A Montague & Strong Short Story Collection (Montague & Strong Case Files)

by Orlando A. Sanchez

  “That would be unpleasant.”

  “Agreed, we need a mask.” I looked at Gibraltar. “Something to hide our combined energy signatures.”

  “I’ll shield us from the defenses.” Gibraltar began gesturing. “Just remember to keep the group tight.”

  “Ironheart should be able to mitigate any damage we incur.” I looked at him. “Can you manage that?”

  He nodded without answering. The thin sheen of sweat covering his forehead and lip didn’t reassure me.

  “Once inside you, your brother and I will deal with any hostiles.”

  Stick nodded and attached his short staff across his back.

  I started activating the symbols on the wall. Large blocks slid outward, creating a stairway. In the distance, I heard another roar followed by howls.

  “That sounds friendly,” Gibraltar said as he cast a shield around us. “Twenty-four minutes, let’s get a move on.”

  We started climbing the stairs to Oblivion.

  NINE

  I TOOK LEAD with Ironheart behind me. Gibraltar kept the middle to provide the most coverage with his shield. Fan followed him with Stick bringing up the rear.

  The steps formed in a zig-zag pattern up the north face. Every ten steps were interrupted by a small platform that allowed for a change in the direction in the stairway.

  After the first platform, the failsafes began activating. I noticed some of the blocks beneath us started crumbling and breaking apart. Several of them just winked out of sight.

  “We will need to increase our pace,” Stick said from behind once we reached the third platform.

  I looked down and noticed that the first blocks on the ground level were receding back into the wall.

  “Bollocks.” I began climbing the next set of stairs, when the rasping sound underneath caught my attention.

  “Those are werewolves.” Ironheart kept his back to the wall and looked down at the approaching wolves.

  “Keep moving and don’t look down.” I looked at the wolves. “Stick.”

  He nodded at me and remained on the platform below us. I tapped Ironheart on the shoulder to focus his attention forward. His pace slowed the higher we went.

  “Just keep your eyes on me,” I said. “One step at a time.”

  A large stone block crashed into the shield. Ironheart screamed and flinched. Gibraltar reached out with a large hand and grabbed him with a grunt before he fell off. Below us, some of the ogres were arming themselves with large stones. I counted another group of four ogres along with several werewolves around them. The wolves howled into the night. A few seconds later the howls were answered.

  “I can deal with stones and other projectiles.” Gibraltar angled the shield to give us the most cover. “But I don’t have much maneuvering room here if they unleash something dangerous.”

  “You mean like that?” Ironheart pointed down at a robed figure standing with the ogres. The figure held an orb of iridescent energy in his hand and a large hood hid his face. Faintly glowing runes etched into the robe shifted in color as the wizard moved the orb from one hand to the other.

  A snarl followed by a howl of pain momentarily diverted my attention as Stick dispatched the werewolf from the platform below and ran up to join us.

  I narrowed my eyes at the figure. “Bloody hell, no one mentioned a wizard. Is the hood supposed to be intimidating? Are we supposed to cower in fear?”

  “Wizard? They have a wizard?” Panic gripped Ironheart’s features. “We need to get off this wall. We need to get off now!”

  “Shut it or I’ll push you off this wall right now,” Gibraltar growled. His face was covered in sweat and I knew he would need to drop the shield in order to deal with any incoming magical attacks. “Banshee, let it go with the wizard.”

  “Bloody wizards and their melodrama.” I began to gesture and stopped midway. I looked down to see Fan holding my hand and shaking his head. He said something I didn’t understand under his breath. “What is it?”

  “He will deal with this attack,” Stick said as Fan let go and flicked his wrists, materializing a large rectangular object. With another quick motion, it opened with a metallic ring into a black fan covered in red runes. The edge of the fan appeared to be razor sharp. I saw that each metal rib contained a slim, retractable dagger.

  I nodded and kept climbing the stairs. “We keep moving, let’s go!”

  We reached the next platform. I noticed that even though the large blocks that made the stairs receded back into the wall, the platforms remained. One of the ogres noticed it too and jumped up to grab the lowest platform. I looked up and saw we were two platforms from the top and four from the ground. We needed to get off this wall.

  The wizard released the orb of energy at us. Fan materialized another of his weapons, flicking it open, and throwing it at the same time. The orb crashed into the other fan and the runes along its surface exploded with red light as he deflected the orb away from the group. I saw the wizard collapse a second later as his head rolled away from his body. I nodded, surprised, impressed, and with a newfound respect for Fan and his weapons. He extended his hand, caught the returning fan without looking, and headed up the stairs.

  The ogres were making progress. Now two of them were using the platforms to climb up to us and a third was preparing to follow. We had to reach the top. According to the activation symbols, there would be a way to remove the celestial stairway once we were at the end.

  “Let’s go!” I started running up the stairs, realizing how reckless it was. One misstep and I would be at the bottom of Oblivion or in the clutches of an angry ogre. We managed to reach the top, when the entire structure shook. I looked down over the edge of the parapet, but my eyes couldn’t process the image.

  “Impossible,” I muttered, transfixed by the creature below.

  “Banshee,” Ironheart said, his voice trembling, “what in all that’s holy is that?”

  “How did we miss that thing?” Gibraltar whistled low as he looked down. “No religion is going to save us from that. It only understands overwhelming force” —Gibraltar looked around at the five of us and shook his head—“something we do not possess at this moment.”

  The creature was about twice the size of an ogre and just as wide. “An Abomination,” I said softly. “How did they manage that for a guardian?”

  “I know what it is…anything that grotesque can only be an abomination, but what is it?” Ironheart asked, trying to make himself as small as possible.

  “That’s what it’s called, you dim bulb, an Abomination.” Gibraltar moved Ironheart to one side and leaned over the parapet to get a better look. “I’ve never seen one up this close though. This one looks extra mean.”

  I began looking for the symbols to deactivate the staircase. The Abomination had shoved the ogres to one side and began using the platforms as an impromptu ladder to ascend the wall.

  “It’s getting closer,” Ironheart said. “Can’t we do something?”

  “You mean besides die? Not likely.” Gibraltar began gesturing. “My shields won’t hold long against that thing. I suggest you find the off switch to the stairs, Banshee.”

  “Working on it.” I searched the low walls for the symbols that would deactivate the celestial stairway.

  “Work faster. It’s halfway up the wall.”

  “How in bloody hell is it tracking us?” I said under my breath as I found the symbols near the corner of the parapet where the north wall met the west. “Abominations need a beacon to track a target.”

  “Maybe it’s attracted to your pleasant mood?” Gibraltar leaned against the wall and looked over the edge. “It’s still coming.”

  “Surprising how that doesn’t get less annoying the more you say it,” I snapped as I started the sequence to shut down the stairs. “I thought you used a mask?”

  He gave me a withering glare. “Of course I used a mask. If I hadn’t the entire island would be on us at this moment.”

  “Perhaps the A
bomination is just coming up to have a spot of tea with us?” I finished the sequence and nothing happened.

  “Nothing.” Gibraltar shook head. “It’s still coming. Did you forget the sequence?”

  It was my turn to glare at him. I restarted the sequence and realized that two of the symbols were inverted, which resulted in the stairs remaining active.

  “Got it,” I said and activated the sequence in reverse order. With a groan, all of the stairs and platforms slid back into the wall. A loud roar accompanied the grinding of stone on stone.

  “Ogres are down.” Gibraltar pointed down. “Abomination is still coming though. It’s taking this guardian thing seriously.”

  “Bloody hell.” I leaned over the parapet and looked down to see the Abomination driving its fingers into the stone wall of Oblivion, and climbing.

  “It was an admirable ploy, wizard,” the Abomination rasped as it looked up at me. Its deep baritone filled the night and made Ironheart flinch. “But such tricks will not stop me.”

  “Seems to think you’re a wizard,” Gibraltar said with a chuckle. “I could see how it could make that mistake.”

  “Such wit. Get them to the center and activate the panel.” I gestured and let energy race down my arms and into my hands. “Lowest level. Try to keep them safe and do try to avoid the ley-line.”

  “We need two mages to activate the inhibitor rune…don’t get crushed. If you’re not down in ten minutes, Rustyheart here and I will start without you.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” I said as a large hand reached over the parapet. “Remember the ley-line stops in three minute bursts. Go, now.”

  “You cannot face this creature alone.” Stick unstrapped his short staff and stood next to me.

  “I work best alone.”

  “If you choose that path, then you will die alone.”

  I felt the energy surge as the passage down opened. Stairs leading down appeared in the center of the roof. A few seconds later, Gibraltar and the others were gone.

  Another arm crept over the parapet, followed by the hideous face of the Abomination.

  “Are you familiar with this kind of creature?” I asked as the rest of the Abomination appeared over the parapet. Hitting it with an orb would have been ineffective without first lowering its defenses.

  Stick nodded. He held his staff across his body, remained completely still, and stared at the creature. I gave him credit for not running. I’d seen hardened battle mages break formation, running in fear from these things. Those mages never lasted long.

  It stood five meters tall, covered in scars and muscle. They appeared to be larger versions of ogres. An assumption that cost several mages their lives. Unlike ogres, Abominations were highly intelligent and in some rare cases capable of wielding basic magic. The fact that it was covered in crackling yellow ley-line energy did not bode well.

  “This one is a little different.”

  “It has absorbed the energy of the ley-line below us.”

  I nodded as the creature finished its climb and crawled over the parapet.

  “This is the guardian of this tower. The ley-line feeds it.”

  “It will be vulnerable at the next interruption.”

  “If we live that long, yes.”

  “Is your mood always this pleasant?”

  “Yes.”

  The creature narrowed its eyes at me as it stood to its full height. A rictus smile of jagged teeth and drool greeted me as it did the one thing I didn’t expect. Moving faster than anything that size had a right to move, it gestured and unleashed an orb of angry yellow energy at us.

  I hastily threw up a makeshift shield. The orb crashed into it and blasted us across the roof. Stick rolled to my side as the creature approached.

  I placed a hand on the roof and closed my eyes. I had been timing the interruptions ever since we landed on the island. The next one was due in about a minute.

  “How soon before we can attack?” Stick glanced at me before returning his gaze to the approaching monstrosity.

  “Less than a minute until the next line interruption.” I looked around the roof of the structure. It was an open plan with no cover. Surviving for a minute unscathed with a magic-wielding Abomination would be difficult.

  “I will get its attention and create the opening. Prepare.”

  “Stick, I don’t think that’s—” I started as he closed on the Abomination.

  Stick ducked under a swipe that would have crushed him instantly had it connected. He slid forward and led with his staff, striking the Abomination in the face with several thrusts.

  The creature growled in anger and brought a fist down, punching a hole in the roof where Stick stood a moment earlier. I gathered energy and felt for the gap in the line.

  Stick whirled his staff around. He redirected another massive fist aimed for his head and buried the staff in the creature’s armpit with another powerful thrust.

  The Abomination brought its arm down with a roar of pain. It trapped the staff, snapping it in half and backhanded Stick into the entrance to the lower levels. I heard the sick crunch of broken bones as Stick rolled down the stairs.

  The Abomination laughed as it tossed the pieces of the staff to one side and faced me.

  “Your mission ends here, wizard.”

  “I’m curious. How did you track us? Who carries the beacon?”

  “Before I squeeze the last breath from your broken body, I’ll tell you wiz—”

  The yellow ley-line energy around its body faded as the next interruption began. I drew the Sorrows and raced forward as their wails filled the night.

  I unleashed the energy I had been gathering and the wails intensified as I slashed horizontally. The Abomination looked down in surprise at the wound across its midsection.

  Blue trails of energy followed the swords as I slid behind the creature and buried both swords in its back. The blades punched through its chest as it fell to its knees. It started laughing as the wounds filled with blue energy.

  “Who holds the beacon?” I asked as I stepped out of reach of its massive arms. “Who?”

  “Your mission was a failure from the beginning. The moment you stepped on this island you killed yourselves.”

  “Tell me—” A flash of blue light blinded me as it burst into a cloud of dust. “Bollocks.”

  I sheathed the Sorrows and moved fast to the stairs leading down. By my calculations, I had about two minutes left before the ley-line re-established its connection. Stick sat on one of the steps, binding his broken arm with a makeshift sling made from a sleeve of his shirt.

  “Can you move?”

  He outstretched his unbroken arm. The pieces of his staff reassembled and flew into his hand.

  “I can now.”

  TEN

  “WE NEED TO get to the lower level before the line is reestablished. Something is wrong.”

  The inside of the tower was a series of descending platforms formed by stairs in a pattern reminiscent of the famous Chand Baori stepwell. In the center, I could see the path of the ley-line from the faintly glowing yellow stone.

  On the lowest level, I could see the others. They were in the middle of activating the inhibitor rune when I noticed the wizard. Ironheart looked up suddenly and saw me.

  A black orb smashed into Gibraltar and sent him spinning across the floor. Another orb crashed into Fan, who managed to turn in time to partially deflect it. He didn’t see the orb that came from behind and flung him into a sidewall, knocking him unconscious.

  Ironheart turned to face the wizard and bowed. Together they cast a teleportation circle and disappeared. I raced down the last steps to where Gibraltar lay. Stick raced to his brother.

  “Bloody hell, Tristan. Sneaky bugger poisoned me.”

  “We need to get you out of here.” I looked down the tunnel where the ley-line traveled. “Before the line reconnects.”

  He grabbed my arm and shook his head. “No time, we have to activate the inhibitor rune.”
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  “Let’s get you healed first, then we can shut this down,” I said, knowing it was impossible.

  “You and I both know we can’t do that.” He coughed and spit up blood. “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.”

  “Or the one,” I answered and started gesturing as he nodded.

  “Better hurry, they’re going after the Black Heart.”

  I traced the inhibitor rune in the ground next to him and placed my hand on the symbol, infusing it with my essence. He did the same and the rune radiated lines of orange energy throughout the chamber.

  I pulled him to the side as the ley-line burst through the tunnel and transformed from bright yellow to a deep violet. Without the inhibitor rune in place, it would have been over in seconds. The energy from the ley-line would have erased us where we stood.

  “For a long time I blamed you for my brother’s death,” Gibraltar said. “But it was never your fault. I’m sorry.”

  “You’re not going to die here.” I grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him next to the wall. “We can still get you out of here.”

  He pushed my hands away slowly. “Don’t be daft! The mission isn’t done. You have to stop them.”

  “I’m not going to leave you here to die.”

  “I’m already gone. It just hasn’t caught up to my thick skull. Don’t you see? We weren’t supposed to leave this place alive. Ironheart is just a tool.”

  “Splitting up must have forced his hand. He expected me to be finished by the Abomination, but he couldn’t take a chance I would survive.”

  Stick walked over to us and I knew his brother was gone. He held the fans in one hand, looked me in the eyes, and shook his head slowly.

  “I’m sorry for your loss,” Gibraltar said and coughed up more blood. He wiped his pale face and caught his breath. “When you catch up to the traitorous piece of shite that did this, you make him suffer.”

  “I’ll send someone back for you. We have eight hours before the ley-line reverts to its normal flow.”