Homecoming A Montague & Strong Detective Novel

by Orlando A. Sanchez

  “You inhaled obsidian ice, Tristan. You may never recover your ability to cast.”

  “I know.”

  “And you think you, your uncle, and your immortal friend with his hellhound are going to stop a group of trained mages?” Ziller asked, throwing his hands up in the air and bumping the observation orb out of the way. “You’re more insane than Oliver.”

  “I have to try.”

  “You always were stubborn.” Ziller looked at Dex. “Do you remember the Void Passage? Follow me.”

  Dex winced. “I thought that was sealed after last time.”

  Ziller led us out of the conference room, down a narrow corridor, and into a small room about twice the size of a broom closet. He opened the door and motioned for us to enter, closing the door as he followed behind us.

  “It was sealed after you and your friends traversed it, after being given explicit instructions not to do so.”

  Ziller placed a hand on the back wall, revealing another door like the one at the entrance of the Living Library.

  “I created this one in case we ever needed a way into the central chamber.” Ziller placed his hand on the door, opening it. “I never thought we would need it for this.”

  “Anyone going to explain this Void Passage? Can we start with how long it is?”

  “As long or as short as you make it,” Ziller replied. “It’s a test designed for mages to face their worst fears. The physical passage runs through the center of the Sanctuary, about eight hundred meters long. From here, you would be halfway through the passage. It had to be sealed after it drove several novices mad.”

  “Mad, as in crazy? Not mad as in angry?”

  “Mad, as in drooling, gibbering mages who didn’t even remember who they were and who tried to gnaw through their own fingers to stop the screaming.”

  I turned to Monty. “And we’re taking this passage because…?”

  “It’s for mages, you should be safe.”

  “Those sound like famous last words.”

  “True,” Ziller said with a nod. “If it does begin to affect you, remember, it’s better to run toward your fear rather than away from it.”

  “You’ve crossed the passage.” Ziller looked at Dex. “You can get them across.”

  “That was a long time ago,” Dex replied, shaking his head. “I was young, reckless and more than a bit foolish.”

  “This time you aren’t so young.” Ziller grabbed him by the arm. “Whatever you do, you can’t let Connor give Oliver the permutation. I don’t know how he got Sara’s essence, or if it’s really hers. What matters is that Connor believes it’s hers.”

  “I’ll stop him,” Dex said, his face grim. “No matter what.”

  Dex stepped through the door and disappeared. Monty was about to go through when Ziller stopped him. “It’s not Sara. No matter what you think you see or hear, it’s not your mother. Do you understand?”

  “I do.”

  “You can’t do this on your own. Rely on those around you.”

  Monty remained silent for a few seconds. “We’ll stop Oliver and get my father back.” He stepped through and followed Dex.

  “Are you sure this is the only way to the central chamber?”

  “Positive,” he answered, and pointed to my chest. “You’re a shieldbearer. Nana?”

  I nodded and reflexively put my hand to the pendant. “She said it’s Monty’s.”

  “It is, but he’s not quite ready for it. He’s a Montague, this means he’s going to burn through those rings and he’ll jury-rig the runic nanogen to give him more power.”

  “I don’t know how to help or stop him,” I said. “It’s like he wants to die.”

  “He’s not himself after the ice. You have to do the hardest thing you will ever find yourself doing. You have to let him get to zero. He has to hit bottom.”

  “What if Oliver attacks him?”

  “There’s no if. Oliver will attack him. It’s the only way to sever the bond.”

  “I can’t stand against Oliver. He’s some super-psycho, crazy mage.”

  “It’s not your job to stand against him. Your job is to stand beside Tristan,” he answered. “What do you think shieldbearers are for?”

  I was about to step through the door, when a question grabbed me. Peaches rammed into my leg, nearly knocking me down as I stopped suddenly.

  I turned to face Ziller. “Before I go and face my imminent death and/or brain melting, can you tell me why mages speak the way they do?”

  “What do you mean?” He looked at me innocently. “We’re understanding each other right now, aren’t we?”

  “Every time Monty tries to explain something magical or otherworldly, he starts with one of your ‘theorems’ and then proceeds to destroy my neurons with some insane explanation based on your work.”

  “That’s a good point.” Ziller rubbed his chin. “I can only tell you what I was taught.”

  “What?” I asked, getting ready to step through the door.

  “Sometimes, a spoon is just a spoon, and sometimes it’s a construct comprised of a dual nature, being simultaneously concave, convex and utilized for the displacement of food.”

  “That’s your answer, really?”

  He laughed and gently pushed me forward. “No, it’s yours.”

  I stepped into the darkness with Peaches next to me as the door vanished.

  THIRTY-ONE

  I STOOD IN a featureless stone corridor. Up ahead, I saw Dex and Monty examining the runes on one of the walls as they walked forward. Peaches nudged my leg as I tried to pinpoint where the corridor ended.

  “I can’t believe you crossed this passage.” Monty shook his head as he followed Dex down the corridor. “I thought that was impossible.”

  “Improbable is not the same as impossible, nephew. You of all people should know that.”

 

 

  A dim light illuminated the area where we stood, but it became darker as I looked farther down the corridor. I walked ahead, trying to catch up to them.

  “I’ll ask Dex to make you some in a second, you black hole. Give me a moment to orient—”

  The growl stopped me short. Was there something in the corridor I couldn’t see? I turned to look behind us, and I saw it. Peaches stood squarely in the center of the corridor. His eyes were glowing red, and he was growling…at me.

 

 

  No response.

  The runes on the sides of his body exploded with light. He opened his mouth and drool spilled onto the floor. The growling dropped a few octaves and he gnashed his teeth.

  “Oh, shit.” I opened my jacket, giving me access to Ebonsoul. “Calm down, boy. Is this crazy corridor affecting you? Monty! Dex!”

  I stole a quick glance behind me, but they were gone. I turned back at the sound of another growl.

  “Boy, you need to calm down now. We can get out of here. It’s me, Simon, your bondmate.”

  He lowered his head and charged. I drew Ebonsoul and raised my arm to block him. He jumped in the air and blinked out. He reappeared behind me and sank his fangs into my thigh before blinking out again.

  Agony shot up my leg as my body flushed hot, trying to repair the damage. Blood was flowing from the wound. I put my back against the wall to limit his angles of attack.

  “Shit, shit, shit,” I muttered as my leg grew slick with blood—my blood. “Don’t do this, boy. It’s me, Simon.”

  He blinked in mid-leap in front of me, jaws going for my throat. I raised my arm reflexively and buried Ebonsoul in his chest. The blade immediately siphoned his life and flooded me with a rush of power.

  “No! No!” I yelled. “Oh no, please stop, stop.” I tossed Ebonsoul to the side, and he fell into my arms. We fell to the floor, his tongue lolling to one side. Blood flowed from his wound and his mouth as
his breathing became ragged. He looked up at me. His eyes weren’t glowing, and the runes along the sides of his body had gone dark.

 

  His head rolled to the side. I knelt in shock, holding his body.

  “Simon! Run!” Monty yelled behind me. I looked up to see an orb punch through his shoulder as a group of mages ran down the corridor.

  “What? How?” I looked down at my blood-soaked hands.

  Behind him, Dex ran as he blasted green orbs at the mages chasing them. “Move! Simon! Get up, boy!”

  I got to my feet, and Monty shoved me forward as he cast a lattice behind us. He spit up blood as he gestured. We ran down the corridor as orbs blasted the walls next to us, narrowly missing our heads.

  “What happened? What happened!” I tried to process what was going on. Orbs crashed into the wall next to us, splintering the stone.

  “We could use some help. Where’s your creature?”

  “Peaches turned on me. He tried to attack me!”

  “They must have done something to the passage.” He cast another lattice behind the first one. “The gray mages are too strong. There are too many of them.”

  “What are you saying? Are we aborting? What about your father?”

  “What do you bloody think I’m saying? We’re no match for them. We underestimated Oliver. He’s too strong. This mission was doomed from the start.”

  I looked at his hands. “You’re down to one ring. You have to stop, Monty.”

  “What were we thinking,” he mumbled to himself. “This plan was a bloody nightmare from the inception. You have to go, Simon, you still have a chance. Get back to the door.”

  He cast another lattice and created several orbs of flame. He unleashed the orbs and formed three more.

  “Stop, Monty!” I drew Grim Whisper and fired at the incoming mages, but my bullets disintegrated before they reached them.

  I saw the lattices fade from sight as the last ring became dust around his finger. A barrage of black orbs raced down the corridor and punched through his body, slamming and bouncing him along the wall. His mangled body slid down into a seated position, leaving a bloody trail on the wall behind him as he dropped to the floor.

  “Run,” he gasped. “Go back to the door.”

  His lifeless eyes stared back at me as a black orb punched into the wall next to my head.

  “Monty! No! Fuck, no!” I raced to his body, as an arm grabbed me and pulled me back. A slap brought me back to my senses and Dex got in my face, shaking me by both arms.

  “Lad! What are you, a target? Get moving, he’s gone!” Dex shoved me forward. He ran behind me as we made our way back to the door. Another barrage of black orbs narrowly missed us as he turned. Covered in green, he gestured, unleashing a wave of green energy behind us.

  The wave raced along the floor, blasting and disintegrating the front line of mages. The rest leaped over the green wave and unleashed a barrage of angry black orbs.

  Dex placed his hands together and looked back at me.

  “Run!” He faced the oncoming mages and spread his arms wide. A blast of green energy shot forward. The gray mages threw up a wall and deflected the blast. Two gray mages gestured as the third slid forward with a black orb.

  The orb raced at Dex and enveloped him in a black lattice. He screamed as it started dissolving him.

  “Run, lad!” Dex yelled as a gray mage stepped forward and buried a sword in his chest. He fell forward and became dust as the lattice undid his body. A green blast filled the corridor, blinding me. When I could see again, the gray mages were gone.

  “They trusted you and paid with their lives.” The voice drifted over to where I stood and caressed the nape of my neck like a blade. She was behind me. “They should have known better.”

  I turned and faced the one responsible for everything.

  “I told you, everything and everyone you love will perish. Then, you will seek death and not find it. You will long to die, but death will escape you. At that time, our paths will cross again.”

  It was Kali.

  THIRTY-TWO

  I FELL TO my knees, my bloody hands empty. Tears were flowing down my cheeks. I knew she was right. They had trusted me, and I betrayed them. Before me stood the proof.

  Kali the Destroyer.

  Her chocolate skin glistened in the dim light of the corridor. She wore a simple black dress that hung from her body. Her long black hair hung loose, and it appeared to have a life of its own as it flowed around her in the non-existent wind.

  I felt a gnawing, burning grief that wanted to swallow me whole. I wanted to scream until I couldn’t scream anymore, and then I wanted to scream some more. My mouth was ash. I tried to form the words but found I couldn’t.

  My body sagged in defeat under her gaze. I only saw death in her eyes, and then she smiled. I smiled back because I knew soon it would be over.

  “Hello, my chosen one.” She reached down and raised my face with a finger under my chin. “It’s time to end this wretched existence of yours.”

  Her skin was cool to the touch, and she smelled like fresh earth. She smiled down at me as I nodded. I felt no fear, only relief. It washed over me. It would all be over soon.

  No fear.

  She produced Ebonsoul and presented it to me.

  “Take it, my chosen one. Finish it.”

  “You know what? I think I’m going to give you that honor,” I said, my voice a jagged rasp. “I mean, you did curse me. Why not let you be the one to end it?”

  She stepped back and gazed at me. “No, my chosen. This is your privilege. Accept it.”

  “Pass,” I said, getting to my feet. “Let me guess what happens: I take the ‘blade’ and go samurai seppuku, and my brain is fried oatmeal. Am I close?”

  “To death, if you do not obey my command,” she said, her voice echoing through the chamber. “Do it now!”

  I raised an eyebrow at the impressive acoustics.

  “No. You screwed up,” I said, shaking my head. “Yes, I’m scared of losing those closest to me. But that’s not my greatest or worst fear.”

  She stepped back as I took the blade. As I suspected, it disappeared once I grabbed hold of the hilt.

  “I command you, chosen one.”

  “Give it a rest, you’re not Kali. Not even close.”

  “You will never escape this place.”

  “I already have.”

  She faded into black smoke and disappeared. I felt a wetness slap me across the face. I looked up at the ginormous, slobbering face of my hellhound. Peaches looked down and slapped me with his tongue again as I pushed him away.

 

 

 

 

  He gave me another lick before moving to the side for Monty. I noticed he still had eight rings on his fingers and I breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Simon?” Monty asked as I opened my eyes in the corridor. “Welcome back. You crossed the passage.”

  “You’re still alive.” I blinked against the bright light of the green orb Dex held. “Both of you are.”

  “Last I checked. Did you hit your head against the floor? One moment you’re walking behind us, the next you collapsed.”

  “He’s fine. Daft as usual.” Dex grunted as he stood up. “How was your trip down the passage?”

  “I thought it only worked on mages?” I rubbed my head as the pain of a headache squeezed my brains flat and did an Irish jig over them, with steel-toed combat boots.

  “Seems you’re abnormal, but I guessed that early on since you were running with my nephew,” Dex said. “Didn’t think you were that abnormal.”

  “How long have I been out?”

  “Ten minutes.” Dex made his way down th
e corridor with Peaches next to him.

  “Ten minutes?” I looked at Monty, who nodded. “Felt much longer than that.”

  “What do you remember? Did you face your fear?”

  “Too much. Yes, and no. My brain is still fuzzy.” I got to my feet and leaned against the wall as the curse started kicking in, and my body flushed with heat. “I’ll be good in a few minutes.”

  Dex walked back to where we stood.

  “Well, begging your pardon, kind sirs. If you feel up to it, we need to find and stop a deranged mage intent on causing global destruction, and free your father—my brother. Think you can fit that into your busy schedule?”

  “Give me a minute.” I rested my head against the cool wall. “This is called recovering.”

  “Would you like a pillow, maybe a cup of coffee?”

  I glared at Dex, who gave me a short bow. “The hilarity runs strong in your family.”

  “The end of the world waits for no one.” He looked at Monty. “Do you remember the layout of this place?’

  Monty looked behind us and gave him a short nod. “It’s been a while, but this configuration looks familiar.”

  “It should, you ran it enough when you were younger. Get yourself oriented.”

  Monty closed his eyes and turned in a slow circle. After a complete revolution, he stopped and opened his eyes.

  “This is the interior of the central structure. The Void Passage brought us just past the cruciform galleries?”

  “Correct.” Dex swiped the side of his nose at him. “We have two courtyards to cross and a hell of a lot of stairs to climb before we get to the main chamber.”

  “Any chance these courtyards will be empty?” I checked Grim Whisper and loaded persuader rounds, making sure I had extra magazines. Ebonsoul was secure in its runed sheath.

  “About the same odds of your pup becoming vegetarian,” Dex said with a grin. He stepped to a large door resembling the one that had sealed off the library.

  “Are we still in the passage?” I asked Monty, who had stepped next to me. I noticed my hands still had micro tremors as I grabbed the holster holding Grim Whisper.

  I held my hand up and the tremors slowly disappeared. I moved the entropy magazines to another pocket for easy loading. I reached for my flask and took a long pull of Valhalla Java.