The Lesser One Arc Two Version 2 Chapter 7: Bright

  I apologize for the fact that these are out of order. You can find all the chapters by clicking on the label "The Lesser One Arc 2 Try 2" at the bottom of this post.

Brights

Mandrake grimaces. “This is, ah, Grey.”

The man who was goop a few seconds ago grins, showing his teeth. “Hiya. I heard you’ve made contact with quite a few Silverbones.”

I tilt my head. “Ah, yeah. I think. I mean, I’ve only met three so far.”

“And you’re about to meet more.” Grey’s eyes flicker with a strange light. “Ah, youth. When I was your age I was, um, what was I doing?” Grey scratches his head. “Well, never mind. That’s not important anyways.”

Mandrake crosses his arms. “If that’s all you came to say, I’d appreciate it if you left us alone.”

“Oh, no, I didn’t just come to chat.” Grey pulls a small orb out of a dimensional pocket. “Here ya go.” He tosses it to me. I catch it.

It is a solid object, feeling quite heavy in the palm of my hand. There are no markings or obvious seams on it.

“What …” Mandrake appears confused. “That, it’s a relic, isn’t it?”

“Indeed.” Grey laughs. “You just keep that with you and we’ll see what happens.” He snaps his fingers. “If you want to know more, then too bad, because I don’t feel like telling you anything.” His body turns back into goo and slips out of the elevator through the bottom crack.

The elevator stops and opens. Mandrake rubs his temples, his expression pained. “I’m sorry you had to deal with him.”

I shake my head. “No, he didn’t bother me much.” I look at the orb in my hand. “But I do want to know what this is.”

“Grey is a mysterious individual. About that orb. One of the Brights, Ari, has a spirit that can identify magic objects.” Mandrake looks at his watch. “Good. We’re on time.”

We leave the Esmex building and get into the limo. After an hour’s drive, we arrive at a manor in the countryside. The manor has vines growing on its brick walls, and has many windows, all of them covered in grime. The manor looks like it hasn’t been maintained in quite some time. The garden is overgrown, and what used to be shaped bushes are now a tangle of weeds and branches.

We walk through the entrance garden. There are a number of statues, all of which have been worn down by time. An empty fountain sits in the middle of the pathway, its bowl filled with leaves. When I walk, my footsteps echo against cobblestones.

A rather plump lady wearing a flamboyant silk dress opens the door as we approach.

“Ohoho,” she says, holding a fan to her mouth. “It’s so nice to see you, Mandrake. And is this that boy you told us about? Markus?”

Mandrake seems to be ignoring her mannerisms. “Yes, Ari. Is everyone else inside?”

Ari waves her fan. “Yes, yes. Come on in.”

I steal another glance at Ari’s flamboyant clothing and then blink a few times before entering the mansion. The mansion’s interior is in stark contrast to the exterior. There are a number of beautiful pieces of furniture arrayed in the entrance hall. Several couches of outstanding beauty and an amazingly crafted coffee table brighten up the middle ground, while fantastic paintings line the walls.

Mandrake seems to catch my gaze and chuckles. “About that. One of our members, Blake, has a furniture spirit. He loves creating beautiful works of art. He can also create weapons that are technically still furniture, but he really doesn’t like that.”

A man with a crazy mullet and glasses enters the room through a side door. “Did I hear my name?”

Ari waves her fan. “Ah, Blake.”

Mandrake takes off his hat and hangs it on the hat rack. “We were just talking about you. Markus here seems to be interested in your furniture.”

“Oh, really?” Blake’s eyes light up. “What strikes you most about this piece?” He motions to a lamp stand that is made out of metal but appears almost like wood. The lamp shade is formed from a single giant metal flower that is painted a touching hue of red.

I examine it. “It’s really red.”

Blake grins. “I heard you have an indiscriminate spirit. Can you create furniture as well?”

I tilt my head. “Maybe.”

Mandrake waves his hand. “Not now, Blake. We need to introduce Markus to the rest of us. He can play around with furniture when we’re done.”

Blake shrugs. “Sure thing, boss.” He leans against the back of a reclining chair.

A man with bright white hair arrayed in Einstein style appears on the top of the grand staircase. He is wearing lab goggles, pushed up to his forehead.

“Ah-ah, hello, good sir.” He blinks a few times. His speech is stuttering. Besides the white hair, he doesn’t appear to be over thirty. “My name is Az.” His expression is a bit bewildered. “My spirit is, ah, lanthanum. I am very interested in that special metal you have been creating.”

“Maybe some other time, Az.” Mandrake sits down at the coffee table. “Where are Robin and Neo?”

A man wearing a black suit and black sunglasses—inside, no less—appears out of thin air. “You called me, boss?”

Mandrake jumps out of his chair, appearing startled. “My god, Neo. Can you stop using warp keys just to go downstairs?”

Neo’s lips curl up. “Sure, sure.” He waves his hand.

“You’re not listening, are you?”

Neo sits down at the coffee table. “Huh?”

Mandrake sighs. “Okay. All we need now is Robin.”

“She’s in the kitchen.” Ari waves her fan. “Making muffins. She won’t be done for another half hour. You know how she is about her cooking.”

Mandrake shrugs. “Well, we can introduce her later. Markus, meet the Brights. We’ve gathered here to get a look at you, the first new candidate in three years.”

“It’s been that long?”

“We’ve been averaging one every four years since Arrival Day.” Mandrake raises his palm. “You’re going to need an eighty percent majority to enter the Silverbones proper. Out of seventeen total Silverbones, that means that you’re going to need at least fourteen of us to vote you in. We’re going to hold the meeting in six months. If you don’t receive enough votes, you’re going to have to wait another two years for another chance.”

I look between the Silverbones arrayed before me. “How am I going to get your votes?”

“By helping us.” Ari begins walking around the coffee table. “Despite how we may look to you right now, we are all very competent people.” She waves her fan. “Ohoho.”

Neo crosses his arms. “And we don’t accept people who are weak into our ranks. If you want to use your powers for your own gain, then you stand to be a better fit for the darks. Even if you do choose the darks, our votes are still needed for you to become one of us.”

Blake leans against the back of a chair. “Each one of us has different criteria for choosing a new Silverbone. You’re going to have to play nice with us.”

Mandrake nods.

Az creates a small metal coin in his hand and starts flicking it. “I—I think your work with Rearden Metal is amazing. You have my vote already.”

Mandrake raises a finger. “That’s one.”

I look at Az. “Um, what’s your spirit?”

“Lanthanum. I am a researcher at my core, and I really like what you did with the formation of crystalline structures withing Rearden Metal Type Two.”

“Ah, yeah. The thing is, that I just have to think of the properties I want and it comes out of my spirit automatically.”

Az walks down the stairs to the main level. “Then you are a rare specimen. I mean, in addition to the fact that your spirit is so mundane and yet so strange.”

I shrug. “It’s, well, it’s nothing.”

Az sits down on the floor. “Anyways. I hope to work with you in the future on some of your projects.”

Ari steps up to me and examines my face. “You have the soul of an author.”

“Ah, that reminds me.” Mandrake stands up. “Show her the bauble.”

I take the ball out of my pocket and hand it to Ari. She takes it, examining it with a critical eye.

“This is an antimatter relay.”

“A what now?”

“It’s a device used to communicate across dimensions. I’ve never seen one this compact before.”

“Grey gave it to me.”

“That makes sense.” Ari hands me the orb. “It’s set to receive only mode. I think Grey wants you to figure out what to do with it as part of his test of you. You’re probably going to need his vote, after all. I would advise you to keep it on your person.”

I slip the orb back into my pocket. “Thanks.”

Ari waves her fan. “For my vote, you’re going to have to prove to me that you can speak with the force of an orator, write with the power of a master, and think with the clarity of a wise man.”

“Ari is very particular about words.” Blake comes around and sits down across from me.

Ari chuckles. “Indeed.” She looks at Neo. “You wanted to say something?”

Neo nods. “I challenge you to a duel.”

Blake rolls his eyes. “Simple as always, Neo.”

I stand up. “I accept. Is this your condition for giving me your vote?”

Neo nods. “If you are strong, then I will accept you.”

Sebastian and Tia look at each other and nod. “We will officiate the match in the name of our master.” Sebastian bows.

Neo snaps his fingers, bows, sweeps his leg, and a portal opens in the ground that is just like the one I use to call up my demons. An insect-like being with multiple arms and compound eyes rises from the portal. It speaks through its mandibles.

“I shall referee for my master.” Its voice is bubbling. It opens up its long, scythe-like limbs.

“Are we going to do this here?” Before I can finish, Neo rushes at me. His body is a blur. I take his charge at full thrust. He slams me into a wall. The coffee table shatters.

“My furniture!” Blake holds his hands to his temples with a face of utter devastation.

Neo sweeps his hand through the air and a chain forms, swinging at me. I roll underneath the flying metal and crash into a chair, breaking it.

“Ah!” Blake’s voice is wounded.

I conjure two pistols and start shooting. I don’t intend to kill Neo, but something tells me even bullets won’t do much against him.

Neo’s chain whips through the air and slaps down every bullet. The chain makes a whistling sound as it tears through the room. The chandelier above the broken coffee table shatters, falling in between us.

“No!” Blake is on the ground, hands on his head.

I rush through the flying glass and smash into Neo’s torso. Neo staggers, and his chains cut into the walls as his hands fly up.

Neo swipes another chain at me. I conjure a riot shield and block it. The chain smacks against the hardened material and sends me flying, crashing into the wall. Plaster flies everywhere. A chain flicks towards me. I block it with my arm and my bones snap. Biting back the pain, I dive behind a couch and conjure two RPGs. I’m beginning to really like them. I leap out from behind the couch. The RPG in my broken arm swings towards the door—it probably wasn’t a good idea to conjure two with a broken arm.

Both tubes fire at once. One grenade slams into a beautiful marble statue, tearing it to pieces in a fiery explosion. Neo dodges the other one, which spirals up, slamming into the staircase and ripping it to shreds.

Neo and I stand, facing each other. Neo’s glasses have fallen off, revealing bright red eyes. He is breathing heavily. He waves his fingers.

“We’re not done yet, boy!”