“Sorry, I’m not accusing you,” I said, raising a hand. “It’s just that…”
“Surprised the hell out of me, too,” LD said, shaking his head. “He shouldn’t have been able to pull off a teleport. Not from within Fordey, not in his condition, but he is Dex’s nephew. I should’ve been more careful.”
“He saved my ass.”
“I hear it’s the other way around,” LD said. “You released a runic nova?”
“Not on purpose,” I said defensively, “Monty was in trouble, and I was done. Evers would have killed us all. It was about as last resort as you could get.”
“You obliterated the entire Sanctuary complex…all of it,” LD said with a hint of pride. “I thought you said Tristan was the destructive one?”
“Is Dex pissed?” I asked. “I mean, the Golden Circle is gone.”
“The artifacts were all stored safely after Connor died,” LD said. “Between you and me, I think Dex is relieved. He never wanted to run a sect. I think he’s going to start a school.”
The door to the stairwell opened and Dex walked in.
“Your lass is asking for you,” Dex said. “Apparently my nephew created an irregularity at Fordey in his hurry to escape?”
“That’s my cue,” LD said. “Come by Fordey when you can. I think I have some things that can assist you.”
“I will,” I said. “Thank you. Please let TK know…”
“Family. That’s what we do, hombre,” LD said, casting a gray circle around him. “I’ll let TK know you’re still kicking. See you soon.”
LD nodded to Dex and vanished.
Dex turned without saying a word and climbed the stairs. He reached the next level and paused before the door.
“Ach, are you just going to admire me from down there?” he asked. “Come on, boy.”
Peaches bounded up the stairs. I followed, just not as energetically. How he managed to move so fast after ingesting a cow’s worth of sausage, was astounding.
Dex grabbed the handle and whispered something under his breath. Green light raced along the frame of the door. He opened the door which led to a small stone path sitting in a grassy area.
It was Central Park, but not the one I was familiar with.
“Where are we?” I asked as I followed him in. “This looks like Central Park, but I don’t remember the two suns. Is this Tatooine?”
“Don’t be daft,” Dex said, walking over to a small bench. “This is Central Park, just not your Central Park. I didn’t want Roxanne to find us in a stairwell—she’s on a tear.”
I looked around. Aside from the extra light and double shadows, I could easily confuse this place for my city. There was an engraved stone bench surrounded by a small grove of five trees. The bench radiated power. Behind me, the door remained, standing free in the middle of the grass.
“Does this place exist in my park?”
“This here is Green Hill,” Dex said, sitting on the bench. The runes in the stone shone a little brighter for a few seconds, then dimmed. “It’s named after Andrew Haswell Green. On your plane, he is somewhat obscure, but influential in the formation of the city. On this plane, he is venerated. Each tree symbolizes a discipline he founded. Have a seat.”
I sat on the bench, but the runes remained dormant. I guess I wasn’t quite at the power level where objects would react to my presence.
“Is Monty okay?” I asked, sliding to the other end of the bench. Peaches plopped down on the grass with a contented rumble. “LD was light on specifics. Just that he’s ‘under observation,’ whatever that means.”
“You destroyed the Sanctuary,” Dex started. As I prepared for another thrashing, he continued, “But you saved my nephew. For that, I am in your debt.”
“It wasn’t intentional,” I said. “Evers was going to end us.”
“You didn’t intend to save Tristan?”
“The Sanctuary…I meant the Sanctuary,” I said quickly. “I didn’t mean to destroy it.”
“Aye, it needed a renovation in any case,” Dex said. “You and my nephew just sped up the process.”
“What about Talin?” I asked. “I know Evers is gone. I saw TK, but no Talin.”
“You just answered your question, boy.”
“Talin managed to survive facing Scary Grey,” I said. “He was beyond dangerous.”
“Not to her.”
“Remind me to never piss TK off.”
Dex nodded.
“The Black Orchid has placed you on their watch list,” Dex said with a chuckle. “Mr. ‘I’m not a mage’ is now on a dangerous mage watch list.”
“Wait, what?” I asked, concerned. “How is that funny? This is serious.”
“It is,” Dex said with a wicked smile. “I explained how seriously Kali would react if she happened to discover Black Orchid agents trying to apprehend you. The Marked of Kali.”
“Wonderful,” I said. “Can you speak to them about Jessikah?”
“It’s been done,” Dex said. “They won’t accept her. Seems to be some bad blood there, but they will leave her be. I explained how distressed I’d become if I found out different.”
I was glad to hear Jessikah would be left alone by the Black Orchid. She was still pretty clueless about life outside the sect. The last thing she needed was a group of BO agents hunting her down while she got her bearings.
“You realize the threat is just going to make them act ‘unofficially’ against me.”
“Yes, but it will give you some breathing room,” Dex said, looking off to the side. “At least for a short time. Enough time to get you ready, I think.”
“What will you do now?” I asked. “Move in with the Morrigan?”
“Are you insane? No man on this earth can handle that much Morrigan at once. I am, of course, a superb specimen of manliness, but even I’m not that insane.”
“Don’t forget modest.”
“Aye, and humble,” he said with another smile. “No, I think what I’ll focus on is preparing the next generation of mages. With the Golden Circle gone, there will be a lack of battlemages. Truth be told, we haven’t taught battlemages in over a century. I think we need fresh blood.”
“LD was right?” I asked. “You’re going to open a school?”
Dex
