Walking The Razor: A Montague & Strong Detective Novel Read online

  “Dex was not pleased to see them,” LD answered. “Three at the Rump, possibly more. This seems personal.”

  “At the Rump?” TK asked. “They must be doing a proximity search first.”

  “Overheard some of their conversation before Dex went…well…Dex, and nearly blasted them all inside the Rump. They’re using this one”—he pointed to Jessikah—“to bird-dog Tristan.”

  “Makes sense,” TK said, looking at Jessikah. “Miss Onuris, you have a choice to make.”

  “A choice?” Jessikah replied, confused. “What choice?”

  “Help us find Tristan, or die where you stand. Choose.”

  Green energy crackled around TK’s hands.

  TWO

  “What do you mean?” Jessikah asked, taking a step back. “Die where I stand?”

  “I’d pick option one if I were you,” I said. “She’s not kidding.”

  “I lack a proper sense of humor,” TK replied. “To date, only LD understands it.”

  “My gift,” LD said with a mock bow. “Let’s not atomize the novice, dear. They tossed her to the wolves. Besides, she’s Farsight—she could come in handy.”

  “Three seconds is”—TK glanced at Jessikah—“not entirely useful.”

  “Neither is blasting her to bits,” I said. “Wouldn’t that just piss off the Black Orchid?”

  “You’re operating under the presumption that I care about what the Black Orchid thinks…I don’t. Let alone that the Black Orchid actually cares about Miss Onuris’s welfare. It doesn’t.”

  “Disintegration is a little harsh though,” I said. “She didn’t know they set her up.”

  “That’s why I gave her a choice,” TK said, still looking at Jessikah. “Miss Onuris?”

  “I’d like to stay alive,” Jessikah said slowly, realizing she was outclassed. “I’ll help you find Tristan.”

  “You will not engage Tristan when we do,” TK said. “He’s not in a normal state of mind and may decide to obliterate you. Understood?”

  “Obliterate me?” Jessikah asked. “Is he really that powerful?”

  TK narrowed her eyes at Jessikah.

  “He’s undergone a schism,” TK answered. “Are you aware of this?”

  “I was instructed to stop a dark mage,” Jessikah answered. “No one mentioned a schism.”

  I stared at her. She was either hated or dangerous. Possibly both.

  “Monty was powerful before this happened,” I said. “Scary powerful. Now…”

  “He’s more powerful than you,” TK answered after a few seconds. “You would be eliminated before you were aware of the danger.”

  “My farsight…” Jessikah started.

  “Would allow you an entire three seconds to accept your fate,” TK finished. “Nothing would prevent your death…even with your farsight.”

  “Why would they send me?” Jessikah said, her voice suddenly angry. “If they knew he was that powerful?”

  Jessikah’s cat purred next to her.

  “No, I don’t think so,” she said, looking down at the cat, then back at us. “Sorry, this is Inkling—Ink for short. He and I can communicate. I know, it’s weird.”

  “Not really,” I said, pointing at my hellhound. “That’s Peaches. We can communicate too, although most of our conversations revolve around meat, how hungry he is, and how I don’t feed him enough.”

  “Will he be okay around Ink?” Jessikah said, looking at my hellhound. “He looks…I want to say, impressive.”

  “But you really mean dangerous, I know. He’s the friendliest hellhound I know.”

  “Do you know many hellhounds?”

  “Just his dad,” I said, rubbing Peaches behind the ears, “who is not friendly at all.”

  “Ink isn’t exactly keen on strangers. Takes a while for him to warm up to people and…hellhounds.”

  “I’ll make sure Peaches doesn’t try to snack on him,” I said, looking at my hellhound, who pretended to be ignoring the entire conversation. “Do not eat the cat. No eating Ink.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  “You can speak to him…mentally?” Jessikah asked, staring at me. “That’s quite advanced, but you’re not a mage. What are you?”

  “Difficult,” TK answered. “The Black Orchid sent you after Tristan to eliminate you. They couldn’t take action against you directly in the sect, but out here in the field, on a dangerous case…you become collateral damage.”

  “Two birds, one blast,” LD said. “They take down Tristan, and she just happens to die in the process. Neat—evil as hell—but neat.”

  “Precisely,” TK said, looking at Jessikah. “Do you understand the position you are in?”

  “Not really,” Jessikah answered. “But I do know they sent me out here to die, and I’d prefer staying alive..”

  “For now, that’s enough,” TK said, turning to me. “We need to track Tristan. Where did the schism occur?”

  “Kali’s place,” I said. “Her dimension.”

  “No,” TK said. “That’s unlikely. Kali would never permit that kind of casting to occur in her realm. It’s possible that’s where it manifested, but not where it occurred.”

  “That is where he went dark and scary,” I said. “Mostly scary.”

  “Where were you before you headed to Kali’s?” LD asked. “The place where he cast the blood magic?”

  “We were dealing with my energy signature going sideways,” I said. “Kali seemed like the best and only solution. Once we were there, we were dealing with a few Rakshasas. He cast to help me, and then went all Darth Monty on me. I told him not to cast.”

  “It’s not your fault,” TK said. “Don’t take blame that doesn’t belong to you.”

  “I’m his shield-bearer.”

  “Which means he still has free will,” TK said. “Continue…you were dealing with Rakshasas?”

  “They attacked us,” I said, remembering the details. “Seems they’re Kali’s security force, at least on her plane. These were stronger than any I had encountered before.”

  “Rakshasas, nasty buggers,” LD said with a nod. “That was the activation, not the catalyst. What did Tristan do before that? Think back.”

  I thought back to the sequence of events before entering Kali’s plane. Monty had been unconscious for most of the time at the temple in Jersey. Everything had happened at Haven.

  “Monty was trying to protect us from the entropic sphere at Haven,” I said. “Specifically Roxanne. She was on the skywalk when he cast…the skywalk. Evers said she had laid a trap for him there. We have to go to the skywalk.”

  “An entropic sphere?” TK ask
ed. “That is a particularly dangerous cast.”

  “Evers?” LD asked. “Did you say Evers?”

  “I thought she perished,” TK said. “This complicates things significantly.”

  “She’s a bit out there,” I said. “Some kind of chronomancer?”

  “A dangerous, accomplished chronomancer,” LD said. “She was, or is, a war mage.”

  “If Evers is involved, Talin can’t be far behind,” TK said.

  “Talin?” I asked, confused. “Who’s Talin?”

  “Dark mage,” LD answered. “Dangerous, deadly, and demented.”

  “Don’t forget delusional,” TK added. “He and Evers want to eradicate all magic.”

  “Is that even possible?” I asked. “How do you eradicate energy?”

  “You don’t,” LD answered. “Hasn’t stopped him from trying. Talin has an insane mage body count. The man is a serious threat.”

  “Why hasn’t he been stopped?”

  “Certain authorities have prevented his capture on two occasions,” TK said, glancing at Jessikah. “He’s gone underground.”

  “He’ll resurface if Evers is in play,” LD said. “This is not good. Dealing with Evers is bad enough.”

  “We need to get to Haven,” TK said, her voice tight. “Roxanne should have more information for us.”

  “I’ll pass,” I said, looking at the large, green teleportation circle TK formed. “It will be better for me, digestively.”

  LD shook his head.

  “Time is of the essence,” TK said, her voice low. “Please step into the circle.”

  “Won’t my current energy signature mess with the circle?” I asked, trying to get out of the teleport method of transportation. “I don’t want to end up at Haven a scrambled mess.”

  “You’re already a scrambled mess,” LD said, putting a hand on my shoulder. “TK isn’t Dex, but she’s close. You’ll be fine.”

  TK made a sausage and placed it in the center of the teleportation circle, enticing my traitorous hellhound promptly into it as he inhaled the meat.

  “No,” I said, putting my life in danger. “I’m not going with you, and neither is my hellhound.”

  I stared at Peaches and pointed to the floor next to me. He finished inhaling the sausage before padding over to my side—a clear indicator of where his priorities lay.

  “I beg your pardon?” TK said, surprised. “I must have misheard. Did you say you were not stepping into the circle?”

  “That’s exactly what I said,” I answered. “I’m not going to Haven.”

  “Did you suffer a traumatic brain injury?” TK asked. “If not, you’re about to.”

  “First, teleportation sucks,” I said. “My body doesn’t like it, never has.”

  “That has more to do—”

  “I know,” I snapped, further risking my life. “I need to reconcile with my ‘bonds’ and untangle whatever mess I have going on. Got it. Doesn’t change the fact that it screws with my body in horrible ways.”

  “Listen,” LD said, trying to be the voice of reason. “I know Tristan going dark isn’t easy to take, but you need to come with us. If Talin is out there, you’re in danger.”

  “No,” I repeated firmly. “You’re looking for clues. I’m looking for Monty. I need to get to him before Evers, Talin, or those other Black Orchid do.”

  “We want the same thing, Simon,” TK said. “We want Tristan back…whole.”

  “What am I going to do at Haven?” I asked. “I don’t read runes. Roxanne is there, and she can help you with whatever runic trap was on the skywalk. Besides, she’s not going to be happy to see me right now.”

  “He has a point,” LD said, looking at TK. “She’ll hold him partially responsible for Tristan casting when he wasn’t supposed to.”

  “Where are you going to go?” TK asked, each word a threat of pain. “Tristan doesn’t exactly want to be found at the moment. He expressed as much the last time you saw him, I’m sure.”

  “I’m going to go see Ezra,” I said. “I have questions only he can answer.”

  TK nodded.

  “Very well,” she said. “I understand.”

  “You do?” LD and I said simultaneously.

  “Of course,” TK replied, stepping into the circle. “You feel you must take some kind of action. I would hazard that, as his shieldbearer, you should have acted sooner, preferably before he went dark.”

  “Considering that I’m not the mage here,” I answered, measuring my words carefully to prevent disintegration by an angrier TK, “I would say that those who are mages should have seen this coming and done something about it. Just a thought.”

  “We’re doing something now, before it gets worse,” TK said, her words soft as titanium. “I’m not your mother; you don’t need my permission. Do what you must, and try not to get killed.”

  LD shook his head and chuckled.

  “You, hombre, like to live dangerously,” he said, glancing at Jessikah before stepping into the circle. “You coming, Farsight?”

  Jessikah shook her head.

  “I think I’ll stay with Mr. Strong,” Jessikah said after a pause. “He didn’t threaten to kill me where I stand.”

  “This is why you need to be nice,” LD said, looking at TK who began to gesture. “Now she’s scared of you.”

  “I would say that’s the appropriate and correct response,” TK said, glancing at Jessikah. “It will keep her alive.”

  “Fear shouldn’t be the go-to response,” I said. “How will you get answers?”

  “Fear has a way of providing the answers I need.”

  “You want her scared of you?” I asked. “That doesn’t make sense.”

  “She should be scared of me,” TK said. “I am a real and present threat to her. Fear will make her careful and keep her alive—two excellent qualities to possess, considering her present situation.”

  “You’re going to have the Black Orchid after you, Farsight,” LD said. “They’ll try to take you out and make it look like an accident. Watch your six. A little fear is a good thing.”

  TK nodded. “For the record,” TK said, with a final gesture which caused the circle to glow, “I was being civil. I don’t do nice…now or ever. It’s not like I blasted her into oblivion, which was a viable option.”

  “True,” LD said, looking at me and stepping back into the circle. “We’ll be at Haven for a while, then we’ll meet up with you. If you see Tristan, be careful. Don’t try to convince him to come to the light side. He’s not thinking straight right now.”

  “I know,” I said, remembering his words. “He threatened to end my immortal existence.”

  “Try not to find out if that’s possible,” TK said. “Do not engage him. Once we decipher the trap Evers used, we will find you.”

  “Be careful,” LD said, before they disappeared in a green flash.

  “Who is Ezra?” Jessikah asked. “Why do you need to see him so badly?”

  “Ezra is hard to explain,” I said. “Are you sure you want to come with? I’m not going to let you attack Monty.”

  “I have no intention of attacking Tristan.”

  “Good. I’d hate to have to shoot you.”

  “It’s not like you could really stop me,” Jessikah said. “You’re not a mage.”

  “It amazes me every time I hear that,” I said, staring at her. “It’s usually right before I have to put a mage down.”

  We left the office in silence and headed for the stairs.

  THREE

  We took the stairs down to the garage, surprisingly avoiding my landlady until the lowest level. I didn’t want to have to explain why Monty was “away” or on an “extended vacation” until further notice. For once, her radar must have been down as we navigated the stairs.

  Or so I thought.

  Standing next to the Dark Goat, in all her frozen splendor, was a displeased-looking Olga. Somehow, she always knew when I was about to leave or enter the Moscow. At this point, I was begi
nning to wonder if she had some kind of tracker on me.

  “What is that?” Jessikah pointed to the Dark Goat as we approached. “It feels—”

  “Later,” I said under my breath. “I have to deal with this.”

  “Stronk,” Olga said, arms crossed, glaring ice daggers at me. “Where is prepodavatel? Where is teacher?”

  Olga was dressed in a bespoke, dark-blue pantsuit, made by some designer even I didn’t recognize. It meant she was probably wearing the equivalent of a small country’s GDP. Her sky-blue eyes glowed softly with latent energy, and her nearly white-blonde hair was pulled back into a severe bun, which only made her look more imposing.

  “Monty is away on mage business,” I said, keeping my voice calm. “He should be back in a week or so.”

  Olga narrowed her eyes at me.

  “You lie poorly, Stronk,” Olga said, glaring at me before glancing at Jessikah. “Who is this?”

  “This is a…friend,” I said. “She is going to help me work a case.”

  “She is detective?”

  “Something like that,” I said, placing a hand on the Dark Goat and unlocking it with the clang of a hammer on anvil. “Is everything okay?”

  “No,” Olga said. “Everything not okay.”

  “What happened?” I asked, suddenly concerned. The last time we’d had an issue, the Moscow was slowly being encased in ice. “Where is Cece?”

  “That is problem.”

  “Is Cece in trouble?”

  “Cecelia is big trouble.”

  It was vague, but we were heading in the right direction. Olga would not be rushed.

  “Tell me what happened,” I said slowly. “Is it like last time?”

  “No, no,” Olga waved my words away. “She is learnink, but still dangerous.”

  “Is she freezing the building?”

  “Cecelia needs class to control ice,” Olga said, upset. “Ice everywhere. Her teacher needs to teach. Buildink is not frozen, but ice everywhere…everywhere, Stronk.”

  I breathed out a sigh of relief. The last thing I needed was an out-of-control ice mage freezing everything, especially when her teacher was currently MIA.

  “As soon as I speak to Monty, I’ll make sure he knows.”