"If the person who casts it dies…" Horror at the idea choked off the rest of the question.

"There is literally almost no way to free the prisoner," Lornicus finished.

"You said 'almost'. That leaves the possibility of breaking someone out," I said.

"Indeed. Someone of your particular persuasion might manage it, or a skilled summoner." He paused, as if letting the suspense build. I kept my mouth shut. "To penetrate such a prison, the use of a powerful demon would be a necessity."

I had no skills in that area, so I didn't know what he meant by his "persuasion" comment. On the other hand, rescuing Mom in transit sounded like our best bet. "Do you know the details of her transport?" I asked. "Will Daelissa or the Conroys be present?"

"I believe I can safely say no to both of those questions," he replied. "I do not know for sure, of course, but judging from the way the Conroys operate by hiding in plain sight, they will secure your mother, go about their usual business, and secure her at the new residence. It is possible they may even move her to a more permanent holding facility. I've heard rumors Darkwater has been working on such a place."

"Their own personal prison?" I blew out a breath and fought back more questions. Mom first. "What else do you know about the truck?"

"The transport was leased by the Templars—those loyal to the Synod, of course. They listed it for transporting a dangerous Arcane."

His mention of the Synod helping the Conroys reminded me of the meeting at the Grotto. While Daelissa was out making best buds with the vampires, the Synod Templars, and probably other higher-ups in supernatural nations, our side had been diddling its collective thumbs.

"Unfortunately," Lornicus said, "I have no further details. I do not know the route, or who will be guarding it, though Darkwater will almost certainly be involved."

"They're definitely moving her in two days?" I asked.

"That is when the truck is scheduled to leave the facility, yes."

"You have a destination address?"

"I can secure such information for a price, Mr. Slade."

Even though I already knew the answer, I asked anyway. "What's the price?"

"Why, a Seraphim infant, of course."

"As in just one?"

"I believe that would be fair compensation." Lornicus made a pleased noise. "This can be highly profitable for both of us, and all you need do is remove one infant and bring it to me. I promise the child will never want for anything."

True, the baby might be well-tended, but what kind of psycho would Lornicus raise? In the short term, I might rescue my mother, but in the long term, we might have an even more dangerous adversary than Daelissa to worry about. "Tell me exactly what you intend to do with the baby," I said.

"Feed him, teach him, clothe him—"

I felt my jaw tighten. "I mean in the long run, smartass."

"I will expose him to various stimuli and raise him to suit my needs," Lornicus said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Brainwash."

"A rather crude term."

"Absolutely not," I said. "You'd have to promise—"

"Mr. Slade, I will not negotiate the rearing of the child. Do you wish me to find the destination and route for your mother, or not?"

"You'll need to do more than that to deserve an angel baby," I said. "You'll need to directly help us rescue her."

"Unfortunately, I cannot. If Daelissa sees my master's golems helping you in any way, she'll think he's abandoned his neutral stance and come out against her. This would make him very angry, and I'm afraid he would destroy me."

"He should oppose her," I said. "What she wants is wrong. It's bad for us, and it's bad for him if he's telling the truth about enjoying this life."

"I believe he is sincere in his desire to preserve this place," Lornicus said. "But he believes balance and moderation is the key."

I groaned. "Moderation? Moderation? There is no moderation when it comes to world domination and invasion."

"He has events well in hand," Lornicus said tartly, as if I'd just insulted him directly. "Do not expect him to choose one side over the other."

"Because he's on the third side," I said. "His side."

"These are very interesting times, Mr. Slade," Lornicus said. "A great split in former alliances. The harbingers have aligned themselves with the Templar factions. Daelissa has already spent her best assets on a failed assassination attempt."

"Why don't you make some popcorn and enjoy the show?" I asked emphasizing a tone of disgust. "And just sit by while good people die."

"Now, now, Mr. Slade. I believe our information sharing has already proven to be quite helpful in your endeavors. Don't ruin a good thing." He made a tutting noise. "Perhaps you should sleep on it and decide about my price tomorrow." The line went dead.

I growled and resisted throwing the phone on the floor. Elyssa entered the bedroom, smiling and humming something to herself. She noticed my face and frowned. "What's wrong?"

"We have two days to plan a prison transport jailbreak," I said.

Her eyes widened. "Is that all?"

I nodded, and filled her in on the details.

"We definitely can't let Lornicus have a cupid," she said. "Besides, Stacey, Bella, and I are breaking into Darkwater tomorrow night."

"Tomorrow?" I said, a shock of panic racing through me.

"Calm down," she said, and kissed me on the cheek. "The timing of Lornicus's new information is perfect. If Darkwater is handling the transport, maybe they'll have information on the route and destination. We don't need to give up a cupid to Lornicus. Our original mission was to search for the location of the Conroys, but if breaking someone out of an astral prison is really as hard as Lornicus claims, then rescuing your mother en route really might be our best hope."

"Unless Lornicus somehow already knows about our plans to break into Darkwater and gave us this information to trick us into doing something else."

"Justin, don't try to second-guess him." Elyssa squeezed my hand. "Let's move forward with the plan—"

"I'm coming," I said. "I'm not letting you do this alone."

"No, Justin," she said, steel in her voice. "This requires finesse and stealth. Any more than three people will be too many."

"I can watch the outside. Warn you if anyone is coming in."

Her eyes hardened. "I said no, and I meant it. We've spent a lot of time planning this. We know what we're doing. So help me, if I find out you've gone anyway, I will flay you with my katana and move back in with my parents."

I felt my mouth drop open and my eyes go wide with hurt. "If you don't want me helping just say so," I said sarcastically. "I don't want to get in the way."

She rolled her eyes. "How many times have you run off without letting me come along, or without even telling me?" She took my hands. "Justin, I love you, but you have to believe in me and my team. We can do this."

I felt the wind go out of my sails as my shoulders slumped in defeat. "Fine."

"There is one thing you can do," she said, as if something had just occurred to her. "Since Kassus wants you so badly, maybe you could put in an appearance somewhere far away and draw him and his gang out of the Grotto. Maybe even the Atlanta area altogether."

Playing bait wasn't usually my idea of a good time, but if it made Elyssa's task any easier, it was a no-brainer. "I'll make sure I get his attention," I said with a confident grin.

She purred, sounding almost like Stacey as she nipped my ear. She'd obviously been hanging out with the felycan too much.

"Let's go to bed." Her lips worked down my neck, sending electric waves of pleasure tingling through my skin.

I took her in my arms and fell onto the soft bed with her.

The next morning, I told Shelton and Adam about Mom. I also told them about Elyssa and her gang infiltrating Darkwater that night.

"I know all about it," Shelton said, looking worried and miserable. "Bella told me if I tried to interfere, she'd leave me because it meant I didn't trust her."

I chuckled, remembering how similar Elyssa's words had been.

"It ain't funny," Shelton said. "What if something happens to her, man? I don't know what I'd do." He seemed to suddenly remember Adam was there and covered his worry with his poker face.

The attempt obviously didn't slip under Adam's radar. "You need to stop repressing," he said, rolling his eyes. "Bella, Elyssa, and Stacey are more than capable taking care of themselves. If there's anyone I'd be worried about, it's the poor saps that get in their way."

"Yeah, well what if Meghan was going?" Shelton said.

Adam shrugged. "She knows how to handle herself. These women are more than capable."

I knew he was right. "I hope they can get the route information and times for moving Mom," I said. "Otherwise, I don't know what else to do."

Shelton pulled up the schematic of a semi-truck on his arcphone. "Special transport trucks are about as secure as they get," he said. "The trailer is made almost entirely of diamond fiber, and the doors are sealed with blood so only the person who closed them can open them."

I remembered my time as a captive in Maximus's Colombian compound. He'd used his blood to seal the diamond fiber straps around me, and only quick thinking by Felicia had gotten me out of that when she dug in his garbage and found a bloody tissue he'd used after cutting himself while shaving.

"So, even if we take out the guards and take control of the truck we're screwed," I said. "Because there's no way to break it open."