“I told you not to come looking for me,” Monty said from inside. I figured the space was cavernous, considering the echo of his voice. “I told you, if you sought me out, I would end your immortal existence.”
“Immortality is overrated,” I called out without showing my face. “Besides, I was in the neighborhood and felt like dropping by.”
“In the neighborhood?” Monty said. “Your attempts at humor only disguise your fear, Simon. Are you so eager to die, that you would come here? Who sent you?”
There was no reason to lie.
“Dex sent me. He’s worried about you,” I said. “We all are.”
“Worried or scared?” Monty answered. “Which are you, Simon?”
“I’m here to help,” I said, still remaining to the side of the doorway, and out of the line of fire. I didn’t feel like ending up smashed like the door. “You’re going through a…”
“A schism,” Monty said curtly. “Do not pretend to tell me what I’m going through. What would you know of schisms or of power? You are not a mage.”
“Power is dangerous,” I said. “I don’t think it takes absolute power to corrupt. The power a mage wields, the power you wield…can change you, twist you into something you’re not.”
“Rubbish,” Monty answered. “You’ve been spending too much time with my uncle.”
It was subtle, but I felt the energy spool into the temple where Monty sat. It meant it was only a matter of time before this talk became mage-conversational.
“Actually, I learned that from watching what’s happening with you.”
“You have no concept of the forces at play here, no reference points, nothing that could inform you as to what a schism entails,” Monty said. “You couldn’t possibly understand. You’re not a mage, and you’re completely out of your league.”
“You’re right, I’m not,” I answered, moving away from the wall as I sensed the energy grow inside. “What I am, is your friend.”
“My friend?” he asked. “How could I ever befriend someone so weak?”
“I’m stronger than I look?”
I rolled to the side and away, as a black orb punched its way through the wall where I had been standing a moment earlier. He was definitely not in friend mode.
“I see you’ve gotten better with those dark orbs,” I called out. I took a deep breath to calm myself. This was actually scarier than facing Dex, and that realization made this terrifying. “You don’t have to do this.”
“Do what, exactly?” Monty asked. “What do you think I’m doing?”
“You mean besides trying to squash me with a door, or perforate me with your bloody orbs?” I asked. “You’re making a choice.”
Silence.
“You’re correct,” he said after a pause. “Actually, I’m torn, and maybe you can help me. Why don’t you come in so we can discuss this like adults?”
In my mind, Admiral Ackbar swiveled around in his command chair and slapped me upside the head, before sliding off to the deeper recesses of my mind.
Don’t do it—it’s a trap.
I nodded my head and stepped back even farther from the wall. Monty had demonstrated some of his power. I had no intention of turning into a Swiss cheese target from one of his barrage attacks. The hole left by the black orb he’d launched at me held a residue of power. Enough for me to want to make sure nothing he threw at me connected.
“I’m correct?” I answered, surprised. “Why yes…yes, I am. I can help you, but right now, since you’re giving me a serious Darth Monty vibe, I’m going to help you from out here, if that’s okay with you.”
“It doesn’t really matter where you are,” Monty answered with a low laugh. “You can’t escape from me.”
“I’m not here to escape. I’m here to bring you back.”
“That’s exactly what I need you for,” Monty said, appearing in the doorway. “You said I was making a choice. Right now, at this moment, I’m trying to choose the best way to erase you from existence.”
For a few seconds, the words escaped me.
The last time I had seen him, the sclera of his eyes had become shot through with black veins. Now, they were a solid black. Around him, small arcs of black energy jumped from his body to nearby surfaces, leaving small craters in their wake. If he wasn’t dark, he was damn close.
“Easier said than done,” I answered, taking a few more steps back. “I see you’re really embracing the new look. Do you know what happens if you go full Darth?”
“Power,” he said, looking down at the energy arcing from his body. “Infinite power.”
“First of all, don’t be a dumbass,” I said—shocking him, from his expression. “There’s no such thing as infinite power. We’ve faced enough gods to know that’s not true. Second, if you go full Sith Lord, you’re going to be a permanent guest at Ezra’s table sooner than you’d like.”
“Fool,” Monty said. “You’re not here to bring me back. You’re here to make sure I never leave…at least not alive.”
“What?” I asked, shocked. “Dex said I needed to help you, that I’m the only one, because…”
“You’re my shieldbearer?” he answered. “Incredible. How can you not see it?”
“Illuminate me.”
“Did you suggest calling the Dark Council?” Monty asked, derisively. “I’m sure you did, it’s so you. What did my uncle say? ‘This is mage business, too dangerous for the Dark Council’ or something to that effect?”
“What are you saying?”
“We’re bait…Well, I’m bait. You’re just a loose end. Evers will find me here soon enough, once my uncle lets her know where I am.”
“He would never betray you like that,” I said. “He’s trying to keep you safe.”
“By locking me in some pocket dimension from which I can’t escape?” Monty asked. “For someone so observant, you see very little. Who exactly is helping whom?”
“You’re not making sense,” I said. “He’s your uncle, your family. Why would he want you dead? He cares about you.”
“You don’t know him. I’m becoming stronger, stronger than even
