The Lesser One Arc 2 Chapter 21: The Store

 

The Store

“Juk.” Using a slapped-together setup, I put a picture of Ri’s heart on a projector screen. “Do you think you can fix this? I really don’t understand it much. If you have any technical questions, then you can ask Sage.”

Knack sits on a crate nearby. “I appreciate you taking me seriously, Markus.” His minions, which are all very scary-looking, surround him in a half circle.

“It’s my pleasure. You’re giving me something in return, and I can’t just ignore a girl who needs my help.”

“Hah.” Knack claps his hands. “Then how about you marry my daughter when she’s better?”

Ri groans. “Come on, dad.”

Knack holds up his palms. “Kidding, dear.”

I shake my head. “I already have someone I’m interested in.”

“That Alice girl, right?” Knack leans forward. “She’s going to cause you no end of trouble. Don’t get your hopes up, kid.”

Juk walks over to Ri. “My dear. Can you lay flat on your back?”

I stand over a small crate. “Sage. Is the artificial heart ready to create?”

“It is. Be careful with this one. You need to really control your anima if you want it to come out correct.”

I hold my hand out. The fluid comes through my palm and coalesces on the crate. It feels as if I’m balancing on a tightrope. Any wrong move and the whole object could be ruined. I feel a flow of energy traveling through my entire body. This device is even more complicated than Esla’s robotic hand. It’s got everything a regular heart needs, plus some things to keep it from being rejected by her body. It’s made of non-magnetic material; sort of a metal-polymer hybrid that won’t react to magnetic pulses. It’s super high tech and I personally think Sage has outdone herself this time.

The heart forms and solidifies. It’s about the size of a fist. I hand the device to Juk.

Juk nods. We’ve set up a sterile surgical center in the corner of the warehouse. Juk scrubs in—it appears he’s had experience with this kind of thing. He is wearing a surgical gown and mask, and glasses with magnification. He pulls back the curtain, separating us from the rest of the warehouse.

“Markus. You’re going to perform the actual connection process.” Juk pulls on his gloves. “Unlike when you fixed Esla’s hand, this procedure is dangerous. If we do it wrong, the patient will die. Do you understand? Trust Sage, and keep your anima balance in check.” Juk then starts singing. Energy flows through the sounds. Ri’s chest opens up, skin splitting, bone shifting. Blood vessels move away from each other to reveal the heart. The breastbone separates. It’s obvious when I look at it directly, but her heart is in bad shape.

Sage’s console is next to a UV lamp. “Engaging sterilization procedures.” The lamp flashes. “Anesthetic at normal values.”

Juk sings Ri’s heart out of her body. I place the artificial heart where Juk directs me. I am more nervous than I’ve ever been in my entire life. Juk sings the nerves, muscles, and blood vessels into place. The flesh locks on to the bio-metal-plastic of the artificial heart. The whole procedure takes three hours. Juk, with the care of a surgeon, connects each blood vessel and nerve individually. When the heart starts to pump on its own, Juk begins the closing process. Half an hour later we’re done.

We pull away the curtain. Juk takes off his gloves and his mask, leaving a mark on his face. “She is fixed. She’ll be waking up in a few minutes.” Juk walks up to Knack. “She must not exert herself for a period of two weeks. After that, make sure that she doesn’t receive any kind of shock to her chest. In two months the heart will be fully integrated.”

Knack reaches up and hugs Juk. “Thank you, kind friend. You’ve done something great for me. I’ll always be in your debt. If you need someone killed, or maybe some drugs shipped, I’m your man.”

Juk turns to me. “Sir?”

I shake my head. “Your vote. That’s all that I need. If I ever have something else, I’ll contact you.”

Knack presses a huge wad of hundred pound notes into my hand. “Take it. And thanks. I’ll put in a good word for you with my compatriots.”

“I did it because I wanted to help.” I look to Juk. “Do you think we can make it to Mandrake’s meeting in time?”

“I’ll call the limo.”

Ten minutes later we’re driving to Mandrake’s mansion. Sebastian, in the driver’s seat, has a sour expression on his face. “What did you do?”

I shake my head. “I just fixed a girl’s heart. Using an implant.”

Sebastian sighs. “As long as you didn’t break any laws.”

“I didn’t. I don’t think?” I frown.

Sage: “You didn’t. There doesn’t seem to be a law against impromptu amateur surgeries.”

“When you put it like that, it sounds like I did something dangerous.”

Sage’s face is smug. “At three separate points during the operation we were seconds away from losing her.”

“Wow.” I shudder. “I hate to think what Knack would have done if we had killed his daughter.”

“He would have killed you then and there.”

I whistle. “Then thanks for being such a great anesthesiologist.”

“You humans are simple, biologically speaking. There was no challenge in maintaining a state of unconsciousness.” Sage’s voice is also smug.

“Then we’re good. I got another vote, bringing us to seven, I think.”

Sebastian sighs. “Mandrake says he forgives you for being late, as it was an important distraction.”

We drive to the place where Mandrake and the Brights are keeping their residence while in England. The place is as regal as I remember it being. The vines growing on the side of the building look as if they are a hundred years old.

Mandrake opens the door. “Ah, you’re here. I heard you had a detour.”

“Very much so.” I take off my coat. “Why did you call me here?”

“We need your help.”

“With what?” I look around the lobby. Several of the Brights are sitting in chairs, playing cards. Regular cards, not Jenma. The one I remember as Blake looks up.

“Right. I’m the one who called you.” Blake gets out of his chair. “I need you to help me.”

“I’m always willing to help.” I walk up to him. “What do you need from me?”

“Have you heard of the eternal furniture store?” Blake looks away.

“The eternal what now?” I blink.

“Furniture store.” Blake looks dead in my eyes. “There is a furniture store that merged with a dungeon years ago. By day, it’s a regular, if magical, furniture store. But at night things get, well, strange.”

“Okay. Let’s say that this furniture store exists.” I shake my head. “What do you need from it?”

Blake holds out his hands. “I want to know who’s behind it all.”

“Okay. I agree. As long as this doesn’t take too long.”

“Time has no meaning inside the store.” Blake rubs his nose. “You’ll be out the same instant you went in.”

“Then let’s do this.”

Blake looks between Sebastian and I. “No groups larger than three are allowed to enter at once.”

I turn to Sebastian. “Do you think you can handle this? Or should someone else come with us?”

“I believe Mandrake will secure your safety better than I could in this proposed environment.” Sebastian bows. “But I shall be at your call if you need me.”

Mandrake frowns at Blake. “Why are you getting me caught up in this?”

Blake shakes his head. “We need you here, Mandrake. You’re the only one with enough dungeon experience to be our leader.”

Mandrake sighs. “Okay. I’ll go with you. Where is it?”

“There’s an outlet in Enfield.” Blake looks at me. “Are you ready?”

We leave the manor and get into the limo. Half an hour’s drive later, we pull in to what appears to be a big box furniture store, a brand that is relatively common here in the UK, with some branches in the US. There appears to be regular traffic going in and out.

I take out my phone. “Hey. Angela?” Angela is the person in charge of scheduling. “Tell my team that they can have the day off. They’re doing good anyways, and I think we only need a couple more meetings.”

“Will do, Markus.”

I hang up, and then turn to Mandrake. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

We enter the store. Blake and Mandrake walk beside me. The showroom is multi-story, with a maze-like pattern that is kind of easy to get lost in. There are displays of various furniture everywhere.

“This really is your kind of place, isn’t it?” Mandrake jabs Blake with his elbow.

As we walk, the path becomes more jagged. The displays of furniture start to feel disjointed. There is a modern dining room attached to a child’s bedroom colored with toy trains. The lights start to look more and more chic. We see fewer customers. The room has an oppressive aura, but it also gives me a bit of agoraphobia, as if I’m in the middle of a vast, untamed wilderness.

Something moves in the darkness between two displays. Mandrake and Blake enter battle poses. I conjure a sword. The anima fluid flows around my fingers and forms Rearden Metal in the shape of a Roman gladius.

“Keep your eyes open.” Blake looks around. He opens his palm and a kitchen knife appears in it.

“I suppose that counts as furniture?” I try my best to joke.

“Every kitchen needs a knife.” Blake shakes his head. My joke didn’t land.

The shadow flits towards us. A thin, sharp whistle cuts through the heavy atmosphere. A teakettle climbs the wall next to us. It has legs and arms made of shining metal, insect-like, and its spout opens and closes as if it’s breathing. More of them arrive.

“Here we go!” Mandrake snaps his fingers and a blast of air flies towards the kettles.

They split. Two of them head straight for me, their little legs clattering on the floor. I try to dodge them. They skitter underneath my legs. I smack one with my sword, but it doesn’t cut through the steel of the pot. The teakettle spits boiling water at me. It sloshes over my shoulder and burns. I conjure ice water and douse my body in it. My shoulder steams; it’s badly burnt.

The kettles turn around, feet clacking, and rush towards me again. I conjure a Rearden Metal Type V hammer—that’s what I immidiately decide to call the hyper-dense material I—meaning Sage—just invented. The hammer slams into a teakettle and it explodes. Shards of metal fly everywhere.

Mandrake and Blake finish dealing with their teakettles. Blake grabs the last kettle and holds it up. “Such a strange construct.”

I approach the kettle with caution. The kettle’s legs are scrabbling at thin air. It feels like a mix between a beetle and a kitchen implement.

Blake cracks open the kettle with his bare hands. A magic circle on the inside of the metal forms, falters, and then pops. “Looks like a construct.”

“Who would do this? I mean, how much free time does someone have to be making magical constructs based on kitchen implements?” Mandrake kneels to examine the dead body of one of the kettles.

Blake shakes his head. “That’s why we’re here. We’re here to figure that out.”

“Blake, you really got us into something deep.” Mandrake stands up. “And I assume that we won’t be able to leave, as the path has changed.”

“This space is non-Euclidian, yes.” Blake turns to face the path. “But we’ve got to go deeper.”

 

22

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