by Zeppy Cheng
I look at the palm of my left hand. That’s where the key is. I can see a small aura radiating from the lines in my skin. Even though the effect is small, I can tell that it is very, very powerful. So this is the key to an S-class dungeon. If it were to be taken from me and used, there’s no telling how much devastation it would bring.
A Man In Black approaches me. He stops and gives me a British salute. “My name is Zac. I’m a B-class Adventurer with the government. It’s my job to keep you safe and in contact with the government for as long as you have the key.”
“Not much help that’s going to be,” says a voice from behind me.
I’d recognize that voice anywhere. Alice! I turn to her. “Um, hey! Why are you here?”
“There’s a birthday party for Duke Cantelmore’s daughter today. I saw you and decided to take a break.” Her eyes twinkle. “After all, being with you is as good an excuse as any to quit patronizing that awful brat.”
“So, I’m just your excuse?”
Zac seems amused at what is happening, though he doesn’t say anything.
Alice grins. “Of course. You’re my escape route.” She leans on a high table, putting her chin on her hand. “Hey, do you want to go on a date tomorrow?”
What? I am so shocked that, for five seconds, I cannot do or say anything. Then I come to and blink a few times. “Why?”
Oops. Wrong! Wrong! I should have said yes instantly!
Alice winks. “My dad seems to have a liking for you. He wouldn’t stop me from dating you. And tomorrow is that brat’s present opening ceremony, which I’ll do anything to avoid.”
“So, um, she has two parties?” I ask stupidly.
Alice laughs and I feel magic in the air. “No, she has three! Three days of partying. That brat is so spoiled that she cried when I gave her a teddy bear. She said it was too cheap.” Alice grimaces. “Cheap! That teddy bear was made by my favorite maid!” She sighs. “Anyways, you’re going to go on a date with me tomorrow and that’s that.”
“Um, okay?” I am still too stunned to think correctly.
Alice smirks at me. “Tata, now. It’s time for me to head back. Tonight’s party is the one I can’t afford to miss.” She hands me a slip of paper. “That’s my number. I know yours already. I’ll call you tomorrow morning.” She smiles, curtsies, and then heads back to the gala room.
Wow, she is beautiful. Her dress, her makeup, her hair, everything. Just the thought that I’ll be spending time with her tomorrow is sending my stomach into acrobatics.
Zac clears his throat. “I was about to finish my introduction when that young lady interrupted us.” He tilts his head. “Though I won’t judge your taste. She certainly is beautiful.” He sits on the arm of a couch. “I’m going to be staying with you and monitoring you for the time you are in the UK. Once you go home, there will be much less risk that your portal key will be stolen and brought back to Wales. But for the next two months, I hope to be able to form a working relationship.”
I extend my hand. Zac shakes it.
He turns towards the hotel entrance. “I will be staying in a room near you.”
“Okay.”
“You’re pretty fortunate to be able to rent the royal suite,” says Zac.
“Wait, royal suite?” I put my hand to my ear. The ball of communication magic is still there. Sebastian! What’s all this about a royal suite?
Sebastian: You are an important person. It is paramount that you act like one.
Hm, okay? But I’m still boggling at how much one night in that suite costs. I suppose, since I’m a literal multimillionaire, that I can handle one night in a high-class hotel room. I sigh. “Sure,” I say to Zac. “I’ll try not to be a nuisance.”
Zac smiles.
On the hotel’s top floor, Zac opens a door to one side of the royal suite’s carved mahogany doors. “I’m in the servant’s quarters.” He closes the door, leaving me alone on the top floor of a prestigious hotel.
I approach the grand mahogany doors. They resist my push for a moment and then unlock and open without a key, maybe due to some sort of facial recognition feature. I step into a plush multi-room suite with a wall window that looks over the entirety of London. I lean my hand against the glass and look at my faint reflection. The lights of the city twinkle, beyond my reflected face, as if grounded stars are shining through me.
I really am rich! The fact hits me all at once. I take a moment to contemplate it but even the thought is too much to handle. I decide to deal with what I think of it later.
I find my luggage already placed next to the table in the lounge room. I take out my computer and set it up at the desk in the parlor’s corner. After connecting to the internet, I do a little bit of research into Esmex, this hotel, and London’s Anti-Crime agency. I also do research into exactly what limitations conjurers normally have. It’s pretty much the same as at home, and for some reason that makes me feel better.
When I am done, I go to the bedroom and lay down on the way-too-big bed. Tomorrow is day two of trying to get a bunch of conjurers to understand Rearden metal and how to create it. I wonder again about hiring a professional conjuring professor to help.
I conjure myself a can of root beer and pop it open. I take a drink; the stuff tastes good, yes, but it’s like no other. Is this better? Or is this just different? I don’t know, so I finish the root beer and toss it into a trashcan near the bed. Why is it so easy for me and so difficult for my Esmex students?
Soon I am asleep.
I stand in the same video game town as always. It looks like it has been renovated recently to look more like the main street of a certain famous amusement park. There is even a statue in the middle of a plaza. Jirgrar is in front of me, bowing.
“Master, our war with Brine Ward and the Shinigami is going well. However, we have not been able to avoid casualties. Two of your devils have died, and several more have been severely injured. We, though, will not stop serving you.”
I nod. “Thank you, and I’m sorry for your losses. How powerful are these Shinigami?”
Jirgrar’s lips curl up. “Not as strong as we are. They lack the adaptability of our agents, as well as our wide range of powers.”
“Okay. Keep working. I don’t know how I can reward you, but if you want something, I’ll see if I can give it to you.”
“We want more freedom in our operations,” says Jirgrar. “Your moral limitations are crippling us against an organization that has no such morals.”
I frown. Letting some of my servants die just because I don’t like dirty jobs is a problem. “Okay, then. You can do whatever you need to do in order to defeat Brine Ward. Just make sure not to do anything too heinous, like destroying half of London.”
Jirgrar smiles and bows again. “As you wish.”
Fight fire with fire, as they say.
“That is all,” says Jirgrar.
I fall into a deep sleep.
When I wake up, the sun is streaming through the penthouse window. I groan, realizing that I’m going to have to force the idea of Rearden metal into the heads of those conjurers. I stay a couple more minutes in bed and then reluctantly get ready. I also pack up all my luggage and bring it with me.
Zac is standing beside the door when I step out. I nod and he nods back. Neither of us say anything. As we walk to the elevator, I think about the freedom I gave Jirgrar. Certainly, doing things clean puts one at a disadvantage when fighting a ruthless supernatural mafia. I mean, even the police use undercover cops.
Still, though, trying to justify my decision with platitudes doesn’t really cover the whole thing. Mostly I let Jirgrar have his way because I don’t want any more deaths on my side. I know these deaths are of devils who came out of a portal, but I have learned that they have personalities just like humans. Maybe they are a little on the inherently evil side, but that doesn’t change the fact that they are people. All I have to do is make sure they don’t do anything too stupid or terrible.
The elevator
brings Zac and I down to the ground floor. Just as I step out my phone rings. “Hello?”
“Hey, Markus!” It’s Alice. “Meet me at the London Eye at two! I’ll be waiting!” She hangs up.
Well, that was quick! I let my hand and phone fall to my side.
Sebastian has the limo parked right in front of the hotel. He opens the door for us and we sit on sofas facing each other.
“This is the first time I’ve been in a limo,” says Zac.
“There are drinks in the fridge,” I say.
“Oh, no, I don’t want to get intoxicated.”
I shake my head. “There’s also, um, a popular brand of juice. I think it was Blendina?”
Zac’s eyes light up. “Of course! Wow, I’ve never been able to afford Blendina!”
I turn to Sebastian. “For reference, how much does a bottle of Blendina cost?”
Sebastian keeps his eyes focused ahead. “Sixty-five pounds.”
“Wait, what? For, like, a soda can’s worth? Whoa!”
Zac reaches for the fridge with a hesitant motion. “Are you sure I can have one?”
“Sure,” I say. “It’s no big deal.”
“Okay.” Zac opens the fridge and takes out a bottle of sparkling juice about the size of a beer bottle. He examines it before opening the bottle on the fridge’s built-in bottle opener. Finally he takes a sip. His eyes close and he smiles. He takes another sip.
Well, if Blendina can make someone react that way, it might be worth it!
After ten minutes we arrive at Esmex HQ. Zac follows me into the building.
“Are you going to stay with me during work?” I ask him.
Zac nods. “It’s my job, after all.”
I can’t blame him, I suppose. We take the elevator up.
The twelve conjurers are sitting around the break room connected to the lab. “All right, people,” I say. “It’s time to get to work.”
I spend the next four hours trying desperately to explain Rearden metal and how it works. One conjurer, Lincoln Patel, almost manages to create type two. The rest aren’t even close. I wrap up for the day at around one in the afternoon. I have my date, after all.
When we leave the building, Sebastian is waiting in the limo. I step in, and Zac follows. One thought has been niggling at the back of my mind for the entire class session. This date might be uncomfortable if Zac is following us the whole time. I don’t know how to fix that, though. Maybe I should just deal with it?
“I prepared you a suitable outfit for your outing,” says Sebastian.
A suit bag is hanging from the roof. I open it — it contains a stylish set of street clothes. I turn to Zac. “Are you going to watch while I change?”
Sebastian looks at me through the rearview mirror. “There is a special private compartment at the very back of this vehicle.”
I pull away the curtain at the back that I always assumed covered a wall. Instead, it hides a small room just large enough for a grown man to change in. I swap clothing and step out.
Zac looks at me with an approving smile. “That’s some fancy clothes you have there.”
“I don’t really know much about that,” I say. “I just wear what my butler tells me to.”
Zac laughs. “Well, you look great. I hope your date goes well.”
“Are you going to be coming with me?”
Zac shakes his head. “I’ve been trained in stealth and pursuit. I can watch you without you knowing.”
“Okay, then do that.” At the very least he won’t be an awkward third wheel.
“You should be careful about the information you divulge,” says Sebastian. “You still don’t know this young lady very well. She may have a trick up her sleeve. Her father is Crayton, after all.”
The limo pull up to a small courtyard near the London Eye. I catch sight of Alice sitting on a bench. I step out of the car, a big grin on my face.
“I’ll be dropping off Sir Zac somewhere close,” says Sebastian as the door closes.
Alice looks up at me and smiles. “Hey, Markus! Do you want to head to the mall first? Or do you want to ride the Eye?”
“Anything,” I say.
And so starts an amazing afternoon.
23 Flash
Alice and I enter the Loquireda mall from the entrance closest to the Eye. This mall was built after twelve-one in order to maximize protection against monsters, and as such has a rather brutalist appearance. London has had two prolapses in the time since and both times this mall has served as a safe place. In times of peace, though, the mall is spacious, brightly lit, with a roof made of crystal glass that lets the sun through — when it’s not covered in fog or rain.
Alice drags me from store to store, purchasing expensive items like they cost pennies. After half an hour I am loaded down with bags of clothes, makeup, and stuffed animals. I feel like a porter whose only job is to carry things — I’m getting flashbacks to my time as an apprentice for the Riding Valkyries. It’s good that my physical stats increased so much, as I don’t think I would have been able to carry all this stuff otherwise.
Alice keeps up a constant pace of chattering, mostly about gossip and the stock market. Two totally different things, I know, but she treats them both the same. It seems that every little change in the stock exchange matters to her. She has the mind of a broker mixed with that of a funny, outgoing teenage girl.
I think I’m in love!
Finally Alice brings us to the food court. The place is crowded, with very few open tables. She selects one that is nestled in a corner next to several potted plants and a water fountain. Over our meal, we have an interesting conversation about politics, religion, and business. Not only is she beautiful she is smart as well. Alice seems to have an opinion on everything. Her mind is inquisitive, and she doesn’t seem to have an aversion to thinking hard.
I am enjoying my time with her immensely. I don’t know what, or how, but I know that I am head over heels for her.
We finish our dinner and leave the mall. A limo comes to pick up Alice’s purchases —there are so many that the whole car is full. After it leaves, we head to the London Eye, a Ferris wheel that dominates the skyline of London.
After waiting in line for a bit, we get on. Neither of us speak as the wheel rises. As it starts to fall, Alice turns to me. “Do you want to hold hands?”
Do I! I nod, trying not to seem stupid.
Alice touches my left hand.
An explosion of light fills the cabin. I am stunned, and I can’t think straight. Everything goes double and fades in and out. Finally the cabin reaches the ground and the doors open. Alice curtsies. With a sprightly step, she jumps from the cabin and winks at me. “Thanks! I’m left-handed, just so you know!”
I don’t even know what is happening. Alice is picked up by a black van and is gone before I can stagger from the cabin, too dizzy to walk straight.
Sebastian: Markus! What happened?
Zac runs towards me, waving. “What in the world?” He looks me up and down. “Where’s the key?”
I shake my head, ready to collapse. “She took it. She stole the key.”
“Bloody hell!” Zac pulls out a walkie-talkie. “Black van. No markings. Yes, it was Crayton’s daughter.”
I fall to my knees. “So she was just leading me on?” My eyes fill with tears. “She didn’t like me after all? She was just after the key?”
Zac pulls me upright. “We don’t have time for that. We need to get the key back. You’re an S-class Adventurer. Act like one!”
I wipe my eyes. My innards are boiling. “Okay, okay. But it’s not my fault! I didn’t know she was left-handed!”
“What do you mean, left-handed?” says Zac. “What does that have to do with anything?”
Oh, right. Zac doesn’t know.
I shake my head, brushing off my pants. I am still hurting inside but I realize that, as an official S-class Adventurer, I need to be strong. I wipe my eyes. “Okay. What do you suggest we do next?”
/> “Chase the van, of course!” says Zac.
Sebastian pulls up at that moment. He leaps out and opens the door to the limo. “Get in!”
Zac and I pile into the limo. Sebastian guns the engine and we blaze through the streets on a course to chase the van. But within minutes, he slows the limo. “We lost them. They must be using some sort of hiding magic.”
“Well, then,” says Zac. “What now? I’ve failed in my mission and must report back to my boss. Take me to headquarters.”
Sebastian nods. “Indeed.”
I must hold the record for shortest amount of time spent guarding a very important item. I can’t begin to understand the depth of the screw-up I made.
Zac shakes his head. “Don’t get too busted up about this, lad. I made a mistake, too. I should have recognized her intentions.”
“You have to know about the key to steal it,” I say. “Doesn’t that mean she knew beforehand? Was the whole thing a setup?”
“Most likely,” says Sebastian. “We, your servants, were just as unprepared as you. It is our fault that you were even able to be duped like that.” It is clear that Sebastian is torn. After all, this may result in great danger to me, the city, and the nation.
“I think,” I say, “that after dropping Zac off, we should ask Crayton about this.”
“Crayton is probably in on this, right?” says Zac.
Sebastian appears unconvinced. “Crayton has other goals. Opening the S-class portal in Wales may not be among them. His daughter has a legendary amount of freedom, after all.”
“So you’re saying this is all Alice?” I say.
Sebastian shakes his head. “No, I am not saying it. I am suggesting it as a possibility.”
I sigh, leaning against the arm of the couch.
We pull into the parking lot of London’s Organized Crime unit, where the key was first stolen. Zac steps out. “Since you no longer have the key,” he says, “it’s no longer my mission to shadow you. I’ll be wishing you good luck here. It was an honor to work with you, even though it was for less than two days.”