Mr. Muk

I reached the end of that final, long hallway with such shooting pain in my leg I feared I might never walk again, but I was grateful for Jeseka’s help.

The room at the end was wide open, with walls outside what our poor light sources could illuminate.

But far more interesting than the walls were what stood glimmering in the middle of the room: a stack of gold ingots taller than the Chalice Inn.

“In this place--” spoke a deep voice from the darkness, “--the Ancients stored what was most precious to them.”

My eyes scanned the shadows surrounding us, trying to spot any sign of Mr. Muk hiding there. I could hear his hooves upon the steel floor, but the echo in the room made it impossible to pinpoint his location.

“The Ancients built their technologies out of the cosmic metals,” Mr. Muk continued, “Each one drew power from the heavens above, and the lac stones made it possible to harness this energy. Because gold drew its power from the sun, and the sun’s power is far greater than any other celestial light, gold became the most valuable of all resources.”

The medallion around Eon’s neck glowed more brightly, extending its rays out further, to cause the darkness to flee. But rather than illuminating Mr. Muk, it revealed more stacks of golden ingots. More gold, I suspected, than any king, emperor, ruler, or bank held.

Piers, Jeseka, and Eon stood in stunned wonder at the treasure trove before them.

“Where’s Zac?” I demanded.

Mr. Muk met my demand with laughter. “It seems this one would disagree with the wisdom of the Ancients. What is Zahac to you, Ahv? A son? If you were to take as much gold as you could carry from this place you could buy ten boys to be your sons, and give them a better life than you ever could have given Zahac.”

“Where is he?” I demanded again, disgusted at his attempted bribe. “I want my boy!”

“Take the gold!” Mr. Muk called back. “Take it and go!”

I cursed at him, using words I vainly hoped Zac would never learn.

“He refuses,” Mr. Muk said, “So, what about the rest of you? Eon Maganti…”

Eon froze at the sound of his name.

The hint of amusement in Mr. Muk’s voice hinted that he knew he’d caught the Consul’s attention. “You want to create a new world in your own image? Destroy the Great Library at Naukratis and raise a better future from the ashes? Imagine the armies you could fund with this gold. Or the relics you could replicate. I can teach you how to make weapons like the Ancients forged, and no force will be able to stand against the might of your army.”

The medallion around Eon’s neck glowed and his body floated away from Benji’s shoulders. Benji reached out to grab him, but Eon was already outside his grasp. The earring hanging from his left ear shone almost as brightly as the medallion.

The lights revealed a twisted, greedy grin on Eon Maganti’s face. “All I have to do is kill Ahv for you and you’ll give me all I’ve ever wanted?”

Benji ran to the nearest stack of gold ingots, seized one, and threw it at Eon. Eon raised his hand and a shield of light deflected the ingot. With a wave of his hand, an invisible force grabbed the rest of us and forced us down, onto our knees.

“You bastard!” Jeseka groaned as she fought against Eon’s hold. “I’ll tear your arms out!”

Eon shook his head. “Please understand, one does not build the foundation for a better world on mere kindness. Paradise is built upon blood.” He drifted toward me, the ring on his middle finger starting to glow.

“Don’t do this!” Piers cried out. “Please! I know you’re a reasonable man. You can’t possibly think accepting the offer of a darkling will--”

Eon waved his hand at Piers and the ring hanging from his right ear glimmered. Piers’ voice went silent, though his lips still moved for a few moments before he realized what had happened. The Consul hovered over me, staring down with cold eyes. “I will make a world so grand that even Zahac will not wish to see it destroyed.”

“There’s no need to shed Ahv’s blood for it!” Elora called out. “I know of other vaults, countless other vaults, with relics beyond your wildest dreams! If you spare him and release us, I’ll show you how to find them. You can still build the world you want to see, just please don’t kill him!”

“No one gives me what I want!” Eon shouted at her. “I take it.” He raised his hand in front of my face and I stared into his palm as an orb of light formed there. I could feel the heat radiating from it, and smell my own beard hairs burning.

Eon snapped his arm upwards and loosed a beam of light from his palm. Mr. Muk roared in pain and fell from the ceiling, his body knocking over a stack of gold ingots with a loud clatter.

“Kill him!” Eon shouted. “Quick!”

His hold on us released. Jeseka, Benji, Elora, and Piers rose to their feet.

The spider-like legs on Mr. Muk’s back forced him up to his hooves and he charged at Eon, roaring with fury.

Benji leapt onto the monster’s back and held tight.

Jeseka swung out the blade in her hands, cutting a deep gash in the monster’s side.

Elora waved her hands at the gold ingots, then whipped them over to Mr. Muk. The ingots pelted the monster, battering his body from every angle.

Piers swung out his sword and severed one of the spider-like legs protruding from the monster’s back.

But none of this slowed down Mr. Muk enough to save Eon.

Mr. Muk’s body plowed into Eon and carried him off into the shadows.

A loud smack, followed by a crunching sound and Eon’s cry of agony.

Piers and Jeseka ran after Mr. Muk, the light from their weapons soon revealing that the darkling had crushed Eon’s body up against a pile of gold ingots.

I limped toward them, intent on helping, though I had no idea how I could.

Benji climbed up Mr. Muk’s back and wrapped both arms around his throat, his hands grasping the monster’s Adam’s apple.

The monster thrashed and flailed about, its spider-like legs trying to pull Benji from his back. Benji held fast as the shirt was torn from his torso and the monster’s pincers cut his flesh.

Jeseka leapt and drove her sword into the monster’s back, forcing another roar of pain from its throat.

Piers circled round to Mr. Muk’s front and thrust his sword into Mr. Muk’s chest.

Shadows cast in red and white light danced around the room as the three of them fought Mr. Muk.

Benji raised his sledge-hammer fist and brought it down on Mr. Muk’s head over and over.

Piers stabbed wildly, his body soaked in the violet blood flowing from the wounds.

Jeseka hacked at the creature as she shrieked a chilling warcry.

Elora continued pelting the beast with gold ingots, the waving of her hands sending them at the creature with all the velocity of bolts launched from a crossbow.

With one final, gurgling roar, Mr. Muk fell lifeless on the floor.

I finished limping to that spot, and Piers lifted Eon’s broken body from the ground. Blood flowed from Eon’s mouth and he coughed when Piers sat him up. The Consul looked at me. “Take my relics… they’re yours now…”

“We’ll get you to a physician,” Piers said.

“No,” Eon told him. “It’s over. Shut up!” Blood sputtered from his mouth and flecks of it covered Piers’ face. Eon reached out and grasped me by the collar. “Take my relics and protect that boy. He will judge the world one day. He will decide what survives and what perishes. Promise me you’ll take care of him!”

“I promise,” I said.

“And never cause him harm!”

“I promise.”

Eon nodded to me, coughed twice more, and his head rolled back. His hand fell away from me as the life left his body.

I cursed myself. I’d not wept for the soldiers who’d died under his command, neither had I wept when he executed Keren. But the death of this proud, greedy man was what finally brought me to tears.