Attack on an Evil God
by Ásgrímur Hartmannsson
Maggi, a university student, accepts an offer to join the Lookout Beaver Club for something to do in his spare time. The club is dedicated to thaumaturgical research, which Maggi views with skepticism. He soon finds himself threatened by supernatural creatures, magical robots, and malicious goons working for a high government official who has ties to other entities not of this universe.
Chapter 8: Unbelievers
Maggi and Anna were having a chat over lunch the following day.
“How do you think they did that?” Maggi asked her.
“I don’t know. I phoned the police. I know I did; they answered me very seriously.”
“Maybe Hansi and Freyja hypnotized us. They may be master hypnotists.”
“But I made the call. It’s on my call log.”
“Maybe they have some influence with the police. You’ve seen how Hansi lives; he’s got money. Maybe he has influence.”
“Should we be meeting those people? They seem to be up to something.”
“I don’t know. They might be. In that case, we might be the only ones able to stop them.”
Maggi told her about the others he had spoken with.
“Are they any better?”
“I doubt it. They didn’t give us a book.”
“True.”
Maggi and Anna decided to look for those other guys. They found them on the steps outside.
“You stole the robot from them,” said Maggi.
“We confiscated it,” said Fura.
“Hansi tells me it’s the same thing.”
“Well, he wasn’t gonna use it.”
“And you really think it’s going to work?”
“We know it will. Magic always works.”
“Okay, humor me: how will you set it off?”
“It just needs a soul to control it. The hardware that controls the soul is already in place.”
“And you know this to be the right hardware?”
“We all know who built the machine. He was a devout scholar. I am sure he studied this closely, and the machine will function well and true.”
“Aha. If you say so. How come he did not turn it on himself, then?”
“Maybe he didn’t have the stomach for the sacrifice. It needs a human sacrifice. A human soul needs to be bound to it for it to work. An animal soul simply will not suffice.”
“Are you planning to sacrifice one of your own for this nonsense?”
“A small price to pay for the elimination of all fascists.”
“And you have volunteers lining up?”
“We will.”
“It is for the greater good,” said Runni, who was still wearing his black face covering, even though it wasn’t that cold outside.
Maggi and Anna decided against giving those two any information, and left.
“Everybody is a psycho,” Maggi said.
“We should report them to the police.”
“I’m not sure we can do that. They seem to have the same powers.”
“We can try. Can you remember his address?”
Maggi gave it to her, and Anna made the call.
* * *
Four police officers knocked on Runni’s door, and asked to be let in. They had brought a dog. The dog spun around in agitation once inside, prompting them to make a thorough search of the apartment.
The long box with the mara caused them to wonder. The dog looked scared of it and refused to go near it. Runni didn’t breathe a word when they took the lid off and peered inside. What they saw inside confused them, but they decided it was the effect of the bad atmosphere in the room and decided to get out before it got worse.
While two policemen took the dog to the the back yard to have a sniff around, the other two asked Runni some questions in their car. Since they had found nothing in his room or garden that looked vaguely illegal, they had to let him go. Runni smiled as they disappeared around a corner, and he went back inside.
Proceed to Chapter 9...
Copyright © 2017 by Ásgrímur Hartmannsson
