Lux barely had time to blink before he collided with a figure even larger than Novgar, a slab of green muscle, two jagged tusks jutting from an underbite, hands like vices. For a split-second Lux’s brain fizzed with the thought, must be from Novgar’s planet. He opened his mouth, an apology half-formed, but the giant moved faster. A thick hand seized Lux’s chin, clamping tight, pinning his head.

  “Melkov thinks you must be something special,” the giant rasped, his grin wide and twisted. Fear spiked Lux’s spine. Before he could make a sound, the hand shifted, muffling his mouth, a second arm swept around Lux’s ribs and the ground fell away beneath his dangling feet.

  The large man started walking. “Melkov, I don’t think taking him is a good idea,” a voice warbled nearby, trembling with nerves. The other invisible, the hand was locked too tight for Lux to turn his head.

  “Melkov is strong, they won’t interfere,” Melkov boomed, certainty vibrating through Lux’s bones.

  “No, Melkov, I think I recognise that person. I think it is better to let this human go,” the companion pleaded.

  Lux could only tremble. His lungs squeezed tight, breath rushing in frantic, whistling bursts through his nose. The air sounded like wind through a cracked window. Terror gnawed at him. “Holy shit, he was really being kidnapped!” sprouted in his head.

  His vision shimmered on the edge of blackness, panicked, his mother’s voice surfaced from the haze, “kick and run.”

  Kick and run. That advice had saved him before. Lux’s limbs came alive, writhing and twisting as he slipped an inch downward from the grip, a surge of determination set his nerves alight. He ratcheted up the struggling, and as the grip slid another fraction looser, he snapped his foot down as hard as he could.

  Pain jolted up his shin, a bellow exploded above him, and suddenly the world spun. He was free, tumbling to the gritty street. Lux landed, wild-eyed, scanning for threats.

  The green giant roared, cursing. Lux almost laughed when he saw the oaf wrestling his own leg, knee clearly dislocated. He’d actually done it. “Kick and run for the win! That’s definitely going in the mental highlight reel,” Lux thought furiously, already scrambling past the howling Melkov.

  “Novgar! I have an enemy!” Lux screamed, voice cracking with urgency as he bolted.

  His words worked like a spell. Novgar, mid-argument with Magenta, whipped around instantly. Their gazes locked. Novgar’s lips split open in a wild, jagged grin. “Novgar of the Bluehill Boulder Tribe will smite Lucky Charm’s enemy!” His roar shook the stones.

  The instant familiarity in Novgar’s voice hit Lux like cool water, he had no idea when he’d started feeling safe around the green-skinned giant, but there it was.

  Novgar unsheathed his sword and in a green blur he was at Lux’s side. “Point Novgar towards the enemy that needs smiting!” Lux raised a shaking hand, finger aimed at the green mountain of muscle now limping toward them. Melkov had already jerked his knee back with a sickening crunch, now those furious red eyes locked on Lux’s outstretched finger.

  Novgar didn’t waver or even blink at the size of his foe. He launched himself at Melkov, the street echoing with a metallic clang as their weapons clashed. Melkov wielding a monstrous cudgel, Novgar his massive sword.

  Crowds scattered, forming a ring to watch the violence unfold. Lux gnawed his nails as the titans collided again and again. Melkov’s bulk made Lux nervous for Novgar’s safety, but as the fight stretched on, Novgar’s advantage became impossible to ignore. Blood streaked Melkov’s arms and chest, the heavy stink of it hung over the cobblestones.

  Then, mid-swing, a pulse of white light swallowed both combatants. They vanished. Lux’s jaw dropped. “What the hell?”

  Magenta stamped her foot. “Why activate now, they were right at the exciting part!” She glared at the patch of empty air.

  “Magenta, what activated?” Lux latched onto her words, desperate for a foothold in the confusion.

  She turned her black eyes on him. “Ah, that’s right, you’ve never seen Magical City Security before. They got taken to jail.” She said it as if it were nothing. “Novgar is in jail?” Lux pressed, eyebrows shooting up.

  “Yes, if you fight inside a city, you will be taken to jail,” Magenta replied, like he’d asked whether water was wet. “You don’t have to worry about that, my dear future husband. If you ever got in a fight, you’d be dead before the magic could activate.” She drew her thumb across her throat, smile sharp.

  Her words sent a chill down his arms. Not wrong, Lux thought. Then guilt hit him in the gut: “Why did it not activate when I was kidnapped?”

  “It would have, just slower. Magic’s tuned to violence, so fights get stopped fastest. For kidnapping or other crimes, there’s a lag,” Magenta explained with a shrug.

  Lux’s stomach churned. Would Novgar have been spared jail if he hadn’t called for help? Would the magic have fixed things on its own? “How long will he be detained?” he asked.

  Magenta’s unconcerned expression made him feel a little better. “Not for long. Novgar will just pay the fine and should be out by the end of the day. Unless he tries to kill the other Large Worlder as soon as he’s released.” She tutted.

  Lux frowned. “Why would he get himself sent back to jail as soon as he’s released?” But the answer was already forming in his brain.

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  Magenta rolled her eyes. “Seriously, you need to ask? You pointed at that guy and declared him your enemy. Novgar’s the sort to chase that man to the ends of the world to kill him.”

  Lux covered his face with his hands. Did he just sign someone’s death warrant by accident? “Magenta, can we go and see Novgar in jail?”

  She shook her head. “Only if you get arrested, too. The earliest we’ll see him is when he’s released.”

  “Then can we pick him up from the jail?” Lux wanted to intercept Novgar as soon as the man was freed. He didn’t want to give time for murder.

  Magenta nodded. Then, as if the previous conversation had never happened, she clapped her hands together. “Want to look at more temporary housing?”

  Lux agreed, but while waiting, his mind kept drifting back to Novgar and Melkov and the whole ridiculous mess. There wasn’t anything else to do except kill time.

  He turned his gaze to the colossal white arena at the city’s centre. “Can we look inside the dungeon building without entering the dungeon?” He still burned with curiosity about the place. Magenta said yes, so soon Lux was following her through sweeping arched doors into a world of marble and eerie precision.

  White stone, gleaming and unblemished, stretched away in every direction, polished to a near-blinding glow. It was so clean, so perfectly smooth, Lux wondered if dirt had ever existed inside the place.

  The walls soared upwards, walls interrupted by cavernous arched recesses. In each sat a black porthole, a slick, liquid-looking circle that rippled faintly, even when untouched.

  Above, a thick marble balcony traced the colosseum’s shape. Bright white balustrades ran along its edge, catching sunlight and tossing silvery halos down into the open air below. Stairways curved upward, connecting floors in elegant coils. It all felt more like a temple than a public building.

  Lux watched as people, singly or in groups, stepped into the black portholes and disappeared. “Are those the entrances to the dungeon?” His finger pointed, curiosity burning.

  “Yes, you go into the dungeon from inside the building. Exits are outside,” Magenta confirmed.

  At the centre of the vast hall, a mob of people was clustered in orderly lines around a black marble ring. Behind the marble were attendants, all in smart black uniforms, each working briskly with customers.

  Lux watched the ritual, card and coins presented, put on the stone, coins gone and in their place, a token. Both the card and token handed back. “Is the token used to enter the dungeon?” he guessed.

  “Correct. The token opens the porthole. Without it, you touch the porthole and get zapped. The card is your identification from the Dungeon Guild. You can’t even get in unless you’ve proven you can survive inside.” Magenta drew out her own card, showing off her photo on a black background. “See? Black means I can enter any dungeon.”

  Lux’s eyes flicked to the other cards changing hands, he saw colours galore and realised it must be a ranking system. Apart from the people and the massive marble desk, the inside of the building was almost eerily empty, not a decoration, just the portholes, and the ceaseless flow of people.

  Light flooded the hall through the open roof. Lux guessed they had plenty of time before Novgar was due to be let out. He didn’t want to waste the city visit.

  “Magenta, I don’t think there’s anything else for me to see in here. It’s not like I’m going to enter the dungeon. Should we check out more temporary accommodations?” Lux was itching to see the luxury options.

  Magenta agreed. In a blink, he was standing in a reception parlour that seemed to have been carved by someone who’d never heard of subtlety. Beneath his feet, marble, streaked purple and gold, the latter sparkling with what Lux could swear was actual gold.

  Off to one side, a fountain ringed by lush greenery, perfuming the air with a bright, clean scent. The walls dripped with paintings, the ceiling carved so ornate it made his eyes ache.

  The staff at the desk looked like they’d stepped out of a magazine. Not only were their faces impossibly elegant, even their uniforms shimmered, tailored to perfection. Lux glanced down at his own plain clothes and almost winced. This was not going to be like the last apartment they’d visited.

  His hunch was instantly confirmed. Magenta coolly asked for a tour and was promptly turned away. She didn’t argue, just walked out the door with her jaw set tight. Three paces later, she exploded. “Damn that Novgar! With him here, no one would have dared turn us away.” Magenta’s outrage made Lux feel a pang of disappointment. He’d so wanted to see just one extravagant room, the kind of place he’d probably never step foot in again.

  Shrugging off the letdown, Lux chose a new direction. The industrial part of the city, if he couldn’t see luxury, then he wanted to see what Helidale exported. Maybe he’d find ideas for Silver City.

  The change in scenery improved his mood instantly. Factories lined the broad boulevards, chimneys belching smoke into the sky, the air humming with sawdust and hot iron. Wagons trundled past, piled high with lumber or mountains of finished chairs, tables, and beds.

  It didn’t take long for Lux to realise the city’s pride and heartbeat was furniture. District after district, from rough bar stools to cabinets opulent enough for royalty, the city turned wood into wealth.

  Magenta pointed out the blacksmiths, too, a guild that rivalled the carpenters in size, churning out weapons and armour day and night. Lux caught sight of breastplates hung like banners, sunlight glancing off polished metal.

  But it was the city’s shape that really hooked Lux. Helidale was a grid, every street straight as a ruler. Efficient, yes, but Lux couldn’t get the image out of his mind, Silver City as a fan, every major road aiming inward just like the folds of a fan its heart, the dungeon, a city designed so even the lost would always find the centre.

  By the time the sun moved, it was time to collect Novgar. Lux’s notebook bulged with ideas. They caught a green Tour Carriage, Magenta hopped out first, then Lux, onto the stone in front of a hulking ten-story building. People surged from the doors in a flood.

  “Looks like we arrived just in time. The riff raff is all being let loose,” Magenta laughed, her tone pure mischief.

  It only took a moment for the familiar green face to emerge. Novgar, swaggering, expression lighting up when he saw Lux. “Lucky Charm came to get his favourite Novgar!” The joy was contagious, Lux felt lighter just seeing the oaf. “Damn, this guy’s really grown on me,” Lux thought, almost embarrassed.

  But then Lux spotted them, other Large Worlders, trickling out behind Novgar. His heart thudded, searching for Melkov’s face. He didn’t see it thankfully. Infront of Lux, Novgar frowned, shoulders drooping in defeat.

  “Lucky Charms enemy will not be released for a long time because of the kidnapping and some other charges. I cannot smite him for at least a year,” Novgar reported, forlorn. “But don’t worry! Novgar will make a grand killing to commemorate Lucky Charms first enemy smiting! It will be spoken about all over Mystic Beau!”

  Lux felt his eyelid twitch. A grand killing?! Was this what friendship bought in this world? He immediately regretted every sentimental thought about Novgar.

  “Novgar let’s talk about this later, it’s time to go home now.” Lux decided he needed space, and time to come up with a plan to keep Novgar busy. He just knew if he didn’t try to rein Novgar in, a disaster would follow.

  When they reached Silver City, Lux slumped back to his battered house, exhaustion sinking like stones into his bones. He collapsed into bed and didn’t even dream. In the morning, his stomach’s rumble woke him, it was time to start a new day.