WHEN A dribbling mage arrived at the dungeons to release Montague La-Rose, his heart sank. He knew then that the kingdom had been taken by the enemy. Two women and a man wearing black gowns escorted Montague out to the street corners where Demitri was organizing the settlement of his army.
When Demitri saw Montague, he went wide-eyed. “Well. Now I’ve seen everything. Ikarus has locked up one if it’s most important contributing members,” Demitri laughed. “Montague La-Rose. I’ve been wondering where you were.”
Montague ignored the insult. “I’ve been pondering many things for a long time. You were by Olivia’s side for a short time at Ikarus. You had many opportunities to take her, but you never tried. Why? You even saved her life back at the sack of Illyrium.”
“Patience is our strongest quality. In order to silently invade an enemy, you have to first get close to their leaders, then strike when they least expect it. But you were always watching, Montague.”
“Why would you fear an old man like me? I know what you, the host of the Nekrums, can do,” Montague said.
“Oh, and I know who your teacher is. Remember? You’re a wizard’s mage and I know what you are capable of. But unlike you, I don’t underestimate my enemy,” Demitri said.
Montague was glad to know that he gave off a strong impression even though he didn’t carry Burton’s spells and he wasn’t the wizard’s mage. But it would work to his advantage if Demitri thought he was. “What exactly makes us your enemy?”
“You’re preventing us from acquiring the Volpi gene.”
“If I give you Volpi blood, will you leave this planet?” Montague pleaded.
Demitri laughed. “I’ve just had a nice sip of it minutes ago. You misunderstand. We already have Volpi blood.”
“How? When? Was it from one of the children you abducted?”
“I never abducted anyone. I simply steered the horses after others loaded the wagon. I am no thief.”
“Taking someone’s blood from their own body without their consent is most certainly a form of theft,” Montague said.
“No really. I didn’t steal it. Someone else did and they put it right in my hands.” Demitri said, wearing a smirk. “Yes! Someone just smudged a drop of it onto a letter and placed it on the ground of unclaimed land. You didn’t know that we patrol every inch of these lands every night?”
Montague couldn’t believe how careless he’d been. To save Rayne’s life, he’d placed Volpi blood right out in the open at the memorial stone near The Ponds. Montague needed an emotional charge to ignite Rayne back to physicality. That was what it had said in A Wizard’s Guide. And The Ponds, being Rayne and Anna’s favorite place, held a special connection for him. But the letter in which he’d smeared Rayne’s blood was supposed to dissolve during the conjuring. Apparently, it didn’t. Whether it was a fault of his own or not, he didn’t know.
Demitri continued, “But what we are looking for was not in his blood either. A demon could never possess a miracle gene that can cure any disease.”
“What?” Montague half-laughed. “You think Rayne is a demon?”
“He is certainly no angel.”
Again, Montague was befuddled. He didn’t know what to believe. Demitri, the Nekrums’ host, could tell him anything and sound convincing.
“Until this planet is cleansed of humanity, we aren’t going anywhere. Then, we will colonize this world. Where are your translations of Gabriel’s Diary?”
“I burned them all,” Montague said, “so things like you would never get their hands on them. And no, I don’t remember any of it.”
“No. I bet you don’t. You will just translate them again. I need the diary decoded in order to recite the spells. The pig that cast the enchantment to repel me is locked away in the Illyrium oubliette. I need those translations,” Demitri said.
Montague knew he was referring to Burton. That was where he was this whole time, Montague realized; held deep in the underground ruins of Illyrium. “If you already have Volpi blood, why do you need my translations?”
“We acquired Volpi blood with Queen Alda a few hundred years ago. But her blood didn’t carry the cure. The gene must have been diluted among the Volpi line. That’s when we decided to kill all but one, hoping that the gene would coalesce back into the last carrier of Volpi blood. After we flooded Illyrium, Olivia was the last royal Volpi left. But the gene was still absent. That was what made us realize that there must be bastard children born of Volpi blood. We are still looking. And I’ll kill them one by one to find it. But the answer is in Gabriel’s Diary. With your translations, we need to look no further.”
“I’ll never help you.”
“Why does your allegiance lie with a man who has deceived you your whole life? Burton has disconnected you from the truth,” Demitri said.
“What are you talking about?” Montague remembered when Burton told him that he had kept something from him. Does Demitri know the secret that his sensei was going to tell him? Montague thought. If he does, Demitri would most likely tell him a twisted form of the truth.
For the first time, Demitri looked at Montague genuinely, like he did before the Nekrums possessed him. “Do you know how many times we’ve asked Burton to invite you to live with us at the Illyrium ministry? We all wanted you there; me, Belkin, Rosario, and Hopp. But Burton said no every time. He said that the farm was where you belonged. And now, you, the one he swept under the rug and left fending for himself, you’re the only one left that could bare his company. He is using you, Montague. You must see it.”
Before Montague could respond, Demitri’s pawns reported back to him, “The wizard’s body is gone, my lord master.”
Montague smiled.
