“Runic defenses.” I looked around but didn’t see Monty or Dex. Peaches headed for his food bowl and began to vacuum-inhale his food. “Any way around those? I would prefer to remain unfried.”
“Bullets and blades,” Ramirez said. “Make sure Tristan keeps his magic in check. The defenses are nasty. Are you sure she’s on that island?’
“Ninety percent.” I heard a noise coming from the guest bedroom. I saw the narrow case the Harlequin gave Monty resting next to the door. “I’ll be careful. If I see it’s too hot, we’ll bail out.”
We both knew it was a lie and he gave me a short laugh.
“Bullshit,” Ramirez said and then lowered his voice. “If anyone can get on and off that place in one piece it’s you two. NYTF isn’t even supposed to sneeze in that direction but I can swing some unofficial consultants—if you need them.”
“Too dangerous.” I stopped in front of the guestroom door. “The meet is tomorrow at dawn. I’ll call you after.”
“If you don’t, I’m launching an S and R to recover your body.”
“Your confidence inspires me.” The door rattled in the frame. “Listen, I’ve got to go.”
“Make sure you call me when you get safe,” Ramirez said before we disconnected.
I pulled open the door and my brain seized for a few seconds as I looked out over a large courtyard enclosed by wide stone columns. Etched into the ground in front of each column, I saw a circle made of runes. I looked back into our office and shook my head.
“What the fu—?” A blast of air shoved me back into the office, causing a fireball to miss me. The heat embraced me as the fireball evaporated. I looked across the courtyard to see Dex forming another orb of flame.
“A simple no would’ve sufficed,” Monty said as he stepped in front of me. “Simon, you may want to step back. He’s being difficult.”
I unsheathed Ebonsoul and saw Dex smile.
“That’s the spirit!” Dex yelled from across the courtyard. “He may be daft, but at least the boy has stones. You, on the other hand,”—he pointed at Monty—“I’m not so sure.”
Dex released the fireball and it raced at Monty. As it approached, it split into three fireballs. They swerved and homed in on Monty, who stepped out of the courtyard and closed the door behind him. The fireballs thudded into the door in rapid succession.
I sheathed Ebonsoul as Dex walked into the office a few seconds later. “Tristan, you’re throwing your life away for a vampire?” Dex barked. He turned and looked at me. “No offense, lad. I know you’re sweet on her—but a vampire? Heed me, this will not end well.” He was topless and wearing a black-and-red kilt. The rune-scars across his torso gave off a faint green light. Herk flew in low and perched on the branch he held with a squawk as the door closed with a bang behind him.
“Aren’t you involved with the Morrigan?” I pointed at the raven that glared at me with its green eyes. “That seems like a bad idea any way you try and sell it.”
Dex cursed under his breath and stalked off only to come back a few seconds later. “That’s different.” He pointed at me with his branch. “What she and I have is—”
“Complicated,” I finished. “Doesn’t make it any less real. Vampire, or insane goddess of the dead.”
“‘The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb,’” Monty said, his voice steel. “You taught me that. Those were your words.”
“I know they’re my words—I said them!” Dex threw up his hands and cursed again. “Eich bod yn y ddau wallgof—both of you are insane.”
“We leave in the morning,” Monty said with a smile and removed the battle armor from the narrow case by the door. He grabbed the remaining set and handed it to me. Next to the armor, I saw the gleam of two short swords—the Sorrows.
“There’s no casting for you on that island,” Dex said seriously. “I hope you have another method of using your abilities.”
Monty pointed at the case. “I have those.
Dex looked into the narrow case, saw the swords, and grunted. “Oi, you still know how to use them?” he said, removing one of the blades. He swung it in the air and the sound it made took me by surprise. Each practice cut he executed sounded like the weeping of a young girl.
“I’m sure it’ll come back to me.” Monty removed the second blade and held it out, checking the balance. “These will allow me to cast without fatal backlash.”
Black runes covered the silver blade on both sides. The hilt was the figure of a young woman with her arms outstretched to the sides. When Monty extended the sword, the figure’s arms wrapped loosely around his wrist. Dex turned the sword he held and handed it to Monty, hilt-first.
“Those are fine weapons.” Dex pointed at me. “What are you bringing?”
“I’m ready.” I moved my jacket to the side to show him Grim Whisper. “Entropy rounds.”
“Entropy rounds—impressive.” Dex nodded his head in approval. “What happens when you run out of bullets? You’re going to stop them with your charm bracelet?”
“If I have to, yes.” I adjusted the mala bracelet on my wrist. “I also have this.” I unsheathed Ebonsoul.
Dex whistled under his breath and held out his hand. “May I?” I handed him the blade and he turned it over. He narrowed his eyes at me and looked at Monty, who nodded.
“He’s bonded to it,” Monty said and placed the swords across his back in a cross sheath. “Don’t ask me how.”
“Bonded to a dark blade and still sane—well, relatively sane,” Dex said with a grin. “We may walk off the island after all.”
“What are you bringing?” I asked, sheathing Ebonsoul as Dex handed it back. “Besides bad jokes.”
Monty glared at me. “I apologize, Uncle Dex,” Monty said quickly. “His brain occasionally malfunctions and his mouth takes over—”
Dex held up a hand and Monty fell silent. “It’s a fair question,” Dex said, never taking his eyes off me. “Especially if one’s life hangs in the balance.”
I immediately regretted my question as I felt the energy around me build. Dex just smiled at me, but it wasn’t a friendly ‘I’d like to get to know you’ smile. This was closer to a ‘the next few seconds are the last ones of your life’ smile. Real fear gripped me as Dex extended his arms.
“Uncle Dex?” Monty said warily and stepped closer to me. “He doesn’t know the customs.”
Dex ignored Monty and kept staring at me. “If we’re going to share blood on a battlefield, you should know who stands by your side,” Dex said in a low voice. “To me, Herk!”
The raven flapped over, sat on his shoulder, and dug in with its talons. Blood flowed freely as the raven spread its wings and shifted, growing even larger. A green flash blinded me and the raven was gone. Dex’s body was covered entirely in black feathers with a metallic sheen. Only his glowing green eyes were visible. He grabbed his branch with both hands and held it in front of him. I saw Monty gesture as a shield formed around us.
“You had to ask?” Monty said as he kept gesturing and moving us back. Even with shield and distance, I felt the power coming off Dex. “He’s one of the strongest mages in the Golden Circle.”
“This is what I bring,” Dex said, his voice low. He raised the staff several feet off the floor. “I bring power.”
He slammed the staff down in the best Gandalf ‘you shall not pass’ move I’d ever seen. The shockwave tossed Monty and me like ragdolls across the room. I swear I felt the building shake. By the time my vision cleared, the raven armor was gone and Dex stood facing us with a huge grin.
“That—was epic.” I stood up and straightened out my jacket. “Tolkien would be proud.”
“Oh no,” Monty muttered under his breath behind me. “Don’t get him started.”
“First off”—Dex held up a finger—“I had to convince him to shorten that tongue twister of a name—John Ronald Reuel—to J.R.R.,” Dex said, opening the door to his room. “If you survive tomorrow, I’ll tell you how I
helped him create his wizard.”
“You helped him create Gandalf?”
“Boy, I’m the reason Tolkien even wrote a Gandalf.” Dex looked at me and grew serious. “Do you still want to know what I’ll be bringing?”
I shook my head. “No, thank you,” I said. “I have an idea now.”
Dex gave me a short nod and a sly grin. “Next time you come into my quarters I’d advise you to knock first.” He stepped into his room and I swear I could see a green field with a castle in the distance before he closed the door behind him.
“We’d better get some sleep.” Monty stepped next to me. “Everything hinges on tomorrow.”
THIRTY-THREE
IMPENDING DEATH BRINGS you clarity of thought and purpose. I rarely gave much thought to my life ending. Being immortal has a way of shoving that to the back of your mind. In a few hours, I was going to step on an island so covered in magic that I might be rendered mortal. There was a good chance I wasn’t coming back from this. Love and insanity are thinly separated emotions. Over time, it’s hard to tell them apart.
I put on the battle armor. It was lighter than Kevlar and reminded me of articulated dragonskin combined with chainmail. It covered me from the neck down. A hood provided a snug fit to protect from headshots. I could see the faintly glowing runes shimmer across its dark surface and hoped they could stop blood arrows.
I strapped on Grim Whisper’s shoulder holster, tightened the thigh sheath holding Ebonsoul, and attached the flask of Valhalla Java to my other leg. I headed to the conference room, where I heard voices.
Peaches bumped into my leg, nearly dislocating my knee as I rounded the corner. I avoided smashing my face into the wall by turning and letting my shoulder take the brunt of the impact. His playful taps were getting dangerous. For a second I considered leaving him in the office. Then I remembered what he did to Roxanne. I doubted he would remain behind.
“We need to go get Chi, boy.” I rubbed his head as he rumbled at me. “I need you to stay close to me. This is going to be dangerous.”
“I’ll ask him.” We entered the conference room.
Monty and Dex were discussing Ziller’s theorems of teleportation circles and the displacement of mass. Monty had tried to explain this to me once when I asked about the wonderful aftereffects of teleportation. I wasn’t going to subject myself to the torture a second time. I pulled out Grim Whisper and checked it again.
On the table in front of them was a large map of Ellis Island. The island was U-shaped and turned on its side. Buildings occupied both ends of the U. The north side held the Immigration Museum. Several other buildings were connected to this main structure. The south side held the Ellis Island Hospital Morgue—a sprawling complex of small buildings. In the center of the U sat a large, squat building with a dock leading right into the water. It connected both ends of the island. Behind this building, the map showed a bridge leading away from the island and into New Jersey.
“If we land on the south side,” Monty said, pointing at the map, “we can secure the hospital area and use it as a base of operations.”
“Base of operations?” Dex scoffed. “You have an army I’m not seeing? There’s three of us.”
Peaches rumbled.
“Four of us.”
The raven squawked and flapped its wings.
“Five of us,” Dex said and looked around. “Five of us. We use stealth and the element of surprise and storm the main building.”
“We need to draw them here.” I pointed to the bridge. “Dex, can Herk pull a Hugin and Munin?”
“A what?” Dex looked at me and then smiled as he nodded. “Aye, that he can do.”
“We send him first and recon the island.” I looked down at the map. “If you port Dex and the animals in this corner,”—I pointed to the northeast corner covered in trees—“they can find where Michiko is being held and target that area. How far out does the dampening effect extend? Does it cover the bridge?”
“Only the island is affected,” Monty said, rubbing his chin. “I should be able to cast on the bridge. I would say mid-span just to be safe. The problem would be getting the Blood Hunters off the island.”
“I’m going to call in a favor.” I rubbed my mark and hoped my idea would work. If it didn’t, we were all dead. “Where are we meeting her?”
“Anastasia wants to meet here.” Monty pointed to the center building that joined the island. “We’ll be vulnerable from every angle. What favor? From whom?”
“Anastasia isn’t expecting Dex.” I shifted to one side to get a better look at the map. “Once he finds Chi, he can unleash the power,”—I gave Dex a sidelong glance—“grab her and get to the bridge.”
“And then what?” Monty looked at the map. “There’s nothing around the bridge—no cover, no egress. The Blood Hunters will attack en mass.”
“I’m counting on it,” I answered. “Do you think you can teleport something as large as the Goat?”
“I can’t.” Monty shook his head and pointed at Dex. “But he can. And for the record, this plan is insane.”
“I like the way you think, boy.” Dex grinned at me. “I’ll find your vampire. Why are we taking a goat? Are sacrifices required?”
“I’ll explain on the way,” I said and nearly fell over from another nudge from Peaches. “Dex, do you think you can make another one of your sausages—to go?”
THIRTY-FOUR
“HOW CLOSE DO we need to be?” I parked the car behind the US Coast Guard Recruiting Center next to the South Ferry and looked across the water to Ellis Island. “That’s a lot of water to cross.”
“Things like distance, space, and time are flexible constructs,” Dex said, getting out of the car. “Ziller postulates that—wait, have you studied Ziller?”
“Only when I want my brain melted.” I walked over to the edge of the parking lot. The sky was growing lighter as dawn approached. “You’re going to have to magicscience the hell out of this. Can you do it?”
“A split teleportation sending you and Tristan to one location,” —he gestured and a large rune-filled circle appeared around the Goat—“your vehicle to another, and myself and these creatures to a third location?”
Two more circles appeared equidistant from the car. “Have you done this before?” I said, looking at the circles warily. “I mean, you have done this before, right?”
“The theory is sound.” Dex nodded and stepped into one of the circles with Peaches padding next to him and sitting on his haunches. Dex motioned for Monty and me to enter the other. “Let’s see if this works,” Dex said and scrunched up his face as he scratched his head.
“He does know what he’s doing?” I took the sword case from Monty, and then I looked over the expanse of water and braced myself for gastrointestinal grief. “This is going to suck.”
“This is my first time trying a three-way teleport,” Dex stage-whispered, looking down at Peaches. “I hope I remember the sequences.” The pouch holding Chi’s Daystrider Armor was strapped to Peaches’ back. Dex extended his arms as Herk covered him with a green flash.
I stared at Monty. “Tell me this is more mage humor,” I said as my stomach clenched in anticipation.
“He’s actually a master of multiple teleportation,” Monty said, adjusting the swords on his back. “He used to practice with us when we were children.”
“Ach!” Dex said and scowled at Monty. “Your sense of humor is as keen as ever, Tristan. About as fun as sitting on a sharp stick.”
Monty ignored him. “You can imagine the hours of childhood pleasure as he teleported us all over the Sanctuary,” Monty continued. “Many times we would wander into his teleportation circles unknowingly and find ourselves on different parts of the mountain or in the middle of the lake.”
Dex grinned at me and shrugged. “I may have understated my abilities a bit.” He began to gesture. “It’s not proper to think to
o highly of one’s ability, you know. Pride goeth before the slippery slope of destruction—or something like that.”
I smiled in spite of myself. “That’s not even close.” I felt the tugging of the circle as the runes flared around my feet. “Remember—find Chi and get to the car. Try not to die.”
Peaches chuffed at me.
“Keep them safe, boy,” I said, checking my weapons one last time. “Find Chi.”
“May we get what we want, may we get what we need,” Dex said with a grin as his gestured again. “But may we never get what we deserve.” He placed his hands together and the world went white.
When the world came back into focus, Monty and I were standing on the side of the bridge closest to Ellis Island. I stood still, waiting for the eventual gut punch, but it never came.
“I told you he was a master of teleportation.” Monty started walking toward Ellis Island. “Your intestines are safe for now.”
“So all my digestive distress is because you suck at teleportation?” I stood still and held my stomach gingerly in case there was a delayed reaction.
“That plus your delicate and weak constitution.” Monty walked ahead.
I looked behind us and could just make out the silhouette of the Goat sitting in the middle of the bridge. It flared orange for a second and I thought the lock had activated. It was actually the first rays of the sun climbing over the horizon. I rushed to catch up to Monty.
On the tops of the buildings, I could see the figures holding both long and crossbows. Erik wasn’t kidding when he said they were an army. I counted no less than twenty and we weren’t even on the island proper yet. Every building I scanned had two or more Blood Hunters on the roof. I noticed two things right away. All of them were female, and they all had arrows trained on us.
“You think they all carry blood arrows?” I asked as we crossed the bridge. “Maybe some of them have the regular non-blow-you-up arrows?”
Monty gave me the ‘stop being dense’ look and pointed forward with his chin. “Focus,” he whispered under his breath. “We have company.”
Montague & Strong Detective Novels Box Set: Montague & Strong Detective Novels Books, 1 through 3 (Montague & Strong Case Files) Page 52
