Two: Monty’s awareness that Dex had trapped him meant that his power had grown to the point that Dex wouldn’t be able to hide him much longer. Evers would soon find him. This would feed into Monty’s betrayal narrative, reinforcing it and possibly launching him off the deep end into embracing the darkness once she appeared.
Three: I seriously needed to consider a career change, or an extended vacation, some place far away from mages and monsters, as immediately as humanly possible. If not, I was the one who was going to lose it.
I drew Grim Whisper and fired.
The persuader rounds did nothing to the incoming orb. I wasn’t expecting them to. My real target was standing behind the orb. The rounds punched into Monty with no effect. The orb slammed into me, propelling my body backward at speed.
I hit the courtyard wall with enough force to destroy the stone behind me. The orb spread out and covered my body with black energy as I crumpled to the floor, landing on my rear, sitting against what was left of the wall.
“Goodbye, Simon,” Monty said, glancing down at my broken body before turning around to enter the temple. “Even an immortal needs a body…that orb will disintegrate yours. The pain will be excruciating. I warned you. You shouldn’t have come after me.”
Kali’s words blazed in my mind as the orb started to go to work.
You will be the one in the gap, no longer a shieldbearer. You will be my aspis—my shield- warrior. It is not only Tristan that depends on you now.
The orb was powerful. I could feel the effects of the blood magic trying its best to help me shed some unnecessary pounds by melting the skin off my body.
Then it stopped.
The pain came to a crashing halt.
That’s when I started laughing.
Monty turned around with a puzzled look on his face.
“I’m not laughing with you,” I said, getting to my feet. “I’m laughing at you.”
Monty narrowed his eyes at me and slowly reached behind him, drawing the Sorrows. The soft wails filled the temple as he approached.
“How are you doing this?” he asked. “You should be dust right now.”
“I had an appointment at Kali’s pain spa earlier,” I said, standing as the black energy slid off my body and evaporated. A thin layer of violet energy covered my body, reminding me of Dex’s green aura shield. “Your orb hurt, but excruciating? Not even close.”
“You’ve…changed, somehow,” Monty said, stepping out of the temple. “You’ve grown stronger. What did she do?”
“I told you,” I said, feeling the center of my forehead burn with power. “Kali gave me a pain makeover. You should try it. It gives you a new perspective on life…and death.”
“She marked you,” Monty said, keeping his voice low, “really marked you.”
“You plan on talking all day?” I said, letting the silver mist of Ebonsoul flow into my hand. “Let’s get to the killing.”
“Indeed,” he said with a smile. “Let’s.”
TWENTY-NINE
Monty wasn’t a typical mage.
Most of the mages I met were heavy on the casting and light on the physicality. They spent all of their time becoming runically strong, neglecting the other, just as important, aspects of being a mage.
In a non-magical fight, I could break most of them with a few well-placed strikes. There were a few exceptions to this; Dex was built like a small wall and just as tough. LD and TK were scary strong in every regard, magically and physically. That left Monty.
Monty was a battlemage.
He was the only mage I knew who walked around with a pair of wailing blades—though his uncle, who carried a shrieking battle-axe-and-mace hybrid, was similar.
There was something seriously off about the Montague family.
Monty realized early on that he needed to be strong, both physically and mentally. My training sessions with Master Yat were always torture, and while I understood the significance of the training, Monty reveled in it. He actually enjoyed our training with Yat, pushing it to three, sometimes even four hours of non-stop punishment.
Battlemages are trained to stand and die. Dex’s words whispered in my memory.
This fight was going to hurt.
“Can’t use your finger wiggles on me,” I said, sliding into a defensive stance. “No melting magic for you.”
“And you can’t use your gun.”
“Guess we have to do this the old-fashioned way, slice and dice,” I said. “I’ve always thought the blade a superior weapon. It forces you to get up close and personal.”
“You’re going to regret coming here, Simon,” he said, hefting his swords. “I take no pleasure in ending you.”
“Haven’t ended me yet,” I said, and beckoned him closer with my free hand. “Let me see you try.”
The ploy was simple. Monty was an excellent mage, but he was still a mage. They all had fragile egos and identity issues. The buttons were all there, I just needed to know where to push. With Monty, I was going to have to fight dirty.
He slid in with a lightning-fast lunge. I parried the thrust and backpedaled, deflecting the overhead slash from his second weapon. His blades began to intensify, their wailing and take on a blue glow.
I slid in with a front kick to his midsection, causing him to twist his body as I slashed horizontally across his thigh. He brought down his sword before I could connect, but I managed to slice through his pants leg.
I smiled, knowing how much he hated having his suits ruined.
“This will be the last suit you ruin,” he said, moving back and glancing at his leg. “You’ve cost me a fortune in clothing alone.”
The complaint sounded like the Monty I knew, but I wasn’t here to be nice. I was here to get my friend back. I needed him off-balance. I needed to create an opening and cut him with Ebonsoul.
“That wailing sound your blades make,” I said as we circled, “is that the sound you made when your parents abandoned you at the Golden Circle?”
His expression darkened. Button one pressed.
“You know nothing
