Immortal: A Montague & Strong Detective Novel (Montague & Strong Case Files Book 23) by Orlando A. Sanchez

Author:Orlando A. Sanchez [Sanchez, Orlando A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bitten Peaches Publishing
Published: 2024-04-27T00:00:00+00:00

SIXTEEN

It turned out that Dexter’s humble token of gratitude was an enormous mansion with acres of land around it.

“That’s some gift,” I said. “Dex knows how to splurge.”

“That he does,” Monty said, standing next to me and looking at the property. “This is quite impressive.”

“This is my house?” Salius said. “What am I going to do with all that space?”

“A good question,” Monty said. “One you don’t need to answer right away. I will, however, offer you some direction. Have you ever considered teaching those interested in the Bestiary Arts?”

“You mean teach other Bestiarists?

“Yes, it’s a rare discipline, and it doesn’t have to die out,” Monty said. “Here, you can help train a new generation of Bestiarists.”

“I would need my texts and a lab,” Salius said, slowly getting excited at the prospect of being able to teach students about his discipline. “I’ve always wanted to share what I know, but it was always frowned upon at the sect.”

“I can imagine, even mages fear what they don’t understand—especially mages, actually,” Monty said. “We prefer to have the how and why of things before accepting them.”

“Too true,” Salius said. “Let’s discuss the neutralization cast.”

“Here?” Monty said. “You don’t want to see the inside of your home first?”

“I have the rest of my life to do that,” Salius said. “Right now, I need to prepare you to meet and defeat a Demogre.”

“Not kill?” I asked. “I mean I’m noticing you didn’t say kill or exterminate, eradicate or disintegrate the Demogre, just defeat. That means we are to keep it alive.”

“Yes,” Salius said, gesturing, and with a flick of his wrist, a dozen of the deepest, red-colored hummingbirds I had ever seen, materialized in front of us. “Do you know what these are?”

“Troch Liday’s Vengeance,” Monty said, his voice low. “She was a Master Bestiarist who was persecuted, tortured, and killed for her abilities.”

“Yes,” Salius said, extending a hand as several of the beautiful birds perched on his shoulders, arms and hand. “She was killed, but not before she created these beautiful creatures and shared the method with every Bestiarist of her time with one instruction.”

“Every Bestiarist must learn Troch Liday’s Vengeance, that they may never be defenseless as I once was,” Monty said. “Every mage knows her story. During the war, we called them the Bloody Death.”

“Do you know why they were called this?” Salius asked, reaching for my arm and holding it up as one of the hummingbirds perched on my hand. There were a few standing on Peaches, who sat calmly as if the birds weren’t even there. “Liday made something truly unique and spectacular in these birds.”

“They weren’t weapons, they formed defensive perimeters that were impenetrable,” Monty said. “offering mages cover when under attack. Their bodies are nearly indestructible—they’re mostly immune to magic, requiring a significant blast of power to destroy, and they have one fearsome ability.”

Salius touched the hummingbird on my hand and it vanished. I turned my hand and realized that it hadn’t vanished but had done a chameleon camouflage maneuver, shifting the color of its feathers to match the color of my hand.

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