Silver Clouds Dirty Sky Read online

  Contents

  Title

  Quotation

  For Amy Beth Walker Nolan

  ONE

  TWO

  THREE

  FOUR

  FIVE

  SIX

  SEVEN

  EIGHT

  NINE

  TEN

  ELEVEN

  TWELVE

  THIRTEEN

  FOURTEEN

  FIFTEEN

  SIXTEEN

  SEVENTEEN

  EIGHTEEN

  NINETEEN

  TWENTY

  TWENTY-ONE

  TWENTY-TWO

  TWENTY-THREE

  TWENTY-FOUR

  TWENTY-FIVE

  TWENTY-SIX

  TWENTY-SEVEN

  TWENTY-EIGHT

  TWENTY-NINE

  THIRTY

  THIRTY-ONE

  THIRTY-TWO

  THIRTY-THREE

  THIRTY-FOUR

  Cast of Characters for Silver Clouds Dirty Sky

  CAMEOS of NOTE

  ORGANIZATIONS

  Special Mentions for Silver Clouds Dirty Sky

  AUTHOR NOTES

  Contact me:

  Homecoming

  Thank you for reading

  Acknowledgments

  ART Shredders

  About the Author

  Copyright

  Silver Clouds Dirty Sky

  By

  Orlando A. Sanchez

  A Montague & Strong Detective Novel

  Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

  For Amy Beth Walker Nolan

  Your bright light was extinguished during the writing of this book. You were one of the first voices in the MoB Family. You helped in every ART. Your voice, your humor, and your wit are interlaced in every Monty & Strong story and I thank you.

  You were a dear friend who always had a kind word and insightful idea into Monty & Strong. When I suggested this story to you, you were excited to read it as you were with all my books.

  May the Valkyries raise a flagon of Valhalla Java in your honor Amy. I am proud to call you a member of my family-the MoB Family.

  Each of you comprises my support-giving me insight, advice, ideas, and most importantly love. You allow me to brighten our sometimes dark world with a few moments of adventure, action, and humor.

  Our lives are dimmer with the sudden loss of Amy’s light, but I know she would want me to keep telling stories and she would want you to keep reading.

  This story is for you

  Amy.

  ONE

  I HATED TELEPORTATION.

  We landed on cool, smooth stone, and I seriously considered never moving again. I looked up in time to see the setting sun. It took a few seconds before I realized that we’d left New York City at dawn.

  “Stay in the circle,” Monty said as he gestured. Light blue runes floated over us. “I can’t determine the effects of a jump of that scale. It’s safer if you stay inside.”

  “Where the hell are we, Monty?” I sat up and really looked around this time. Peaches was sprawled out, stunned, and moving slowly next to me. Beside him lay Michiko, unconscious. I didn’t see Dex. I tried to stand, and the ground shifted in several directions, advising me that remaining seated was a good idea right now. “Where’s Dex?”

  Monty pointed with his chin while he kept gesturing. We were in a courtyard. A large, squat, stone building sat in front of us in the looming darkness. In fact, from what I could tell, stone buildings surrounded us.

  On the ground a few feet away lay Dex, with a woman next to him. It was hard to make out her features, but the chill in the air gave me a clue.

  “Monty,” I whispered, “is that—?”

  She looked up at me then, and I stared into the eyes of the Morrigan. Her eyes gave off a faint green glow as she laid Dex’s head gently on the stone and approached.

  “Which one of you allowed him to cast a spatial temporal circle—using his blood?” she asked with a smile that promised all sorts of pain.

  That little voice I always ignored, suggested burrowing into the stone and hiding. For once, I agreed with it.

  “Well met” Monty stepped out of the circle and gave her a short bow.

  “That remains to be seen, mage.” She pointed at Dex without turning. “How did this happen?”

  “He cast the blood circle to save us,” Monty answered, glancing back at the rest of us. “No one tells my uncle what to do or how to do it. You know that better than most. I did my best to limit the backlash. I didn’t know he would be bringing us here or time-skipping.”

  “Where is here?” I asked, getting unsteadily to my feet. The ground only wobbled slightly this time. In the dim light, I managed to make out a plaque affixed to the crumbling stone wall next to us that read: Wardrobe Tower-12th Century. “This isn’t much of a wardrobe tower.”

  “The damn fool,” the Morrigan whispered and stepped back to Dex’s body, kneeling next to him. “He has exceeded his capacity and nearly killed himself in the process. What caused him to take such action? Why would he teleport you here?”

  “We were evading a magistrate,” Monty replied. “One sent to apprehend or eliminate me.”

  “That black orb that ate the Goat didn’t say apprehend to me,” I said, looking around the stone wall. Behind it stood a larger structure. “He was trying to kill us—especially you.”

 

  Peaches stirred and sniffed the air. I rubbed his belly as he stood on wobbly legs. Whatever we just did, it hit him just as hard as it had me. Michiko was still unconscious.

  “I’ll get you something to eat—as soon as I figure out where we are,” I said, looking at Monty.

  “The Consortium will be arriving soon,” the Morrigan said, scooping up Dex’s body with little effort. A large raven swooped in and landed on her shoulder. She plucked a feather from its body. “You will have to find another way to return. The entire island is gated.”

  “The entire island?” Monty narrowed his eyes and looked around. “I see. Only the Consortium would sanction something like that. Uncle Dex bringing us here must have set off their defenses.”

  “Your uncle will be in runic stasis for some time, and the Consortium would like to have some words with him—violent words.” She handed me the feather with a nod. “When you need my unkindness, destroy this.”

  “He’s managed to anger them again, hasn’t he?” Monty said with a shake of his head.

  The Morrigan smiled. “He’s your uncle. Why ask questions you already know the answer to?”

  “Consortium?” I looked at Monty. “There’s no Consortium in New York.”

  “You are correct, Simon.” The Morrigan flashed her green eyes at me and began phasing out of sight, taking Dex with her. “But then again, you are no longer in New York.”

  Her voice trailed off into the night as I turned to Monty. “Where did he teleport us?” I asked, trying to keep my voice calm. “What did she mean by her unkindness?”

  “It’s more where and when.” Monty adjusted his jacket. “A blood circle allows the caster to incorporate an additional component to the teleportation circle—in this case it was a temporal component.”

  “Don’t magic-science me. Where and when the hell are we?”

  “He took us to a place of power,” Monty said, looking at the large stone structure in front of us. “That is the White Tower.”

  “White Tower as in Tower of London?” I asked incredulously. “He ported us to London?”

  Monty nodded. “I would say a few hours ahead since we left New York City at dawn. London is five hours ahead, and it’s evening here. I could really use a cuppa
.”

  “Why would he port us so far away?” I asked. “Even better, how did he do it?”

  “I was just about to ask you the same thing,” a voice behind me said. “Welcome to London. You are all under arrest.”

  TWO

  “CONSORTIUM MAGES?” I asked, looking at the group around us.

  Monty nodded. “Five in the open, and several more trying desperately to camouflage but failing,” he whispered. “Don’t shoot them—yet. I’d like to hear what warranted this response.”

  The Penumbra Consortium was the older, darker, angrier, European version of the Dark Council—heavy hitters with long memories and longer reach. They oversaw and controlled the Eastern Hemisphere.

  “Good reaction time,” I said, turning slowly and facing the mage who spoke. Peaches rumbled next to me as I looked down at him.