EIGHT
Monty gestured and formed a lattice of violet energy that filled the hallway behind us.
“Monty, why is the lattice behind us?” I asked. “Wouldn’t it be safer to place the lattice in front of us?”
“No, we need to open the door, and once we do”—he extended an arm down the hallway—“we can’t let anything escape this containment area.”
I glanced at the ice covering everything.
“I’d say we’re past that point, considering we’re currently standing in Siberia,” I said. “What is there to contain? The ice is outside of the room.”
“You’re not paying attention,” Monty said. “The ice is an expression of Cecelia’s shift. Think of it as a side-effect. The real danger is Cecelia.”
“Wonderful,” I said. “We have to stop her without harming her. Any ideas?”
“Working on it,” Monty said. “There’s no precedent in my studies for Jotnar ice mage shifts of power.”
The building started to creak as cracking sounds echoed throughout the hallway.
“Great, we get to die in a frozen wasteland in the middle of the city as you figure this out,” I said as more creaking filled the hallway. “What the hell is that?”
“That would be the ice compromising the structural integrity of the building,” Monty answered, focused on the door. “Now, unless you have any illuminating ideas on how to deal with this ice, let me concentrate.”
“Maybe we should call Bangers and Mash?” I asked, not being able to resist. “I’m sure a few well-placed charges of C4—”
“Suggest those two again and I’ll blast you myself.”
I raised my hands in surrender and smiled.
“No need to get touchy. We do need to come up with a signature move, though. How about the Triple M?”
“The what?” Monty asked, gesturing and creating symbols in the air. “What is a Triple M?”
“The Massive Montague Maelstrom: Triple M. Guaranteed to bring the house down, well, building in this case. What do you think?”
“I think you should stop talking and prepare your shield—now.”
“Maybe we’ll just call it the MMM?”
“Would you prefer to remain out here while I go and try to subdue our Jotnar ice mage?”
“Our? She’s your apprentice, O Darth Monty.”
“Not…even…remotely…funny,” Monty said, unleashing a barrage of small golden orbs at the door. “Brace yourself.”
The enso pendant around my neck flared with violet light.
I pressed the bead on my mala bracelet, formed my shield again as the door blasted open. Wind and ice punched into us. Several long icicles of glowing magic ice embedded themselves in my shield, and a few more buried themselves in the walls, floor, and ceiling.
The ice that passed us crashed into the lattice and disappeared.
“You want to walk into that?” I asked, raising my voice over the wind. “That looks fairly lethal.”
“One second,” Monty said, flexing his jaw as he gestured again. “I will create an opening. When I do, we run in. Ready?”
“Not really,” I said, shaking my head. “Maybe we should call your uncle?”
“Good idea,” Monty said, forming a large violet orb laced with golden energy racing across its surface. “But we don’t have that kind of time. Get ready!”
Monty unleashed the large, violet and golden orb at the door. It raced down the hallway and then began to slow.
“Is it supposed to do that?” I asked as the orb slowed to a near standstill. “Do you need to go give it a push?”
“Figuratively speaking, yes.” Monty stepped close and placed a hand around the enso pendant. “This should do.”
He outstretched his other arm and fired a column of violet energy at the large orb. For a few seconds, nothing happened. The orb swelled with energy, then sped past the threshold and into the ice storm.
The storm raged for a few moments, intensifying, and then suddenly stopped.
“Now! Run!” Monty yelled, taking off at speed toward the ice-storm door. “We won’t have much time.”
We stepped inside the ice-storm room. Monty cast another lattice, sealing the entrance behind us. This room wasn’t covered in ice, but a thick, blue fog obscured visibility.
“Do you see her?” I asked under my breath as I strained to see. “This fog makes it impossible to sense anything.”
“Her presence is here, but I can’t pinpoint her location. I fear this room is very much like Dex’s room in our space.”
“She’s hiding?”
“Not necessarily,” Monty said. “She’s masking her signature to the point that she doesn’t exist.”
“That’s called hiding. I can’t sense her in here.”
“It’s more like camouflage…even you can do it, if you focused and controlled your breathing. It’s only a matter of blending your signature frequency with your surroundings.”
“Camouflage, another word for hiding—in plain sight.”
“Humans are interacting waves, not physical beings,” Monty started, obviously in an attempt to melt my brain. “Waves cannot be separated, which means you are connected to everything. If you can attune your frequency to your surroundings, you can effectively disappear.”
“So, what you’re saying is…I am one with the force and the force is with me?”
“I get the impression you were dropped on your head often when you were a child,” Monty snapped. “It’s the only thing that can explain that much trauma and idiocy.”
“It’s a gift,” I said with a mock bow. “Your Zillerfied explanation doesn’t help us find Cece, no matter what frequency she’s on.”
He shook his head. “I have to say the size of this dimension is impressive. I underestimated her skill and ability.”
“This is one of those time and relative dimensions in space situations, where it’s bigger on the inside—great. This place could be enormous. It’ll take forever to find her.”
“She would have created something she knows, even unconsciously.”
“This place does look vaguely familiar, like the cave we visited when we got the runic neutralizer.”
“That’s it. Her shift must have created a pocket dimension shaped after the Jotnar home,” Monty said, turning slowly. “This is quite extraordinary. Her ability, even inadvertently, easily classifies her as a few shifts away from Archmage.”
“I’m really glad you’re impressed,” I said. “Can we focus on finding Cece and stopping this before we’re buried in The Moscow, along with everyone else
