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

by Orlando A. Sanchez

  “We will deal with the leaders of Shadow Company, Peter Douglas and George Rott,” I said, staring at Badb. “You can have any sorcerers at Haven who want to harm innocents. It would be great if you could squish Magnus without killing him, but let him know that coming after us and ours would be bad for his health.”

  “You want me to ‘squish’ a dragon?” Badb asked. “I do not squish my foes. I crush bones and spill blood. I lay waste to entire battlefields and destroy enemies.”

  “That’s a little much,” I said, slightly taken aback at her calmness.“We only need to stop the Balfour dragons from coming after those”—I glanced at Monty, who nodded—“under our aegis. If they try, then you can do all the crushing and spilling with the laying of waste.”

  “The sorcerers who wish harm upon yours in this place, Haven, are mine to feast upon?”

  “Feast away,” I said with a nod. “Only those working for Shadow Company.”

  “I am to persuade the dragons of this Balfour Enclave without killing the leader to leave you and those under your aegis alone?”

  “Yes. Just persuade, not kill.”

  “Are you in accord, mage?” Badb asked. “Do you accept these terms put forth by the Marked of Kali?”

  “I do,” Monty said. “On my word as a mage and a Montague.”

  There was an energy shift in the room and the nimbus of black around Badb flashed with red and gold for a few seconds before she slowly disappeared.

  “It is done,” Badb’s voice said. “The terms are accepted. I will leave you my totem. When you require my unkindness, the Marked of Kali must destroy it.”

  The massive crow flapped its giant wings and took off, flying full speed at the far wall. It vanished a second later. A single black feather floated down to the table. Monty picked up the feather, and handed it to me.

  The black feather shone with violet light as I examined it. I put it inside my jacket with an uneasy sensation.

  “Do you remember what to do with that?” Monty asked.

  “Yes,” I said, remembering our short, destructive visit to London. “Do I need to be in Haven, or will this set off remote death by goddess?”

  “Better not to be in the vicinity when you do summon her,” Monty said. “Do not call her until I let you know Haven is clear. From what I understand, her missions of death are heavy on the collateral damage. She has a tendency to kill everything on what she perceives to be the battlefield.”

  “This is the surgical scalpel option? You’ve got to be kidding.”

  “It’s the only option that can act on both Haven and the Balfour Enclave,” Monty said, grimly. “We must deal with everything else.”

  In that moment I realized it was too easy.

  “Monty, what exactly did we just do?”

  “We evened the playing field.”

  “Evened the playing field?” I asked. “Don’t you mean, evened the odds or leveled the playing field? Are you feeling okay?”

  “I’m fine. You know what I mean,” Monty said, waving my words away. “We now have the advantage on the playing field.”

  “This feels like we just obliterated the playing field, the stands, all of the parking around the field, and whatever city the playing field sits in.”

  “Anyone who stands against us tonight will realize they have made a fatal error,” Monty said, creeping into semi-Darthness. “They threaten death; we will unleash it upon them tenfold.”

  “When you start speaking like that, my inner Jedi starts the Darth alarm.”

  “How many lives have you touched with your own?” Monty asked, quietly. “Can you name any which you’re willing to lose?”

  “No.”

  “Magnus or the Shadow Company will go after them all.”

  “What’s the fine print to these terms?” I said, the dread still seizing my midsection. “That seemed too easy.”

  “There was nothing easy about what we just did.”

  “Why would she agree? What does she get out of this? I mean, besides the whole wiping out of everything she sees.”

  “I agreed to her terms,” Monty said. “Which requires repayment in the future.”

  “You indebted yourself to Badb Catha?” I said, raising my voice. “Are. You. Insane?”

  “No. We are out of options,” Monty said, his jaw set and his tone cold. “If we don’t get help—her help—we’ve lost. Do you understand? We lose. Even with her help, we may still lose. At least this way, we stand a chance.”

  “Dex, The Ten, any of the insane mages willing to work with you?” I asked, as my anger rose. “Are you telling me none of them were an option, not one? We had to resort to this?”

  “No, none of them,” Monty said, flatly. “Those insane enough to face off against a dragon enclave aren’t powerful enough. Those powerful enough to do so would never consider it, even for me. I will not put more people I care for in harm’s way.”

  “At the very least we could have asked them.”

  “What did you think I was doing?” Monty asked, exasperated. “Badb Catha was my second-to-last call. I reached out to everyone I thought could help. It did not go well.”

  “Who was last on the list?”

  “What you would call the thermonuclear option. Even I wouldn’t go that far—not that he would agree, but I didn’t dare, just in case he did.”

  “Who?” I asked, my brain still jolted by the fact that Badb Catha had agreed. “Who would be the nuclear option?”

  “Ezra.”

  The name stopped me cold. For a brief second, I understood how desperate Monty had truly been.

  “Would he have said yes?”

  “I’m glad we don’t have to find out,” Monty said with a sigh. “Unleashing her will be dangerous enough. She is an aspect of the triune Morrigan…the deadliest and most fear-inducing of the three.”

  “Yet you called her?” I asked, incredulously. “Why not one of the other less scary aspects? The one dating Dex would have been a better choice.”

  “They are all dating my uncle,” Monty said. “There are no major distinctions here. Why do you think most consider my uncle mad to be with her?”

  “That would actually explain why,” I admitted. “Are you certain the schism didn’t fry some circuits in that mage brain of yours?”

  “I’m certain I will not be held hostage by the Shadow Company or Magnus,” Monty said, his voice and expression dark. “I will not lose those close to me. If that means dealing with Badb, then so be it.”

  “Again, making statements like that—I start hearing the Imperial March. Are you okay? You’re not feeling a desire to wear a deep Zegna cowl or give in to the hate?”

  “Stop spouting gibberish. I’m not going dark, nor will I,” Monty assured me. “I also recognize when a situation is beyond my capabilities. We can’t be everywhere at once. The Transporter and Badb will buy us some time; not much, but hopefully enough that we can do what we need to do to walk away from this.”

  “While stopping Shadow Company.”

  “While eliminating Shadow Company and stopping Magnus.”

  I nodded, trying to take it all in.

  “Shit, I still can’t believe you accepted her terms,” I said, still angry. “I mean I understand, but damn, Monty, that was a bad idea.”

  “I’m glad you understand,” Monty said, pressing the runic sequence to open the back room door. “Because you accepted the same terms.”

  “You want to repeat that?” I said, steadying my voice. “What do you mean I accepted the same terms…No.”

  The realization hit me like a gut-check.

  “Yes,” Monty said, opening the door. “We do what we must to keep those near us safe. She is following the terms you laid out for her. My agreement was to follow whatever you determined. Technically, it was you making the terms.”

  “Technically? Technically?” I yelled. “We now owe Badb a favor?”

  “Yes,” Monty said, quietly, “and if we want to be alive to negotiate extri
cating ourselves out of it, we need to survive tonight.”

  I opened my mouth to disagree, but realized Monty was right. We would have to deal with Badb’s terms later. Right now, we had to deal with getting through tonight…alive.

  This is why you always read the fine print. Monty hadn’t exactly tricked me; it was more like inviting me into the carnage Badb Catha was going to unleash. Part of me still felt this was dangerous overkill. The other part—the part that understood Magnus and Shadow Company would only respect power—knew this was, if not the right course, then an acceptable course of action.

  “I’m not working or doing any favors for her,” I said. “There better be some kind of exit clause.”

  “If our actions spark a dragon war, it won’t matter,” Monty said. “At that point we will have greater concerns.”

  “Like staying alive,” I said as we stepped out of the back room.

  TWENTY-SIX

  “We need to speak to Dex,” I said. “After this is all through, and if we somehow make it out alive, I need to speak to Dex.”

  “Agreed,” Monty said as we stepped into the main dining area. “James, a word?”

  Jimmy came over to where we stood as the door to the back room closed silently behind us.

  “What’s going on?” Jimmy asked. “Is she gone? Tell me she’s gone.”

  “She’s gone,” Monty said. “I strongly advise against conducting business for a few days. There will be backlash from tonight and I’d rather you not bear the brunt of it.”

  “Got it,” Jimmy said. “I was due a mini-vacation anyway.”

  “Where’s Grohn?” I asked, looking around. It’s not like he was easy to miss.

  “Out back, unloading another truck. I better go tell him we’re going to be off for a few days. Do you need anything before you go?”

  “No thanks,” I growled, still somewhat pissed. “Stay safe, though, okay?”

  “I’ll be fine. Grohn and I will go spend some time in the mountains with my sleuth,” Jimmy said. “It’ll be good for him, and I’ll get to catch up with family.”

  “Family sounds good,” I said. “They’re all you have”—I glanced at Monty—“even if you want to strangle them sometimes.”

  “You two going to be okay?” Jimmy asked with a note of concern in his voice. “I couldn’t get the details, but it sounded heated in there for a minute.”

  “Nothing we can’t resolve,” Monty said. “I’d appreciate your discretion regarding our guest this evening.”

  “The less I know about her the better,” Jimmy said, raising a hand. “She is Grade-A petrifying, and there isn’t much that scares my kind.”

  “Thanks for feeding my black hole,” I said, stepping out of the way and letting my hellhound move toward the door. “We’ll see you when you get back.”

  Jimmy nodded and took off his apron before heading to the back. He paused and turned, his face serious.

  “You’re dealing with the Morrigan; make sure you’re the ones that get back. Be careful out there.”

  “We will,” I said as we left the Randy Rump.

  At least I hoped we’d be back.

  We made our way to the Dark Goat and got in. My hellhound tested the limits of his backseat domain with a magnificent sprawl, taking up all of the space in one long stretch. I thought I heard the doors creak as he pushed against them with his massive legs.

  We drove in silence for a few minutes. I was still set to slow burn. I didn’t enjoy being roped into owing Badb Catha, but I understood why Monty did it.

  “Would you have agreed if I had taken the time to explain the option to you?” Monty asked after some time, reading my thoughts. “I apologize if this feels like a deception.”

  “Not like a deception,” I snapped. “No, I wouldn’t have agreed. I would’ve told you to take your insane plan and take a long walk off a short cliff. This is crazy, Monty, you have to see that.”

  “No crazier than anything else we have done.”

  “No crazier? Wrong, much crazier!”

  “What would you have proposed?” Monty asked, glancing at me. “We go in and destroy them all in a hail of orbs and bullets? That plan would have lasted exactly two seconds before either Magnus cut through us or Haven became a killing ground.”

  I kept silent for a few seconds, because he was right.

  “Can you get them out? The people at Haven? Can you get them out in time?”

  “I don’t know,” Monty said, turning to look out the window. “I’ve never heard of a Transporter moving so many people at once. It’s not just the patients; she has to move staff, too. Fortunately, it’s the evening shift and the staff will be minimal.”

  “What about the detention level?”

  “It should be safe from the attack,” Monty said. “I doubt any of Shadow Company’s sorcerers will gain access to those levels. Badb Catha won’t give them time. They will focus on the soft targets.”

  “How do we call her off?” I asked, concerned. “Does the Death Goddess have an off switch?”

  “None that I’m aware of,” Monty said. “It’s best to let her run her course and stay out of her way.”

  “Right, nothing can go wrong with that strategy,” I growled. “Sorry, this whole op is such a flustercuck.”

  “Excuse me? I think the correct term is cluster—”

  “No, a flustercuck is before it happens,” I corrected. “The clusterfuck starts the moment I pull that trigger to shoot you.”

  “About that,” Monty said. “Please try to avoid my head. I’m slowing down the round, not stopping it.”

  I glanced at him again.

  “You want me to aim at some non-lethal part of your body with a round designed to drop a dragon. Do you hear yourself?”

  “Correct. I’m placing my life in your aim.”

  “Do you realize how batshit that sounds?”

  “Which part? Asking you to take a non-lethal shot or trusting you enough to place my life in your hands?”

  “Both, Monty,” I said with a sigh. “This is beyond dangerous. What if…what if I miss?”

  “I won’t exactly be in a position to chastise you about it, now, will I?” Monty said. “You won’t miss. I know you won’t.”

  It was my turn to pinch the bridge of my nose.

  “I think the schism scrambled what little sense you had left,” I said. “If we make it through this op, you go back to Haven for a full eval.”

  “Agreed,” Monty said with a slight nod. “If we don’t, it won’t matter much, will it?”

  “I’m not feeling the nihilist Monty,” I said. “Don’t mages ever try to encourage each other before a major battle?”

  “Mages deal in reality, not false hope or wishful thinking. I fail to see anything to be encouraged about,” Monty said, staring at me. “We face overwhelming odds. We risk losing everyone we care for, along with our own lives in the process. Even you, with your curse, will not be able to stand against a dragon of Magnus’ power and age. What we need is to go into this evening armed with all the facts and operate on complete information, not hope or luck.”

  “Mage pep talks suck,” I said. “My morale feels so lifted right now, thanks.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  We arrived at the trailer with ten minutes to spare.

  TWENTY-SEVEN

  Carlos was standing at the door as we approached.

  “You’re early,” he said, glaring at me. “Douglas said ten o’clock.”

  “Actually it was Rott, and early is better than late,” I said, returning his glare. “You plan on blocking our way, or do I have to shoot you this time?”

  “You caught me off guard last time, old man,” Carlos mocked. “I didn’t expect someone of your advanced age capable of moving like that. It won’t happen again.”

  I slid forward, moving much faster than out last ‘conversation’, but this time, I materialized Ebonsoul. The look on Carlos’ face let me know he just wasn’t ready and never would be
. I placed the blade of Ebonsoul gently against his neck. Peaches gave off a low growl.

  “Do you know why it won’t happen again?” I asked, applying pressure to the blade as I spoke into his ear.

  Carlos froze, realizing that any sudden movement could instantly make him a head shorter.

  “No, sir,” Carlos managed to whisper. “I don’t.”

  “Because next time, if there is a next time, I won’t be warning you,” I said. “I’ll be ending you.”

  I reabsorbed Ebonsoul and stepped back.

  “What the hell are you?” Carlos asked, rubbing his neck. “You’re like them, some kind of freak.”

  “Step aside before I stop feeling cordial.”

  Carlos moved quickly to the side and opened the door. His actions showed respect, but his eyes radiated hatred. I’d have to watch him during the op. The last thing I wanted was to be shot by a stray round or blown up by a misplaced explosive. This time he remained outside.

  “I’d say that your social skills need some polish,” Monty said as we moved inside. “But that would require you to possess social skills.”

  “I have plenty of social skills,” I said as I headed down the corridor. “He called me a freak. I’m not a freak.”

  “Not at all, you’re just abnormal.”

  I glanced at Monty, but he had a straight face and I left the comment alone. I didn’t want to go into what I could or could not do in front of Douglas. I knew Rott wouldn’t be here. He would be with Magnus arranging to be his driver for the night, but if I knew Shadow Company, the entire trailer was equipped with listening devices.

  “You’re early, good,” Douglas said when we entered the situation room. He pointed to the conference table. “Here are your kits.”

  I saw the long case and imagined it was the rifle I was supposed to use.

  “Open it,” Douglas said. “Wouldn’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”

  I opened the case and saw my old rifle. Memories flooded me as I ran a finger along the barrel.

  “My rifle. You kept it?”

  “Once Shadow Company, always Shadow Company,” Douglas said. “You never really leave.”