“What’s he like?” Kallie asked.
“The vampiric god is a high-level entity named Uraeus,” Ivy explained. “You can’t get into his lore without learning about the angel deity, the Almighty One.”
Chancey nodded. “The king of heaven, surrounded by all his archangels. His brother, Uraeus, used to be a god as well, but he got kicked out of the afterlife after he tried to overthrow the Almighty One.”
“So Uraeus is definitely on the Warden’s side, because I’ll bet he’s pissed that the Almighty One kicked him out of the Blessed Haven, and wants payback,” Ivy stated.
“How loyal are vampires to Uraeus?” Marcus asked.
“Uraeus created vampires to do his bidding, but honestly, he rarely calls upon us anymore. We don’t have a holy book or morals to follow,” Ivy said. “The vampires don’t worship Uraeus; we just know he created us. I don’t think Uraeus cares if we murder people. That’s why vampires are more atheistic— not that we don’tbelievein our god, but that we live our lives on our own terms, because Uraeus won’t interfere one way or another. He’s a very uninvolved god, but if he shows up to ask you to do something, a vampire better damn well do it, or face his wrath.”
“So we can’t count on the vampire god to help us, because he’ll want the benefits of working for the Warden,” Kallie said. “Isn’t the Almighty One worried about the Warden and what he's doing? I’m sure the so-calledking of heavendoesn’t want to be kicked off his high horse.”
“Well it’s clear he hasn’t done anything about it yet, has he?” Chancey asked. “The Almighty One allowed the Deacons of theCelestial Church to rise to power and make the Warden what he is. Maybe there’s another angle.”
“There are other gods,” I insisted. “Who else is on our side?”
“The merfolk worship an ancient pantheon called the Twelve Titans, but since the merfolk have joined the Warden, we don’t know if they’ll be of any help, because the merfolk have turned against their gods in favor of following The Mission,” Cassiel said. “The Twelve Titans could be preparing to fight against their ex-followers. We aren’t completely sure.”
“Anyone else?” I was beginning to lose hope that we weren’t on our own.
“There are theshinreiof the Astromancer culture. They are spirits, divinities and forces of nature that possess both positive and negative qualities, who love and destroy in equal measure. They are unpredictable, and extremely dangerous,” Cassiel said. “The Astromancers believe that their powerful ancestors or rulers can becomeshinreiafter death, although the main concept behind the spirits of the Astromancer world is animism— that objects, places, and creatures all possess an individual spirit, such as a mountain taking on a life of its own.”
“It sounds similar to Hawkei culture. We too believe that everything has a soul, even if it doesn’t appear alive,” I said.
“Correct.” Cassiel inclined his head to me. “The thought of what these spiritsare is ever-changing, and the religion expands and grows, shifting to include new thoughts as they are conceived. Ashinreican be an ancestral hero, or something as simple as an idea that is worshiped as a god. From what I’ve heard, the numbers ofshinreirival the gods in the Hawkei religion, in the thousands. Since we’re not Astromancers, these spirits will be difficult to connect with, as they will most likely ignore our requests.”
“Do we have an Astromancer who’s willing to help us commune with them, so they can help us find the Astromancer key?” I asked.
“We’ve been searching,” Cassiel said. “We’ll continue to look until we find someone who’s willing to lend their aid.”
“What about a half-Astromancer? There are plenty of those, kicked out of Astromancer society,” Marcus said.
“Unfortunately, those with mixed blood are ignored by theshinreias equally as those who have no Astromancer heritage at all. We will need a pure-blooded Astromancer if we would like the help of the spiritsin locating the Astromancer key,” Cassiel clarified.
“We could ask Professor Takahashi,” I said. “He’s a full-blooded Astromancer. He would help us.”
The room became very quiet, and Daddy said, “We’re very sorry to tell you this, peanut, but it seems Professor Takahashi has vanished. We can’t find him anywhere.”
“Professor Hemlock is also missing,” Queen Emmaline added. “We haven’t been able to locate either of them since the Institute was abandoned by Doctor Taurus.”
“They must’ve been kidnapped before the Warden set fire to the Institute. We couldn’t find them before we went down to Cellblock 9,” Kallie said.
Cassiel nodded. “That is what we believe happened. It is our best guess that Takahashi and Hemlock are being imprisoned somewhere by The Mission. We’ve made efforts to find them, although we are unsure if they are dead or alive.”
I felt very ill. If our teachers were still breathing, they were definitely being tortured by the Warden, and it was because they’d protected us. Hemlock and Takahashi had guided and mentored us for years. Besides aiding us with our demigod quest, they’d made life at the Institute bearable, sometimes evenfun. I wouldn’t forgive myself if something happened to either one of them.
“We won’t give up until we find them,” Daddy said, noticing the stricken look on my face. “I promise.”
Cameron gave a huff. “Not like the Elvish goddesses have been any help. We haven’t been able to commune with Idril and Caralyn for some time. They’ve been ignoring our offerings and prayers for help.” He nearly sneered the words.
“They are notignoringus,” Cassiel said, sounding annoyed. “They simply cannot hear us. Something is wrong.”
“The gods are having trouble reaching across the spiritual plane to communicate with us. Coyote Spirit told me so, before I left Cellblock 9,” I said.
“You’ve spoken with a Hawkei god?!” Daddy yelped in alarm, and he leapt out of his chair.
“I’ve talked with Coyote, like,a million times, Daddy, get with the program,” I said, rolling my eyes.
