Aetherial Annihilation by John Corwin

rubbed his belly and smiled. "Maybe it's for the best."
    Elyssa grinned. "Give those butt cheeks a workout."
    We found Thomas Borathen in the war room along with Elyssa's hulk of a brother, Michael. A man in a black suit, a young woman, and a man with handsome chiseled features stood inside with him.
    Thomas's eyes lit when he saw Elyssa. "Welcome home." He gave her a brief hug, and shook my hand. "It appears we have a new crisis on our hands."
    Michael gave Elyssa a firm hug. "Good to see you, Ninjette." He nodded at me. "Justin."
    I returned the nod. "Good to see you, Michael."
    The young woman's eyes widened. "Justin Slade?" She asked in a British accent.
    I nodded. "And you are?"
    "I'm Emily Glass." She pointed to the handsome man next to her. "This is Tyler Rock."
    "Hey, nice to finally meet you," Tyler said and gave my hand a firm shake. "We've seen you before, but it's nice to finally meet my nephew."
    "Nephew?" I pulled my hand back.
    "I'm one of Baal's kids." He grinned. "I've worked with your father, David, before too."
    "Emily has unique talents," Thomas said.
    "They aren't much good in a situation like this," she admitted.
    "They work with me," said the man in the black suit. "I'm Agent George Walker with the Custodians."
    "Well, if it isn't the man of the hour," said a pleasant baritone voice behind me.
    I turned to see a tall man in black Arcane robes. Though he looked pleasant enough, his dark eyebrows and thick black hair gave him something of a sinister appearance.
    "Chancellor Victus Edison of Science Academy." He shook my hand, covering the grip with his other hand like a politician trolling for votes. "I'm also here as an acting member of the Arcane Council."
    The faint odor of brimstone hung around the man and I wondered if he'd had recent dealings with demons. "Justin Slade," I said simply, and reclaimed my hand.
    "Victus is one of the foremost scientists at the academy," Thomas said. "He's been helping me sort Overworld political issues."
    "Unfortunately, this incident is a dark cloud over everything," Victus said. "We need to solve this crisis so we can move forward and reestablish law and order in the Overworld."
    "Save the political speech," Shelton said. "I'm in."
    I introduced everyone with me to the others.
    "What a pleasure," Emily said, shaking Elyssa's hand. "We work in the background, we rarely get to meet those on the front lines."
    "Wait a minute," Elyssa said. "Weren't you involved in the Demonicus Incident? I read some of the reports about it."
    "Demonicus?" I asked.
    "Domathus, a demon overlord, attempted to physically enter Eden," Thomas explained. "Apparently, he had designs on Eden and thought his minions could take over Eden and defeat Daelissa."
    "Ain't no shortage of crazies who want to rule the world," Shelton said. "I'm glad we didn't have to deal with that."
    "Commander, we should be going," Agent Walker said. "We have a few leads to investigate, including some reports from the Overworld Transportation Authority. Apparently their ASE network tracked one of the incoming meteors, and the footage could offer clues to their origin."
    I wrinkled my forehead. "The tracking network is still working?"
    Agent Walker shook his head. "Unfortunately, the ASE network went offline shortly after the meteors hit since they couldn't recharge their aether supply."
    "Did the OTA download the data before that happened?" Thomas asked.
    "Not all of it. We hope to find the actual ASEs with the raw footage for examination." Agent Walker headed for the door. "We'll keep you apprised."
    Michael headed after him.
    "Where are you going?" Elyssa asked.
    "I'm on assignment with the Custodians for now." He kissed her forehead. "I'll see you again soon."
    "Nice meeting you," Tyler said to me. "Let's get together sometime. A double date maybe."
    "Sure." I had a million questions for the guy, but settled for one. "Are you Daemos?"
    He shook his head. "No. It's a long story we can save for later."
    "A pleasure,"