Merlin Fluffers's Arc

Chapter 2 of 1

Merlin had his style now. Soft, soft, soft, then the little knife. But two hours before the lights, he hit a new wall. His finale didn't just end sharp. It stank. The breakfast in his gut had turned, and the climax of his set carried a smell that could peel paint. He tested it backstage and gagged himself. A judge who gagged before the surprise would never laugh. He'd score last. He needed to scrub the smell without killing the sound. He found OctoRex sorting lockpicks near a steaming stone pool, the kind performers used to calm their nerves. "My finale reeks," Merlin said. "Fix the gut, you dull the pop. Keep the pop, you clear the room." OctoRex didn't look up. "Not my problem. I judge. I don't coach twice." The teeth flashed. "But soak in the hot pool. Mineral steam settles a bad stomach. Won't fix your diet." Merlin climbed in. The heat loosened his gut, but the smell held. He was ready to quit when a strange thing wandered past the pool's rim. A living ear, pink and alert, balanced on two striped legs. It stopped, tilted toward Merlin, and listened. Behind the ear came a pirate dog with a peg leg and an eye patch. He held a bright cluster of foil-wrapped candy bars. He watched the ear, not Merlin. "Captain Pi," the dog said, flat. "That thing hears a good fart three decks off. Yours is loud. And sour." He tossed Merlin a candy bar. "Eat it. Whole thing. Trust me or don't." Merlin sniffed the bar. Mint, sharp and clean. "Why help me?" "I don't," Captain Pi said. "I want quiet on my ship. You're the only thing louder than my engine." He turned to go. "Chew it an hour before. The mint cuts the rot. Sound stays." That was when a green old man shuffled up, three glowing hats stacked on his head. Stars crawled across them. He stared at the pool, not at Merlin. "Eyes," he said. A long pause. "The dog's right. Candy won't be enough." He pointed one crooked finger at the steam. "Breathe that. Deep. Right before your sharp note. The mint rides it out. The stink stays trapped in the water." "How do you know that?" Merlin asked. Eyes looked at his hats, then away. "I wait. I watch things. That's all." Merlin ate the mint bar. He soaked until his gut went calm. Then he climbed out, dripping, and braced for the test. He breathed the warm steam deep, built three soft rolls, and ended with the little knife. The smell was gone. Just the pop remained, clean and sharp. The ear bounced on its striped legs. OctoRex glanced over, and the teeth parted in that dry bark of a laugh. Merlin had a finale that landed. But Captain Pi was already waiting by the stage door, arms crossed, like a debt that hadn't been named yet.