My head was still reeling from learning Rott was alive. How did he survive?
“I didn’t leave you. I was asked to leave.”
“Now, I’m asking you to return. It’s only one mission, and then we wipe the slate clean. After this, if you want to completely turn your back on us, your family, after all we did for you, feel free.”
“How do I know that’s really Rott doing the asking?”
“He said you’d ask that. He said we should meet where he lost Cass—where you lost Cass.”
I remained silent for a few seconds and controlled my breathing. The words were deliberate, designed to do the most damage to maximally push my buttons.
They worked.
“Fine. When?”
“Tonight, 2300. Bring your Brit. I’ll make the introductions and brief you on the mission then. Glad to have you aboard.”
“I haven’t agreed to anything yet.”
“Yes, you have,” Douglas said. “You need to make this right. This is your chance to do so.”
He hung up the call.
Monty looked at me, his expression serious.
“He mentioned Cassandra,” I said, keeping my voice low as I looked at my phone. “Rott asked for me.”
“Rott perished in the entropy blast that killed the Kragzimik.”
“Apparently it didn’t stick,” I said, still slightly shocked. “I just spoke to him, or someone who sounded just like him. Could he have survived?”
Monty rubbed his chin.
“I suppose if the Kragzimik was powerful enough, he could have formed a cocoon of energy around his body. Rott was in proximity when the blast went off, but…”
“Are you saying there was a chance he could have survived?”
“Slight, but yes. There were several variables at play that night,” Monty replied. “The entropy bomb was synthetic, keyed to Rott’s life force…The Kragzimik was a considerably powerful threat…And don’t forget Salao, the demigod—any one of those or a combination could’ve played a role in Rott surviving the blast.”
“He still blames me for Cassandra.”
“Her death was not your fault,” he said. “Cassandra understood the risks and danger.”
“I should have kept her farther back, out of the action,” I said. “She would’ve been safe then.”
“Unlikely,” Monty said. “Slif would have hunted her down in any case. She was not about to let us walk away from that conflict. What did Douglas want?”
“It’s a mission. Shadow Company,” I said. “Rott requested me specifically. The target is a Balfour. What kind of name is that?”
“A dangerous one. Are you certain he said Balfour?”
“Positive. They want to meet tonight, same place where Cassandra died.”
“They’re hunting dragons.”
“Didn’t sound plural. Rott said this Balfour is a dragon.”
“Rott requested you specifically. Ever since Cassandra, he’s been obsessed. I thought with his demise this would be put to rest.”
“He sounded slightly off, said the entropy bomb altered him,” I said. “Maybe it’s not really Rott?”
“Even if it isn’t entirely Rott, there’s enough of him to request you for this mission.”
“If they want me for this mission I’m going to go with: I’m bait and they’re leaning toward hostile.”
“You think you’re a target?” Monty asked. “Why?”
“My last mission with Shadow Company,” I said. “I disobeyed a direct order. Derailed the mission, the target escaped. Got myself bounced out.”
“I see. And now they want you back?”
“Offering redemption, it seems,” I said. “One last mission to set things right and finally put things to rest.”
“Sounds more like it may be an opportunity to put you to rest,” Monty said. “Have they kept track of you since you left?”
I nodded.
“Seems like it. They know about you, too. Douglas said you should come with.”
“To my recollection, there are no mages in this group.”
“None. Shadow Company is too twitchy to run with mages,” I said. “They don’t trust magic users.”
“Yet requested my presence?”
“Yes, Rott has been keeping tabs on us, apparently.”
“This seems off,” Monty said. “Why now?”
“Who is this Balfour?”
“No one to be trifled with,” Monty said, serious. “We want to stay as far away from him as possible.”
“If he’s the target, my guess is that they have a small window of opportunity to get to him, and want me there.”
“This is unwise. Facing dragons is no trifling matter,” Monty said, shaking his head. “Their power is several orders of magnitude above most mages, including my own.”
“I know.”
“What happens if you refuse?”
“Depends on who’s really doing the asking,” I said. “He says it’s Rott. If I say no to George, that would be bad. If it’s Douglas? Well, he was never overly stable. If I turn him down, it could go south in a hurry.”
“I see,” Monty said. “You really need to upgrade your circle of friends.”
“They’re not my friends,” I said, my voice hard. “Not even close. To them, I’m expendable. Everyone who stands in their way is. Shadow Company is a dysfunctional family that discards those Douglas thinks are useless.”
“Is that why they asked you to leave?” Monty asked. “He thought you useless?”
“He asked me to leave because I dared to defy him,” I said, the words spilling out. “I was young, and naive, but I wasn’t a blind follower. He expects, no, demands complete compliance and blind devotion. Does that sound like me?”
“Not in the least,” Monty said. “Apologies, I didn’t mean to pry.”
“No apologies needed,” I said, waving his words away. “Just not one of my favorite subjects.”
“Understood,” Monty said. “We all carry the luggage of our youth.”
“Baggage, but it still works,” I said with a tight smile, turning when I heard the footsteps. “Sounds like Jimmy…plus one. Plus one very large one?”
Jimmy the Cleaver came into the main room, followed by—I didn’t know exactly what he was being followed by. It looked like an ogre crossed with something worse, if that was even possible. It carried several large boxes of meats and cases of beer with room to spare for a small SUV in its arms. I let my hand drift to Grim Whisper, wondering if even entropy rounds would stop the enormous creature.
Jimmy smiled when he saw
