“Where did he go? What are we doing in Japan?” Cassandra asked, clearly agitated. “What the hell?”
“Take a breath and calm down. He went back to the club. He was just showing off. If I had to guess, I would say this is a tethered pocket dimension connected to the Hellfire.” I peered around, feeling as amazed as she looked. “I’m not sure. For all I know we could actually be in Japan.”
She waved me away. “You’re making about as much sense as the creepy horny mage did. Let’s do what we came here to do. The sooner you’re done the sooner we get back.”
“Wait here, I’ll go talk to her,” I said to them both.
“No digging or making any holes,” I said aloud before I realized my mistake. “I mean, don’t disturb the stones.”
The expression on Cassandra’s face only reinforced that I was going to have to learn how to communicate with him silently.
“What? I know what a Zen garden is, Simon,” Cassandra said, confused. “No one is going to go digging holes. Go talk to her.”
Peaches gave me a grunt and sat on his haunches as Cassandra settled on the bench. She really couldn’t have gotten any further away from Peaches if she tried.
TWENTY-SIX
QUAN SAT WITH her eyes closed as I approached.
“Hello, Simon. Why are you here without Tris?” She hadn’t moved an inch or opened her eyes.
“I need—I mean, Monty seriously needs help. He’s going through something. I thought it was an erasure but Ezra says it’s not. He said you need to give him a focus of three woods, whatever that is. Roxanne said she needed a powerful mage, and you were the only one that came to mind.”
She opened her eyes slowly and looked at me.
“I don’t know any Ezra. A focus of three woods is nearly impossible to make.” She looked at me and narrowed her eyes. “What’s this about? Who told you about the focus?”
I shook my head. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. I think Beck—a Negomancer—cast an erasure on Monty. Now it’s out of control and he may lose his casting ability. That’s why I’m here.”
“An erasure? On Tristan? You do know he’s a battle mage?”
I nodded. “But Roxanne showed me this orb. She said it represented—”
“Is she a mage?”
“No, but she’s close to him. The orb she showed me had this black ring around it and—”
“Unless she’s a mage, she can’t show you an accurate representation of Tristan’s energy,” she said, cutting me off again. “It doesn’t matter if she’s close, she’s mistaken.”
“Then what did she show me? His energy was surrounded by blackness.”
“A battle mage is the closest thing to a weapon of last resort any sect possesses. They are powerful, dangerous, ill-tempered mages no one wants to cross. This Roxanne showed you her fear.”
“That description sounds like Monty,” I muttered. “But even he thinks it’s an erasure.”
“Battle mages are also shielded from an early age against any kind of Negomancy. A Negomancer, even a powerful one with time to prepare, would only irritate a mage at Tristan’s level. This is something else that is acting like an erasure.”
“Is he going dark? Is that what you mean?”
She remained silent for a few seconds, which wasn’t encouraging. Her eyes went out of focus as she gazed off into the distance. She snapped back suddenly and looked at me. “If Tristan Montague went dark, I would be forced to kill him,” she whispered. “But this is a power shift. He’s increasing in power—he just doesn’t recognize what’s happening to him. He’s never seen a power shift at his level. It doesn’t happen too often.”
“That’s why I’m here. If it’s not an erasure, I—Monty—needs the help of another mage. Roxanne thinks it’s an erasure, but she doesn’t know for certain.”
“If you needed a mage, why didn’t you solicit Erik?” she said, pointing at the door back to Hellfire. “He is a powerful and accomplished mage and sits on your Dark Council.”
“Because he acts like a hormonal teenager who just discovered sex.” I paused when the real reason hit me. “I don’t trust Erik or the Dark Council.”
She shook her head slowly and settled back into her seated pose, closing her eyes. “I’m busy trying to prevent an apocalypse. I’m sorry, I can’t. I can’t help Tristan. We have too much history. Find another mage. My focus and priority is stopping the madness Davros is unleashing. There are other mages in the club.”
“You sensed it, didn’t you? In the shop? When you first saw Monty I remember you said he needed to get ready for the shift.”
“You need to leave,” she said keeping her eyes closed. “Another mage can help him—any mage but me. Trust me, he won’t want my help.”
I felt a wave of anger wash over me and quickly struggled to keep it in check. She sure didn’t look very busy sitting in the middle of a Zen garden in some pocket dimension with her eyes closed, but I couldn’t afford to piss her off. Monty needed her help, so I tried a different strategy—ego bruising.
My experience with magic-users was that most of them were insecure, with thin skin. If you approached them the right way, it didn’t take much to push their buttons and set them off. The problem with this theory was that they were magic-users. They wielded insane amounts of lethal energy and if you got them angry, they directed that energy at you.
So far, only Monty had disproven this theory. He didn’t need to be provoked to unleash ungodly energy at me. It was his default setting. I had a feeling Quan was the same way.
“You’re going to need help,” I whispered as I sat on the stones in front of her. “Davros isn’t alone.”
“The Werewolves being turned are no threat to me. If they stand in my way, I’ll eliminate them. The Permutation isn’t complete.”
“I wasn’t talking about the Werewolves. Davros has real help—the kind of help you won’t be able to face alone,” I said, picking up a stone and tossing it to one side. “It’s the kind of help that makes mages like you run.”
She cocked her head to the side where I had thrown the stone. “Davros is working alone. No one would help a madman like him.”
“You said he stole the Phoenix Tail from your group, which means your security basically sucks,” I stated with a shrug. “How did he get the drake’s blood? Did you leave that lying around with the Tail? Isn’t drake’s blood rare? I can’t imagine dragons going around offering blood to humans—especially considering what it can do.”
She opened her eyes and glared at me. It was a glare worthy of three Eastwoods on my glare-scale. From the flexing of her jaw and the shift in her body language, I could tell I’d hit the right buttons. Like I said—insane energy and power…in thin skin. She flexed her fingers which reminded me of Monty.
“Do you usually find yourself on the verge of annihilation from the words that escape your mouth? Or are you suicidal?”
“It’s a gift,” I said with a slight nod. “So, how did Davros get the blood?”
“It’s rare, but it’s possible the Golden Circle had some in their archive. He could have stolen it from there.”
I shook my head. “Doubt it. Monty told me about the Sanctuary. At least they take their security seriously, unlike the White Phoenix.”
“Our artifacts are contained securely. Davros betrayed us.” She scowled, the muscles in her jaw working furiously as she spoke.
“Golden Circle artifacts are sealed away so tight you’d need the equivalent of a magical nuke to even get near their vaults. No way Davros stole it from them. Hey, here’s a thought, maybe you should have your security person talk to the Golden Circle? Get some pointers on how to keep world-ending artifacts out of the hands of mages who’ve lost their minds?”
“You need to cease your prattle before I hit you with something world-ending,” she said, forming an orb of air in her hand.
“He has a dragon helping
him. Davros isn’t working alone.” I made to stand, but she placed a hand on my arm, effectively holding me in place.
“What did you say?” The orb in her hand evaporated. “He has a what?”
“Her name is Slif and she should be back in a few days,” I said and slid back as she stood suddenly. “You met her at The Randy Rump.”
“That woman was no dragon,” she said with a mixture of fear and urgency in her voice “At best, she was a drake and she certainly wasn’t Slif. I’ve met Slif and that wasn’t her.”
I nodded quickly. “The innocent drake look was an illusion—a good one. You know Slif?”
“I do. I don’t understand how you faced her and survived. How is this possible? You possess no power except possibly the power to infuriate.”
“Monty cast a void vortex around her and shipped her to Siberia. He said she would be back in few days.”
“He cast a void vortex? In the center of a populated city?”
“Yes, he said Slif was too powerful to face.” I finally got to my feet as she began walking to the doorway that anchored us to Hellfire. I motioned for Cassandra and Peaches to follow us.
“Has he gone bloody daft? The Golden Circle will be after him for sure now,” she muttered to herself before turning suddenly to face me. “Where is he? Where is that damn fool?”
“Don’t know if I want to share that with you now, you seem a bit on the angry magey side,” I said, holding my hands up in surrender. “Maybe after you calm down or have a ‘spot of tea.’ Doesn’t that usually do the trick?”
“So help me, Simon” —she flexed her hands as she spoke—“if you don’t tell me where he is right this moment, I will violate the neutral sanctity of this place and reduce you to ashes,” she whispered, her voice laced with grim determination.
I figured by that point I had pushed every button I needed to push. “He’s in Haven. It’s a medical—” I started.
“I know what it is and where. I have sensed Davros somewhere north of the city, but we need to go see Tristan now.”
TWENTY-SEVEN
“I THOUGHT I told you not to piss her off?” Erik said as we walked through the club, following Quan. “What part of that sentence was unclear?”
“The part where if I don’t get her to help me, Monty loses his ability to cast,” I shot back, trying to keep up with Quan. “What’s the big deal? She’s leaving and your club is intact. I call that a win-win.”
“She is setting off all the security measures,” he said, exasperated as he swept his arm around the club. “She’s bleeding off so much power the runic defenses think we’re under attack and locking the place down,”
I followed his arm and saw runes flaring all around us. Doors were slamming shut with huge iron bars falling into place to secure them. In some locations steel gates descended, cutting off entire areas.
“Just reset them?” I offered apologetically.
“Why do you think I had her in a separate dimension away from the club?” he hissed. “To prevent this. Don’t you know who she is?”
I gave him a blank stare. “Quan from the White Phoenix?”
“Your astounding ignorance staggers the imagination, Simon,” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “She is the daughter of Master Toh—the leader of the White Phoenix. Simply put, the only mage who would consider going up against her would be Tristan, and I don’t know who would win that fight.”
I looked at Quan again. I knew she was powerful after what she did at the Rump, I just didn’t think she was that powerful. I made a mental note not to push any of her buttons in the future. Erik grabbed me by the arm and pulled me to a sudden stop.
“What the—?”
All around us, runic circles materialized on the floors and walls. Each one glowed bright red or deep orange. The circles gave off a strange energy signature that made even Peaches whine in discomfort.
“You don’t want to step in one of those,” he said directing us away from them.
“What are those?” I pointed to one as we walked by, careful to avoid stepping in or on it. “They feel unfriendly.”
He looked at the rune-filled circles. “I’m surprised you can see them. They’re called oblivion circles. This is going to take days to disable and reset, Simon. You must allow me to express my heartfelt thanks one day.”
“Erik, I’m sorry, I didn’t think she’d react this way. I just told her about the dragon and she lost it.”
He grabbed my shoulder. “Dragon? What dragon?” What dragon?”
“Did you say dragon?” Cassandra asked. I waved her question away while nodding. “As in fire-breathing snake-like creature?”
“There’s one due in the city in a few days. Monty sent her on a Russian holiday but she’s going to come back and she won’t be pleased.”
“Why didn’t you say something about this dragon earlier?” Erik said and made a gesture. Several of the oblivion circles blocking our path disappeared. “Do you realize how dangerous this is? A dragon in the city will cause massive destruction and death.”
“You didn’t ask me, and I’m here to get Monty help so we can deal with a mage who’s being helped by this dragon. This is where the Werewolf turnings are coming from.”
Erik pulled out his phone. “Shit. I have to call the Council. We aren’t prepared for a dragon.”
“I don’t think anyone is, really. Monty barely got her trapped in time.”
“Trapped? How did he trap her? Tell me he didn’t use a void vortex or something equally insane. Please say it was a containment field of some kind and then he displaced it.”
“I won’t say he didn’t use a void vortex,” I started, but decided against finishing when he narrowed his eyes at me. We caught up to Quan, who stood by the large brass door. Erik placed a hand by the frame, causing runes to flare to life, and the door swung open.
“He damn well used a bloody vortex,” Quan said as she opened the door stepped into a teleportation circle. “Call your Council and get them ready. I’ll deal with Tristan if the Golden Circle hasn’t negated him by now. Hurry up, Simon.”
The next moment, she was gone. I turned to Erik.
“What? Negated? Why would they negate him?” I asked, confused, as we stepped out of the club. “He got a dragon out of the city. They should be thanking him.”
“He used a forbidden spell to dispatch the dragon,” Erik said and placed his hand by the door again. “The Golden Circle will view that as a crime and want to make an example out of him. Don’t come back here unless invited.”
“Weapons?” I said, looking at him. “You can return them now.”
He waved his hand in the air and my weapons materialized, hovering in front of me. “Actually, just don’t come back,” he said as I grabbed them.
The door slammed shut in my face and Cassandra jumped next to me. I took a step back into the circle behind us and we appeared in front of the kiosk outside, behind City Hall. The Harlequin at the top of the stairs gave me a short bow, which I returned. Quan stood next to the Goat.
“I’m assuming this is your car judging from the runes?” she asked, looking closely at the surface of the car.
I placed my hand on the handle and unlocked the car to clangs and an orange wave of energy. “Monty wanted to make sure we were safe. This car took a blast from a dragon without damage.”
“He included a Ziller Effect? How did Tristan manage that? Getting that effect to protect anything larger than an amulet has melted the brain of several mages—quite literally.”
“He tried explaining this Ziller thing to me and almost melted my brain. All I know is that it prevented Slif from flame-broiling me.”
She shook her head in wonder and stepped around the passenger side. “This car is virtually indestructible to magic-based attacks.”
I opened the door and Peaches bounded into the back seat, followed by a wary Cassandra. Quan slid next to me into the passenger seat as I started the car. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Afte
r a few seconds, she opened them and looked around the interior.
“The rune-work on this vehicle is extensive. What exactly does Tristan expect to encounter while driving around this city? What kind of enemies do you have?”
“Lately it’s just been dragons.” I pulled away, headed uptown. “But we get the occasional Werewolf pack or angry god.”
She turned and gave me a look of disapproval. “God? This is no time for jokes, Simon.”
“I know,” I said, serious, and stepped on the gas. The sun was setting and I wanted to get to Haven before Ken sent Beck after Quan.
TWENTY-EIGHT
I HAD CALLED Roxanne ahead of our arrival and she directed us to the Detention Center. She met us outside as I pulled up.
“Why are we at the DC?” I asked as I got out of the car.
Roxanne pulled out a keycard and placed it and against the card reader by the door. “It’s Monty. Whatever he’s dealing with isn’t an erasure. We had to ‘contain’ him. We couldn’t do it in the medical wing.” She pulled the door open and motioned for us to go in.
“Obviously,” Quan said, crossing her arms. “Any mage could see that.”
“And this is?” Roxanne asked, looking at me.
“You needed a powerful mage, I got you a powerful mage,” I gestured to Quan. “This is Quan of the White Phoenix.”
Quan gave her a short nod and proceeded to walk past her and into the building. “Tristan is below us. We need to get to him now.”
“How do you know where he is?” Roxanne said as she tried to keep up with Quan. “Who are you again? He never mentioned knowing a Quan.”
“What do you mean ‘contain’?” I asked as we approached the elevators. “Doesn’t the medical wing have a containment unit?”
“We’re going to sub-level four,” she said as we entered the elevator and she placed the card against the panel. “Our containment unit wasn’t strong enough. He burned through eight levels of defensive layers before we could hold him down. Eight levels in a matter of seconds.”
“What does that mean?” I asked, feeling nervous. “Has he turned into some mage monster?”
Montague & Strong Detective Novels Box Set: Montague & Strong Detective Novels Books, 1 through 3 (Montague & Strong Case Files) Page 32
