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Her statement opened another can of worms in my thought processes. "Not that I'm unhappy about my dad hooking up with my mom, but what if someone intervened? Convinced him to run away and shirk his duty to Kassallandra?"
The redhead's eyes widened. "This deception grows deeper and more devious with every connection. " She paused, eyes narrowed. "If this is true. The Templars have been relentless in their dealings with us, especially against the minor houses, which lack the manpower to fight back. Several smaller houses banded together so they could overwhelm the common enemy. "
Elyssa nodded. "In eastern Europe. I heard about it. But the sides are too evenly matched here in the States. My father knew a direct onslaught against the major houses would not only draw the attention of the noms to the Overworld, but the casualties would be astronomical. "
"And so he resorts to sanctions and apprehending anyone he deems suspicious. " The redhead's forehead pinched. "Sooner or later the dam will burst and noms and supers alike will be drawn into a war no one will win. "
"So who benefits the most from pitting Daemos and Templars against each other?" I asked. "Vampires like Maximus?"
Elyssa had an answer already on her tongue. "The vampires are opportunists. Maximus and his rogues are a side effect. But I can think of one person who clearly benefits from the chaos. Vadaemos. Both sides wanted him out of the picture, which means he benefits if the Templars and Daemos are too busy fighting each other to care about him. "
"It's simple then," I said. "Find Vadaemos, force him to 'fess up, and everything is peachy keen in the world again. " Not to mention Elyssa's father might give me a medal and ask me to marry his daughter. The simple thought of being accepted by him filled me with hope and terror.
"Would anyone else benefit from this deception?" Kassallandra said, crossing her arms. Doubt still lingered on her face, but she looked almost convinced.
Elyssa shrugged. "It's possible. Maybe Vadaemos had help. "
"At this point, I'm willing to believe just about anything. " I sighed. "With all the creepy golems, rogue vampires, hellhounds, and crazy relatives after me, I wouldn't be surprised if this isn't all a universal conspiracy to make my life miserable. " Vadaemos seemed like some historical figure from the distant past who had no connection with my present. And we were related. I wondered if Dad knew him. It made me feel gross. Like I was related to a war criminal.
Elyssa drew in a sharp breath.
"What is it?" I asked.
"I just realized something. "
"Elvis and aliens are behind everything, right?"
She snorted. "No. At least, I hope not. Your dad didn't marry just any old human woman. He married Alice Conroy, the daughter of the most powerful Arcane family. "
"House Assad was ready to go to war with the Arcanes over the insult," Kassallandra said. "A marriage between Daemos and human is abominable enough, but to do it in such a way as to defy a contractual marriage between houses further incensed both sides. "
"Your people blamed all Arcanes for the choice two people made?" I scratched my head. "That doesn't compute. "
"Daemos don't think the way we do," Elyssa said. "To them, any faction not of their kind is regarded as a single unit, with a ruling council and high families with great power. The Conroys might be viewed as the equivalent of a royal family for the Arcanes. "
I whistled. "Man. That's old school. "
"Our ancient beliefs and morality are not subject to whim," Kassallandra said in a cold voice. "I am much younger than most of my relatives and understand foreign societies better than those who have adhered to the same customs for centuries. This is why I did not order my hounds to tear you apart when you spoke directly to me or when you insist on calling my kind spawn. "
"How sweet," I said. "I'm glad you're such a rebel. "
Her eyes flared for an instant. "Suffice it to say, House Assad viewed the rebellion of Daevadius Slade as an insult from his house and the acceptance of Alice Conroy as interference by the Arcanes. We felt certain the Slades decided to widen their alliance and, using the Templars and the Arcanes as cudgels, planned to destroy us. "
"But the Conroys hate my dad, and the Slades sure as hell didn't want him marrying a human. I'm sure someone explained that to your people. "
Kassallandra's raised eyebrow and tight lips told me what she thought of that. "If the Slades and Conroys did not do everything in their power to stop it, they did nothing. "
I booted a rock near my foot and grunted. "Sounds like Vadaemos's plan is working even better than he thought. If Maximus and his clowns succeed in creating their vampire army, it might just be the end of the world. "
"You might be more right than you know," Elyssa said. "Vampires attacked an Arcane school in Dallas. Killed dozens of kids and teachers. The Red Syndicate, of course, denied all knowledge. "
"Probably because it was Maximus," I said. "What better way to keep the Reds off his back than if he makes it look like the Syndicate is declaring war on the Arcanes?"
A disturbed look passed across Kassallandra's face. "I almost wish I didn't know this," she said, her radiant confidence dimming in the light of these revelations.
"It's spiraling out of control," Elyssa said. "My god, when I put all these separate incidents together…" She put a hand to her lips, as though afraid to continue her line of thought.
I voiced what she hadn't. "What we have here is a systematic attack against the glue holding the Overworld Conclave together. It seems way too big for one person, even Vadaemos. " Solving the conspiracy behind Thunder Rock suddenly became a lot more complicated in my mind, like one of those corkboards with tons of pictures pinned to a map and a mile of red yarn connecting them all. Detective work definitely wasn't my forte. In fact, it was giving me a headache.
One thing was very clear, however. Vadaemos was like the center of a wheel with spokes radiating in all directions. He might be a real mastermind, or he might be just another pawn. Either he was the man with all the answers, or he knew who was. He was the reason Elyssa's father hated spawn. He might even be the reason my parents got married. If that were true—my breath caught in my chest at the possibilities. Having my family together was good for Vadaemos because it kept the spawn at odds with the Arcanes. Maybe he would help me bring my parents and sister back together. Outsmart the Conroys.
But if he helped me, it meant I couldn't bring him to Templar justice and exonerate all spawn-kind for Thunder Rock. Thomas Borathen would never accept me as his daughter's boyfriend—or anything more. It would mean never having a chance at an extended family. No meeting the weird aunt who likes to pinch cheeks, or having big family holiday dinners. No vampire hunting with the brothers, or defeating supernatural attempts at world domination with the father either. I tried to imagine Thomas patting me on the back and calling me son. Instead, all I could think about was how nasty he'd been to me the first time we met.
I would be willing to do almost anything if it meant I could ensure a future with Elyssa. Then again, I would do almost anything to make my family whole and rescue my mom and sister from the Conroys. There had to be a way to have both, damn it!
I leaned forward and stared into the murky waters of the lake. Something crinkled in my pocket. I reached inside, withdrew several folded sheets of paper, and unfolded them on my knee.
"Are those the pages Underborn gave you?" Elyssa said in a low voice, peering over at the wrinkled sheets.
I nodded. "Yeah. I was thinking about what he and Vallaena said. " Both the assassin and my dear aunt seemed convinced I was at the center of a prophecy, though for some reason, they referred to it as a foreseeance, claiming it wasn't the same thing. Auntie Vallaena wanted to take me into her protective custody so I could perform whatever dread duty lay in store for me, while Underborn seemed to think it had some connection to his investigations regarding Thunder Rock. I had yet to do more than glance at what he'd given me, but may
be, just maybe, these pages held an answer or two. Maybe Thunder Rock was the start of a conspiracy, or maybe not.
I shuffled through the pages. The first few bore a list of names, while the last few had what looked like several random sentences. Both Underborn and Vallaena claimed they had tried to locate a copy of the full text of Foreseeance 4311, the assigned name for this particular jumble of prophetic nonsense. Apparently, more than one person could see the same future events, but every recorded copy of 4311 had vanished, and many of the foreseers were either dead or had forgotten their own words by the time Underborn tracked them down. These sheets bore the withered fruits of his investigation.
"Who are these people?" Elyssa asked.
Kassallandra peered over my other shoulder, the curtain of her flaming hair dangling next to my face. A sweet odor like a field of flowers mingling with a barbed, burnt scent tickled my nose, reminding me of Vallaena for some reason. Something deep within me stirred, and I found myself turning ever so slightly to draw in another breath flavored with her scent. What was it about spawn women that tantalized my nose? Succubus pheromones?
Thankfully, neither female seemed to notice as they stared intently at the list, and I recovered, forcing my face away from the redheaded temptress. Many of the names on the list were crossed out in various colors of ink, the names and addresses still visible through the hasty slashes. Hand-written notes crowded the margins next to the names. Deceased and Missing were the two most-used words. Some names had a small number next to them and the numbers corresponded to numeric notations next to the sentences on the last page.
"Where did you get this?" Kassallandra asked, walking around to my other side and taking a seat next to me on the flat boulder.
"Underborn," I replied.
A look of mild amazement crossed her face. "You keep dangerous company. "
"My girlfriend is the most dangerous of all. "