I racked my brain but couldn't remember ever hearing of the place. "And where is this park?"
"Southern Colombia."
"As in the country in South America?"
He nodded. "The very same."
"How did you end up there?" Elyssa asked.
"A question I have wanted to answer ever since," Underborn replied. "It took me quite some time to return to the States. The last thing I remembered was the agony as a crawler tore my soul from my body. I managed to pull myself into the lake somehow, and, gripping a large rock, let it drag me into the cold dark waters. I was certain I would never see daylight again. But death was preferable to having my soul devoured. Imagine my surprise when I woke up in the jungle."
"They ambushed you with crawlers?" Elyssa looked horrified.
"And other various demon spawn," he said. "It was quite a slaughter. It's no secret the spawn despise the Templars due to their holy origins and would like nothing better than to see them gone. I'm sure Thomas saw this as an act of war but he's been unable to return fire thanks to the Conclave."
Elyssa's face paled. "What did they do to the soulless, the husks?"
Underborn shuddered and leaned back in his chair, arms crossed tight against his body. "I don't know if they ever did anything about them. Thunder Rock was under quarantine long before the incident ever occurred and it remains a restricted area to this day."
I knew for a fact anything that could make someone like Underborn shudder had to be bad. "What do you mean by soulless?"
"Soulless are the husks remaining after the soul is gone," he said. "In most cases, the bodies simply go inert, wither away, and die. In other cases, what's left of the person goes quite insane. The problem with soulless Templars, however, is the bodies will not die. They may wither and lose muscle to the point of being skeletal, but so long as they have the blessing of the Divinity, the bodies are immortal, save extreme injury like beheading or blood loss."
"The spawn didn't eat the bodies?" I asked, resisting the urge to gag.
"I'm sure they mutilated the bodies, but shadow spawn gain no sustenance from consuming flesh," Underborn said.
"Shadow spawn? I thought you said they were demon spawn."
He nodded. "Shadow spawn are insidious creatures which can be summoned much like hellhounds, although they cannot keep a physical shape in this realm for long, whereas hellhounds can remain indefinitely."
"Why was this Thunder Rock place quarantined in the first place?"
"If you know anything about The Grotto, you know it was constructed long ago by beings with a far greater understanding of magical theory than we now have." Underborn motioned at the room around us. "This place exists on Earth and yet it also exists somewhere else. We don't know how or why, just that it does. The Obsidian Arch and its relatives were probably built by the same beings. Thunder Rock was a granite quarry until the Overworld Conclave realized deep beneath the quarry was a site very similar to the Grotto. For some reason, however, this site was left unfinished by its creators. The closer the noms got to the source beneath the quarry, the more they noticed the strange side-effects in reality. So the Conclave purchased the land, placed it under quarantine, and had the Arcane Council erase the place from collective memory with a dense shroud of spells."
"And that made it a perfect hiding place for the rogue," Elyssa said as something like understanding dawned in her eyes. "And it's also what transported you to Colombia. You must have stumbled into one of the arches."
Underborn nodded. "I've theorized as much but the last time I tried to enter, the quarantine shroud physically kept me out. I suspect Thomas had the Arcane Council place a barrier spell on top of whatever already exists there."
"This is all fascinating," I said, because it really was, "but how is knowing any of this going to help me win the blessing of Elyssa's parents?"
"What matters is not so much what we think we know about Thunder Rock," Underborn said, "but what you must prove about it that may win Thomas Borathen to your cause."
"Prove? Prove what? Sounds to me like you're the one who needs to dig into the incident, not me."
"Thomas believes spawn ambushed him and his people at Thunder Rock. So long as he has this belief, you will never gain his trust."
"Brilliant observation. What am I supposed to do about something that happened when I was just a kid?"
Underborn smiled. "I believe spawn had little if nothing to do with Thunder Rock. I believe they were set up."
Chapter 29
"You really think the spawn were set up?" Elyssa asked, her voice laced with disbelief.
Underborn nodded. "Someone wanted the Templars to blame them. To create an even larger rift in their already poor relations with your comrades-in-arms."
"And Elyssa and I are supposed to miraculously prove this wonderful theory of yours?" I shook my head. "We can't even get in. You said yourself there's a barrier there now."
"And this is where your remarkable skill at finding allies comes in," Underborn said. "You have befriended sorcerers who could get through the barrier. Use your resources, Justin."
"Friends are not resources," I said.
"We are all resources. Your friends are there to help you. Ask them and they will join your cause, I'm sure of it."I shot a suspicious glare his way. "I get the feeling you're just using us to do your own dirty work."
"Oh, I won't deny it," Underborn said without a trace of shame. "I hope you succeed where I have thus far failed. But Thunder Rock can wait another day. First, you must take out the most pressing threats and then you can work your way toward peace with Thomas Borathen."
"Maybe we can wash your car and do your laundry while we're at it." I stood up, wanting nothing more than to get out of this crazy man's lair. "When will you remove the mark from my father?"
"I have no problems doing it right now, Mr. Slade. However, I do have a few minor conditions attached."
I shifted uneasily on my feet. "Conditions?"
"You may be wondering why I'm at your school."
"Because you're a creeper?"
He smiled. "No, because of your old friend, Maximus."
My face warmed at the mention of that vampiric douchebag. "What does he have to do with my school?"
"Miss Borathen is at the school for the same reason, whether she knows it or not."
It was Elyssa's turn to narrow her eyes and cast a doubting glare at the assassin. "How would you know about my assignment?"
He shrugged. "The same way I know about all sorts of things." He leaned forward on the table. "You were assigned to keep an eye out for vampires masquerading as students. What you didn't know was why they were doing such a thing."
"Maybe because fifty-year-old vampires who look like teens want to hook up with underage students." Her nose wrinkled in disgust. "Creepy pedophiles."
My nose wrinkled too. "Nasty! I'll bet fifty is a low estimate. Imagine dating some dude who's a hundred years older than you are."
Underborn folded his arms and leaned back. "Some vampires were, in fact, doing that very thing. But that's not the real reason they were there."
"Spit it out already," Elyssa said, eyes growing harder by the second.
"Maximus put them there. In fact, he has agents in several metro high schools, not just here, but all over the country."
Elyssa's mouth dropped open and her eyes grew distant. "He's recruiting from the student population?"
"Indeed."
"Maximus is a poser. A loser." I snorted. "He can't even turn people into vampires."
"The average nom has no idea of vampire capabilities, blood potency, or other items on the checklist required for a successful transformation," Underborn said with a shrug. "Surely, you see the scope of his crimes. Recruiting is expressly forbidden by the Red Syndicate and the Conclave. It is even rumored that his activities aren't limited to the United States. The scope of his operation reaches far beyond that which someone of his humble standing in the Red Syndicate should be able to achieve. It points to another hand. A higher hand, moving him, utilizing him as a chess piece."
I crossed my arms and narrowed my eyes. "And what does this have to do with me?"
"You are to return to school and root out the identity of his moles."
"Who do I look like, Encyclopedia Brown?"
"No. You look like Justin Slade, the young man Maximus hates with a passion because you stole your father back from him. He believes spawn blood is the answer to his impotency."
I creased my forehead. "What, he can't get it up?"
Underborn chuckled. "I refer to his inability to turn humans into vampires. Your father was his golden ticket. If anything will draw out his minions, it'll be his desire to capture you."
"Why don't you do it?"
"My goal is to stop Maximus for good. But first, I need to discover who is turning his recruits into vampires, because it certainly isn't him. Once I discover who it is, we can eradicate his support and bring Maximus's fledgling revolt to a stop before it further weakens the Red Syndicate."
"Again, I ask, why do I have to do it?"
"I believe my cover is compromised. Even worse, so is my organization. I may be dead in short order unless I root out the traitor. And you, Mr. Slade, need a test run. You bring me the identities of Maximus's recruiters at your school, and I'll rescind the hit on your father."
"You'll do it now, or you can forget my help."
He raised an eyebrow and studied me. "I have no problem with such an arrangement. Do bear in mind, however, I can imprint another mark should you renege on our agreement."
I slammed both fists on the table and had to bite back the howl of pain threatening to erupt. The table was hard as a rock. "You threaten to kill my father to test me and get me to come to you so I can be your errand boy, and then have the temerity to call this an agreement?" I'd been saving the word 'temerity' for quite a while and was happy for the chance to finally use it in a meaningful way. "You, sir, are an asshole of the first order and I hope the traitor in your organization rams a sharp object up your bunghole."