Aiden nodded, and then slowly he and his friends told the whole story as they knew it. Every detail that they could recall and remember. Not everyone had heard it all, not even Aiden himself. With the telling, they remembered other nuances, and they talked long into the night. The only thing that Aiden didn’t tell them was about Glowby. For some reason, he felt he still had to keep his friend’s existence quiet. He would tell them sometime, but now just wasn’t the right time. He didn’t know why but he accepted it.
At the end of the exhausting time, Aiden finally asked the question that had been burning into his mind for hours.
“So, what now? What do we do now?” He looked at Professor Reivus and Count Viridian, a question on his face. “You came out after thousands of years, but why now?”
Professor Reivus, who usually appeared innocuous and rattled, settled his suddenly intense gray eyes on Aiden. “Oh, my boy, there has never been someone like you before. The Mourning Lords are coming, and it’s either let them wipe us off the face of the map or find out what the mystery is behind the cataclysm. What the real one is. And hopefully,” he leaned forward intently. “Hopefully, we take back our world. As to how, we learn what you can do, and Corenthus and I will teach you all that we know.”
The silent form of Oya Dihya, who had been sitting back simply listening chose that moment to move her head forward, looming over all of them. Her usually calm demeanor suddenly matching Professor Revius’s. Everyone went quiet, watching the formidable woman. “No. We will all teach you what we know. To that end, you will come with the duke and me to the island of Reid. All of you,” She said, looking at Aiden’s friends. “Carol Reid wishes to speak to you about the future of our planet.”
The room was silent as everyone just sat and watched the tall Amazon lean back in her chair, apparently done with her lengthy speech. “Who is Carol Reid?” Asked Aiden, uncertain what that meant.
Count Viridian took a breath, wonder evident in his voice as he answered. “That… would be Carol Reid, leader of the group that settled that island, well over four thousand years ago. She was not one of us, and it was assumed she died out long ago.”
“As with much that you know, you would be wrong.” Oya Dihya said, “But we shall show you. It shall be glorious to fight for something again.”
Aiden sighed softly. Apparently, things just kept getting more interesting. The thoughts why me crossed his mind, but he did not voice those words to the room.
***
A Glimmer of Fear
Chapter 1
Aiden sat in the back of his small skimmer as it rested unmoving in the brisk breeze blowing off the cliffs near Terek castle, his eyes wide and hands frozen as Professor Reivus made a gallant attempt to throw himself over the side. It was not so much that the diminutive man meant to plummet to his death a thousand meters below into Westrun Bay, as it was what he had been trying to pet. The too-quick subject of the Professor, a red-scaled sea diver that had landed to see if there was any food, was even now winging its way back toward the sea cliffs it called home. The old man’s hands were scrabbling desperately in the air far behind it as he began to teeter over the side. Even Aiden’s invisible friend Glowby froze for a moment as they both watched the old man’s unwitting attempt at suicide.
Aiden had just enough time to dive forward and grab onto his legs, pulling madly on the food-stained robes in order to swing the squawking Professor back into the belly of the craft. Glowby moved forward, but being only a glowing ball of light, he couldn’t assist other than bouncing back and forth in a panic. Fortunately, the man wasn’t large or heavy, allowing Aiden to pull him mostly back to safety with only a minute or so of desperate clawing and screaming. Once the Professor was safely re-seated, Aiden collapsed back into his own seat and stared wide-eyed at the crazy old man who was watching his escaped prize as if nothing had happened.
“Can you believe it! A Red Sea Fisher! Look at it go, my boy! You don’t get to see one close up that often. They’re quite skittish usually. I’m betting my biscuits it’s because we’re so odd, hovering out here like a nest on top of an invisible tree. Do you think it thought that? They say they’re quite clever.”
“Professor, would you please not do that again!” Aiden exclaimed in exasperation. “You almost gave me a heart attack and I don’t think the Duke would be pleased if you died on a simple outing.”
Professor Reivus looked down over the gunwale, his eyes blinking rapidly in surprise through his thick glasses. “Oh… well, that would have put a damper on things, eh?” He turned, a twinkle in his eyes. “Damper? Do you get it? Ha! I still can tell a joke even if I can’t always remember where I left my notebooks. Which is more important, anyway? Well, no matter. Truthfully it would not have harmed me overly, being that I’m not made of flesh and bone like you are.”
That was true. Aiden stopped and let his brain wander over that statement for a few moments. Three months after he had learned it, it was still hard to imagine that the old man sitting in front of him was created, not born like normal people. Glimmer Men is what they were called and the ancients had somehow made them. Some sort of Artifical Intelligence as the Professor had called it. He was still trying to get used to some of these odd words that were being introduced to him.
“But how did they make you out of glimmer steel, Professor?” Aiden asked, still confused. “Everything I’ve ever seen made from it isn’t… like you. Talking and alive? Even the ancient constructs. I can’t imagine the Skywitch staring off into the air after that fisher like you just were.”
The Professor nodded, his weathered face suddenly serious. “Well, that is a good question. A good question indeed. You wouldn’t be wrong if you thought the Ancients also wrestled with those questions. Even before the Cataclysm, there were some who refused to look at us as alive, though fortunately, the vast majority of beings did. That being said, you would do well to think of it in terms of gray, rather than black and white. Intelligence can come in many forms and even the Skywitch can be viewed as intelligently alive in some aspects. Like comparing a Zerigeld to a man, you wouldn’t just call one of them alive, right? I just wish I could remember how we had been created.”
“Was that another of those things that was taken from you?” Aiden asked, leaning back in his seat and biting his lip. There was so much to take in and so many new things to learn. Each morning after attending Oya Dihya’s fighting class, he and the Professor would climb into his little air skimmer for a few hours while the Professor spoke of all manner of odd and interesting facts related to glimmer steel and the ancients.
“That process, along with so many others, was taken from me after the Cataclysm,” the Professor agreed. “The only thing I can remember is we were created by the circle stones themselves. How the process went, or what the circle stones are themselves, I no longer have a clue.” The Professor’s face sunk slightly as he remembered a long-forgotten time. “I sometimes wonder how much information was taken from us. It was a vast amount, I am sure. Sometimes, when I look at things, it feels like my mind goes to retrieve something no longer there.”
Aiden watched the old, wizened man drift in his thoughts like fishing in a stream. Despite his words, he couldn’t imagine anyone not viewing the professor as alive. Of course, he also thought of Glowby as alive, as well. A mysterious glowing ball of light that had followed him around since he was a child. He had no clue what Glowby was, but he would definitely call him alive.
For years, he had been fairly certain Glowby was imaginary, but not anymore. Not since watching Glowby possess a small garkit that saved his and Ashrak’s life. There were other subtle things his friend had done, but that was the turning point in his no longer thinking Glowby was a figment of his imagination. No, despite his friend having no arms, legs or even a voice, there was no doubt in Aiden’s mind that he was not only real, but alive. As if in response to his thoughts, Glowby came flashing over the gunwale and spun to a stop, happily twirling and flashing a pleasing blue color.
Despite his friend's antics, Aiden was practiced at not looking directly at him. Even after all he’d been through for the past few months, he’d told no one about his friend and planned to keep it that way. He no longer feared being thrown in an asylum, but something else kept him from telling that last secret.
Finally, the Professor snorted, bringing Aiden out of his own reverie. “Caught myself sleeping again when I need to be teaching. Really, it's okay if you rock the boat now and again, Aiden. I won’t mind and it will help keep me focused. I always thought it was a mistake to make them so stable. Too easy to fall asleep when you should be paying attention. At least I can feel the wind. Now, where was I?”
“We were just talking about intelligence, sir,” Aiden offered.
“Intelligence? Well, that won’t do at all. That involves computers and math. Things I’m not going to teach you on purpose. At least not yet. That would just confuse the issue. No, what we need to teach you is how to control your ability, not mine. I’m all about math and measuring, but you?” the Professor paused, squinting at Aiden as if he had suggested just the opposite. “Aiden, tell me what you think the difference is between the Duke’s skimmer, the Skywitch, and your quaint little vessel here?”
Pausing in thought, Aiden suspected this was an important point so he took his time, running his hands along the weathered-seeming wood of his craft. It wasn’t really old, being only created about three months ago and composed entirely of glimmer steel, but it felt like old wood that had been resting next to a pond for decades. “It’s smaller, and of course, it doesn’t have any weapons or rooms. Also, I can feel the wind. I’m sure there are plenty of other differences but I am not certain what those are.”
The old man held up one bony finger shaking it before speaking. “Yes! All good distinctions between the vessels, but there is something fundamentally, even dramatically different. The Skywitch is composed of laws, rules, and technology. Every little piece and part on it, and there are many, was created to serve a physical purpose. You could make very many of those pieces out of metal and they would serve. The engine that holds it in the air and allows it to move so smoothly, something called a quantum lock drive which I have no clue how to make any more, is all crafted pieces. Thousands of them!” The old man leaned in, resting his age-spotted hands on his knees. “You, however, don’t have an engine in your craft, Aiden. Or any parts at all. It's all one piece. Solid, yet still does everything that Skywitche’s engine does.”
Aiden watched the old man with wide-eyes. “How can that be, Professor?”
Shrugging, the old man leaned back and slapped his knee before grinning toothily at him. “I have no idea! Which is beautiful! No idea at all! Haha!” Sobering somewhat, he pointed his finger at Aiden. “But we will figure it out, my boy! We will, or we will die in the attempt. There is something very special about you.”
Aiden nodded glumly. Honestly, he wished the Professor had left that last bit out. He would much rather avoid dying if he could manage it. It had been close enough already when they’d put him, a commoner, on trial for making anything with glimmer steel. It was only at the last minute that his still-new mother, Dame Tenadine Wilthorn, had saved him by adopting him and making him a true lord. Despite all of that, in the past three months, things had become progressively worse.
Lord Dolgren, or more appropriately men he’d hired, had made repeated attempts to kidnap Aiden. None had come as close as when Stitch had been after him, but his situation was becoming more dangerous and desperate. Aiden could only surmise that Skeeve’s father had heard back from Duke Feldar. The amount of money being offered for his capture had increased to an almost absurd level.
At least tonight I’ll be able to walk around a bit, he thought dismally to himself. Count Viridian had set up another “sting” as he’d called it. It would require using Aiden as bait this time, but as with every other time he’d been assured that things would go terribly wrong for Lord Dolgren’s hirelings. Count Viridian, working for Duke Terek but acting as if he was a dire enemy, would then proceed to artfully berate Lord Dolgren for wasting yet another opportunity that the Count had gone considerably out of his way to arrange. The sham wouldn’t last forever, but they were scheduled to leave with the Duke for Reid island in a few days which would effectively end the man’s attempts until they returned.
Still, he had to be the bait. Joy.
“Aiden? Did you hear me, boy?”
“What? Sorry.” Aiden shook himself back to reality.
“I asked how the last batch of silverware is coming along? Did you manage to get your creation time down or lessen your headache?”
“Oh, sorry, sir. Yes, it's been going well.” Aiden thought back to the last batch of silverware he’d made just last night. He wanted to make more exciting constructs but had been told that replacing the silverware, pots, pans, and other similar mundane items in the castle was the smart thing to do to attract the least amount of attention. No one would care overly if it was stolen, and more importantly, they wouldn’t think to check to see if it was made from glimmer steel. Aiden was also sure he’d been assigned to make the most mundane items ever because the Professor was afraid.
He’d managed to cut down the time to these not-so-difficult items to about thirty minutes and reduce his headache to a dull thrumming that lasted only half-an-hour. The only other thing he’d done in the past three months was to put seats in his skimmer. Something Professor Reivus had complained about bitterly, but which Aiden had successfully used to manipulate him into letting him try something more complicated. It had only worked once, but Aiden was bent on pushing as much as he could.
“But Professor, when am I going to be able to try something more complicated? Couldn’t the Duke’s guards use new weapons?”
“But, but, but!” Reivus shook his hands in the air as he frowned. “The only good butts are used to sit on, Aiden. Why do you insist on trying to use them for something else? No. Don’t ask! You were lucky you managed to live through your creation of this little skimmer here, changing your mind in the middle of it, indeed.”
Aiden huffed in frustration. He was regretting telling the Professor the entire story of how he’d made the skimmer. They’d had this same conversation numerous times, and every time Professor Reivus erred on the side of caution, not to mention how often he used Aiden’s almost disastrous creation of the skimmer against him. Finally, though he knew it was a mistake, he used his last trump card.
“But Count Viridian says we have to prepare for the Mourning Lords. They’ll be trying something…”
He didn’t get any further as the Professor raised his hands, bringing them down on the bench beside him with a thunderous smack. The uncharacteristic anger that clouded his features made Aiden go silent. “Count Viridian is not a builder, nor has he been alive as long as I have. What you are doing has never been seen before and we must go slowly. Now, take me back to the castle. I think our lesson is done for the day.”
Aiden watched as the older man turned away, sulking, and stared out over the huge bay. The Professor was a saint, but there were some things that seemed to set him off and though the two were friends, Count Viridian was one of them. Slowly, he turned the craft and guided it back to the Skydocks just off of the castle.
The Skydocks were a familiar, comfortable place as he pulled into the small berth created for his skimmer. It looked much like a regular ship’s dock, but it was set high up on the cliffs and protected by Terek Castle’s walls. Several workers waved to him in greeting which he returned, but he had a difficult time keeping his eyes off of what he considered the real skimmers the Duke owned. While his skiff was humble in appearance, the others were true marvels.
Created over four thousand years ago, and some of the few bits of technology to survive from the times of the Cataclysm, the skimmers were worth more than most baronies and it took an army to protect them. Duke Terek had nine. Seven were the smaller two-decked patrol craft, but the last two were muc
h larger gull-winged skimmers. Imposing ships as large as a mid-sized fishing ship but sleek and deadly looking.
Waiting at Aiden’s small nook was the tall form of Gavin Terek, the Duke’s son, smiling his charismatic smile at Aiden as they came within talking distance. “Aiden, Professor Reivus, how was your day?” His smile turned into a slight frown as he saw the thunderous looks on both their faces. The Professor grumbled something before climbing out and making his retreat, leaving Aiden to the young lord.
“Still not letting you make anything but silverware?” Gavin asked quietly after they’d put a bit of distance between them and the dock hands.
Aiden nodded, gritting his teeth in frustration. “He won’t even listen. Not even a little. It's all about not dying or how badly things could have gone when I made the skiff. He doesn’t understand. The Mourning Lords are coming! What are we going to use to fight them? Butter knives?”
“Will you keep it down?” Gavin said, looking around to make sure no one was about. “You’re not on your skiff anymore. Okay, I know you're frustrated, but you’ve got to think this through. He has good reasons for what he’s saying and no one knows exactly what the Mourning Lords are going to do. So far, they’ve just encouraged Feldar to pay more money for you, right? Count Viridian has been handling that well so far, hasn’t he?”
The Glimmer Steel Saga, Boxed Set, Books 1 - 4 Page 33