Page 49 of Minding the Minotaur
“And what about you three?” I say brightly. “What do you do for coin?”
“I work at the Vault,” Brody says. “In security. I’ve donemore interesting work in the past, but this job means I’m near my dad, who’s disabled.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. He must really appreciate you being close by.” I send him a sympathetic look, then turn to the lion shifter. “And you, Kazmo?”
“Mechanical engineer. Mostly I maintain equipment on the lower levels.”
“And what about you, Silas?”
“Archaeologist,” Silas supplies quietly.
“Wow,” I say. “You’re both very talented.”
“Silas digs up old shit dating from before the apocalypse. And then I guard all the old shit in the Vault,” Brody scoffs.
The conversation stops briefly as our food arrives, and we tuck in. The tantarillo pickle has a delicious zesty lemony taste with a touch of heat. Nothing like the grappa, thank heavens.
I swallow a mouthful and return to the conversation. “So apart from the portal cape, what else is kept in the Vault?”
“Old useless shit.” Brody smirks sideways at Silas.
“Valuable artefacts,” Silas says stiffly.
Brody shrugs. “Egh, who knows.”
“It will prove its worth some day,” Silas counters.
Brody licks sauce off his fingers. “Silas here thinks there are things in the Vault the humans would love to get their hands on. Like the cape. He reckons it works through runes sewn into the lining.”
I frown. “Runes?”
“Yeah, spells that imbue the cape with supernatural powers,” Silas explains. “But we can’t be certain, because our knowledge of magic is almost non-existent nowadays.”
I lean forward, eager to hear more. “You have magic here?”
“Had.Once.” Silas corrects. “After the apocalypse, Earth was a melting pot. Mages, sorcerers, and witches co-existed with monsters. From the few texts we have from that era, it’sclear we were on good terms with magical beings. Their lores and spells helped monsters to prosper after the apocalypse.”
“And the humans didn’t have access to magic?” I ask.
“Not initially. There were very few humans left, and those who survived lived in small villages, eking out a meager existence. Many were dying from the pollutants they’d spread by their own hands, and procreation was not easy. Monsters on the other hand, were thriving, totally immune to the toxicity. We took pity on the humans, helped them build the first domes, and the mages and witches advised them on how to cleanse the air. For a while we all co-existed, even traded freely. But then, it’s believed a few mages crossed over.”
“Malefics,” mutters Kazmo darkly.
I glance at the four guys, who all suddenly look tight-lipped.
“Malefics?”
Silas nods. “It only takes one or two with evil intent to cause immeasurable harm. Perhaps a mage fell in love with a human, or a witch wanted to get back at one of her own by defecting. We don’t know the true story, because humans destroyed a lot of our books after the rebellion. We do know that dark alchemy was acquired by humans and used to confine monsters to the Labyrinth. At the same time, they went on a witch hunt, seeking out and killing our white witches and sorcerers, so nowadays only weak links to magic remain in those who managed to mate with other species.”
“You mean like Tippy?” I ask, remembering her introducing herself as a wixen. “She’s got witch in her ancestry, hasn’t she? Can she still practice magic?”
“If you call her green smoothies magic.” Arlo grimaces.
I rub my tight forehead. “But why would humans do that? After you helped us to survive.”
“Power, greed, envy,” Silas replies. “Monsters may not have magical powers, but we have strength and stamina. We can craft things and build things and dig out precious metalsfrom the earth. And we can breed strong, healthy younglings—something you humans find hard to do.” For the first time, Silas laughs, but it’s humorless. “Maybe the authorities were scared we’d overrun them, and mate with their women.”
I fall silent, heat creeping up my neck along with a strange feeling of unease. Finally, I ask in a hoarse whisper, “Could there still be malefics?” No-one answers. “I mean—could they still be interacting with humans?”
