The Jumper Chronicles - Quest for Merlin's Map

by W. C. Peever

  “Okay, I think I’ve got it,” Charlie thought.

  “Excellent. Now, you must have the destination in mind. Imagine a world where you were never born, where your father died before your conception. When you have that picture locked in your head, nod.” Charlie froze. How could a person imagine never being born? If he had never been born than how would he be able to imagine that world?

  Then a chilling thought struck him. He imagined Bailey alone, and crying, with great giants casting their shadows about her. He and she had never been apart. What would she do without him? His heart sank. He saw his mother, sitting alone in his father’s old arm chair, in the living room of their Massachusetts home. She looked so old and tired. A cold wind rushed through the gaps in the windows which Ellen had not bothered to stuff with a towel. He had never realized how many people counted on him before. With some hesitation he nodded.

  “Excellent. In a moment you will find yourself in the coliseum of the other dimension, and you will most likely be interrupting their trials ceremony. Since I can not see anything there, I cannot be certain, but when you arrive, excuse yourself and speak to me in your mind immediately, so I can protect you from attack. Are you ready?”

  “Wait, no! In the movies, people traveling through time screw things up. They always call it ‘disrupting the space-time continuum’ or something like that.”

  “Ah but, you will not be traveling through time, Charlie. You will be skipping across dimensions. Changing things over there can not change anything here in our plane. The dimension we are in now is the Nexus of Reality. Think of it like a tree. The current timeline is the trunk of the tree. It can grow up towards the sun, and creates branches that reach out in different directions.

  “We are living in the origin of all realities. The alternate dimensions are like the branches extending from our tree. I am sure to the leaves the branches are very important. However, the tree can lose a branch and never know it. Do not concern yourself with the consequences. They will stay in the alternative reality. Do you understand?” Charlie nodded. “When you are sure you are ready to go, turn the crystal in your ring to one minute. But watch yourself. If you die out there, you are just as dead here as if you died here.”

  Charlie’s knees began shaking. He tried to take a deep breath, but quivered as if crying. He looked fearfully out into the blackness of the coliseum, knowing that thousands of people were watching him. Forcing himself to regain his composure, his lungs filled with cool, brisk air and his legs stopped shaking. His fingers found the large purple amethyst that was the heart of the ring. He closed his eyes and focused on a world where he did not exist, then turned the crystal.

  It felt as if a vacuum cleaner had been turned on inside of his stomach. For the second time that day, he was thrown to his knees. The world spun around him, and everything went black.

  Charlie opened his eyes to shouting. The coliseum’s lights had been turned on and men were rushing towards him. He reached out with his mind to find the Oracle. Oracle, are you there? Did it work? Am I in the other reality?

  “Stop!” said a booming voice. “He’s a Jumper. I sense it! He may have come to warn us of the Order’s plans. Let me speak to him.” The voice was that of the Oracle, but what did it mean ‘the Order’s plans’?

  “Why have you come?” asked the voice in Charlie’s head.

  “You sent me here as part of my ability trials,” Charlie replied in thought.

  “Ability trials? On your world the Order still controls the castle?”

  “Yes. The only thing I changed in my mind was my existence. Since both the Order and the Vanari seem to think I’m important, I assumed that there would be an alternate reality there…”

  “Then you must be the son of Daniel Burrows. You’re in great danger here! When they realize that you are from the Order you will be killed. How long until you go back?”

  ” I set the ring for one minute, so any second.”

  “Because of the blinder they’ve put on me, I can’t see or communicate with myself in your dimension. You must give me a message from myself. Tell me ‘ Toutes choses, disoit un mo ancien, sont esperable a un homme, pendant qu’il vit.’ I will know what it means.”

  ” Toutes choses, disoit un mo ancien, sont esperable a un homme, pendant qu’il vit.” Charlie repeated in his mind, while moving his lips as if saying it aloud.”

  “Good luck boy, our hopes rest with –”

  Charlie was pushed again to his knees and dragged back to his dimension. There was a brilliant flash of light, and hundreds of voices screamed. The clamor made him freeze. Was he still in the other realm? Were the Vanari about to kill him? Reaching out with his mind, he found the Oracle.

  “Did I leave? Am I back? Oracle?”

  “You are back. The audience is beginning to realize what they just saw. Quickly tell me what you learned.” Charlie thought of the events that had transpired as well as the message. “It is a quote by a man named Montaigne,” said the Oracle. “Very interesting, indeed, and if I glean the meaning correctly we are very lucky to have you. Now if you will excuse me, I must make the announcement.”

  “The Order welcomes Charlie Burrows, World Jumper, into the fold!” The Oracle’s voice echoed for a moment throughout the giant coliseum, and was followed by a deafening clamor.

  Five men ran to Charlie’s side, four carrying long staffs and one a two-handed broadsword, apparently a sign of authority. The man with the sword spoke directly to him. “Charlie, it’s me, Marley. Good show, but now I need to get you out of the coliseum and into the council chambers. If there are members of the Vanari here, they now know you have your abilities for certain.” He looked at the other Guardians. “Okay, boys, let’s get him out of here.”

  “Wait,” shouted Charlie. He was tired to the point of collapse, but he wasn’t about to miss watching his friends go through the trials. “I don’t want to leave. I need to be here for my friends.”

  “Charlie.” It was Bailey’s voice. She and Mick bolted towards him, followed by three angry Guardians. One of Charlie’s guards ran to intercept them but was tackled by Mick. Bailey continued her sprint to Charlie’s side.

  “Let her through,” Marley cried in exasperation.

  “Good decision,” said Bailey. “Are you okay, Charlie? I was so scared, and then these guys ran at you and… I didn’t know what to think.” Mick came limping up to his other side.

  “You okay?” said Charlie.

  “Seen worse now, haven’t I? I am a defense man on the lacrosse team.” He smiled, and tipped his hat at Bailey. “You’re welcome.” She nodded back at him. “So what’s the plan? Where are we going?” Mick pepped up.

  “You two are going to do your trials. I need to take Charlie somewhere safe, so he can speak with the Headmaster and the council,” said Marley.

  “I am not going anywhere. I came here to watch my friends and I’m not leaving.”

  “I cannot allow that. I need to bring you to the council chambers, for your own safety,” said Marley.

  “I won’t go! I told you –” a calm seemed to come over Charlie’s face, and he smiled softly “– that I think a nice soft seat in the council chambers is exactly what I need.” A soft hand rested on both Mick’s and Bailey’s shoulder.

  “He needs to be taken to safety. There are enemies here,” Celli crooned, her golden hair glistening under the coliseum lights. Simon and Silace, arms folded, seemingly on their guard, were behind her. “We’ll make certain he gets to the council chambers. Joelle is already there waiting for us. Now run to the preparation room, Bailey, you are next.” Celli turned back to Charlie. “Go to sleep,” she whispered softly and Charlie collapsed into the arms of Marley, who walked between the twins and instantly QILTed away.

  Chapter Seven

  Friends and Rivals

  Charlie had to force his eyes open. He was standing in an oval room with a round, wooden table in its center. Along the outside of the table stood tall, leather-backed chairs
, thirty in all, each with a brass plaque on its back denoting a name. The room’s stone walls were covered with ornate tapestries depicting ancient battles. Charlie recognized one as a copy of the Bayou tapestry depicting William the Conqueror’s 1066 invasion of Briton. In the center of the table was a jug of ice water surrounded by pewter mugs. Parched, Charlie grabbed one of the mugs and poured himself a cup. He greedily drank the cool liquid which had an immediate invigorating effect on his body.

  “Well, well, well. We can put on a show now, can’t we?” Joelle’s voice made him jump. “Sorry, perhaps I should have knocked…But no knuckles you see.” She held up one of her paws. How are you feeling? You slept for hours. Pricilla must be better at persuasion than I thought.”

  “Persuasion?” Charlie said, groggily.

  “She put you to sleep for your own protection. Now tell me what happened during your trial. Where did the Oracle send you?”

  “To a reality where I did not exist.”

  “What took place once you arrived?”

  “The Vanari had taken control of the Castle. They were trying to determine the Order’s next move. They were about to attack me when I contacted the Oracle. He gave me a message – ‘Toutes choses, disoit un mo ancien, sont esperable a un homme, pendant qu’il vit.’ ”

  “It is a famous quote by a Frenchman named Montaigne. Roughly translated it says: ‘All things, said an ancient saw, may be hoped for by a man as long as he lives.’ An interesting, if not cryptic, message. I can only speculate what he meant by it.”

  “And?”

  “I believe that the Oracle was trying to say that a world without you is a world doomed, but as long as you live there will always be hope for a better tomorrow.”

  “That, we already knew,” said the Headmaster entering the room. “Why the Oracle decided to act unilaterally and put your life in jeopardy is troubling. He has proven nonetheless that without you, the Order will be lost.” Grayson looked down on the boy, his usualy kind eyes betraying fear and trepidation. “My dear boy, from this moment on your life will never be dull.” He turned towards the outer courtyard window. The room was pregnant with silence.

  “I have decided to change your schedule for the year.

  We usually wait to teach arms training until second year, but I have spoken with Marley, and he has agreed to give you private lessons. You will practice in secret, during the lacrosse games. Is this acceptable?”

  “Yes, Professor, if you think it’s necessary.”

  “That was my question, Grayson,” snapped the werecat. “While in the castle walls this young man is quite safe. Why is it then that you believe he needs immediate weapons training? Are you keeping something from me?”

  “Nothing at all, my old friend. But seeing as he is a Jumper, I thought it…necessary to speed up his training.” Grayson smiled at Charlie. “Why don’t you meet your friends in the dormitories? They are eager to see you.” Grayson led Charlie to the door, and closed it behind him.

  The werecat flicked her tail angrily. “And what exactly, are we protecting the boy from?”

  Grayson sat down in one of the high-backed wooden chairs, and sighed. “I am not entirely sure of the answer to that question, Joelle, but you must feel the presence that surrounds the boy. It chills me to the core. Someone is watching him.”

  “But how is that possible, Henry? The castle is protected from Seers’ eyes. There is no way anyone can get inside the castle. I dismissed the feeling when I first noticed it as my own paranoia, as should you.”

  “Unless…unless they are watching him from within the castle walls, Joelle. No, I fear that we must proceed with the greatest caution. This boy may very well be the last hope for the Order.”

  Charlie’s eyes widened. He removed his ear from the council chamber door, where he’d been listening, and hearing footsteps coming down the corridor to his left took off in the opposite direction, towards the dormitories and his friends.

  About half way to the dormitories, Charlie stopped dead in his tracks. For the life of him, he could not remember why he was running so fast down the corridor. Then he began to laugh uncontrollably. It was hilarious, running down the hallway for no apparent reason. A voice far in the back of his mind was screaming, but the words were lost in the fog that had settled around Charlie’s consciousness.

  “Well, well, well.” The voice cut through the haze, sharp as a knife through warm butter. “I guess my ability is more powerful than even yours, huh Jumper?” It was the voice of the boy from the chemistry class, Lance MacAlcester.

  “Yeah, Burrows, forget where you were going?” chanted Lance’s best friend Ralph LaGrosse.

  “What do you think Ralph, should we make the Jumper think that he’s a dog? Maybe beg for a bone?” The boys laughed. “You’re weak Burrows. Everyone else thinks you’re something special.” Lance snickered. “But a Jumper is just the lap dog of the Order. It’s not even an active power. You can’t even defend yourself. Not from the Vanari and not from me.” Lance touched the silver band on his forehead and closed his eyes. The red crystal at its center glowed brightly, sending invisible waves from the controlled mind of Lance and into the susceptible mind of Charlie.

  Suddenly Charlie believed that he could fly. It was not a passing, fanciful feeling, but a solid, unbreakable fact in his mind; if he leaped from a cliff, he would fly. Why didn’t anyone believe him? He had to prove it to the world. He began to walk towards the window of the tower.

  “He doesn’t need to defend himself from you, Lance, he has us!” Bailey’s voice broke Charlie’s trance, and he turned to see Lance’s silver headband fly across the corridor and strike the stone wall. Lance charged like an angry bull at Bailey but was knocked off his feet by a bolt of green energy that erupted from Mick’s staff.

  Bailey held up her white gloved hand and smiled at the quivering form of Lance as he franticly searched for all the pieces of his headband. “Did I break your tiara Lance? So sorry.”

  Lance glared up at her from his crouched position, poison in his eyes. “What you did was so illegal, you attacked me! Wait ‘til I get a teacher!”

  “I am so sorry Lance, I need to learn how to control my ability. Telekinesis is just so powerful, I must have lost control. After all one wrong swing of the hand and poof…Well, you know.”

  Mick was laughing. “Not me! I shot a bolt of controlled Guardian energy right at your chest. You see, my protective nature just took over when I saw you attempting to turn my best friend into road kill.”

  “I guess what we are trying to say, Lance,” Bailey continued, “is that Charlie’s lack of an active ability by no stretch of the imagination means he is defenseless. It just means that he doesn’t have to worry about defending himself, and can concentrate on defeating the Vanari,”

  “Unlike yourself,” Mick chimed in. “If I were you, I would spend the rest of my time here at Thornfield looking over my shoulder. Defense should be the only thing on your mind.” Mick snorted, kicking the last part of the broken headband at Lance.

  Lance stood up, straightened his robes, and he and Ralph retreated down the corridor from which they had come.

  Mick turned to his friend. “I just had this feeling that you needed our help, and I just started running in this direction.” Mick hit Charlie on the shoulder. “Guess Vali was right; I am going to guard you with my life.”

  Charlie suddenly remembered why he had been running towards them. “I have a lot to tell you. How did the trials go? I’m so sorry that I couldn’t watch them. They dragged me off, and –”

  “We know. Don’t worry about it, Charlie. We were fine. Turns out I have the ability to move things with my mind, and I can apparently move them quite quickly.” Bailey showed him her new gloves. They were pure white leather, and in the center of each was a sky blue diamond about the size of a dried apricot. “With these I can move almost anything I want. It’s amazing. For the trials they made me build a pyramid out of small blocks. At first it was really frustrating,
but I finally got the hang of it. Even the Oracle was impressed!”

  “And you, Mick? How did it go?”

  “Well, Guardian class obviously.” He held up his staff, which looked very similar to the one Marley carried, with the green crystal in its center.

  “They put a giant scorpion between me and Bailey. I had to engage it by directing my energy through the crystal in the staff. You should have seen it, Charlie; the energy shot out of the staff in a torrent of lime green light. It was incredible! It hit the scorpion and cooked it like in a microwave. The thing exploded…it was brutal. I was so tired afterwards, and I almost collapsed.”

  “Truth is, Charlie,” said Bailey “that after your trial, no one paid much attention to the rest of the trials. They just talked about you. As soon as they carried you off, the master of ceremonies returned and tried to get everyone’s attention again. It took a full hour. He had to remind everyone that it was not fair to the rest of the first years. It was a real mess!” She laughed. “So, what do you have to tell us?”

  In all of the excitement, Charlie had forgotten his news, but now the memory came flooding back to him, and he told them about his Jump. Repeating what the Oracle said, he then told them what Joelle and Grayson had said when they believed Charlie to be out of earshot.

  “The Headmaster thinks that someone in this castle is out to get you? Well it’s true. I mean MacAlcester just tried, didn’t he?” said Bailey.

  “What he did was more than illegal. He tried to influence you to kill yourself, and it might have worked if we hadn’t shown up. That takes a deep understanding of his ability. Seeing as his father went bad, I bet he taught his only son to do the same,” said Mick.

  Charlie shook his head, and looked down in thought at his boots. “I don’t know…I just don’t think he is powerful enough to watch me all the time. The Headmaster said that it was a Seer, and it would have to be a powerful Seer as well, or Grayson would have located him.” Charlie paced back and forth, trying in vain to come to a logical solution.