CHAPTER ONE
I stepped out of the conference room and into a green flash.
Grim Whisper was in my hand a split second later.
“Put that thing away, boy, before someone gets hurt—starting with you.”
It was Dex. An angry-sounding Dex.
I holstered my weapon and realized Dex wasn’t alone, which would’ve been bad enough. Two figures were standing next to him. I squinted as my eyes adjusted to the aftereffects of the teleportation circle Dex used.
It was TK and LD.
Dex was dressed in his mage casual look: gray dress shirt, blue jeans, and work boots. Actually, I was surprised he was dressed at all. LD was dressed similarly, opting for a black T-shirt instead of the more formal dress shirt. Only TK looked out of place. She was wearing black combat armor and appeared ready to take on a group of enemies. For her, this was mage casual.
LD gave me a quick look of sympathy that said, Brace yourself while TK glared at me as if I had broken into Fordey and stolen an artifact of value. It wasn’t a good look. On the glare-o-meter, not even a Clint Glint could withstand TK’s withering gaze.
“You didn’t think to call us?” TK said, her voice slicing through the air like a scalpel through skin. “You actually thought it best to tackle this situation on your own?”
I looked at LD, who shook his head.
“Monty said not to call you?” I answered, knowing it was the wrong answer. “It was his idea. He said it would protect you.”
“Protect us?” TK replied, and I took a step back. Her two words expressed anger, disappointment, and more anger. She was pissed. “He can barely protect himself. Especially now.”
“Are you daft, boy?” Dex said, placing a gentle crushing hand on my shoulder, making me wince. “We should have been the first on the scene. Now you have to deal with”—Dex glanced at Jessikah—“the Black Orchid.”
He said the sect name like a curse.
“Whoa,” I said, raising my hands. “I didn’t call her. She just showed up.”
“They usually do,” TK said, narrowing her eyes at me. “Like mold or an unwanted growth. We’ll deal with her in a moment. What did you do?”
“I didn’t do anything,” I said, suddenly defensive. “Monty used blood magic…I couldn’t stop him from casting again, and then…”
“I wasn’t referring to that,” TK answered. “Your energy signature is a mess, more so than the last time I saw you. What did you do?”
“I don’t know.”
“Ach, boy,” Dex said, glancing at me. “She’s right. You’re a proper mess.”
“Thanks, I’ll deal with it.”
“Not on your own you won’t,” TK said. “We’ll deal with it. But first, your guest.”
Dex stepped around me and looked at Jessikah closely.
“Farsight Division?” he asked, then pointed at the large black cat. “A Daughter of Bast? Well, at least they’re taking this seriously. How many seconds?”
Jessikah stood frozen in place, her expression one of shock. The cool, collected Black Orchid agent had left the building. In her place stood an awestruck mage rookie. To her credit, she regained her composure almost immediately.
“Three seconds,” Jessikah answered. “I’ve just begun at Farsight.”
“Three seconds?” Dex scoffed. “You’re a novice.” He glanced at TK and LD. “This is sending a lamb to slaughter. Forget what I said about taking this seriously. Who did you cross, girl?”
“Excuse me?” Jessikah asked. “I don’t understand.”
“Of course you don’t,” Dex growled, the anger coming off of him in not-so-subtle waves. “That’s why they sent you.”
“She must have pissed someone off,” LD said, looking at Jessikah. “Are you sure you’re Farsight?”
“Yes sir,” Jessikah said. For a second, I thought she was going to salute. “Farsight Division, and a Daughter of Bast.”
“Good for you,” Dex answered. “You can leave now. This is a family matter, and you are not family. We’ll take it from here.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that, sir,” Jessikah answered, demonstrating how much she enjoyed living dangerously. “My superiors—”
“Can go suck an egg,” Dex finished. “Who was it? Which Elder from the Orchid sent you?”
“All of them, sir.”
“Ach, they must still be upset,” Dex said, throwing up a hand and shaking his head. “Mages with their fragile egos and petty grudges. The war is a distant memory. That was decades ago.”
“Not to them, sir,” Jessikah answered. “They still remember.”
“Of course they do,” TK said. “It’s difficult to forget, much less forgive, a humiliation.”
“No matter,” Dex spoke up gruffly, with another wave of his hand. “Your services are no longer required, Miss…?”
“Jessikah, sir. Jessikah Onuris.”
“Onuris?” TK said, with a slight look of surprise. “You’re Gregor’s child?”
“He’s my father, yes,” Jessikah said. “You are TK and LD from Fordey Boutique. The Orchid speaks highly of you.”
“Only those who don’t know us,” LD said with a smile. “I’m sure your Elders say otherwise.”
“They do,” Jessikah said, looking away. “They call you dangerous, rogue mages, a threat to every sect, and...worse things.”
LD smiled and nodded.
“That sounds about right,” LD said. “They’re breathing today to insult us because of how dangerous we are, and the things we did…for them.”
“Gregor was a formidable mage,” TK said, examining Jessikah. “Not overly skilled, but a diligent student. He excelled by outworking his peers.”
“You…you taught my father?”
“Of course not,” TK replied with a slight smile. “I taught the person who taught your father.”
“Doesn’t matter who she is,” Dex said with a growl. “Her services are no longer needed. Go back and tell them Dexter Montague said so.”
Jessikah reached into her pocket and pulled out a black envelope. She handed it to Dex, who took it with one eyebrow raised.
“What’s this?” Dex asked, warily examining the envelope.
“They told me to give this to you when you ‘made your appearance’ to stop me.”
Dex grumbled something under his breath and opened the envelope. Standing beside him, I managed to get a look at the letter. The paper was a light gray color and the flowing script was in blood red ink. The top of the letter was adorned by the same image of a black orchid that I had noticed on the rear of Jessikah’s card. They took their branding seriously it seemed.
To the esteemed Dexter Montague,
If you are reading this letter, you have no doubt attempted to dissuade our mage from performing her duties as an agent of the Black Orchid.
This is a formal missive to notify you that we are operating within our jurisdiction. Your nephew, Tristan Montague, has been under observation for some time now. The casting of void vortices inside a populated city, not to mention the devastation he and his partner visited upon London, has not gone unnoticed.
The Penumbra Consortium is actively using back channels to have him erased, declaring him to be a menace to humanity and to all historical structures of import. Understanding your propensity for the disregard of rules, regulations, or any semblance of order, we are certain the Penumbra Consortium and their petition cause you little to no concern.
We are not the Penumbra Consortium.
With this understanding, we are prepared to take the following steps and inform you:
If our agent, Jessikah Onuris of the Farsight Division, is hindered in her investigation of one Tristan Montague by you, or any of the rogue mages who comprise the group known as “The Ten” we will consider it a violation of sect law.
To that end, we will enforce the dissolution of the Golden Circle sect—as is our right—if we feel such a violation has occurred. To convey this in plain speech, keep your nose out of this one, Dexter, or it will be broken and bloodied. We will do what must be done. If you interfere in any way, shape, or form, we will remove the Golden Circle from existence, with extreme prejudice and overwhelming force.
With the utmost sincerity and resolve,
The Black Orchid Elders
I saw Dex get angrier by the second as he read the letter again, before handing it to TK.
“Those bloody shites!” Dex yelled, as Peaches whined and moved closer to my leg. He stared at the now startled and visibly scared Jessikah, who bravely stood her ground. “They dare threaten me? My nephew? The Golden Circle?”
To be fair, Dex was scary even when he was happy. He always had an undercurrent of danger and insanity, mixed into a package of magexuberance.
In his current state, he had stepped way beyond scary, and planted both feet firmly in petrifyingly frightening territory. The power coming off of him was palpable as his energy signature rose.
I could see why the Morrigan would be attracted. He was nearing her level of fearsome.
“This will be a problem,” TK said, looking up at LD from the letter she held. “It would be a good idea if Dex got some air while we explored the details.”
“Good plan,” LD said quickly. “Let’s go see if we can get you something strong to drink over at the Rump.”
LD escorted a grumbling Dex outside.
TK turned and focused all of her attention on Jessikah. From her expression at that moment, Jessikah was beginning to understand the setup. She looked ready to bolt, but to her credit, foolish as it was, she remained where she stood.
“It’s unprecedented that the Black Orchid would send you,” TK said, when LD and Dex had left the office. “You’re not nearly qualified enough to deal with the intricacies of this particular situation. How many cases have you handled?”
“This is my second one, ma’am.”
“Don’t ma’am me…ever,” TK replied with a raised eyebrow. “What happened on your first case?”
“I…I miscalculated my timeskip,” Jessikah said. “Many Orchid agents were injured…because of me.”
“Did anyone die?” TK asked. “Did you cause any deaths?”
“What?” Jessikah said, surprised. “No, ma”—Jessikah caught herself in time—“no deaths. I wasn’t officially Farsight at the time.”
“After the mishap, they placed you in Farsight?”
“Yes. They said I could better hone my abilities in Farsight.”
“A death sentence,” TK answered. “Did they make the appointment official? They inducted you into the Farsight Division?”
“I’m Farsight,” Jessikah said with some defiance. “They said the dark mage, Tristan Montague, needed to be apprehended, and they sent me.”
“Do you know who Tristan Montague is?”
“I’ve read the dossier,” Jessikah said. I realized she was in way over her head. “He seems…formidable, but I think I can apprehend him.”
“Apprehend him?” TK asked. “The older mage you met earlier is his uncle, Dexter Montague.”
“I’m aware.”
TK narrowed her eyes slightly. Jessikah was venturing into dangerous, painful territory.
“Did you read his dossier?”
“There wasn’t a dossier on Dexter Montague.”
“Didn’t you wonder why that was?” TK asked. “It didn’t concern you that the sect tasked with policing all the other sects lacked information on a mage of his… reputation?”
“I found it odd, yes. When I asked, they told me—”
“He wasn’t relevant to the case,” TK finished. “Correct? In fact, the dossier on Tristan was thin to the point of being practically useless, yes?”
Jessikah looked genuinely surprised.
“I did find it somewhat lacking, yes.”
TK shook her head slowly.
“You are being used, Miss Onuris,” TK said. “I’m certain other Black Orchid agents are tasked with this case…other more experienced agents.”
“If they sent me,” Jessikah said, “they must think I’m qualified.”
“They don’t expect you to return from this case, I’m afraid. You will have encountered the dangerous dark mage and been killed in the line of duty. At least that’s what the report will say.”
“Killed?” Jessikah replied. “Why would they…?”
“Like my husband said, you’ve angered someone who would like you out of the way…or worse,” TK said. “Do you have any enemies in the Black Orchid?”
“Enemies?” Jessikah asked, confused. “I was top of my class at Farsight and I’m a Daughter of Bast. Why would I have enemies?”
“Why indeed,” TK said. “I’m sure everyone loves you. Daughters of Bast are quite known for their wide circle of friends and the admiration of their peers.”
“I didn’t have any friends,” Jessikah answered slowly. “Once I became a Daughter of Bast…”
“You were isolated and trained mostly on your own. I know. Being Farsight and a Daughter of Bast doomed you from the onset. I’m actually surprised you’re still alive.”
“They told me I was rare.”
“The Black Orchid used to retire mages like you in childhood,” TK said. “Gregor did an excellent job of hiding your abilities.”
“How did you know?”
“In the past, your combination of abilities was considered too dangerous,” TK said. “The only way you could have made it to adulthood was a runic mask. It was only a matter of time before your abilities revealed themselves.”
“My classmates looked up to me,” Jessikah answered. “When the farsight happened, they were all scared. The elders said I needed to be kept apart. It was for my safety.”
TK smiled.
It was the kind of smile that made sharks nervous.
“Of course they did. Three seconds is novice level in the Farsight Division,” TK answered evenly. “Can you explain how they expect you to apprehend a mage of Tristan’s caliber and bring him back?”
“I’m supposed to conduct an erasure if the mage is uncooperative,” Jessikah answered, “or combative.”
“Or die in the process.”
LD walked in a second later.
“We have a situation,” LD said. “Dex is gone.”
“Bloody hell,” TK said. “He’ll be in a foul mood.”
“Already is.”
“Finding him will prove difficult, if not impossible.”
“It gets better.”
“How many Black Orchid?” TK asked. “Did you leave them alive?”
“That wicked brain of yours is why I asked you to be mine.”
“Your twisted mind is why I said yes,” TK replied. “How many?”
“Dex was not pleased to see them,” LD answered. “Three at the Rump, possibly more. This seems personal.”
“At the Rump?” TK asked. “They must be doing a proximity search first.”
“Overheard some of their conversation before Dex went…well…Dex, and nearly blasted them all inside the Rump. They’re using this one”—he pointed to Jessikah—“to bird-dog Tristan.”
“Makes sense,” TK said, looking at Jessikah. “Miss Onuris, you have a choice to make.”
“A choice?” Jessikah replied, confused. “What choice?”
“Help us find Tristan, or die where you stand. Choose.”
Green energy crackled around TK’s hands.
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