They were a play of contrasts. Michiko was a slight, tiny woman, barely topping five feet, her long black hair pulled tight into a braid behind her. Katja was tall and statuesque. Her golden mane of disheveled hair flowed around her as she moved in the kitchen next to Monty.
Michiko stood motionless. Her emotionless black eyes followed me as I moved to the office I shared with Monty. She appeared in the office a moment later, radiating quiet menace—which was her default presence.
“Do you love this woman?” Michiko asked quietly.
I enjoyed living on the edge, but I wasn’t that suicidal.
“No, she’s a friend and her father is mixed up in something shady.” I placed my hand on a section of the wall and a panel slid back, revealing a large strongbox. I pulled it out and placed it on the desk next to the wall. “I have to help her.”
“She is quite beautiful,” Chi said, staring at me. “I can see the attraction.”
The voice in my head broke out the megaphone and semaphore flags along with a few neon signs, warning me not to agree.
“She’s stunning, but I’m not attracted—was just out on a date, trying to enjoy a non-magical, non-lethal dinner with quiet company.” I grabbed a few more magazines of entropy rounds and reloaded Grim Whisper. I grabbed Ebonsoul and attached it to my thigh. “That plan, of course, crashed and burned once Gren the Terror Troll showed up.”
Chi raised an eyebrow. “This is your definition of dinner attire?” she said as I adjusted the thigh sheath.
“She has a troll after her sent by the Consortium.”
“I know. Her father has stolen from the elders of the Consortium,” Chi said and stepped close to me. “I will ask one more time to make certain: Do you love this woman?”
Something about the way she asked this time made me take notice.
“I’m taken.” I stared straight into her eyes. “You may know her. She happens to be the psycho-vampire leader of the Dark Council.”
“That answer is the only reason your date will see the light of another day.” She smiled and placed a hand on my cheek. “Our bond is deeper than blood, Simon” —she pointed at Ebonsoul—“and it’s the reason you wield the means to undo me.”
A cough interrupted us. Monty stood at the door. Michiko stepped back.
“I hate to interrupt this tender moment, but Ms. Novakova is currently being tracked by a large, angry troll,” he said, sipping more of his tea. “I think I know how.”
“How?” I said and grabbed another magazine of entropy rounds, really wishing we had a rocket launcher. “He can smell her perfume?”
“Close,” Monty said with a nod. “He’s using something like runic radar. She’s been marked by an inhibiting tracker rune. It’s too complicated to undo and teleportation is out of the question. My guess is the Consortium wanted to make sure Dmitry returned what he stole.”
“By unleashing a troll on his daughter?” I asked, incredulous. “Isn’t that overkill—no pun intended?”
Monty groaned and shook his head.
“By sending a message,” Michiko said. “The troll will only be the beginning. The Consortium will destroy Novakorp and the rest of his family—and finally, Dmitry, if he doesn’t comply.”
“Can we stop it?” I asked. “Entropy rounds only tickled it.”
“We can, but it will have to be together,” Michiko said and headed back to the reception area with Monty and me in tow. “Your date will need to fight for her life as well—it’s the only way.”
“You want Katja to face an unstoppable mountain of hate sent to make her a memory?” I asked in disbelief.
“Only if she wants to live,” Chi said, looking at Katja, who had changed out of the Chanel and into combat gear. “Do you want to live, Ms. Novakova?”
Katja nodded. “Yes, I would like to,” Katja said quietly. “I have grown fond of my life.”
“Your runed dagger.” Chi held out her hand to Katja. “May I see it?”
Katja opened her eyes in surprise and handed Chi the dagger she carried. “How did you know?”
“Someone knew they would send a troll after you.” Chi looked over the dagger and gave a short nod before returning it. “This is a unique weapon. Who gave you this?”
“I was instructed to keep it on me at all times.” Katja returned the dagger to its sheath. “My head of security gave it to me. Oh no—do you think—?”
“They aren’t the target, you are,” Chi said. “Your dagger was designed with a specific purpose. With a little assistance we may be able to stop this creature.”
“How did you know about the troll?” I asked. “I had to use back-channels.”
“The Consortium and the Council aren’t allies, but we do inform each other of activity engaged in each other’s region of influence out of mutual respect,” Chi said and adjusted her holster.
I noticed she carried a .500 S&W Magnum like Roth and the rest of the Council members in Masa. “Is that standard issue?” I pointed at the handcannon. “That thing is longer than my arm.”
Michiko gave me a slight smile. “When a rampant troll is in your city, you plan accordingly,” she said and patted the gun. “This will only get its attention. You and your date will have to finish it.”
NINE
BY THE TIME we stood outside the Moscow, Robert had pulled up silently in the black Phantom. Each of SuNaTran’s drivers was highly trained. They could execute tight J-turns and other evasion-style techniques to ensure the safety of their passengers.
The bottomless pit known as the trunk was dubbed Pandora’s Box because it contained just a little of everything and was all designed to cause pain or explode, and in most cases, both.
With a push of a button, Robert opened the doors as we approached. He was the only driver I knew in the years we had used SuNaTran. He was stockily built, with quick eyes and lightning-fast reflexes.
“Robert,” I said, and nodded when we got inside. “Battery Park, please.”
“Yes, sir, Mr. Strong. Right away,” he said with a slight accent.
“Battery Park?” Monty asked.
“It was about an hour from the time we left Masa until Gren the Unstoppable caught up with us at Flat Earth.” I checked the time. “I don’t know how he’s using this ‘runic radar’ but he’s going to be close by now.”
“Battery Park will be ideal,” Chi said, looking out of the window. “At this time of night it’s empty.”
“Do you think the Council—?” I started.
“The Dark Council won’t violate this contract.” Chi stared out the window. “The repercussions from the Consortium would be devastating.”
“But you’re here,” I said, confused. “You’re the leader of the Dark Council.”
“No.” Chi turned to face me. Her look erased any further questions. “I’m here to make sure this troll leaves my city—dead or alive. There are limited ways of achieving this.”
“Eliminate the troll or the target,” Monty said. “Since Ms. Novakova is still breathing, it seems we’re going with the first option?”
“For now,” Chi whispered and looked out of the window again.
“Does this thing have any weaknesses?” I asked, checking Grim Whisper. “I emptied a magazine of entropy rounds and slashed it with Ebonsoul—with no effect.”
“This creature is resistant to magic and has only one weak point—the eyes,” Chi said and glanced at Katja. “Ebonsoul will only slow it down, even if you surrender to the blade. To stop the troll, its eyes must be pierced with a soul render.”
“A what?”
“The blade your date carries,” Chi said, pointing at the dagger on Katja’s hip. “I may be able to incapacitate it for a short while, but she must stab its eyes with her dagger.”
“Oh—only stab it in the eyes?” I said in disbelief. “At least it’s not a small thermal exhaust port right below the main port—that would be difficult.”
“Trolls do not possess ‘ports’—what are you referring t
o?” Chi waved my words away. “I said the eyes.”
“Never mind.” I holstered Grim Whisper. “Will your darts knock it out?”
“They were ineffective at Masa,” she whispered. “The creature should have been unconscious for hours. It rose after twenty minutes and destroyed the neutral zone. It will take months to restore the restaurant.”
“That wasn’t my fault.”
“Who made the reservation?”
In this case, the best response was no response.
“Can anyone else do this?” Monty asked, breaking the silence. “I don’t know if Ms. Novakova will be up to the task.”
“No.” Chi shook her head slowly. “She is the target. She must perform the rending and undo the tether binding her to the creature.”
“I can do it,” Katja whispered, placing a hand on the dagger. “I must.”
“If not, your life ends,” Chi said matter-of-factly. “Either way, the creature will leave this city tonight.”
The Phantom came to a stop and Robert opened the doors.
“You two really know how to cheer people up,” I said as I jumped out of the car. “You should start an inspirational irony motivational course. I’m sure it would be packed.”
“Will that be all, sir?” Robert asked, closing the doors after us.
“One more thing, Robert,” I said as I heard a distant roar. “Drive away as fast as you can. This place is going to become hazardous to your health.”
Robert tipped his cap, entered the Phantom, and drove away. I looked around. In front of us sat the squat Castle Clinton National Monument. It was a circular building with an open courtyard in the center. If you needed to contain an angry, indestructible troll, it was perfect.
“In there,” I said, pointing at the heavy iron doors. “Monty, you think you can—?”
The door swung inward and slammed against the wall, shattering the stone as Chi entered the castle first.
“That was subtle,” I said following her inside.
Chi unholstered her handcannon. “We aren’t here to be subtle.” She checked to make sure each of the chambers held a round. I seriously doubted five shots would be enough. “We’re here to be efficient.”
A boulder the size of a small car sailed past us and into the opposite wall with a crash.
“Angry troll—incoming.” I moved to the side and made sure Katja was out of the line of fire. “Stay hidden until it’s down.”
I joined Chi and Monty in the center of the courtyard.
TEN
“YOU CAN’T HIDE her from me.” Gren entered the castle, ripping the door off its hinges. “We are bound. I will find her.”
“Doesn’t matter if you find her.” I drew Grim Whisper. “You can’t have her.”
Gren sniffed the air, narrowed his eyes at Chi, and stopped walking.
“Vampire, you would help a human?”
“Will you leave this woman unharmed?” Chi asked, taking aim with the handcannon.
Gren smiled, flexed his fingers, and cracked his neck.
“I’m not an expert at body language, but that looks like a no,” I said, stepping back.
“I have one target—her.” Gren pointed where Katja hid. “If you release her to me, I will leave. If you refuse, I will kill all of you and reduce your city to rubble.”
“How about, instead, we refuse, you leave, and we aren’t forced to erase you?” I asked. “That sounds like a win-win.”
Laughter filled the castle as Gren charged at us.
Monty and Chi fanned out to either side as Gren came straight at me. Monty unleashed several orbs of white-hot flame as Chi fired her elephant darts. They both hit the large mountain of ugly troll with little effect.
I unloaded Grim Whisper and may as well have been using rubber bullets. I grabbed Ebonsoul and leaped to the side as Gren brought a fist down where I’d stood a second earlier, cratering the ground. I slashed his arm and he roared as I managed to scratch him. For a second, I doubted Ebonsoul’s edge as I saw the wound heal on his arm.
“Magic and venom will not stop me,” Gren said, brushing the darts off his body. He moved faster than I expected and buried a fist in my chest, launching me into the wall and shattering the brick. “Your blade may cut, but it will not rend.”
I slid off the wall and fell to the ground. My body flushed with heat to deal with the damage as I heard him close in on me. I looked up through the haze of pain and saw him raise a foot to stomp me into oblivion.
A blast of air filled the courtyard, catapulting Gren over the wall and out of the castle. I heard the splash a few seconds later as he landed in the Hudson River.
“Thanks, Monty,” I croaked and tried to catch a breath. “Can you launch him farther away—like Alaska?”
“He’s resistant to magic, even indirectly,” Monty said, giving me a hand as I stood shakily. “You need to negate that or this won’t end well.”
“Not end well?” I said, rubbing my chest as I felt my body heal. “It’s not starting well either.”
“Simon, stop trying to use the blade, and let it use you,” Chi said and loaded more monster darts into her gun. “If you focus and stop toying with it, we can bring its defenses down and end this threat.”
I stared at her.
“Toying with it?” I took a deep breath. “Are you serio—?”
One side of the castle exploded in a shower of bricks. Monty cast a shield as debris fell around us. I looked through the gap in the wall and saw several large boats capsized or sinking into the river.
“Time to die,” Gren said as he walked through the gaping hole in the wall.
I felt the cold coming off Monty as he nodded at me. Chi fired again and I raced at Gren. That voice, the one that warned me of ultra-bad choices, was screaming about how being immortal didn’t matter if I was torn to pieces.
Gren slid forward and Monty hit him with a blast of cold air. “I told you magic doesn’t work on me, little man,” Gren said and swiped at my head.
I ducked under the arm and unleashed Ebonsoul. The runes on its blade flared to life as I thrust it into Gren’s chest. It cut through his skin and penetrated. I pushed it in as it siphoned the troll’s life force and filled me with power.
“He wasn’t using the magic against you,” I said as I forced myself to let go of the blade and step back. Ice encased Gren from the neck down, immobilizing him as he struggled in vain. “He was using it on the water you’re covered in.”
Gren glared at me and then laughed. “This can’t hold me forever.” The sound of cracking ice filled the night. “I will be free and crush you first.”
“Now, Katja!” I yelled, and she stepped out from her hiding spot. “You won’t get another chance.”
“What can she do?” Gren mocked as Katja approached. “She has no magic, no power, and no weapon.”
“I have this.” Katja pulled out her dagger, and Gren’s eyes widened slightly. “This can stop you.”
“A soul render.” Gren’s voice held a tinge of fear. “Put that away before you hurt someone.”
Chi holstered her gun as Monty stepped close and gestured. A blue rune descended over the ice, solidifying it.
“He’s correct.” Monty looked at Katja. “The ice won’t contain him indefinitely—you need to act now.”
Katja held the blade over Gren’s face as he stared at her. I loaded another magazine of entropy rounds into Grim Whisper. Katja raised an arm and hesitated.
“What if it doesn’t stop him?” Her hand shook slightly. “What if he comes after me again?”
“This won’t do anything,” Gren whispered. “I’ll come for you and rip you apart. You can’t stop me.”
“I won’t live in fear.” Katja’s hand grew still. “Tonight, you die.”
The ice cracked and Gren managed to free one arm. Katja brought the soul render down twice, and removing his eyes. Gren screamed into the night as I fired the Grim Whisper, bringing silence. A rune appeared on Katja’s cheek, flared,
and disappeared.
In moments, the entropy rounds dissolved Gren’s body, leaving a large mound of melting ice and the Ebonsoul. I sheathed the blade and noticed the figures standing at the periphery of the castle.
“Yours?” I looked at Chi as she nodded.
“My personal guard is never far.” Sirens wailed in the distance as she stepped close to me and placed a hand on my chest. “Your date will need to be returned to her father. The Council will handle her extradition.”
“What about the Consortium?” I asked. “They won’t be happy about how this turned out.”
“I’ll inform them that your agency felt it was imperative to deal with the threat their troll posed to the city,” Chi said and motioned with her hand. Several of her guard appeared next to Katja. “If you like, I can tell them it was the result of your date.”
“No, thanks.” I heard the distinct sirens and saw the blue flashing lights of the NYTF getting closer to the park. “The troll threat story is fine.”
Katja stepped close, but not too close as she glanced over at Chi. “I want to say thank you for the evening—but this isn’t what I had in mind when you said ‘date.’ Take care, Simon.”
“You too, Kat.”
Michiko grabbed my chin and gently turned my head to face her. “The next time you want to go on a date?” she whispered into my ear. “Don’t.”
Chi stepped back and motioned again. She disappeared along with Katja, and her guard. An NYTF cruiser pulled into the castle and skidded to a stop several feet away. Ramirez got out, took a deep breath, and walked over to where we stood.
“Why does half of my city look like a damn war zone, Strong?” he said in his best outside voice, bleeding-ear levels. “I have several destroyed restaurants, a demolished landmark building, city streets that look jackhammered, dead bodyguards, destroyed luxury vehicles, and now a national monument—half of a national monument—in ruins.”
“He went on a date,” Monty said, pulling out a phone. “I told him it was a bad idea.”
I was about to speak when Ramirez held up a hand.
“No,” he said, barely containing the explosion of rage. “Just go. Get out of my sight. Don’t call me. I don’t want to see or hear from you for a month—at least.”
A Montague & Strong Short Story Collection (Montague & Strong Case Files) Page 6
