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

by K Dezendorf

  To help take her mind off her suffering, she passed the time doodling several images of Edward, making him look deliberately cartoonish with a constant ‘harumph’ expression. As hilarious as it was, the throbbing in her fingertips added to her discomfort.

  At last, she felt a sudden shift in the air, and out from the back room walked Billy.

  “Billy,” Rose called out. He startled when he saw her. “Help.”

  "What the..." He walked over to her and looked down at her legs.

  "Yeah, I had a run in with Edward," she explained.

  "Oi," he sighed.

  Just as he placed his hands on the ground, Rose saw someone else exit the back room. It was Vikhail, wearing a big Hawaiian shirt under a thick jacket, blue jeans, and cowboy boots. After a few seconds, the ground softened enough to where Rose was able to pull free.

  "Thanks, Billy.” She rubbed her legs which were sore but surprisingly clean.

  "Gracious be," Billy muttered, straightening up. "That damned elf. And look at your hands!”

  Rose glanced down at her fingers, the tips still raw and stinging. Billy carefully took them and in moments the warm glow of his healing magic engulfed them, soothing away the discomfort.

  “You need to be careful not to mana burn yourself, child,” Billy told her, his tone on the edge of scolding. “It’s harder to heal than most injuries.”

  “That’s not the worst of it,” Vikhail chimed in. “It can permanently cripple you if you're not careful.”

  Rose nervously rubbed her freshly healed fingers, thinking about how Edward numerously burned himself with little regard. Was it painful for him, even though he healed afterwards? “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “I need a drink." Billy headed off into the kitchen.

  Rose glanced up at Vikhail. "Hey, looking good."

  "Ah, that's what Billy said,” she stated, looking down at herself. “This is human." Her face scrunched with distaste.

  “Everything all right?”

  “I hate shoes.”

  “Oh…” Interesting. That aside, while the style and manner of dress definitely increased the ambiguity of Vikhail’s gender, the celestial pulled it off rather remarkably. “What are you doing here?"

  "Billy told me you came here, so I asked to come here and look for you."

  “Oh, yeah, I did promise you a human experience, didn’t I?”

  Billy came out of the kitchen holding a glass with some dark amber liquid. He looked thoroughly aggravated. “So what happened then?”

  Where to even start? “Well, there was another man here. Another…” Rose glanced to Vikhail, unsure of how much she should say in front of the other. “He was like Edward.”

  Billy’s eyes darkened and Rose guessed he knew exactly what she was talking about. “Ah…”

  “I’m really worried about Edward.” Rose might not have known Edward for long, but she felt like she owed a lot to him. She’d been so distracted by the whole situation, she didn’t get the chance to thank him for pointing her in the direction of getting Kyan back.

  “You needn’t worry about him,” Billy assured her. “He’s got his own problems to sort out, and he clearly wants to do it alone. Trust me, I’ve tried talkin’ to him many times, but he just refuses to listen.”

  “He said something about a temple,” Rose recalled.

  Billy shook his head. “Another time, child.” His tone was firm, and final. "More importantly… this one tells me you offered to show him around.” He pointed at Vikhail as he said this. “Is that true?”

  Rose nodded. “Yeah, I thought it would be good practice for me. Just a quick trip. Simple enough.”

  “You are not a full Wayfinder yet,” Billy said stringently. “You cannot be offering free rides to just anyone.”

  “I wasn’t,” Rose said defensively, though she wasn’t about to explain the full agreement they had. “Vikhail wanted to experience human food. That’s it. It’s not as though we’re going on a full city tour.”

  “Be that as it may,” Billy said, his tone terse. He held up his index finger. “I’ll allow it this one time, but you best not be doing this again without my permission. Are we clear?”

  Rose bowed her head, feeling chagrined. “Yes, and I’m sorry.”

  Billy inclined his head. “Apology accepted. Now, you are responsible for this one while he’s here. Keep him in line.” He enunciated the last four words.

  “I’m right here,” Vikhail spoke up. “In case anyone forgot.”

  Billy glanced at Vikhail, then brought the glass of liquid to his lips and tipped his head back, downing it in two gulps. “I'll be back later today." He headed over to the front door and left.

  Rose couldn’t remember seeing Billy this stressed out and frazzled. The poor guy was being pulled in multiple directions, and here she was causing another headache for him.

  Vikhail’s gaze followed him, looking slightly perturbed. "I hadn’t expected him to be so chafing."

  "To be fair, I probably should have asked him first,” Rose said.

  Vikhail hummed, shifting from one foot to the other, clearly still uncomfortable. "So what's the plan?"

  That was a good question. Rose hadn’t anticipated having to take Vikhail out on the town so soon. She still had to look for a broken heart to meet Galleon’s demands, and then there was the whole situation with Edward. It had also been a while since she had spoken with Macklass.

  She remembered Jenkto, seeing her there at Dimitri’s castle. Why hadn’t she said anything? With all that was happening, maybe she should tell Vikhail to postpone her Earth visit. Just until things have calmed down.

  She bled for me, Rose thought. Me, a total stranger. She didn’t have to help me, but she did.

  "Since we're here, let’s get that meal I promised you."

  Vikhail smiled brightly. "Very well."

  Having decided, Rose led the way outside of the warehouse. From the looks of things, it had snowed heavily the night before, with snow piled up on the rooftops and sidewalks. Only the streets appeared to have been plowed and salted. The air was bitingly cold enough for their breath to form clouds, and the sky was thick with gray and no sun in sight, so the sheen on Vikhail’s skin wasn’t noticeable.

  Rose took a deep breath, letting the icy, stinging air fill her lungs. It was still empty of mana, but it felt nice and familiar.

  She remembered how Billy showed her where this place was in relation to her house. It was a ways from the downtown area, so the nearest restaurant would be a bit of a walk. She didn’t have any cash but that was an easy enough fix.

  Pulling her hood up over her head, Rose began crunching along as Vikhail looked around in silent, wide-eyed wonderment. She didn't pelt Rose with questions about what she was seeing, instead she just silently absorbed it all. A siren wailed in the distance and Vikhail’s head swiveled this way and that trying to figure out what it was until Rose explained it to her. As they got to the busier part of town, Vikhail was no longer able to contain herself.

  "Dear light, what are those?" She asked pointing to the vehicles on the street.

  Rose smiled. "Those are cars. They're how we get around. Instead of using horse and carriages, we use horsepower." She knew the other wouldn't get the joke but she couldn’t resist.

  As they approached a crosswalk there was a red light and a guy in a Volkswagen beetle. Vikhail walked over and she pushed on it. The guy inside turned and glared at her.

  "Vikhail, you don't want to- Vikhail!" Rose grabbed her and pulled her back away from the car.

  "It's hard on the outside," she commented.

  "Well, yeah, when you're going 60 miles per hour you want that sort of protection."

  The light turned green and they crossed the street, Rose keeping a close eye on Vikhail now. It was honestly like having to take care of a child. A very large, muscular child. At the very least, she didn’t wander, religiously keeping to Rose’s right side.

  They arrived in the downtown area wher
e there were people meandering the sidewalks. Some looked like they were heading to work, others were perusing the shops which were already decorated for the holidays. Rose spotted a young male standing outside a shop window, looking longingly at a display of skateboards.

  “Okay, Vikhail, just follow my lead.”

  Once they were close enough, Rose broke into a jog and bumped her shoulder against her target, jostling him just enough that he leaned forward and her hand was able to snatch the wallet out of his back pocket and slip it into her coat pocket.

  “Hey, watch it!” he snapped at her.

  “Sorry, in a hurry!” Rose apologized, not allowing him view of her face as she picked up the pace of her jog. She rounded a corner, happy to see Vikhail keeping right behind her.

  Rose waited until they were about a block or so away before checking her score. The wallet itself was cheaply made and fraying at the corners. Inside she found a driver’s permit, a few membership cards for sports and comic book stores, and thirty-eight dollars in cash. Perfect. That should be more than enough to pay for a sit down meal.

  “What was that about?” Vikhail asked, moving around to resume walking on Rose’s right side.

  “Nothing,” Rose said quickly, ignoring the guilt starting to stir in her gut. She stuffed the cash and wallet back into her pocket. “Come on, food time.”

  After putting another block of distance, Rose took Vikhail to a vaguely Italian looking restaurant. Rose had to remember to switch to English when she asked the hostess, “A table for two please.”

  The hostess grabbed a couple of menus and led them over to a table. “Someone will be right with you,” she told them and returned to her station.

  "How do you build your cities so large?" Vikhail asked in wonderment once they settled into their seats. Rather than sit normally, she sat sideways in the chair, her elbow resting on the table.

  "With as many people as there are, we need large cities," Rose explained, switching back to Tradespeak. She hoped the people around would just think they were visiting tourists. "This one isn't even that large compared to others."

  The waitress came around to take their drink orders, and Vikhail, being unfamiliar with the drinks there on Earth, deferred to Rose who ordered them both sodas.

  Vikhail scooted her seat closer to Rose until their elbows were nearly touching. It was the bath all over again, only this time there was no way Rose could be subtle about it. “Um, sorry, but could you scoot back a bit? I’m not used to being this close to people.”

  “Ah…” Vikhail’s expression dropped and she looked guilty. “My apologies. I, erm…” Her eyes drifted down at the table. “The truth is, I only have one working ear, so it makes it a bit hard to hear things. Especially when it’s so noisy.”

  “Oh…” Now Rose felt guilty. She’d just presumed it was an Umbran thing. “In that case, it’s fine.”

  Vikhail glanced around, looking visibly uncomfortable. “Why is there so much noise? How do you stand it?”

  “I guess when you grow up around it, you learn to tune it out. We can go somewhere else, though there’s not a lot of places to eat that are quiet.”

  Vikhail shook her head. “No, I don’t wish to be a bother. I’ll weather through.”

  “If you’re sure…”

  “I am. So,” Vikhail said, changing topics, “were you able to get things squared away with your Guardian?”

  “Yes, they’re looking for him now,” Rose answered, smiling. “Thank you again, by the way.”

  “Of course,” Vikhail said brightly. “If my blood is able to help a comrade in need, then I’m more than happy to help.” She leaned closer to Rose. “So, I’m very curious.”

  Rose blinked. “About?”

  “Those spots on your face. Are they everywhere?”

  Rose self consciously rubbed her fingers over her cheek, no doubt brushing over a dozen or so of the aforementioned ‘spots’. “Er, yes. They are.”

  Vikhail grinned. “Looks like Chrono owes me twenty gold.”

  Rose stared at her. “You made a bet on my freckles?”

  “Oh, not just me. The entire keep was taking bets on it. I just presumed... even though we had a bath together, it was too dim to see, and it’s not like I was looking at the time.”

  The waitress came by with their drinks, offering the pair of them a friendly smile and asking them if they decided what they wanted to eat. Rose ordered lasagna for both of them and waited until the waitress left before speaking to Vikhail again.

  “So, you’re half Radiant-”

  “I’d ask that you use the term ‘celestial’,” Vikhail corrected. “While the blood of my Radiant ancestor does flow through me, I do not consider myself ‘half’ anything.”

  Rose flushed, feeling guilty for the social faux pas. “Yes, of course. I apologize.” She realized she was speaking in very low tones, so used to being around people with sensitive hearing. She forced herself to speak louder. “So, celestials… on Earth we believe creatures of light to have wings. Does that apply to you?”

  Vikhail let loose a chortle. “Yes, I have wings, and no, I can’t use them to fly. They’re more for show than anything. Would you like to see?”

  “Not here,” Rose said quickly. “Maybe when we get back.”

  Rose took a long sip of her soda and sighed at the bubbly sweetness of it. For all its faults, Earth did have its perks.

  Vikhail examined her drink for a few moments, looking unsure. “I think it’s moving.”

  Rose giggled. “That’s the carbonation. Try it, you’ll like it.”

  Vikhail examined it a few moments more, then took a swig. Her eyes bulged in surprise. “It is alive!”

  The reaction was so funny to Rose that she accidentally spit out her mouthful of soda, half of it landing all over Vikhail. “Oh, shoot. I am so sorry. Here, let’s get you to the bathroom.”

  A pair of women were being led past their table, and as Vikhail stood up, one of the women knocked into her. There was a flash and the woman jerked and twitched before collapsing onto the floor.

  The people around them freaked out. The waitress came over demanding what was going on and a man at another table pointed at them yelling ‘he just knocked her out!’

  Oh, no...

  “Call the cops!” someone else yelled.

  “Come on, we need to leave.” Rose grabbed Vikhail by the arm and attempted to pull her towards the entrance.

  Two men came over trying to help the waitress with the fallen woman, while everyone else was looking on at the spectacle, some with their phones out.

  A hand clapped itself with no warning onto Rose’s shoulder and she jerked away, tripping over a chair and landing in a heap onto the ground.

  “Rose!” Vikhail exclaimed, trying to go to Rose’s aid, but being stopped by a man who appeared to be the manager. Vikhail grabbed him and shoved him out of the way, knocking him into a table with a family of five, sending plates of food crashing to the floor, adding to the mayhem.

  “Jimmy, call the police!” The waitress yelled.

  Vikhail helped Rose up. “Run,” she ordered Vikhail.

  The two of them made a mad dash, escaping the restaurant and fleeing down the sidewalk. Rose headed in the direction of the warehouse, praying they’d be able to get there before the cops showed up. They made it about three blocks before the snow and ice forced them to slow down.

  “Why did you do that?” she asked Vikhail between breaths. “What did you do to that woman?”

  “She startled me,” Vikhail stated in her defense, moving to Rose’s right side. “I was feeling so overwhelmed. It was an accident.”

  This was what Billy had meant by not offering free rides to just anybody. Vikhail hadn’t the first inkling about how the human world worked, and Rose hadn’t thought to prepare Vikhail before taking her out in public. This was all on Rose. Every bit of it.

  Rose heard a 'whoop whoop!' Her insides churned with dread as a cop car pulled up behind them. The
sound startled Vikhail and her head swiveled around, looking for the source of the noise until her eyes spotted the car. She got into a defensive stance.

  The cop spoke into his radio, probably calling for backup, then got out. He had his gun out. "All right, lay down face first on the ground," he ordered.

  Rose panicked. She glanced around. They just got through an overpass. With the cop there, there was only one way for them to go. She looked at Vikhail. If she got arrested, who knew what would happen to her. She had no identity here. Rose thought of Macklass’ brother, Andros. Rose couldn't let that happen.

  Turning to the officer, she focused and cast her mind magic: fright.

  The cop started looking around waving his gun. Vikhail looked unsure what to do.

  "Put it away," the cop yelled, his gun going back and forth between Rose and Vikhail. "Put it away!"

  "Vikhail, now's the time to run."

  As they turned to flee, Rose heard the gun go off. Rose winced but felt nothing. She turned to see Vikhail kneeling on the ground.

  "Something bit me!" she shouted, holding her thigh. "Really hard! I don't know what's going on but you need to get out of here. You said run, right? So run!"

  "I'm not leaving you behind," Rose shouted back. She heard the gun go off again, but this time it hit the concrete a ways from them. Turning back, she saw the cop aiming at... something unseen, his face twisted in terror.

  Rose grabbed Vikhail's arm and did her best to try and lift her, but it was difficult due to her size and sheer muscle mass.

  "The noises and the invisible enemy, I don't understand," Vikhail said, sounding panicked.

  "We just need to get you out of here, okay. It's fine if they get me, but they cannot get you."

  Vikhail placed her hand on her leg. The glow started and began healing the damage, but faded before the wound could fully close. Sounding winded, Vikhail gasped, "Why isn't my magic working?"

  "There’s no mana here.” Another thing Rose forgot to mention.

  It was a struggle but Rose managed to get Vikhail moving towards the street. She heard another gunshot and glanced back to see the policeman with his gun pointed up at the bottom of the freeway.