I knew what he was doing. He was engaging my brain to take my mind off our impending confrontation with Beck.
“We should just leave. We can discuss it over dinner at Roselli’s,” I said, looking at the door nervously. “You know, where it’s less likely a deranged mage will attack us?”
“It doesn’t matter where we are, really. Though we have a better chance facing him here than Roselli’s.”
I stepped over to the entrance of The Randy Rump and closed my eyes. I took a deep breath and focused. I had possessed this skill even before Kali decided to reach out, curse me, and turn my life upside down and inside out. It’s what made me one of the best detectives in the city.
“She came in about ten minutes after we did,” I looked down at the dust piles of the two vampires she vaporized first. They rotated in shifts around the shop and I noticed two of the remaining three that attacked her were at the door when we walked in. “The guards must have just switched locations. She took these two down fast and all hell broke loose.”
“I agree, though she must have held a considerable amount of energy to undo two vampires while in here,” Monty said as he approached my side and examined the runes on the doorframe.
“That must have been the tremor we felt. Peaches came out, but she froze him in that circle over there,” I said, pointing at the claw marks that ended in a faintly glowing runic circle. “Jimmy must have tried something and she introduced him to the glass.”
Jimmy nodded. “Couldn’t transform but I tried to stop her and she just sent me flying. You’re good, Simon.”
“Just something I picked up over the years,” I said and looked at Monty. “Now would be a good time to go.”
Monty walked back to the circle that had kept Peaches in place. He closed his eyes and ran a hand over the surface of the floor. He then stepped over to the columns in the shop and examined the runes on each of them again. The runes in the shop were designed to negate any use of magic within the space. Their placement was strategic to create a self-sustaining field of negation.
“How did she manage to use her ability without setting the runes off?” he whispered more to himself than to us. “James, what did you see?”
“Right after you all arrived and went into the room, in she walks. Quiet, and smelling of magic.”
“Smelling of magic?” I asked. “What kind of scent?”
“It’s hard to describe. She smelled like cinnamon mixed with something else. I didn’t give it much thought because of the runes and we’re on neutral ground.”
“Just another mage, coming in for a drink,” I said. “You get a lot of mages in here?”
He nodded. “They don’t come in often, but I have a few regulars, mostly low level. Not like him,” he said, pointing at Monty with his chin.
“Trust me, there isn’t another one like him anywhere on the planet, thankfully.”
Monty gave me a look and shook his head.
“What happened after she came in? Did she sit?” Monty asked.
“I asked her if she wanted a seat and she said no. Then she stood over there.” Jimmy pointed to an area near the entrance in between the piles of vampire dust. “She said something in a language I didn’t understand. All the runes went off with a shockwave, and the two Council vampires next to her turned to dust. I figured we were under attack and jumped at her. She sent me over her shoulder into the window.”
“She bypassed the failsafes and undid the vampires in one stroke,” Monty said, following Jimmy’s arm with his eyes. “Show me exactly where she stood.”
Jimmy came over and pointed to the space near the door. Monty went over and stood there. His face transformed from calm to surprise.
“Of course,” he said and moved his hands in a gesture I recognized. It meant we had just run out of time. “James, is there another exit we can use? Perhaps through the room?”
Monty had just thrown up a shield. I checked the mala Karma had given me and made sure I had access to it. The mark on my left hand throbbed but I didn’t sense her. This was something else.
Jimmy nodded. “In the back of the room, there’s one. It’s runed to prevent anyone from getting in that way.”
I looked at Monty and he shot me a quick glance. It told me everything I needed to know.
“Shit, everyone to the room. Now!” I yelled. “He’s coming, isn’t he? It’s Beck?”
Monty, his face grim, nodded.
We started running to the room of reckoning, when the front of The Randy Rump exploded.
ELEVEN
MONTY’S SHIELD CONTAINED the explosion. Glass, wood, and concrete remained frozen in mid-air. The entire façade, along with some of the sidewalk, had been obliterated and was headed in our direction. Now Ken would definitely think we were involved. And to be honest, it was more our style.
“What happened to ‘even Beck would hesitate to attack here’?” I said as I pushed pieces of broken tables and glass away. “Doesn’t look like he hesitated much.”
“We need to get them into the room and away from him,” Monty said and made another gesture. I saw the shield shimmer and grow opaque.
Peaches padded over to me and gave a short snuffle. Other than the dust covering his body, I saw no damage. I was beginning to think he was indestructible. I couldn’t see outside but I knew Beck was out there. There was an empty presence tugging at the fringes of my consciousness.
“I can feel him. I mean, not feel him. He feels like an empty hole,” I said as I stood unsteadily, rubbing Peaches.
“It’s what he is and does.” Monty shook off some of the dust. “Get to the room. I’ll slow him down.”
“No,” I said as my phone rang. “Jimmy, take Slif and Peaches and get in the room. Make sure the door is locked.”
I connected the call as Jimmy ran for the back room with Slif and a reluctant Peaches in tow.
“Simon, what are you doing?” Monty started as I raised a finger, indicating the phone.
“Strong,” Ramirez’s strained voice came over the line. “I have a situation that requires your presence.”
“I was just about to say the same thing, Angel, or is that ‘Director Ramirez’ now?” I said, putting the call on speakerphone. “Now that you’re all important.”
“You can call me Director Ramirez, comedian. Is Tristan there?”
“I am,” Monty said and stepped behind a column, prompting me to do the same. “Our attention is currently engaged in a pressing matter at the moment.”
“Where are you?” Ramirez asked. “I’m at The Den. You know it?”
“58th and 11th. The exclusive Werewolf club. Members-only upscale place; yes, I know it,” I said, making sure I stayed behind the column.
“How soon can you get here?”
“Can’t say. This situation is fluid at best,” Monty answered and looked around the column.
“I have a rabid Werewolf on the loose. I lost one man and I have another three injured. Restraints were as effective as toilet paper on this guy.”
“Sounds like you have a handle on the situation,” I said. “We’re currently dealing with a Negomancer who works for the Dark Council—scary bad guy.”
“A what? Never mind, yours sounds worse. Do you need backup?”
“Yes,” I said, trying to get a glimpse of Beck. “Backup would be shaynetastic.”
“No,” Monty said, shaking his head. “Backup will get someone killed.”
“What’s your location?” Ramirez asked again. “I can send over a squad with my second-in-command, Cassandra. She can handle herself.”
“We’re at The Randy Rump,” I said, instantly regretting it.
“You’re where? Something you want to share?” Ramirez chuckled.
“It’s a meat shop. I didn’t name it.”
“I bet it is. Listen, your life, your choices. No judging here. Send me the location of your randy rump,” he said, stifling another laugh.
“This is a bad time.” Monty gestured with his hand
. He signaled to me, and I drew Grim Whisper.
“And her name is Cassandra, not Cass or Cassie, and don’t even try Sandra or she just might make you a eunuch.”
“She sounds pleasant,” I said. “Tell her not to engage until we’ve neutralized the threat, Ramirez, or she gets dead. I’m serious, this guy is dangerous. I still think this is a bad idea.”
“I’m not asking, Simon. She and her squad will form an outer perimeter and monitor from there.”
Then it clicked. He was trying to get rid of her.
“So how much of a pain in the ass is she?”
“Enough that I need to get her out of this situation before she gets herself killed, and my ass fired. She’s the daughter of one of the brass. Perimeter duty is perfect.”
I moved to another column in time to see a blob of dark energy smash into Monty’s shield and disintegrate it.
“Tell her to stay two blocks away, no closer. Got to go,” I said and hung up.
Monty began inscribing runes into the floor behind the column. “What the bloody hell is shaynetastic?”
“Your shield is down and you’re worried about shaynetastic?” I said, making my way to the display case.
“I’m aware of the status of the shield I created,” he said, tracing more runes into the floor and moving to another column.
“It means beyond awesome. Like it? Feel free to use it. Probably sounds better when you say it.”
“It’s not even English.”
“It’s American and it’s hot right now,” I grabbed a bottle of iced coffee from the display case there’s always time for coffee. “I hear a wizard in St. Louis started it. It’s the newest thing.”
“That just means it’s gibberish,” he said and moved to another column, repeating his rune tracing. “Wizards.”
“Not gibberish—slang. Otherwise known as the evolution of language.”
“More like an abomination of the language—otherwise known as English,” he said as he finished a rune. He ran behind the display case and made another gesture. I saw a shimmering wall go up that connected the runes he had traced.
“Won’t he just throw another glob of the black energy?”
“I’m counting on it,” he said and covered us in another shield.
TWELVE
“TRISTAN MONTAGUE, BY the authority of the Dark Council, I order you to surrender yourself for incarceration until such time that the Council deems you innocent or you undergo erasure,” Beck yelled from outside the Rump.
“Sod off, Beck!” Monty answered from behind the display.
Beck grunted. “Eloquent as usual, Tristan. Why not just give yourself up and make this easier for the both of us?”
I heard the crunching of glass and knew he was getting closer.
“He sounds like a lot of fun,” I said as I moved away from the approaching footsteps.
“If by fun you mean an uptight toff, then yes, he is incredibly fun.” Monty moved down to the other end of the display case, away from Beck. “Brace yourself. I’m going to prod him a bit.”
The footsteps stopped inside the Rump. I peeked over the display case to catch a glimpse of Beck. He was an average-sized man of medium build. Surprisingly he didn’t wear a trench coat, just a brown jacket and a matching tie. His black hair was cut low but not too close. He looked normal except for his hands being covered in black energy—oh, and the tears. He was crying black tears.
“Either he’s wearing the world’s cheapest mascara or he’s leaking black energy from his eyes,” I said, ducking back behind the display. “Both situations are disturbing.”
“It’s an effect of the Negomancy,” Monty said, tracing a rune in the floor. “He has to bleed off the energy he’s negating or it will kill him.”
“Tristan, your insignificant wall isn’t going to stop me,” Beck moved around the perimeter of the runic wall Monty set up, gathering black energy in his hands as he paced. “This is pointless.”
“Much like your position within the Council? When was the last time you had a real mission?”
I saw Beck clench his jaw and the black energy around his hands increased.
“Monty,” I whispered, crouching next to him, “this doesn’t sound like a good idea. How about we just blast him into next week and run for it?”
“He would just absorb the energy. In order to fight Negomancy with magic, you would need three to four mages attacking at once to overwhelm him. Even then I don’t know if it would be enough.”
“How about one detective with many bullets?” I pointed at Grim Whisper.
“Kinetic energy is still energy. What good are entropy rounds if the bullets fall to the floor as they leave the barrel? This is why I need him to attack. And put that away before someone gets shot.”
I holstered Grim Whisper and glanced through the display case to see Beck getting closer.
“Stop wasting time, Tristan,” Beck said, stepping into fighting stance and looking around. “If you’re innocent we can clear this up; and if not, justice will be swift.”
“Justice?” I could hear the anger rise in Monty’s voice. Never a good sign. Right now, the room of reckoning was looking like a good idea, but I was sure Jimmy had locked the door. “I seem to recall your idea of ‘justice’ entailed destroying those less powerful than you.”
“I did what I had to do, Tristan. We all did—including you.”
Beck was looking in our direction. He was using the conversation to pinpoint our position in the shop.
“Bollocks. You went above and beyond,” Monty answered. “You killed and erased countless innocents.”
A cruel smile crossed Beck’s face as he gave a mock bow.
“What can I say? I take pleasure in my work. Unlike you, I take pride in my abilities. That’s the difference between us, Tristan. I embrace who and what I am. You live in denial.”
“Actually it’s called the Moscow,” I countered. “Great views of the Hudson.”
“Get ready,” Monty whispered to me. He stood and stepped out from behind the display case and the shield. “You are a petty thug who is either too ignorant or too deluded to understand that the Council is just keeping you around to suit their purpose. You’re no better than a rabid dog kept on a short leash that is released when they want a spurious problem solved.”
Beck’s face darkened and he released both blobs of black energy at Monty. They smashed into the wall, destroying it. Monty rushed forward and closed the distance. The runes on the floor flared to life, shooting tethers of black energy at Beck.
“These runes…” Beck started as he struggled against the tethers and tried to step back, “how could you know the backlash?”
“You have no idea what I know,” Monty said and gesturing with one hand while touching the ground with the other.
The tethers wrapped themselves tighter around Beck and slammed him to the ground. He was slowly being encased by the black energy as it dragged him out to the street.
“No mage knows that spell,” Beck said and narrowed his eyes. “Unless you’ve gone dark. Is that it, Tristan? You’ve gone dark, haven’t you? That would explain your strange energy signature.”
“Bloody hell, Beck,” Monty muttered and stood, pushing a strand of hair from his face. “You never did know when to shut it. If I had gone dark, I wouldn’t have used the backlash. I’d have used something nastier, like a void, and be done with you.”
Beck’s eyes widened slightly as he clenched his jaw. “You wouldn’t dare. The Golden Circle prohibits use of any void spell in a populated location. You would have more than me to worry about.”
Monty stepped over to him and crouched down. The black energy had reached Beck’s neck and was creeping upward. His entire body was immobilized, preventing any kind of motion. Beck grunted and strained against the cocoon.
“All you ever cared about were the rules. You came here, threatened me with erasure, and expected—what? A cheery welcome?”
Monty stood and looked down.
He dusted off his sleeves and walked back into the Rump.
“Rules, Tristan. That was always your problem. Without them, we are nothing but savages with power. Rules make the difference between us and them.”
Monty clenched his fists and stopped midstride. “The next time I see you, I won’t be so courteous.”
“Nor will I,” Beck managed before the energy covered his face and silenced him.
Monty walked quickly past me and headed to the room of reckoning. He began to touch parts of the door. I saw the runes flare, but the door didn’t open. I looked back at Beck’s prone form. He was moving so I guessed he was still alive.
“Is that thing going to kill him?”
Monty gave me a withering glare. “If I wanted him dead, there are less complicated ways of removing him,” He looked back at the encased Beck. “It’s energy. He won’t suffocate, but he will break free. When he does we need to be elsewhere.”
I pointed to what used to be the front of The Randy Rump. “Why don’t we just walk out that way?”
Monty grabbed a green bottle of overpriced water from the top of the display case and tossed it outside. It sailed lazily through the air and landed ten feet behind Beck, rolling as it hit the ground. I was about to speak when Monty held up his hand.
“Give it a second.”
A bright flash blinded me. When I could see again, the bottle was gone—along with a sizable chunk of the street.
“Well, shit. That is all kinds of wrong,” I said, looking at the charred crater where the bottle landed.
“It’s a particular type of Negomancy. Magical mines that convert latent energy into thermal. Beck favors this kind of deception. I prefer not wasting time or valuable energy unraveling them. Better if we find another way out.”
He went back to work on the door runes, when I heard the engine.
“Monty, how far do you think mines extend from the front of the shop?” I moved to the entrance and looked up the street.
“No, you can’t jump over them. Wait—why?”
I pointed up the street. In the distance, I saw the blue flashing lights of the NYTF.
“We may have company.”
“Bloody hell,” he said as he ran outside gesturing at the same time. Each hand moved in a different intricate sequence. It reminded me of the time I watched a virtuoso play Rachmaninoff.
Montague & Strong Detective Novels Box Set: Montague & Strong Detective Novels Books, 1 through 3 (Montague & Strong Case Files) Page 24