The helicopter takes a sharp turn, banking left at great speed. I feel my stomach turn, but I suspect that this is not due solely to the helicopter’s rather rapid movement. Indeed, I fear that at the end of this journey I am going to come face to face with the very epitome of everything I hate in this world. Worse still, I cannot even stand up to Mr. Glass when I meet him, for today I learned that I am a coward.
Thirty
“I recognize this place,” I say several hours later, as I step out of the helicopter and see a set of ruins rising up high above us. “Where are we?”
“Lindisfarne,” Jerry replies. “Mr. Glass has always had an affinity for the place. When it became available after the collapse of civilization, he decided to move here. He’s had the most wonderful home built for himself and his family, combining modernity with the ancient ruins of the old abbey.”
As he speaks, I realize that I can indeed make out glinting glass and metal running between the ruined abbey walls. I came to Lindisfarne once when I was a child, and I remember my father attempting to tell me all about the Viking raids that ruined this place. I was too young to really absorb the tale at the time, but I do recall being awestruck by the sight of what remained of the abbey. Now it seems that this Mr. Glass fellow has put his own stamp on the place, and the result is singularly hideous.
A grander example of opulent bad taste, I cannot possibly imagine.
“We are entering the age of barbarians,” I whisper.
“And here’s Mr. Glass himself,” Jerry announces, as I turn to see a man in a dark suit coming to meet us. “He’s very pleased to see you, Mr. Harrisford. Oh, here—”
He thrusts my guitar into my hands.
“You should be holding this,” he explains. “It looks a lot better.”
“Now this is a sight for sore eyes,” Glass says as he reaches us and holds out a hand for me to shake. His eyes are hidden behind dark glasses. “A real musician, for the first time in more than five years. Mr. Harrisford, I must admit that I was beginning to lose hope that such a rare thing could still exist. You’re priceless, absolutely priceless.” He takes my hands and shakes it firmly, even though it was not offered. “And I mean that in the most literal sense.”
“I imagine that Mr. Harrisford is tired,” Jerry suggests. “He hasn’t slept at all during the night.”
“Then you must be shown to your room at once,” Glass replies, taking a step back and looking me up and down, as if he’s admiring my presence. “I want you to be fully rested before you give us the honor of a performance. I trust that Jerry and his men have been treating you well?”
“Actually,” I reply coldly, “they murdered my friend.”
Glass hesitates, before lowering his sunglasses slightly to reveal a pair of piercing blue eyes.
“I beg your pardon?” he says.
“Your associate here killed my friend in cold blood,” I explain. “For no other reason than that he refused to do as he was ordered.”
“Is that so, Jerry?” Glass asks, turning to him. “I thought we discussed this.”
“It was self-defense,” Jerry replies. “I’m sorry, Mr. Glass, but I did what was necessary in order to acquire the asset. If I hadn’t, I’d probably still be there arguing with him now.”
“I see,” Glass replies, before putting a hand on my arm and trying to lead me toward the path that leads to his home. “Please, come with me,” he continues. “You’ll be looked after, I assure you. Whatever hardships you’ve endured over the past five years, they are over now. Your miraculous survival is going to be well-rewarded.” He reaches into one of his pockets. “And I can assure you that nothing else will happen that might unsettle you in any manner.”
With that, he pulls out a gun and turns, and I watch in horror as he aims at Jerry and then fires. He hits the man straight in the forehead, blasting a chunk out of his brain and sending Jerry falling back and crashing to the ground.
“Again, my apologies for Mr. Sudbury’s actions,” Glass says as he calmly puts the gun back into his pocket. “As you can see, I do not tolerate that sort of thing. Jerry disobeyed my orders by hurting your friend, and I can only hope that this trauma will not harm your playing in any manner.”
Staring down at Jerry’s body, I watch as two uniformed men come and pick him up. They carry him away, heading toward the beach as if they mean to simply dump him into the water.
“Please, come,” Glass continues, touching my arm again. “I think you’ll be very surprised when you see what I’ve created here.”
This time, too dazed to really resist, I let him lead me along the path. I’m still holding the bodged-together guitar that I fixed back at the farm.
“The first thing you must understand,” Glass says, “is that you’re not here for me. Not really. I’ll explain later, but you’re here for the future. For the future that I intend to create. I don’t know whether you’re aware, Mr. Harrisford, but we didn’t simply lose the music in our world. It was taken from us. My men have been examining the evidence, and it’s quite clear that creatures of some sort came here and stole our music.”
“Yes, I’m quite aware of that,” I reply.
“So many people lost their minds,” he continues, “but I see that as a sort of culling of the herd. The weak are gone, Mr. Harrisford, and now the likes of you and I are left to propel the world forward. Really, we should be grateful to those creatures. Whatever they were, and wherever they took the music, they most likely did us a great favor. Do you remember how music was everywhere? The night that it was taken, I was holding a concert in London, and I was astonished to realize that most of my guests were ignoring the music itself. They were too busy talking. Music became something for the background, something we took for granted. And now?”
Ahead, two more uniformed men open a door at the front of the building.
“Now music is the most precious thing around,” Glass adds. “More precious than gold, more precious than diamonds. And you possess it, don’t you? You’re one of the very few people in the world who can still play, even if your gift will only last for a few more minutes. That’s why I had you brought here, to my villain-like lair. Something so precious must be cared for and used only when it can give the maximum possible benefit to the world. Now, what do you think of my home?”
Stepping into the foyer, I look around and see vast glass windows that stretch between the ancient ruins of the abbey. Even the roof is glass, as if this Mr. Glass fellow has an unhealthy obsession, and I can’t help but feel that this whole place is utterly sterile.
“Actually,” I say, turning to him, “I think it’s a disgusting travesty. Even the Vikings showed this place more respect.”
He stares at me for a moment, as if shocked, and then he smiles.
“A perfect answer,” he replies finally, patting me on the shoulder. “Truly perfect, Mr. Harrisford. If you’d lied and said you liked it, I would have been very disappointed. I trust you will be able to make yourself comfortable, however. You must rest now, and later you will bless us all with your gift.”
I look around for a moment, unable to ignore the goons in uniforms who seem to be guarding the place, and then I turn back to Mr. Glass.
“And what makes you think,” I say cautiously, “that I will play anything for you?”
“Because when you realize why I have brought you here, and for whose benefit,” he replies, “you will have no other choice.”
Thirty-One