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He pulls a metal strongbox from under the table and takes a set of keys from his pocket. I’ve never seen so many keys in one place at one time. He flips through them, makes a face, and tosses them on the table. He gets out an identical set from his other pocket. A lot of the keys on this ring are bigger and older. He finds one that’s so thick with rust, it’s more like a twig that’s been laying in the water and is covered with barnacles. He jams the thing into the strongbox lock and turns. It scrapes, groans, and whines, but after a minute of really laying into the thing, the box pops open. He reaches inside and pulls out a twelve-sided crystal and hands it to me. I hold it up to the light and look inside. Two pinheads, one white and one black, circle around each other in the center.
“What is it?”
“A Singularity. An infinitely hot, infinitely dense dot. Well, the two halves of it. Apart they’ll circle eternally, but when they come together . . .” He raises his hands and makes the sound of an explosion with his cheeks. “In common parlance, it’s the Big Bang. You gave me the end of the universe, so I’m giving you the beginning. I spirited it away with me when I left the family.”
I heft the thing in my hand. It’s light. Maybe half a pound. It seems kind of light for a universe.
“This was your hedge, wasn’t it? In case you were wrong about me and I did set off the Mithras. If I killed off this universe, you could start it up again.”
He closes the strongbox and puts it back under the table.
“I have a great deal of faith in you, but I’ve learned that it’s always smart to have a backup plan.”
“If you set off the Singularity, would it restart this universe or start another?”
“There’s no way of telling until it happens. And in the end, does it really matter?”
“Not to me. Though I might miss cigarettes.”
He points at the crystal in my hand.
“If you run into one of my brothers down there, give it to him. Do me this favor and I’ll owe you a favor down the line.”
He gets out a bottle of wine. Muninn always likes to seal a deal with a drink. It’s one of the reasons he’s good to do business with.
“In the meantime, keep the crystal safe. There’s only one. Now, is there anything I can give you to help you on your journey?”
He pours us wine in two highball glasses with dancing girls etched into the sides. I feel like I’m in the Rat Pack.
“What have you got? I don’t know what I’m going to be walking into down there.”
Muninn rummages through a box of random junk on the corner of the table and pulls out something the size of an acorn. He sets it on the table and drinks his wine. The thing is small and speckled.
I say, “It looks like an egg.”
Muninn nods.
“It is. The creature it comes from doesn’t live in this dimensional plane, but don’t worry. It’s no more exotic than an archaeopteryx, so the egg is completely edible.”
“Does that mean if I keep it warm, I’ll get a flying lizard?”
Muninn’s eyes brighten.
“Wouldn’t that be lovely? No, the egg has medicinal properties. If you’re hurt, it will help you heal and dull the pain. It has a very tough shell, so don’t feel you have to be delicate with it. Just toss it in a pocket. If you need it, put it between your teeth and bite down hard. I’ve heard they taste rather sweet. Like white chocolate.”
“You’ve never tried one?”
“I’ve never been hurt.”
If I had more time, I’d definitely want to hear more about that, but I don’t.
“By the way. There’s a tasty ’55 or ’56 Bonneville parked outside on Broadway. I don’t need it anymore and the people I took it from don’t deserve it. It would look good in your collection.”
“You’re too good to me,” he says, and comes around the table. “I’ll be sure to collect it before it’s towed away.”
I drop the egg in my coat pocket and get up.
“I have some packing to do, so I should get going.”
