by Joshua Cook
“You have done that so many times. What was the problem this time?” Annoyed, the Slyph beckoned her new creature over and stroked its carapace. “It’s just a Bridgefinder. Are you saying you can’t hunt them down anymore? Is it too hard for you?”
Grellnot spat and coughed. “You do not know. You did not see.”
“What is it that you are all worked up over?” The Slyph was losing patience with the creature.
Grellnot hissed at the Slyph, anger and fury on its face.
Her new creature reared up in defense of its creator, but the Slyph silenced it with a touch.
“Speak, Grellnot. Tell me now or face the consequences. I can’t control you directly, but remember, I can starve you for years.” Crossing her arms, the Slyph grew several inches to tower over Grellnot.
“You did not tell Grellnot that the stupid human is a new Maker!” Grellnot screamed at the Slyph.
Silence fell, punctuated only by the sound of Grellnots noisy breathing and the soft click of the new creature’s arms as they twitched.
“A Maker?” The Slyph was stunned. “Are you sure? How do you know? Where is he? Tell me!” Her voice got louder as she spoke. “Explain. Now!” She clenched her hand into a fist, crushing the head of the newly born creature she had created. The Slyph paid it no mind—she needed answers, now.
Cendan found himself standing on a grassy plain. There was a slight breeze in the air, but the grass didn’t move, nor did the clouds in the sky. “Am I dead?” he asked. The last thing he remembered was that Grellnot creature trying to do something to him and then falling. He pinched himself, hard, and it hurt. Was that supposed to mean he was dead? His brain was fuzzy, and the air felt strange and thick.
“You’re not dead,” a voice whispered.
Cendan whirled around in a circle, but saw nothing.
“You’re dreaming, and this was the best way to reach you after your… run-in with that creature, Grellnot.” The voice was louder now, and the sound of it made his skin prickle into goosebumps.
“Dreaming? Strange dream,” Cendan said. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but without any other easy options, he decided to go with it.
“True, it’s not a normal dream.” The voice was closer still. Cendan turned around and saw her, who he guessed immediately was the Slyph.
Standing there was a mid-sized female figure, all white, covered in tears and scraps of what might have been cloth. Most striking was the face, or more importantly, the lack thereof. It was a smooth shell of white. Cendan had no doubt, however, that she was watching him. All in all, the Slyph’s appearance was, in a word, unsettling.
“The Slyph, I presume?” Cendan asked, keeping still. He wasn’t about to let her get close to him. Or was the Slyph an it?
The figure bowed in response. “Yes, human. I am the Slyph, the ruler of the echo world, creator of magical beasts and creatures.”
“And sworn enemy of the Bridgefinders,” Cendan added.
“That too,” With a flip of the hand, the Slyph made a chair appear for him to sit in.
“Sit. We have quite a few things to talk about.” Another gesture and the Slyph formed a chair for it to sit in as well.
Cendan noted that the Slyph’s chair was grander and far more ornate than the one it had made for him. “No, thank you,” Cendan replied. He found himself trying to figure out how to wake up, to escape this dream before something happened to him.
“Your choice,” the Slyph replied. “Do you know why I’m here, Cendan Key? Do you remember what Grellnot said before he left?”
Cendan started at the mention of his name. He realized he had underestimated the threat the Slyph posed to him. “It’s all a little fuzzy still.” It was, but he knew what had happened. He just hoped she didn’t.
“He named you, Cendan. Don’t play games with me.” Her voice carried an edge now. Sharp. “You know what you are. I would guess,, in fact you knew before he said it.”
Cendan blanched. Saying the words would be admitting the truth. That meant going down a branch he’d never be able to walk away from. But hadn’t he already done that? He was kidding himself if he thought he could untangle all of this and just go back to what he had been before.
“Yes,” Cendan whispered. “I knew. I knew and didn’t want to accept it. I knew and didn’t want acknowledge it.”
“Say it now, Cendan Key. You know who you are.” Excitement crept into the Slyph’s tone.
“I’m...” Cendan paused. “I’m a Maker.”
A soft laugh, feminine but haunting, came from the Slyph. “Yes, Cendan, the first Maker in the Bridgefinders for almost fifteen hundred years. You’re the first one capable of wielding the magic that is the Bridgefinders’ creation.”
“Magic? Bridgefinders don’t work magic,” Cendan replied. Though it sounded hollow to him the moment, he said it.
“Of course they do!” Suddenly the Slyph was standing, and less than foot in front of him. “They work magic to deny magic. They work magic, my magic, to keep their world free of Magic.”
Stumbling back a step, Cendan thought for a moment. “But the others… they said Bridgefinders don’t work magic.”
“Of course they say that. They refuse to believe anything else.” The Slyph’s voice was once again light and friendly, and she was already back in her chair. “Their whole world, their whole mythology, is based on the idea that the Bridgefinders don’t do magic.”
Cendan paused, thinking. It made sense, even if it came from this thing in front of him. He had never really believed it was some special inborn talent, closing Bridges and banishing creatures. But a thread was sticking out, and bothering him, something in what she had said… “Wait, you said they use your magic to stop you. If all magic is yours why don’t you cut them off from it?”
In an instant the air turned cold, deadly cold. The grass before him froze solid in the blink of an eye. The Slyph stood there once again in front of him with no warning. “Do you think, human, that the idea and thought had not occurred to me?”
Realization hit Cendan, “You can’t. For some reason, you can’t.”
The cold deepened around them, and Cendan couldn’t feel his legs anymore. “No. I can’t,” the Slyph hissed. “The so-called Bridgefinders have a connection to magic that I can’t stop. I can’t control it. I can’t change it.” her voice got louder as she went on. “A few of your idiotic race can work true magic, but they hide from it, deny it, and even try to stop magic.”
“But you—” The Slyph raised a finger and pointed at Cendan. “You are a Maker. You can do more than they ever could.” Waves of rage came off the white figure of the Slyph. Then, as suddenly as the anger had come, it was gone, and the air was back to normal. The grass, frozen solid a moment before, now was green and pliant.
“Which is why, Cendan Key, you will belong to me—just like the last Maker. My poor dear Oakheart is very old now, very old and very tired. His powers are almost gone now. We made some very special children together though.”
“Children?” Cendan asked. “How did you and he…?”
Laughter greeted that unspoken question. “Nothing like that. But you have already met our eldest…”
“Grellnot,” Cendan said.
“Smart human. I will enjoy creating things with you. Oh, it will hurt, and it will take a long time, a very long time. But the things we will make!” The Slyph sounded gleeful, happy now, even.
Regardless of anything else, the Slyph was very much insane.
The world around them flickered and a low sound dragged through the air.
“Time to go. Your friends are there to get you.” The Slyph waved. “I look forward to our next chat, in person this time. We will have a great many things to talk about—if I let you keep a mouth, that is.”
The world flickered again, and the low sound resolved itself into his name, Cendan.
A blink, and he was awake. Standing over him was Sal, apparently worried.
“Cendan? You okay?�
�� Sal helped him to his feet. He had his focus in his hand. The globe’s light was strong at the moment and seemed in some small way to help Cendan clear his head.
“Yeah… You all were right. I got jumped.” Cendan glanced down at his clothes, now pretty much ruined by wetness, dirt, and grass.
“Yeah, figured that might happen,” Sal responded. “And based on the feeling in the air, I know who found you. Grellnot.”
Cendan nodded in response. “Evil thing.”
Sal nodded but was puzzled. “How did you escape? Without a focus and alone, Grellnot should have made short work of you.”
Cendan thought fast. He wasn’t about to say the real reason right now—he needed to figure this out first. Only show your cards when you’re sure you know what they mean. After that conversation with the Slyph, the Bridgefinders didn’t seem to know all that much. “Oh… he uh, wanted my focus for his necklace thing. When he realized I didn’t have it, he knocked me over and screamed. Next thing I remember was you waking me up.”
“Huh. Guess he really wants that focus, then.” Sal accepted the answer, but Cendan wasn’t sure by how much. He still had a lot of processing to do about this latest turn of events though he knew that he couldn’t keep the others from knowing the truth for long.
“I’ve got the car just around the corner. I can take you back to your place for a change and then…?” Sal left the words hanging in the air.
Cendan knew why. Did he stay at home now, knowing everything that he hadn’t wanted to admit to himself, or did he go back with Sal? For once, his heart and his head weren’t in agreement, but Cendan had the feeling that this would be happening far more often now. In his head, he knew the best course of action was going back to the Bridgefinders, learning everything he could, and becoming the Maker that they sorely needed. He could fix the EVA and arrest the slow and steady advances of the Slyph.
His heart, however, still wanted to just go home, but that wasn’t really possible anymore. There was only the one real answer. “Let me get my stuff from my house, then… back to the lair.” Cendan cracked a thin-lipped smile.
Sal laughed. “Lair. Don’t let Marcus hear you saying that, he gets a bit… serious about things sometimes.”
They rode in silence to Cendan’s place. Pulling in front of it, Cendan studied it with a sense of trepidation. “Hey, Sal, mind coming in with me? With recent events in mind, and since I don’t have my focus with me, it might be a bit safer.”
“Not a worry, man.” Sal got out of the car as well. “And hey, don’t sweat it. When I went through my vision, and first Bridge closing, I kind of lost it, too. It happens. You’ve just had your whole view of the world shattered, and now it has to be put back together.”
Cendan nodded but didn’t reply. His house was empty, dark, and quiet. Sal paused and took out his focus, turning in a circle. “Don’t sense anything, man, but better safe than sorry.”
Cendan went upstairs and gathered his things. The small bag he had packed this morning, he traded in for a larger one. He’d be spending a lot of time with the Bridgefinders, and very little here, at his house. At the end, he had one large bag and one small bag. It wasn’t as much as Jasmine had tried to saddle him with, but far more than he had expected to be bringing.
The ride back to the headquarters was quiet as well. Cendan was lost in his thoughts about being a Maker. He had to admit, the thought of fixing the EVA was one that he greeted with interest. He’d always found that sort of old complex machinery rather fascinating in its intricacy. Now, here he was, supposedly the one person who could fix one that could keep the world safe. Ego-boosting, that.
They finally arrived back at the headquarters as night was falling. They had gotten as far as the kitchen when Jasmine spotted them. “Cendan! What happened?”
“Ah, well, um… I had a run-in with Grellnot.” Cendan held up a hand to stop her from interrupting. “I’m fine. He wanted my focus. When I didn’t have it, he screamed, hit me so hard I passed out, and vanished. Sal found me face down on someone’s yard in the mud.”
“Yeah, wasn’t sure if he was alive when I found him,” Sal joined in. Cendan was happy for that though not for the reasons Sal may have thought. Cendan did not want too much questioning of the story he was giving until he was ready to break the truth to them all.
“But I’m fine, I’ve got more stuff and I’ve decided that in light of recent events, I really should be here. With you all,” Cendan finished. “Marcus around? I probably should apologize to him.”
“Yeah,” Jasmine said. “He’s still in the barrier room last time I saw him. He hangs out there sometimes. He says it helps him think.” She paused. “And apologizing would be a nice gesture, but don’t take it personally if he doesn’t give you much attention. Marcus can be a real pain, Cendan, but he’s a good man.”
“Gotcha. Well, I should clean up first, I guess.” Cendan took a step out of the room, sure he could get back to the room he’d been using. “Hey, question for both of you. Is there a full map of this place? Where all the doors are, what’s behind them?”
Jasmine nodded. “Sort of. What we know is mapped, yes. I can get you a copy. Meant to do that before… what happened earlier.”
Sal threw him a thumbs-up but didn’t add anything.
“Okay, thanks.” Cendan started off towards his room. He wasn’t even sure where in the place the others hung their hats—not in the same hallway he did, that he was sure of. Finally, he arrived at his room, locking the door behind him. While he didn’t expect the Slyph to strike at him here, she had managed to get things in here before, as least according to his vision of that Valock.
Chapter Seven
A shower and change of clothes later, Cendan felt more normal. He was a hungry new man, but a new man nonetheless. He glanced at his dirty, grass-stained clothes, idly wondering how they did laundry here. One more question to ask, he supposed. He was brushing his hair when someone slid a large, folded-up piece of paper under his door.
Unfolding it, Cendan was greeted with a map. It was a map of the whole building, just as promised. While the whole map was interesting, the main reason he had wanted it was for one thing. His finger traced the path from his door to the area marked “MAKER ROOMS, UNKNOWN.” That had been the reason for wanting the map, really. He needed to know where the Maker rooms were. Cendan planned to go there, and soon. Tonight, even, if he could stay awake.
He hoped notes would be there, instructions, schematics, and blueprints for the EVA—anything and everything he could need to help him be a Maker. None of the others had a clue how that worked though he was sure they would do everything and anything they could to help. Studying the map carefully, he decided his course of action. Tonight, after the others were asleep, Cendan would go to the Maker chambers. He wasn’t sure exactly how he would get in though. Did they sense a maker? Did he need to use his focus? If he did, he’d need to get it from the barrier room first.
That opened up the possibility that someone either might see him, or somehow sense his focus wasn’t with the others. A long sigh escaped him. Making decisions with little concrete information wasn’t fun. He hated to do it, but he was going to have to guess and wing it. He only hoped he could figure things out before anyone else found out what was going on.
But for now, it was time to go find Marcus and apologize. At least he could do that without needing too much information. He understood what Jasmine had meant earlier. Marcus was a proud man, and one who believed very deeply in the Bridgefinders’ mission. He also had a deep-seated fear of magic, which was going to be a large issue down the road. The fact that they all used magic and didn’t know it or accept it as such baffled Cendan.
How could they not see it? But then again, people all the time made rationalizations for things that they either couldn’t understand or accept. How had this particular rationalization gotten started? He doubted this came from Marcus—it was probably passed down to him from the Bridgefinders before him. He took the map
with him as he headed toward the barrier room.
This place, this lair, was really huge. There were storerooms, bedrooms, and rooms just labeled “MISCELLANEOUS” on the map. There were also several kitchens—at least, they were labeled that way, though he gathered they only used one now. In a way, he understood the stress Marcus was under. The map underscored just how few Bridgefinders there were left. He imagined this had once been a loud, boisterous place. Now it was silent, and slightly eerie. There were only a few of them left, trying to stave off what they believed to be inevitable.
Resolve grew in Cendan. If he really was a Maker, he could if he understood things correctly, fix the EVA, and give them the edge for once in a long time. He was somewhat surprised at his feelings on the matter. He never got emotionally involved with work projects—or with very much else, either, for that matter. But here he was, getting himself psyched up to save the world, even if most wouldn’t ever know it.
Then again, so much had changed in his world in the past few days, who knew what else was changing?
Finally, he found himself in front of the Barrier room, contemplating that door. All four of their globes were lit as were those palest of gold threads connecting his focus to the other three. Could the other three see those threads? Those threads, along with the voice from the EVA, had been his sign that he was more than just a Bridgefinder. He hadn’t wanted to accept it, so he’d tried to ignore it.
Cendan pulled his shirt down and braced himself. “Treat this like you’re dealing with an unhappy and powerful customer,” he muttered to himself. He’d walked out on what Marcus considered the most important job in the world. He wasn’t going to be angry, just a bit hurt, and thinking that Cendan probably wasn’t a nice guy.
Cendan pushed the door open slowly and found Marcus sitting with his back to the door. He sat in one of the more ornately carved chairs and appeared to be studying the barrier board.
“Hi, Marcus,” Cendan said, closing the door behind him.