“How long before he becomes a memory?”
“Hard to say,” Roxanne said. “It depends on his physiology, whether he has a propensity for magic. It could be days, years, decades, or centuries. Dragon’s blood can extend his life if he refrains from using the power it gives him. There’s no real way of telling. Surprisingly there aren’t many candidates willing to take the chance of having dragon’s blood injected into their body.”
“Centuries? I can’t wait that long,” I said. “Douglas isn’t going to refrain from using power. He’s going to wipe out anyone or anything that isn’t human.”
“Do you know where he is?” Roxanne asked. “Your hellhound needs rest. You can’t have him search for this Douglas. He barely made it here with Tristan and that dragon. It seems like he made too many concurrent jumps.”
“Will he be okay?” I asked, suddenly concerned about my hellhound. “The last jump was extreme.”
“Nothing a large bowl of sausage can’t cure,” Roxanne said, glancing at my hellhound. Peaches’ ears perked up at the mention of sausage, but he didn’t move. “He’ll be fine.”
“I know where we can find out,” Monty said after a few moments. “If she’s still alive.”
“Who?”
“The Auer.”
THIRTY-ONE
Monty formed a teleportation circle while I rubbed Peaches’ belly.
<I need to go find the bad man.>
<Wherever you go, I go. I’m your bondmate.>
<I know, but not this time, boy. You need to rest.>
<If I had some meat, I wouldn’t need to rest. Meat would make me stronger. Can you ask the scary lady to make me some meat?>
I gave him a short laugh.
<Stay here. The scary lady will make sausage for you while you get your strength back.>
<I have never been tired before. I think I am growing.>
<I don’t know what that means, but I promise we’ll look into it when I get back. Maybe Hades knows.>
“I’ll make sure he’s well fed and taken care of,” Roxanne said. “He’s safe here. Apparently, the facility is still empty”—she glanced at Monty—“so I only have him and Elias to watch until everyone is returned.”
“The Transporter should return them in a day or so,” Monty said, placing a hand on Roxanne’s shoulder. “Time functions differently for her. She placed them in stasis before the shift. No time will have passed for them.”
“That will make things easier,” Roxanne said, placing her hand over Monty’s. “I won’t have to explain how they managed to disappear.”
The large green teleportation circle pulsed with power as Monty stepped in.
“Ready?” Monty asked. “The sooner we move—”
“Let’s go,” I said, stepping into the circle. “We need to end this tonight.”
The circle flashed green and Haven disappeared.
We appeared inside the Auer’s compound, except it looked like a warzone. The neat rows of bookcases had been blasted apart. I saw the bodies of the Archive Guard. Most of them died hard. Several of them had gone fast; their horrific wounds were visible even in the dim light.
“What happened here, Monty?” I asked, looking around. “Who could do this?”
“This looks like the work of a—”
A cough from one of the destroyed bookcases caught our attention.
“Tristan,” a voice rasped, “is that you?”
We moved one of the precariously balanced bookcases to uncover the body of Roma. Even without being a doctor, I knew she had little time left. A huge gaping wound exposed part of her left ribcage. Her entire left side was a charred mess.
“Roma,” Monty said and began gesturing. Golden runes flowed from his hand and landed on Roma’s body. “Remain still.”
Roma reached up and grabbed his hand, stopping him.
“I’m afraid my dueling days are over,” she said with a tight smile that became a grimace of pain. “It’s too late for me. Too much damage.”
“Who did this?” Monty asked, his voice cold and menacing. “Tell me.”
“Balf—Balfour Enforcer, Rell,” Roma managed. “You need to get to the Auer before it’s too late. Lower archives, safe room. Go, now.”
Roma’s hand dropped to her side as her lifeless eyes looked up at us. Monty placed a hand over her face and closed them. He stood and I could sense the anger radiating from him.
“Monty?” I asked. “We’ll stop him. I just don’t want—”
“No,” Monty said his voice dark as black energy crackled around his body. “Not stop, finish. He is not an enclave leader. His death will not upset the balance.” Monty glanced down at Roma’s body. “He dies for this.”
I didn’t have an argument for him. Every dragon I had encountered had wanted to maim or kill me. One less dragon in the world was a good thing in my opinion, especially one who went around murdering mages.
I nodded after a few seconds, looking around the carnage for a way downstairs.
“Where is the entrance to the lower archives?” I asked, giving Monty extra space. “Can we get there from here?”
Monty pointed to a staircase partially blocked by a ruined bookcase.
“That will take us downstairs,” Monty said, moving fast. “Stand back.”
He slashed an arm forward and the bookcase slid to one side, clearing the staircase.
“Are you sure you can’t use the Force?” I said as we moved downstairs. “Because that looked—”
“Not now, Simon,” Monty said when we reached the lower archives. “The safe room is on the other end of the floor.”
The lower archives were mostly open space compared to the upper level. Bookcases lined the walls, but the center was dominated by desks and research stations. It looked like someone had taken a wrecking ball to the place. Desks and chairs lay in pieces all around the floor. Some of the bookcases were shattered, with books tossed everywhere, while others had been rendered to ash and completely destroyed.
“It’s a shame you’ll never reach the other end of this floor,” a voice said from behind a mound of destroyed bookcases. “The bitch ran and hid, but I managed to give her a parting gift. She won’t last long.”
Rell.
He was dressed the same way I remembered. Black combat armor, overpowering energy signature, and a seriously bad attitude.
Monty unleashed a beam of black
