Twenty

I followed the cloaked figure in complete silence. I wanted to get this over with as soon as I could.

The person in the cloak had spoken into a small stone and after close to twenty minutes, the other cloaked figure joined us.

“You gave me a real run around there, buddy.” The newcomer sounded harried.

“Don’t call me buddy.”

“No worries.”

After close to two hours of walking we approached the mining pit that marked the centre of Fantasy Park.

It was a colossal pit with a path that spiralled down the edge of the mine. Workers were scattered about the topside. More were around the various levels of the mine within.

Most carried pickaxes and other hand tools. Some wore large harnesses that had large drills in front of them. They had metallic exo-skeletons around their legs, I assumed to make it easier to move about.

I couldn’t believe just how many workers I could see, and I could only imagine there were countless more within the depths of the mines.

“Aren’t you guys afraid your whole home will collapse into this one day?” I asked. I wasn’t too smart when it came to many things, but I was sure I was right about this.

“Nah. You see, we got some cool teleportation magic about this mine. So quite a few of the tunnels actually teleport us back into the old tunnels and mines back home.” This came from the cloaked figure who’s nose I had broken.

“Wasn’t there some end of world threat back at your home?” I asked.

“Oh yeah. But we stick to the mines underneath the surface. They’re still standing.”

“Any danger though?”

“Oh, of course. Weird new monsters and shit keep killing our workers. Some even try to come back through the portal with us. But we kill em quick. Got lots of security.”

“And if too many come through that you can’t handle them?” That frustration was growing within me again. Couldn’t they see how dumb this all sounded?

“Then we’re all screwed, including your lot.”

“You know, if my lot caught wind of this, there’d be trouble.”

“I suppose you’re right. You better not say anything, you might get a visit at night.” The cloaked figure gave a nervous chuckle.

“Don’t laugh. Things aren’t good already, and the death of Heston is making things look worse. You’ll find yourselves having to flee from our world if they know about this.”

“Don’t make empty threats.” This came from the other cloaked figure, the one that had joined us later.

“Oh, its not an empty threat. Friend.”

We passed the gate that let us into the mine and worked our way down the spiral. We were about three quarters of the way down when we moved into one of the tunnels.

“Is this gonna take me back to your home world?” I asked.

“No. This one stays here.”

After what was close to an hour of winding through an almost completely dark network of tunnels, we finally came to a decently lit chamber.

The chamber was filled with cots and blankets thrown across the ground. Pots and pans were scattered about, as well as battered furniture.

“Ah, if it isn’t my good friend, Detective Vincent Clay.” The obnoxious voice boomed through the chamber. I death stared Brigg as he walked toward me, his hands in the air as though he were ready to give me a hug. I noted there were about ten other people in the chamber, all wearing cloaks.

“Stop it with the niceties. We aren’t friends and nobody here needs to believe we are. What do you want Brigg?”

“Hmmm, you always did cut straight to the point. I think that’s why we were always so quick to fight. What do I want? I want to talk about some things.” Brigg nodded at the two cloaked figures. They left my side and made their way further into the room.

“Brigg…”

“I wan to make sure there is continued peace between Fantasy Park and Edge City.”

“You, continued peace?” I choked on a laugh.

“Yes, believe it or not.”

“I don’t believe it. What are you on about?” The fake smile he wore faltered a little.

“I’ve learned a few things about this Heston Barclay murder. You see, I know a lot of people, and my people are everywhere.”

“What do you know?”

“I know quite a few things, things that would make your job a lot easier.” Brigg gave a low chuckle.

“Tell me, now.” I growled. I didn’t have the patience for this round about bullshit.

“I need something from you first.”

“It depends on what you tell me.”

“Okay, well, what I know concerns our friend, Jackson Speers.”

“What?”

“He’s dealing in some shady stuff. First off, I can tell you about his sceptre. That jewel that is set on the top of it, is magical. He can do a few things with it. I only know two of the things he can do, but that doesn’t mean he can’t do more.”

“Spill it.”

“He can bewitch someone. Take over their mind, make them obey his commands.”

“And what’s the other?”

“He can produce some destructive fire magic with it.”

“How do you know this?” I asked. I glared at Brigg. I took in every movement in his face and body language. But my gut told me he was telling the truth, I couldn’t explain it, but I was almost always right about this stuff.

“Because the one who sold him the gem is a contact of mine.”

“So, what do you need from me?” I racked my brain, and I couldn’t think of anything. “Why are you helping me? You don’t like us humans.”

“What Jackson is trying to do, is set off some kind of war between us and you humans. I don’t know his angle, but he plans to wipe us all out. I dislike your lot, but I’d never want something so brutal, so destructive, so finite.”

“What do you want from me? I’ve got nothing.”

“First off, you now know the secret of these mines. You can never let another human know.”

“I would never have known if your workers hadn’t told me when they brought me here. That’s on them.” Brigg raised his eyebrows as though he realised how silly the demand was.

“The second is, you need to set up so I can have some kind of diplomatic immunity with Edge City. You see, I like being a thorn in their side, I just don’t like what Jackson is doing.”

“Are you a dumbass?”

“Excuse me?” Brigg’s face became one of hot seriousness.

“I’ve got no leverage back home. Heck, I live in my office which is inside a warehouse. Nobody takes me seriously, not even my daughter. What makes you think I could do something like that for you? You didn’t do your homework very well did you?”

I turned to walk away when a hand grabbed my wrist. I tensed up and flew into action.