air."
"I have seen the internment camp inside the shield," another scout said. "Cephus captures nearly a hundred refugees a day, and the holding pen is packed with our people."
"How many soldiers guard each crystoid?" Elyssa asked. "Break it down into ground and air forces."
The scouts took turns marking the maps with a mind-numbing array of patrol routes, soldier counts, and more. I dozed off, only to be shaken awake by Elyssa some time later. The holographic map hovered in the air behind her, covered with more symbols and lines of attack than a football playbook.
I cracked a yawn and stood. "Figure it out?"
"I hope so." She tried to answer, but a yawn interrupted her. "I hope you enjoyed your catnap."
"How long was I out?"
"A couple of hours." Elyssa slipped her arm through mine and started walking. "Nailan and his scouts left to place crucibles so they'll be ready for the attack tomorrow night." She led me around a curve in the cave tunnel and into a corridor lined with doors.
"How do the numbers look?" I was almost afraid to ask.
"A hundred and three of us against seventy-two ground forces and somewhere between thirty and forty fliers."
"Yikes!" I felt her arm stiffen against mine. "I hope they take the bait."
Elyssa stopped in front of a slab of ultraviolet crystal and motioned at the small blue gem on the rock face next to it. "Do they use gems for everything here?"
"Pretty much." I zapped the gem with a small charge of Murk. The door misted and we stepped through it and into a nicely furnished room. Another jolt of Murk in the gem on the other side solidified the door. "Under normal circumstances, everyone wears a gem and it records everything around them and acts like a smartphone."
Elyssa frowned. "You can browse the web with it?"
"It's how all citizens download their angel porn." I flashed a grin. "Remember when I told you about my demon rampage my last time here?"
She nodded. "Yeah, you said it broadcast all across the city."
"On individual gems." I shivered. "It was like being on the nightly news."
"In other words, you got internet famous a few hours after arriving." She tutted. "You just had to make a name for yourself."
"More like infamous," I muttered.
Elyssa covered her mouth as another yawn broke free. "Where's the bed?"
I pointed out a slab of crystalized Murk in the corner. "Right there."
Her face fell. "It doesn't even have a mattress?"
"They don't use those here." I found a blue gem at the base of the bed and hoped it did what I thought it did. When activated, the Murk diffused into a white cottony cloud.
Elyssa's tentatively poked it with a finger and her eyes went wide. "It's so fluffy!"
"Try laying on it," I suggested.
She gingerly sat on the edge, as if afraid she'd fall through what looked like insubstantial mist. When it supported her, she lay back and moaned with pleasure. "This is the most comfortable bed I've ever been in. It's like sleeping on air."
I stripped off my Nightingale armor and slid into a pair of silky shorts left for me by our hosts. Elyssa slipped into a shimmering nighty.
"I miss my boyshorts," she said with a sigh.
I grinned. "You know, there's something I'm dying to try on this cloud bed."
Elyssa lowered a strap on the nightgown. "Oh? Did you want to jump up and down on it?"
"In a manner of speaking, yes." It turned out the cloud bed worked out very well for what I had in mind.
"I'll bet Shelton is cussing up a storm," I told Elyssa over breakfast the next morning. "We're supposed to attend his rehearsal dinner tonight."
"He shouldn't have scheduled it the day before an interdimensional covert operation," she replied as she peeled open a glurk. "I'm sure he'll understand."
"Yeah," I replied half-heartedly. "I really hate to miss it." Of course nothing had gone to plan, and instead of destroying the crystoid and escaping back through the sky portal in under two hours, we were stranded with our backs to the wall.
Elyssa's forehead pinched into
"I have seen the internment camp inside the shield," another scout said. "Cephus captures nearly a hundred refugees a day, and the holding pen is packed with our people."
"How many soldiers guard each crystoid?" Elyssa asked. "Break it down into ground and air forces."
The scouts took turns marking the maps with a mind-numbing array of patrol routes, soldier counts, and more. I dozed off, only to be shaken awake by Elyssa some time later. The holographic map hovered in the air behind her, covered with more symbols and lines of attack than a football playbook.
I cracked a yawn and stood. "Figure it out?"
"I hope so." She tried to answer, but a yawn interrupted her. "I hope you enjoyed your catnap."
"How long was I out?"
"A couple of hours." Elyssa slipped her arm through mine and started walking. "Nailan and his scouts left to place crucibles so they'll be ready for the attack tomorrow night." She led me around a curve in the cave tunnel and into a corridor lined with doors.
"How do the numbers look?" I was almost afraid to ask.
"A hundred and three of us against seventy-two ground forces and somewhere between thirty and forty fliers."
"Yikes!" I felt her arm stiffen against mine. "I hope they take the bait."
Elyssa stopped in front of a slab of ultraviolet crystal and motioned at the small blue gem on the rock face next to it. "Do they use gems for everything here?"
"Pretty much." I zapped the gem with a small charge of Murk. The door misted and we stepped through it and into a nicely furnished room. Another jolt of Murk in the gem on the other side solidified the door. "Under normal circumstances, everyone wears a gem and it records everything around them and acts like a smartphone."
Elyssa frowned. "You can browse the web with it?"
"It's how all citizens download their angel porn." I flashed a grin. "Remember when I told you about my demon rampage my last time here?"
She nodded. "Yeah, you said it broadcast all across the city."
"On individual gems." I shivered. "It was like being on the nightly news."
"In other words, you got internet famous a few hours after arriving." She tutted. "You just had to make a name for yourself."
"More like infamous," I muttered.
Elyssa covered her mouth as another yawn broke free. "Where's the bed?"
I pointed out a slab of crystalized Murk in the corner. "Right there."
Her face fell. "It doesn't even have a mattress?"
"They don't use those here." I found a blue gem at the base of the bed and hoped it did what I thought it did. When activated, the Murk diffused into a white cottony cloud.
Elyssa's tentatively poked it with a finger and her eyes went wide. "It's so fluffy!"
"Try laying on it," I suggested.
She gingerly sat on the edge, as if afraid she'd fall through what looked like insubstantial mist. When it supported her, she lay back and moaned with pleasure. "This is the most comfortable bed I've ever been in. It's like sleeping on air."
I stripped off my Nightingale armor and slid into a pair of silky shorts left for me by our hosts. Elyssa slipped into a shimmering nighty.
"I miss my boyshorts," she said with a sigh.
I grinned. "You know, there's something I'm dying to try on this cloud bed."
Elyssa lowered a strap on the nightgown. "Oh? Did you want to jump up and down on it?"
"In a manner of speaking, yes." It turned out the cloud bed worked out very well for what I had in mind.
"I'll bet Shelton is cussing up a storm," I told Elyssa over breakfast the next morning. "We're supposed to attend his rehearsal dinner tonight."
"He shouldn't have scheduled it the day before an interdimensional covert operation," she replied as she peeled open a glurk. "I'm sure he'll understand."
"Yeah," I replied half-heartedly. "I really hate to miss it." Of course nothing had gone to plan, and instead of destroying the crystoid and escaping back through the sky portal in under two hours, we were stranded with our backs to the wall.
Elyssa's forehead pinched into
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