Seams in Reality

by Alex Siegel

  Andrew's mirror image was starting to move around. It was mimicking his gestures and expressions as well as his form. Andrew grimaced as the drain on his mind became more uncomfortable.

  "Today's lesson is about protecting yourself from sprites," Tonya said. "The first step is stopping it from feeding on you. Just make your mind completely blank. Don't give the thing any thoughts to steal or emotions to harness."

  He tried to stop thinking, but the task turned out to be much harder than it sounded. He had a very active mind, and turning it off was something he never did.

  "Do drugs help?" Andrew said.

  "As a last resort, a strong sedative can be used, but a skilled sorcerer would never need a pill. I find reciting the multiplication tables is a good method for banishing other thoughts. A sprite can't feed on abstract math."

  He started multiplying numbers in his head, and after a few minutes, he felt relief. He found a calm, quiet place inside his head where stray thoughts couldn't intrude. The multiplication tables protected him like the walls of a fortress.

  "It's not working," Charley said in a fearful voice. "The sprite is sucking out my brain!"

  Andrew looked over at her. Wide eyes stared out from a pale face, and she was gasping for breath.

  He grabbed her hand and squeezed hard. "Calm down. It does work. What is twelve times thirteen?"

  "Uh... uh..." She looked at him with an expression of panic.

  "Twelve times thirteen!"

  "One hundred and fifty six."

  "The powers of two," he said, "quickly. Don't think about anything else."

  "Two, four, eight, sixteen, thirty-two..."

  They went back and forth, quizzing each other on basic math. Charley eventually settled down, and she gave him a thankful smile.

  Andrew glanced at the sprite. Losing its energy source was making it agitated. It began to drift around the room, perhaps searching for a fresh supply.

  "Excellent work," Tonya said. "Now comes the fun part: dispelling sprites. It's not enough to stop them from hurting you. You have to make sure they can't hurt anybody else. Turn the tables on the sprite. Attack it with your curiosity. Pick apart its thoughts like you're dissecting an animal. Have no fear. You're far more powerful than that abomination. Andrew, you go first."

  Andrew had a basic idea of what she wanted, and he turned his full attention on the sprite. He examined it like it was under a microscope. The thing squirmed as if in pain which encouraged him to press harder. The sprite was wearing thoughts and memories like a set of clothes, and they began to unravel.

  Andrew pulled thoughts back into his own mind, and they weren't all his. Some had come from Charley. He glimpsed her private feelings about him, and it became clear she liked him more than she was letting on. He had a real shot at a relationship with her, but she was also nervous due to bad experiences in the past. Her beauty had drawn the wrong kind of guys into her life. If he wanted her love, he would have to court her properly.

  Interestingly, Andrew didn't get anything from Tonya. The master sorcerer had somehow managed to keep her thoughts secret. Veteran move, he thought. I have a lot to learn.

  "That's enough, Andrew," she said. "Very well done, especially for somebody with so little training."

  "That was easy!" Andrew said.

  "Let's not get cocky. Charley, drop the hammer on that sucker."

  The sprite was shrinking and becoming indistinct. Andrew looked at Charley who had a furious expression on her face.

  She challenged the sprite with her glare. "You're mine, you little bastard."

  "Don't let emotion take control," Tonya warned. "This is a purely intellectual game. A sorcerer must always have razor sharp focus."

  Charley nodded.

  Andrew watched the sprite wither away. She was in command now, and the thing didn't have a chance. She quickly reduced the sprite back to an invisible mote buzzing around the seam.

  "Nicely done," Tonya said.

  Charley turned to Andrew with a red face. "I didn't know you were so horny."

  Obviously, she had received some of his stolen thoughts.

  He felt himself blushing. "I'm a guy, after all."

  "I should slap you for staring at my ass all the time, but I guess it wouldn't be fair." She sounded like she was still considering her options.

  He backed away in case she changed her mind.

  Tonya chuckled. "That's enough."

  Andrew turned to her. "Hey, wait a sec. If I can steal her thoughts, and she can steal mine, can sorcery be used for telepathy?"

  "Yes, but it's risky. One sorcerer can accidently dominate the other. It can become a kind of mind-rape or even mind-control. I don't think either of you wants to share your darkest secrets with each other or me. We'll study that form when you have strong internal defenses."

  He and Charley nodded.

  "One final lecture before we end the lesson," Tonya said. "Sprites can take different forms as they grow stronger: apparitions, specters, ghosts, and banshees. They're all dangerous. It is our solemn duty to banish them before innocent people get hurt."

  "How strong can a sprite get?" Andrew said.

  "That depends on how much energy is available. In the old days, when sorcery wasn't taught as systematically, entire villages got wiped out. A banshee feeds until there is nothing left."

  "And then what happens?"

  "Eventually," she said, "it starves and returns to the void. That's all I have planned for today. You're dismissed."

  Andrew grabbed his heavy backpack off the floor, slung it over his shoulders, and walked out of the chamber. He waited for Charley to catch up to him, and the two students continued together.

  "Wow," he said, "that was a crazy lesson."

  She nodded. "Yeah. The meeting with Blake must've shaken her up to make her show us that stuff. We just got a solid look at infernal sorcery."

  Andrew had a hard time imagining Tonya being rattled by anything. She seemed to be in total control at all times. Her face never revealed anything but calm certainty.

  He sighed. "And now I have boring chemistry. What a letdown."

  "Hey, chemistry is important."

  "Not for sorcery."

  "Are you kidding?" Charley grabbed his arm, forcing him to stop. "Sorcery isn't mystical nonsense. Science is a big part of what we do. How do you expect to perform transmutations if you don't even know what things are made out of? Let's say you wanted to turn coal into diamond. What atoms are in coal?"

  "Uh, carbon."

  "And diamond?"

  Andrew grimaced. "Silicon?" he said tentatively.

  She rolled her eyes. "Wrong, and I made it easy for you." She walked off.

  His face grew hot with embarrassment. He shuffled his feet for a moment as he debated whether to go after her. He finally decided he couldn't let her leave him on such a sour note. He sprinted to catch up.

  Andrew caught Charley just as she was stepping outside. It was a bright, sunny morning, but a chilly breeze blew away any warmth. Dry leaves rattled as they flew across the grass. A few students had broken out their winter parkas, but Andrew was still being a tough guy with just a regular jacket.

  "Hey," he said, "that wasn't nice. Why don't you tutor me in chemistry?"

  She frowned at him. "Give me a little space, OK? Peeking inside your testosterone-soaked brain wasn't the nicest experience."

  "Sorry." He lowered his eyes.

  "It's OK." She sighed deeply. "I suppose you're a normal male. I appreciate you helping me down there. I was really losing it, and I shouldn't have. I'm stronger than that."

  He smiled. "Any time."

  "Let's meet for dinner. Six o'clock."

  "It's a date. Well, not really a date. More like a friendly meeting..."

  Charley laughed. "Bye. Don't be late for chemistry." She walked off.

  Andrew whistled a tune from Death of a Salesman and went in a different direction.

  Chapter Six

  Blake looked up th
e side of the Willis Tower. He loved the black color of the smooth exterior. It was just glass and steel all the way up more than one hundred stories. There were no annoying embellishments or flashy gadgets. The building's incredible size made a sufficient statement on its own.

  "Are we going in?" a BPI agent said.

  Blake turned. The agent had a squat, muscular body suitable for a weightlifter. His jacket was stretched around his bulging shoulders. He had a pink face, but that seemed to be its normal color.

  "Do you want to go in?" Blake said.

  "It's up to you." The agent shrugged. "We're just along for the ride."

  Blake was playing tourist in Chicago as a way of passing the time. He had never toured Chicago, and the experience was more enjoyable than he had expected. The city was much more interesting than St. Louis.

  He glanced back. Two more federal agents were trailing behind at a distance, and they were both watching him. The surveillance had become even more oppressive since Blake's encounter with Tonya. Obviously, she had told the BPI to watch him even more carefully.

  In an odd way, the extra scrutiny would work to his advantage. He intended to make his move after nightfall. The BPI would report they had stayed with him all night and he had never left his hotel room. He had an ironclad alibi.

  "No," Blake said. "I don't like noisy crowds. I'll just stay out here where the weather is perfectly pleasant."

  He continued walking down the sidewalk.

  Architectural masterpieces towered above him and blocked out the sun. The people on the street looked like toy dolls in comparison. The huge structures celebrated the technical prowess of mankind.

  Sorcery had the potential to create even greater works, but for some reason, the other sorcerers didn't believe that. They were timid, fearful creatures in need of bold leadership. Their own power frightened them. He would show them the possibilities.

  He would make them understand.

  * * *

  Andrew was trying to keep his eyes open. The class was English 101, and today's lecture was on using evidence in academic writing. He couldn't imagine a more boring topic. As the instructor droned on about the differences between facts and opinions, Andrew's attention drifted.

  He gazed at the white tiles on the ceiling. The fluorescent lights were a little too bright, and there was no reason for it. It was a waste of electricity. He looked at the trees outside the window and watched the fluttering brown leaves. Winter was on its way.

  He thought about how exciting sorcery was by comparison. The element of danger added spice to the adventure, and he wouldn't want it any other way. Something so important wasn't supposed to be easy or safe. Even the training was interesting.

  A strange feeling made Andrew sit up abruptly. A new sorcerer was in the vicinity. Actually, there were two and both were strangers. The energy a sorcerer emitted was as distinctive as a fingerprint, and Andrew was already learning to detect the differences from a distance.

  He was suddenly nervous. He slipped out of class as quietly as possible, but the instructor still gave Andrew a look.

  He took out his phone and called Tonya using a private number she had given him.

  "Yes?" she said.

  "It's Andrew. There are two intruders..."

  "I know. They're in my office, and I want you to meet them."

  Andrew furrowed his brow. "Is this going to be another ugly situation like Blake?"

  "Not at all. They're good friends. Come."

  He relaxed and put away his phone. He walked swiftly out of the building.

  As Andrew approached the Fine Arts Building, he detected Tonya and Charley in the same location as the two strangers. It's a party, Andrew thought.

  He entered the building and jogged down a narrow, steep flight of stairs. The basement had struck him as dreary at the beginning, but now he liked it. The cracked tiles and the dusty lights befitted a temple full of ancient mysteries. Dangerous secrets were supposed to be kept underground.

  Andrew went into Tonya's office and found two men, one old and one young. Andrew guessed the older visitor was in his sixties. He had thinning gray hair with just a hint of color in spots. His face was full of creases and wrinkles, but he still looked healthy. Light gleamed from a prominent nose. He was wearing a purple windbreaker zipped up to his neck.

  The young man was in his early twenties. His head was shaved almost bald, but the hair that remained was black. He had thick eyebrows, brown eyes, and a round face. His ears stuck out oddly and were his most interesting feature. He was wearing a black sweater with a big white scarf around his neck.

  Charley was already in the office, and Andrew gave her a friendly smile.

  Tonya was seated behind her desk. "Andrew," she said, "this is my dear friend Keene, a master sorcerer. He lives in Atlanta. His companion is his apprentice, Serkan."

  Andrew had already guessed Keene was a master sorcerer. A tornado of black energy swirled around him, invisible to normal eyes but glaringly obvious to Andrew.

  Keene walked over and shook Andrew's hand. "Very glad to meet you."

  "Same here," Andrew said. "Did you know my grandfather, too? It seems like everybody did."

  "As a matter of fact, yes. We met a few times."

  "Will you tell me about him?"

  Keene glanced at Tonya, and she shook her head.

  "Sorry," he said.

  Andrew sighed in frustration.

  "I will say he would've been proud of you." Keene stepped back and looked Andrew up and down. "You're a fine young man, bursting with talent, and you're in the hands of an extraordinary instructor." Keene winked at Tonya.

  She blushed slightly.

  "I'd like to see you cast a spell," he added.

  "Huh?" Tonya raised her eyebrows. "But he just started his training. His skills are rudimentary."

  "That's fine. I'm still very interested."

  She thought for a moment. "OK, but having so many sorcerers around the seam at once is dangerous. If things start to get messy, you'll help me regain control."

  "Of course, and so will Serkan. He's very competent."

  Serkan nodded. "You can count on me."

  Tonya led the group out of her office, down the hallway, and to the door of the seam chamber. Andrew was a little nervous about being put on display. He had no idea what Keene would expect of him. Andrew certainly didn't want to look incompetent in front of everybody, particularly Charley.

  Tonya opened the door. The two BPI agents waiting inside were startled when they saw such a large group. The agents gave each other nervous glances and hurried off.

  Keene walked into the chamber. "It's as magnificent as ever." He stared at the invisible seam in the center of the room.

  "Is your seam as big?" Andrew said.

  "Yes and no. Each is different. They have their own foibles depending on how they formed. This one is angrier than most."

  Everybody entered the chamber, and Charley pulled the door closed. Andrew looked around the now familiar room. It wasn't like a sorcerer's lair as portrayed in movies. If anything, the place looked more like a children's playroom. There were blocks of raw materials such as wood, metal, glass, and clay. One shelf held different kinds of mechanical clocks, but a few were obviously broken.

  Andrew and Keene stayed in the center of the room. Tonya, Serkan, and Charley spread out and stood near the walls like sentries.

  Keene smiled. "We're going to do a very simple spell together, but it will be a real spell, so there's some danger. Follow my instructions carefully."

  "OK." Andrew nodded.

  "Illusion is the easiest form of sorcery. It's just a harmless combination of light and suggestion, and it's also the most fun. Behold, fire!"

  Keene raised his arms, and the walls appeared to burst into flame. Suddenly, Andrew was standing in the middle of an inferno. He flinched away instinctively even though he felt no heat.

  Keene snapped his fingers, and the fire vanished.

  "You're going to
create an illusion," he said. "All I want is a glimmer of light, like so."

  A burst of white light flashed in the center of the room like a camera bulb.

  Tonya furrowed her brow. "Keene," she said, "I'm not sure about this. He is totally unprepared, and he could easily get lost."

  "Then we'll guide him back. Either way, it will be educational. May I continue?"

  She made a sour face. After a moment, she said, "Carry on."

  Keene looked back at Andrew. "Such a simple spell requires only a simple technique. Just believe there is light. Convince yourself totally, and it will happen."

  "That's all?" Andrew said. "I just have to believe? You make it sound easy."

  "It only works because you're a talented sorcerer and the world is very malleable here. Seams blur the lines between reality, thought, and imagination. Go ahead and try."

  Andrew focused on a point in space in front of his nose. He tried to believe he saw light, but there was no light, and that fact proved to be an obstacle. It was hard to believe something that obviously wasn't true. He could want light and imagine light easily enough, but believing in it was tricky. He had to fool himself.

  "Belief is the essence of sorcery," Keene said. "We believe things, and we force our beliefs on others. This is different from ordinary people who usually have beliefs thrust upon them."

  Andrew tried harder, but he wasn't getting anywhere. The light refused to appear. He clenched his jaw in frustration.

  "Be specific," Tonya said. "Choose a particular color, brightness, and shape. Know exactly where you want the light to appear. The more details you fill in, the easier it will be to convince yourself."

  He remembered the lights on the Christmas trees he had seen as a child. There was a particular blue color which had appealed to him. He pictured the exact shape in his mind. It's... right... there.

  Blue light began to glow in front of his nose.

  Andrew grinned. He was getting a feel for how to make this spell work. The space around the seam was like stiff clay, and if he pressed hard enough, he could make an impression.