Magus Vol. 1 Read online

  Chapter 3

  A bloom of orange light clung to the horizon, and I glowered at it.

  Go down already.

  I sighed.

  A turned over trashcan lay next to me; its contents spilled out across the alley that we concealed ourselves in. The street lights were just coming on, and an orange light over us illuminated the alley.

  Maude was doing... something.

  “Are you done yet?” I asked, my back turned.

  “Don't look!”

  “I'm not!” I shouted. “What on earth are you doing?”

  “Just don't look!”

  “Why!?”

  An empty can hit the back of my head. I still didn't turn around.

  I kicked it away. “What are you-”

  “Done!” Maude leapt past me, before quickly spinning around to face me.

  What. The. Hell...?

  “Well, Ronan?” She spread her arms out, curling her fingers toward herself a few times. “Stealthy? Right?”

  Her tail swooshed behind her. I clicked my tongue.

  Maude was wearing a catsuit. Like, a spy catsuit. With a large pair of sunglasses.

  I poked her shades. “Good luck seeing with those.”

  Maude smacked my hand away. “Shush, I look awesome. Let's see... the sun's down.” She dramatically pointed forward. “Let's move out team!”

  I rolled my eyes. “Keep hamming it up there, Maude.”

  We approached the recycling center's fence moments later. The fence itself was chain-link, but sheets of metal placed around the perimeter of the yard blocked our ability to see within it. The only thing visible from the outside was the mountain of cans.

  I heard chatter as we got closer. It sounded distant, and the voices were many. It was like people were speaking in unison.

  I grabbed the fence. “Alright, so we're just going to stand out here listening? Or...”

  Maude leapt to the top of the fence, effortlessly pulling herself up and over it.

  “Alright.” I nodded. “We're breaking in then? Okay.” I looked around. “This is... freaking illegal.”

  I jumped up, grabbing the upper part of the fence.

  “Dammit!”

  And immediately fell back down.

  “Ronan?” Maude called. “What's taking so long?”

  “Give me a second. I'm not in as good a shape as you are!”

  Several tries later and I finally clambered over the top of the fence. Unfortunately I didn't stick the landing, instead collapsing into a heap in the dirt.

  “Oh, I'm sorry sweetie. Does Anastasia need a few minutes to catch her breath?” Maude asked.

  “Go. Screw.” I winced as I forced myself up. “Yourself.”

  She smiled and nodded. “Hmm. That's lovely.”

  Voices continued to echo from somewhere around the base of the can mountain. We approached cautiously before displacing cans, trying to find that opening.

  “You don't think Beal is keeping an eye out do you?” I asked.

  “Even if he is, I've got this disguise.” Maude adjusted her sunglasses.

  “Yeah,” I said. “But I don't! And I'm pretty sure he can take a guess as to who the freaking mouse with me was!”

  “Well if you wanna be a baby and just go home- found it!” Maude threw a trapdoor open.

  Cans loudly rattled across the dirt. I cringed at their racket while looking back at the recycling center. The lights were still on, but I didn't see any sign of Mr. Beal.

  “You are going to get us freaking arrested...”

  A dim light shone from the hole. metal steps were built into it, leading underneath the mountain of cans. Voices came from within, clearer now than they had been. They weren't talking; they were chanting.

  The lighting stemmed from old cracked and warped lanterns hung along the walls. Closer inspection revealed that they were all different kinds. Some were made entirely from metal, others a mix of steel and wood. Their condition was extremely poor, as if they had simply been discarded over the years. I wondered if they were once part of Beal's collection of scrap, re-purposed now for... whatever this was.

  “Ooh...” Maude fawned over them. “They're all antiques! I wish one of these was in good condition, then I'd...”

  I ripped one off the wall, and then shoved it in her hands. “Can we move on now?”

  “But, but...” She lifted the warped lantern up, frowning. “It's not in pristine condition.”

  I crossed my arms. “Just. Go.”

  We didn't have to travel far before stumbling upon an impossibly large chamber. We were only just under the surface, but the room somehow had a very high ceiling. The walls, the floors, and ceiling were built from rusted metal, obviously melded together in a very haphazard fashion. Stairs built from sheets of metal led down to the center of the chamber.

  I felt nervous just being near a structure with such questionable integrity. Well... that was part of the reason I felt nervous. The other part was the dozen or so people in dark robes, standing around a circle filled with archaic symbols, all chanting a strange foreign language I couldn't place.

  Candles were placed around the room. Eight stood on tall rusted poles around the chanting people; other smaller ones were placed randomly around the room.

  The circle contained six smaller circles within, which in turn, surrounded seemingly random pieces of junk. A busted open mini-fridge, rusty pipes, tons of wiring...

  “Hah! I knew it.” Maude smirked. “And they thought they could get away with it...”

  My eyes shifted between her and the group. “Get away with what exactly? Who are these people?”

  “Scrapologists.” She cracked her knuckles. “They're a dangerous breed, weaponizing the random bits of metal we throw away everyday.”

  “What? They're dangerous!?” I cupped my mouth while ducking down. “How dangerous? Should we call the police?”

  “Police?” Maude laughed. “That's a good one. Why do you think we're here?” She elbowed me playfully.

  “Uh...”

  The chanting shifted in tone, becoming darker and more menacing. The candles in the room shifted to green in an instant, even Maude's lantern was affected.

  “Their ritual is nearly complete!” Maude grabbed my shoulder and tugged me down the stairs. “We can't let them finish that trash golem!”

  “Wait, wait!” I resisted her pull, but she kept dragging me forward. “How are we supposed to do that?”

  Maude rifled through a pouch on her waist, retrieving a set of steel claws. “How do you think?”

  Right... you're from the institute.

  “But...” I shook my head. “Alright, how am I supposed to stop them?”

  Maude came to a dead stop. “You didn't bring your weapon?”

  I wrenched her hand off my shoulder. “No!”

  “Why not!?”

  I stepped back toward the doorway. “No, I mean I don't have a weapon!”

  “Oh, you fight unarmed?”

  I shook my head.

  “You use magic?”

  I shook my head.

  Maude stared at me.

  “I don't, uh... I'm just a groundskeeper.”

  “You...” Maude stared, her mouth agape. “You're a...”

  I coughed. “Did you not know that?”

  “Groundskeeper?”

  “You know... a janitor.”

  We stared at each other.

  “Are you two quite finished?”

  We snapped back to the group, their chanting at some point had ceased. The circle glowed with green light that infused itself into the bits of scrap metal left within it.

  “Because we are somewhat in the middle of something?” A man stepped forward before removing his hood.

  He was tall, his skin pale, and his features gaunt. A monocle covered his right eye, and I spotted rust clinging to the frame. He removed a pocket watch from within his robe, the chain and watch looked just as used as everything else in that place. He shifted his weigh
t onto an old cane that bent from the strain.

  “Well, I suppose I can take a moment to entertain our guests, hmm?” He looked to his companions, who nodded in agreement. He withdrew a blade from his cane, before tossing the sheath to a nearby woman. “Take over now would you, dear?”

  She stepped in front of the group, and they resumed their deep chanting.

  He, on the other hand, stepped toward us.

  I stepped back. “Hold on, we aren't looking to cause any trouble.” I forced a pained smile.

  “Oh, no, no, no.” He shook his head at me. “We are the ones looking to cause trouble.” He smirked. “It's quite fortunate that the two of you came along when you did, we needed someone to test our newest creation out on, and I'm thinking you two will do just nicely.”

  “What... what are you doing?” I asked.

  “What am I doing?” He snickered. “I am trying to create a more perfect world! A world where all scrap metal is recycled properly! And put in its proper place!” He pointed to the circle behind him. “That my friends... is the future. A golem that will find misplaced scrap in people's garbage, and bring it to local recycling centers. We'll make another one in the next city over. And another one in the next city past that!” He laughed uncontrollably. “We will create a true UTOPIA, where all recyclable materials are treated responsibly!”

  I rubbed my chin. “You know, a magic robot that collects scrap metals sounds like a pretty good idea.”

  “Also it will kill those disrespectful monsters that didn't recycle properly.”

  I nodded. “And there it is. Now it's evil.”

  Maude smiled darkly, fire burning behind her green eyes. “Pity it's not ready yet.”

  He laughed. “No. It isn't. But I suspect you're going to be a little busy for the next few moments.” He pointed a chipped blade toward us.

  The quality of the blade might have made it less threatening if the rust clinging to it didn't make me fear getting some weird disease from it.

  Maude casually put on the claws, then disconnected the chain linking them.

  “My name is, Duke Mellor. And this night spells your doom, mouse!” He crouched down and kept his blade raised just over his head. “Prepare yourself!” He launched himself at Maude. “En gua-”

  She deflected the blade to her side, away from me. She used her other hand to grab the back of his head, kicked his leg out from under him, and slammed his skull against the metal stairs.

  The cheap material bent immediately from the impact. He slowly pushed himself up. Maude stomped down on the back of his skull. Repeatedly.

  I slowly shrunk back as the man sunk into the staircase.

  When Maude came to a halt she was breathing heavily. “Alright. Let's finish the rest of them.”

  “What do you mean we?”

  “I said 'let's'!” She tossed his sword at me. “Just swing that at anyone who moves near you.”

  I grasped at the grip, but it fumbled out of my hand immediately. “Crap.” It clattered across the ground.

  “Except me, of course,” Maude added as she leapt off the final step and toward the circle of scrap-cultists.