"Mr. Gray knows about Nightliss?" My insides went cold. Cinder's creator was—as far as I knew—in league with Daelissa. As Ivy had put it, a Brightling.
"I do not know a Mr. Gray. From what little I can recover of my previous instructions, Nightliss is a person of great interest. This revelation led to a chain of thought which revealed even more." Cinder tilted his head slightly. "You are a person of great interest to my creator as well, Justin."
Elyssa jumped in front of me, arms splayed protectively. "I knew keeping him around wasn't a good idea. How long until you act on those instructions, golem?"
The golem regarded her in silence for a moment, then said, "I have no intention of acting on any prior directives. Justin saved my spark, my continued existence. There is no higher price to repay."
"It's hard to believe that little light is life." Katie said.
"It's not life. It's what animates these things," Elyssa said. "Sometimes it's in the chest. Sometimes, the head. Disconnect the spark from the body, and they drop dead." She took a step toward him. "It may look more lifelike than any golem I've ever seen, but it's still just an inanimate object. I say we end this charade now before Frankenstein's monster turns on us. For all we know, he's a spy."
"Leave him alone." I grabbed Elyssa's arm and pulled her back. "He hasn't done anything to show he's a danger."
My girlfriend's blazing eyes turned on me. "You're taking sides with that thing over me?"
I took an involuntary step back, hands held up protectively. "No. But I know how it is to be judged and found guilty just because of who and what I am. Things happen for a reason."
She took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of her nose and closing her eyes. "I know. I'm sorry. But we're on a timer, Justin. You are dying, minute-by-minute, and diversions like this—this thing are only getting in our way."
"Perhaps this is one of those emotional girlfriend things you spoke of earlier," Cinder said, his voice as calm and polite as if Elyssa hadn't just discussed destroying him. "Although, I am unsure if it is awakening emotions in me."
"I'll show you emotions," Elyssa said, going for her sword.
"Whoa!" I shouted, taking her arm. "Remember the whole not killing thing we just talked about?"
"I believe I may be of help," the golem continued, gray eyes studying Elyssa. "Before my awakening, I believe my mind was part of a collective consciousness shared by me and those of my kind. We were tracking the movements of this being." He waved away the photograph and replaced it with an overhead map of the world. His finger touched various locations around the globe, including one in Atlanta and southern Colombia.
"These are places she's been seen?"
"With some frequency, though most sightings came here." He pointed to Atlanta.
"Because of me?" I asked. "Was she watching me?"
"More specifically, she visited the abandoned granite quarry called Thunder Rock." The golem zoomed in on the area.
"Where did she go in Colombia?"
"The dead city, El Dorado."
Elyssa pinched the image, zooming it back out to the world map. "And these other places?" She pointed to the red dots. "Are they abandoned angel relics, too?"
"They are uninhabited," Cinder said. "Interdicted by the Arcane Council, according to the records."
"I really don't want to go back to Thunder Rock," I said with a shudder. It hadn't been so long ago I'd been lost there, nearly devoured by cherubs, and shot through a series of malfunctioning Obsidian Arches, only to end up in El Dorado where shadow people had tried to suck me dry.
"So it's possible we could find her there," Elyssa said.
Cinder gave a stiff nod, as if he weren't accustomed to using body language for expression. "My memories are not complete. Only shards remain, though more may come back to me with proper triggers. Still, Thunder Rock appears to be a place of some significance for the…angel."
I raised an eyebrow at the uncertainty in his otherwise calm voice. "I don't have time to sit around Thunder Rock, hoping that Nightliss will show up."
A thud sounded against the door.
Elyssa groaned. "Great. Probably Fausta. My father is already mobilizing forces for an assault on Maximus in Atlanta." She swung open the door and gasped.
A petite woman with olive skin and dark hair lay outside the door, her skin cut and bruised in so many places, it looked like she'd been beaten and left for dead. Elyssa pulled the hair away to reveal a bloodied face with several deep cuts. Even so, I recognized her instantly.
"Nightliss!" I dropped to her side. "Oh, god, what happened to her?"
"I'll get Meghan," Katie said, gingerly stepping over the prostrate angel and running toward the infirmary.
I tore the sheets off the bed and covered it with towels. Elyssa set Nightliss down atop them. Kneeling by her side, I took the angel's hand and pressed a palm to her forehead. She felt cool. I put an ear to her mouth and detected the barest hint of breath.
"Nightliss?" I said. "Can you hear me?"
She didn't even twitch.
Meghan showed up a moment later, a white bag decorated with purple flowers in one hand. "Clear away from her," she commanded, drawing her wand and running it along the angel's still form. Wisps of smoky vapor drifted from her body, forming a ghostly outline. Some of the vapors were green. Most were orange or red.
The healer shook her head. "I don't even know how she's still alive." She reached in her bag and withdrew a mason jar filled with glowing white light. "Justin, you'd better back further away. This is soul essence. I don't want you accidentally siphoning any away."
Too stunned by the oddity of soul essence in a jar to say anything, I backed all the way into the kitchen and watched as Meghan unscrewed the lid and held it beneath Nightliss's nose. My incubus senses tingled. I felt the demonic part of me strain against my control as the halo of light drifted toward the angel's face like a lazy snowflake.
Nightliss groaned. Her eyelids fluttered. Her chest heaved, and she took in a deep breath. The light swirled into her mouth, unwinding like a ball of yarn until the last wisp vanished. The angel coughed. Black fluid bubbled from her mouth. Meghan turned her over, holding the other woman's head over the edge of the bed. Nightliss convulsed. A guttural noise started deep in her throat, a gagging, choking sound. More of the dark liquid dribbled onto the tiled floor.
Katie and Elyssa jumped back, their mouths clenched with disgust.
Meghan ran her wand up the angel's back, chanting under her breath. The wand glowed brighter and brighter until, with one gut-wrenching convulsion, Nightliss expelled a gout of oily black goop. It splattered all over the place, soaking into the bed mattress and Meghan's plain blue dress.
Forget cleaning the sheets. Fausta was going to need a new mattress.
Seemingly oblivious to the foul-smelling fluid, Meghan took a towel and wiped Nightliss's mouth and face with it before turning the angel back down on the bed.
"What," said Katie, pinching her nose, "is that stuff?"
Meghan shook her head. "I have no idea." She looked at me. "Is there a bucket in the kitchen somewhere?"
I looked under the sink and found a plastic trash can. Pulled the bag out of it and handed it to the Arcane. She muttered an incantation, twirling the wand in a tight circle. The dark fluid whirled, forming a funnel. Droplets of it struggled free of the mattress, towels, and Meghan's clothes. She altered the pattern of her wand. The liquid formed a floating sphere, shimmering in the incandescent light. I picked up the trash can, enclosing the liquid in it.
Meghan lowered her wand, and wiped beaded sweat from her forehead. "Don't dump that down the sink until we figure out what it is."
I nodded and put a lid over it.
"Will she survive?" Cinder said, his eyes never leaving Nightliss.
"I believe she has a slim—" Meghan broke off as Nightliss coughed, eyes blinking open.
"Jared?" the angel said, eyelids drooping. "Please don't leave me." She drifted asleep, breathing easy.
"I think I'll upgrade her chances from slim to good," Meghan said after the surprise faded from her face.
"Who's Jared?" I asked.
Elyssa smiled and crossed her arms. "I hope you don't expect an answer to that."
"Yeah, but—"
My girlfriend crossed the room in a blur. Gripped me in a fierce hug. Tears trickled down her cheeks. "Nightliss is going to be okay. You're going to be okay."
Warmth spread from the very center of my being as my thoughts shifted back to the impending doom infecting my blood. "Yeah." I grinned. "Maybe you're right." Provided Nightliss can actually cure me. The joy faded at the possible reality she may not. As if to remind me, an icy cold ache dug deep into my calf muscle, causing me to wince.
Meghan went into the kitchen and poured a cup of water from the faucet. Dark circles underscored her eyes. For the first time, I realized how haggard she looked.
"Are you okay, Meghan?" I asked.
She offered a wan smile. "Just exhausted. We've been treating casualties non-stop since yesterday. Commander Salazar requested Healers from other legions, so hopefully we'll have a break soon." Her gaze shifted to Nightliss. "Let her rest. Whatever you do, don't try to wake her." She finished her water and headed for the door. "I'll return to check on her soon."
"How's Adam?" I asked.
She turned from the door, worry lines in her brow deepening. "He hasn't left Felicia's side." A tear glistened in the corner of her eye. "Will you talk to him, Justin? Make him see it's not his fault?"
"Sure," I said, my throat suddenly dry. I couldn't help but feel I was to blame. Sure, it was irrational. Following Felicia's instructions had seemed the smart thing to do at the time. But hindsight dug into my gut with a vicious twist, showing me how I could have prevented this outcome.
