LD smiled and nodded.
“That sounds about right,” LD said. “They’re breathing today to insult us because of how dangerous we are, and the things we did…for them.”
“Gregor was a formidable mage,” TK said, examining Jessikah. “Not overly skilled, but a diligent student. He excelled by outworking his peers.”
“You…you taught my father?”
“Of course not,” TK replied with a slight smile. “I taught the person who taught your father.”
“Doesn’t matter who she is,” Dex said with a growl. “Her services are no longer needed. Go back and tell them Dexter Montague said so.”
Jessikah reached into her pocket and pulled out a black envelope. She handed it to Dex, who took it with one eyebrow raised.
“What’s this?” Dex asked, warily examining the envelope.
“They told me to give this to you when you ‘made your appearance’ to stop me.”
Dex grumbled something under his breath and opened the envelope. Standing beside him, I managed to get a look at the letter. The paper was a light gray color and the flowing script was in blood red ink. The top of the letter was adorned by the same image of a black orchid that I had noticed on the rear of Jessikah’s card. They took their branding seriously it seemed.
To the esteemed Dexter Montague,
If you are reading this letter, you have no doubt attempted to dissuade our mage from performing her duties as an agent of the Black Orchid.
This is a formal missive to notify you that we are operating within our jurisdiction. Your nephew, Tristan Montague, has been under observation for some time now. The casting of void vortices inside a populated city, not to mention the devastation he and his partner visited upon London, has not gone unnoticed.
The Penumbra Consortium is actively using back channels to have him erased, declaring him to be a menace to humanity and to all historical structures of import. Understanding your propensity for the disregard of rules, regulations, or any semblance of order, we are certain the Penumbra Consortium and their petition cause you little to no concern.
We are not the Penumbra Consortium.
With this understanding, we are prepared to take the following steps and inform you:
If our agent, Jessikah Onuris of the Farsight Division, is hindered in her investigation of one Tristan Montague by you, or any of the rogue mages who comprise the group known as “The Ten” we will consider it a violation of sect law.
To that end, we will enforce the dissolution of the Golden Circle sect—as is our right—if we feel such a violation has occurred. To convey this in plain speech, keep your nose out of this one, Dexter, or it will be broken and bloodied. We will do what must be done. If you interfere in any way, shape, or form, we will remove the Golden Circle from existence, with extreme prejudice and overwhelming force.
With the utmost sincerity and resolve,
The Black Orchid Elders
I saw Dex get angrier by the second as he read the letter again, before handing it to TK.
“Those bloody shites!” Dex yelled, as Peaches whined and moved closer to my leg. He stared at the now startled and visibly scared Jessikah, who bravely stood her ground. “They dare threaten me? My nephew? The Golden Circle?”
To be fair, Dex was scary even when he was happy. He always had an undercurrent of danger and insanity, mixed into a package of magexuberance.
In his current state, he had stepped way beyond scary, and planted both feet firmly in petrifyingly frightening territory. The power coming off of him was palpable as his energy signature rose.
I could see why the Morrigan would be attracted. He was nearing her level of fearsome.
“This will be a problem,” TK said, looking up at LD from the letter she held. “It would be a good idea if Dex got some air while we explored the details.”
“Good plan,” LD said quickly. “Let’s go see if we can get you something strong to drink over at the Rump.”
LD escorted a grumbling Dex outside.
TK turned and focused all of her attention on Jessikah. From her expression at that moment, Jessikah was beginning to understand the setup. She looked ready to bolt, but to her credit, foolish as it was, she remained where she stood.
“It’s unprecedented that the Black Orchid would send you,” TK said, when LD and Dex had left the office. “You’re not nearly qualified enough to deal with the intricacies of this particular situation. How many cases have you handled?”
“This is my second one, ma’am.”
“Don’t ma’am me…ever,” TK replied with a raised eyebrow. “What happened on your first case?”
“I…I miscalculated my timeskip,” Jessikah said. “Many Orchid agents were injured…because of me.”
“Did anyone die?” TK asked. “Did you cause any deaths?”
“What?” Jessikah said, surprised. “No, ma”—Jessikah caught herself in time—“no deaths. I wasn’t officially Farsight at the time.”
“After the mishap, they placed you in Farsight?”
“Yes. They said I could better hone my abilities in Farsight.”
“A death sentence,” TK answered. “Did they make the appointment official? They inducted you into the Farsight Division?”
“I’m Farsight,” Jessikah said with some defiance. “They said the dark mage, Tristan Montague, needed to be apprehended, and they sent me.”
“Do you know who Tristan Montague is?”
“I’ve read the dossier,” Jessikah said. I realized she was in way over her head. “He seems…formidable, but I think I can apprehend him.”
“Apprehend him?” TK asked. “The older mage you met earlier is his uncle, Dexter Montague.”
“I’m aware.”
TK narrowed her eyes slightly. Jessikah was venturing into dangerous, painful territory.
“Did you read his dossier?”
“There wasn’t a dossier on Dexter Montague.”
“Didn’t you wonder why that was?” TK asked. “It didn’t concern you that the sect tasked with policing all the other sects lacked information on a mage of his… reputation?”
“I found it odd, yes. When I asked, they told me—”
“He wasn’t relevant to the case,” TK finished. “Correct? In fact, the dossier on Tristan was thin to the point of being practically useless, yes?”
Jessikah looked genuinely surprised.
“I did find it somewhat lacking, yes.”
TK shook her head slowly.
“You are being used, Miss
