"Where was this?" I asked leaning forward for a better view.
"In Breckenridge, Colorado," Cinder said. "When I discovered the image, it triggered memories in my spark, uncovering a series of directives we were given regarding this entity."
"Mr. Gray knows about Nightliss?" My insides went cold. Cinder's creator was—as far as I knew—in league with Daelissa. As Ivy had put it, a Brightling.
"I do not know a Mr. Gray. From what little I can recover of my previous instructions, Nightliss is a person of great interest. This revelation led to a chain of thought which revealed even more." Cinder tilted his head slightly. "You are a person of great interest to my creator as well, Justin."
Elyssa jumped in front of me, arms splayed protectively. "I knew keeping him around wasn't a good idea. How long until you act on those instructions, golem?"
The golem regarded her in silence for a moment, then said, "I have no intention of acting on any prior directives. Justin saved my spark, my continued existence. There is no higher price to repay."
"It's hard to believe that little light is life." Katie said.
"It's not life. It's what animates these things," Elyssa said. "Sometimes it's in the chest. Sometimes, the head. Disconnect the spark from the body, and they drop dead." She took a step toward him. "It may look more lifelike than any golem I've ever seen, but it's still just an inanimate object. I say we end this charade now before Frankenstein's monster turns on us. For all we know, he's a spy."
"Leave him alone." I grabbed Elyssa's arm and pulled her back. "He hasn't done anything to show he's a danger."
My girlfriend's blazing eyes turned on me. "You're taking sides with that thing over me?"
I took an involuntary step back, hands held up protectively. "No. But I know how it is to be judged and found guilty just because of who and what I am. Things happen for a reason."
She took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of her nose and closing her eyes. "I know. I'm sorry. But we're on a timer, Justin. You are dying, minute-by-minute, and diversions like this—this thing are only getting in our way."
"Perhaps this is one of those emotional girlfriend things you spoke of earlier," Cinder said, his voice as calm and polite as if Elyssa hadn't just discussed destroying him. "Although, I am unsure if it is awakening emotions in me."
"I'll show you emotions," Elyssa said, going for her sword.
"Whoa!" I shouted, taking her arm. "Remember the whole not killing thing we just talked about?"
"I believe I may be of help," the golem continued, gray eyes studying Elyssa. "Before my awakening, I believe my mind was part of a collective consciousness shared by me and those of my kind. We were tracking the movements of this being." He waved away the photograph and replaced it with an overhead map of the world. His finger touched various locations around the globe, including one in Atlanta and southern Colombia.
"These are places she's been seen?"
"With some frequency, though most sightings came here." He pointed to Atlanta.
"Because of me?" I asked. "Was she watching me?"
"More specifically, she visited the abandoned granite quarry called Thunder Rock." The golem zoomed in on the area.
"Where did she go in Colombia?"
"The dead city, El Dorado."
Elyssa pinched the image, zooming it back out to the world map. "And these other places?" She pointed to the red dots. "Are they abandoned angel relics, too?"
"They are uninhabited," Cinder said. "Interdicted by the Arcane Council, according to the records."
"I really don't want to go back to Thunder Rock," I said with a shudder. It hadn't been so long ago I'd been lost there, nearly devoured by cherubs, and shot through a series of malfunctioning Obsidian Arches, only to end up in El Dorado where shadow people had tried to suck me dry.
"So it's possible we could find her there," Elyssa said.
Cinder gave a stiff nod, as if he weren't accustomed to using body language for expression. "My memories are not complete. Only shards remain, though more may come back to me with proper triggers. Still, Thunder Rock appears to be a place of some significance for the…angel."
I raised an eyebrow at the uncertainty in his otherwise calm voice. "I don't have time to sit around Thunder Rock, hoping that Nightliss will show up."
A thud sounded against the door.
Elyssa groaned. "Great. Probably Fausta. My father is already mobilizing forces for an assault on Maximus in Atlanta." She swung open the