Dragons & Demigods: A Montague & Strong Detective Novel (Montague & Strong Case Files Book 6)

by Orlando A. Sanchez

  “We’re going to get barbecued,” I said, looking down at Peaches. “At least you can go knowing you had one last cup of your exquisite leaf juice.”

  “Correct, without scalding, burning, or spilling any of my tea. Even the cup is intact. Do you know what this means?”

  “You need counseling about your tea drinking?” I looked at him and shook my head.” Seriously, Monty, it’s just leaves.”

  “Salao is the son of the goddess Jyeshtha, who is the sister and opposite of the goddess Lakshmi.”

  “Wait, Lakshmi is the goddess of good fortune.”

  “Which makes Jyeshtha the goddess of misfortune.” Monty held up the cup. “If we were still under the aura of misfortune, it would have been impossible to make a decent cuppa without some calamity occurring. I also noticed the sphere and sausages for your creature were unaffected.”

  “Aura of misfortune,” I said to myself, remembering the pendant around George’s neck. “That’s how I missed George at point blank.”

  “And how your creature ended up attacking the maintenance structure instead of George.” Monty nodded. “It appears to be a defensive measure. If you attack George, something goes wrong, like dropping your blade.”

  “Salao,” I groaned. “It also means ‘cursed’ in Spanish.”

  “Appropriate, it would seem. We need to get back to Fordey immediately.” Monty placed the teacup on the counter. “Their confidence gives me the feeling we may be too late. George didn’t say he was getting an equalizer.”

  “No, he said he had an equalizer.” I still wasn’t following. “Why Fordey? The Reckoning is done. LD and TK are gone. I thought they were going to be traveling with Weretigers?”

  “Precisely, the boutique will be unattended. It’s been a ruse.”

  “Okay, again. But this time slowly, so I can try and understand what you’re saying.”

  “The equalizer George was talking about. Hekla and her ‘security’ check. He set us up. He must have been after it for some time. We threw him off when we moved it.”

  “What exactly was in your tea?” I asked, grabbing the teacup.

  “The neutralizer—don’t you see?”

  I looked into the teacup. “Excuse me?”

  “George said he had an equalizer,” Monty said quickly. “Something powerful enough to stand against a dragon, an enclave of dragons. He didn’t use it against us.”

  “We wouldn’t be here talking about it if he had.”

  “There are few artifacts powerful enough to help someone stand against a dragon. Most of them are locked away in vaults at the sects.”

  I made the connection. “Oh, shit. The neutralizer?”

  “Is currently sitting in Fordey Boutique, unguarded.”

  “But the security measures?”

  “I’m sure they’ve been compromised by Hekla on her ‘visit’ to make sure the neutralizer was safe.”

  “A smash and grab?” I shook my head. “How is George going to get to Fordey? He can’t cast.”

  “I cast runes in front of Hekla, twice,” Monty replied. “Once to get to Fordey and once to get her back home. She would know the runic configuration and be able to give them to—”

  “Salao, who just used a rift to leave the park. He could get them to Fordey. Hekla was acting?”

  “A command performance. I think we’re going to need to pay the Jotnar a visit.”

  “Monty, this sounds like a stretch. I mean, George was clever, and fearless, but he wasn’t a tactician,” I said, shaking my head. “This is some next-level ‘Kasparov seeing thirty moves ahead’ kind of planning. George could never do something this intricate. He’s a blunt instrument. This is scalpel work.”

  Monty nodded. “It’s sublime in its execution, each strand tightly wound and plucked just so.”

  “I think it’s great you can admire this wonderful mastermind, but—”

  “I don’t admire the person,” Monty said, surprised. “I do, however, admire the complexity of scheme.”

  “Oh, this is just a professional admiration for the depth of deception and conniving abilities of some individual who wants the neutralizer for…?”

  “Whoever or whatever is behind this is planning something much worse than a vendetta against dragons. George’s grief has him twisted and they’re using him to get to the neutralizer, but why?”

  “He’s human.” It was starting to make sense, but I was still missing some pieces. “He can get close.”

  “Well obviously, he’s human. What does that have to do with any—?”

  “No, don’t you see? If they’re stealing the neutralizer, George doesn’t have anything to neutralize,” I answered quickly. “He doesn’t use magic. Whatever happened to Hekla must be magic-based. She must have told them about the extra layer of defenses.”

  “Another angle I didn’t see. Whoever is behind this is astounding.”

  “Great, when you meet the schemer you can tell him you’re a fan. In the meantime…drakes incoming?”

  “We can’t have them following us.” Monty looked around the mansion. “Especially if we need to get to the boutique.”

  “Why are you looking around like that? Do I need to remind you that this building is a landmark?”

  “If I modify the sphere to create a runic inhibitor, it can boost our energy signatures.”

  “I’m following you so far, sort of a trap to attract the drakes, right? Once they enter the trap, then what happens?”

  “After I simulate the false energy signatures, the drakes will cause the sphere to reach critical mass, forcing it to collapse in on itself in an irreversible cascade, imploding, and destroying them,” Monty said with a nod as if he were speaking normal English. “Very similar to exceeding the Chandrasekhar limit for a white dwarf.”

  “The Chandra who? White dwarf?” I asked, confused. “Did we just venture into astrophysics?”

  “Space is the final frontier. Just not the way most think.”

  I stared at him for a few seconds. “Monty, your brain is a vast and scary place. I just want to know if the mansion survives the imploding part? We do not need the Landmark Commission after us.”

  “I don’t see why not.” Monty moved a strand of hair from his face. “The spell would require line of sight, but I can calibrate it to cause minimal damage to the outer structure, diverting all of the energy inward. We, however, need to be clear of this sphere.”

  “Inward meaning the drakes, not the mansion, right?”

  “I thought I just said that?” He straightened his sleeve and gave me the ‘why do I bother explaining anything?’ look. “Weren’t you paying attention?”

  “Why do you do that?” I pointed at his sleeves.

  “What?”

  “That thing you do with your sleeves. It’s not like they’re shrinking.”

  “I don’t do anything with my sleeves. Were you listening to a word I said?”

  “I was listening. It’s just that sometimes, between your magespeak and astrophysics, my neurons have to realign to keep up. Maybe I just lost too much blood, since George just tried to rearrange my internal organs with a Ka-bar.”

  “You’re fine,” Monty said, waving my words away. “I just need to shift the polarity of the sphere to trigger a cascade, and then we can leave.”

  We moved to the north side of the mansion and looked outside. There was no activity.

  “We seem clear for now,” I said, looking through a window. “These things don’t read like anything we’ve come up against. So I can’t be sure.”

  “He can,” Monty said, pointing at Peaches. “Ask him while I set up the cascade. I need to know when they’re in proximity. Then I’ll create an opening in the sphere and let them in.”

  “Will there be another opening for us to get out?”

  “That door.” He pointed at the north exit. “We’ll have about ten seconds before it seals. If I keep it open any longer, the sphere integrity collapses. That would result in an explosion, not an im
plosion. With us in it.”

  “That sounds like a worst-case scenario. Can’t you just drop the energy signature on the floor and lure the drakes in?”

  “You really weren’t paying attention,” he snapped. “I will be doing exactly that, but the casting takes work and time. Keep an eye on those drakes. I need to know when they’re close.”

  “No need to bite my head off,” I said, moving to the door and looking down at my trusty hellhound. “See? When I drink java, it improves my mood. Do you know why? Because I’m not drinking moldy leaf juice.”

  Monty ignored me, stepped off to the center of the living room, and began forming runes on the floor.

  Peaches nudged me, nearly crushing me into the wall.

 

  He chuffed and rumbled.

 

  “He says there’s a bunch on their way,” I called out to Monty, keeping my eyes on the north side while drawing Grim Whisper.

  “Can he give you a count? Even an approximation would be useful.”

  “A count, really? I don’t think numbers are his strong suit here. Maybe if he were planet-sized Peaches XL I could, but at this size…how exactly would I get a count, in sausages?”

  “Droll,” Monty said and wiped his brow. “He just needs something to compare against.”

  “I haven’t tried mental imagery. We’re just getting the hang of communicating at this point. I don’t know if I could give him a picture of a mob of drakes.”

  “I see. Your bond still needs to mature.” Monty gestured and formed a large amount of orbs about half an inch in size. He released them and they floated next to Peaches. “Ask him if it’s more or less than that.”

 

  I pointed to the floating orbs. Peaches’ eyes glowed red for a few seconds. He shook his body and chuffed at me.

 

  I tried counting the floating orbs but they kept moving around, making it impossible.

  “Monty, how many orbs did you just create for Peaches to count?”

  “Fifty,” Monty said, still focusing on the floor. “What did he say?”

  “A lot more than fifty, but I think the porting may be throwing off the count.” I rubbed Peaches’ head. “You almost done?”

  “Almost. Bloody hell, more than fifty will be difficult to contain.” Monty gestured and placed a palm on the floor, burning a rune into the wood. “That will help with the calibration and regulate the mass-energy input. Get to the door, I’m opening the sphere.”

  TWENTY-THREE

  “TEN SECONDS.” I looked out the door. “How far past the sphere do we need to be?”

  “Not far,” Monty replied. “It’s an implosion. We just need to be outside of the sphere. Ready?”

  I nodded, and he gestured. A break in the orange field around the house appeared in front of the door. One of Sal’s men raced into the mansion from the opposite end, saw Monty, and transformed mid-leap.

  The man turned into a half-human, half-dragon, and all flamey creature as it unleashed a fireball from its mouth, forcing Monty to jump back. I fired Grim Whisper from the door, spinning the drake mid-air as the rounds punched into it.

  Monty backed up, releasing several orbs, hitting it in the chest, and launching it back several feet before it exploded.

  “Are they supposed to do that? Explode on expiration?”

  “I’m not an authority on drakes,” Monty said, backing up some more. “However, I suggest you keep your distance before they expire.”

  “You think?” Through the flames, I could see more drakes approaching. “It’s a good thing you said that, I was just about to dive in with Ebonsoul and treat myself to the ultimate flambé experience.”

  “This would be a good time not to use your blade.”

  “Noted.” I backed up and made a mental note to give drakes clearance to avoid getting dragonploded with them when they checked out. “The overwhelming numbers are a bit concerning, Monty. Where are they keeping this many drakes?”

  “Excellent question,” Monty said, stepping back farther and gesturing. The sphere closed as a drake ran into the energy field and bounced back into the mansion. The howl of screams grew louder as more drakes entered. “That way.”

  Monty pointed straight back from the mansion and took off at a run. I glanced back to see the interior of the sphere covered in flames before I caught up.

  “What happens if they run around the mansion?” I asked, as I caught movement on our right.

  “You shoot them and keep your distance.”

  “Okay, just checking.” I pivoted to the side, firing, and dropped two drakes that exploded a few seconds later.

  “Impressive.” Monty turned and faced the mansion.

  “Told you I didn’t miss.” I scanned around the mansion in case there were any more stragglers.

  Monty began gesturing, forming orange runes that flared and then faded from sight. The sphere grew brighter and expanded. A few seconds later, I noticed it was still growing.

  “I’m pretty sure the word ‘implode’ implies collapsing in on itself. Why is your sphere growing?”

  Monty stopped gesturing and glanced at me. “Bollocks,” he said quietly. “We need to get to the car.”

  “Wait, what do you mean by ‘bollocks?’” I said, walking fast and then running to keep up with him. “That bollocks just sounded like ‘oops.’ Was that an oops? How large is that thing going to get?”

  We covered the two blocks in record time. I opened the back door for the hellhound and strapped him down with both seatbelts. Monty jumped in the passenger side, placed a hand on the dash and turned on the engine. Peaches whined from the back, looking at the orange energy obscuring Gracie Mansion from view. I strapped on my seatbelt and looked behind us.

  I sat there, transfixed by the sphere. “That thing is huge. Is it still grow—?”

  “Simon, drive!”

  I floored the gas and raced down 86th Street, away from Carl Schurz Park. I looked in the rear-view mirror and noticed the glow from the sphere.

  “What happened? You said it was going to implode. That looks like an explosion.”

  Monty opened the window and crawled halfway out. He began gesturing rapidly. A trail of orange and violet runes shot from his fingers and back to the sphere. After about thirty seconds, he crawled back in, closed the window, and re-fastened his seatbelt.

  “I may have made a slight miscalculation,” he said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Bollocks.”

  “A slight miscalculation?” I muttered under my breath as I dodged traffic. “An extra spoonful of sugar in a cup of coffee is a slight miscalculation. Einstein thinking the universe was stable is a slight miscalculation. That thing back there? That is not a slight anything!”

  He tapped his chin. “Perhaps there was some latent influence from the aura of misfortune? I’m certain I accounted for any variance in the energy output.”

  “Fantastic, Spock, now in English?” I shot back. “Why are we driving like a bat out of hell?”

  “The sphere is going to act like a supernova.” Monty glanced back. “It will collapse and then expand, releasing a runic shockwave proportional to the energy contained within.”

  “Is there a safe distance? What about the people between us and the park?”

  “It’s a runic shockwave. There may be some destruction, but the real danger will come from the runic component. I don’t know what will happen to any magic-user caught in the blast.”

  “Are we safe in the Dark Goat?”

  “I really hope Cecil didn’t skimp on the runic protections in this car.” Monty looked around the interior. “Still, you may want to drive faster.”

  I saw the flash in the rear-view mirror followed by the thwump of a bass beat on the world’s largest drum as the sphere vanished from view. Mont
y turned.

  “What was that?”

  “It’s collapsing. Can we go faster?”

  “The pedal is on the floor. Unless Cecil mounted rockets I don’t know about, this is our top speed.”

  “The wave is approaching. Brace yourself.”

  I shook my head. “Brace myself? How am I supposed to—?”

  A fist of energy slammed into the Dark Goat and lifted us up into the air. A kaleidoscope of runes blazed in the interior as we sailed down 86th Street. Monty was gesturing furiously next to me, his fingers moving too fast to track. White runes surrounded us.

  The last thing I remember was doing a barrel roll and observing the velocity of the street as it raced up at us, before another orange flash blinded me.

  TWENTY-FOUR

  I LOOKED AROUND and noticed all of the emergency vehicles driving past us. I heard a firm tap. Still dazed, I couldn’t connect the sound to the hand I saw on the window. I checked inside. Monty was bleeding from a cut across his brow. Peaches rumbled but kept his gaze fixed on me. Hellhounds were truly indestructible.

 

 

 

 

  I opted against discussing driving fundamentals with my hellhound and checked on Monty instead. He seemed unhurt except for the gash across his forehead. Another tap, this time louder, caught my attention.

  A man dressed in a dark red uniform with an angry expression on his face was signaling me to open the door. He looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t place him. I focused and looked closely at his face. He was yelling something when I pushed open the door.

  “…the goddamn door, Strong!”

  I shook my head again. “Frank?” I noticed the blue, extra-large ambulances parked on the side of the street. More emergency vehicles raced by. My body flushed hot as it healed me.

  “How the hell are you still alive?” He undid my seatbelt and pulled me out as more EMTe workers grabbed and gently led me to one of the ambulances. They gave me a short nod, which I returned, and tossed me a bottle of water.