“That’s the key to the cells on sub-level four, in case you need proof that the level exists,” I said. “Shut it down.”
“You can’t go there alone, Simon.”
“I’m not alone. Monty is alive. I just need to get him this rune and we can finish this.”
“This Chaos god will try to kill you,” Ramirez said. “Don’t let him.”
I looked down at my mark and nodded. “It’s possible, but I have to try. If I don’t go, he’ll kill Monty and turn the null rune into a weapon, which means we all die.”
“Be careful, pendejo,” he said as I jumped into the Goat. “You still owe me dinner and I’m collecting when you get back.”
I lowered the window and gave him my single-finger salute. His laughter followed me down the street and I realized it was probably the last time I would hear it.
THIRTY-ONE
I WAS CROSSING the 59th Street Bridge when I felt the cool metal against the back of my head. I glanced into the rear-view mirror. The surprise almost caused me to lose control of the Goat. It was Corbel.
“You want to focus on the road,” he whispered, holding the gun steady. “Would hate to have to kill you twice.”
“I see you took my advice about deodorant,” I said, trying to keep my voice even. “How the hell did you make it? How did you get past the runes on the Goat?”
“I work for a god, Strong. Tristan’s runes were about as complicated as a Rubik’s cube.”
“You know, those things can be challenging. I still haven’t solved one.”
“Why did you do it?” he asked his voice hard. “Hades is a hard-ass but he actually helped you and you repay him with exploding his office? Good people died.”
“Do what? What are you talking about?” I asked, confused.
“I’m still trying to figure out how you managed to plant the explosives,” he said. “The building’s security should have spotted you.”
“That’s because it wasn’t me. Chaos rigged that explosion.”
“Chaos, as in the god Chaos?” he said. “Bullshit. Hades banished him from this plane centuries ago.”
“Well, it didn’t stick. Chaos is here, with a grudge, and is going to weaponize a null rune.”
“He can’t do anything with a null rune unless he has an Infinite Amulet,” Corbel said and grew silent when I didn’t answer. “He has an Infinite Amulet, doesn’t he?”
I nodded. “Relic from the war. Stolen from the museum.”
“Of course it was—shit, you people are stupid,” he said, sitting back and removing the gun from the back of my head. “Where’s your partner, the smart one, Tristan?”
“Chaos took him—needs him, rather his blood—to complete the ritual,” I said. “They’re on Roosevelt Island in some eight-sided building.”
“The Octagon,” Corbel said. “Used to be the main entrance to the New York City lunatic asylum back in the 1800s. That’s about the only thing that makes sense.”
“Why?” I asked, trying not to look in the rear-view mirror.
“An asylum is the perfect place for Chaos. It still holds the residual energies of the people that were housed there. He will use that to get stronger.”
“That was almost two hundred years ago,” I said. “How can there still be energies there?”
“Two hundred years is not even a blink when you measure your life in millennia. Trust me on this.”
“Do you know how to stop him?” I asked. “Does Chaos have a weakness?”
“Stop him? Is that what you are planning on doing with your gun and knife?”
“He has Monty.”
“Who’s probably dead by now. The only reason we are still alive is because the ritual must be done at night. He only needs the sorcerer essences and the mage blood.”
“Which he has,” I said. “He killed nine sorcerers while Charon was trapped. He still has one left to kill.”
“Like I said, probably dead by now,” he said. “Want my advice?”
“Not really,” I said as I pulled off the bridge exit into Queens.
“Get out of the city while you still can. Maybe he will lose interest and kill you last.”
I pulled over and stopped the Goat.
“You should really consider motivational speaking. You have a gift.”
“Call it like it is,” he said, holstering his gun. “You know why he picked Roosevelt Island, besides the Octagon?”
“I’m guessing it wasn’t for a view of the skyline.”
“Ha ha, no,” he said. “When that rune is first activated, it sends out a pulse wave that disables everything and everyone magical in a ten-mile radius. It’s like a magical EMP.”
“That’s the entire city,” I whispered, looking out at the semi-dark skyline of Manhattan. “No one will be able to stop him.”
“Not in time,” Corbel answered. “By the time someone does come it will be too late. After that pulse, the amulet is charged. He will have a weapon that can undo reality with a thought.”
“Whoever thought this amulet was a good idea deserves a swift kick in the nuts. With steel-toed boots.”
“You can ask your friend Tristan about that,” he said and stepped out of the Goat. “If I were you I would forget about taking on Chaos and find someplace to ride this out.”
“Really, and where do you suggest?” I asked. “You know a safe-house around here?”
“Well, for you, the only safe place is the one you can’t go to,” he said and started walking away.
“Where is that?” I asked, knowing the answer.
“Death— he won’t follow you there,” he answered and disappeared around a corner.
THIRTY-TWO
I CROSSED THE Roosevelt Island Bridge, making it onto the island with little trouble. The one main street was deserted and the island appeared empty. I figured if Chaos had nine sorcerers, they would be protecting the Octagon until after the ritual was completed. It was still midafternoon and I had to formulate a plan besides the ‘run in and die’ one I had.
I parked the Goat just on the other side of the bridge, locked it, and walked north toward the Octagon, which was now converted to the main entrance of a deserted apartment complex.
I carried the case with the negation rune and kept to the shadows. I’d never visited the island. It always felt off to me somehow. Tonight that feeling was reinforced by the fact that Chaos had chosen it to complete the ritual.
“So you plan on just walking in?” a voice whispered in my ear. “Maybe asking Chaos to return your friend nicely?”
“Goddammit, Corbel, I almost buried my blade in your chest,” I hissed as I tried to calm my racing heart. “What are you doing here? You told me to run.”
“If you didn’t sense me, you need more training,” he whispered. “Hades helped you—for some reason I still can’t understand—but I don’t want to have to tell him I let you fail alone.”
“Hades is dead. Chaos took out the top ten floors of the building.”
“A little explosion like that isn’t going to kill him,” he replied as he shifted closer to the wall of the building. “He’s probably sitting in some restaurant having dinner right now.”
“Can you call him?” I asked. “We could use the backup.”
“No, and before you ask, he won’t get involved. Not unless it threatens him directly.”
“A null rune turned into a weapon doesn’t threaten him directly?”
“Hades is one of the three: unless it’s going to erase the planet—they don’t care. I’m still amazed he gave you the pup,” Corbel said. “He must really think you’re special or just need a lot of help. I’m leaning toward the latter.”
“Almost sounded like a compliment, thanks,” I said.
“What’s your plan? Once it’s nightfall, he’lll start the ritual with killing the last sorcerer and your friend.”
“He has nine sorcerers according to Charon. I need to disable them, get the negation rune to Monty, and strip Chaos of the n
ull rune before he kills Roxanne and completes the ritual.”
He looked at me as if I had just uttered nonsense.
“I know what you have to do, but that’s not what I asked you. I asked you how you were going to do it?”
“I’m immune to magic so I can handle whatever the sorcerers throw at me.”
“Are you immune to bullets? Do you know if they’re armed?”
“I’m assuming they are, which is why I brought entropy rounds.”
“How did you get your hands on entropy ammo? You have a gun that can fire entropy rounds?”
I showed him the Grim Whisper, and he nodded. “Monty made it and the ammunition,” I said as black smoke drifted up from the gun.
“I’m beginning to see why Hades is helping you. That ammo is overkill for sorcerers when normal bullets will do. I don’t see a silencer. The first shot will bring everyone to us.”
“Every round it fires is silenced and I have enough for both,” I said. “I’m not here to negotiate. He has my friend and I’m getting him back—alive.”
“Sun’s going down. Better get this started sooner rather than later, then. I doubt they’ll be expecting an attack. We take down the outer perimeter and then enter the Octagon. If we find Tristan alive we have a chance—”
“When we find him alive,” I said. “What weapon are you using?”
“I’m known as the ‘Hound of Hades’ for a reason. I don’t need a weapon, Strong.”
We came around the corner of the apartment complex and stuck to the shadows. On our right was the building parking lot. I could make out tennis courts on the other side of the lot.
Outside the Octagon, I saw two sorcerers standing guard and looking bored. Corbel shifted off to my right and disappeared. I drew Grim Whisper and dropped the first one. The entropy round acted like a hollow-point bullet. Instead of the bullet expanding, it expanded nothingness on impact. A whirlwind of energy surrounded the sorcerer and he disappeared a second later.
I barely had time to react when a blast of air knocked me on my back. The second sorcerer rushed at me and I saw him crumple as he approached. Corbel tore into him and punched through his chest, stopping him.
They weren’t as distracted as I thought. I stood up and dusted myself off as Corbel stepped close.
“I thought you were immune to magic?” he said, coming close. “That air blast looked pretty effective as he knocked you on your ass.”
“He didn’t hit me with magic, he hit me with air that was affected by magic. Big difference.”
“Means they know about you, so be ready for conventional attacks.”
I nodded as we went up the stairs.
“If you see a red mist—” I started, but Corbel held up his hand as he pushed opened the door and looked in.
“You’ve survived chaotic mist?” he asked as he stepped inside.
I nodded. “One of these guys used it at the museum,” I said. “Nasty stuff.”
“You have no idea. Chaos is controlling these sorcerers. It means he has their essence. We can’t let him kill the last one—what’s her name?”
“Roxanne. Does that mean he knows we’re here?”
“He’s known that the moment we stepped foot on the island,” Corbel replied. “He picked this place so he can monitor who approaches. The entire island is runed.”
“Shit, we need to find Monty.”
“We need to split up. You look for Tristan, and I’ll locate the sorceress,” he said. “You see anyone who’s not me or your friend—shoot first.”
He headed up the monumental staircase that spiraled through the center of the tower. I walked forward and climbed another staircase.
The second level was empty. I arrived on the third level as the power shut off, casting the tower into darkness. I heard the whistling first and jumped down several steps as the staircase was peppered with what I thought were bullets.
I looked down and saw small chunks of concrete debris scattered across the stairs.
“Strong, you’re too late,” a voice said from the third level. “Your friends are gone.”
“If that were true, you wouldn’t be trying to give me a concrete makeover,” I said. “Why don’t you come out and face me?”
“Did you forget our last dance? You didn’t do so well.”
A figure moved behind me and I turned to shoot, when I saw it was Corbel with his hands up.
“Are you looking to get shot?” I said. “Stop being a ninja around me.”
He snuck up the stairs and another barrage of projectiles smashed into the wall at the landing. I heard a scuffle and a muffled groan followed by a body rolling down the stairs. Another sorcerer. I bent over to check the body.
Corbel came down and stood next to me, keeping an eye on the stairwell.
“Nothing on the second level?” I asked.
“Nothing, Strong,” he said, but his voice was off somehow.
It wasn’t Corbel. I turned to fire as I sensed the rapid movement. A burning sensation exploded in my body as he shoved a knife into my side and jumped back. I fired twice. The first shot missed. The second shot slammed him against the wall as it punctured his chest.
“That looks like it hurts,” Chaos said and laughed as the sorcerer dropped the illusion of Corbel and transformed back. “Just don’t know who to trust these days.” The entropy round winked him out of existence a second later.
I slowly pulled out the knife and saw the runes inscribed on the blade. The wound didn’t close. I looked out one of the windows and saw the sun setting behind the New York City skyline. I was running out of time.
I climbed up the stairs to the third level and barely dodged a fireball that smashed into the wall next to me. I fired and caught the sorcerer in the leg as I stumbled back down the stairs. A few seconds later, he was gone. My vision tunneled in as I took a deep breath and steadied myself.
A figure came around the corner and I shot at it.
“Strong, if you shoot at me again I’m going to have to rip your arm off,” Corbel said.
He looked around the corner again and I slumped against the wall as he approached.
“Last time I saw you, you buried a knife in my side,” I said, showing him the wound. “I think it’s poisoned. Blade was covered in runes.”
“Clearly it wasn’t me. Did you kill the sorcerer?” he asked as he pulled out a vial and poured it on the wound. The pain gripped my midsection and I nearly lost consciousness as a groan escaped my lips.
I nodded. “Are you trying to kill me and save Chaos the trouble?” I asked through clenched teeth.
“Try not to get stabbed again. I don’t have any more of that,” he said.
The effects of the poison began to wear off and I felt the wound close as my healing took over.
“What was that?” I said, looking at the closed wound. The skin around it was red, angry, and tender, but the wound was closed.
“Trust me, you don’t want to know,” he said, putting the vial away. “Aside from my twin, how many sorcerers have you faced?”
“Three inside the tower and the two outside.”
“I dispatched two on my way here,” he said. “By my calculations that leaves two sorcerers and Chaos. The other levels are clear. We have one more floor above us and the dome.”
We headed up the flight of stairs. In the center of the floor lay a body with a blade buried in its abdomen, and my stomach dropped. It was Roxanne. I began approaching her, but Corbel held me back.
“She may still be alive,” I said and pulled my arm away.
I crouched next to her and felt for a pulse. Corbel stood back, ready to attack if necessary. She was still alive, but barely. I grabbed the hilt, but she grabbed my hand.
“Don’t, you’ll spread the poison,” she rasped. “I don’t have long, Simon. You can’t let Tristan do it. Don’t let him give Chaos his blood.”
“Can his blood save you?” I asked.
“He’s a Golden Circle mage,” Corbel said a
nd crouched next to me. “With the right spell, it can heal her. Chaos will use that to get Tristan to agree.”
I didn’t notice the mist right away. By the time I turned to face the sorcerer, I realized we were in the middle of a cloud of chaotic mist. Corbel scooped up Roxanne as the second sorcerer came up the stairs behind us.
Corbel gestured behind me with his chin and I glanced over my shoulder. It was the stairway to the dome—and Chaos. I turned to run up the steps as Corbel pushed back and crashed into the sorcerer on the stairs.
I made it halfway up when I heard the familiar thump and was launched forward, sliding headfirst onto the next level.
“Bloody hell, Simon, you shouldn’t have come,” Monty said from across the floor. “That’s what he was waiting for.”
He was on his knees with his arms shackled to the floor. I could make out the silver restraints on his wrists and the runes on the chains. His head was slumped forward and his breathing was ragged.
“I told you, Tristan, the bonds of friendship are stronger than the ones holding you in place,” Chaos said from the corner.
“Let him go,” I said, aiming the Grim Whisper. “We took Roxanne and she’s still alive. You failed. The ritual is over.”
Chaos laughed and lifted his hand while making a gesture. Ten small white orbs materialized in front of him. Their light illuminated the dome.
“You’re partially correct. The ritual is almost over. I just need one more thing from your friend Tristan.”
“You shouldn’t have come, Simon,” Monty said, looking up at me. “Roxanne was a ploy. He has the essences.”
The orbs raced across the floor and crashed into me faster than I could react. I felt the dome sway and I fell to my knees. I could sense Chaos walk over.
“I had the essences, Strong, and now you have them,” he said, striking me across the face and turning my world black once again.
THIRTY-THREE
IT WAS STILL dark when I regained consciousness. My arms were shackled to the floor like Monty. The Ebonsoul and Grim Whisper lay in a corner next to the case holding the negation rune. I looked groggily around the room, but I didn’t see Chaos.
My shirt and coat were gone and my chest burned. I looked down to see an angry red scar in the shape of the null rune traced on my chest.
Tombyards & Butterflies: A Montague and Strong Detective Novel (Montague & Strong Case Files Book 1) Page 18
