Mighty Minotaur

by Anh Do

Stanley shot her an apologetic look. ‘I’m sorry we’ve been so badly supplied. If only we had a nonpersonalised cashcard.’

  ‘I have a cashcard,’ said Minh, smiling.

  After a lot of chomping and very little conversation, Kelly sat back with a sigh, patting her tummy. She had not felt so satisfied for what seemed like a very long time. She smiled at Minh, grateful for his generosity, and he gave her a knowing wink while he munched on a chicken wing.

  Then, past his shoulder, her eyes found something that made her stomach turn in a bad way.

  ‘What is it?’ said Minh.

  Kelly got up and walked over to a poster on the back of a stall. She could not believe what she was seeing.

  ‘He did it,’ Kelly whispered.

  Minh, frowning in concern, arrived at Kelly’s side. ‘Did what?’

  Kelly could barely speak. She was sure that if she tried to say anything, unstoppable emotion would pour from her in torrents, and attract too much attention. She tried to swallow her rage and grief.

  ‘It’s her mother, Hannah,’ said Stanley quietly. ‘And my wife, Christine. They’ve been painted.’

  Kelly could not read the details through blurred eyes, as a single tear made its way down her cheek. ‘What does it say?’

  Minh put a hand on her shoulder as he began reading. ‘“Woman will run for the first week of March, from six o’clock every evening, at Gala Castle.”’

  Minh had heard of this place. ‘That’s in the richest area of the Agricultural Zone. It’s up north, full of vineyards and greenhouses growing exotic herbs.’

  ‘We have to go,’ said Kelly fiercely. ‘We have to set them free.’

  ‘It could be a trap,’ said Stanley.

  ‘You said yourself that the Collector must have been tracking us,’ said Kelly. ‘Why would he also set up a trap, when he already knew exactly where we were? Besides, he’s not even going to be there – he’s on his way to the southern border.’

  Stanley stared at the poster while he thought about it.

  ‘They’re our family, Stanley.’

  ‘I know,’ said Stanley thickly.

  ‘There’s a train that runs north every few hours,’ said Minh. ‘If we get on the afternoon service, we can make it by this evening.’

  ‘We can’t go to a fancy art exhibition looking like this,’ said Stanley.

  ‘So we’re going?’ said Kelly, although it wasn’t really a question.

  Stanley sighed. ‘Minh, how much money do you have on that cashcard?’

  ‘A lot. Turns out farmers pay really well for extraordinary muscle,’ Minh said with a smug smile.

  15

  Woman

  Kelly missed her hoodie and sweatpants. She didn’t feel at all comfortable in fancy clothes. Still, at least in a dress, if she had to run, there would be no pant legs to constrict her.

  In front of them towered one of the Collector’s many residences, Gala Castle.

  Other guests were all around, leaving the train or parking on the road. They even saw a helicopter land on a pad outside the castle.

  ‘Shame there aren’t any tractors around,’ said Minh, in a low voice.

  ‘The Collector’s showing off to the well-to-dos,’ said Stanley. ‘He’s not expecting us to walk into his lair.’

  It seemed like he said this mostly to reassure himself.

  They moved into a throng of ladies in heels and men in top hats, heading out of the station and up the hill. They kept their distance from each other, as agreed, since they were being searched for as a group.

  There had been plenty of time to discuss their plan on the train. Assuming they managed to make it past the Hornets at the castle entrance, and did not have to fight their way inside, they would survey the exhibition and locate the portraits. Then they would create a distraction, like tripping a fire alarm or, failing that, Stanley might use his last blue grenade. In the ensuing chaos they would grab the paintings and flee, maybe taking one of the fancy cars parked outside the gate. It was a pretty loose plan, but it wasn’t like they had a tonne of resources to work with.

  At least the Collector himself wouldn’t be there. If they could take the KG by surprise, perhaps they stood a chance.

  The entrance was a magnificent archway door, with guards on either side keeping watch on the guests filing past. Kelly let herself open up, intending to eavesdrop on the guards, but for a moment all kinds of thoughts crashed in from the guests around her.

  I wonder if Reginald has brought that awful wife of his.

  Genevieve’s face will be red as a rose when I tell her about my deal with the Centrovan government.

  This is already soooooo boring.

  Kelly imagined a beam focusing on the guards … and their thoughts became clearer over the rest.

  Look at these toffs. None of them ever known a day of hardship.

  My feet will be killing me before this is over.

  Why can’t I ever meet a girl like that?

  Hope one of them drinks too much and I can boot him out by the coat-tails.

  It was a relief to hear they were as wrapped up in their own worlds as everyone else. They certainly weren’t on the lookout for the most wanted people in the Kingdom. Still, Kelly averted her eyes as she passed them. She and Minh got pushed back together as they headed through the arch.

  ‘I must say,’ she said, trying to imitate how rich people talked, ‘I’m very much looking forward to putting in our second atrium.’

  Minh chuckled. ‘Yes, my dear. We can have it installed after my inheritance comes through. That will be, as they say, totally hectic.’

  They entered a grand hallway lined with marble statues. Ancient Roman heroes stood watch like sentinels, staring stonily over the crowd with hands on swords. At the end they stepped into an enormous circular chamber, where the exhibition was in full swing. The walls were covered with portraits, all the way up to the ceiling.

  ‘We made it,’ breathed Minh.

  ‘I suggest you and I split up, Kelly,’ said Stanley. ‘The faster we locate the portraits, the better. Circle around and meet in the middle.’

  They set off in opposite directions.

  Kelly tried not to move too quickly, pretending to consider each work carefully while her mind raced. Where was her mother? What if she was up near the ceiling? How would they get her down?

  There were so many beautiful women here. Had the Collector really painted them all? Meanwhile, the guests were happy to cram their faces with expensive cheese as they tittered and admired the ‘art’. It made her sick.

  One day she would return all these women to life.

  She came across a section dedicated to animals; a regal mare with a brilliant black coat; a lioness, leaping through the grass; some very noble-looking hens.

  All of them. She would free them all.

  She arrived at a roped-off stairway, of marble steps leading up to the unknown, with a Do Not Enter sign strung across it. She moved on past it, and found Stanley finishing the end of his section.

  ‘Anything?’ she said.

  He gave a slight shake of the head. They both walked towards the middle of the chamber, where Minh was waiting.

  ‘Couldn’t see them,’ he said. ‘But I only got a brief glimpse of their faces on that poster. Maybe I missed them?’

  Kelly bit her lip. Maybe she had moved too quickly?

  ‘Let’s cover each other’s sections,’ she said. ‘There are so many paintings – we have to look carefully.’

  Something played at the back of her mind. There were many presences in the hall, but more seemed to be closing in. More guests, most probably, only just arriving?

  ‘Welcome, esteemed friends!’ came a familiar voice, ringing out from on high. ‘It is such an honour to see you all!’

  ‘Oh no,’ said Stanley.

  Slowly, they turned to the roped-off staircase.

  The crowd rippled and murmured. Kelly could feel their excitement, their fear. None of them had expected to se
e the Collector here. Some of them had not wanted to. Kelly included herself in that number. Although she would have expected to feel fear herself, in its place she found only rage.

  Hornets spilled down the stairs on either side of William. There came the tromp of feet from behind as well, as Aiken and her Elites cut off the entrance hall.

  The crowd milled about uncertainly, murmuring in worry.

  ‘Is it not wonderful to celebrate the majesty of the female?’ said William. ‘Each unique in her own way. However, it is one very special guest of honour who I’m most happy to see join the festivities …’

  A spotlight beamed down from the ceiling, directly onto Kelly and her companions.

  ‘I give you … the Golden Unicorn!’ crowed William. ‘Accompanied by my disgraced archaeologist, Stanley Solomon, and this young man,’ he gestured at Minh, ‘who possesses the strength of an ancient bull. Wonderful, wonderful additions to my collection!’

  William smiled cruelly, and made a weaving motion at the air. A golden cage materialised around the group. Minh immediately grabbed the bars, but magic sizzled his skin, and he exclaimed in pain.

  Kelly stepped up to the bars to glower at William.

  ‘What’s wrong, Ms Swift? Not happy to see me?’

  Kelly tore off her hat to reveal her horn, and guests around her gasped. She had a sense of the magic that enclosed the three of them, corrupted, tainted … icky. It offended her on some visceral level, and her own magic swelled up in reaction. As her horn shone pure white, she ran the point of it across the bars, and the cage exploded in all directions.

  Guests squealed and flung up their hands, as the conjured bars faded to nothing.

  Anger twisted William’s face.

  ‘Embarrassing him in front of these fine folk,’ said Stanley. ‘That’s one way to really tick him off.’

  William smoothed his expression. ‘Well now, honoured guests, while I have enjoyed your patronage, I think the party may be about to turn a little … rambunctious? Captain Aiken, if you would?’

  Aiken stood aside from the hallway. ‘Everyone out!’ she commanded.

  The guests did not need much encouragement. They swarmed towards the exit, pushing each other out of the way to be the first to freedom.

  ‘Now,’ said William, ‘get them.’

  Hornets ran to form a circle around the group, then began to advance. They held long shocksticks, the ends frazzling with electricity.

  Kelly went from standing to full speed in a second. She hit the ground and slid between two Hornets, felt the air move above her head as they swung at her. She came up onto her feet and raced to the edge of the chamber. The Hornets were already close on her heels – speed was not so great an advantage in such an enclosed space.

  She tore the ropes off a bollard and spun about to fend off a blow from a shockstick.

  Minh roared as he transformed, bursting the tuxedo.

  The guards around him faltered at the sight. Meanwhile, William’s eyes brightened, and he rubbed his hands together greedily.

  Minh charged, head down, and broke the circle, knocking aside guards like bowling pins. A couple he missed managed to plant sticks on him, and there was a zap of discharged electricity. Minh roared again, and his back arched.

  Stanley drew his stinger and fired. A guard went down, convulsing, as Stanley backed away. Aiken stalked towards him with her tri-burst rifle raised.

  ‘Enough, old man!’ she said. ‘You’re surrounded!’

  As guards closed upon him, Stanley reluctantly raised his hands. He glanced about to see how the others were doing.

  Kelly ducked and wove, kicking the feet out from under guards and deftly avoiding swipes from shocksticks. Minh rampaged about the chamber like a bull in an art gallery. They were fighting on separate sides of the room, not yet coordinated as a team.

  Stanley didn’t have much time to think about it, though. A guard lurched forward and planted the end of a shockstick on him, and he fell stunned to the floor.

  ‘Stow him somewhere safe,’ Aiken said.

  Kelly found two Elites running at her from either side. The first made a grab for her hair, so she whipped it around in a confusing mess that passed through his fingers. She planted a kick in his sternum, feeling energy course through her foot as she sent him flying. She was stronger than her frame suggested, as if she channelled the powerful kicks of a horse.

  A footfall sounded behind her, and she spun as a red-haired Elite reached towards her – wasn’t he the one who had surreptitiously gestured them away at Sector Hub H?

  Kelly’s hands shot out and locked with his, and for a moment they stood face to face. She felt an immense strength in his grasp – like he could easily break her hands if he closed his to a fist.

  ‘Flip me,’ he whispered.

  Kelly thought she had misheard. ‘What?’

  ‘Flip me,’ he repeated, giving an almost imperceptible head motion to the side.

  Flustered as she was, more guards were closing in, so she heaved the Elite with all her might. He relaxed his hold on her, and pushed himself off the ground to help with the move, in a way Kelly could feel but no one else would notice. He went spinning away, further than Kelly would have been able to throw him on her own.

  What was that about?

  Minh grabbed the shockstick of a guard who refused to let go. He lifted her off her feet and swung her like a rag doll into a bunch of others. Finally he let go, and the guard went flying at the wall. She hit a painting of a supermodel and both of them crashed to the floor.

  William blanched. ‘Mind the art!’ he screamed.

  Hearing that gave Kelly an idea. She sped to the painting of the lioness, leapt over the ropes and grabbed it off the wall. She placed her hand over the canvas and visualised the lioness leaping out into the world.

  ‘No!’ screamed William. ‘Stop her, you fools!’

  Instantly furious, the huge creature pounced on a guard, crashing him to the ground.

  Kelly ran over to the painting of the black mare and freed it too.

  The lioness landed on the red-haired Elite, and pinned him to the floor. He seemed to whisper something to the creature, and she instantly stopped growling. Then she licked his face, and took off in another direction.

  What is with that guy? thought Kelly.

  ‘I could free more of your victims!’ she shouted at William, reaching for another painting. ‘How would you like that, Collector?’

  ‘Enough!’ howled William. He made a gesture at the wall beside her. A huge wall-coloured fist punched out of it, and sent her sprawling.

  Kelly rose with her jaw stinging, and heard Minh bellow in pain. Looking over, she saw a cluster of guards sticking him with shocksticks. His muscles bulged and contracted as he staggered to his knees.

  Kelly ran to him, somersaulted, and landed on his back. Come on, forcefield, she thought, urging her horn to pulse as it had in the Memorial Garden.

  Nothing happened.

  Whump whump whump went a burst of bolts from Aiken as they smacked against her. Kelly cried out as Minh collapsed beneath her. The stunning power was too great to fight – as it rippled through her, her muscle spasms made it impossible to rise. Her jaw clenched, her vision swam, and she jolted and jerked upon the floor.

  ‘Bind her legs!’ Aiken shouted.

  Kelly tried to kick as someone took hold of each leg, but she had lost control of her own body. The cold metal of a chain tightened and drew her legs together – and then Aiken stepped into view, grinning horribly.

  ‘Goodnight, little pony,’ she said.

  Blackness.

  16

  The Cell

  Kelly returned slowly to consciousness. As soon as she was self-aware, she wished she wasn’t, because she hurt all over. The stinger bites throbbed, and her forehead pounded.

  She was lying on some kind of bed, hard enough that she wondered if it was just a sheet atop wooden planks. She groaned and opened her eyes.

  ‘Are
you all right?’

  The voice in the darkness startled her.

  ‘Jeez, Stanley,’ she said, her heart thundering.

  ‘Sorry.’

  ‘Where are we?’

  ‘In a cell,’ said Stanley. ‘You’ve been unconscious for, well, I don’t know. Most of the night, I think.’

  Kelly’s eyes adjusted a little. She could make out a barred window, though which crept just enough silvery moonlight to see the outlines of things.

  Stanley sat on the ground next to the bed. There was a sink against the wall, and a stool in the corner. The walls were close enough to make Kelly feel queasily claustrophobic, as if the dark itself was stifling.

  ‘Where’s Minh?’ asked Kelly.

  ‘I don’t know. I haven’t been told anything since we were flung in here.’

  ‘We have to do something.’

  She tried to sit up, but her head reeled and she felt nauseous.

  ‘Save your strength,’ said Stanley. ‘The door looks to be a solid foot of reinforced metal. Unless you have some hidden ability we don’t know about, our best shot at escape is when someone opens it.’

  It was hard for Kelly to argue. She felt totally drained. Such a long day, so many injuries. Before she knew it, she was asleep again.

  Kelly woke the next morning feeling a little less sore, but still weak. She got up and went to the sink to splash her face and have a drink. Then she went to the window. There was a wide stone overhang above it which kept much light from entering the cell.

  A vineyard stretched away below, with little birds flitting about. Kelly found her soul yearning to feel the sunlight on her skin and breathe fresh air. Instead, the cell was stuffy and cramped. With the dim light available, she could see four stone walls, and the door Stanley had mentioned. Stanley himself was asleep on the floor, which didn’t seem much worse than the bed.