Requiem: A Montague & Strong Detective Novel (Montague & Strong Case Files Book 13)

by Orlando A. Sanchez

  “Insignificant details,” Monty replied, his expression serious. “If this is the case, this would be the ideal time to decline this mission and meeting. I don’t know if Kali’s curse will allow you to survive a dragon attack.”

  “You know I can’t walk away,” I said. “I need to see this through to the end.”

  “Why?” Monty said. “You owe these men no allegiance. If anything, they are trying to eliminate you.”

  “If Rott is alive, I need to make things right with him and end this.”

  “What if what he’s after is your life?”

  “He’s going to find taking my life difficult.”

  “It won’t stop him from trying, especially if he’s trying to balance the scales of Cassandra’s death with your own. He will never stop.”

  “Then I’ll have to stop him.”

  ELEVEN

  “Jimmy doesn’t know how to find dragons,” I said. “Although he makes a solid argument against my locating them. Do you know?”

  “Why would he know?” Monty asked. “He’s not a dragon.”

  “I just figured he’s part of the supernatural community,” I said. “Maybe he had an address?”

  “You do realize you’re part of the same community now?”

  “I’m only partially supernatural. The rest of me is entirely natural, without the super.”

  Monty just stared at me for a few seconds.

  “The workings of your brain are truly indecipherable,” Monty said as we left the office. “His being a werebear doesn’t mean he’s a fount of information. Dragons are wealthy, old, powerful, and invisible. James wouldn’t be privy to that kind of information.”

  “Invisible as in hard to see?”

  “Invisible as in operating behind the scenes,” Monty said. “They have two major enclaves in the city, the Balfour and Obouros—or, at least they had. They have been dormant for some time now.”

  “For a moment I thought you were going to say the Capulets and the…hey?”

  “No relation at all,” Monty said. “I do believe my uncle had words with William’s use of the family name. Apparently it was cleared with the elders of the time. Poetic license or some such.”

  “Dex knew Billy Shakes? I’m impressed,” I said. “Actually, that explains a few things.”

  “Do I even want to know?” Monty asked. “Forget I asked. The point is that dragons prefer to remain quiescent, hidden, and behind the scenes, pulling strings and influencing events from the shadows.”

  “Slif didn’t seem all that inactive when she was trying to kill us,” I said. “Why haven’t I heard of the dragon enclaves before all of this?”

  “Did you forget the part about being invisible?” Monty asked. “They take great pains to remain in the background, shunning all kinds of attention.”

  “Which means Jimmy can’t share what he doesn’t know,” I said. “Are you saying Slif and Kraggy were outliers?”

  “Quite,” Monty said with a nod. “In any case, even if James knew, I doubt he could divulge that information.”

  “Why not? Would they hit him with some kind of mute cast? Or maybe something that creates spontaneous amnesia? Then he would forget every time he was asked.”

  “On occasion, I wish I could suffer from acute, spontaneous amnesia, usually every time you come up with these ideas,” Monty said. “The reason he wouldn’t share is because dragons are notoriously homicidal about their privacy. They would come back and reduce this establishment—and James—to atoms for sharing their location.”

  “So, what then?” I asked. “It’s not like we can google ‘dragon enclave NYC.’ How do we locate them?”

  “There is a method, but we will have to see an Auer,” Monty replied. “Which will complicate things considerably.”

  “Who do we need to see in an hour? Do we have enough time?”

  “Not ‘see someone in an hour’, we need to go see an Auer.”

  “Right, that makes perfect sense,” I said. “What’s an Auer? Don’t you dare say a measurement of time.”

  “The closest approximation would be a type of archive. She is a guardian of information.”

  “You mean we’re going to go see a glorified librarian?”

  “Whatever you do, if you enjoy a functioning mind, do not call her a ‘glorified librarian’. She is an Auer, or The Auer. Do not address her as anything else, at your own risk.”

  “She sounds dangerous,” I said. “For once, can’t we go see someone harmless? Someone like the barista of scrumptious coffee who will drown us in caffeinated goodness if she feels insulted? Why is it every time we go see one of your people, the chances of obliteration escalate?”

  “My people?” Monty asked. “What do you mean, my people?”

  “You know,” I said, with some finger wiggles. “The magey/sorcerer types. So far, they’ve all been dangerous, deadly, or unpredictably homicidal.”

  “Because mages and their ilk are dangerous, deadly, and unpredictably homicidal,” Monty said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “The world you are now part of can and will kill you, or at the very least try to, repeatedly. Although, you visiting the Auer should be safe.”

  “Oh, you’re saying this Auer is harmless?”

  Peaches padded over to where we stood. I was surprised he was capable of any movement after devouring his enormous bowl of pastrami. Monty glanced down at my partially sated hellhound.

  “Not exactly,” Monty said, stepping to the side to allow my hellhound passage. “She’s probably as harmless as your creature.”

  I looked at my—harmless—hellhound, and he looked back at me with a serious dose of puppy dog eyes. The effect was lessened a bit by the red glow.

  “You realize it may be time to put your creature on a diet of some sort,” Monty continued, having avoided a dislocated hip from an accidental collision. “He’s looking a little rotund around the middle.”

  “He doesn’t like the ‘D’ word,” I said, lowering my voice. “Says I’m trying to punish him when I bring it up.”

  “He could stand to lose a few pounds.”

  “He could,” I said, glancing at Peaches. “He just ate the equivalent of a small cow in pastrami. I don’t know if I could put him on a di—modified eating program.”

  “Why ever not?” Monty asked. “If he continues on this course he won’t fit through normal doorways, much less the car.”

  “I tried and Ezra shut me down,” I said, patting my wonderful hellhound on the head. “Said he’s still growing and needs all the food he can get.”

  “At this rate,” Monty said, approaching Jimmy, “we’re going to need a bus to transport him.”

  “I just need to exercise him more,” I said. “Hellhounds have boundless energy. I just need to channel it.”

  “You could always let him and Grohn play,” Jimmy volunteered. “I’m sure it would help him burn off some excess energy.”

  I stared at Jimmy.

  “Where exactly do you suggest this ‘play’ take place?” I asked, looking around. “Here at the Rump?”

  “Are you insane?” Jimmy said, glaring at me. “They would destroy it. I know just the place—when you have some time, bring your pup.”

  We thanked Jimmy for the tea and coffee and stepped outside. The Dark Goat greeted us with a wave of menace that radiated outward in every direction for several dozen feet.

  “Whatever runes Cecil used on the Dark Goat, maybe I could have him place some of the same on a jacket?”

  “You want Cecil to rune a jacket that causes fear and repulsion in a radius around its location?”

  “That way it would make my life easier,” I reasoned. “When something comes to pound on my mage partner, they will stay away from me. That way I avoid the poundage.”

  “Or it may have the inverse effect and make you a target, just like being the Marked of Kali does. In fact, it may even multiply the effect of the mark, attracting some insanely formidable enemies to your location.”

&nb
sp; “Shit,” I said, opening the door for my slow-moving hellhound. He bounded into the Dark Goat, occupied the entire backseat in a sprawltastic way, rocking the car as he settled in. Monty just stared and shook his head. “Do you think the Mark is that bad?”

  “I think we’re going to need to visit Cecil soon to redo the suspension on this car,” Monty said, getting into the Dark Goat. “The mark Kali graced you with inherently acts as a deterrent.”

  “That’s a good thing, right? Deterrent is good.”

  “Inherently, yes. As you grow in power, you will attract powerful enemies,” Monty added. “Like attracts like and in this case, whatever you attract will most likely try to obliterate you.”

  “Without even getting to know me first?”

  “Killing the Marked of Kali is a high honor,” Monty said. “If a challenger manages to accomplish the task, it’s rumored Kali will favor them with riches and glory.”

  “So, I’m basically a walking, breathing lottery ticket for some enemy wanting to take me out.”

  “Well, I wouldn’t put it so crudely, but yes. If someone manages to vanquish you, they will gain substantial notoriety, vast material wealth, and power. It’s quite enticing, actually.”

  “Thanks for the morale boost,” I said, placing my hand on the dash and starting the Dark Goat with a roar. “Why would she do that? I was perfectly fine being the Chosen of Kali—well, not fine, but you know what I mean.”

  Monty nodded.

  “If I were you, I’d ask her,” he said. “She may even answer you.”

  I shuddered at the thought of “visiting” Kali again.

  “Hard pass,” I said. “Have you met Kali? Fun times it is not. Maybe I can just live as a hermit in the office. Maybe just stay in Dex’s room for the duration?”

  “As an option, that sounds unlikely,” Monty said. “Eventually they will find you as your power increases. The beings seeking you out will be stronger, able to locate you wherever you are, this plane or another.”

  “Maybe there’s such a thing as mark camouflage? Something to mask it for a specific amount time, like two or three centuries?”

  “Perhaps the Auer may have some information,” Monty said. “We need to head to Queens.”

  “Queens?” I said, as we headed away from the Randy Rump. “Really?”

  “Yes, specifically Flushing Meadows Park, the site of the last World’s Fair in New York City,” Monty said. “The Auer resides in a reinforced structure within the park. Do you know how to get there?”

  “Do you know where the Thames is?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous, of course I know—”

  “Rhetorical,” I said, cutting him off. “Of course I know where Flushing Meadows is. I was born and raised in this city.”

  Monty reached over and pressed his hand on the decorative mound above the dash. A medium-sized screen, about eight inches wide, rose into view several seconds later.

  “What the…? How long has that been there?”

  “Since we received the new vehicle. Didn’t you read the manual?”

  “There’s a manual?”

  “Of course there’s a manual,” Monty said, as he pressed buttons on the touch screen, bringing up different displays until he located what he was looking for: the GPS system.

  “We have GPS, really?” I asked, surprised. “Does it only work for this plane, or is it interplanar?”

  “Interplanar?” Monty asked. “Have you been imbibing too much of your flask? No GPS could be functionally interplanar. This works for this plane only.”

  “That’s pretty amazing.”

  “Is this your first experience with GPS?” Monty asked, as he kept manipulating the display. “It’s actually old technology. Even I know about it.”

  “That humor of yours is practically Saharan,” I said. “Of course I’ve heard of GPS. I just didn’t expect this much tech in the Dark Goat.”

  “Every SuNaTran vehicle is equipped this way. How do you think Cecil locates this vehicle to bring it to us? Divination?”

  “I thought it was some kind of runic tracking beacon, or something like that.”

  “I’m sure he could devise something like that, but Cecil is not a mage. Besides, why use runes when he has technology?”

  Monty pressed a few more buttons, zooming out and then back in until he located Flushing Meadows. A few more presses and he had managed to input a route to the park from our location using the navigation system.

  “You know, you’re pretty tech savvy for a mage senior citizen.”

  “It’s a common misconception that science is the antithesis of magic. Those who would balk at my use of runes and manipulation of energy have no issue channeling electricity through metal and plastic boxes, which they then use to communicate across the planet.”

  “Well…when you put it that way, it sounds—”

  “It sounds like magic,” Monty said, still looking at the display. “According to the GPS we need to cross the Ed Koch Bridge.”

  “No, wrong.”

  “It says so right here.” Monty pointed at the map. “This is the Ed—”

  “No one calls it the Ed Koch anything. That is the 59th Street Bridge, or in a pinch, the Queensboro Bridge—never the Ed Koch, ever. The same way the Triboro will forever be the Triboro Bridge and not the RFK anything.”

  “I had no idea this was such a sensitive subject,” Monty said. “I stand corrected. For having such thick skins, New Yorkers can be quite sensitive.”

  “We’re territorial that way,” I said. “It would be like me calling the Tower Bridge the London Bridge, which would be—”

  “Incorrect,” Monty said with an edge to his voice. “It is not and has never been called the London Bridge.”

  “Good thing you aren’t sensitive about the subject,” I said with a small smile. “What is the name of the river it crosses, again? The Windy Twisty River?”

  “You know full well it’s the Thames.”

  “Right,” I said. “Now you know why it’s called the 59th Street Bridge.”

  “You’ve made your point.”

  I nodded, satisfied that I had won the minor skirmish in upholding the naming of my city’s landmarks.

  “What else does that display show?”

  “I’d suggest you read the manual first,” Monty said, still arranging some of the settings. “I thought you never used it because you were a purist and refused to accept this much technology in your vintage vehicle.”

  “You mean the same vintage vehicle covered in death runes that make it an indestructible mobile menace? That vintage vehicle?” I asked. “The one we added suicide doors to so we could accommodate a certain sprawlificent hellhound?”

  “Well, there is that,” Monty admitted. “The manual is quite informative. When you have time, I recommend perusing it.”

  “Did you study it?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “Then I’m good,” I said. “At least one of us has the information.”

  “I don’t even know why I try sometimes.”

  “Wait, do we have machine guns, oil slicks or nitrous oxide?”

  “You are confusing this vehicle with a particular fictional Aston Martin driven by a British spy,” Monty said. “There are no armaments on this vehicle that I know of. One could argue this vehicle is a weapon unto itself.”

  “Good point. The runes of death are enough to creep anyone out. That, plus being indestructible, is plenty.”

  “More than enough, I would say.”

  “I think I’m going to have to read the manual,” I said, swerving around traffic heading to the bridge. “Maybe there’s an eject button?”

  “It’s a solid roof,” Monty said, glancing upward. “An eject button would lead to a broken neck.”

  “I’ll double check for one when I read the manual,” I said. “Can you go into more detail about this Auer person?”

  “She is an archivist of sorts,” Monty said as we sped uptown. “Her site is simila
r to Professor Ziller’s library, except, unlike Ziller, she exists in a fixed point of time and space. The knowledge contained within her archive spans most of human history.”

  “So, she’s the ultimate encyclopedia?”

  “No, she possesses more information than any encyclopedia can ever hope to contain,” Monty said. “Her ability as an Auer allows her to assimilate and compile the sum total of human knowledge.”

  “Is she even human? Wouldn’t that much information destroy anyone’s mind?”

  “She is decidedly not human, she’s an Auer. They are specifically trained to manage the amount of information they encounter.”

  “They? There’s more than one?”

  “Archives? Yes,” Monty said. “Auers are rare. I only know of this one.”

  “What makes her different from Ziller’s living library?”

  “Professor Ziller and his library have a very specific focus—all things magical,” Monty replied. “If we need an obscure rune or a special cast, then Ziller is perfect. If we need information on how to find dragons in this city, we need to speak to the Auer.”

  “Are we putting her in danger?” I asked, concerned. “You said dragons would get pissed if anyone revealed their location.”

  “I did,” Monty replied. “The Auer is not just anyone. The dragons may be formidable, but I doubt they would engage her in battle, much less attempt to attack the fortified location that is her compound.”

  “All the dragons I’ve met have been beyond unhinged,” I said. “Is there any way to keep this meeting secret?”

  “The park is large and no one knows we’re going to see her,” Monty said. “I’d say this is about as stealthy as we can be without taking extreme measures in our approach.”

  “You do realize Flushing Meadows is enormous? I don’t seem to recall any fortresses in the park. Where exactly is she located?”

  “She’s not exactly in the park. Beneath it would be more appropriate,” Monty answered. “She is in a compound beneath the Unisphere. Very few know of its existence.”

  “She’s under the Unisphere?”

  “In a specifically designed structure, yes,” Monty said. “Access to her location will be difficult. You can imagine her safety is a priority.”