by K Dezendorf
“About a week or so ago,” he continued, “we raided the facility that was holding our brother. It was a place the humans had built to cage our kind and do… unspeakable things to them. We were able to find him, but because I was injured, he ended up getting shot by one of the guards. I didn’t even get the chance to… talk to him. To tell him how much I missed him.”
Rose didn’t know what to say. She gently placed her hand on his, giving it a squeeze. His hand gripped hers in return, and past the dark locks of hair, she caught a glimpse of tears silently streaking his face.
“It’s my fault he died.” His voice was a hoarse croak.
“No,” Rose said insistently, squeezing his hand tighter. “That’s not true and you know it. You’re not the one who killed him. And… from what you told me, I think he knew how much you missed him. Because you all came to save him. I know if it were me, I would have been so happy.”
Macklass stared at her with wet eyes, then, without a word, he rested his head into the curve of her shoulder, hiding his face. Rose carefully wrapped her arms around him, holding him while he quietly let out his grief. She felt racked with guilt for being absent during such a crucial point in his life. Now it made more sense why he’d been drinking. She only prayed it didn’t become a habit.
A phone went off, the jingle causing Macklass to withdraw from her. He reached into his jacket and pulled out his phone, checking the caller before answering.
As he held the phone to his ear, his sleeve fell down his arm, revealing a strange mark on the back of his hand. Some kind of tattoo? When did he get that?
“Yes?” he asked, his voice hard but steady. His face went into a deep frown. “What? What is happening?” A pause, then he sighed. “I’m on my way.” He ended the call and looked at her. “I must go. Family business.”
Rose nodded in understanding. “No problem.” She paused, then asked hesitantly, “Are you going to be okay driving back?”
“Yes, I’ll manage,” he assured her. “Will you not come with me?”
“I can’t, not right now. Like I said, there’s things I need to take care of. But once I’m finished, I’ll come back, and I’ll explain everything,” she promised.
His expression was disappointed, but he nodded in understanding. “All right. I know you wouldn’t be doing it if it wasn’t important.”
Rose leaned forward and he met her halfway for a kiss. It was soft at first, but then became surprisingly passionate. It tasted pleasantly like coffee. When she pulled away, she murmured, “I love you, Macklass.”
“I love you too, Rose.” He kissed both of her temples, and then briefly on the lips. “Please stay well.”
“Same to you.”
Rose got out of the car, taking her cup of coffee and half eaten donut with her. Once Macklass had driven away, she returned to the warehouse, dumping her empty cup on the way. Her sneaking back inside and into bed proved successful, finding Billy had hardly moved since she last saw him.
She laid awake in bed for a while, thinking about what Macklass told her. A place where humans were experimenting on his kind. The thought made her physically ill.
Rose sincerely hoped he and the rest of his siblings managed to stay safe and avoid capture. She couldn’t bear it if something like that happened to them.
************
Rose woke the next morning with her heart pounding once again. As she looked around the room, her eyes slowly adjusted to the light. For the briefest of moments her mind went back to the warehouse trial. A flash of panic as she thought, Oh crabs, what now? what now?
Then she smelled something delicious in the air and heard some rumbling from the next room. To her left, sat the empty chair and pile of blankets where Billy had rested the prior night. She hesitantly rose from the bed and crept her way ever so slowly to the door and opened it.
The smell of eggs and bacon greeted her. As she peeked through the door, she saw Billy cooking on a small electric burner plugged into an outlet on the counter. In a frying pan she could see the bacon and eggs sizzling.
As she walked through the door he flipped the eggs over onto a plate. He picked it up and turned towards the table, stopping when he saw her.
"Oh, all right then. I guess I don't have to wake you up." He walked over to one of the closer tables and set it down. There was already some silverware laid out. "And good day to you there, lass."
Rose grinned sheepishly. "Good morning."
"I figured I'd get you something to start the day."
"Thank you very much," Rose said, not used to having someone else cook breakfast for her. She fondly remembered Edward cooking the fish. "It looks delicious."
He nodded and went back to his makeshift kitchenette station. As he began cleaning up, Rose took a seat and dug in. The food was delicious and the first thing that came to her mind was how this was what being in a normal family must feel like.
Oddly enough, her emotions swelled and she could feel tears welling up in her eyes. She wasn't sure why she was feeling so worked up over a plate of breakfast, and she hurriedly wiped her tears on the back of her sleeve before Billy could take notice.
Rose got about three quarters of the way done when Billy walked out into the large warehouse area. He was gone for a few minutes, enough time for her to finish her meal.
Just as she took her last bite, Billy came walking in holding a brand new backpack. He set it down next to her.
"There you are, child. This outta take care of the one that was ruined."
"Thanks," Rose said graciously, looking the backpack over. "You really didn't have to."
"As your mentor, it’s my responsibility to make sure you’re prepared. You never know what you're going up against, and it gets pretty crazy over there. So I figured I'd give you a little something."
Rose took a look inside and found a few nifty objects, including a small knife, a multi-tool, and a first aid kit.
Billy said, "I watched you patch yourself up after the fork attack. So I figured you'd want to have a bit of a healer's touch. So I got you another first aid kit, and some medicine."
"Never a bad idea to have those on hand." She continued pulling stuff out. "Some trail food... and a book?"
"Aye, a journal for you.” His expression turned sheepish. “I noticed you had one drying off in the washroom. I felt bad, so I got you a new one. I know from experience that sometimes writing down the crazy helps to clear it up."
Rose blushed, feeling both self-conscious and touched that Billy would take notice of something like that. “I actually don’t do a whole lot of writing,” she admitted. “Mostly sketching. Pictures just seem to come easier for me than words.”
“Pictures still tell a story. History in any shape or form is important.”
She never really thought about it like that. For her it was just something that made her feel good. Everything she ever owned, was either given to her or stolen. But her drawings were hers, no one else's. "Thank you."
"Aye, not a problem, child."
After she sorted the backpack, she halfway threw it over her shoulder, testing the weight of it.
Billy turned to her. "So, I can teach you magic..."
There was a long pause and Rose said, "I sense a 'but' coming on."
Billy hesitated, then continued, "But it's gonna take a bit of time. It's not exactly something you learn overnight."
"I didn't figure as much," Rose said, not feeling dissuaded at all.
"In order to properly train you, we’ll need to be in the Umbra. But I can't stay with you all the time, child. I have my responsibilities I have to tend to."
“Can’t I just shadow you?” Rose asked. “I mean, I am training to be a Wayfinder too.”
Billy shook his head. “I’m not going to just toss you into deep waters when you don’t even know how to swim. No offense, lass, but I can’t be doing my duties and be worrying about your safety.”
Rose couldn’t help but feel a sting of inadequacy, and Jenkto’s words
echoed in her head. ‘Liability… Worse than useless.’ Then she remembered Macklass, and having been gone for so long.
“It suddenly occurs to me… when you forced me through that wall into the Umbra, what exactly did you do?”
One of Billy’s eyebrows quirked up. “How do you mean?”
“When I saw Edward again, he looked and acted as though a lot of time had passed, even though it had only been a couple hours.”
“You’re rather observant.” Billy sighed and nodded. “I was under a lot of pressure. After what that maniac did, the scene he caused, I was running around having to clean up his messes. You were just one of many humans I had to deal with. Only you had gotten far more involved than I was ready to manage. So, I pushed you forward in time, so that I could deal with your particular situation appropriately.”
“You pushed me forward in time?” Rose repeated, not quite able to wrap her head around it. “How much time, exactly?”
“A month,” Billy said, shrugging. “Is it really so important? Considering you’ve all but abandoned your human life to be my apprentice.”
“No, I was just curious.”
Rose felt torn. On the one hand, the fact Billy was able to do something so mind-bending was incredible, and something she definitely wanted to learn. On the other, she had lost an entire month in the span of seconds. Because of what he did, she hadn’t been around to help Macklass during what was possibly his darkest hour.
However, she reasoned, it was likely Billy’s job to keep the portals, and by extent the Umbra, safe. To him, she’d just been a human threatening that peace. Perhaps he still saw her that way. It was now her job to prove him wrong. “Why did you need to take me to the Umbra in the first place when I'd seen too much? Wouldn't it have been easier to just wipe my memory?"
Billy shook his head. "It's not exactly just goin’ in and scrubbing away the thoughts. There are some who can, but I'm not a master mage. I can only perform that feat on the willing. So unless you want to forget it ain't gonna happen."
"That makes sense, I guess.” Rose gave a soft shrug. “Sorry, it was just something I wondered about."
"There's nothing to worry about. I do appreciate questions. It's part of his teachings."
"His teachings?"
“Aye, child. I happen to be a follower of Lore. The Paragon of Knowledge and History.” His chest puffed out with obvious pride.
It was strange how easy it was talking to Billy. When Rose thought about it, he was like Edward in that sense. Despite their rougher exteriors, something about them just made her want to know them better.“I do have one other question.” Rose crossed her arms over her chest. “Is Edward really immortal?”
"His situation is… unique,” Billy said reluctantly, as though talking about it was somehow embarrassing or shameful. “He was once a follower of the Lore. However, he's straying from the path, by choice no less. But the Lore is forgiving, and will take him back when he sees fit."
Rose wasn't sure what to say about that since her experience with any religion was minimal. “So, are you immortal too then?”
Billy laughed out loud. “No, no. I’m no devotee, merely a follower.” At her confused expression, he continued, “As I said, child. Edward’s situation is unique. I don’t mind answering your questions, but it’s his story to tell, not mine.”
“Got it,” Rose said, sensing she wasn't going to get much more out of him on the subject. “So, learning magic. Where do we start?”
"First we're going to have to develop some mana inside of you. Doing it here in the warehouse is going to be a bit difficult. So we'll have to take you back to the Umbra. I have a small shed that we can stay in. It's a bit of a risk, but anywhere in the Umbra is a risk."
Rose smiled. "What's life without taking chances, right?"
"A long, safe life is what it is."
"Maybe, but I've already decided, this is what I want."
Billy nodded in understanding, giving a small sigh. "All right, here we go." He walked out to the main warehouse area. "Come along, child!"
Rose shouldered her pack and followed him. He led her to the little portal room.
"You ready?"
"Yes."
He raised out his right hand, spreading his fingers out and placed it on the wall. After a muttering of words, there was a familiar flux in the air and the wall rippled for a moment, then smoothed out.
"In you go."
Rose took a deep breath and walked towards the wall, bracing herself because it still looked like a wall. As she got right up to it, she was about to take her last step...
"Wait not yet!"
Rose jumped back. "What?"
He had a stupid grin on his face."Okay, now you can go."
"Not funny," Rose said, scowling.
He just walked right through and she followed after.
Chapter 15
Oh, the colors, the change, the pull, the movement. Even though she’d been through it before, it was still a whole other sensation. With the novelty of it becoming familiar, she wished she had the ability to stay here and examine it, but as quick as it started, it ended.
As she stepped out behind Billy, Rose took in her new surroundings. They stood in a log cabin, about the size of a studio apartment. There was one door, a small table and a small bunk bed. It smelled a bit musty, like it hadn’t been in use in a while.
As Rose looked around, she asked, "So you’re able to use the portals to go anywhere you want?"
"Not quite,” Billy answered. “It depends on what portal you're trying to utilize. The more often you do it, the better you get at it. You can feel when and where exactly you're able to link up the worlds, or planes, as it were. There's about eight different portals that I know how to access. You have to access the portal going in before you can go out of it. Does that make any sense?"
Rose nodded. "So what you’re saying is you can’t jump from one plane to another from just anywhere. Only certain areas are acting portals."
"Correct. So, when you start to delve into the higher tier magics, you’ll study what’s known as plane-shifting. It’s a spell combining time and matter that will open a way between two portals. Portals are points of high concentration of mana. They're invisible to the naked eye. You’re already starting to develop an awareness for these magical forces. You can use that awareness to find one of these portals in person and activate it. Every portal has a location it naturally links to on another plane, but with enough training you can use it to go to any portal you've already been to. Keep in mind you can only go from one plane to another. There’s no side jumping with this. That’s where teleportation comes in. But the portals make good targets if you know of one."
Rose grinned from ear to ear, remembering Lymore snapping at Edward for teleporting in unannounced. "Got it. So how do I learn to open portals like that?"
"Slow down there, child. I know it sounds all fun, but one misstep and you could be lost between worlds. You need to learn the basics before doing anything advanced like that. First we're going to have to teach you how to hold mana.”
So began a lengthy explanation of mana and its functions. Billy explained how mana was the force of magic. It was everything. He explained the ten branches of magic. There were the Elemental magics of fire, water, earth and air, and at their center was matter magic, manipulation of the material. Then there were the Ethereal magics, those of life and death, energy and mind, and at the center of them, time, the movement of the ethereal.
“Wait a minute… death magic?” Rose asked. “I thought it was called ‘shadow magic’.”
“No, child,” Billy said gravely. “The only people who call it ‘shadow magic’ are those who practice it, because they believe it’s not all that bad. But there’s nothing good about bringing someone’s relative back from the grave.”
Rose felt a chill. Macklass wouldn’t do that though. He wouldn’t.
Continuing with his lecture, Billy explained how the Elemental magics were more eff
icient not just with combat, but general living. So they were more common. The Ethereal magics were harder to learn. However, some people had aptitudes for different magics. Some people couldn't learn them at all. And then there were those who maybe learned too well. Those often became Paragons.
The reason Paragons were so powerful was because their followers acted as conduits, supplying them with excess amounts of mana. Or, as Billy put it, ‘blowing air into their lungs’.
The best way to think of mana was the air around her. When she breathed in, she took the mana into her body, and when she cast, she was essentially breathing out. So she couldn’t cast and breathe in mana at the same time. However, she could hold it in her in case she needed it. He talked about the differences between mana storage and power, basically how much air her lungs could hold, versus the force of her breath. He told her about mana burn, the results of using so much mana her body will literally eat itself.
Rose eagerly drank in Billy’s words. Some of the things he mentioned Rose already knew a little about from Macklass, but from the way Billy talked, Rose could tell he had a much more learned and intimate knowledge than any of the elven siblings had possessed.
“Right now, your lungs are itty bitty compared to mine,” Billy told her, summing up his long winded analogy. “So what we need to do is to get you to take a deep breath."
"Okay," Rose said. She felt she understood but wondered if it was really as simple as he said.
"You seem excited, child. But honestly, this is probably one of the most boring things you can do."
Rose realized she was bouncing on the balls of her feet and quickly stopped. "Sorry, I just like learning new things." And she’d been waiting to learn this particular thing for far too long now.
Billy went over to his bag and pulled out a thick tome of a book. It was incredibly pristine, like it had been freshly made. Rose caught the rich and familiar smell of leather, paper, ink and a hint of something else… a mixture of fresh grass and rainfall.
“So,” Billy said. “Be very gentle with this. Dimitri loaned this to me and I’d like to get it back to him in prime condition.”
