Grail of Power (Druid Detective Agency Book 3) by Theophilus Monroe

Author:Theophilus Monroe [Monroe, Theophilus]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2024-05-13T00:00:00+00:00

9. Night Terrors

The stench of urine assaulted my nostrils as we stepped through the portal into the dingy mental ward. I wrinkled my nose in disgust. We were in a locked room. Corvus Blackwood was strapped into a wheelchair and facing a window. His eyes were half-open, a stream of drool gathering on his lip.

“Ugh, it reeks of human piss in here,” Percival complained, his fur bristling. “Far worse than the feline variety.”

Emilie chuckled. “You can’t be serious. There’s hardly anything on earth more vile than cat pee.”

“Disgust is in the nostrils of the beholder, I suppose.”

I gave Percival a stern look. “You were the one who insisted on coming, cat. Don’t start complaining now.”

He lashed his tail in irritation. “It’s necessary. I’m the only one who’s beheld the true Grail. If Blackwood knows anything, I need to be here. I should be the one to interrogate him.”

I laughed. “I think Sloane might have something to say about that. She’s more experienced.”

“Experienced with what?” Sloane asked, unable to hear Percival’s words.

“He wants to lead the interrogation,” I said. “Presuming once we’re inside Blackwood’s nightmare, he’ll be able to understand cat-speak.”

“I don’t know how effective that’ll be,” Sloane said. “I have experience with interrogations.”

Percival huffed. “I know what I’m doing. I was a knight. Did a few interrogations in my day. Sloane can help. It’ll be fun. She can work her charm, I’ll dig in my claws. I call my strategy ‘good pussy, bad pussy.’”

I cleared my throat and glanced at Sloane. “He says you can work together. Doesn’t matter. We don’t know if Blackwood will even understand Percy once we’re in there.”

“I’ll make him understand!” Percival insisted. “We cats don’t need words to make a point. Don’t give us what we want? We knock all your shit off the counters and piss in your laundry.”

I chuckled. “We’ll see how things go once we’re in Blackwood’s dream. There’s no point detailing the strategy now since we don’t know what we’re going to face in Blackwood’s dream. Let’s get started. We’ll improvise.”

Emilie set down her violin case on Blackwood’s vacant bed and removed her bardic instrument.

“Let’s begin,” she said. “I’ll use my music to tap into Blackwood’s dreamscape. Stay focused and alert, everyone. We’ve been facing the product of human imagination ever since the dark ether infected the region. This is going to be different—an entire world birthed by a single person’s mind. The laws of physics won’t apply. Whatever magic we think we wield, we might not be able to. It all depends how aware Blackwood is of his true condition.”

I nodded. “I get it. If he knows he’s dreaming, he can take control of his dreamworld. If he doesn’t understand what’s happening, he’ll be at the mercy of whatever fears his mind might conjure.”

Sloane patted her holster. “Magic might not work. What about firearms?”

Emilie shrugged as she raised her violin to her chin. “Anything’s possible. We’ll find out soon enough.”

My wife raised her bow, gracefully sliding it along her strings. Pink wisps of magic swirled around us as she played an eerie melody.

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