Walking The Razor: A Montague & Strong Detective Novel

to Monty’s runed, bespoke, Zegna suits, and these three clearly shopped at Benny’s Bargain Basement.
I looked for the leader of the group. There was always one who acted as spokesperson and defacto point man. This one stood in the middle of the trio, arms crossed and legs slightly apart. I gave him a cool look and raised an eyebrow in my best Spock imitation, before Peaches gently nudged my leg. This time he actually managed to just nudge my leg, not dislocate my hip. I still had to take a step to the side, to regain my balance.
<You need to work on those nudges.>
<I’ve been practicing.>
<On what? Buildings?>
<Can I bite them? They look angry.>
<I think they want to talk to Jessikah. Let’s hear them out.>
<The cat-lady is scared. Should I bite them first, then let her talk to them?>
<Let’s hold off on the biting for now. If they do something stupid like attack, stop them.>
I glanced at Jessikah.
She was doing a good job at maintaining a calm exterior, but her energy signature was all over the place. She was scared. I glanced over at the three mages.
They were smarter than they looked. They knew better than to attempt an attack inside Ezra’s. Seemed they enjoyed breathing. They were standing close, but not too close, to the Dark Goat and waiting for us. Well…mostly waiting for Jessikah.
They must have seen us exit the Dark Goat when we arrived. They only slightly miscalculated. Anyone else would have sensed the menace from the Dark Goat and thought twice about confronting its driver. Somehow, they missed it or didn’t care. I was leaning to the suicidal side of the equation with these three.
“Friends of yours?” I asked as we approached. “They look upset.”
“I don’t have friends,” Jessikah replied. “I’m a Black Orchid. Friends would only make me vulnerable.”
“It’s good to have friends,” I said. “Even I have friends, and I’m mostly antisocial.”
“I never had the opportunity nor inclination to make any. My sect, the Black Orchid, actively discouraged it.”
There was something in her voice, a mixture of bitterness and sadness rooted in regret. Her response was something I, too, had believed long ago. Living that way only led to being angry, lonely, and alone. Not a good place for anyone to be, especially for a mage wielding destructive amounts of energy.
“Friends will also save your ass when you’re in a tight spot,” I said, thinking about how many times Monty had prevented my disintegration by irate beings. “Even if they’re the reason you’re in a tight spot to begin with.”
“Friends are a liability,” she answered, stepping forward. “I was taught to eliminate all liabilities from my life.”
I opened my jacket, making sure I had access to Grim Whisper. I didn’t think it would escalate to the point that I would need it, but I was dealing with mages. Things always escalated. If the Three Stooges wanted to attack, they would have by now. They were probably just as scared as Jessikah.
“Got it,” I said with a nod, taking a step back. “All yours then. You may want to open with diplomacy. Seems to never work for me or Monty, but there’s always a first time.”
She glanced back at me again with a look of, You can’t be seriously suggesting diplomacy before approaching the three.
“Can I help you?” Jessikah asked the three mages, as she took a few more steps forward. “Do you need assistance?”
“You can’t help me, you Black Orchid bitch,” the leader said. “My brother was erased because of you Black Orchids.”
Things were escalating quickly. It seemed like the diplomacy was going in typical mage style…south, and fast. At least no one was trying to kill anyone yet, which was always a win.
“I’m afraid I had nothing to do with that,” Jessikah answered apologetically. “If he was erased, I’m certain he was engaged in an illicit activity that merited an erasure.”
Ouch. Wrong answer.
“Are you saying my brother deserved to be erased? Is that what you’re saying?”
“Was I not being clear?” Jessikah asked. “An erasure is usually the result of a mage taking action that jeopardizes the life of others…in extremis.”
The Latin was a nice touch, but I was convinced diplomacy was a failed strategy when mages were involved. Even though what she was saying was technically correct, it wasn’t what these three wanted to hear.
They just wanted an excuse to fight.
I let my hand drift to Grim Whisper’s holster. I didn’t want to risk forming Ebonsoul, especially with my energy signature acting wonky. This situation needed diffusing before someone got hurt.
<Why don’t you let them know you’re watching, boy?>
<Should I speak? That might hurt the cat-lady.>
<Just a low growl should do. Something to let them know she’s not alone.>
<Are their eyes broken? Don’t they see you?>
<Sometimes when people are angry, they can only see what they want to see. Right now, they see Jessikah as a target, someone to blame. Let’s remind them that attacking her would be painful…for them.>
Peaches let out a low rumble.
The two mages on either side of the leader looked past Jessikah and focused on Peaches. Both of them took a small step back.
“Richard…?” the mage on the left said, tapping the leader’s shoulder as he pointed to Grim Whisper. “Maybe we should do this another time? He’s got a gun.”
“So what, Tony?” Richard snapped, narrowing his eyes at me. “We’re mages. I don’t know what he is, but he isn’t a mage. Just some freak with a big dog.”
“That dog looks weird,” the mage on the right chimed in. “He’s kind of large…and ferocious-looking.”
I looked down to see Peaches trying to be ‘friendly’ with an enormous hellhound smile.
<What are you doing?>
<I’m smiling so they don’t attack the cat-lady.>
<I don’t think that’s helping.>
<Frank says be nice first, until you can’t be nice anymore. Then tear them apart.>
For once, Frank and I agreed on something.
<If they do attack, don’t hurt them too much.>
<Bite, but don’t chew?>
<That should work. They don’t seem too dangerous.>
<The loud one smells scared. Should I bite