the air, like a storm that might erupt any moment. Darius also had a metal band around his head with wires protruding from it, but instead of being connected to the circle of magic-users, his wires stretched across the floor, out of the circle and over to a bank of computer consoles set up near one section of the wall. The equipment was extremely high-tech and reminded me of the holographic display table in Varvara's war room. This was a different configuration of machinery, but there was no mistaking how advanced it was.
Gregor stood outside the circle. The real Gregor, or at least the giant insect guise familiar to me from years of going to him for information: a human-sized roach standing upright on a quartet of segmented legs, obsidian gems in place of eyes, antennae in constant motion as they greedily drank in all sensory data in his vicinity. And standing next to Gregor, mired in the same black gunk that imprisoned the abducted magic-users, was Devona.
'It's about time you got here,' she said, smiling.
The relief I felt upon seeing my love alive was so strong it nearly knocked me to my knees.
'Sorry it took so long,' I said. 'We ran into a few problems along the way.'
'Don't you always?' Devona said.
I held up my right hand with the word Ulterion scratched into the palm. 'Thanks for the message. But one thing puzzles me: how did you hide my hand from Gregor?'
'It hid itself,' she said. 'As soon as we arrived, it scuttled off behind the computer banks and stayed there until Gregor was busy, then it crawled back over to me. I had the idea to scratch a message into it with my teeth, and then I put a reverser in it and watched it teleport back to you.' Devona turned to Gregor. 'You really should've kept me in a trance, you know. Or at least searched me and taken the reverser away before I could use it.'
Gregor shrugged, the motion looking awkward on his insectile body. 'Once I brought you here, I knew there was nothing you could do to stop me, so I didn't bother keeping you entranced or searching you. I admit the latter was a mistake.' He paused. 'But I found it oddly… gratifying to have someone conscious to bear witness as my plan unfolded.'
Shamika's tone held a note of triumph. 'Are you telling us you found it pleasing to have someone to talk with? That you actually took satisfaction in contact with an Other?'
Gregor whirled around to face his sister and let out an angry hiss. 'Do not insult me! I have not been infected with the madness that plagues you!'
Shamika's satisfied smile said that she thought otherwise, but she didn't say anything.
'I'm confused,' I said. 'I thought you abducted Devona because you wanted to use the magic our children possess. But she's not hooked up to anything.'
'That's because your surmise is incorrect,' Gregor said. 'It may well be true that your progeny possess significant potential to wield magic, but I have no use for it. I have all the magic power I need right here.' Gregor pointed toward the ground with one of his insect arms. 'Earth's dimension is rich in magical energy, but there's little in this realm, so Dis and the Darklords needed to create a source of mystic power for their people to draw upon once they moved to Nekropolis. Ulterion is the source of that power, and all of Nekropolis' magic-using Darkfolk use it – including Dis and the Darklords – even if most Darkfolk are unaware of precisely where the power comes from. The Darklords prefer that no one knows where this power comes from, which is why the moon is hidden and its existence kept secret. They'd rather someone not attempt to use Ulterion's magic for his or her own purposes – such as transporting the city to Earth.' Gregor's roach-like face didn't possess the physiognomy to smile, but I could hear the grin in his voice as he said this last part.
I looked down at the ground beneath my feet. 'Ulterion is a gigantic magic generator?' I said. I understood then why no one in Nekropolis, including the Darklords, had been able to magically track the missing magic-users. Ulterion's energy field had hidden them from everyone's mystic perceptions. I looked at the circle of entranced witches and warlocks. 'If the moon is your power source, what do you need them for?'
Devona answered. 'To safely channel Talaith's power into Darius, which will allow him to draw on Ulterion's energy without being destroyed. Darius will then become capable of opening an immense dimensional portal and shifting all of Nekropolis to Earth.'
'And the computer equipment?' I asked.
Gregor answered that one. 'Is for dimensional targeting. Like the magic-users, I need to keep Darius in a trance in order to control him. One of my insects burrowed into his brain is sufficient for that task. Unfortunately, Darius isn't fully capable of precise targeting in his current state, and while the insect inside him is me, I do not have his instinct for interdimensional travel. So I need technology to help me guide Nekropolis' transference to Earth.'
'So if the equipment was destroyed…' I began.
'It would make no difference ultimately,' Gregor said. 'I might not be able to shift Nekropolis to Earth, but I would still be able to send it out of this dimension, which is all that truly matters to me. I have no idea where the city would end up in that case, but I don't care, just as long as the hated Others are gone.'
'So Darius is the key to your entire plan,' I said. 'Without him, you cannot use Ulterion to open a large enough portal to send Nekropolis away.'
'Indeed,' Gregor confirmed.
'And if you don't need the twins' magic, Devona is here for… what?' I asked.
'Insurance,' Gregor said.
More of the black substance that formed the dome – Gregor's substance – flowed up Devona's body until she was covered all the way to the neck. The ebon gunk hardened around her throat and took on the shape of a mouth filled with sharp black teeth.
'All it will take is a single thought, and the mouth will snap shut, instantly decapitating Devona,' Gregor said, sounding smug. 'A full Bloodborn might be able to recover from such a severe injury, assuming someone quickly put their head back in place and gave them enough fresh blood to drink. But for a half-human/half-vampire, decapitation would prove fatal.'
'And you'll kill her if I try to stop you,' I said.
'Yes. Once I became aware you were searching for Papa Chatha – at the urging of my sister-' he added, shooting Shamika a glance, '-I knew there was a chance you might uncover my plan. I did my best to destroy you, but you have an irritating habit of finding ways to survive, and so I decided to abduct Devona to give me leverage in case you managed to reach Ulterion. And here we are. If you want Devona to live, you will stand by and do nothing while I shift Nekropolis to Earth.'
'You know I can't do that, Gregor.' I couldn't look at Devona as I said these words, even though I could feel through our psychic link that she agreed with me. 'If Nekropolis materializes on Earth, the loss of life will be staggering, for both Darkfolk and humans.'
'Perhaps,' Gregor said. 'I really don't care. Just as long as I am alone once more.' The longing in his voice was profound. 'Consider this: once the transference is complete, I will send you and Devona through to Earth as well. You'll at least have a fighting chance to survive there. And all you need to do is stand by and do nothing.'
Devona looked at me. Don't even think about it!
But of course I did think about it. I loved Devona more than I'd ever loved anyone in my life. And our children… I wanted so much to see them born, to discover what I would be like as a father, to watch my kids grow into the amazing people I knew they would become. My son, my daughter… how could I sentence them to death before they were even born? But then I thought about all the people who'd die if I let Gregor complete his insane plan. How could I allow that to happen? Could I live with all these deaths on my conscience?
I turned to Shamika. 'Think you're faster than Gregor?' I whispered.
'I don't know,' she whispered back.
'You'd better be.'
I drew my 9mm with my recently restored right hand, took aim at Darius' head, and fired.
Gregor cried out in surprise as a mixture of blood and brains sprayed from the top of Darius' head, leaving the Sideways Man very dead. In that same instant Shamika transformed into a cloud of flying black insects which streaked toward Devona. Once there she resumed her human shape, grabbed hold of the ebon mouth Gregor had formed and, with a strength that belied her guise as a teenage girl, she tore Gregor's black substance away from Devona's body, freeing her.
Gregor seemed not to pay attention. He was staring at Darius' messy corpse, and though his insect face wasn't capable of expression, his attitude was one of total bewilderment.
