The Wayfinder's Apprentice (Shadows of the Umbra Book 1)

by K Dezendorf

  For a second, or maybe longer, Rose was again stepping through the world of color and light. There was no warm or cold. There was no up or down. No rhyme or reason, just sensation. She emerged into a small concrete room with a single small table and a couple chairs.

  Billy came in from behind her, looking tired, as though the spell drained a lot from him.

  “Do you have a bathroom?” Rose asked.

  “Right this way, child.” He led her out of the room and into a larger room. The place looked like a warehouse. Billy pointed to one of the far doors. "Bathroom is that way. I’ll go grab you a drink. Then we can talk."

  Rose nodded and she headed to the indicated door while he headed to a set of double doors down a short hallway. Slowly opening the door, she found a bathroom with a sink, a stall with a toilet, and a urinal. There was also a medicine cabinet. Once the bathroom door was shut and locked behind her, Rose pulled out her cell phone and turned it on.

  She was startled to find she had several voicemails and dozens of missed texts from the Jenkto crew, most of them from Macklass. There were even a couple from Jenkto herself. Happiness glowed inside of Rose. They did care. She dialed Macklass’ number and held the phone to her ear. After a couple rings it picked up.

  “Rose?” Macklass’ voice sounded both strained and breathless. “Is that you?”

  “It’s me, Macklass,” she said, smiling at the sound of his voice.

  A loud exhale preluded his next words. “By the gods… I thought you were dead. You’ve been gone for so long.”

  Rose frowned at this. “It hasn’t been that long, has it?”

  “Hardly. It’s been over a month.”

  Rose’s stomach dropped. A month? How had so much time passed? She recalled what Edward had told her, ‘sometimes an hour for someone is a lot longer to someone else’. “I’m sorry I didn’t check in sooner,” she whispered to him. “A lot’s happened.”

  “A great deal has happened here as well,” he murmured, his voice somber. “Can you come visit us? Are you able to?”

  “I… not right now,” she said, her tone apologetic. “There are some things I need to take care of first. But I’ll meet up with you as soon as I can, and then we can talk more. I promise.”

  Another soft sigh. “All right, I’ll let the others know you’re safe.” There was a pause, then, “I miss you, Rose.”

  Her heart gave a tight squeeze. “I miss you, too. Talk to you soon.”

  Rose hung up the phone, flushed the toilet, then exited the restroom.

  Billy was headed back to the room they first came from, holding a glass of water. He looked at her, motioned for her to follow him, and kept walking. Rose followed him back to the room with the table. He took a seat and she did the same, accepting the glass of water when he offered it.

  "In case you're wonderin’, we're back in the human realm,” he told her.

  “I thought as much.” She set the glass on the table. “What is this place?”

  “This here is a safehouse for us, and serves as a portal for us to go back and forth from the Umbra safely and secretly." He let out a long, weary sigh. "But getting to the point… I want you to know I am sorry, child. When I thought you might've died, I felt so bad. I'd taken you to the Umbra in order to protect us, but you nearly got killed because of my actions. And you're still so young. You've got so much to look forward to."

  Rose stared down at her cup, not saying anything. Even though she’d been scared out of her mind, and nearly killed, and seen such horrific things, the idea of going back to her human life terrified her even more. She’d rather die.

  “You’re not having second thoughts, are you?” she asked, looking up at him.

  Billy stared at her for a few moments, and she could see the guilt in his mongoose-like eyes. "I’m wishing you would. This is not an easy job. I have to keep tabs on everybody. I move them where they need to be, where your average person, or even mage, would have a right hard time getting to. Sometimes to very hostile places. I collect resources unreachable to most. I keep in contact with beings that could be potential allies, or dangerous enemies. I am a very, very busy man with a target on my back. That is what you’ve signed up for.”

  "I understand, and I'll take the risk.” She wanted to know more, to see more. It’s all she had wanted for years. Freedom was worth any price.

  Billy rubbed his eyes for a moment. “I said I would train you, and I’m a man of my word. If this is what you truly want, to be a Wayfinder like me, I’ll do my best to make it happen. We need to make sure you're able to survive in that world. I warn you, I'm usually a friendly guy, but as a trainer I'm very strict. I believe the best way of training is from mistakes and experience."

  "Okay, that's reasonable," she agreed.

  “For starters, Dimitri mentioned this wasn’t the first time you’ve been to the Umbra. So it would be a help if I knew what you’re capable of.”

  Rose had to think about that. “I know some sword fighting, though I’m not great at it. I also know about the different branches of magic, but I can’t cast. For the most part my skill set is not being noticed.” It was easier to steal that way. She felt like it would be better if she didn’t mention the stealing part. “Oh, and I can run really fast.”

  “All right, so it sounds like we have some things to work with.”

  Billy placed his hand on the table, and a wooden sword rose up from it. He took it and set it down on the table. “If you can survive here in this warehouse for 24 hours, we'll talk more about your training." He got up from his seat. "Please, try not to die. The last person to go through this ended up having one of their ribs sticking out and catching onto the carpet as they tried to crawl their way out."

  Rose felt her stomach turn but she kept her face straight. "Don't try to dissuade me."

  "I wish that was all I was doing." He nodded to her. "Best of luck, child."

  With that, he vanished, and Rose was alone.

  Well, if she was going to be surviving, she should probably have a weapon. She picked up the wooden sword and left the room. Outside in the main warehouse area were a few large crates nearly as tall as she was and just as wide. This gave her pause. Those hadn’t been there previously. Other than that, she didn't see anything particularly threatening.

  She heard a clatter from the bathroom and cautiously went to investigate. It sounded like tapping coming from within the medicine cabinet. Bracing herself, she reached up and opened it. As soon as she did, something came flying out at her and she instinctively ducked down beneath the sink.

  What sounded like bullets began firing over her head at the wall behind her. White pellets slammed into the tile, bursting apart and leaving cracks and chips in the wall. When the barrage finally died down she leaned over to examine the pieces. They looked like pills. Weird.

  Carefully, she reached up to try to close the medicine cabinet. As she did, the sink tap turned. Rose quickly made for the door as the sink shot steaming hot water. She avoided it by ducking out of the bathroom, exhaling loudly.

  "Okay, this is... fun," she muttered to herself. Obviously magic was at work, but what kind? Rose glanced around and saw the pair of double doors Billy had gone into earlier.

  Deciding to have a look, she began crossing the room. She halted at a loud, scraping sound. Did that crate just move closer to her? Another tentative step, another large scrrrape and this time she caught it in the act.

  Bracing herself, she bolted off to the side. The crate propelled towards her at an alarming speed. She dodged it as it slammed into the wall, and she pivoted, heading back towards the double doors.

  She reached them and tried to push through, but they pushed her back. Seeing the crate coming after her, she tried to ram through with all her might. The doors barely parted, fighting against her, but the crate slammed into the doorway and she was flung forward into the room.

  Rose quickly scrambled onto her feet, and turned to see the large crate couldn't fit through the doors.
>
  Geez, even Kyan was never this aggressive.

  Breathing a sigh of minor relief, she looked around to see some sort of breakroom. Her respite was short lived as she stared at a potential landmine field of danger. There was a refrigerator and a freezer unit standing side by side on the back wall. Along the wall to the left was an L-shaped counter with a sink on the short length. There were cabinets and drawers all along the bottom. There were also a couple tables and several chairs. There were doors both to the left and right of her.

  As she took a couple steps into the room, three of the chairs shifted to face her and she stopped. Oh, you have got to be kidding me.

  The normal looking chairs folded into themselves. The wood bent as the legs moved and the chairs creeped towards her, snapping their newly formed jaws and barking like dogs. Rose ran for the counter.

  The chairs charged at her.

  She hopped onto the counter as the chairs were leaping up to get at her, but their stubby legs were too short. She needed to get to higher ground. It would likely be the safest place and she would be able to see anything coming her way.

  Rose ran along the counter space. As she went over the sink, steaming water jetted up, but she cleared it before it could scald her. She made it to the end of the counter where there was a small gap between her and the freezer.

  As she readied herself to jump, the drawer beneath her popped open, and several forks stood at attention. Ignoring them, she took a leap over the barking chairs as they jumped at her with their odd, little gnawing mouths.

  A grunt left her as her upper half made it while her lower half dangled. She had to grab the edges to keep from falling. One of the chairs grabbed a hold of her leg. It hurt, like her leg got slammed in a door. She kicked it off. Another one pinched her other calf but didn't get a firm hold.

  Rose pulled herself up on top of the freezer while the chairs barked and growled impotently. She took a deep breath and let it out. Catching movement in the corner of her eye, she glanced over to see the drawer full of forks. Which were now tilted towards her.

  Cursing, she quickly pulled her backpack off her shoulders and held it in front of her like a shield. The forks flew at her like little javelins. She stayed covered until the barrage stopped. Many of the forks were stuck in her bag and wiggling around, tearing holes into it.

  Rose looked at the wall next to her and saw that it was drywall. She took one of the forks and jammed it into the wall. "You want something to get stuck into? Here you go."

  The first fork's prongs sank into the drywall where it couldn't move. The second one managed to twist around and pierce her hand. She gave a small yelp of pain but shoved it into the wall too. She carefully did the same with the rest of them.

  After she was finished, her hand was still oozing blood. Digging into her backpack, she found her first aid kit and did a quick disinfect and wrap up. She thought about the first aid kit from the bathroom and wondered what it might've done to her. Strangled her, or maybe wrapped her up like a mummy.

  The dog-chairs were still growling and yipping at her down below.

  Rose glanced around to make sure nothing else was trying to kill her. Everything else was still. She took a moment to catch her breath, collect her thoughts. So far so good. While the situation was weird, it was nothing compared to what she’d been through.

  She wasn't sure exactly how much time passed, but the dog-chairs were unwavering in their attempts to get at her. Then she felt the freezer beneath her give a small jolt.

  Oh, no...

  It gave another jolt.

  No no no!

  Rose timed it perfectly, jumping onto the refrigerator as the freezer fell forward. It squashed three of the dog-chairs. The other three came wandering around to the refrigerator and continued yipping at her. The freezer turned over onto its side and the doors popped open.

  Food rolled out of it, including a whole chicken. She looked back at the dog-chairs, huffing in annoyance, wishing they'd just give it a rest. She became so focused on them, she didn't notice it at first.

  "What the hell?"

  The chicken was crawling up the wall. In just a few seconds it made it to the top of the fridge. Panicked, Rose swung wildly at it with her wooden sword. She hit the chicken and it made a weird squawk noise -nevermind that it didn’t have a mouth or a head to make such a sound- as it went flying across the room and rolling across the floor. It lay there, busted open and unmoving.

  This is the most messed up version of Fantasia ever.

  Looking down at the fallen freezer, all the other frozen goods on the floor were now sitting upright, including a box of frozen waffles. The dog-chairs weren't getting tired either, and seemed relentless on taking a bite at her. She needed to get out of this room.

  Can't stand this heat, time to get out of the kitchen. She laughed weakly at her lame joke.

  The counter was too far to jump to at this point, but there were still the two tables. Maybe she could jump on one, then the other, and try to book it for the closest door. Steeling herself, Rose jumped down onto the table. In response, the table tipped over to the side, taking her along with it. Rose maneuvered so that she slid down, landing on her feet.

  She ran for the nearest door. The dog-chairs came after her, trying to bite her from behind. She zipped left and dodged right, avoiding them. She got to the door and noticed the second table galloping at her full speed. Rose tried to jump to avoid it but the table slammed into her and pinned her against the wall. She let loose a groan of pain, knowing she was going to have bruising.

  Ah, well, nothing new there.

  Since it was a round table, she managed to wiggle herself loose enough to pull herself on top of it. Rose was just shy of the door. She was afraid of getting off the table, but she was afraid of staying on it too.

  Jumping off to the door, she tried to ram her way inside. A dog-chair clamped onto her ankle, preventing her from going through. As she attempted to break free, one latched onto her other leg. She grunted in pain and fought her way into the room, the two dog-chairs coming with her as she slammed the door shut.

  Rose grabbed one off her leg and swung it at the other. The chair went flying and hit the floor, its bottom cracking. The chair she was holding tried to take a nip at her but she slammed it viciously against the wall, stunning it. As the fallen chair started to get up, Rose came over and began beating it with its brother.

  "I'm not…” Slam! “...going to be done in…” Slam! “...by chairs!" she shouted, swinging with all her might.

  CRACK!

  The two chairs split apart, the wood becoming inert in her hands as pieces piled onto the floor. Rose collapsed to her knees, tossing the bits away. What the hell did I just go through?

  She got up and looked around, checking to make sure nothing else was attacking. Exhausted and sore, Rose shuffled to the bed, and collapsed down onto it.

  It occurred to her the bed may very well try to attack her in her sleep, but she found she really didn't care as she curled up, allowing her bruised and battered body to rest.

  Chapter 13

  Rose made it through the night, waking up occasionally due to her paranoia. Thankfully, nothing tried to attack or eat her. She found herself awake the following morning, well past sunrise. She wanted to go back to sleep, but worried if she did she might not wake up again.

  Getting up, she explored the room, hoping to find weapons or means of defense. She noticed the chairs she beat up were absent, not a trace of them remained. The soreness and bruising on her body was still very present, however.

  In the room there was the bed, a recliner, an ottoman, a few dressers, a vanity mirror, and a wardrobe. She opened up the wardrobe and inside was a mix and match of different clothes, but nothing that looked large enough to fit her.

  Just for fun, Rose pushed the clothes aside to check the back. She only found a regular wooden backing. Rose shut the wardrobe and rifled through the dressers next. She came across several corked bottles, some of them
having herbs inside, others were filled with different colored liquids.

  Curious, she began going through the different liquids, giving each a quick sniff. The green one smelled tart and strong, like a citrus. The red one had more of an earthy aroma, like wet dirt. The blue one smelled like brine. The black had a decayed, sulfur smell. The two gray ones had a metallic aroma.

  Since there were two of them, she decided to take one of the gray ones, pocketing it. No one would miss it.

  Her stomach grumbled with hunger, but she shuddered at the memory of the uncooked chicken coming to life. After some dithering, she decided food and water were needed, even if it was a risk.

  She grabbed her backpack, which was torn up and full of holes from the fork attack. It was still managing to hold the larger items, but she checked it to find a few of the smaller items were missing. They must've fallen out in the kitchen somewhere. That’s when she realized her wooden sword was missing too.

  Rose shouldered her bag and went to the door, cautiously poking her head out. The table was no longer against the wall. All the chairs were there and accounted for, still intact. The freezer was standing up, there were no holes in the walls from the forks, and there was no mess. Nothing.

  It looked untouched, like everything reset. Matter magic? But cast by whom? And would it be able to control the environment to this extent?

  Oh, hey, the sword.

  It was resting on the nearest table, as though waiting for her. She grabbed it and tied it to her bag. Cautiously, she went over to the refrigerator and opened it up. There was a fair amount of food; a cooked chicken in plastic wrap, which she eyed warily, as well as a few wrapped sandwiches, and tupperware with what looked like gravy. There were also condiments on the shelves. She didn't see anything in the fridge to drink.

  Rose took two of the sandwiches, but didn't dare sit down at either of the tables. She went to one of the cupboards for a glass. Just as she put her hand on the door, she heard something shift inside. Rose pulled her hand back and decided to play it safe by using her own water bottle.