Big Bang Generation by Gary Russell Read Free Book Online Page A

aside and working as the well-oiled machine Bernice had trained them all to be.
    She felt a moment of pride. Her family. She had brought them together and made them a team.
    She stared over the boulder and sure enough, the blue woman and the fat man were standing there. Then stupid Professor Jaanson arrived. She listened to him.
    ‘About time! The Headless Monks said they’d send the best. I assume that’s you.’
    The fat man grunted, so the blue woman spoke. ‘I’m Kik the Assassin. This is Cyrrus Globb. You must be Jaanson Horace.’
    ‘Other way around,’ he stammered, clearly in awe of Kik the Assassin. Or in fear, Bernice wasn’t quite sure. ‘Professor Horace Jaanson,’ he corrected her. ‘And behind that door is my life’s work. The Monks want to understand it, I want to experience it.’
    ‘Why?’
    ‘Because it’s a time portal. The secrets of the universe will be mine. To activate it is a lodestone, a physical key if you like. Throughout history, it had had so many names – the Locke, the Stone of Destiny, the Glamour, the Rock of Ages, whatever. But that stone exists, so legend tells, in a million places at once because of where it is positioned at the apex of the portal. If we take it, we can sell it.’ He turned to Globb. ‘You, I assume are a conman, a thief and a blackguard, yes?’
    Globb opened his mouth, as if to protest, then shrugged. ‘Pretty much. I’m the best.’
    ‘So good you ended up in a Stormcage,’ Jaanson snapped. ‘I’m not impressed, but the Monks obviously were. So your job is to take the lodestone, the Glamour, and sell it, many times over, on the quiet, to every library, private collector, museum and idiot academician the universe over. Because you will actually have physical but worthless copies – visual echoes, if you like, from the time portal. I have studied this for years; my entire family before me, too. We all understand how the Ancients of the Universe built this and that they left it for someone with vision to exploit now they’ve passed on.’
    Globb frowned. ‘What if the one in there is actually one of these solid but worthless copies?’ It wasn’t an unreasonable question, but Jaanson was irritated by it.
    ‘Then according to legend, we actually use that and it takes us to the original Glamour – and I study that while you flog off the others. It’s very simple.’
    Kik the Assassin exchanged a look with Cyrrus Globb, but the human shrugged. ‘Yeah, OK, he’s a loony but we’re here to do a job and if he’s right, we could be billionaires by next week.’ Globb offered a hand to the Professor to shake. ‘We have a deal.’
    Jaanson didn’t return the gesture. ‘We’re not friends, Mister Globb, purely expedient to one another’s needs. Let’s not get carried away.’
    With a laugh, Kik the Assassin addressed the human professor. ‘I like your spirit, human. My job is to protect you both and get Cyrrus here back to his cell so he can be pardoned. Well, we both can be. I’ll make sure you get thisGlamour of yours. How do we get in?’
    Before Jaanson could answer, Kik the Assassin’s eyes flicked and Bernice realised with a chill they made direct contact with hers.
    Neither of the humans was aware of what Kik the Assassin had seen, but she locked gazes with Bernice, not blinking. And after a few seconds she looked away, a massive grin on her face. ‘Oh, this is going to be soooo much fun!’ she shouted.
    Globb and Jaanson looked at her strangely, wondering why she was being loud.
    ‘Apologies,’ she purred. ‘I’m just making the most of my freedom.’ She looked back at Bernice, again just slyly enough the others didn’t notice. ‘I love a challenge.’
    And Bernice moved back to the others, holding Peter’s arm.
    ‘She saw me,’ Bernice whispered.
    ‘Why isn’t she telling the others?’
    Bernice shrugged. ‘I can’t read her as well as the humans, but my guess – she’s looking for something to do that is more than