“I understand.” I took a deep breath. If I failed any of the three parts, she could make any request and we would have to fulfill it—or suffer the consequences.
She raised a finger. “How many times did I appear to my beloved?” She raised another finger. “How did I choose him?” Another finger…“What was his name?”
I gave it some thought and silently thanked Monty for making me read the story of Cu Chulainn several times.
“Four times did you appear to him. You washed his clothes at the fjord. His name was Cu Chulainn,” I said, making sure to answer the questions in the same order she asked them. A right answer out of sequence was still wrong.
She stared at me for a few seconds and then nodded. “Your group may pass, but before you go” —she crouched down to rub Peaches’ ears, looking up at me—“aire a thabhairt do maité, Peitseogach. Remember what is important, immortal.” She transformed into a crow and flapped down the hallway.
It was the second time I’d had heard those words. Peaches gave a rumble in response and the crow disappeared. The wall where she’d stood disappeared too, and I let out the breath I had been holding. One more gate to go as we stepped into the next room.
TWENTY-FOUR
THE THIRD GATE was the hardest, and I had only passed it last time with Monty’s help. So this time, without him, we were screwed. It was always a magical question and my ability and memory for magic and runes was horrible, no matter what Monty said.
“We may have to improvise on this one, so get ready,” I whispered to Cassandra and kept my hand close to Grim Whisper. Her encounter with the Morrigan had left her shell-shocked. She nodded her head, but I could tell she was having difficulty processing the events. I think the fieldwork was becoming a bit much for her already.
We stood in a large library. Every wall was covered with books and shelves. Spread out around the room were desks and tables with books stacked on them. In the center of the room floated a large blackboard. Around it stood four men and one woman.
All of them were dressed in white robes covered with silver runic brocade. They were magic-users, and from the looks of the robes, powerful ones. The woman was bald like Quan and I wondered if she was also a member of the White Phoenix. Unlike Quan, she had no tattoos on her face or head. She glided over to us.
“Hello, Simon. I am Syght. Welcome to the last gate.” She handed me a silver stylus about a foot in length and then pointed at the board. “This one is simple. Please trace the rune for that which is the most important on the board.”
I stepped up to the board and hesitated. Each gate corresponded to one of the three areas. The first, being body, scanned us for any malignant spells, casting or weapons. The second, mind, tested knowledge and its correct transmission. The third was spirit and revealed principles and ideals. The five mages represented the five senses. My answer provided the sixth or elevated sense required to pass the gate.
I couldn’t just write “water” or “air,” as those answers didn’t reveal the spirit. Then there was the complication that I had to answer for the group, since Cassandra wasn’t a magic-user. I had to factor in what she may consider most important and give as an answer. Peaches was easy, since his love of pastrami was second only to his protectiveness of me. I’m sure most of that was the bond we shared, but I felt that he genuinely liked me. Maybe it was a close tie with pastrami.
“I need a moment,” I said and stepped over to where Cassandra and Peaches stood waiting.
“Please take your time.” Syght waited by the board.
“What’s the matter?” Cassandra asked. “Do you know the answer?”
“To what’s most important? Yes,” I said after a moment. “I know what’s most important to me and to Peaches.”
“I’m the mystery?” She looked at the blackboard. “And if you get this one wrong?”
“I’m pretty sure we get dumped outside and told not to return for a while,” I lied, keeping my voice even as I tapped the stylus against my other hand. “What’s most important to you?”
I really hoped Cassandra had a good answer. If she said something like “staying alive,” I would go with my answer and hope for the best. I knew if we failed at this gate, the consequence was severe. An incorrect answer of the spirit meant corruption, and they dealt with that harshly—usually extermination. No pressure.
“My dad,” she said after a pause. “He’s the reason I’m in the NYTF in the first place. I’m always trying to impress him. My whole life I’ve just wanted to hear him say “I’m proud of you” just once.”
I nodded my head. “Thanks, that’s a good answer.”
It was a good answer. I stepped back to the board and Syght looked at me expectantly. “Are you ready to continue?”
“Yes, I am,” I coughed to regain my voice. For a second, I preferred standing in front of the Morrigan.
“As the voice for your group, do you accept the terms of failure?” she asked, her voice grim. Her eyes began to glow violet as she placed a hand on the board, making it glow the same color.
“If I fail, can I take on the failure alone, as the voice of the group?”
She shook her head slowly. “No, I’m sorry. Each will share in the consequence of the failure if incorrect. You speak for all three. Do you need more time?”
They were going to have a hard time trying to kill me, but Cassandra wasn’t immortal. I figured Peaches, considering his pedigree, was indestructible, and probably measured his dog years in centuries. This was a huge risk if I was wrong. I opened my coat and made sure I had easy access to Grim Whisper and Ebonsoul. If this went south, we weren’t going down easy.
I placed the stylus on the board and began to trace one of the few runes I did know. Monty had tried to get me to study the basic Elder Futhark marks as my ability to see runic castings became clearer. I had given him a migraine after ten minutes and he threatened to incinerate me after twenty. I stopped studying them after that, but I did remember this rune because of what it meant.
I traced a diamond with the bottom two legs extended and crossing each other. Its name was Othala. It was easy to remember because it looked like the top of the endless knot mark on the back of my left hand.
Syght held her hand outstretched and I gave her the stylus. The rune glowed violet like her eyes as the five of them turned the board away from me and examined my answer.
I walked back to Peaches and Cassandra with my hand resting on my holster.
“Get ready to move if they decide I’m wrong,” I whispered under my breath and loosened Grim Whisper in its holster.
Cassandra adjusted her holster as well. “Will regular bullets work on these guys?”
“Probably not, but shoot them anyway and give me time to get close. My blade will work where bullets won’t.”
She nodded and bladed her body slightly. Her training showed and she seemed to overcome the earlier shock. Either that or she was anxious to shoot something, which still worked out in our favor as long as she didn’t shoot me or Peaches.
The mages fanned out as Syght approached. It didn’t look good and I let my hand rest on Grim Whisper as she got closer. She looked down at my hand and outstretched her arms. Orbs of white energy spun in her hands.
“If you draw your weapon, I will be forced to hurt you and kill your friends. Is this the outcome you desire?” she said quietly. “Would you like to hear our determination before we try to kill each other? Or should we just unleash havoc and see who survives?”
I took my hand off Grim Whisper, and the orbs in her hands disappeared in response.
“I won’t let you hurt them,” I said, my voice holding the promise of violence. “If you touch them, you will have to kill me, and that won’t be easy.”
“Your answer was…unique, but based on your behavior, quite adequate. You may pass the third gate. Erik is waiting for you.”
A rune flared on the door at the other end of the library as she pointed to it. For a second it was too surreal, a
nd then I realized the point of my visit. I bowed to Syght and the other four mages before crossing the floor and heading for the door.
“Thank you,” I said with a sigh of relief. “I’m really glad we held off on that unleashing-havoc thing.”
She nodded at me but held up her hand. “A word about your answer, Simon, before you enter and see him.”
I stopped walking and turned to face her. “Was something wrong with my answer?” I felt my stomach drop and my heart constrict at her words.
“Your answer was correct for your group. It isn’t the only correct answer. Your response is your greatest strength and your most debilitating weakness. Tread carefully.”
“I will, thank you again,” I said and then headed for the door with Peaches and Cassandra next to me.
“What was your answer?” Cassandra asked as we headed to the entrance.
“You’re here because of your father. Peaches is here because of me, and I’m here because of Monty. The only answer that made sense was…family. That’s what’s most important. That’s what I wrote on the board.”
I took hold of the handle and opened the door.
TWENTY-FIVE
WE STEPPED INTO another teleportation circle as we crossed the threshold with a flash of bright light. Another wave of nausea hit me, but milder this time. That meant the distance we traveled was shorter.
We entered a large open floor area that could only be described as a dungeon. I stood still for a few seconds until the nausea passed and then I looked around. There were various stations located throughout the floor. Most of them were implements of pain and torture. Others were being used for restraint. Men and women occupied all of them equally. A walk through Hellfire was a crash course through the exotic world of pain as pleasure. It wasn’t my world, though I wondered if what I had with Michiko didn’t make me a masochist of sorts.
I nudged the “unshockable” Cassandra, who stood transfixed at the scene.
“Is that…is that even legal? Isn’t she in pain?” She was pointing at one of the stations where a woman was being held down by runed straps of leather that simultaneously shocked and constricted her body.
“Judging from her squeals of delight, I would say no. As for legal, only two laws exist in this place: consent is paramount, and no magic-use to harm or injure. After that, anything goes. Close your mouth. I wouldn’t want you to appear shocked.”
She quickly shut her mouth as we walked across the floor. A few of the mages invited her to join them and laughed when she blushed and gave them the stink-eye for an answer.
All of the mages in the club knew of Michiko. Her reputation was respected and feared in every supernatural community. It also meant that all I got was the cold shoulder as we made our way to the large table situated on a raised dais at the far end of the room. No one wanted to piss her off. Everyone seemed to know about the date.
Erik sat there flanked by his inner circle of mages. If the Last Supper had been held in a BDSM club full of mages, it would look something like the image that welcomed me as I climbed the stairs of the dais.
“Hello, Erik,” I said as he unlatched his lips from the mage sitting next to him. She purred in feigned anger and shot me a dirty look. “I need a moment of your time.”
“Simon,” he said, looking in my direction. “When did you arrive? Why didn’t you call me? I could have spared you the gates.”
It was all pretense. No one avoided the gates—ever. He knew where I was the moment I spoke to the Harlequin standing behind City Hall. No one entered Hellfire without his knowledge. As far as mages went, Monty once told me Erik was on par with any of the Golden Circle mages. He was also the only sitting mage representative on the Dark Council. It meant he wielded a considerable amount of power and influence.
When I asked Monty who was more powerful between them, he only said it wasn’t a fight he enjoyed thinking about. In Monty-speak, it meant he had considered it, planned it out, and worked out most if not all of the probable outcomes.
Erik stood abruptly and pushed his chair back with a flourish. “Follow me, please,” he said as he walked off the dais. “I have just the place for us. A little more intimate.”
He was dressed in a dark suit, which mages seemed to favor, with a silver tinged shirt. His long legs crossed the distance to the door by the table in several strides. We caught up with him as he placed his hand on the wall beside the door. Runes flared to life and the door opened into a spacious office. Two Harlequins bookended his desk.
He sat down in an oversized chair and waited as one of the Harlequins poured him a clear drink from a waiting decanter and then returned to her station. The office, though large, felt inviting. Bookshelves filled with books covered every wall. I looked around, admiring the collection.
“There’s this new invention called an e-book. You might’ve heard of it. Save yourself some much needed space.”
“I must confess I’m a bit of a bibliophile. Nothing smells or feels quite the same as a four-hundred-year-old book,” he said, placing his feet on the desk. “Besides, physical books are magic. Now, how can I help you?”
I sat down as he sipped his drink. “I need to see Quan.”
“Who?”
“Don’t bullshit me, Erik. This is important and I know she’s here.”
“Obviously, or else you wouldn’t be sitting here with such lovely company.” He looked over at Cassandra. “And your name is?”
“Lieutenant,” she said and flashed him her NYTF badge.
“Ooh, an official visit,” he said with a chuckle. “She sounds like she likes it rough. Do you like it rough, Lieutenant?”
Cassandra, to her credit, didn’t shoot him. She took a step forward and the Harlequins shifted positions faster than I could track. Both of them stood in front of Cassandra in a defensive stance with their tonfas ready. Cassandra froze in place and took a small step back. The Harlequins relaxed their stance slightly.
I unholstered Grim Whisper, unsheathed Ebonsoul slowly, and placed them both on his desk. “I need to speak to Quan—now,” I said, urgency creeping into my voice as I stood. I stepped away from the desk and my weapons.
He remained silent as he looked down at my weapons. He steepled his fingers and brought them to his lips.
“The Hellfire is a designated neutral location. No one brings violence into my home. No one,” he said after a moment.
“Tell that to the men and women strapped and tied down outside,” Cassandra muttered under her breath.
“My dear, that’s not violence, that’s exquisite torture. Like our esteemed Marquis said—sex without pain is like food without taste, and I do enjoy my meals full of taste,” He slowly licked his lips.
“I’m fasting for the foreseeable future,” Cassandra said as she inched closer to the door. “In fact I may never eat again after meeting you.”
Erik laughed and then grew serious. He fixed me with his gaze and sighed.
“I’ll take you to Quan. But if you or that animal you call a dog—”
“Peaches. His name is Peaches and he’s just a puppy.” I rubbed his head. “He has a name.”
He stood up. “If you do anything to violate the neutrality of this place, I will end you, Simon, and your little beast of a dog too. Come with me. You can get these back if you leave.” He waved his hands over my weapons and they vanished from the top of the desk.
“Don’t you mean when I leave?” I asked as we headed to another door in his office.
Erik gave me a sidelong glance. “I heard what happened to the new neutral location. Your track record speaks for itself. I meant ‘if.’”
“Did you know that it was Quan who trashed The Randy Rump? She took out three Council vampires in as many seconds. I was there when it happened—on neutral ground.” Now I was angry. “I don’t see why you are protecting her here.”
“Because I choose to. I don’t owe you an explanation, Simon. Life is unfair. I’d get used to it if I were you.”
“You know, mages can really suck sometimes,” I said as I threw my hands up, frustrated.
“You have no idea,” he said with a smile. “Anyway, after Tristan refused to turn himself in, they sent the Negomancer.”
“Did you have something to do with the decision to send Beck after Monty?” I asked as he opened the door. “Were you part of that?”
He shrugged. “No. Out of the five Council heads, only two dissented. I thought it was a bad idea letting Beck loose on the streets of New York. He’s slightly deranged. Michiko probably wanted to keep your friend alive. The others really don’t like you two.”
I made a mental note as we walked through the door into an outdoor Zen garden. I did a double-take and looked back into his office. I didn’t feel nauseated, but we were outside and, from the looks of the iconic volcano in the distance, we were in Japan.
“How are we in Japan without my stomach doing somersaults?”
“We are and we aren’t,” he said and pointing back to the office door. “That anchor, the Hellfire, keeps us fixed in one place but the spell I cast acts as a time and spatial displacer.”
The glazed look in my eyes must have clued him in to the fact that he was speaking mage and had lost me.
“Excuse me, what?” Cassandra said, looking around in amazement. “We’re in Japan? Is that Mt. Fuji?”
“The Hellfire acts like an anchor. The spell allows us to travel anywhere. It only works in the Hellfire and it cost a fortune in runes and money to pull off. Better?”
I nodded and looked across the garden. In the distance sat Quan.
“Can I go talk to her?” I wasn’t sure if there was an etiquette I needed to follow.
“Leave your friends here. The door will remain active until you walk through. This” —he stretched out an arm and gestured around us—“is still part of the Hellfire. Don’t piss her off and don’t destroy anything,” he said before he vanished.
Montague & Strong Detective Novels Box Set: Montague & Strong Detective Novels Books, 1 through 3 (Montague & Strong Case Files) Page 31