by Joshua Cook
“Hot,” Cendan said out loud, “Got to find a pattern to deal with that!” He flashed a grin as they got in.
An involuntary gasp escaped him as he sat. Parts of his body were still really in pain. Nothing was broken, and he wasn’t actually bleeding, but the burning hot car seat against new pink skin was not a feeling he liked. Heather took out her fetish and concentrated. Cendan opened himself to the sight without thinking about it, watching her gather magic from both outside and from the well inside the fetish. Patterns he somewhat recognized as a variation of the warding she had done that first night, on his house, flowed around the car, but with a new twist he’d not seen.
“I see the wards, but what was that last one?” Cendan asked as Heather very quickly put her fetish away.
“Drive, Cendan,” Heather motioned him. “That last one will make it harder for anyone to scry out our location while we travel. It can still be penetrated, but that combined with the car in motion will be extra difficult.”
Cendan nodded, pulling out of where he had parked several days ago, and heading back towards town.
“Ok so, first things. Where are we going?”
Heather shrugged in response. “Your guess is as good as mine. Your house isn’t a great choice; they know where that is.”
Cendan nodded. “I’d go back to the Bridgefinders lair, but Marcus is there. Hell, he’s probably found a way to block me from coming back. I’m also highly worried about Jasmine. I still think she shouldn’t have stayed behind.”
Heather opened her mouth to say something, then closed it again. They rode on in silence, Cendan trying to concentrate on driving, rather than the aches and pains he felt or the creeping sense of exhaustion covering him. Heather shifted next to him, nervously fidgeting in her seat.
“So... what if I told you… I... could get us into the Bridgefinders lair? You called it a lair, right?” she blurted out.
Cendan didn’t say anything at first, unsure of how to respond. “How?” Was the eventual response.
“Well, when we went in before with... Jasmine, I sort of copied the pattern.” She wasn’t looking at him, but he could hear the sound of uncertainty in her voice. “Look, I didn’t know if I’d need it, and so, as a rule of thumb, I study every pattern I come across, even if I don’t think, normally, I’d use it.” Head turned toward Cendan, she continued. “I can get us in. Both of us. I’m not letting you out of my sight after what happened the last time. With Marcus I mean.”
Cendan slipped into autopilot driving as he tried to think this over. He wasn’t surprised she’d copied Jasmine’s entry pattern in retrospect, or at least had tried to. He didn’t like it though. It was again one of those trust things. Heather had basically taken advantage of him with magic, then taken him to her group, her Shrouded, allowing him to learn more magic in a few days than he’d ever learn on his own. Then she saves him from a faction that wanted him gone, at the same time as now telling him she can break into the Bridgefinders lair. Good and bad, mixed into a great big mess. So typical for him with women. Even with a woman who he wasn’t even sure how he felt about.
“Cendan?” Heather asked, cutting into his train of thought again.
“Yeah sorry... I… ok fine. Bridgefinders it is. At least the other Shrouded, or at least the ones who want to get rid of me, can’t get in.”
Heather snorted. “They won’t be after you anymore. Their gambit failed; there’s no reason to chase you once you get into the lair again. The whole purpose of that exercise was to block you from taking your training back to the Bridgefinders. Once your back why fight?”
Cendan nodded. She was right though he still felt weird about the whole damn thing.
“Not that your training will help much without Jasmine and Marcus. And they both hate magic,” Heather added. “So... I’m going to stick around and help.”
Cendan cocked an eyebrow at that. “Oh? Why? I mean, yes we can use the help, but... The Bridgefinders aren’t likely to be your cup of tea.”
Heather laughed out loud this time. “True, but I’ve invested too much time in you, Cendan Key, to have you get killed in some stupid way that I could stop.”
Unsure of what else to say, Cendan didn’t respond, and they rode on in silence. Heather kept taking glances at him, which he ignored for the most part. He could see the growing annoyance on her face each time he didn’t say anything though. Cendan didn’t know what to say as usual. People, and women, in general were hard to process for him most of the time. Though recent experiences had shown him that if enough other things were going on, his social awkwardness seemed to vanish into the background. But put him here, in a one-on-one situation, and whatever in him that rose to the occasion when things were bad or dangerous, apparently left him totally when riding in a car with a woman he had a highly complicated relationship with.
So in the quiet they rode, Cendan deciding that not saying anything was better than saying the wrong thing, whatever the wrong thing was. Finally, after a long stretch where the only sound was the tires on the road, they parked near to the Red Orchid. Cendan half wondered if the entrance had been moved since he’d been gone. Jasmine would have most likely told him if that was the case, he hoped.
“Before we go in, I want to fill the well back up in my focus. I honestly don’t know what we are going to find in there. Add to the fact that I hurt all over, I’m tired, and I’m sick of people trying to kill me, I want to be ready for whatever,” Cendan added, looking around.
Heather nodded, but didn’t say anything back; her face blank. Cendan sighed to himself. Maybe not saying anything had been the wrong thing. Reaching out, Cendan slowly made the pattern to refill the focus, feeling the decidedly different ‘taste’ of the magic here. Out in the Rivenwood, things had a rough feel, he realized, somewhat random and unsettled. Here in the city, and by the Bridgefinders lair, the magic had a different feel. He couldn’t put his finger on it; it just felt, more organized and more predictable.
“You ready?” Heather asked, after some time had passed. Cendan had been silent, eyes closed. Slowly nodding, Cendan readied himself. He’d actually already filled his focus, and had been searching through the saved patterns on the Key, looking for anything that might help him feel better. There was one that might help, but since he didn’t want to get into finding all the old patterns from Oakheart yet, he wanted to wait until he was alone to actually try it. And maybe after a good meal, and a really long nap. His stomach growled at him a bit in protest.
He’d had lunch, but that had been prior to the work on the Bridge and the whole crazy situation with Xid. At least the lair had a fully stocked kitchen. As they walked, the half block to the back stairs that led down to the transition point, Cendan wondered how far Jasmine had gotten with Marcus. The fact that he hadn’t heard anything didn’t mean much. He had been in Rivenwood, not exactly a mecca of cellular phone connections. However, turning the corner, he saw the car Jasmine had been driving that night when she’d come back with Heather, still parked in exactly the same spot. It hadn’t moved. That wasn’t a good sign.
“Should that be there still?” Heather asked, pointing to the vehicle.
“No. It shouldn’t be. The fact that is… I don’t know what it means, but it’s not a good thing,” Cendan answered.
“Gotcha. Sounds like fun,” she responded in a deadpan way. He wasn’t sure if she was trying to be funny or not, but the slight attempt at humor did reduce the feeling of stress he was starting to feel.
“Well, at least we won’t get attacked with Magic. Marcus doesn’t use the stuff. Is there a pattern to deal with more physical stuff? I would prefer not to get cold cocked again, and even less so today. If you didn’t know, I don’t think it’s been a terribly great one.” Cendan waved his hand towards his body. “Not really up to snuff.”
Heather laughed again. The slight tension that had existed since her comment in the car mostly evaporated now in their shared need to find some way to deal with the unknown situation
they were about to get into. The outer door leading down to the transition point was open as well and looked like it hadn’t been closed either in the days that Cendan had been gone. A small, drying water puddle from a rain storm had formed, and some loose trash had blown in. Not a good sign either. Was the way into the lair still even here?
As they stood in front of the wall, they exchanged glances. Cendan held his focus in his hand and reached out. Yes! The transition point was still there. He, however, couldn’t open it. Every time he tried, it just slid away from him.
“Ok, so it’s still here, but I’m barred from opening it. I wondered if Marcus might find a way to keep me from coming back. Go ahead and try what you can,” Cendan asked Heather, opening his eyes to the sight. He wanted to see this, see if he could try to follow the pattern.
His sight blossomed in front of him as he watched a folded and waved pattern form around them. The transition point itself he’d never looked at with the sight, and he noted its distinct similarities to a Bridge; but still some clear differences. What would change when he tried to open it? But with the sense of unease here with the car and the open door, he knew it was better to get in and see what was going on. He watched as the pattern Heather had created seemed to connect to the transition in a strange way, and then just as quick the way was open.
“C’mon. I don’t know if Marcus or Jasmine can tell I did that, but I’d rather find out inside than outside,” Heather remarked as they each took a breath and walked forward.
The inside looked pretty much the same; or at least the entrance did. Still the same randomness as always. Nothing seemed out of place, but it would be hard to make anything look different here. At least he knew now why the Maker wing information about the place had stressed that patterns had power. One mystery solved at least; a minor victory, but better than before.
“Ok, we are in. Before we go further, I can ward us against one physical blow. Just one. People are hard to ward; we move too much,” Heather noted.
Once again she quickly worked a pattern, this one settling over them both before slowly sinking into their skin. Cendan noted with a level of professional interest that she appeared to tie the pattern to her fetish, and at the same time she worked a recharge pattern into it, effectively keeping the pattern running off her fetish, but not draining it.
“Neat trick,” Cendan said.
“Yeah, the ward is a good one to know. I’ll show you in more detail after we figure out everything,” she replied and gripped her fetish in one hand. “Lead the way. You know this place better than I.”
Cendan headed down the hall, keeping his eyes and ears open. He did let go of the sight, however; it was a bit distracting here in a fairly magic rich environment.
“Wait, EVA!” He reached out towards the presence in his mind that had been so quiet as of late. It was still there, but barely. Sadly, he couldn’t even feel that she was there without concentration. He felt a bit guilty honestly; he hadn’t even been thinking about her while he was in the Rivenwood. There’d been so much to learn and know, he’d kind of forgotten her. Which bothered him. Why and how could he forget EVA?
“Anything?” Heather asked beside him. “If that mechanical thing can help us, or tell us what’s been going on here, that would be useful.”
Cendan’s shoulders shrugged. “I can’t feel her, well only barely.” He debated calling out for Jasmine, but again, he wanted to find her before dealing with Marcus. “Let’s go to the kitchen. At least there’s a better chance she is there than Marcus is. Unless something drastic has changed in the last few days, he’s probably holed up in the barrier room.” Cendan walked down the hall, but taking care not to make much noise.
They passed by the map room on the way, still left in exactly the same way as it had been. The ragged hole was still in the wood.
“I never found a way to fix that,” Cendan said, stopping to look.
“All in good time. I don’t think any of us expected things to go south like this, Cendan.” Heather’s hand fell on his shoulder, a small comfort. Cendan thought back to that day, not too long ago in time, but an eternity in experience and knowledge. He shrugged off her hand, remembering what had happened later. Not speaking, he returned the way he had been going, Heather following behind.
Cendan’s fears amplified as they turned the corner and saw what the kitchen had become. It was a wreck. Smashed cabinets; food thrown on the floor; something or someone had trashed the place. Burn marks on the wall from something, and food just thrown away and rotting, based on the smell coming from the trash. His hunger faded as he took it in, replaced by a growing worry about Jasmine.
“Someone did a number on this place,” Heather said out loud. “And that doesn’t seem like a good sign for you or me.”
“Yeah, or Jasmine, assuming that Marcus had something to do with this,” Cendan responded, tightening his grip on the key. “Let’s keep moving.”
He started off down a side hall, heading straight to EVA’s main room. Hopefully the connection would work better there. Hopefully. And barring finding Jasmine on the way, he might get some answers. The door to EVA’s room seemed normal, but the room itself was not. Spare parts from the Maker wing were all over the place, some burst and broken, and a ladder was placed directly where Cendan knew there was a secret keyhole.
“This shouldn’t look like this,” Cendan said to Heather, who was standing behind him with a somewhat awed expression.
Reaching out again for EVA, he noted the connection was stronger here, which he had strongly hoped.
“EVA, can you hear me?” Cendan asked mentally. No words came out, but a throb of gratitude and excitement seemed to pulse off the thing in his mind. “Can you tell me, or show me, where Jasmine is? I need to know what’s been going on. I can tell someone has been doing... something to you, and I’m going to assume its Marcus?” The tiny piece of EVA flashed in strong anger at the mention of Marcus’s name. Or was that pain? Hurt? He wasn’t sure how much EVA could actually feel. “I’ll do whatever I can to help you, but we’ve got to find Jasmine.”
The air around them both seemed to tense up and thicken, and in the tiniest of whispers, he heard a tiny reedy voice say, ‘Exam Room...’ Heather nodded at him.
“I heard it to. You know where that is?” He nodded, holding up a finger for her to wait a moment.
“EVA, I’ll be back. Can you tell me anything about what’s happened?” Anger and fear flooded through their link. Cendan knew that if it was this strong with whatever had happened to dampen it, EVA was in fact terrified. “Calm EVA, calm. I get it. I’ll be back, and I’ll be careful!” he said out loud for Heather’s benefit.
He pointed down the hall, leading the way as they walked. As they traveled, he explained what EVA had been feeling.
“Great, so the magical mechanical everything is terrified. This doesn’t make me feel any better, Cendan!” Heather said as she shifted her now white knuckled grip on her fetish.
Cendan agreed with her. EVA being worried wasn’t a good thing.
“The exam rooms aren’t far. But the fact that EVA thinks Jasmine is there is not good news. Those rooms haven’t been used in ages. They were… primitive rooms used for the study and who knows what else on creatures from the Echo World.”
Marcus was still the unknown quantity, but based on what they already had seen and knew, Jasmine hadn’t been able to do anything about him. Cendan was worried now that in fact the rage and anger that had been directed at him had, in his absence, been directed at Jasmine.
“Just around this corner,” Cendan said as they walked faster. Turning the corner, the door to the primary exam room was open a crack. Heather cocked her head for a second and motioned Cendan to be quiet. Silence filled the hall, but was that breathing he heard?
Chapter 20
Slowly they walked toward the cracked open door and peeked in. Jasmine! They both burst into the room, and as Cendan saw Jasmine, his stomach sank. She was still wearing the same clot
hing that he’d last seen her in. She was sweaty, dirty and very pale. Marcus had shackled her to the table as well, it appeared. Anger rose in him, both at Marcus and at himself. He should have convinced her to leave with him, not this! Heather had turned somewhat pale taking this all in, as well.
“Cendan. We need to get her out of here, but you need to know… There’s a pattern here. She’s under a spell.”
Cendan brought forth his sight, swearing under his breath. Heather was right. There was a pattern, flowing into her head and out of it, and oddly the pattern was somehow attached to, well, everything. Unlike what the Shrouded had taught him, this pattern was locked in multiple ways in both points and threads.
“This is weird,” Heather mumbled. “I’ve seen a lot, and I’ve never seen anything like this one.”
Cendan nodded. “I don’t know if we can do anything about it, but let’s get her out of here at least.” As he quickly undid the shackles, out of the corner of his eye, he saw her focus; the painted red orchid. Why wasn’t this in the barrier room? Marcus had always insisted on them being there.
“Cendan there’s something else you’re not realizing. This pattern; the only other person who could have done this is Marcus. That means he’s using magic. Which means... we are in far more danger than we thought.”
His movements slowed as the awareness of what Heather was saying sunk in. Marcus hated magic. He hated the very thought of magic. But yet, here was proof he was using patterns. He was using the very magic he had complained – screamed even – about.
“We are in deep here...” Cendan noted.
“EVA!” he said out loud while he worked the last of the restraints off of Jasmine’s unconscious form. “I bet that whatever is going on with EVA, that’s Marcus’s doing as well.”
Heather nodded as she kept her eye on the door.
“That makes sense. But how could he do these things? I mean, he’s had no training. And even the Shrouded know that Marcus hates the stuff; magic I mean.”