“Well, we’re supplying all the weres, elves and goblins with Op 6s and 7s,” Erica’s sing-song voice rang out. “We debated doing the same for the vampires, but concluded it would ultimately be a waste of time since they can retain their speed as well as their strength in the Netherworld.”
“Yep,” Knight said as he nodded. “All creatures will become stronger in the Netherworld, but don’t forget the Netherworld Guard is about as strong as they get.”
“I know,” Erica answered, with an inflection that said she didn’t appreciate lectures.
“What’s the count so far?” Knight asked. He depressed the accelerator and took a right on a street whose sign was obscured by a nearby tree, maybe a poplar or something of that sort.
I heard the sound of shuffling paper coming through the Bluetooth and guessed Erica was searching through her notes for an answer to Knight’s question. “Um, let’s see … our top Resistance soldiers number roughly about three hundred. Last I heard from Fagan, he managed to draft another two hundred able-bodied civilians. So that puts us at around five hundred in total.” She took a breath. “Not too bad considering you only gave us the go-ahead yesterday.”
“Not too bad,” Knight agreed, but I couldn’t read his expression to detect whether he was pleased with the information or not. “At last tally, the Netherworld Guard numbered well into the upper four hundreds, which tells me this will be a difficult battle for us to win.”
“But we can win it,” Erica interjected quickly. “We outnumber the Guard when you look at the totals. Besides, the Netherworld civilians won’t fight so that’s another plus on our side.”
Knight cocked his head and I could see the disappointment in his eyes. “I guess it remains to be seen.”
“So what does that mean?” Erica asked, sounding somewhat crestfallen. “If you don’t think our odds are good, we shouldn’t even try to invade the Netherworld.”
Knight sighed. “I didn’t say the odds are against us. I just meant it’s not going to be any picnic.” She didn’t say anything more so Knight continued. “Good job with everything, Erica. Check in with me when you have more information.”
“Will do, hot stuff.”
He chuckled as he pressed a button on the steering wheel, thereby disconnecting the call. The resulting quiet became pervasive, but since Knight seemed absorbed in his own thoughts, I didn’t think I should interrupt him with mine. Once he started to shake his head though, my curiosity to know what he was thinking grew impossible to subdue.
“What are your thoughts?” I asked, almost afraid for his answer. I didn’t want to hear him say we should abandon our plan, or abort our mission to dethrone my father.
He tilted his head as if he were pondering my question and took a few seconds to respond. “Our soldiers are just as capable as the Netherworld Guard, but we have much smaller numbers.”
“But what about the soldiers Fagan drafted?”
He nodded halfheartedly. “Depending on what types of creatures they are, that could be meaningless. If they possess their own magic, that’s great; but if we’re talking about a bunch of inexperienced, eighteen-year-old wolves, that’s something entirely different.” As he glanced over at me, he reached for his cell phone, which lay in the cubby hole beneath the CD player. “Do me a favor? Text Fagan and ask him what the breakdown of all the creatures that he drafted is, will you?”
I nodded and took his phone, doing as he instructed. “If he gives you an answer you don’t like, what will that mean?”
“It won’t mean much of anything. We’ve set our wheels in motion and we need to act soon. But, at the same time, I need to know what my team is comprised of so I can make sure I prepare them as best as I know how.”
I finished texting Fagan and put the phone back into the cubby as an idea occurred to me. “Do you really think we need to regard this as an invasion?” I asked, turning to face him.
He eyed me quickly before returning his gaze to the road. We were on a single, paved lane in the middle of nowhere, with what looked like endless miles of verdant farmland on either side of us. A few cows and sheep punctuated the otherwise monotonous green.
“Is that a rhetorical question?” he asked.
“No,” I quickly responded just as Knight’s phone began to beep. I picked it up and recognized Fagan’s name on the screen. “Vamps, warlocks, witches and wolves,” I read Fagan’s text out loud.
Knight shrugged. “I guess that will do.”
“Okay, going back to our previous conversation,” I started as I put the phone back in its cubby. “Just hear me out for a second.” I took a big breath, hoping the thoughts circling through my head would make sense when put into words. “The Netherworld Guard answers to my father, right?”
“Yes.”
“And from my understanding, it seems the civilians of the Netherworld don’t intend to fight either for or against my father; but at the same time, they aren’t exactly thrilled with having him as the Head of the Netherworld, right?”
“Yes, most won’t fight. But whether or not they would like to see your father deposed? That’s anyone’s guess.”
“Okay, so my point is, why risk the safety of our soldiers and civilians, when all it really takes is the removal of my father from his position as Head of the Netherworld?”
Knight glanced over at me, furrowing his brows. “You mean someone to assassinate him?”
I nodded. “That’s exactly what I mean. If we successfully dethrone him, who is next in line to command the Netherworld Guard? And furthermore, would whoever is next in line try to quash us?” I didn’t wait for him to respond. “Who is second in command?”
Knight narrowed his eyes as if he weren’t following me, or didn’t think I was on the right track. “Caressa is second in the hierarchy, but that’s only for show. As to how much power she actually wields … she really has none.”
“But that’s only because my father won’t allow her to fulfill her role in the hierarchy.” I cleared my throat, excited by the fact that I thought I had a very good point. “Think of it like this, if my father’s office is usurped, the Netherworld population will expect Caressa to assume power, right?”
“Yeah, I guess so. I mean, that’s how it’s set up.”
“So Caressa steps in, and since she abhors everything my father represents, she obviously won’t allow his legacy to continue.”
Knight nodded, but his eyes remained narrowed, which meant he wasn’t completely in accordance with the idea. “It makes a lot of sense in theory. In practice, however, there would be a whole lot of potion smugglers and thugs just chomping at the bit to overtake Caressa and slip into your father’s place, which puts Caressa’s life in imminent danger …”
“So we beef up the Netherworld Guard to protect her.”
He shook his head. “Half, if not most, of them are already involved in the potion smuggling rings.”
“Then we throw them in jail and protect her with our own soldiers.”
“Again, it sounds good in theory.”
“Why not in practice?” I interrupted snidely. To me, the answer was so crystal clear, he was just being pig-headed by refusing to try it my way.
He frowned. “First of all, how are we going to find your father?” He didn’t wait for a response but quickly continued while barely glancing at me. “It’s not like he’s going to be sitting around, waiting for us to come for him. Second, wherever he is, he’s definitely surrounded by the best guards. It won’t be as simple as just showing up and pointing a gun at him.”
I nodded, having already considered this point. “What if we create a diversion?”
“How so?”
I shrugged. “First off, my father has no clue as to when we’re going to act, right?”
“Yeah, but now that Bram and Christina are missing, he’ll no doubt figure we’re going to act soon, so we can’t entirely rely on the advantage of surprise.”
“Good point, but I think my idea still could fly.?
?? I took a breath and swiveled my entire body around to face him, pulling the seatbelt out to give me more space. “Let’s say we create some sort of diversion at one or more of the portals that currently exists between here and the Netherworld—like the main one at the airport. What’s the first thing that would happen?”
“You got me.”
I frowned. I was well aware that he knew where my idea was going, but the anal manager in him insisted that I spell it out detail by detail. “Obviously, Melchior would send the Netherworld Guard to investigate.”
Knight nodded and offered me an encouraging smile, even though his eyes quickly dropped to my bustline.
“Pay attention!”
He chuckled. “Okay! Yes, you’re right, Melchior would probably send the Guard, but he wouldn’t send all of them.”
I nodded, having already assumed that much. “Of course, he wouldn’t send all of them. But the goal of the exercise is to reduce their numbers and give us a better chance against them, right?”
“Get to your point, Dulce.”
“My point is: if we create a diversion and get maybe a third or so of the Guard involved in it, we can use Bram’s portal ripper to create entry points wherever we need them. Then we can use the element of surprise to our distinct advantage.”
Knight was quiet for a few seconds. I could see the wheels spinning in his mind. Finally, he turned to face me. “There are some holes.”
“Okay, lay them on me.”
“The biggest obstacle is that we don’t know exactly where Melchior is. It will only be a matter of time before any secret entry points that we create with Bram’s portal ripper are discovered, which would put us on a huge time crunch.” He was quiet for a couple more seconds. “The only way your plan could work is if we know where Melchior is before we go in. Then we simply cut a portal into the Netherworld, take him out, and be done with it.” He cleared his throat and looked over at me. “But I’m sure you’ll agree, that’s a huge ‘if.’”
I nodded. “That’s where Quillan comes in.”
“How?” he asked, his eyes narrowing at the mention of Quill.
“He knows precisely where Melchior’s homes are, as well as his hangouts, and what’s more, Quill knows how Melchior thinks.”
Knight shook his head. “Your father won’t be that stupid. Whatever Quill knew has already been invalidated by your father. I’m sure he realizes that Quill is no longer a trustworthy ally.”
“My father still doesn’t know Quill joined our side,” I argued. “All he knows is that Quill got arrested during the skirmish with his men when you busted the Draoidheil delivery.” I took a breath. “That’s it.”
“Don’t you think Quill’s loyalty would have been one of the first questions your father demanded of Christina when she was on the Blueliss?” Knight asked, frowning at me.
“We don’t know that for sure,” I said, even though I had to admit (if only to myself) that Knight did make a pretty good point.
“The point is that your father makes it his business not to trust anyone, which is the primary reason why he’s stayed in business for so long.” He shook his head. “And besides, he’s also well aware that Quillan is in love with you. Because of that alone, he knows that Quillan’s ties to you are stronger than they are to him.”
I shook my head with a sigh, feeling frustration all the way down to my toes. “Quill is not in love with me.”
Knight eyed me with raised eyebrows. “Keep telling yourself that.” He faced forward again just as a sucking sound interrupted the air, shaking the Suburban as if we’d just driven over a cattle grate. It was the sure sign that we’d just traversed another portal.
“Where are we going, anyway?” I asked, frowning because I was annoyed he still didn’t see the beauty in my plan. Sometimes he was just so pig-headed.
Knight smiled at me. “That’s for me to know and you to find out, my sexy, love kitten.”
“Really?” I asked, cringing at the appellation.
With another quick smile, Knight sighed. “Going back to our conversation: your father isn’t an idiot and creating a plan in which you must rely on his trust in Quillan won’t fly.”
I nodded, since I knew he had a point—about Quillan’s loyalty, that is, not about Quill being in love with me. “Okay, what about Bram?”
“What about Bram?”
I shrugged. “Maybe Bram knows something about my father’s whereabouts.”
“What makes you think Bram would have that information?”
“Because Bram knows a lot more than he ever lets on. He gave us the portal ripper, and he knew about my father forcing Christina to confess our secrets. Bram is our wild card.”
“I won’t be placing any bets on him.”
Just as I was about to respond, Bram’s phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out and glanced at the caller ID, which said “Private Caller.”
“Is that Bram’s phone?” Knight asked, regarding it with disdain.
“Yeah, I wonder who’s calling,” I answered, unable to mask the surprise in my voice. Who would be calling and why? I had no clue. The phone rang again, and after wondering if it might be Bram, I decided to answer it. “Hello?”
“Guten morgen, Sweet,” Bram’s English accent purred into the receiver.
“What are you doing awake?” I asked immediately with a quick glance up at the sky. Although it was still early morning, and the sun had not quite risen to the center of the sky, it was still undeniably daytime.
“I am in the Netherworld, my dear, where I do not fear any hour of the day.”
“You’re in the Netherworld?!” I repeated incredulously. Knight speared me with a pointed expression, but I refused to acknowledge him, since it was more than obvious that Knight wanted nothing to do with Bram. But what he didn’t realize was that Bram was the answer to my plan and I needed him. Scratch that, we needed him.
“What the hell is he doing in the Netherworld?” Knight demanded.
“What are you doing in the Netherworld, Bram?” I asked, suddenly sincerely worried for his well-being. “Are you in trouble?” I took a breath. “Are you sure it’s safe to talk? What phone are you calling me from?”
Bram chuckled for a few seconds, sounding as if he had all the time in the world. “I appreciate your concern, my pet. As to your questions, no, I am not in trouble. And, yes, I am quite certain the line is safe.”
“What are you doing in the Netherworld?” I asked finally, my tone of voice sounding harsher because I wasn’t in the mood to play detective.
“I have more information for you, my dear,” the vampire responded. “I am contacting you to request the privilege of your presence this evening so I can reveal my latest findings to you.”
“Tonight?” I repeated. This was my last night to spend with Knight before we invaded the Netherworld. Was it too much to hope for one last romantic evening?
“What the hell does he want?” Knight commanded.
“Just a minute, Bram,” I said, muffling the receiver in my shirt as I turned to face Knight. “He says he has more information for me and asked me to have dinner with him tonight.”
“Like hell you’re going to have dinner with him again,” Knight said, with a tight jaw and rage in his eyes. “Whatever he has to tell us, he can tell us right now over the phone. I’m sick to death of playing by his rules.”
I shook my head. “You know he will only ignore our demands, Knight. If we want information from him, we have to play by his rules.”
Knight took a deep breath. “Give me the phone.”
Assuming I had no choice, I handed the phone to Knight and watched his whole demeanor stiffen as he prepared his side of the argument that was destined to ensue. “What game are you playing, Bram?” he asked in an acid tone.
“Ah, my brutish friend,” I heard Bram reply. “It surprises me to hear your voice when I thought the lovely fairy was speaking to me.”
“Cut the crap. What information do you have for us?”
Knight demanded.
I could hear Bram chuckling. “Forgive me, but I have no information for you.”
“Yeah, that’s what I figured. Do us both a favor and …”
“I repeat that I have information for my sweet, which will no doubt benefit The Resistance.” After a few moments of silence, he added, “However, I do have something to say to you. Your fair leader has been purged from the toxic effects of the Blueliss and now wishes to reunite with you.”
At the mention of Christina, I realized Bram was firmly on the road to getting his way. “Give me the phone, Knight,” I said with steely resolve. “We’re going to play this his way.”
Knight said nothing as he passed the phone to me. In reading his frown and furrowed brows, it was pretty apparent he also realized Bram had won, at least, for now anyway.
“You say the kindest things, Sweet,” Bram said as soon I held the phone up to my ear.
“Where are we meeting and what time?” I asked just as something else occurred to me. “And you better not expect me to come to the Netherworld.”
Bram chuckled again. “Of course not, Sweet, of course not. I realize the Netherworld is not yet a safe destination for you. I shall arrive to pick you up at eight o’clock.”
“I don’t even know where we’re going so how will you?”
“I can always track my mobile phone, in case you forgot,” Bram responded.
There was a sudden feeling of concern that welled up within me at his words. Bram could track us anywhere as long as I carried his phone …
If Bram or Melchior wanted you dead, you would already be dead, I reminded myself. Bram’s partnership with your father is history, and he’s trying to help you now. You have to trust him.
“Eight tonight,” I repeated, suffering pangs of angst in my gut.
###
I met Bram at exactly eight p.m. in the lobby of the hotel Knight booked for us. After traveling through two more portals, we arrived in Lucerne, Switzerland. We checked into the Hotel Des Balances which looked like something out of a period French movie. The hotel was beautifully located right on the river, Reuss. Knight reserved one of the suites, which was an enormous room, with a living room area off to one side. The other half of the room was dominated by a king-sized bed in the center, surrounded on three sides with a chiffon curtain. Adjacent to the bed stood a lone bathtub, along with a bottle of champagne chilling in a stand beside it. The room boasted views of the ancient city from one window, and the river from the balcony.