"Hold on, hotshot." Shelton held out a hand. "Let me finish my train of thought before you bust in."
"Sorry."
"The location information was partially corrupted." He pointed to a pulsing blue dot in the center of a large circle on a map. The circle took in most of Atlanta, extending out to the northern suburbs. "The bad news is we don't know the exact location where this recording was made. The good news is she was here in Atlanta."
I clenched a hand into a fist. "And the worst news is, she's in Bogota now."
Shelton and Bella exchanged confused looks.
"Bogota?" Bella said. "How do you know?"
I filled them in on Felicia's phone call and Maximus's blood potion. "Looks like I'm headed south."
Bella took my hand. "Justin, you still have a great deal to learn. Give me and Harry a few days to teach you."
I shook my head. "Look, I know it's important, but Maximus has my sister. The devil knows what he plans to do with her. For all I know, it's already too late."
Elyssa took my other hand. "I have to agree with Justin. Once my father hears this, he'll probably mobilize the Templars and move out fast. "
"That'll take at least a day," Shelton said. "Until then, your ass is mine."
"At least let us teach you a couple of defensive spells," Bella said.
"And let me program some useful stuff into your new phone." Shelton minimized his arcphone and jammed it into a pocket. "No sense rushing off to get killed."
"They're right," Elyssa said. She pulled me away from the others until we were alone. "I'll go to Father in person. Make him see how important it is we mobilize quickly. The minute I know something, I'll let you know."
I really didn't want her to go, but the orderly little nerd with angel wings on my right shoulder told me it was for the best if I stuck around and learned a thing or two. The horned demon on my other shoulder agreed since it didn't want to die any more than I did. Pressing Elyssa to the wall with my body, I kissed her hard.
"I wish—"
She gave me a steamy sensual smile and smacked me on the bottom. "Me too. There'll be time later." She kissed me again. "Open the stairs for me?"
As Elyssa vanished up the stairs, a longing tugged at my heart to follow her. To race to the Grotto and take the arch to La Casona in Bogota immediately. The urgency of finding my little sister burrowed into my stomach and weighed it down with dread and helpless frustration. What good would it do me to dash down to Maximus's stronghold without an army backing me up? And what if Thomas Borathen decided her rescue wasn't all that pressing?
Now, more than anything, I needed a snappy montage of happy songs and scenes of uplifting moments from my training so I could learn magic really fast. If only real life were like the movies.
Sigh.
Over the next few hours, Shelton showed me how to store and use spells on my arcphone, digging around in his archives for basic, yet useful spells I could use to get myself out of a bind. Unfortunately, I still had problems drawing in magic without closing my eyes, and even more problems executing a spell with little more than a whimper of power.
"Maybe I'm just too weak," I said. It was late. My eyelids drooped and my tummy felt like I'd just eaten a bowlful of Ebola virus. "Why does my stomach hurt so bad?"
Shelton pocketed his phone and crossed his arms. "It ain't weakness kid. You haven't used your well before. It's like a muscle. The more you use it, the more it can hold. The sick feeling is magic poisoning. Your body isn't used to storing it."
"Is my well a physical part of my body?"
He scrunched up his forehead. "Nah, it's an extension of aura, but it can sure feel like it's a part of your body." He held out a hand and helped me out of my seat. "C'mon. Get some rest and we'll start again in the morning." His phone dinged.
I glanced at the screen and saw an image of Elyssa standing outside the secret entrance. "Um, I would let her in, but I think if I try to do one more spell, I'll puke."
Shelton grinned. "I'll do it."
My heart leapt at the thought of curling up in a nice warm bed with her, even if it was just to