“Do you know how difficult it’s going to be to fashion a collar for the pup? Not even Hephaestus has tried to do that. You think TK can?”
“I intend to ask her,” Monty said.
THREE
“I DON’T SEE why this is so important,” I said as Dex began to gesture. “It’s not like he’s going to go supersize on us again.”
“Supersize?” Dex asked, looking up sharply. “What do you mean…supersize?”
Monty explained what had happened to Peaches in London, and Dex’s face darkened.
“What’s wrong? He’s back to normal.” I rubbed Peaches’ head and scratched behind his ears.
Dex interrupted the casting and stepped over to Peaches, crouched down and brought his face level to the eager hellhound, who probably thought another sausage was going to materialize.
After a few seconds, Dex stood up and prodded me in the ribs with a finger. I jumped back in surprise from the sudden sharp pain.
“Clearly you’re not dead,” he said, rubbing his chin. “How did it happen?”
I rubbed my side. “Yeah, thanks for that scientific method of testing my vital signs. He was poisoned and—”
“Poisoned? Nothing can poison a hellhound. They literally can eat anything… and usually do when transformed.”
“The poison contained a magical component,” Monty said. “We tried to prevent the creature’s death, but we hastened its transformation in the process.”
“And London is still standing. Incredible. How did you get the pup back to regular size?”
“Through our bond…I think. Not really sure, but I know it had to do with the bond, and pain.”
Dex looked at Monty. “He needs a limiter. If not, any extreme trauma could trigger the change.”
“Extreme trauma?” I asked. “Like what, not getting enough meat?”
Dex finished the circle. Its subtle green glow filled the room with its light.
“Like getting launched into the Thames by a deranged mage, or seeing you in imminent danger. The kind of situations that rarely happen around you two.”
“And this TK can create a limiter?”
“It’s never been done with a hellhound, but if anyone can do it, she can, especially with entropy stones.” He placed a hand on my shoulder. “Before we go see them, I need to warn you.”
“About?”
“LD is laid back and calm. TK can be a little…”
“Highly strung?” I volunteered.
“Lethal,” Monty said. “Don’t offend her. She’s a creative mage.”
“A what?” I asked, confused. “What does she create?”
Monty produced another case and placed the remaining stones in it. The second case was a deep burgundy and covered in runes.
“Reservoirs,” Dex said while nodding. “Good choice, considering our destination. The Sanctuary will be shut down.”
“She creates reservoirs?”
Monty looked at me and shook his head. “LD and TK are creative mages. It’s a very rare discipline of magic. They’re similar to wordweavers, except where wordweavers use the spoken word, the Tushes use gestures to create—or undo.”
“She’s not that bad. Stop trying to scare the lad,” Dex said, and then looked at me and lowered his voice. “But you may want to mind your words around her. She’s a trifle sensitive.”
“A trifle sensitive?” Monty asked as he placed the cases in the teleportation circle side by side. “It took the Golden Circle several years to seal the crater she created when she lost her temper the last time.”
“They provoked her, they should have known better,” Dex answered and gestured, adding more symbols to the circle. These symbols turned and shifted as they materialized, while the other symbols remained static.
“Of course, being offered tea instead of coffee completely justifies unleashing a quantum vortex and almost destroying the Sanctuary across every time line. If it weren’t for Professor Ziller, the Sanctuary would’ve been erased.”
“She specifically stated she didn’t drink tea. You don’t drink coffee.”
“I also don’t try and destroy every establishment that makes the mistake of serving me the filtered liquid from ground-up beans.”
“If she likes coffee then she has excellent taste.” I tapped the flask in my jacket.
Monty narrowed his eyes at the circle. “Did you factor for the artifact’s temporal shift?”
Dex shot Monty a look. “Of course I factored for the artifact. I’m the one who gave it to them, aren’t I?”
“Which I still think was a bad idea,” Monty argued, stepping into the circle and tugging on a sleeve. “That artifact needs to be contained.”
“It’s contained,” Dex said with a mischievous smile. “Within the walls of Fordey Boutique.”
I stepped into the circle, followed by Peaches and Dex. Herk flew in and landed on Dex’s shoulder, and the circle flashed green as we shifted away.
FOUR
WE ARRIVED IN a large cramped shop. The marble floor was covered with boxes and crates of every size. On the walls, warped shelves that appeared on the verge of collapse strained under the weight of the items taking up every available inch of space.
There was a crash, followed by a loud noise and raised voices. A narrow aisle led to a large counter at the far end of the shop. I could see two people standing behind it, and they were arguing from what I could see of their body language.
Above us, a skylight provided indirect sunlight that filled the shop with a soft yellow glow. The entire shop was bathed in a magical ambience. I could feel the presence of power all around me. Most of it came from the shelves and inventory arranged around the shop, but a sharp spike in the energy level came from the direction of the man and woman at the counter.
“You don’t get scared, you get angry,” I heard the man say as we approached. He was average height, with salt-and-pepper hair and broad shoulders.
“Well, yeah,” she answered. “Not even you, my love, are allowed to make me scream like a girl.”
“Sounded close to a scream.” The man put his hands on his hips and gave her a smirk with a nod, to which she rolled her eyes and sighed.
“Yodel like a woman, yes. Scream like a girl, no. But if you keep trying to sneak up on me, I promise you pain, and lots of it.”
The man burst into laughter, followed shortly by the woman. They both turned our way as we stepped closer.
“We have company, hun,” the man said, looking at us. “Lowercase, not like Attila. Boy, was he a pain.”
She was tall, with long black hair. I could tell she trained physically from the economy of motion when she moved. I couldn’t see what all the concern was, until I looked into her eyes.
Her green eyes took us in, and she smiled before taking a sip from a steaming cup of coffee. The smile stopping at her lips said welcome, but her eyes said ‘piss me off and I will erase you.’
“LD, TK, good to see you whole!” Dex said, embracing them both.
“Dex, hombre! How the hell have you been?” LD asked, returning the embrace. “Come, let me show you our latest inventory. You’re going to love this.” He grabbed Dex by the arm, pulling him down one of the other aisles. TK stepped around the counter and looked at Peaches.
“Is that a hellhound?”
I nodded. “His name is Peaches.”
“Of course it is. Is he a pure-breed?”
“As far as I can tell,” I said, holding my breath in case Peaches decided she was worth a bite. “He can be a little fixated on meat. I wouldn’t get too close.”
Monty glanced at me and subtly shook his head. I didn’t know if it was to warn me, but I got the feeling TK wouldn’t be the one in danger if Peaches decided to go on the rampage.
She gestured, and a large sausage formed in her hand. “Hellhounds are always hungry, aren’t you?
” she said, getting closer to Peaches and rubbing his head. “Eat this slowly and you won’t be hungry for a good hour or two.”
Peaches gently removed the sausage from her hand and proceeded to eat. As he was nearing the end, it would reform, creating an entire piece again. He parked himself in a corner to enjoy his magical re-appearing sausage.
“Thank you,” I said, looking at the reintegrating sausage in wonder. “I could use one of those at home.”
“I’ll make sure to send one with you.” She glanced over at Monty. “Hello, Tristan. You look well.”
“Well met, TK.” Monty picked up the two cases at his feet. “Did Uncle Dex inform you why we’re here?”
She nodded. “Yes, he did, but first I would imagine you want to see the artifact.”
“If you don’t mind?”
“Of course not,” she said with a small smile. “I understand your concern over its use. The least I can do is show you that its only purpose is to afford us some semblance of privacy.”
She led the way down another narrow aisle. It led to what appeared to be a bank vault door. She made a motion with her hand, and the door swung open. The massive steel door, easily three feet deep, was covered with dark violet runes that pulsed in time with the throbbing in my head.
Behind the door lay a small, empty, steel room. The power flowing from the space felt like a vise around my head, which squeezed harder with each step as we approached.
We stood at the threshold and I looked inside. Runes covered every surface of the room. She gestured, and the power vibrating around us subsided from ‘squeeze my brains to a pulp’ to ‘punch me in the gut’ level as we stepped inside. The door closed silently behind us.
In a shallow depression in the center of the floor, surrounded by ancient symbols I didn’t understand, sat a dark stone vibrating with power. I was simultaneously drawn to and repulsed by the stone. As I looked closer at the heart-sized gem, I noticed that it shimmered in and out of sight as it pulsed.
I could feel the energy of the stone enveloping us. Violet lines of power stretched out from the stone into all of the symbols around us. We were in a latticework of energy lines with the stone at its center.
Monty stepped close to the depression and narrowed his eyes. Pain squeezed the base of my neck, crawling up into my scalp as the dull throbbing of the room got worse. I rubbed my temples to try to alleviate some of the pain, but it didn’t help. TK and Monty looked unbothered.
I leaned against the wall next to the door, barely able to remain upright. I felt like an elephant was slowly stepping on my chest, stomping me flat.
“Any temporal anomalies?” Monty asked. “The flow has been constant? No replicating events?”
“None. We keep it on a shifting cycle of planes. The stone facilitates the shifts, however we don’t draw power directly from it but rather from the runes etched into the room,” she said, pointing to the symbols all around us. “That is how we avoid a temporal paradox.”
“What is that?” I managed between gasps as they both turned to face me. I must have looked like I felt, because TK gestured and opened the door, while Monty held my arm as he guided me out of the headache room.
“That is an artifact called the Black Heart.” Monty looked at TK, who raised an eyebrow in his direction. “It bends time, and it’s currently allowing Fordey Boutique to time-skip.”
“Why does the boutique need to time-skip?” I asked as the feeling of being crushed subsided with each step I took away from the stone. “I thought you would want clientele?”
“Those who need to find us know how.” She gestured, and the huge steel door closed behind us. I immediately felt better. “There are some who would attempt to acquire our items by force.”
“So this is like the Moving Market? It shifts around from place to place?”
TK stopped walking and stared at me. She gave me a look, followed by a smile that froze the blood in my veins.
“We are nothing like the Moving Market,” she said, the smile never leaving her face. “If you compare us to them again, I will test how immortal you really are. I’ll be in the casting chamber, Tristan. If you’ll excuse me.”
She walked ahead and left us in the corridor. I saw Monty exhale as he glared at me.
“Is that polite, just leaving like that?” I asked. “At the very least, she could have escorted us to this casting chamber.”
“The alternative would have been to scatter your atoms through this place,” Monty snapped. “She was exhibiting monumental self-control by stepping away.”
“Oh…yeah. In that case, she is a bit sensitive.”
“I told you not to offend her.”
“And how was I supposed to know that mentioning the Moving Market would offend her?”
“Assume that anything that escapes your brain and works its way out of your mouth will offend her, and act accordingly.”
“Are you saying I shouldn’t say anything? I’m not understanding the statement.”
He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
“I told you the Moving Market tried to move against them.”
“Yes, you said it happened once.”
“Nick tried to execute a hostile takeover of Fordey Boutique. He had the numbers and the firepower. He felt it was an easy target.”
“What happened?”
“Instead of attacking Fordey directly, Nick kidnapped LD on an inventory delivery. He figured he would force TK to save her husband by giving up the boutique, thus achieving his goal with the least amount of violence.”
“Sounds like a solid plan and a good strategy. She gets her husband back, he gets the boutique.”
“There’s a reason LD and TK are rogue mages. Nick didn’t do his due diligence. TK is a woman of singular focus and determination. The first thing she did when she heard that Nick wanted Fordey was obliterate the boutique into rubble.”
“But her husband?”
“Would be safe. She knew Nick wouldn’t dare hurt LD, who is a formidable mage in his own right.”
“So Nick just returned LD?”
“It was too late. Nick had dared to threaten her and take what was hers.”
“Shit.”
“Indeed.” Monty nodded. “Destroying Fordey was her opening salvo. She then hunted down the Moving Market, destroying all of its nexus points until it could only appear in one place.”
“Where?”
“Hellfire. And there she waited, while Nick plane-weaved everywhere without being able to open the Market. When he finally surfaced, she entered the Market and reduced rings eight, nine, and ten to nothing.”
“She burned them down?”
“She undid them. When she was finished, it was as if they had never existed.”
“Wait, but the Moving Market only has seven rings.”
“And that is why the Market will never move against Fordey Boutique…again.”
“Were those rings populated? Did she eliminate the people there, too?”
“Fortunately those rings were used for storage,” Monty answered with a shake of his head. “Rumor has it that was how she restocked Fordey after its destruction.”
“How did Nick survive that?”
“LD was able to stop her that day, but it was still touch and go. When TK gets angry, it’s best not to be in her vicinity.”
“Or on that continent,” I added, shaking my head. “And we’re bringing her along on this trip to the Sanctuary because…?”
“We aren’t.” Monty set his jaw. “I would prefer not to destroy my home, thank you. She possesses less restraint than I do.”
“So she has none, because your idea of restraint is to destroy most of the building. You’re saying she destroys it all?”
“Your attempts at humor never cease to entertain. Maybe if detecting falls through, you can join the circus with your creature. I hear they always need new talent.”
“I don’t know…she could be handy. I mean, it sounds like she went to the M
ontague School of Problem Solving. What’s the tag line? ‘Obliterate, then investigate’?”
Monty started walking away from me. “Let’s go solve your hellhound situation before he becomes a huge pain… like the person he’s bonded to.”
“Ouch,” I said, and ran to catch up.
FIVE
“YOU WANT ME to do what?”
“Create a transformation limiter, until Simon exhibits enough control over their bond to render it unnecessary.”
“A collar? On a hellhound? Are you mad?”
“Yes… to the collar.”
“I’m flattered you would think I’m capable of something this complex, but I don’t think even Hephaestus would attempt something like this.”
“What if you use Ziller’s theorem of entropic instability? He posits that by surrounding an entity in flux with an entropic field, it can create an instance of stability with a window of control.”
“You realize that, as a mage, Ziller was borderline psychotic?” she said, touching the side of her head. “Brilliant, but touched.”
“His theorem is sound.”
“For that, you would need pure entropic stones. Even I don’t carry those,” TK said with a shake of her head. “You’d need to go—”
Monty tapped the cases in his hand. He handed her the black case. She opened it, and her eyes widened slightly.
“Will those do?”
“Where did you get these?”
“The Hound gave them to me.”
She narrowed her eyes at Monty. “You’re playing a dangerous game, Tristan. I hope you know what you’re doing. If this rebounds on me, on Fordey—you and I will have a problem. You do not want a problem with me.”
“They were obtained free and clear without blood,” Tristan said, matching her stare. “Can you do it?”
She looked down at the stones. “With these? Maybe. What do you have in that case?” She pointed at the second case, still unopened.
“I need magical reservoirs. The Sanctuary will be a null-zone, if I know Oliver. I need a way to bring access to magic.”
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