Walking the Razor
Orlando A. Sanchez
Contents
About the Story
Quotation
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
NINE
TEN
ELEVEN
TWELVE
THIRTEEN
FOURTEEN
FIFTEEN
SIXTEEN
SEVENTEEN
EIGHTEEN
NINETEEN
TWENTY
TWENTY-ONE
TWENTY-TWO
TWENTY-THREE
TWENTY-FOUR
TWENTY-FIVE
TWENTY-SIX
TWENTY-SEVEN
TWENTY-EIGHT
TWENTY-NINE
THIRTY
THIRTY-ONE
THIRTY-TWO
THIRTY-THREE
THIRTY-FOUR
THIRTY-FIVE
THIRTY-SIX
THIRTY-SEVEN
THIRTY-EIGHT
Author Notes
Special Mentions
About the Author
Bitten Peaches Publishing
Acknowledegements
Contact Me
ART SHREDDERS
Thanks for Reading!
About the Story
The brightest light casts the darkest shadow.
Would you kill to save a life?
In order to save those closest to him, Tristan has stepped closer to darkness.
In order to save Tristan, Simon must do the impossible.
When Monty uses blood magic, he enters a schism—which puts him, and everyone close to him, in mortal danger. His use of blood magic has alerted the Black Orchid, a mage sect tasked with apprehending and eliminating dark mages.
Now, Simon, with help from Monty’s closest allies and family, must find a way to stop him from going over to the darkness. If they fail, Monty will surrender to darkness, the Black Orchid will attempt to eliminate him, and Evers will be one step closer to her goal: the destruction of magic.
No one said it was ever easy in the Montague & Strong Detective Agency.
“Come on! Do you want to live forever?”
-Daniel Daly
First Sergeant of the 73rd Machine Gun Company
“When you light a candle, you also cast a shadow.”
-Ursula K. Le Guin
ONE
I stepped out of the conference room and into a green flash.
Grim Whisper was in my hand a split second later.
“Put that thing away, boy, before someone gets hurt—starting with you.”
It was Dex. An angry-sounding Dex.
I holstered my weapon and realized Dex wasn’t alone, which would’ve been bad enough. Two figures were standing next to him. I squinted as my eyes adjusted to the aftereffects of the teleportation circle Dex used.
It was TK and LD.
Dex was dressed in his mage casual look: gray dress shirt, blue jeans, and work boots. Actually, I was surprised he was dressed at all. LD was dressed similarly, opting for a black T-shirt instead of the more formal dress shirt. Only TK looked out of place. She was wearing black combat armor and appeared ready to take on a group of enemies. For her, this was mage casual.
LD gave me a quick look of sympathy that said, Brace yourself while TK glared at me as if I had broken into Fordey and stolen an artifact of value. It wasn’t a good look. On the glare-o-meter, not even a Clint Glint could withstand TK’s withering gaze.
“You didn’t think to call us?” TK said, her voice slicing through the air like a scalpel through skin. “You actually thought it best to tackle this situation on your own?”
I looked at LD, who shook his head.
“Monty said not to call you?” I answered, knowing it was the wrong answer. “It was his idea. He said it would protect you.”
“Protect us?” TK replied, and I took a step back. Her two words expressed anger, disappointment, and more anger. She was pissed. “He can barely protect himself. Especially now.”
“Are you daft, boy?” Dex said, placing a gentle crushing hand on my shoulder, making me wince. “We should have been the first on the scene. Now you have to deal with”—Dex glanced at Jessikah—“the Black Orchid.”
He said the sect name like a curse.
“Whoa,” I said, raising my hands. “I didn’t call her. She just showed up.”
“They usually do,” TK said, narrowing her eyes at me. “Like mold or an unwanted growth. We’ll deal with her in a moment. What did you do?”
“I didn’t do anything,” I said, suddenly defensive. “Monty used blood magic…I couldn’t stop him from casting again, and then…”
“I wasn’t referring to that,” TK answered. “Your energy signature is a mess, more so than the last time I saw you. What did you do?”
“I don’t know.”
“Ach, boy,” Dex said, glancing at me. “She’s right. You’re a proper mess.”
“Thanks, I’ll deal with it.”
“Not on your own you won’t,” TK said. “We’ll deal with it. But first, your guest.”
Dex stepped around me and looked at Jessikah closely.
“Farsight Division?” he asked, then pointed at the large black cat. “A Daughter of Bast? Well, at least they’re taking this seriously. How many seconds?”
Jessikah stood frozen in place, her expression one of shock. The cool, collected Black Orchid agent had left the building. In her place stood an awestruck mage rookie. To her credit, she regained her composure almost immediately.
“Three seconds,” Jessikah answered. “I’ve just begun at Farsight.”
“Three seconds?” Dex scoffed. “You’re a novice.” He glanced at TK and LD. “This is sending a lamb to slaughter. Forget what I said about taking this seriously. Who did you cross, girl?”
“Excuse me?” Jessikah asked. “I don’t understand.”
“Of course you don’t,” Dex growled, the anger coming off of him in not-so-subtle waves. “That’s why they sent you.”
“She must have pissed someone off,” LD said, looking at Jessikah. “Are you sure you’re Farsight?”
“Yes sir,” Jessikah said. For a second, I thought she was going to salute. “Farsight Division, and a Daughter of Bast.”
“Good for you,” Dex answered. “You can leave now. This is a family matter, and you are not family. We’ll take it from here.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that, sir,” Jessikah answered, demonstrating how much she enjoyed living dangerously. “My superiors—”
“Can go suck an egg,” Dex finished. “Who was it? Which Elder from the Orchid sent you?”
“All of them, sir.”
“Ach, they must still be upset,” Dex said, throwing up a hand and shaking his head. “Mages with their fragile egos and petty grudges. The war is a distant memory. That was decades ago.”
“Not to them, sir,” Jessikah answered. “They still remember.”
“Of course they do,” TK said. “It’s difficult to forget, much less forgive, a humiliation.”
“No matter,” Dex spoke up gruffly, with another wave of his hand. “Your services are no longer required, Miss…?”
“Jessikah, sir. Jessikah Onuris.”
“Onuris?” TK said, with a slight look of surprise. “You’re Gregor’s child?”
“He’s my father, yes,” Jessikah said. “You are TK and LD from Fordey Boutique. The Orchid speaks highly of you.”
“Only those who don’t know us,” LD said with a smile. “I’m sure your Elders say otherwise.”
“They do,” Jessikah said, looking away. “They call you dangerous, rogue mages, a threat to
