“The details would fry what little brain you have left,” he said. “Judging what you went through with Kali, that would leave you in a coma. Let’s just say, I can’t leave this place, at least not yet. You’re the best shot Tristan has.”
“I’m the best shot?” I asked. “What about the other sects? You’re running the Golden Circle now. Can’t you make some calls? Call in some favors?”
He stared at me like I had spit in his coffee.
“What part of ‘hidden’ is escaping that brain of yours, boy?” he asked, the frustration clear in his voice. “My nephew is blacklisted.”
“I thought that only happened if he went dark?”
“How would you deal with an impending threat?” he asked. “Wait until it becomes powerful enough to destroy you, or nip it in the bud?”
“They’re not waiting until Monty goes dark…Shit. It’s not just the Black Orchid. They’ve been waiting for this opportunity to take him out. Why?”
“Mostly my fault,” Dex admitted. “They can’t move against me directly, the bastards, so they go for the next best thing.”
“This is why you removed the Golden Circle.”
Dex tapped the side of his nose and pointed at me.
“Sharp as a brick you are,” he said with an undertone of anger. “Only one sect stood beside us, but even they can’t act. Best thing was to break the agreement.”
“Which sect?”
“White Phoenix. They can’t do anything without taking on the rest of the sects. It would start—”
“A mage war,” I finished. “Isn’t taking the Golden Circle out of the agreement a little rash?”
“A little rash?” Dex asked. “They want their vengeance by killing my nephew. I’d say I’m taking the high road here.”
“What’s the low road?”
“I go to each sect and reduce it to ashes,” Dex answered, his voice low. “Aye, maybe even bring Mo along. She always enjoys a good killing.”
I shuddered at the thought of a Dex-and-Morrigan team-up. Alone, each one was a force to be reckoned with. Together, the other sects wouldn’t stand a chance.
“Can we leave the ‘obliterate everything’ plan as the last option?” I asked. “It sounds extra homicidal.”
“Let me try to explain this to you in small words, so you can understand,” Dex answered after a short pause. “If you can’t help my nephew, it may be the only option.”
“How am I supposed to do that?” I asked, getting as frustrated as Dex sounded. “Do you have some rune you can give me? Some ‘step away from darkness and re-enter the light’ cast designed to help Monty before it’s too late?”
“No,” Dex said. “Even if I did, you couldn’t use it. I don’t have a few hundred years to teach you. If I leave this place, Tristan will be found inside the hour. I have to stay here, which means his shieldbearer must take on his primary function.”
“Which is?”
“What? Are you daft?” he yelled. “What do you mean ‘Which is’? You’re his shieldbearer.”
“I’m learning this as I go,” I said, offended by the tone of his voice. “This isn’t intuitive, and I didn’t study with Ziller for several thousand years like some people I know.”
“How are you going to help Tristan?” Dex asked, as I felt the shift in the air around us. He was gathering energy around him. “You can’t even help yourself.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked, taking a step back. “Dex, where is Monty?”
“You’re useless, do you know that? This was a mistake. You…are a mistake.”
“Excuse me?” I said, feeling my own anger rise. He wasn’t joking. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not a—”
“I’m not a mage. I’m not a mage,” he mocked. “How long are you going to cling to that poor crutch of an excuse? Why are you even here, boy?”
Now I was confused.
“What are you talking about? You sent for me.”
“No, I sent for the shieldbearer, not the diaper-wearer,” he snapped. “If you’re going to bemoan how unfair things are, just go back. I have no use for you.”
“I am the shieldbearer.”
“No,” Dex said, stepping close and putting a finger in my face. “You’re a shieldbearer, and a bloody bad one at that. I’d feel safer holding up toilet paper for protection, than depending on your ability.”
“What?” I asked, barely controlling the anger now. “I didn’t ask to be anyone’s shieldbearer. No one asked me.”
“I didn’t ask…no one asked me,” Dex scoffed, raising his voice. “I’m sorry, Your Highness. Were you not consulted? No one asked your permission? Oh, woe is me. No wonder my nephew is in a schism! You were supposed to watch out for him, and what did you do when it mattered? You ran.”
“You…need…to…stop. Now.”
“Coward,” Dex spat and he stepped closer. “When he needed you, where were you? How long did it take before you ran with your tail tucked between your legs? Worthless”—he threw up a hand—“you’re a worthless waste of space. Do you know what I have to do now?”
“Besides back the hell up away from me?” I said, letting my hand drift to Grim Whisper. “You need to stop. You don’t want to do this.”
“I’m quaking in fear, boy,” Dex said with a short laugh. “I now have to go kill my nephew, because you are clueless, and worse, spineless.”
“No, I won’t let—”
“You won’t let me?” Dex cut me off. “The time for you to act has long passed. You think you can stop me? You think I want to do this?”
“No, I don’t think—”
“Exactly,” he said, cutting me off again. “You…don’t…think, and when you do, it’s all about you. The universe revolves around you, doesn’t it, you myopic, egocentric, little shite.”
“I know you’re upset,” I said, raising a hand in surrender, while keeping the other close to my weapon. “I don’t want this either. Let’s stay calm. Monty needs us.”
All around us, the energy level kept increasing at a steady pace. Dex always had a scary edge; right now that edge was exposed, and it was sharp.
Sharp enough to cut…sharp enough to kill.
“Monty needed us—needed you. It’s too late now.”
“What
