Elyssa followed me back to the bedrooms. "He really surprised me," she said.

"Maybe he wants to get the blood potion off the streets," I replied. "I sincerely doubt he gives two craps about my sister."

"No, he agreed before I even told him about the blood potions."

I shoved a handful of clean underwear into my duffel bag and paused. "Seriously?"

She nodded. "Knowing my dad, he probably wants to move fast before the enemy finds out about his movements."

"How would Maximus know what your dad is up to?"

"He might have vampires watching the compound for all we know." Elyssa crossed her arms. "Keeping the enemy off balance is a favorite tactic of my father's."

"You're going, right?" I grabbed a stack of T-shirts and jammed them next to the underwear.

"Oh, yeah. I made it clear he wasn't keeping me out of this operation."

I smiled. "Good." Some of the worry lifted from my chest. Things would be all right.

"Better pack a little warm," she said. Bogota isn't hot like the south part of the country."

"I don't need sweaters. I'll just cuddle with my smoochie-poo," I said dropping my clothes and taking her in my arms. "How's that, honey boo bear chocolate pie?"

"Sweet Jesus almighty," Shelton said from the doorway, his mouth screwed up in disgust.

My face went red hot. "Uh—"

Elyssa burst into laughter.

Shelton waved off my reply. "Look, I ain't about to let an apprentice of mine go wandering off into vampire central without some backup. Me and Bella are coming along."

The embarrassment melted away, replaced by gratitude. I grinned. "Thanks, Shelton."

"Yeah, don't get all mushy on me, kiddo. I just don't want you to be an embarrassment to me by getting your ass kicked." He shook his head and left, muttering.

"Honey boo bear chocolate pie?" Elyssa said with a snort. "I'll need to do some research if I'm ever going to top that one."

I chuckled. "Oh, my head is full of romantic nicknames."

"I think you need to look up the definition of romantic."

My duffel bag bulged with clothes and other supplies. I'd even remembered to pack a toothbrush. As I contemplated the impending journey and hopeful rescue, I thought of Felicia and wondered if we could extract her while we were in there. It made me think of her brother, Adam Nosti. Had she told him anything? Did he even know where she was?

I pulled out my new phone. "Nookli, call Meghan Andretti."

"Do you want me to search the web for Magic Fishnets?" my phone replied.

"What? No, Meghan Andretti," I said carefully enunciating her name.

Meghan sounded surprised but happy to hear from me. No doubt she was hoping and praying I wasn't about to drag her into yet another mission where mutilation by an enraged demon was a likely possibility.

"Is Adam around?" I asked.

"Sure, he's in his study," she replied, in the voice of someone only just growing used to the quirks of dating someone with an obsession. For Adam, it was finding out who murdered his parents years ago and left him and Felicia orphaned. His obsession had driven Felicia to drugs and eventually to Maximus and life as a vampire. Unlike her brother, she had no arcane talents.

"Justin, what's up?" Adam said, sounding pleased to hear from me.

I hated to burst his happy bubble. "I just heard from your sister."

"You did?" Apprehension tightened his voice.

I filled him in.

"Son of a—Justin, she can't stay in that vipers' lair any longer. We've got to get her out."

"I'll have an army of Templars helping, Adam. I'm sure we can do that."

He made a frustrated noise. "I'm coming with you. What? Justin, hang on." The sounds of muffled talking filtered through the receiver. After a moment, I heard his hand slide off the microphone. "Um, we're coming."

"Adam, I really don't want to drag you into my mess—"

"Both of our sisters are in trouble, Justin. Hold tight. Meghan and I will meet up with you."

I looked at Elyssa. "Are we taking the Obsidian Arch at the Grotto?"

She nodded and checked the time. "Father says we're shipping out at midnight."

I relayed the information to Adam and ended the call. I knew Adam would want in. I mean, who'd pass up the opportunity to die screaming with me as a traveling companion? At least I'd feel a lot better adding another strong Arcane to the group, not to mention Meghan and her expert healing abilities. Geez, with Bella and Shelton coming along, this promised to be the bestest Justin Party ever. Except I forgot to bring cake. Maybe one of the Arcanes could pull cupcakes from behind our ears. "Your dad has this all planned out, doesn't he?"

Elyssa shrugged. "Commander Borathen doesn't mess around when he makes a decision."

When we rejoined the others near the exit, Bella and Shelton were in a heated discussion with Thomas.

"I take it you have no compunction about taking untrained civilians into this conflict?" Thomas said, his voice deadly calm as always.

"Dude, I'm probably the least trained here and you obviously don't care about tossing me to the wolves." I set my arms akimbo and gave him the look my mom reserved for me when she caught me doing something naughty. "Don't for a minute think you've fooled me into believing you're doing this for my benefit. I'm sure you have some ulterior motive I haven't figured out. Even this morning, you seemed eager to kick me back down to Colombia."

His cool expression didn't flicker as he replied. "What I do is uphold Overworld law, Mr. Slade. For that, I will do anything or sacrifice anyone without compunction. In this instance, our goals coincide. I happen to believe you can play a pivotal role in bringing down Maximus, thanks to your history with that criminal."

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence as we digested Thomas's blunt words. I forced myself to maintain eye contact with his cool, blue gaze and found no shred of doubt lingering within.

I cleared my throat and shifted my feet. "Alrighty, then. Shall we go?"

Thomas turned and left, followed by the rest of us. We piled into the back of a large black SUV, and headed toward the Grotto. I had no idea what to expect once we reached Bogota except for one thing.

Maximus would not go down without a fight.

Chapter 7

Bogota welcomed me with cold, gray arms. Dark clouds scudded overhead, drowning the sunlight. The Obsidian Arch at La Casona sat in the middle of a sprawling plaza in the center of the city, seemingly in plain sight. At the back of the square stood an ordinary wooden door, which—according to Bella—led into the pocket dimension housing La Casona. Since Colombia was her turf, she gave me a quick history lesson as we hustled from the large circle of polished stone beneath the arch.

"Illusion hides this place from the noms, and wards keep them from wandering too close," she said as we crossed the plaza toward a group of waiting Templars.

"We're going into La Casona," Adam said, taking Meghan's hand in his.

"I need some supplies," the Arcane healer added. "We'll meet you at the compound in a couple of hours."

I noticed the way her face hardened every time she looked at Shelton. I also noticed how Shelton kept a healthy distance from Meghan. She'd told me Shelton's hands were dirty when it came to the death of her father. That he'd had dealings with Vadaemos Slade or someone close to him. Even though Meghan had never made any outright threats, I had the feeling it might be best to clear the air between the two just in case. Adam tugged on Meghan's hand and they headed toward the entrance.

Shelton approached the minute Meghan and Adam went through the door to La Casona. He regarded the area with wary eyes. "I've got some contacts in the area. It's possible they'll be able to help.

"Why do you look so uneasy?" I asked.

"Let's just say I haven't made many friends in this part of the world."

Bella raised an eyebrow. "Really, Harry, you didn't tell me that story."

He snorted. "It's a lot more than just one story, darlin'."

"You'll meet us at the compound later?" she asked. "I brought some board games along."

"No more board games," Shelton said, rolling his eyes. "I have something more interesting in mind."

Bella pursed her lips. "Oh, really?" Her voice took on an uncharacteristic sultry flavor. "Do tell."

"Poker."

"Unless it's strip poker, I'm not interested," Bella said, crossing her arms.

Shelton's eyelids went wide, and his face turned a shade of pink.

Elyssa snorted, and I gave Bella a questioning look. Sometimes I had trouble figuring out if she was being serious or not.

"What's wrong with strip poker between consenting adults?" Bella said with a smirk. She tapped Shelton on the nose. "Run along to your contacts, Harry. I'll see you back at the compound."

Shelton dug a finger under his collar and tugged on it, as though it felt a bit tight. "Maybe I'll find another place to stay."

Bella laughed. "Don't forget to layer your clothes. I wouldn't want you to lose too quickly."

"Keep in touch," I told Shelton as he hurried to leave. "And be careful."

He tipped his fedora at us and gave us a lopsided grin, his eyes straying to Bella. "I'm always careful."

As he headed for the entrance to La Casona, I noticed Templar guards patrolling the perimeter, and turned to Elyssa. "Didn't Felicia say Maximus used this arch to travel recently?"

She nodded.

"How is that possible with all the security?"

"I don't know." Her eyes latched onto something to our left.

Following her gaze, I saw Commander Christian Salazar, the Templar commander for Colombia, standing at ease, arms folded behind his back, legs shoulder-width apart. Thomas Borathen approached the other man and saluted then took Christian by the elbow and guided him toward the exit while they conversed. I tried to listen in with my super hearing, but the background thrum of the arch as it wound down obliterated their words before they reached my ears.