God of Magic 7

by Logan Jacobs

  “Not exactly the Pacific Coast Highway,” I commented as I studied the empty road.

  “They say it used to be the busiest road on the continent when Augustine flourished,” Imogen replied.

  “All sorts of amazing things used to flow along here,” Aerin sighed. “Gold, jewelry, rare gemstones.”

  “Artists, performers, writers,” Maruk added.

  “Steel swords that rivalled anything the elves could make,” Dehn remarked.

  “And the wines that were produced,” Yvaine said dreamily.

  “Are you sure you guys are talking about a real place?” I asked.

  “Sorry,” Yvaine apologized. “You just hear all these stories, and it’s hard not to daydream, especially when you realize how close you are.”

  “How close are we?” I inquired.

  “We’ll be at the edge of the Chasm soon,” Emeline replied. “If we can make it to the town at the bottom of the cliff, we can stay there tonight.”

  “An actual room in an inn,” Maruk groaned. “Oh, be still my beating heart.”

  “We won’t get there if we stand around here all day,” Lavinia remarked as her hand drifted down to her belly. “So keep moving.”

  We resumed our journey along the remains of the TransCaaldir Highway as it continued its gradual descent. As the sun sank low in the sky, the slope gave way to a flat plateau, and I stopped in the middle of the road.

  The Great Chasm was huge.

  I’d been to the Grand Canyon, the Copper Canyon, and even the Cappertee Valley in Australia. But they had nothing on the Great Chasm. The Chasm was a deep and unending gash in the earth, a black slash across the landscape. On our side, it was green and blue and full of life. On the other side, it looked brown and gray and dead.

  The Chasm was clearly not carved by nature. No river had created those black walls or the very precise straight path. How many movies had I seen where some giant laser beam cuts through a planet and leaves just such a lasting scar? It was mind-blowing to see all that CGI brought to life.

  “I can’t believe we’re actually here,” Lena murmured.

  “Neither can I,” Emeline agreed.

  “We can still make it to the town,” Cat called out as the rest of the Shadow Foxes halted in the road to take in the view.

  “How do we get down?” Dehn asked suspiciously as he squinted at the very smooth black walls of the canyon.

  “There’s a staircase carved into the rock,” Cat replied.

  He was already walking towards another sign, though this one looked newer and regularly maintained. The writing on the sign was similar to Pars, and I had no idea what it said, but it also included an image of a gray skinned creature with large black eyes and disproportionately long arms opened wide in a welcoming gesture.

  “We’ve found Area Fifty-one,” I laughed.

  “No, this is Vima,” Imogen replied with a puzzled look.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Lavinia explained. “He says strange things sometimes. If you get really bored one night, you can ask him to explain it to you.”

  “Hey,” I protested. “My stories aren’t boring.”

  “Not at all,” Aerin agreed. “Just… strange.”

  “Yeah,” Dehn agreed. “Like that whole balloon thing.”

  “He never did tell us about those other vehicles,” Maruk pointed out.

  “Maybe I won’t,” I grumbled. “If you’re going to be that way about it.”

  “Um, I think Cat left us,” Lena cut in.

  I looked back at the sign and realized that the elf could no longer be seen. Imogen quickly trotted over to the sign and stepped over the edge of the canyon. She started to disappear from view, and I realized she was walking down a set of steps. The rest of us scurried over and started our own descent down a very long staircase.

  “So what’s the thing on the sign?” I asked when we were about halfway down the wall.

  “It’s the only reason anyone comes here,” Imogen replied. “It’s supposed to be the only creature that survives on the other side of the chasm. People come here hoping to catch a glimpse.”

  “Is it true they do tours?” Emeline asked.

  “Just short ones,” Imogen explained. “They say you get sick if you stay too long.”

  “And that’s where we’re going?” Dehn grumbled.

  “You wouldn’t want it any other way,” Lavinia replied.

  I’d never given much thought to staircases before but I was starting to hate the one we were on. It wasn’t that the steps were too narrow, or the rock too slick, nothing like that. The people who had taken the time to build this thing had created a wide, easy-to-use staircase that even included railings and plenty of landings where you could stop to catch your breath.

  But it was just so long. I was starting to have fantasies about creating a rainstorm that would turn this thing into a giant waterslide. I was seriously calculating the best way to keep everyone from plunging over the edge when I realized I was within sight of the bottom step. Cat was already on ground level, sitting on a convenient bench and watching the rest of us as we thumped the rest of the way down the stairs.

  “So, the town is called Vima,” Cat announced as the last of the Foxes made it to the floor of the canyon. “There’s not much more going on here other than tours to the other side of the canyon but most of the inns are clean and have decent food. It’s not really tourist season right now, so we can probably find rooms easily enough.”

  “How can they do tours if it’s so dangerous?” Yvaine asked as she glanced towards the wall we would climb in the morning.

  “You can only stay for short periods,” Cat replied. “People who stay too long become really sick and die. The local healers have been trying to figure out what causes the illness but so far they haven’t had any success.”

  “But we’re not the first to go looking for Augustine, surely,” Maruk insisted.

  “People who travel too far into the steppe never come back,” Cat responded. “The assumption is that the illness kills them before they make it back to the chasm.”

  “Or they found Augustine and weren’t allowed to return,” Imogen added.

  “Well, Theira sent us here,” Aerin declared, “so I’m not worried.”

  “Still,” I said, “it doesn’t hurt to take precautions. Maybe Aerin and Lena should meet with some of the local healers and gather some more information.”

  “I think I know a good place to start,” Cat replied as he finally stood up. “A woman named Mimi. She’s been a healer here for ages and at this time of day, she’ll probably be in the bar at the Purple Dove. Which also happens to have some of the more comfortable rooms in town.”

  “And the food?” Maruk asked.

  “Not gourmet,” Cat replied with a grin, “But very good.”

  “To the Purple Dove!” Lena declared as she clapped her hands.

  There was a lovely paved road that led to the town of Vima, set dead center in the chasm. As the sun set, I saw mage lights spring to life, lighting up streets and signs and even a weird signal light that pointed towards the clouds.

  “What’s with the bat signal?” I asked Cat.

  “The… what?” he inquired.

  “The beam,” I clarified as I pointed at the light.

  “Oh, they started that a few years ago,” Cat explained. “In case you get lost on the steppe while it’s dark. It’s supposed to help guide you back to the city.”

  “Does it work?” I asked.

  “Well, I haven’t heard anyone say that they used it to get back,” Cat mused. “But most people clear off the steppe before nightfall.”

  Vima itself was almost as bright at night as it was in full daylight. Mage lights dotted every corner of every building and music drifted out from just about every establishment. One place promised the prettiest dancers in the valley, while another offered a meet-and-greet with a real gray skin. People walked slowly between each establishment and most carried a drink while they
moseyed along the streets.

  The Purple Dove was a four-story building just off the main road. The mage lights all cast a purple glow on the outside of the building and someone had even rigged up a smoke machine for that full purple haze effect. A weird, animatronic purple bird greeted us in a wheezing voice as we stepped inside, and Dehn nearly took it out with his mace before Lavinia snatched the weapon from his hands.

  The elf at the desk gave us the standard customer service smile until she spotted Cat, and then she gave us a full wattage smile that was dazzling.

  “You’re back,” she declared.

  “I am,” Cat agreed as he grinned at the desk clerk. “And my friends and I need rooms for the night.”

  “So, nine rooms,” the clerk said with a wink. “I think we can squeeze everyone in.”

  I started to correct her, then saw the look that passed between her and Cat. I buried my grin and cleared my throat instead.

  “Is Mimi here yet?” Cat asked as the clerk selected rooms for the rest of us.

  “She just stepped in,” the clerk replied. “She should still be coherent if you need to talk to her.”

  “Why don’t I take Aerin and Lena to meet her,” Cat suggested. “The rest of you can get settled into your rooms, and then we can meet in the dining room for dinner.”

  “Say, in an hour,” Yvaine suggested.

  “Ah, just enough time for a real bath,” Maruk sighed. “I find that plan acceptable.”

  The rest of us nodded our agreement as the clerk passed out keys. While Cat guided Aerin and Lena towards the bar, the rest of us hunted down our spots for the night. My room was on the second floor and featured a lovely view of the black mass of the canyon wall. It also featured a waterbed, for some unknown reason, and a tub big enough for four people.

  Merlin poked around the room and finally chirped his approval when he found an extra blanket in one of the dresser drawers. He pulled it out and dragged it into a corner where he built a comfy nest to fill with a collection of his treasures.

  I cleaned up while Merlin entertained himself with some of his beads and then made my way to the dining room. The theme was some strange cross between Carribean resort and Korean pop culture. I joined Lavinia and Dehn at a large table near the back where tropical flowers were subjected to color-changing lights and weird animated people that danced on the wall. Merlin watched them in fascination until I slipped him under the table. I opened my mana to study the magic and decided that whatever mage had concocted it was probably drunk at the time.

  “The food better be good,” Dehn warned as he glared at the lights.

  “I don’t know how much food Cat has actually eaten here,” Lavinia noted as one of the animated creatures did a quick shimmy.

  “Isn’t this… interesting,” Yvaine said as she and Maruk sat down.

  “How are we supposed to see our food?” Maruk complained.

  “You can’t have food if you can’t read the menu,” Yvaine pointed out as she squinted at one of the colorful cards that had been left in a stack in the center of the table. “The translations are so tiny I can’t make them out.”

  “Oh, gosh,” Emeline declared as she joined us. “I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

  “No one has,” Lavinia replied. “And they’re very lucky.”

  “I think that says roast lamb,” Maruk announced as he studied the menu. “Or maybe fresh ham. Oh, wait. No, I think it’s fresh salmon.”

  Imogen strolled in and eyed the cartoon characters suspiciously as she made her way to our table. Aerin, Lena and Cat were just a moment behind her, and I saw Cat do a double-take when he walked into the restaurant.

  “Um,” Cat said as he sat down, “They’ve changed the restaurant a bit since I was here.”

  “You mean you’re not a fan of the flashing lights?” Aerin teased.

  “Sorry,” Cat apologized. “We could try someplace else.”

  “We’re here so we might as well eat,” Lavinia pointed out. “Besides, it’s actually busy so maybe the food is okay.”

  A halfling woman arrived at our table and deposited a basket of hot rolls and a plate of butter.

  “Is Vera still the chef?” Cat asked before the halfling could leave.

  “She is,” the halfling replied. “She threatened to leave when she saw the new design, but the boss offered her a big raise to stay. Wish somebody would offer me a big raise.”

  “Could we order some drinks?” Yvaine quickly interjected before the halfling could continue.

  “Sure,” the halfling sighed as she pulled out a pencil and a pad.

  The halfling wrote down our drink orders and stalked away. The bread and butter was passed around the table, and despite the odd setting, the bread was quite good.

  “So what do you recommend?” Maruk asked as he passed a menu to Cat.

  “Just order the special,” Cat advised after he squinted at the menu and then gave up and tossed it back on the table. “It’s always good.”

  The halfling returned with our drinks and took our order for the special of the day. She heaved a dramatic sigh and stalked away from the table.

  “So how did it go with Mimi?” I asked.

  “Pretty good,” Aerin said pensively. “Though this illness people get doesn’t sound like anything I’ve ever heard of.”

  “It sounds gruesome,” Lena added. “At first, people just feel nauseated, like they’ve eaten something bad. But then they lose all their hair and they bruise very easily, and then they just bleed out.”

  “And no one knows how to stop it?” Lavinia asked.

  “No,” Aerin said. “Though the healers here have been able to slow it down.”

  “Mimi’s going to introduce me to an alchemist later,” Lena added. “I’m hoping to get some more ideas.”

  “It sounds a bit like a plague,” Yvaine said with a shiver.

  “But they say it doesn’t look or act like a plague,” Aerin replied. “Mimi said that it feels like raw energy when you try to heal it.”

  “It sounds like radiation poisoning,” I murmured.

  “Like what?” Lena queried.

  “Radiation poisoning,” I said. “On earth, people were sometimes exposed to excessive amounts of radiation, which is a form of energy.”

  “How did they treat it?” Aerin asked hopefully.

  “They didn’t,” I replied somberly. “They could help reduce the pain and some of the other symptoms, but I don’t think there was really a cure.”

  “Well, we have Theira’s blessing,” Lena declared. “That should be enough.”

  “Maybe,” I said. “But look, I can’t ask any of you to make this crossing with me. Not if that’s the fate that awaits us. Anybody who wants to stay here or head back to Ovrista is welcome to do that.”

  There was a moment of silence, and then Dehn slammed his mug of ale onto the table.

  “I’ve come this far, I’m damn well not going to turn back now,” the halfling declared angrily.

  “I think the halfling speaks for all the Shadow Foxes,” Maruk added.

  “Absolutely,” Lavinia agreed.

  Emeline, Lena, Yvaine and Aerin all nodded and Merlin added his own chirp from under the table. I saw Imogen and Cat exchange a quick look as well.

  “We’d like to finish this trek,” Imogen said. “If you’ll have us.”

  “Of course we will,” Lena replied happily. “You two are like family now.”

  Our waitress was back, and we were each presented with a large bowl of pasta swimming in tomato sauce and topped with shredded cheese, fresh basil, and the most perfect sausage I have ever eaten.

  “Well, enjoy,” Lavinia said as she held up her glass of water in a toast, “It may be the last good meal you ever get.”

  Chapter 9

  I spent some time after dinner wandering around Vima, but the dancing girls and the bawdy music held little attraction for me. All I could think about was what we faced on the other side and Mimi’s descript
ion of raw energy. On this world, that meant mana. And I suspected the attack that had destroyed Augustine had somehow unleashed mana. Or maybe it was better to say that it was unbounded and no longer confined to living beings or their control.

  I finally gave up on trying to solve the riddle of the steppes and returned to my room, no wiser and no closer to a solution to unbounded mana. I played with Merlin for a bit and then stretched out in my bed and stared at the ceiling. Merlin refused to join me as he sniffed suspiciously at the mattress.

  I had given up on sleep and pulled out one of my books to pass the time when I heard a gentle knock at the door. I looked at Merlin, but he was curled up in the corner, sound asleep in the blanket with a bag of beads clutched in his paws.

  “Lena,” I said quietly when I opened the door to find the once-again honey blond elf standing in my door.

  “Hi,” she whispered shyly. “Do you mind a little company?”

  “Not at all,” I replied as I stepped back to let her into the room.

  “Thanks,” she sighed. “I wanted to be with someone after talking to the alchemist.”

  “Not much help, I gather,” I guessed as I closed the door and joined her by the bed.

  “It’s like you said,” she agreed as she ran a finger along the bedspread. “They can help relieve some of the symptoms, but the victim always dies.”

  “We’ll make it through,” I tried to reassure her. “Theira wouldn’t have brought us here just to leave some pretty corpses on the steppes.”

  “I know,” she replied. “It’s just so sad, hearing about those people. It’s hard, you know, trying to help people and knowing that you can’t do anything to stop what’s going to happen.”

  “It’s the worst feeling in the world,” I agreed.

  Lena sat down on the bed and then squealed.

  “What?” I asked quickly as I checked the room for Merlin. “Is there something in the sheets?”

  “The mattress moved,” Lena said as she gazed at the offending object.

  “It’s a waterbed,” I explained.

  “I’ve never heard of such a thing,” Lena replied as she poked at the mattress.