Vices and Maces

Chapter 10: Virgil Wants a New Job

Janus carried a bag of groceries into the lab, looking for Virgil and finding him where he had been all week since Black had visited. Working on the laser gun, except this time there was a target across from it with charred marks around it.

Virgil had purple scales running along his neck, and small black horns on his forehead twisting around the side of his head. But his wings or tail weren't out, so he wasn't that stressed yet. For now at least.

"Dude, when was the last time you took a nap?" Janus asked, setting the bag down and walking over.

"Um... yesterday I think," Virgil answered.

"Do you even know what day it is?"

Virgil stopped and counted on his fingers. "Thursday. I only have a day left to finish this."

"I'm surprised you even know what day it is."

"I have a window, I know when it gets dark." Virgil gestured to it. "I know when night comes. I've been working on this stupid laser for four days."

Janus looked at the target. "It looks like it works."

"But the accuracy isn't good, and most of the lasers were destroyed with the first shot! Then I have to build the gun and the battery for it all over again. The barrel is made out of titanium, which was really hard to make by the way, but it's the only metal the magic has yet to destroy."

Janus watched Virgil's hands move with ease, as if they've done these movements hundreds of times. They probably have, considering the amount of weapons he has created. In just a few minutes, he was putting the battery into the gun before grabbing the fire crystal. He had broken off several pieces, shaving them down to fit neatly into the gun. He carefully set the fire crystal into the laser, keeping his hands steady. As soon as it was in he closed the area around the crystal off.

"Okay, let's see if it works this time," he said, pulling his goggles down.

"I hope it does so you can sleep," Janus mumbled, grabbing a welding mask and sliding it on.

Virgil had finally created a trigger for it, aiming the laser at the target. He pulled the trigger and there was a loud blast like an explosion, but instead of a beam or fireball, the explosion blasted through the end of the barrel and died.

"Dammit!" he shouted, tearing off his goggles. He opened the laser despite the burning metal, finding the battery had exploded, shattering the inside of the laser and even the crystal. He growled, smoke coming from the side of his mouth.

"Okay, break time!" Janus told him.

"I don't need a break, I need this to work! What am I doing wrong?" Virgil grabbed his notebook and looked over his notes.

Janus rolled his eyes and grabbed the bag of groceries, pulling out two ramen noodle cups. They walked over to the coffee machine and turned it on, letting the water that was already inside boil.

Virgil sat down in his chair and looked through his notes, trying to figure out why the laser wasn't working. He would pull the trigger and the battery would be pushed forward, giving the fire crystal enough energy to create a blast of fire. Maybe it wasn't concentrated enough... He looked over to Janus who started to fill up the two cups of ramen noodles.

"Of course! I need a shell, like a real bullet!" he shouted, opening a drawer and digging through it.

Janus looked back at him with a confused look. "Wouldn't the barrel be enough to compress the shot?" they asked.

"No, there's too much room and there are openings for the batteries. So if I put a battery of some kind into the shell with the fire crystal, and there's a hammer that hits the back of the battery hard enough to send it forward to hit the crystal and explode like gunpowder- even better I could use gun powder instead! And it'll send the fire crystal forward like a fire bullet which could shatter on impact." Virgil slowed down as he pulled out a small scrap of metal. "This... could hurt a lot of people. If I create this... people will die."

Janus left the counter they were at and leaned against the desk. "Well, what are you going to do about it? Are you going to make something else that will kill people? Or are you going to flat out refuse to create anything else for Black."

Virgil looked at his hands. "I have to do what he tells me to, if I don't... I don't even want to think about it. Even if I manage to escape and run away... No, the consequences of that are too great. I have to do what he tells me to."

Once again Janus found themself wanting to ask what Black is holding against Virgil. He was stubborn, and yet whatever threat he faced scared him enough to create weapons.

The inventor walked over to the laser and grabbed a fire crystal, the metal under them having turned red. They didn't burn Virgil though, being a weredragon had its perks. He blew some fire onto the tip of the metal, putting the fire crystal there and bending around the bottom of the crystal. He'd have to be careful so the fire crystal wouldn't set off the gunpowder.

Janus watched as he put the crystal in water, walking over to where different bullet cartridges were. He looked through them before picking a rather long one, filling it halfway with gunpowder. He walked back to a table and grabbed some metal, putting it inside so there was a block between the gunpowder and where the crystal would go. It was shabby, but it just had to work for now.

When he was done, he grabbed the crystal from the water. It steamed off from the heat as he put the bullet together. Then he pulled out a small pistol from his coat that Janus didn't even know was there. Thankfully it was empty, and Virgil took it apart so the bullet he created would fit.

He aligned it with the hammer, pulling it back as he aimed towards the target. Janus held their breath, Virgil could withstand heat, but not an explosion. So if that exploded in his face...

But when Virgil pulled the trigger it didn't explode. The shot was loud, but the bullet hit the target with full force, creating a small explosion on impact. The target caught fire, a hole in the middle of it, smaller ones surrounding. The wall behind it was concrete, but even that had a dent.

"It worked!" Janus shouted, grabbing Virgil's shoulder and shaking him. "See? Now you can take a break before you get to working on more of those bullets and a gun for them."

Virgil sighed as he set the pistol down on the table. He didn't look as excited as Janus. "Yeah... a small break sounds nice."