Arthur remained half leaning on Nyssa, as Theobold and Augustus moved around looking at tables.
“What do you think?” He asked Theobold, who shrugged. “Can we transport them with the rickshaw?”
“Provided we’re not transporting people at the same time.”
Nearby, Augustus picked up two chairs with ease and moved over to Nyssa. She smiled, and made a gesture as she and Arthur sat in them. He tried not to let the relief show on his face. His head aching as he half collapsed into it.
“Do you think the place will still be here if we all leave?” Arthur tried to keep his focus as he asked the question.
“You’d know more about magic than we would,” Nyssa said.
Her voice was teasing, but he could hear the undercurrent of worry that it held. She was looking at him, tense as though primed to grab him if needed. Augustus didn’t seem to want to move far away either as he let out a worried squeak.
“I’ll be fine.” He tried to smile, but it felt weak even to him. “My shoulder doesn’t hurt that much.”
Theobold turned at that as though seeing him for the first time. “It’s broken. Bad. Did they do that?”
“Augustus did, actually.” Arthur raised a hand to forestall any additional comments. "Let me explain while you pack up the dishes. Maybe grab some of the chairs if we can. It’ll be nice to be able to sit behind the counter for a change.”
That got a snort from Nyssa, as she stood and moved over to grab one of the tablecloths. There were plenty of choices left, and even the ripped one might be able to be repaired by the box.
As they worked, he explained to Theobold what happened. He kept his explanation short, not wanting to go into details about what he saw in the gas. Though, that didn’t stop him from warning him about the demon’s effects, or the rage he’d felt during it.
“You said you felt that even before the gas?” Theobold asked, pausing in his work. “Do you think?”
“The compound? With the invisibility it’s possible.” His brain seemed to kick into gear at that, and he paused. “Sienna said the guards were fighting. What if they’ve been visiting her?”
“The demons?”
“Yeah. She keeps doling out information. What if she’s being fed the intel for some reason?”
No one was packing anything away now, instead they simply stared at him.
“Why?” Nyssa finally broke the silence.
“I… I actually don’t know.”
Augustus snorted at that, but Theobold looked worried. “Should we go back and warn them?”
“Yes,” Arthur said. “Plus, some defenses for the store. The last thing we need is for them to be sneaking in undetected.”
“Um...” Nyssa looked towards Augustus and Theobold who were both watching him. “Question.”
“Shoot.”
“Who's watching the store right now?”
Arthur jumped out of his seat, his head feeling like he slammed it against a brick wall. For a moment he started to sway, but Augustus was there to catch him and guide him back down. Augustus held up a hand.
“Don’t fret, boss. I took care of it.”
“How?”
“Jemima and George wanted to talk to you. They promised to look after things.”
His breathing relaxed as he nodded. “Ok, good. That’ll be. Good. Let's get this finished up then. Get back.”
“You got it,” Theobold said as Augustus squeaked in agreement.
He sat and watched them work in silent amazement as they stripped the tables bare. Plates were stacked neatly, and glasses bundled with care. Soon, he had enough that he could serve at least half of his customers at a time.
He couldn’t help but smile as he thought of the sewer dwellers and the knights sharing a table. Plates of crocodile meat and potatoes being served by a smiling Lucy and surly Billy. Thomas was young, but they had a small area he could wash dishes in.
This could work, provided he could make the money to keep them on.
“Ready to go.” Theobold reported when everything was packed up. Arthur nodded, and with Nyssa and Augustus’s help made his way to the rickshaw. Once they’d helped him climb up, he did his best to keep the stacked dishes and glasses together while they lashed a chair to the back.
There was just one problem.
Augustus stared at the seat, and shook his head.
“You can fit,” Arthur said as Nyssa started shifting things around to try and make room.
Augustus squeaked, and pointed to the bags.
“So, what. You’ll stay here?”
Augustus nodded, and hefted his rebar before pointing to the seat sitting by the door.
“You need healing though.”
Another squeak.
“Fine. We won’t be long. I’ll send Theobold right back. If someone attacks you, run. This stuff isn’t worth dying for.”
A salute and a squeak and Augustus trundled back to his chair. His piece of rebar dragging along the ground as Theobold pushed the pedals to get them started.
The trip was slow, Theobold doing his best not to hit any potholes or cause any unnecessary vibrations. Arthur was thankful for that, as the further they got away from the restaurant the more his arm hurt.
At first, it was a simple increase to the aching he was already experiencing. Then it started to become a sharp stabbing pain. By the time the store was in view, he was gritting his teeth and trying his best to think about anything else. The only upside was his head hurt less.
Through tear filled eyes he saw two figures walk out of the door. Both waving. Pressure from his side was moved as Nyssa grabbed the bag at the same time he heard hooves hit the asphalt.
Arms lifted him, and with speed he was taken into the store amid shouted questions. Arthur ignored it all, his only focus on getting to the box.
Not that he found much relief when he was finally placed inside with Theobold closing the lid on him.
***
His shoulder started to feel better immediately, though he knew it would take a while to fix.
A while that would be spent in the dark. Memories of the last time he’d tucked himself in here surfaced. Fear and anxiety filled him as he remembered the unexploded bomb. In the darkness he could see it. The round ball sitting in the tube, light shining as it readied itself to blow.
“Will it hold?” he remembered thinking. “Will my box? What about the store? If it blows the entire thing up everything will be for nothing.”
Arthur focused on his breathing as he felt his shoulder shift. There was no pain as the bone moved aside from a dull ache.
“Am I going to die again?”
Without thinking his foot lashed out and he kicked the lid. It didn’t budge. He punched it, and slammed a hand against it in a slap. Neither worked.
“Let me out!” Arthur cried out as he fought against his panic.
No one opened the lid, and the box didn’t so much as budge. Whatever magic was being used didn’t appear to plan on letting him out until the process was complete. Never before had he appreciated how long fifteen minutes could feel.
The darkness almost felt alive, and he scrunched his eyes shut.
Then there was light. The lid shifted just a touch, and Nyssa was standing there. Her hair was disheveled and she was shaking. Fear etched onto her furred face. He almost didn’t notice as he scrambled out of the box.
It took longer than he would have liked to get his breathing under control enough to ask the obvious question.
“What’s wrong.”
“Pydes is outside. On the street.”
“What?” Arthur started at her, unable to understand what she was saying. What do you mean?”
“I mean he’s on the ground. Enraged. Everyone else is frozen, and he sent me down to get you.” Her voice was trembling as she spoke, and Arthur nodded.
“Ok. I’ll go see what he wants. Do you want to stay here?”
She nodded so hard that for a minute he thought she would hurt herself. With a smile, he placed a hand on her shoulder. His eyes met hers, and he smiled doing his best to banish any of his residual anxiety about being in the box.
That wasn’t important right now.
“Hey. It’ll be fine. Stay here, alright? I’ll come get you when he’s gone.”
With one last smile he turned and started to make his way up the ladder. Inside the store, people were standing around like statues. George and Jemima were standing in the center of the room. Both armed as they looked at each other.
Theobold was sitting on the bike, already looking as if he was about to leave. Then he noticed the chair behind the counter. Arthur smiled as he paused to look down at it. With one hand, he traced the wooden back, and soft cushion.
That was when he heard the disgruntled growl coming from the outside. When he looked over, he saw Pydes, standing on the street staring at him. Plumes of black smoke wafted from beneath bared teeth. His glare could have boiled water, and his entire body was positioned as he was about to attack.
“Come here.”
The roar was loud enough Arthur grabbed his hat to stop it from flying off. He blinked at the voice, but complied. Though, he needed to force each step, feeling as if his legs were filled with cement.
“Angry dragons are not as cool or fun as in my books,” he thought as he made his way to the door.
“Hi Pydes. Welcome to Apocalypse Assortments. How can—”
“Do not joke with me!” Asphalt cracked as Pydes stalked towards him. Arthur coughed as the black smoke blew into his face as the dragon continued to yell. “Where did you go? What did you find? Tell me!”
“Calm down.” He regretted the words even as they reflexively left his lips.
Pydes roared again, and shoved him backwards. Pain blossomed along his back as the dragon leaned over him. His veins turned to ice as he stared into those blue eyes. So, non-human in a way he didn’t notice before. Power, fear and rage, radiated from the beast in front of him. From the sharp teeth to the scales that reflected his own scared face back to him.
“Tell. Me. Where. They. Came. From.”
Each word was punctuated with another blast of smoke. It stung his eyes, and he started to tear up.
“What? Which bit?” His mind raced as he tried to come up with what he meant, but the pain and fear made it difficult. “The chair?”
“No, not the chair, human!” Pydes snorted and Arthur was sure he saw flames at the back of his throat. “The coins. That bag. Tell me. NOW!”
“I got it looting a demon.”
Pydes froze, not even seeming to breathe as he stared down at him. His mouth partly open, giving Arthur a good view of his pointed teeth. Then his tail whipped out, causing a cracking sound that caused Arthur to twitch.
He wanted to scream, but his throat refused to co-operate.
“Stand up!”
A part of his mind wanted to mention that Pydes was nearly on top of him. That part was ignored as he scrambled backwards into the store, and rose to his feet. With bated breath, he watched as the dragon started to quiver.
“Did you say demons?”
“Y-yes.” Arthur winced as his voice cracked on the word. One part of him screamed for him to run, while the other begged for him to stand still. A memory of watching Jurassic Park and the advice about the T. rex came to mind.
He knew it didn’t work the same with Pydes, he did everything in his power to stand still regardless.
“There are demons here, and they dropped these coins?”
“Yes.”
Pydes roared, the sound a mix of anger and triumph, before he turned back to Arthur.
“What do you know about them?”
His entire body shaking from the primal roar, he tried to think back to the item description. It was fuzzy in his mind. However, he thought he remembered the general gist.
“They're demonic counterfeits designed to fake being golden pennies?”
“Exactly!” Pydes snarled. “Fakes! False currency designed to infect and destroy her hoard. Charmed to consume her gold when it comes into contact with it, before it replicates. I caught the magic when it entered our system and destroyed it before it could infect your hoard. It’s a foul trick. His magic always is. The one who betrayed our Mother. Did these demons do anything else suspicious?”
“The demons? No. But the cultists we met with did. They had a briefcase that acted the same as my box.”
Pydes’s shot him a feral grin and crouched down. “A shopkeepers bag? Interesting. Tell me everything Arthur, and don’t leave a thing out. If you have the information she seeks, you’re going to be a very rich man.”
His throat still sore from inhaling the smoke, Arthur nodded before he started to recount what had happened.204Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8SyBVgPu19
