I could hear sirens in the distance from the first responders. They were going to have their hands full dealing with this mess. I looked around for Peaches, Monty, Roxanne…anyone. The junction area was deserted. I staggered to my feet and leaned against a wall. My body flushed hot as it dealt with the damage. This time it felt as if I had stepped into a forge.
“Peaches! Monty! Roxanne!” I yelled out. “Where are you?”
No response, except for the low humming. I looked across the junction and saw the sphere still pulsing. There was a minimal energy signature coming off it.
“Did we get blown into another dimension?” I muttered out loud, looking across the gap. “Wouldn’t surprise me with the day I’ve been having.”
The runes along the surface of the skywalk flickered with a dull orange light.
“So much for this place being a neutral zone. Someone set this up.”
“You should have gone straight to Kali like I suggested,” a familiar voice said from behind me. “She would have eliminated you and opened an easier path for me. Now I have to kill you.”
Fate.
“No need to be hasty,” I said, turning to face her. “I don’t want you to have to exert yourself.”
“Has anyone ever found you remotely funny?”
“Peaches finds me hilarious as long as there is meat to be had,” I said. “Monty probably finds me mildly annoying.”
“You’re an irritant at best, one that needs to be removed.”
“Who are you? Really?” I asked. “Don’t give me this BS about you being Fate. We both know that’s not true.”
“True enough to get you motivated,” Fate said. “You have served your purpose.”
“My purpose?” I asked. “You don’t even know me. How would you know my purpose?”
“I know you, Simon Strong, better than you can imagine.”
“That was some performance this morning,” I said, making sure Grim Whisper was still in its holster. “Who, what are you?”
“The result of Tristan’s betrayal,” she answered. “I’m karma coming due.”
“Trust me, you’re not Karma,” I said. “I’ve met her, and you’re not even close. Wait…are you part of Black Orchid?”
She cocked her head to one side with a smile. A decidedly ‘I’m not in my right mind’ sort of smile, just this side of psychopathic. An acrid smell permeated the corridor. It was a mix of burnt copper and flesh, causing me to nearly lose my pastrami sandwich.
“He told you?”
“He may have mentioned something about a special group, and all of them dying in the war,” I answered. “If you’re not Fate, then you are…?”
“Evers, second in command of the original Black Orchid after the traitor, Montague,” she said. “The true Black Orchid, not the watered down version of glorified mage police that exists today. We were the first. Swift, lethal, and unseen. In my day, just the mention of our presence would send mages running in a panic.”
“What? The BO did not believe in deodorant back then?” I asked. “That would certainly qualify as swift, lethal, and unseen. In fact,”—I covered my face with a hand—“I think you may still need to work on the freshness. Is that smell you?”
Evers narrowed her eyes at me. She maintained her composure better than most, but I knew I had pushed some buttons.
“That delicious smell,” she said with a sniff of the air, “is the death of Tristan Montague.”
“You’re strong,” I said, ignoring her comment. “How did you mask your signature so completely?”
“Practice.”
“How did you know about Kali and me? The curse?”
“The Chosen of Kali,” Evers mocked. “I’m older than Tristan. Once I heard about the destructive detective agency in this city, one a mage and the other an immortal, it was a simple matter of research…I knew where to look and who to ask.”
“Who did you ask?”
“A better question is: who would want to see your so-called detective agency destroyed?”
“Listen, I don’t want to hurt you, but it’s still on my list, right after you answer the question. Who?”
She laughed. It was a low guttural sound that pinged all of my fight or flight responses…heavy on the flight.
“I wouldn’t worry about it, Chosen One,” Evers said. “Nothing good was said.”
“You can’t believe everything you hear, you know,” I said, glancing around and realizing I was still alone. “Most of them are just jealous of my skills.”
“Skills?” Evers scoffed. “You may be immortal but you are just a babe.”
“I know I’m hard to resist, but I’m in a serious relationship with a—never mind,” I said, shaking my head. “Would take too long to explain. Let’s just say I’ve met my quota on psychopathic women for the rest of my unnatural life. Thanks for the offer, but no thanks.”
“I’m going to make sure you and Tristan suffer before I end you both.”
She was still in seething mode, and I needed her to explode—maybe make a mistake I could exploit. It was either that or be painfully blown to bits. If I could get her angry, I could get her to show her hand and hopefully slip up.
It was time for diplomacy.
“What you said about my affecting causality and restoring balance…another lie?”
“No, you were how I found Montague,” she answered with a laugh. “Your scattered energy signature is easy to read, if one knows where to look. You will help me restore balance, once Tristan’s dead body lies at my feet.”
“And he talks about the women in my life…wow,” I said. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to cancel the death of Monty.”
“You still don’t understand,” she answered before sharing more of her psycho laugh. “He’s already dead, he just doesn’t know it yet. He had to use blood magic to get his woman safe. That sealed his end.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m not here for you. I’m here for the others,” Evers said, gathering energy around her. “You just happen to be in the way. You, I’m going to kill you for fun.”
“You and I have very different ideas about fun. Wait, others?” I asked. “What others?”
Evers pointed a finger down, and then it started to make sense.
“Monty said you were all gone,” I paraphrased. “Something to the effect of you all got wiped out.”
“Some of us survived. Not all of us were killed.”
“Be honest, was it because of you?”
“Because of me?” Evers said, raising her voice. “It was Montague that led us into that trap. He killed us. He is the reason I lost…everything.”
“You seem pretty alive,” I said. “How exactly did he kill you?”
“Because of him, my ability to cast was erased. Because of him, I had to take…measures…to regain my power. You, of all people, must realize that there are worse things than physical death.”
“Talk about holding a grudge,” I said, backing up and away from the skywalk. If she was going to get mage conversational, I didn’t want my back to a gaping hole. “This happened how long ago? You’re still pissed? I mean what could you have possibly lost that was so important? I mean, besides your mind.”
“You know, before, it was going to be a chore to dispatch you,” she said, not making any attempt to hide her energy signature anymore. It was immense. “Now, I’m going to enjoy blasting you to atoms. Not even Kali’s curse will help you this time.”
I felt the tingle of an energy signature down the back of my neck and I changed direction, heading back to the skywalk. There was no way I could take her on alone, or even with a small army. I was going to need to be evasive. In other words, I needed to run away.
“I don’t need a curse to deal with an amateur like you,” I said, stepping onto the skywalk. I felt it sway under my weight as a piece of railing fell off and crashed to the ground. “In fact, I don’t need anyone to finish y
ou off.”
“You are a stupid man,” Evers said, forming a wicked-looking silver-black orb of energy. “A dead stupid man.”
She released the orb and sent it racing in my direction.
TWENTY-TWO
Several things happened in that moment.
The voice in my head, which had by now grown accustomed to the near-death experiences of my past, had long since stopped screaming at me. It merely peered at the incoming orb and advised me to not get hit if I wanted to continue to remain among the breathing.
Sage advice.
At that same moment, the skywalk started to give beneath me causing me to backpedaled and lose my balance. This was all framed in the context of Evers laughing as she walked away, certain that her orb of death would erase me from existence.
The tingle I felt earlier grew stronger, as I pinwheeled my arms and fell backwards into the gap. Evers’ orb of destruction followed me down. I glanced over my shoulder, and realized I was a good thirty feet from the concrete below.
They didn’t call my city the concrete jungle for nothing. If I made it to the ground below, that concrete was going to reach up and introduce me to a world of pain. It would still probably hurt less than the angry looking orb that was chasing me down.
As I fell, and contemplated death by orb or by concrete, I felt a sharp pain in my side, and the world melted away into darkness.
When I could see again, I realized I was in a dark, underground corridor with a hellhound attached to my waist. Focusing, as my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I saw Roxanne and a prone Monty laying on the ground.
I slowly stood up, making sure the floor didn’t tilt away from my feet as I stumbled over to where Roxanne knelt. She was casting dark red energy over Monty’s body.
“What’s wrong with him?” I asked as the smell from the skywalk wafted up to my nose. “Oh, no. Side effects of the blood magic?”
“He saved me,” Roxanne said, her voice choking up. “The stupid fool cast blood magic as the wards exploded.”
“She knew he would,” I almost whispered. “She knew he would save you by sacrificing himself.”
“What are you talking about? Who knew that?”
“Evers, the woman who posed as Fate in our office this morning.”
“What did you say her name was?”
“Evers. Short black hair, silver glasses, black power suit, extra dose of energy with a dash of psycho?”
“Bloody hell,” Roxanne said, looking down at Monty. “He was right. Evers was the second-in-command of the original Black Orchid. What could she possibly want?”
“Looks like she’s still pissed at Monty for some situation during his Orchid days,” I said. “Basically she wants him dead.”
“She may have gotten what she wants,” Roxanne said. “He’s in critical condition.”
“That’s not all she wants,” I said. “She’s here for those detainees you had to relocate into the lower levels. Can we stop her?”
“Not from here,” Roxanne said. “Haven Detention is under the supernatural wing. These are the subbasements to the normal wing.”
“The junction to the supernatural wing?”
“Is inside the sphere,” Roxanne answered. “If we try anything, and she makes it active, I don’t think even you would survive. That sphere is a Devourer.”
“Monty shared. Nasty sphere of death,” I said, shaking my head. “The first priority is getting him better.”
“I’m afraid I can’t improve his condition,” Roxanne said. “The damage is too extensive. He used blood magic that was beyond even me. The most I can do is protect him by placing his body in stasis.”
“How bad is it?”
Roxanne looked away while Peaches whined and put his head down.
“If we don’t reverse the cast, he will schism,” she said, her voice hard. “Then he will die.”
“Schism?” I asked, not following. “What does that mean?”
“It means he will become dark, consumed by the blood magic, and then ultimately destroyed. The Tristan you and I know would cease to exist. He would transform into a twisted, dark mage, with phenomenal power.”
“Like Evers.”
Roxanne nodded.
“Worse, because he has more potential than she does,” Roxanne said. “He would become stronger, even more powerful than Evers. Stronger than any mage you know, even Dex.”
“Potential,” I repeated. “You said he has potential. That’s what he told me. He told me I had potential to become a powerful mage.”
Roxanne shook her head with a look of sadness.
“That would take years, Simon, decades. He doesn’t have that kind of time.”
“Who could reverse this?” I asked, angry and frustrated. “Who has the power we need?”
“You need an astronomical amount of power to undo this cast,” Roxanne said as her eyes began to tear. “Beyond Archmage level. You would need power approximating…”
“A god?”
“Do you know how to get in contact with Hades?” Roxanne asked, hope in every word. “Maybe your hellhound can locate him?”
“I don’t think that would work,” I said, and watched her expression sink into despair. “Once, he told me the bonds only work with a particular hellhound. Hades is bound to Cerberus.”
“Then I’ll reach out to Julien or Honor, one of them will help Tristan,” she said, determined. “I will make sure of it.”
“You just said we need beyond-Archmage-level of power,” I said gently. “I know Julien is powerful, I can’t speak for this Honor person, but I think I know someone who can help.”
“Who?” Roxanne asked, all her hope placed in one word. “You know a god who can help?”
“No, but I know a goddess.”
TWENTY-THREE
“You’re insane,” Roxanne said, staring at me. “Kali will kill you the moment you set foot in her temple, if you even make it to her temple alive.”
“It’s Monty,” I said, looking down. “Do you have a better option?”
“No one wants him to recover as much as I do,” she shot back. “Don’t you dare question my concern.”
“Sorry.”
“You should be,” she said and softened her voice. “He wouldn’t want you to throw your life away in the process. That goddess is dangerous. She’s not known as Kali the Destroyer because she’s merely cranky. Visiting her is beyond foolish. She is volatile on a good day.”
“I’m not hearing an alternative here,” I said. “Kali can also deal with what’s going on with my energy signature.”
“Your energy signature?”
“Is out of whack,” I said. “Can’t you tell?”
“Have my hands full…literally,” she said, looking down at Monty. “But your signature does seem off. What is it?”
“Monty said something about affecting causality, then he lost me,” I said. “That’s why I need to go see Kali.”
“You figured you’d pop in and do one of those ‘I just happened to be in the neighborhood’ moments with her?” Roxanne asked, staring at me. “She…will…kill…you. Am I not being clear?”
“Crystal,” I said, looking at the black energy around Monty. “Regardless, I’m his shieldbearer, and right now he needs me to get to her.”
“Certainly,” Roxanne mocked. “I’ll ju
st pull up her address. Give me a moment.”
“Well, I can see what Monty sees in you,” I answered. “You two have the identical sense of humor…none. I’m not asking you to come with; I just need a little help getting there.”
“Should I flag you a taxi?” she deadpanned. “I’m sure Cecil makes a SuNaTran extra-planar edition. Perhaps we can reach out to him?”
Anyone else and I would’ve had a comeback ready, but occasionally my sense of self-preservation kicks in and reminds me of just who I’m facing. Roxanne was a powerful sorceress who was kneeling over a person she cared deeply about.
In the midst of this, the facility she was responsible for was under attack. I’d say she was handling it pretty well. There was no need for me to upset her further with one of my comments. I’m sensitive that way.
“Good one,” I said, keeping my voice serious. “No need to escort us, just get us to the door…in one piece if possible.”
“I couldn’t leave Haven now even if I wanted to,” Roxanne said, looking behind her. “That entropic sphere endangers everyone, and, if you’re right, I need to reinforce the lower levels of the detention area with more security.”
“Don’t forget the sealed tunnel,” I reminded her. “That’s what I would use if I were Evers. Guaranteed to be overlooked.”
“Bloody hell,” she muttered. “I completely forgot about the tunnel. It’s been sealed for so long, it wasn’t even a consideration.”
“Which is why she will use it.”
“How did you know about it?”
“Monty mentioned it before everything went Montague-shaped,” I said, glancing at Monty. “He does have a tendency to be explosive.”
“Frankly,” Roxanne answered with a rueful smile, “I really don’t know how you two have survived this long.”
“We’ve turned it into an art form.”
“Surviving or the destruction of your immediate surroundings?”
“Both?” I said. “This Evers is bad news. She’s strong, smart, and sprinkled with ample doses of batshittiness. She nearly hit me with one of her orbs.”
“Silver-black orb with nastiness written all over it?”
Dark Glass: A Montague and Strong Detective Agency Novel Page 14