Macster - The Missing Links

Virginia lay wearily in her bunk bed, pressing her hand to her eyes, trying to get back to sleep in the early morning light, when Wolf bounded down the stairs from the deck, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed (figuratively, she hoped) and bursting with energy. "Rise and shine, wakee wakee! It's another beautiful day in the Fourth Kingdom!" He howled, then rushed to her side, smiling warmly. "Did you sleep well, Virginia?"

She sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Actually, no, I just got to sleep an hour ago." She had a slight hangover, which she would not mention to Wolf.

Wolf seemed to anticipate this reaction, and chuckled, eyes gleaming. "Oh, you should have joined me on deck, sleeping under the stars. It was quite magnificent!"

Virginia gave him a cagey look and stretched, yawning. Across the cabin she could see her dad glaring blearily at Wolf, woken from his own uncertain sleep and yawning himself. As she started to climb out of the bunk, Wolf ran his eyes over her body in a way she really did not appreciate, especially not in these clothes at this time of the morning.

"You're outstandingly gorgeous in the morning." He ignored her rolled eyes and said his next words with evident pleasure. "Pert from the front...and a vision from behind...!"

Disgusted, she turned and began climbing the steps to the deck, but as she passed through the door she heard her father reprimand Wolf and paused to listen.

"Hey hey hey!"

"What?" Wolf managed to look innocent.

"Just don't look at my daughter like that." As Tony narrowed his eyes, Virginia didn't know whether to feel grateful for his protectiveness or offended by it. Probably some of each was best.

"What, was it this look, Tony?" Wolf let his tongue loll out of the corner of his mouth with exaggerated desire, panting as he demonstrated the look in question. In spite of herself Virginia smiled, and she had to restrain a giggle, until it occurred to her that look might not have been faked. His next words made it even more difficult to tell if he was serious or not. "I can't help it! It's animal passion."

As Wolf sat down on Virginia's bunk, Tony sat up halfway and sighed. "Just...look, just stay away from her, all right? You've got a criminal record."

"Well, how can I stay away from her? We're on a very small boat. I may bump into her accidentally at any given moment." He leered at Tony.

That was quite enough. She stuck her head back in the cabin and glared. "Would you stop talking about me as if I'm not here?"

Both of them jumped and stared up at her, flinching guiltily. Finally, Tony grumbled and laid back down on his bunk, and Wolf moved to join her, but Wendell, who was lying nearby on a small pallet, got there first, jumping up and heading for the steps. He called back over his shoulder, "Manservant, you need to go up on deck. Bring a bucket and a shovel."

As Prince disappeared onto the deck, Tony glared daggers after him. It was the Pooper Scooper all over again. He'd thought he'd escaped that along with New York. "First of all, I'm not your manservant," he called after the dog. "And if you think I'm going to--ow!"

In the midst of his argument, Tony had risen too far and slammed his head into the wooden overhang above the bunk. There was a massive bang, and for a moment he was afraid he'd seriously damaged something in his head. But then he saw Wolf and Virginia's awed expressions, and leaned out to see what they were looking at.

And stared.

Above the bunk, a secret compartment had been concealed, the hinged door now swinging down freely. Inside was a glass fish tank, decorated with the requisite castles and other scenery, but it held no water. And suspended in the middle was a gigantic, golden fish. It was easily ten feet long, with sharp scales and even sharper teeth extending from its widely gaping mouth.

Wolf at last broke the silence. "Cripes! What is that? Huffity-puffity..."

Tony crouched down in front of the tank, already mesmerized by the fish. He was quite the fisherman himself, but this seemed so much more than a simple fish. "That's one hell of a fish..." He noticed a plaque above the tank, and read aloud. "The Golden River Gold Fish...do you think it's magic?"

Wolf and Virginia joined him, and they all peered raptly at the amazing specimen. "Oh goodness gracious, yes!" Wolf's voice was surging with excitement. "This is the famous anything-you-touch-will-turn-to-gold fish!"

His daughter was looking at the bottom of the tank, and pointed to a smaller plaque he hadn't noticed, with a tiny red hammer underneath it. "What's this...? 'Warning. Do not break glass except in case of financial emergency.'" She frowned thoughtfully, then shrugged. Tony, meanwhile, was still looking in the tank, and had noticed something too. "Look at this." He indicated a small scroll propped up against one of the fish's fins. "'Stick a finger in my mouth, then turn around 'til you face south. Touch a thing that you would prize, and you will not believe your eyes. Here is magic to behold, all that glitters can be...gold.'"

All three of them again stared at the fish, with even more awe than before.

Tony whispered reverently. "You...really think it turns whatever you touch into gold?" His thoughts churned with all the possibilities this could lead to if it were true. He could be rich...and this time there would be no danger of the law getting involved. This was no stolen money, it was gold, simply that, ready for the taking...

Wolf interrupted his thoughts. "Well, I'm sure it does. But...we don't need to turn anything to gold...do we?" He sounded uncertain, and from the look on his face he was clearly tempted as well. Even Virginia appeared interested.

Tony tried to sound reasonable and to control his growing greed. "Well, no, but gold is gold. I mean, think about the guy that owned this boat. He was no fool. He's probably now living in the lap of luxury in some Nine Kingdoms condominium with a mountain of gold in his backyard...and everything his heart desires..."

Virginia rolled her eyes, her interest fading, while Wolf frowned, as if his logic didn't quite follow, but Tony wasn't paying attention. Instead he continued to feast on the sight of the splendid, glorious, magnificent, gleaming, burnished fish.

Abruptly Wolf rose and turned away. "Best leave it alone, Tony. Best leave it alone."

Virginia moved with him, a little relucant herself to leave the fish but knowing it was the wiser course after her close call with the magic shoes. Behind her she heard Tony murmur, and she knew he hadn't really heard Wolf. "Yeah yeah yeah...best leave it alone...Tony..."

He removed the little red hammer and stroked it along his cheek, as if it were made of gold itself.

Virginia swallowed and quickly fled to the deck. She didn't like the look in his eyes. And now she knew that Wolf was right, magic was dangerous. Especially in the wrong hands.

Like her father's. She only hoped he never gave in to his greed and used it.