CHAPTER ONE
“Now? What do you mean now?” I asked.
“Now.” Monty looked at Roxanne. “As in, where are my clothes?”
“I guess putting down a Kragzimik doesn’t earn us a month or year off?” I asked. “It’s not every day we have to deal with dragons, you know.”
“Thankfully,” Monty answered. “And the Kragzimik was a few weeks ago.”
“Really? Felt like yesterday.”
“We’ve been running these tests and the conclusion is the same. I have to wait it out. Now, my clothes?”
Roxanne pointed to the suit hanging in the closet on the other side of the room. The energy coming off her was a clear indicator she was displeased.
“Tell him you can’t.” Roxanne crossed her arms and stared at Monty. “You can’t cast. I’ll tell him if you won’t.”
“He’s in trouble.” Monty got out of bed and got dressed. “I have to help him.”
“How?” The energy around Roxanne crept up a notch along with the volume of her voice. “You can’t cast, Tristan!”
Peaches rumbled next to my leg.
<I know, boy. She can be scary.>
<If I lick her, she will calm down. My saliva has healing properties.>
I forced myself to keep a straight face.
<How about you save that for later, when she doesn’t look like she wants to blast Monty?>
<Can you make magic meat yet?>
<Working on it.>
<Good. I’m hungry.>
<When aren’t you?>
<When I’m asleep.>
“Mages are trained to be effective even without magic,” Monty answered, his voice taking on an edge. “Besides, I still have access to my magic and the Sorrows.”
“Monty—?” I started. He gave me a look that said his mind was set. “Nevermind. Let’s go see him.”
“At the very least take this”—Roxanne removed a brooch and affixed it to Monty’s jacket—“that way I know you’ll be safe.”
Monty looked down at the brooch and shook his head slowly. I looked over and admired the new accessory with an approving eye. It was a round red and silver Celtic design surrounding a trinity knot in the center.
“I have a shieldbearer,” Monty said. “You should be wearing this.”
“Inside Haven I don’t need that many layers of protection.”
“This is too much, and it will leave you in a weakened state,” Monty said. “If I encounter any difficulty or incoming attacks, I can always use my shieldbearer as a shield.”
“Tristan,” she said, her voice suddenly hard, “wear the bloody bloom…for me.”
“Fine,” he said with a sigh. “Once my abilities normalize, I’m returning it. Understood?”
“Of course. In the meantime, keep it on.”
I leaned in to examine the brooch. “That’s pretty, and really brings out the color in your eyes, Monty.” He shot me a glare. “What does it do?”
“It’s called a bloody bloom, and it creates a personal shield.” Roxanne adjusted it on Monty’s jacket. “It won’t stop everything but it’s better than nothing. Which is what you have right now. No offense, Simon.”
“None taken. Does it come with matching earrings?”
“We need to go.” Monty grabbed her hands gently as she adjusted the brooch. “I’ll be fine.”
“You thinking that is what worries me.” Roxanne squeezed his hands and looked at me. “You keep him safe.”
I nodded. “He has me and my trusty, bottomless hellhound. We’ll keep the destruction to a minimum, promise.”
Roxanne crouched down and rubbed Peaches’ head. “Simon, if his enemies find out he can’t cast—”
“I know. I’ll keep him safe.”
“I’m perfectly capable of keeping myself safe, thank you.”
Monty headed out of the room and to the elevators at the end of the corridor. I was about to follow when Roxanne grabbed my arm.
“He is an obdurate, insufferable mage.”
“You forgot slightly insane, tea-addicted, and short-tempered. Also, prone to massive acts of destruction. Should I go on?”
She shook her head with a sad smile. “Bring him back to me. He holds my heart.”
I grew serious and looked down at Peaches. “We’ll keep him safe.”
I heard the elevator chime and Monty gave me a look that meant ‘wrap it up or I’m leaving you’ as he entered the car.
I half-jogged down the corridor and got in the car with him. Peaches bounded in next to me, and I heard a creaking sound.
<You need to go on a diet. The elevator can barely hold your weight.>
<Why is it my weight? It could be your weight.>
<It’s your weight because you are the one on a steady diet of meat.>
<Meat is life. That word diet sounds painful. Will you go on a diet too?>
<Why do I need to go on a diet?>
<You are looking thin. Are you eating enough?>
<Of course I eat enough. We’re not talking about me here.>
<If you ate more meat, you would be happier. That’s why the angry man is angry. He only eats and drinks leaves.>
He did have a point.
Monty pressed the ground-floor button, and looked down the hall at Roxanne.
“You know she cares for you, right?” I said, as the doors closed.
“Yes. I do.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “It’s just too complicated and too dangerous.”
“I get it.” I nodded. “What did Yat say?”
“Not much, he was being deliberately cryptic on the phone.”
“This is Yat we’re taking about. He’s always cryptic. I think they record him for fortune cookie messages.”
“You should share that with him. I think he’d enjoy that.”
“No thanks,” I said. “Not in the mood to get thwacked today. Pass.”
We arrived at the ground floor, and the elevator slid open with another soft chime. I saw Yat standing in the lobby of Haven, looking out the window. He turned to us when he heard the chime of the elevator arriving and gave me a short nod.
I looked over at the thin, older man, and involuntarily winced when I saw him holding a staff. I didn’t know how old Yat was, but he never appeared to age.
His slight build hid his immense strength and unbelievable speed. The last time I saw Yat, he wore his hair long. Now it was cropped short—a glowing white crown reflecting the sunlight streaming through the windows in the lobby. His eyes were still the same: deep, dark, and unreadable.
As we got off the elevator, I was looking across the lobby when I felt the shift in energy. Yat must have sensed it too because his expression darkened as he leaped over the furniture and headed our way. I pressed the main bead on my mala bracelet, pulling up my shield.
I turned fast and pushed Monty back into the elevator.
“What are you doing?” Monty asked, stumbling back.
I grabbed Peaches by the collar and pulled him behind my shield as I backed up. The energy shift increased, and I felt a sensation like ants crawling on my arms.
“Yat has friends,” I said, holding up the shield. “The angry kind.”
Yat dived over a set of chairs and rolled into a crouch next to me. “Prepare,” he said under his breath.
“Simon, don’t be ridicu—” Monty started, when an immense orb of black energy crashed through the windows and exploded in the lobby.
