Fallen Angel of Mine by John Corwin Read Free Book Online Page B

attacked the Arcane
school just declared war on the Arcanes. Every major faction hates
and distrusts the other now, and some factions are at war within
themselves." I let my statement sauté in the juices of their lovely
brains for a moment before continuing with my Blue's Clues
moment.
    Elyssa lifted an eyebrow. "Didn't we
just figure all this out a minute ago?"
    "Exactly, but now I know how Mr. Gray
and his Ken dolls connect to this. If I'm the half-damned who can
reunite the Overworld, then whoever is behind this wants me
dead."
    "And you think Mr. Gray is working for
the bad guys."
    "He might be just another sock puppet,
or he might be a major player." If Thunder Rock was the genesis for
the chaos consuming the Overworld, finding the engineer behind it
might solve a lot of my problems. Or it might not. But where to
begin? I smacked the back of one hand into the other palm and got
up. My eyes met Elyssa's. "We've got to find Vadaemos. If we can
convince the spawn—"
    Kassallandra's gaze hardened to
stone.
    "Ugh, fine! If we can convince the
Daemos and Templars to make up, the Templars can concentrate their
full strength on Maximus and the spawn might even pitch in since
you once told me they're big on political stability. Your father
has to come to his senses, though, and let go of his
vendetta."
    Elyssa blanched. "That's a tall order,
Justin." She shook her head. "Even if we somehow find Vadaemos and
make him talk, there's no guarantee my father will do
that."
    I gripped her hands and drew her
closer. "We'll make him see sense." I let go and paced for a
moment. "Kassallandra said the Templars are harassing Daemos. Is
that true across the board? Are they close to real war?"
    "Like I said, in eastern Europe, we've
already had some real battles. In the States, it's mostly been
small skirmishes and political maneuvering." Elyssa twisted her
lips thoughtfully. The Synod asked my father to join them, but he
refused."
    "Because he hates politics?"
    "He despises them. He wants to fight,
not talk."
    "Maybe Kassallandra could help with the
Assads," I said. "After all, she has quite a gentle touch when it
comes to dealing with people."
    The redhead folded her arms and gave me
a cross look. "I can be quite diplomatic when the need
arises."
    I returned her glare. "Because sending
hellhounds after my dad was very diplomatic."
    Her eyes flared. "I was and still am
furious with your father for the dishonor he caused me and my
family. I wanted my hounds to bring him to me as a normal dog would
fetch a twig. I wanted him to feel as low as I felt upon learning
that he'd left me for a human."
    In a way, I could totally identify with
that anger. I certainly remembered how infuriated I'd been after
Katie spurned my lovesick attentions. Now I had all sorts of women
fawning over me all thanks to incubus pheromones. At least I knew
Elyssa had liked me even when I was still a chubby nerd. My thought
process took a detour back to one of the newer women in my life,
namely, the olive-skinned girl who was also apparently Nightliss,
the cute little black cat.
    I'd nearly forgotten the encounter,
what with all the post-traumatic golem stress and prophecy talk.
"Kassallandra, who was the girl you were speaking with in the
forest? Is she a felycan?" It was the only thing Nightliss could
be. Then again, Stacey was a felycan and she'd never had a clue
about Nightliss's true identity.
    Kassallandra sniffed. "A felycan? Don't
be silly."
    "In case you hadn't noticed, she turned
from a cat into a human."
    "You're talking about that dark-haired
girl I saw running away into the woods?" Elyssa said.
    I breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
Elyssa hadn't seen the kiss. If she had, a response wouldn't have
been long in coming. Elyssa wasn't one to bottle up her emotions.
"The girl was Nightliss."
    "What?" Elyssa said. "Nightliss is a
felycan too?" She shook her head. "That can't be right. Two female
felycans would never live together. That's not their