‘There’s an antique shop that I used to go, and I am not sure I can find it anymore.’
‘What do you mean, Thomas? Did it go out of business?’
‘The street doesn’t seem to be there anymore. I am not sure what to do about it.’
‘What was the name of the street?’
‘Dull Street.’
‘Dull Street?’
‘Yes, it was between Calibre and Skotch.’
‘OK, ran from Fortnum up to Taschen?’
‘Yeah.’
‘And the name?’
‘I heard it was twinned with a place called Shine Street.’
‘Jesus, that’s odd, I was reading about that the other day – all the gang troubles and everything.’
‘Yeah, that’s the place that got me thinking about Dull Street.’
‘So, what was the shop called?’
‘Arthur’s Anachronisms.’
‘And why did you want to find it?’
‘I wanted to see if he had any more these,’ he said, as he held up a little mechanical flower.
‘That thing smells weird.Like aniseed or something.’
Thomas laughed, said goodbye, and went out for a stroll. There was a man who stood at the end of the street who smiled at him, and then dropped into step behind him.
‘Are you following me?’
‘Sure. I wanted to tell you how to get to the shop.’
‘OK, why? Who are you?’
‘My name is Carter Brecht, and I am a Reality Engineer.’
The shop was different to how he remembered it, but the sign still had that ornate fancy lettering on it. The man was wearing a fez, and he had a little moustache.
‘Hello, Gentlemen, my name is Mr Amber, I have something for you, Mr Kamera, that you told me to bring to you next time you were in.’
Mr Amber stooped below the counter, and came up holding a sword.
‘A sword?’
‘A wordsword. Gram, they call it – belonged to Odin. You will see a light bulb going off when you hold it.’
‘A light bulb?’ he said, as a light bulb went off above his head. Darkness descended upon Thomas Kamera.
– * –
Watts awoke, as if from a dream.