by MJ Fletcher
“What do you think?” Edgar touched me on the shoulder to get my attention.
“It’s crazy here.”
“I think that’s why they say people have a hard time leaving. Just remember that when we leave, we have to exit where we came in.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because it’s the only portal we can control. We can exit to any point we want but we have to leave from the same spot otherwise we can end up anywhere, and I mean anywhere.”
“Got it. We need to come back here to leave.”
Edgar stared off into the Tavern his eyes gleaming. “Think about all the things we could learn by staying here.”
“I suppose, but we’re here for one thing only.”
Edgar nodded. “The question is how do we find it?”
“We’re in a Tavern, you ask a bartender.” I maneuvered around the other patrons and pushed up to the bar. It took a moment before an older balding man stepped up smiling at me.
“Can I help you young lady?”
“I’m looking for something.”
“Well you certainly came to the right place to find something.” He waved his hand around in the air gesturing at the Tavern.
“I’m looking for a book?”
“Books, we got lots of them all over the place. Title?”
“Legends of the Mapmakers Union.”
“Mapmakers huh, well if we got it then it would be on level three.” He smiled and pointed up.
I followed his hand toward the branches high above that stretched ever higher. “How do I get up there?”
“You can use the stairs but that would take you about three months, so I’d suggest jetpacks.” He gestured toward a section of the wall where jetpacks hung on hooks.
“Thanks.” I waved and headed back to the group.
“So?” Edgar asked.
“We have to go up to level three,” I said hiking my thumb in the air.
“How?” Faith asked.
“Follow me.” I did my best to get around the mass of people in the Tavern and get to the jetpacks. Once we reached them I gave them the once over. I recognized only two of the models. Some seemed much older while a few appeared more advanced and unfamiliar. I chose the ones that had the most basic controls and pointed them out to everyone and we began strapping them on.
“Um, how does this work again?” Mary’s voice quivered and I grabbed her control stick and examined it.
“Simple, this direction is for up and this for down and these buttons control your trajectory. Got it?” She nodded and I took a moment to check that her straps were secure. Once I was sure, I patted her shoulder and stepped away. Honestly, I hoped she wasn’t going to shoot herself into space with how nervous she appeared.
“Hit it.” I pushed my ignition button and the jetpack roared to life. I lifted off heading upward. I kept my ascent slow and steady and my eyes on everyone else making sure no one lost control. We quickly passed level two and I saw level three coming into view. I hit my control stick and moved over the floor and cut my booster and dropped to the ground. The others were right behind me and I helped them remove their packs and placed them on the wall where other jetpacks hung.
“We’ll spread out and meet back here in fifteen minutes,” I instructed. “We’re looking for a library or someplace that contains books. If you find one contact me or Edgar, understand?” Everyone nodded in agreement and we all walked off in different directions. I didn’t really like breaking up the group, but I didn’t have much choice with the size of this place. We’d be searching forever and I wanted to get this over with before Gavin or the First Kind could figure out what we were up to.
I was still having a hard time imagining that Gavin had been betraying me. I went over each of the missions he had sent me on and most were just information gathering of those we thought might be in trouble. Had he really been having me recruit or worse setting those people up? I shuddered at the thought.
I couldn’t think about that or let the situation get to me. If I let the guilt interfere I wouldn’t be able to do the job. Gavin and I were going to have a talk when all this was done and I felt comfortable in predicting that it wasn’t going to end well for him.
I turned a corner and saw further down what looked like the entrance to another section of the Tavern. I made for it, though gave a quick look over my shoulder to make certain no one followed me and of course I knocked right into another patron.
“Sorry,” I apologized as I spun off the person and he stumbled backwards.
“You’ll be sorry alright, girlie.” The man’s breath was heavy with alcohol and the tone familiar. I’d hear from hecklers in the audience when Dad would do his magic act. This guy was itching for a fight and I didn’t have the time.
“Like I said sorry.” I pushed forward trying to put some distance between me and Mr. Dragon breath.
“No you don’t!”
I heard rushing footsteps and turned into a solid gut punch that doubled me over and took me to my knees. He might be drunk but he sure packed one hell of a punch. I reached for my doorknob as he pulled his fist back to deliver another blow.
It never came. Someone came in from the side and brought a hellish right hook across his jaw spinning him around and knocking him out with the one shot.
Chapter Twenty-seven
Status: Relatives are a pain in the ass.
“Who the hell are you?” I looked up to see a young man standing over me. Sandy blonde hair hung in waves around his face that was angular and somehow familiar. He wore a black suit that fit him snuggly and a dark blue waistcoat. He reached out his hand to me and I grabbed it and pulled myself up.
“I’m the man who rescued you.”
I looked down at the unconscious man on the floor and back at my would-be rescuer. “I could’ve taken him.”
“Perhaps, but in any event, I felt the need to render assistance.”
“Who talks like that?” I smiled at him as I repositioned my bag and hoodie.
He looked me up and down with a decidedly confused eye. “What lady dresses like that?”
“Excuse me?”
“I don’t mean to offend, but I’ve never seen a woman dress in your type of clothing. It is very—”
I could almost see his mind struggling for the appropriate word.
“Unique.”
“Yeah, that’s me Miss Unique.” I waved around the massive bar room at the numerous people in outlandish styles of dress from various periods in history. “Though I’m not sure that in this place that counts for much.”
“Very true.” He glanced about the room nodding in agreement. “But I was pleased that I was able to assist you in your moment of need.”
“Thanks for that.” I shrugged my shoulders and pointed at him not knowing what to call him.
“How rude of me, I’ve forgotten my manners. My name is Ichibod Masters.”
I blinked and shook my head staring at my great-great-great-grandfather. “Huh?”
“Are you alright?” He reached out taking me by the elbow.
I imagined that I looked a sight or perhaps fright since I had felt all color drain from my face. I’d known things like this would be possible here where time sort of coalesced, but I never imagined I’d experience such an event. Here I was standing face to face with Ichibod Master’s my ancestor and the most famous one of all. Yet he looked like any other guy about my age, he was even handsome. It was so amazing. I could see features that I recognized; my father’s eyes and my grandfather’s cheekbones.
I finally gathered my wits and responded, “I’m fine thanks.”
“You look as if you’ve seen a ghost.”
“Something like that, my name is Chloe... Chloe Masters.” It was his turn to lose color. He took a deep breath and looked me up and down, as if searching for some connection just as I had done.
Finally, he smiled. “So then you’re my...?”
“Great-great-great-granddaughter.”
�
�How far into the future?”
“Twenty-first century.” I smiled.
“Oh my.”
“You can say that again.”
“But how?”
“Actually, it’s because of you.” I tilted my head thinking about the story of Ichibod coming here and the map he had used being the catalyst that allowed us to travel here. “The story of you coming here to the Tavern at the End of Time is in the Doorknob Society handbook and I followed it.”
“But this is the first time I’ve ever come here?”
“The Tavern exists outside of space and time. For you it’s the first time just like for me, but when we both leave here we’ll return to our own prospective times. It’s just that for me, this is already history.”
“So then you would know why I’m here?”
“You’re fighting against the Darkwatch.”
“Yes,” he said and took a deep breath and instead of the heroic figure I’d read about he reminded me of my friends and I when on a mission. He was trying to do his best in a bad situation and maybe being in over his head just a bit. “Don’t suppose you can tell me how it all turns out?”
“Sorry, not exactly sure, I only know the general outline of the story.”
“For the best I suppose.” His chin dipped slightly and I felt guilty for not having learned more about him. He was in a way much like me, the weight of the world on his shoulders. “And why are you here?”
“I’m looking for a book, Legends of the Mapmakers Union.”
He smiled and pointed further down the Tavern. “I just came from a place filled with books; I can show you the way.”
It still flummoxed me that my ancestor was standing beside me, appearing close to my own age and we were chatting like it was nothing. I’d grown accustomed to odd situations but even for me this one was way out there. I chuckled, thinking of the insanity of it all and decided the best thing to do was accept it and move on. If I thought about it too much; I would lose my mind.
“Lead on.”
“This way,” he said and we stepped over the prone body of the drunk and walked off. “Are you here alone?”
“No, I came with a team.”
“I did as well, though not so much a team as my friends.”
“Friends can make the best teams,” I sighed still wishing all my friends were with me.
“I take it your friends did not accompany you on this mission?”
“I’m friends with some of those who came with me. But no, the people I would prefer to be here aren’t.” An image of Nightshade flashed in my head and I blinked it away. I couldn’t think about him, not now.
“I’m sorry,” he said and I could see that he meant it. I also realized from his saddened expression that he had lost someone he had cared deeply for just like I had. “It is difficult when you cannot be with... those you prefer.”
He had that right and I agreed, “It sure is.”
We turned into a room where outstretching branches formed the walls and walked into what appeared a sea of books. Everywhere I turned were books, scrolls or tablets. There seemed to be no end to them.
Ichibod waved at the preponderance of books. “I imagine it’s in here somewhere.”
“Damn.” How was I going to find what I needed in this place? Patrons sat on stacks of books reading while others climbed the branches pulling books out of nooks. A woman in an apron walked toward us.
“Can I help you?” she offered politely.
“I’m looking for Legends of the Mapmakers Union?”
“Which edition?”
“Um, I’m not sure.” I hadn’t known there were different versions.
“Twenty branches back and three stacks in is where you’ll find all the editions we have.” She pointed to where we needed to go and I smiled and started my trek with Ichibod beside me.
“I can handle finding it, if you need to get back to your friends,” I said knowing he had his own issues to deal with.
He pulled a watch from his pocket and clicked it open. “We’re not due to meet yet. I’ve got time if you don’t mind the company?”
“Sure, I’m happy to have the company.” We strolled down a series of branching book cases, counting them off as we went. “What are you looking for here anyway?”
“Not what... who.”
“Oh, who are you looking for?”
“The man who formed the Darkwatch.”
I’d read about the Darkwatch. They had been members of every Society whose job it was to keep the peace, but it had somehow gone terribly wrong. “Who’s that?”
“Ian Gatekeeper.” He gritted his teeth as he said the name and I guessed there was more to the story “He turned our own flesh and blood against us.”
“I’m sorry. I read about how bad it was in your time.”
“We don’t know who to trust anymore. Ian not only turned those of the Darkwatch, but I learned that he is controlling others as well.”
That sounded eerily similar to my own situation. “How did he do that?”
“With an Impossible Engineer device known as a Forget Me Not.”
I stopped in my tracks and took a deep breath. That was way too much of a coincidence.
“Is everything alright?” he asked concerned.
“I’m not sure. How did you know he was controlling people against their will?”
“The HVO has a device we use.” He reached into his jacket and lifted out a silver handled mirror, but not just any mirror, the exact same mirror inside my bag.
“Oh no.”
Chapter Twenty-eight
Status: This is not good.
“What?” he asked as I pulled my own bag open and lifted out the exact same mirror. “How is that...”
He never got to finish. The hairs on my neck stood on end as energy built up around us. I glanced around half expecting an attack but no one was nearby and neither of us had activated our abilities.
The mirrors hummed in our hands, vibrating and generating their own power. A line of electricity arced from my mirror and slammed into Ichibod’s. He was jolted backward but remained standing.
“What are you doing?” he yelled over the crackle of electricity.
“It’s not me!”
The room rumbled as lines of electricity shot in all directions. I wanted to let go of the mirror but couldn’t. It had a hold on me and all I could do was wait for it to release me. I just hoped I wouldn’t be a smoking carcass at that point.
The energy grew around us like a bubble moving outward until finally the room was drenched in it. Then—BOOM—it was as if someone popped the bubble. It exploded sending me flipping backwards and slamming into a stack of books. They rained down on me like a thunderstorm and I raised my arm up trying to stop the onslaught. The last book fell and I looked down to see my hands shaking and the mirror lying on the ground glowing.
“Are you alright?” Ichibod shouted from the opposite direction.
“Yeah, just barely.” I pushed the fallen books away and stood up stretching my back, which felt as if someone had stomped on it “You okay?”
“A bit sore.” He walked up to me rubbing his side and holding his own mirror, which was glowing as well.
“What the hell was that?” I asked leaning down and lifting the mirror. Energy still buzzed around it, but no electricity was shooting out of it. I considered that a good thing.
“I don’t know. Where did you get that?” he pointed to the mirror.
“A fixer gave it to me. I was having headaches and I went to see her. She used it to find the problem.”
“Someone used a Forget Me Not on you, didn’t they?” His eyes searched around my face, as if he might be able to see the invisible halo that the Forget Me Not leaves behind.
“Yes,” I sighed, thinking about Gavin. “Someone betrayed me.”
“Darkwatch,” he seethed.
“No, they call themselves the First Kind.”
“If they are using the Forget Me Not and controlling
people in secret, it is Darkwatch. I’ve been looking into them and they’ve been around a lot longer than I thought. They may call themselves First Kind in your time and they very well may be around since the time of the true First Kind. But trust me, they are connected to Darkwatch.”
“It does seem awfully coincidental.”
“Who controls them, do you know?”
“No.” I thought of what I’d just learned... that someone other than my mother was in charge of the First Kind. “Whoever it is he or she uses other people to do his/her dirty work.”
“Ian Gatekeeper is the leader in my time; do you know if I defeat him?” His eyes searched my face hoping for good news.
I hated to disappoint him. “I’m sorry; I’m not sure.”
“Damn.” He kicked at the books lying on the ground. I looked down and had to do a double take when I saw what lay on the ground in front of me. I leaned down, my hands gently sliding over the book before lifting it.
Legends of the Mapmakers Union.
“We found it,” I said unable to keep the astonishment out of my voice.
“The book you need?”
“Yes.” I pressed it to my chest hugging it. Finally something was going right. “Thank you for helping me.”
“It is the least I could do for family.” He smiled and I wished I could help him as much as he had just helped me.
“You should have taken the deal!”
My stomach sunk at the sound of Ms. True’s voice. I looked down to the end of the branch bookcases and there she stood. Her hair was swept tightly back giving her beauty a harsh unearthly tone.
“I told you, I don’t do deals,” I yelled back as I slid the book into my bag and slung the shoulder strap over my head and across my body. I then sunk my hand into my pocket, my fingers wrapping around my doorknob.
“Finally, I get to kill you and I am so going to enjoy it,” Ms. True said.
“Madam, your manners are appalling,” Ichibod said his doorknob in his hand and glowing bright blue.
True snickered. “I see you found yourself a new boyfriend already.”
My blood boiled at her snide remark and I pulled my own doorknob out activating my energy whip.
“No, madam, I’m family,” Ichibod said as his own doorknob turned into a whip similar to mine. He swung it in a wide arc and crashed it into the floor in front of True, forcing her to jump backward. “And we look out for each other.”