Max Quick: The Bane of the Bondsman (Max Quick Series Book 3)

by Mark Jeffrey

  “That is a long story,” Enki replied. “You saw me in the Starland Food Universe parking lot. I wasn’t exactly myself.”

  “What was wrong with you?” Max asked.

  Enki sighed. “I was mad.”

  “Mad? Why? How did that happen to you?” Casey asked.

  “I’m not entirely sure,” Enki said. “The price I paid for returning to sanity was the loss of the explanation for why I was mad in the first place, I do know that much.”

  “Ah, I can answer to that,” Max said. Everyone gasped. “It was an Archon. The one in the golden box. I talked to him through the Whispering Stone. He told me that he showed you what was inside his golden box and it drove you insane.”

  Enki laughed. “It was he who showed me something, yes. But he puffs up the story! And he makes it seem that I was terrified of him. That is not true!

  “Here is what I do recall: at some point in the distant past, I discovered that I was the victim of faulty memory. It was indeed the Archon you speak of who first proved this to me beyond a shadow of a doubt — that knowledge was the contents of his golden box. Yet it was not this that drove me mad — rather, it set into motion a chain of events that led me to madness.

  “Mind you, I had not experienced a loss of memory, as Max had. Rather, I discovered that my memory was not accurate. It had been modified. Certain details had been surgically altered, skewed.”

  “Like what?” Sasha asked.

  Enki shrugged. “I no longer recall. But knowing this back then, I investigated, looking for the cause. What could have given me false memories? Who was behind it, if anyone? And which memories were false and which were true?

  “Well. Apparently, I succeeded — for it when I discovered the cause behind my memory modification, I went mad. Something snapped inside of me and I lost my reason. I speculate now that something about the nature of this discovery hit a trigger buried in my mind, a defense mechanism: I was not meant to have this information.

  “During the time of the Pocket, I was here on earth, but wandering the forests of the world in this mad state. I have quick snapshots, half-memories of the time when I was mad — but they are fuzzy images only and caked in the ravings of a lunatic, nightmare images. So I do not know specifically where I was, only that I was in the deep wilderness for a time. Some part of me remained sane enough to realize that, in my incapacitated stated, I was no match for Jadeth, and this caused me to retreat, to hide — trusting to my simulacra stand-in Mr. E to play the necessary role, which he did.

  “Sometime later, after the time of the Pocket, and still quite mad, I found my way back to the Isle of the Dreamtime. There, I bid Mr. E to fuse with me — in an attempt to heal my mind, make it whole once again. I must have believed that Mr. E was enough of a ‘backup’ of my original psyche to set things aright again. And although our memories did successfully fuse, the attempt was a failure: I remained mad — and worse, my madness drove Mr. E equally mad in the process.

  “It was then that at last I returned to Nibiru. I think all along I knew who was behind this, or some part of me did. So I shambled back to him, broken.”

  “Enlil,” Casey said. “Enlil did this to you.”

  Enki nodded. “Yes. My brother, Enlil. Or I should say, our brother, for he is half-brother to Max was well.”

  “So what happened?” Max demanded, ignoring this detail.

  Enki’s brow furrowed. “I am not altogether certain. It is a blur. But Enlil returned me to sanity. I must in fairness say that. But as I said, his price was that I not know what drove me mad in the first place. In fact, I suspect that my memory is currently modified. I believe Enlil put his protections back in place. There is something Enlil does not wish me to know.”

  “So now you have a secret, even from yourself,” Max said pointedly.

  “It would seem so,” Enki agreed. “But before I returned to earth, I managed to sneak an interview with one whom I thought might shed more light on this subject. Someone who helped me a great deal.”

  “Who?” Sasha asked. “Anu?”

  “No. Jadeth helped me.”

  All eyes bugged wide.

  Enki laughed. “Yes, though I daresay she did not mean to.

  “When I regained my sanity, I visited her within the prison of the Book we fashioned for her. Possessing the only key to her gaol, I entered her personal simulacra.

  “To my great surprise, I found that Jadeth was not at all aware that she was inside of a simulated world! After all this time, she sincerely believed that she had conquered the real earth, and she was its Queen, and that she had also long ago also conquered Nibiru. She only spoke with me because she loved to gloat about this, and she believed I was powerless in her realm.

  “‘You stupid fool!’ she bellowed at me. ‘I will torment you for fun, Betrayer! You will never leave this place!’ She stabbed the air with the jewel about her neck – a jewel she sincerely believed to be the Pendant.

  “I had to be patient and play into her delusion. She had to believe the Pendant worked on me in order to keep her talking. And suffice to say, I did learn a whole new meaning of the word patience in her presence, I assure you. However, I will not try yours with a full description of what I was made to endure.

  “But in the fullness of time, I discovered why Jadeth’s mind had been altered. It seemed the more time Jadeth spent inside the Book-prison, the more her mind began to believe it was the real world.

  “If you recall — and I doubt you will ever forget this — when we first imprisoned her, Jadeth had quickly seen through the ruse of the Book-reality. Her rantings and ravings left little doubt of this. But over time, she came to believe that that was, in fact, a trick: she actually was in the real world, and ‘the impression of being in a Book’ was the ‘true trick’, if you will.

  “But more than this, the effect went in two directions. I saw that the Book-reality had been symmetrically altered and mutated by Jadeth’s madness. For example, in her twisted simulacra, Nibiru was now not another planet at all; rather, it was a far-away continent on the earth. It was a place that you could sail to on the ocean!

  “In short, things in her world had become jumbled up and confused, the way things in dreams sometimes get. The Book made Jadeth mad, and her madness had in turn infected the Book-world. One delusion fed the other.

  “The key learning was this: spending a lot of time inside of a Book can drive you mad. And this effect – some species of it, anyway – I believe what happened to me.”

  “You were inside a Book,” Max repeated. “A Book is what drove you mad.”

  Enki nodded. “The details are not clear, as I said. But yes: I think a Book-reality caused my madness. I surmise that when I attempted to solve the riddle of my modified memories, I suspected the answer lay in a Book … and it was therein that my mind snapped.”

  “So we better be careful,” Casey said. “If there’s a Book that can make you mad, we need to not be so quick to open them.”

  “What about … Philomen?” Ian asked. “Was Philomen in there?”

  Enki nodded, smiling. “Oh yes. And he was not under any delusions: he knew he was imprisoned.”

  “Well, we’re glad to have you back,” Ian said. “Even though … oddly, we’ve only technically just now met.”

  Enki laughed loudly at that. “Well! That is so, technically, but as I have said: the memories of Mr. E have been fused with my own, he acted exactly as I would have — and my memories of what he did are exactly as if I took those actions myself. So it is all semantics at this point.”

  “So what now?” Max asked.

  “Once everyone’s finished eating their lobster — or whatever it is — we hike,” Enki said. “We have no choice but keep moving forward, to discover what there is to be discovered.”

  THE COMPANY roused themselves following the meal and packed their things. The blankets were rolled and handed to Enki, who dutifully put them back inside his Book — along with the with pots and pans. Casey and Sas
ha made sure their magnificent weapons were strapped securely to their sides. Ian eyed Sasha’s gun belt with a look that said, This’ll take some getting used to. Then he asked Max, “Hey. You okay mate? You look a little … I dunno … frazzled.”

  “Memories,” Max explained. “I’m … full of too many centuries. I’m trying to keep a lid on it, but it keeps squirting out the sides.”

  Ian slapped his back. “If there’s anything I can do … “

  “Yeah. I know. There isn’t. I’m basically okay. But thanks.”

  AFTER TWO HOURS, the coastline suddenly turned sharply inland. Several massive rocks jutted up out of the sea just off the shore, like a Giant had hurled a few small mountains into the ocean long ago. Most were roughly block-shaped and tall as skyscrapers. And when they rounded the bend and their view of the shore ahead was at last unobstructed, the company beheld what appeared to be a massive white mansion perched on a cliff overlooking the beach along which they strode. It reminded Max of the Hearst Castle — a place he had once visited, he was suddenly surprised to recall.

  Voices carried on the wind, now and then cutting through the sound of surf slamming against the rocks: screams of delight. The company could make out movement in the sea near the mansion-like structure. People were swimming in the ocean. And there was movement on the lawn and veranda.

  “What is that?” Casey asked.

  “I think it’s resort,” Ian replied. “Looks like it.”

  “A hotel,” Enki further guessed. “And a resort — on the sea. A play place for the wealthy, judging by the ornateness and seclusion. Note that there is not a single building up and down this coastline, save for it. And that is expensive beachfront property. It is a place meant to be very difficult to get to. I suspect that if we had not arrived on this beach by way of the Pyramid of the Arches, there would be no other access to this coastline for miles in either direction. Come. Let us go and have a closer look.”

  THE HOTEL — Enki had been correct, that was indeed what it was — was grand beyond belief. It was a literally a stone castle on the sea.

  Wide, terraced patios stepped up from the ocean’s edge and up the cliff to the Hotel itself. Inlaid mosaics of swirling blue shells decorated the grey slate slabs. Hundreds of tall, narrow manicured bushes formed little enclosed areas. Oversized poofy umbrellas were everywhere, as if the world were a giant cocktail.

  “Come on,” Enki said. “Let’s go.”

  “Go?” Max asked. “Go where?”

  “That patio, of course. Get a table. Listen in on conversations. Best way to find out where we are.”

  “What?” Max snapped. “No. We should stay out of sight. Until we learn more.”

  Ian blinked. “Max. We have you. We have me and my armor. We have Casey and Sasha and their … magic guns or whatever. And, to top it all off, we have Enki. And you’re scared to go get a table at some beachside hotel?”

  “Just being a little more cautious these days,” Max mumbled. “You know, certain Machine-related events.”

  “Max. It’s a hotel patio,” Ian said.

  Rolling his eyes, Max followed Enki up the beach. “Okay, but when it turns out the bellhop is actually Niburian monster or something, remember who told you so.”

  ENKI, MAX, Casey, Ian, and Sasha sat at a table near the top of the patio. It had been no trouble to slip up there unnoticed – apparently, people came and went from the beach all the time. The company had followed a winding stone stair up from the sand, nodding awkwardly to several smiling people in swimsuits as they passed.

  As they ascended the staircase, Sasha said, “Ah. I hear English. They’re speaking English.”

  “So we’re in America,” Casey said.

  “Not necessarily,” Enki replied. “We could be in Australia or South Africa or even India. There are –”

  “Or ENGland,” Ian cut him off. “It is ENGlish after all. You lot just borrowed it from us, don’t forget that.”

  “Or England,” Enki repeated with a smile. “But wherever we are, I suggest you girls keep your guns out of sight for now.”

  “I’m not taking them off,” Casey and Sasha both said in unison.

  “I didn’t say remove them. I just said keep them out of sight,” Enki replied.

  After a moment’s thought, Casey removed her red Starland High hoodie and tied it around her waist, letting it hang over her magnificent weapons. Sasha did the same. They both looked up at Enki, who grunted in grudging approval.

  When they reached the top of the beach staircase, the company found themselves on a very wide lawn. Well-dressed people played all kinds of lawn games — croquet, lawn darts, even horseshoes. Some lazed in lounge chairs, and still others played catch with a ball or rode a bicycle. It all seemed very Ivy League to Ian.

  Again, these people nodded and politely said hello to the company. Everyone was very friendly and happy.

  “So this is the world the Archons made?” Ian said with a note of surprise. “It doesn’t look so bad. You sure what we think happened, actually happened?”

  Enki nodded slowly. “The Prism of the world refracts the truth, bends it into lies. I do not know what the appearance of this place portends, but I am certain that all is not as it seems. Here. Let us ascend those stairs yonder, and take a table on the veranda. From there we can observe from afar and consider our next course of action.”

  The wind gusted in the drowsy sunlight. The company was seated at a table on a plush patio, a place decorated and beautiful beyond compare.

  “Hello,” said a girlish voice. A waif-like blonde had appeared. “I’m Cassandra, your waitress.” She flashed a too-perfect white smile. Casey winced: this girl might have been Cody Chance’s sister. “What can I get you?”

  She deftly dropped napkins on the table and placed little dark stones on top to keep them from blowing away.

  Max glanced down at his. It said,

  The Shell Hotel

  “Well. Isn’t that swell,” Max muttered.

  “It doesn’t smell,” Ian said.

  “Stop it,” Sasha said, trying to head this off at the pass.

  “Go to h—”

  “Don’t,” Sasha said, the corner of her mouth turning up despite herself.

  “Ah. Rhyme jokes,” Cassandra observed. “They’ve been done to death, you know.”

  Sasha eyed Cassandra for a moment and then turned to Casey. “I like her already.”

  “Me too,” Casey replied.

  “Mint Julep,” Enki said.

  “Green tea,” Casey said.

  “And who are you supposed to be?” Cassandra said to Max teasingly. In his sunglasses and gloves, he looked shredded, a strung-out rock star. “Are you somebody famous?”

  “Me?” Max said. “No. Just plain old Max Quick.”

  At that, Cassandra started as if she’d been zapped with a live wire. She looked as if she might vomit terror.

  “What are you trying to do, get me fired?” she whispered intensely in Max’s face.

  “What?” Max replied, mystified. He looked at Casey and Sasha. “What’d I say?”

  “That name, you idiot,” Cassandra snapped. “If you were trying to be funny, stick to the lame rhyme jokes. We don’t need the Bondsman’s enforcers sticking their nose into the Shell because some jerk thinks making Max Quick jokes is hilarious. I’ve got news for you: it’s really not.”

  Enki leaned forward. “My nephew is a spoiled and crass individual on occasion, Miss Cassandra. Max Quick jokes are certainly not the sort of thing that belongs in polite company, wouldn’t you agree?”

  Cassandra nodded. “Of course not.”

  “Then we apologize,” Enki said, noting her reply with interest. “Profusely. Right, nephew?”

  Max looked a question at Enki, who in turn bugged his eyes out. “What? Oh, right. Right. Sorry. I’m sorry,” Max said to Cassandra.

  Cassandra eyed him for a moment and then said, “If it happens again, I’m not serving your table. Got it?”


  Max nodded.

  At that, she seemed to calm down somewhat. “Okay. I’ll get your drinks then. Back in a few.”

  When she’d left, Max leaned into Enki. “What was that about?”

  “She knew your name,” Enki said, deep in thought. “She seemed to think it was common knowledge, like everyone should know it – and should also know better than to bring it up.” Enki stroked his beard. “It seems that your name is famous here. Everyone has heard of Max Quick. And somehow, I don’t think that’s a good thing.”

  Max turned to Ian and did a fake British accent. “‘It’s just a hotel patio’.” Ian let out a puff of exasperation. “See? Told you. With us, it’s never ‘just a’ anything.”

  “She also mentioned someone else,” Casey said, ignoring Max. “The … Bondsman. Who is that? Do you know, Enki? Is that someone you’ve heard of before?”

  “That sounds familiar for some reason …” Ian said.

  Enki shook his head. “No. That was a new one on me as well. Max, from now on we’ll –”

  He stopped cold. All seven of them stared out at the ocean with slack jaws and wide eyes. A Sky Chamber sailed along the shoreline like that was a totally normal thing to have happen.

  “Oh. Well. This is good also,” Max said.

  Nearby, a toddler squealed with delight and pointed. “Sky Chame! Sky Chame!” he chanted.

  His Mom picked him up. “Yes Charlie, very good! Sky Chamber,” she gently corrected.

  “… And everybody can apparently see Sky Chambers this time around,” Ian observed. “Not sure if that’s better or not.”

  “This world is clearly very different from the one we left,” Enki growled. “That much is certain.”

  “But what’s happened?” Casey asked. “Why is everything like this?”

  “The Archons,” Enki said. “This is their doing. They have remade the world according to their liking. I believe that this is an alternate timeline.”