“Behind you. Goddammit, Slif,” he said, angry. “This is why dragons were hunted in the past. The power-plays and hidden agendas. Toying with humans until they grew bored, leaving death and destruction in their wake.”
“Well, she’s back. Seems she didn’t like the cold that much. I also think she’s controlling the Permutation, not Davros,” I said as another fireball sailed by me. “Quan said she didn’t feel the Phoenix Tail with him. What are you going to do about Davros? Are you going to kill him?”
“No. Something worse,” he said, handing me his staff. “I’m going to erase his power, again.”
“Monty,” I said, holding out the staff as it vibrated with energy, “don’t you kind of need this?”
“Not anymore,” he said, his voice tight as violet tendrils surrounded him. “It’s served its purpose. My power shift is done. It’s time I serve my purpose.”
I looked down at the staff and saw it turn gray and then it crumbled in my hands. The pieces fell to the ground and became dust seconds later, blowing away into the street. Monty stepped away from the column and into the path of another fire orb. The orb raced at him and stopped suddenly.
The light of the flames shone against his face, and I saw his eyes. Golden circles ringed his irises, which had gone black. He looked down at the fire orb, extended a hand, and absorbed it.
“Monty? Monty?” I really hoped he hadn’t gone terminator. This would be a bad time for him to lose his mind. “Are you there?”
“Of course I’m here. Where else would I be?” he snapped at me as black energy covered his hands. “Now, stay back. This is the first time I’ve tried this.”
“That looks like the energy Beck uses,” I whispered, taking a few steps back and taking cover behind another column. “You’re going to negate Davros?”
“It’s either that or kill him. I prefer to avoid taking his life.” He walked forward. I followed a few paces behind him.
“Where’s your staff, wizard?” Davros mocked as he came close. “You plan on killing me, Tristan?”
“I plan on helping you,” Monty said as golden energy laced itself through the black orbs in his hands. “You need help. Let me help you. I can help you if you let me.”
Davros shook his head as he formed black energy orbs of his own. “This is my life—my life! I’ll live it how I choose and it will end the way I want it to end.”
“Monty—that sounds bad,” I said, drawing Grim Whisper. “He doesn’t sound like he wants help. Sounds like he wants to end it all, and by ‘all’ I think he’s including us.”
Davros rushed at us and released an orb. My hand was on the mala bead before he took the first step. The orb smashed into my shield and dissolved it. Davros had reached Monty and I didn’t have a shot. Monty’s orbs were gone as Davros gestured with a hand and enclosed them both in a cloud of black energy.
I noticed the debris start tumbling toward them as the wind reversed direction. I remembered this feeling. It felt like being on the edge of the void vortex. I knew Monty wouldn’t open another one, but it was possible Davros would.
“Let’s go, boy!” I yelled to Peaches as we raced away from the lobby. He kept pace with me as we jumped over the destruction Davros had caused earlier with his shockwave. We made it to the street as the lobby exploded in black energy.
THIRTY-SEVEN
I STOOD SHAKILY and saw Monty carrying Davros as he walked out of the building. I limped over to where he stood.
“Is he…?”
“He tried to unleash a void vortex,” Monty said and gently laid him down on the ground. “I couldn’t stop it before it drained him. He’s gone. His mind was gone when he was erased after the war. The drake blood only made it worse. It gave him power but twisted him further.”
“Why would they do this?” I looked up the street. The Werewolves were nowhere to be seen. Davros must’ve been crucial to the Permutation. With him gone, the Permutation stopped. “The Werewolves are gone.”
“But the dragon isn’t,” Monty said and narrowed his eyes as he looked up the street. “You wanted to know why they would do this? Let’s go ask a dragon.”
We ran up the street as a flaming figure raced toward us. At first, I thought it was Slif. The fact that it lacked wings or a tail changed my mind. Monty released an orb of water, slowing it down and dousing the flames as he caught the body. It was Quan.
“There’s an angry dragon up the street, Tris,” she said through a wheeze. Burns covered her face and arms. “I tried to stop her. Don’t think I even slowed her down. She has the Tail and the platinum. She only needs a vessel for the blood.”
“Which means she can start the Permutation again?” I asked in disbelief. Quan nodded.
“Tristan, you have to stop her. Together, you can—you can stop her,” she said before losing consciousness.
Her robe was torn and scorched. Large tears in the fabric revealed angry, red burn marks. Severe burns covered most of her body, but the thin, reedy sound escaping her blistered lips let me know she was still alive, still breathing.
“Can you heal these?” I asked Monty, looking at the burns all over her body. I felt the anger race through me but I kept it in check. I would let it loose, just not now.
“She went up against Slif alone,” he whispered and held her head as he narrowed his eyes and examined her. “The burns are too widespread. I don’t know. It may be too late. She’s in a critical condition and its deteriorating rapidly.”
“But you’ll try,” I said with certainty. “Let me help. I brought Quan into this. If she dies, it’s my fault. I couldn’t help Cassandra.”
I pulled out my flask of Valhalla Java. Monty gave me the ‘Are you an idiot?’ stare. It glowed in the night, the blue skulls grinning at me with power as I uncapped it.
“You think this is the moment for a stiff one? Really?”
“This isn’t alcohol. It’s like WD-40 for your brain. I’ll explain later.” I poured about a vial’s worth into Quan’s mouth. “Try and help her now.”
Monty just stared at me for a few seconds. “What did you give her?” he whispered as he placed his hands on her body. Golden light cascaded onto her and enveloped her in a cocoon of light. Monty raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Whatever is in that—WD40, it’s working. What did you give her? Where did you get it?”
“Dragon?” I said. I looked up the street and put the flask away. “We have to deal with this before the city is swallowed by a black hole, remember?”
He placed Quan in safe location and made another gesture. An orange rune-covered sphere instantly surrounded her.
“She should be safe until she heals. Let’s go have a conversation with a dragon,” he said, pulling on his sleeves.
“Only if ‘conversation’ means giving Slif lots of pain and ending her,” I said, standing and drawing Grim Whisper.
“That is what I had in mind, yes.”
“Boy, you go to town and shred that dragon,” I said as I rubbed Peaches’ head.
He shook his body and barked. The sound shattered the nearby windows and rocked the cars around us. He expanded and grew more muscular as runes flared along his body. His hardened claws took chunks out of the asphalt with each step as he took off toward Slif.
“Perfect. Let’s go converse,” I said and took off at a dead run toward a fire-breathing dragon.
THIRTY-EIGHT
SLIF, STILL IN human form, turned at the sound of our approach. She smiled as we drew closer. I started firing as soon as I felt I was close enough not to miss. The entropy rounds never reached her, melting before they hit. She opened her mouth and a stream of flame raced at me. I leaped to the side as she laughed. I felt the heat even as I rolled away. Peaches stayed back when he saw me roll to the side.
Monty unleashed several black orbs, which hit her square in the chest but did nothing. She looke
d down at where the orbs hit and she brushed off her clothes.
“You think you can stand against me?”
I holstered Grim Whisper. “We can and will. You’re nothing but an overgrown lizard with an inflated ego.”
“I am a dragon, revered in every culture since the beginning of time,” she said with a sneer. “We roamed the earth when you stupid primates barely had language.”
“I think I see the problem here,” I said, taking a cue from Monty. If magic-users were touchy, dragons had to be ten times worse. “We outgrew you. No one worships dragons anymore. I mean, sure, we like the image, but worship? Waste of time. What can a dragon do for me besides barbeque some meat or keep me warm in the winter?”
“We were manipulating matter while you were playing with dirt. You owe us everything.” She took a deep breath.
“All you are is an overrated space heater,” I shot back and pointed. “We don’t need you, and this just pisses you off, doesn’t it, oh mighty dragon? You can go suck—”
Another blast of flame erupted from her mouth and forced me to jump to the side.
“Today you will die for your arrogance,” she rasped and transformed. The next moment I was standing in front of Smaug-lite and she looked pissed. “What’s the matter, Simon? You look scared.”
“I am scared,” I admitted pulling out Ebonsoul. “But that isn’t going to stop me from ending you today.”
The heat shield around her dropped. Probably something to do with all the surface area she had in this form. Once Peaches realized the heat was gone, he leaped and latched on to a leg she lifted to fend him off. He clamped down and started shaking his head. He was taking the shredding command seriously. She tried to shake him off but failed.
“What did you do with William?” Monty asked as he traced runes around him in rapid motion. “Tell me where he is.”
“He came to warn you and I buried him on his island north of here. He was a fool who thought he could stand against me. So I killed him.” Slif grimaced as Peaches clamped down harder. “The same way I’m going to kill you.”
“Wrong answer,” Monty whispered through clenched teeth. “I will see you dead this night, dragon.”
Monty placed his hands together and muttered under his breath. Whatever he said must have been dangerous because it got her attention in a hurry. She whipped her tail around and slammed Monty into a wall.
“We’re wiping the slate clean,” she said as she drove her leg into a wall and scraped Peaches off. “The Werewolves were just the start. But we will eliminate them all.”
She crawled over to where I stood and loomed over me. Her teeth were easily the size of my arms. Her claws were the size of small cars and her body coiled around me. She peered down at me with her yellow eyes ringed with red to match her scales. Dragons—up close—were truly, unmistakably, petrifying.
“Who’s we?” I said as I took out my flask of Valhalla Java. If I was going out, I was going to do it on my terms. I downed the entire flask and felt the liquid burn through my system. It was coffee heaven and I think my brain melted just a bit.
She took a breath, her cheeks filling with air and reminding me of old Louis Armstrong photos. It’s amazing the things you’ll remember when you’re about to be reduced to ashes. I could feel the heat, and the air around me shimmering as she prepared to unleash a blast of instant sun.
I pressed my mark and everything became unfocused.
The smell of lotus blossoms wafted by my nose, the scent laden with citrus and mixed with an enticing hint of cinnamon. This was followed by the sweet smell of wet earth after a hard rain.
“I must admit,” said the voice from behind me, “you certainly have a gift for pissing off beings that can destroy you. Are you trying to find out how immortal you are?”
“Hello, Karma.” I moved back away from Slif. “I need to end this dragon. Any tips?”
She was dressed in a black, exercise one-piece that hugged each and every one of her curves. She wore matching sneakers and a half-top jacket that said BITCH on the back. I smiled despite myself.
“One suggestion would be not to engage in altercations with beings outside of your weight class? But we’re past that part of the conversation,” she said, looking around. “Your mage and your pet are down—so it’s just you. And you drank the entire flask?”
I nodded. “Figured I’d go big or go home.”
“Or get dead,” she said, shaking her head. “Dragon scale is mostly immune to magic. You have to find a way to negate that immunity. Then she can be vulnerable to any magical attack. Perhaps your blade?”
My time was almost up, but I had a plan. “Thank you,” I said, exhaling and looking at Ebonsoul. “I didn’t really expect to see you. I just needed a breather from the impending flash roasting.”
“I don’t know if I’ll see you after this, Simon,” she said, looking up at the dragon towering over us. “It was certainly interesting getting to know you if only for a short time. Goodbye.”
I started running even before she faded away. I ran up Slif’s back, buried Ebonsoul in her neck, and hung on. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Monty. Time snapped back as Slif exhaled and blasted the area where I’d stood seconds earlier, melting concrete and asphalt.
“Monty, I need a Beck special!” I yelled from behind her. “Now would be good!”
He drew his lips together in a tight line and nodded.
He put his hands together in prayer fashion, and spoke. Slif turned her attention to him and was about to blast him when he released the largest orb of energy I had ever seen. I twisted Ebonsoul into her and broke through her scales.
The orb was easily the size of a large van, which was still miniature in comparison to a dragon. He said another word and it homed in on me. Slif raised a claw and impaled my shoulder. It was all I could do to stay conscious through the pain. She fixed me with one of her eyes.
“Got you, you pest,” she said with satisfaction. “I’m going to erase you and leave your smeared carcass on my body as a trophy. Did you really think your toy blade was going to hurt me? I barely feel it.”
“First: that’s just—ugh, that’s disgusting. My carcass, really? Second: I just needed to get past your scales. You have incoming,” I said as the orb raced at me.
She turned her head in time to see the black orb crash into us. Ebonsoul acted like what it was—a siphon. It channeled the orb of black energy into Slif as she whacked me off her shoulder and sent me flying. So much for being a smear. I think I was headed for “flattened” at the velocity I was traveling.
The wall rushed at me fast and then slowed as Monty hit me with a cushion of air. I still bounced off the wall, just not at bone-crushing speed. Peaches raced over to where I was and tugged at my arm, getting me on my feet unsteadily. I looked around and scrambled for Ebonsoul. I grabbed it and got my feet under me.
I looked in Slif’s direction, I saw her take another breath to incinerate us. Monty was already down the street.
“Simon, run!” he yelled as I pressed the bead on the mala, and the shield rose up.
Those were the last words I heard before the world erupted in flame.
THIRTY-NINE
“HE SHOULD BE dead, that’s what he should be,” said another familiar voice. It was Corbel. “He was about ten feet away. How did he survive the dragon explosion?”
“It would seem that Mr. Strong is more resilient than he appears. Wouldn’t you agree, Tristan?” Hades picked his way through the rubble. He wore a pristine black Stuart Hughes design without the diamonds. Piero would have a suitgasm if he saw Hades in that.
We were still in the street. I tried to sit up and the world swam away from me. So I laid my head down again until the world settled back into place. Peaches came over and licked my face.
“That’s a lie,” I muttered and pushed his huge head away.
; He bounded away to sit next to Monty. I just stared at him.
“Slif?” I croaked.
“Is dead,” Monty said with a look of concern as he scanned up the street. “We still have work to do. She didn’t have the artifacts and there is a small matter we need to attend to.”
“Did you notice that I just got dragonploded down the street?”
“I also know your body is healing you even as we speak,” he whispered, stepping close. “We have a tear to close before it’s too late and we can’t close it at all.”
“I will have my people attend to your injured and fallen,” Hades said and gestured with a hand. Several Valkyries stepped onto the street and moved toward Quan, Cassandra, and Davros.
“I may be healing, but there’s no way I’m driving,” I said as I wobbled to my feet. Peaches came over, stood next to me, steadying my leg.
“Corbel will drive you,” Hades said. “You need to attend to this matter now before any other of my family develops an interest in the current state of affairs.”
“That sounds bad. Why does that sound bad?” I said as Monty and Corbel led me to the Goat.
“Because it is.” Corbel said, waiting while Monty opened the car. “If the other gods get involved, this will turn into a shitstorm of a magnitude you cannot comprehend.”
I slid into the back seat and Peaches jumped in next to me and sprawled. I gave him a look and shoved his leg, which he promptly shoved back.
The roar of the engine filled the night as we took off. I looked through the rear window and Hades gave me a short nod before turning to the Valkyries.
By the time we arrived at 42nd Street, my body had dealt with the damage of the explosion. We raced down the streets and Corbel drove as if we were racing against the apocalypse. Monty had his eyes closed and was muttering something under his breath.
Corbel stopped the Goat with a lurch as the car skidded several feet. I rocked in my seat as the car came to a stop.
Montague & Strong Detective Novels Box Set: Montague & Strong Detective Novels Books, 1 through 3 (Montague & Strong Case Files) Page 36