'd try."

"But the Grand Nexus leads from our world to the angel realm," Bella said. "What if there are arches leading to the realm of their creators?"

"Or what if they created other artifacts that are even more powerful?" I said.

Elyssa's gaze flicked to me. "The Map and Key of Juranthemon," she said.

"Exactly." The key could be used to open a door to just about any location so long as a person used the map to activate the portal. Underborn had sparingly informed me about the ancient relics, but I had no doubt he'd omitted critical facts. The key changed its appearance depending on the expectations of the wielder. The map looked like old parchment but scrolled like the map on an arcphone or arctablet.

"You mean the key you used to go from Bogota, Colombia back to Atlanta?" Bella said.

I nodded. "The same. What if the beings who made the arches also made the key and map?"

"What if there are more than just those two relics?" Shelton added.

Several competing conversations broke out at once. I clapped my hands together. The room went silent. "Look, it doesn't matter right now. I've tried searching for information on those relics and found nothing. What we do have is a way to access an Alabaster Arch in El Dorado." I held up the memory card Lornicus had given me. "I say we go check it out."

"You're insane," Shelton said, his face a mask of disbelief. "You need to toss that memory card in the fire and forget you ever saw it."

"That would be stupid," Elyssa said. "We should let Lornicus think he's controlling our actions. Once we figure out what he's up to, we spring a trap of our own."

"Terrible idea," Shelton said. "I think Michael proved you can't outthink these people, or have you forgotten how Underborn schooled him?"

"I disagree, Harry," Bella said, raising an eyebrow at her boyfriend. "I agree with Elyssa. This merits investigation."

"With extreme caution," Adam said. "After reading Cinder's account of what you went through in those caves last time, I suggest we take plenty of flashlights, batteries, and glowballs."

Cinder nodded. Even though he'd improved with his gestures, he came nowhere near to Lornicus's mastery. "Justin, do you think these creatures could affect me?"

I felt my mouth drop open slightly. I hadn't even considered such a question. "Can husks feed on a golem's spark?" I asked, looking at Nightliss.

She shrugged. "I do not know."

"A golem's spark isn't a soul," Shelton said, giving Cinder an apologetic look. "Sorry, buddy, but it ain't like soul essence. So I don't think those little freaks could do anything to you."

"In other words," I said, a revelation coming into my mind, "Lornicus probably sent in gray men to scout the area. That's how he knows what's in there."

"It is possible," Cinder replied. "If you ask, Justin, I will go to El Dorado alone and confirm this without putting any of you at risk."

I shook my head without hesitation. "No, I'm not risking a friend like that. We'll go together or not at all." I gazed around the room. "So, who's with me?"

Shelton was the only one who didn't raise his hand until Bella elbowed him in the ribs. "I'm gonna string Christmas lights around my body," he said.

"Better yet," I said, "how about I glue glow sticks to a leotard and you wear that?"

Adam snickered.

Shelton glared at him. "Laugh it up, fur ball."

"What about the arch in the cellar?" Meghan asked. "Is there a safe way to find out where it goes?"