“You realize the threat is just going to make them act ‘unofficially’ against me.”
“Yes, but it will give you some breathing room,” Dex said, looking off to the side. “At least for a short time. Enough time to get you ready, I think.”
“What will you do now?” I asked. “Move in with the Morrigan?”
“Are you insane? No man on this earth can handle that much Morrigan at once. I am, of course, a superb specimen of manliness, but even I’m not that insane.”
“Don’t forget modest.”
“Aye, and humble,” he said with another smile. “No, I think what I’ll focus on is preparing the next generation of mages. With the Golden Circle gone, there will be a lack of battlemages. Truth be told, we haven’t taught battlemages in over a century. I think we need fresh blood.”
“LD was right?” I asked. “You’re going to open a school?”
Dex nodded.
“A school of battle magic, aye,” Dex said. “It’s past time we had one.”
“Can I feel sorry for the students now?”
“Aye,” he said. “The training will be brutal, as it should be.”
He narrowed his eyes at me.
“You’ve grown, boy,” Dex said. “But you still have a long road ahead. The enemies that will face you now…You must prepare.”
We sat in a comfortable silence for close to half a minute.
“How bad is it?” I asked finally. “Will he still be Monty?”
“Yes, I think so—thanks to you—but a schism leaves a scar, always,” Dex said with a nod. “His sorceress won’t release him until she is absolutely certain he can cast without danger.”
“I don’t think he’s going to argue with Roxanne,” I said with a smile of my own. “Not if he ever wants to leave Haven.”
“He will try, and he will fail,” Dex said. “It will be good for him.”
“I overheard Evers mention she wanted to take you out, too,” I said tentatively. “Why does she hate you?”
“She only hated me by extension,” Dex said. “She wanted Tristan dead. Ask him when he’s well. I’m certain he will tell you. He owes you that much. It’s his story to tell, not mine.”
“That’s what TK said.”
“She was right to do so,” Dex said. “If I were you, I’d catch up on much-needed shuteye. This all feels like the lull before a storm. Best to snatch it when you can.”
“Evers said something about…dragons.”
“Aye,” Dex said, his expression hard. “Enemies are moving. Powerful and old.”
“Are you going to swing by the office?”
“Not for a spell,” Dex said. “We’ll speak soon, and I’ll make sure Yat pays you a visit.”
I winced.
“Does he have to?” I asked. “He can just email. I’d be okay with that.”
“Evers cut you plenty,” Dex said, looking at my scars. “More than she should have. You need more training…more Yat.”
“More pain and more agony,” I said. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” Dex said. “Visit Tristan in a few days. By then, his lass should’ve calmed down enough to allow visitors.”
“You think?”
“I’d call first, just to be safe,” Dex said. “She barely let me in.”
I stood and stretched out my sore parts. They were diminishing, but I wondered why I still felt sore. Normally, my curse would remove all traces of pain. I made a mental note to avoid all kamikiras in the future.
Dex gestured and another door formed on the opposite side of the bench.
“Where does that lead?”
“For you, home,” Dex said, standing. “Take it and get your rest.”
“You know what I’m going to do?” I said, heading for the new door. “I’m going to sleep for about a week. Then I’m going on a staycation away from anything runically enhanced.”
“Aye,” Dex said, stretching out on the bench, before standing and stepping to the first door we used. “Sounds like a grand fantasy. Enjoy it while it lasts. I’ll be returning to Haven for the next few days.”
I opened the door, and Peaches nudged me in the leg…an actual, gentle nudge which didn’t dislocate my hip.
We stepped through the door and into the familiarity of the Moscow.
THIRTY-EIGHT
ONE DAY LATER
I stepped into the temporary NYTF HQ.
It was a squat, nondescript building, located downtown near the recent crater created by Chi and Grey. I walked past reception and headed up the stairs to the office at the rear of the floor.
I knocked on the door out of courtesy, not formality. Ramirez and I went way back. He called me in, and I sat in the oversized chair opposite his desk. Peaches rumbled and thumped to the ground near my feet.
Most of the furniture in the office looked straight out of the about-to-fall-apart discount store.
“Did you feed your animal?” Ramirez asked as I looked around.
“He’s good,” I said, rubbing my hellhound’s head. “He ate about an hour ago.”
“Just making sure,” Ramirez said. “Last thing I need is your “dog” chewing up my officers.”
“Well, he could always use a snack. Is anyone on your staff getting on your nerves?”
“Not funny,” Ramirez said, looking past me. “They’re out there soiling their underwear because of him.”
I turned to see some of the NYTF staff quickly leaving the office.
“Wow, when the NYTF says temporary, they aren’t joking,” I said, looking around again. “Where did you find this stuff? In the city dump?”
“Hilarious as a heart attack,” Ramirez answered. “I got a call.”
“Congratulations? Sounds impressive,” I said. Ramirez wasn’t smiling. “Don’t tell me you just upgraded to a new cell? I told you it was about time you got rid of that old flip-phone.”
“You know, most of the time, you being a smartass is an effective shield,” Ramirez said. “I chalk it up to you being scared or nervous—which is understandable, considering some of the things you and the mage have faced.”
“Most of the time?” I asked. “What about the other times?”
“Your idea of humor can be just like you.”
“Suave and charming?”
“A royal pain in my ass. This call I received—”
“We didn’t blow up or destroy it, whatever it was.”
“You’re right,” he said with a nod. “It wasn’t a call about your hobby of destruction.”
“I’m right? I mean, yes, I’m right.”
“Do you recall a group by the name of Shadow Company? Crazy black ops stuff?”
It took conscious effort to keep my face impassive.
“Never heard of them,” I lied. “I thought that was the stuff of myth.”
“You know that’s surprising, because I spoke to one of those myths today,” Ramirez answered. “A certain Peter ‘Pitbull’ Douglas. He has clearance so high up on the food chain it gave me a nose bleed.”
“I don’t see how this has anything to do with—”
“I’m getting to that,” Ramirez said. “See, this ‘myth,’ this Douglas, sure knows you. He says you were an operator with the Shadows. Imagine that.”
“He must have me confused with someone else,” I said, keeping my voice even. “Shadow Company is a myth. Someone is pranking you.”
Pitbull Douglas and George ‘Rottweiler’ Rott were better known as the Mad Dogs of Shadow Company. It was a memory best left buried.
“Myth?” Ramirez continued, snapping me out of my thoughts. “Apparently not. I’ve been doing some digging.”
“Don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t do any digging into this, Angel. I’m serious.”
“I noticed. I thought it was a myth?”
“Considering my
life as of late,” I said, rubbing a temple, “I’ve learned some myths are best left alone.”
“You know him…this Pitbull Douglas.”
“I know of him,” I said, trying to maintain some distance. “Shadow Company doesn’t officially exist for a reason.”
“He asked for you by name, Strong. Why would he do that?”
“I don’t know.”
To show me he could reach out and find me…if he wanted to.
“He left a number and said you should call him within the hour. That it’s urgent.”
It was always urgent at the Shadow Company.
Ramirez handed me a slip of paper. I looked down at the unfamiliar number and memorized it. It was almost certainly untraceable. In an hour, the number would become inactive, rendered useless.
“Did he say anything else?”
“He said they’re on the hunt and need your special skill,” Ramirez answered. “What special skill do you have? Annoying the hell out of people? Advanced smartassery?”
“Those are gifts, by the way,” I said with a tight smile. “I don’t have any skills aside from those.”
“Bullshit. I managed to unseal some of your records.”
“Angel, you’re stepping into a minefield way above your pay grade.”
“I know,” Ramirez answered with a lopsided grin. “It’s pissing off all sorts of people, especially the brass.”
“I know you’re the Director now…”
“Which means I have clearance in the NYTF, but this took some favors, Strong.”
“You’re playing with fire while being doused in gasoline,” I said, my voice a blade slicing through the air. “What else did you uncover?”
“You’re a dead-eye?”
“I have good aim,” I admitted. “Above average.”
“Good, my ass. You were one of the best,” Ramirez answered. “What happened?”
“I missed. Drop this, Angel.”
“Consider it dropped,” he said—a clear lie. “I won’t push anymore.”
“Do not ‘uncover’ anything else,” I said. “For your safety, leave this alone.”
“For my safety?”
“These people don’t believe in loose ends. Do you understand? This is not the NYTF.”
“Are you in trouble?” Angel asked, concerned. “If you need help…”
“No,” I said with finality. “Not with this, not ever.”
I left the NYTF HQ and stood outside the building. There was no way this could be a coincidence. I learned early on in my life, that no such thing existed. I scanned the street and headed uptown to the Moscow with Peaches by my side.
Peaches chuffed and gave off a low rumble, forcing some pedestrians to cross the street. I smiled in spite of myself, before my thoughts turned to Ramirez’s words.
There was only one thing Shadow Company would need me for. Either Pitbull was offering me a chance at redemption, or he wanted one last opportunity to end me himself. Word was, after Cassandra, the only thing Shadow Company “hunted” these days—which was just another way of saying “exterminated”—were lethal creatures capable of destroying you in a split second.
Ancient things, filled with magic, malice, and hatred.
A hatred so old it defied explanation or reason.
They were hunting dragons.
I needed to make a call.
THE END
Author Notes
Thank you for reading this story and jumping back into the Monty & Strong World.
First off, I want to say THANK YOU.
Thank you for your patience in waiting for this book to be written. I know after DARK GLASS, there were rumors of hunting me down, and sharing the PAIN. You were able to ride the tsunami waves of that ending into this story. I truly hope WALKING THE RAZOR was worth the wait. I had a great time writing it. I hope you’ll have a great time reading it.
If DARK GLASS was us reaching the the first crest of the rollercoaster, WALKING THE RAZOR is us, on top of that crest, just before the drop, when you get those butterflies in your stomach and you can see out over the park. That moment when you realize just how high up you are, and if you could, you would get off. We’re about to head into the drop, and I promise, you need to strap in.
We explored some interesting themes in this story, most important was family. Simon is growing, as is Monty. That growth will come with pain, danger, and laughter. Very much like what we all have to go through. In order for us to grow, we must reconcile with our past, which is what the next story, REQUIEM will deal with.
In it, we get to see where Simon comes from, at least some of his past. Most of it is redacted. He will realize, like Monty, that no matter how fast you run, there are times your past will catch up to you, and force you to confront certain issues.
That is also a very relevant theme with Jessikah (I can hear the cringe from here) who has to outgrow her past and indoctrination. It won’t be easy for her. Her future is a road paved with pain, LARGE doses of pain. Both physical and psychological, but she will learn and grow. On occasion she will make appearances in the main storyline, but she will eventually have her own series, she just needs to have some enlightening moments with Master Yat, first.
The actions Evers set in motion will now take on a life of their own. She may be gone, but what she did will have repercussions in the next books. I look forward to sharing more of that, as the M&S World gears up for what’s coming.
Since I get many questions after each book let me try and address some of them here:
Yes, Dex will be starting a school called the Montague School of Battlemagic. It will eventually be his own series. I can’t say more on it, because…spoilers.
There are more Night Warden books coming. I really enjoy writing Grey, Koda and his part of the M&S World. He has had appearances in the last few books, but it’s time we dive back into what’s going on with him, Koda, Izanami, and Frank. I can’t wait.
The next series I’m focusing on is SEPIA BLUE and the next book for her is NAMELESS. If you haven’t read her stories, please pick up RISE OF THE NIGHT. It’s one of the first stories I wrote, and as I read it, I have my moments of wanting to edit and revise(I haven’t been in Sepia’s world in over four years), but overall, I’m really proud of those books. There would be no M&S without a Sepia Blue.
Everything happens for a reason.
In each story I have the privilege of writing, I try to reveal more about the character backgrounds and lives. This time, even though we touched on Monty’s past, our next direction is Simon’s life. This will definitely create more questions than answers. The answers will arrive slowly over the next ten books. Its a long ride, but I promise I will get to all of the questions…eventually.
Thank you again for taking the time to read this story and your incredible patience. I wrote it for you and I hope you enjoyed spending some time with Simon as he unraveled Monty’s situation, and did his best to be a good friend and brother to the angry mage, while being a worthy bondmate to his ever-ravenous hellhound, Peaches—who we all love.
If you enjoyed this story—please leave a review. It’s really important and helps the book (and me).
Thank you again for jumping into this adventure with me!
Special Mentions
Dolly Sanchez: for magealphabet, because Mages need to spell, too.
Reyhan Sanchez: For being an amazing first and fervent reader of all my stories. Your question of “When in the next book coming out?” followed by that great smile, inspires me to keep creating.
Zoya Sanchez, Official MoB TV greeter and closer: For “I don’t want to kill you, I’m inviting you to death.” This was truly an inspired line of dial
ogue, little Valkyrie. Thank you, Z.
Larry & Tammy—The WOUF: Because even when you aren’t there…you’re there.
Larry & Tammy: Because if Karma is going to have an animal companion, it should be large and named Justice.
Larry: One should never be a self-entitled rectal nugget…ever.
Steffon Carlson: for Sid Rat’s time focal Patek Philippe.
Ayrton Noble: You are a special being in and out of this book. Also, everyone (yes, everyone) likes to go fast.
Craig ‘The Dragon’ Zimick: Because you can’t spell DAMAGE without a Mage.
Malcolm Robertson: Because you should always fear an old man in a profession where people die young.
Orlando A. Sanchez
www.orlandoasanchez.com
Orlando has been writing ever since his teens when he was immersed in creating scenarios for playing Dungeons and Dragons with his friends every weekend.
The worlds of his books are urban settings with a twist of the paranormal lurking just behind the scenes and with generous doses of magic, martial arts, and mayhem.
He currently resides in Queens, NY with his wife and children.
Bitten Peaches Publishing
Thanks for Reading
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More books by Orlando A. Sanchez
The Warriors of the Way
The Karashihan*•The Spiritual Warriors•The Ascendants•The Fallen Warrior•The Warrior Ascendant•The Master Warrior
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Walking The Razor: A Montague & Strong Detective Novel Page 25
