I rejoined Elyssa at the door.
"What was that about?" she asked.
"Uh, you know. He wished us good luck and all that jazz." I hurried through the door.
Elyssa tugged on my arm. "How about you tell me what he really said before I jerk your arm out of the socket?"
I looked up the ramp where the rest of our group was already exiting and sighed. "He told me the Arcanes figured out how to block the cursed bullets and are upgrading the Nightingale armor. He wants me to make sure we all grab a set before embarking on anything crazy."
"Figures," she said, her lips curving into a pleased smile. "Overprotective to the core."
"And you're eating it up."
She pinched her brow. "After years of him treating me like nothing more than a tool to be honed and shaped for the Templars? Hell yeah. It's about time he started treating me like a daughter."
I squeezed her hand and walked up the ramp toward daylight. "All my life I thought I had the perfect family." My heart sagged. "And in the space of a month, the fantasy shattered. My mom left me to be with Ivy and her family. My dad is marrying a succubus. My sister thinks I'm evil." I forced a smile and looked at Elyssa. "Your family was never close. Your dad sounds like he's always been the commander in chief of the family while the rest of you were trained like monkeys. But now you have a chance. Maybe you'll get the great family after all."
Elyssa stopped and pressed a hand to my cheek. "Oh, Justin, I'm sorry. Even if my family hasn't always been the greatest, I grew up with great brothers." She squeezed her eyes shut. "Jack and Michael were always there for me when my parents weren't." She opened her eyes, wiped a tear away. "We have each other now. We have our own future to make."
I kissed her softly on the lips and smiled. "I know, babe. I just wish—I wish we could have it all. Great families. Huge gatherings for the holidays. No insane angels threatening to invade the world."
She laughed. "One step at a time, honey boo-bear." She pecked me on the nose and we resumed our climb into the light.
We emerged in an area devoid of graves. I looked around the area and spotted Jack's grave in the distance. The large Conroy headstone loomed not far behind it. This insane roller coaster ride had started here. My sister had contacted me here. Deep down, a question still burned in my guts.
Had Ivy been the one to lie about Maximus kidnapping her? Had she sent me into Maximus's ambush?
Another figure emerged from the tunnel. Cinder, still filthy, approached. "I hope it is okay for me to come with you, Justin."
I nodded. "Until the bitter end, buddy."
He tilted his head. "Buddy? Does this mean you consider me a friend?"
A wince almost crossed my face before I stiffened my expression. This man—this thing was a golem. It wasn't even alive. And here I was acting like it was just one of the gang. It wasn't a friend. It wasn't an enemy. It was just a construct of metal and fake flesh, nothing more.
Katie stepped forward and took Cinder's hand. "You're my friend. You kept me safe after we busted out of Maximus's place. You dug that tunnel all the way from one end of the planet to the other so we could get here."
Bella took his other hand. "You were created a slave to serve the purpose of an evil master. Somehow, you've thrown off those chains and taken control of your own destiny, Cinder. You may also call me friend."
They were right. I knew it. More importantly, I felt it. This being had no choice in his creation, no choice in who or what he was. What mattered was what he did now, and as far as I was concerned, he was doing the right thing. I patted him on the shoulder, and nodded. "Yes, Cinder. You're my friend."
Elyssa raised an eyebrow, but apparently wasn't quite ready to give the golem a friendship bracelet just yet.
Cinder nodded solemnly, though he probably didn't know any other way to nod. "I am grateful for the friendship you have entrusted me with, Katie, Bella, and Justin. If it is within my abilities, I will not let you down."
Templars began emerging from the tunnel in single file. People at a nearby funeral looked our way, confusion plain on their faces as more and more figures poured from the tunnel.
We made our way to the cemetery exit where a convoy of Templar vehicles waited. I surveyed the nearby streets and buildings, body tensed in anticipation of a fireball and a horde of vampires. Even when nothing happened, I didn't relax until the driver pulled onto the road and headed out. The others looked tense as well, crowded as we were into the back of a large SUV.
"Well, I guess Daelissa doesn't know about our new mode of transport," Bella said, offering a smile.
"My father asked us to hand over the key and the map," Elyssa said.
Alarmed looks met her statement.
"Obviously, I told him no."
"And he didn't argue?" I asked, surprised.
"Oh, he argued, alright. But I told him Nightliss made it clear Justin was supposed to use them."
My forehead went tight. "She didn't say that."
Elyssa grinned. "I know that. But he doesn't."
"Elyssa," Bella said in a scolding tone. "Lying to your father is not nice."
"Oh, give me a break," Elyssa said, rolling her eyes. "After all he's done to me, he deserved it."
Bella's eyes twinkled. "I have the feeling this is just the beginning of your revenge on that poor man."
I checked my phone. It was three in the afternoon the week before Christmas. I could hardly believe how little it felt like the holidays to me. Everyone else would be doing last-minute shopping and preparing to put on the ugliest sweater in their wardrobe for a special visit to a relative. I wondered if the Conroys or the Slades celebrated Christmas. It was almost laughable to think of demon spawn or my evil grandparents putting up a tree and festive lights in their yards.
I chuckled as another thought occurred to me.
"What is it?" Elyssa asked, nudging me in the ribs.
"Every time this year, me, Harry, and Mark used to get together for a huge sci-fi marathon. We'd drink tons of hot chocolate and eat obscene amounts of candy."
Elyssa's mouth twisted sideways. "Do I even want to know what you watched?"
"Now that I think about it, all that make-believe stuff on T.V. seems pretty normal compared to my reality."
She laughed.
I shook my head. "It was so stupid, in retrospect, but I guess I kinda miss it."
"You miss your nerd friends, and running around with a foam sword?" Elyssa said, a smirk still on her face.
I nodded. "Remember the time you joined us and kicked ass?"
"You were into LARPing?" Adam said from behind.
"What in the world is a LARP?" Meghan asked.
Now they were into my area of expertise. "Live action role playing." I turned my head to face them. "We dressed up like fantasy creatures and beat the crap out of each other with foam swords and shields."
Adam nodded. "I used to LARP myself, back before my parents…" He looked out the window. "It was fun just being a kid. Not a care in the world."
My childhood was so far back in the rear-view mirror, it wasn't even funny.
The SUV pulled up a long driveway and stopped at The Ranch. I stepped outside and looked at the horses grazing in the pastures nearby. I briefly wondered if they bred unicorns here, too. Of course, it was all a cover to give the Templars a base of operations in a sprawling metropolis. My childhood home wasn't far from here—or at least what was left of it. Since the day hellhounds had chased me from it, I hadn't returned to see.
Katie tugged on my arm when we got out. "Justin, will you do me a huge favor and contact Ash and Nyte?"
I grimaced at the thought of my Goth friends. Besides Elyssa, they'd been the only other people at high school who'd taken me in after all my troubles had started. Katie had been one of those troubles. I'd crushed so hard on her I'd lost sight of everything else, and managed to alienate my friends and everyone else in school to the point where nobody else would have anything to do with me, not even Andy Dudowitz. Nathan Spelman and his gang of bullies had made things worse, once shoving Ash down a row of bleachers.
Now they needed me, and I hadn't done a thing to help. They had no idea what they were getting into with Maximus.
"Yeah, I'll call them right now," I said.
Nyte answered on the first ring. "Justin, oh my god, dude, where have you been?"
"Uh, travelling a lot."
Nyte chuckled. "You're never going to believe what Ash and I have been up to. Where we've been, man."
Another voice came on the phone. "Justin, it's Ash! We thought you were dead after that bus plowed into you, but the cops never found a body or anything. Are you okay?"
I smiled at hearing their voices, feeling a flood of relief. "I'm fine. In fact, I'm with Elyssa right now." I tried to think of a way to gauge their knowledge, though, from what Katie had said, they probably knew all about the Overworld. "Why don't we grab a bite to eat tonight?" I knew for a fact I wasn't ready to ram through Maximus's front door just yet. Besides, if Ash and Nyte really were considering joining him, maybe they'd have valuable intel. I could fill them in on how big a douche Maximus was and maybe come up with a plan of attack all at the same time.
"Definitely," Ash said. "We have a huge surprise for you."
A wave of dread filled me at the prospect.
We arranged to meet at a pizza place near my old house and ended the call.
"Thanks, Justin," Katie said. "Is it okay if I come, too?"
I shrugged. "Sure."
We swung by the armory and grabbed the upgraded Nightingale armor and supplies before heading into the main house. Elyssa had someone give Cinder his own private room and a new set of clothes, along with the stern order to shower.
"We'll be back later," Adam said as he and Meghan went outside to a waiting car, the tailpipe steaming in the cold air. "I just want to take a nap in my own bed."