<I don’t want to eat the cat. He is too thin, and he is not a cat.>
<Not a cat? What is he?>
<If that is a cat, then I am a dog.>
<That’s not an answer.>
<The cat is…more. More than a cat.>
<Well, that’s perfectly clear. Thanks.>
<You’re welcome. Can you ask the scary lady to make some meat?>
<She seems upset right now. Maybe later?>
<I’m so hungry. I haven’t eaten in a long time.>
<You ate about an hour ago.>
<Like I said, a long time. Ask her. I’m sure she would do it.>
<You need to understand what ‘delayed gratification’ means.>
<Is that when you get meat, and I eat it right away?>
<The exact opposite. It’s when you learn to wait.>
<Where is the angry man?>
<Monty is going through a rough moment right now. He’s not here.>
<If he ate more meat, he wouldn’t have rough moments.>
“You can speak to him…mentally?” Jessikah asked, staring at me. “That’s quite advanced, but you’re not a mage. What are you?”
“Difficult,” TK answered. “The Black Orchid sent you after Tristan to eliminate you. They couldn’t take action against you directly in the sect, but out here in the field, on a dangerous case…you become collateral damage.”
“Two birds, one blast,” LD said. “They take down Tristan, and she just happens to die in the process. Neat—evil as hell—but neat.”
“Precisely,” TK said, looking at Jessikah. “Do you understand the position you are in?”
“Not really,” Jessikah answered. “But I do know they sent me out here to die, and I’d prefer staying alive..”
“For now, that’s enough,” TK said, turning to me. “We need to track Tristan. Where did the schism occur?”
“Kali’s place,” I said. “Her dimension.”
“No,” TK said. “That’s unlikely. Kali would never permit that kind of casting to occur in her realm. It’s possible that’s where it manifested, but not where it occurred.”
“That is where he went dark and scary,” I said. “Mostly scary.”
“Where were you before you headed to Kali’s?” LD asked. “The place where he cast the blood magic?”
“We were dealing with my energy signature going sideways,” I said. “Kali seemed like the best and only solution. Once we were there, we were dealing with a few Rakshasas. He cast to help me, and then went all Darth Monty on me. I told him not to cast.”
“It’s not your fault,” TK said. “Don’t take blame that doesn’t belong to you.”
“I’m his shield-bearer.”
“Which means he still has free will,” TK said. “Continue…you were dealing with Rakshasas?”
“They attacked us,” I said, remembering the details. “Seems they’re Kali’s security force, at least on her plane. These were stronger than any I had encountered before.”
“Rakshasas, nasty buggers,” LD said with a nod. “That was the activation, not the catalyst. What did Tristan do before that? Think back.”
I thought back to the sequence of events before entering Kali’s plane. Monty had been unconscious for most of the time at the temple in Jersey. Everything had happened at Haven.
“Monty was trying to protect us from the entropic sphere at Haven,” I said. “Specifically Roxanne. She was on the skywalk when he cast…the skywalk. Evers said she had laid a trap for him there. We have to go to the skywalk.”
“An entropic sphere?” TK asked. “That is a particularly dangerous cast.”
“Evers?” LD asked. “Did you say Evers?”
“I thought she perished,” TK said. “This complicates things significantly.”
“She’s a bit out there,” I said. “Some kind of chronomancer?”
“A dangerous, accomplished chronomancer,” LD said. “She was, or is, a war mage.”
“If Evers is involved, Talin can’t be far behind,” TK said.
“Talin?” I asked, confused. “Who’s Talin?”
“Dark mage,” LD answered. “Dangerous, deadly, and demented.”
“Don’t forget delusional,” TK added. “He and Evers want to eradicate all magic.”
“Is that even possible?” I asked. “How do you eradicate energy?”
“You don’t,” LD answered. “Hasn’t stopped him from trying. Talin has an insane mage body count. The man is a serious threat.”
“Why hasn’t he been stopped?”
“Certain authorities have prevented his capture on two occasions,” TK said, glancing at Jessikah. “He’s gone underground.”
“He’ll resurface if Evers is in play,” LD said. “This is not good. Dealing with Evers is bad enough.”
“We need to get to Haven,” TK said, her voice tight. “Roxanne should have more information for us.”
“I’ll pass,” I said, looking at the large, green teleportation circle TK formed. “It will be better for me, digestively.”
LD shook his head.
“Time is of the essence,” TK said, her voice low. “Please step into the circle.”
“Won’t my current energy signature mess with the circle?” I asked, trying to get out of the teleport method of transportation. “I don’t want to end up at Haven a scrambled mess.”
“You’re already a scrambled mess,” LD said, putting a hand on my shoulder. “TK isn’t Dex, but she’s close. You’ll be fine.”
TK made a sausage and placed it in the center of the teleportation circle, enticing my traitorous hellhound promptly into it as he inhaled the meat.
“No,” I said, putting my life in danger. “I’m not going with you, and neither is my hellhound.”
I stared at Peaches and pointed to the floor next to me. He finished inhaling the sausage before padding over to my side—a clear indicator of where his priorities lay.
“I beg your pardon?” TK said, surprised. “I must have misheard. Did you say you were not stepping into the circle?”
“That’s exactly what I said,” I answered. “I’m not going to Haven.”
“Did you suffer a traumatic brain injury?” TK asked. “If not, you’re about to.”
“First, teleportation sucks,” I said. “My body doesn’t like it, never has.”
“That has more to do—”
“I know,” I snapped, further risking my life. “I need to reconcile with my ‘bonds’ and untangle whatever mess I have going on. Got it. Doesn’t change the fact that it screws with my body in horrible ways.”
“Listen,” LD said, trying to be the voice of reason. “I know Tristan going dark isn’t easy to take, but you need to come with us. If Talin is out there, you’re in danger.”
“No,” I repeated firmly. “You’re looking for clues. I’m looking for Monty. I need to get to him before Evers,
