Book of Names (Casters of Syndrial 1)

by Rain Oxford

  “Um… what?” Luca joined me and looked at the box. “This guy’s from Earth.”

  “I thought that was obvious with the fridge.”

  “I figured there has to be other planets with refrigerators.” He took the box, reached in, and pulled out a handful. They were a little shriveled, so of course, he ate them.

  “That is gross.”

  He shrugged. “I’ve had better.” He offered the box to me and I shook my head.

  I found the pantry, which was full of canned food, including spaghetti, vegetables, and numerous soups. “Yes!” I shouted, causing Luca to jump.

  “What’d you find?” he asked.

  “A bunch of outdated dry crap, some canned food, and… coffee!” I pulled out an unopened can of Folders Classic Roast like it was the Holy Grail.

  “Oh, gods. It’s probably stale by now.”

  “I don’t care if it’s green. It’s coffee.”

  He shook his head. “Find water then.”

  I tore open the foil lid. “I don’t need water, I need a spoon.”

  He rolled his eyes and started looking for water. Fortunately, there were a few jugs under the counter, because we were both pretty dehydrated. I found coffee filters, zip ties, and a pot, then poured some coffee grounds into the filter, tied it closed with zip ties, and set it in the pot. It wasn’t ideal, but it would make due. I filled the pot with water, lit the fireplace, and boiled myself some coffee.

  As I was taking the pot off, I saw a note in the fire. It had been tossed too far back for the flames to catch it. “Kerar mortoa,” I said, focusing my mind on dousing the flames. To my surprise, they died easily, probably because I had already learned to start a flame.

  I pulled the letter out.

  Get out while you still can. Someone is here, watching you. He’s in the walls.

  “That’s creepy,” Luca said, reading the letter over my shoulder.

  “Well, what do you want to do? We can eat food, drink water and coffee, and sleep in a soft bed with the wall people, or eat nothing, drink nothing, and sleep in the sand with the sand monsters.”

  “Wall people don’t sound that bad in comparison. Let’s check out the rest of the house before we decide, though.” We actually ended up drinking water out of the jugs and eating canned food out of the cans. We didn’t have a microwave to heat it up with or patience to put it in bowls.

  “Do you get the feeling we’re Goldilocks, and we’re about to get our comeuppance for eating this wizard’s food?” Luca asked nonchalantly.

  “Actually, I was thinking Hansel and Gretel.” Once we were done, we ventured further into the house.

  The door beside the stairs was locked. Fortunately, Luca was able to pick it and we found it was a modern, though dated bathroom. I didn’t find any spare toothbrushes, unfortunately.

  Upstairs were two bedrooms, one without any personal affects, one with, and another bathroom. Luca and I both needed a nap, so after we found some sheets to redress the used bed, he took it and I took the other one. It was a regular Earth-quality bed, but it felt like a cloud compared to the sand people’s bed.

  If only I could get that warning out of my head.

  * * *

  My dream was all about Keira. I dreamed of her warm skin, soft lips, and green eyes. At one point in the dream, I suggested stopping and told her about my curse, and she just laughed. “I’m tougher than I look,” she said before kissing me. Even in the dream, I knew I was stupid to try to stop her.

  * * *

  I woke to Luca screaming. After getting tangled in the blankets and falling out of bed with a pained groan, I freed myself and made it to Luca as I was getting my breathing under control. He was in bed, his clothes on the floor, with the blankets drawn up to his chest comically.

  “Did you see a rat, princess?” I asked.

  He pointed to the bookcase across from him, shaking. “I was woken by some creepy-ass Latin chanting coming from that wall. I’m pretty sure I heard someone say they were going to sacrifice me.”

  “You were dreaming.”

  “Why does everyone always say that? Nobody dreams that kind of shit up. Someone is in there.”

  “In a wall?”

  “Just look!”

  I sighed and went to the bookcase. “I’m looking, and I don’t see a monster. Did you want me to check under the bed?”

  “Nathan!”

  “I’m sorry,” I rubbed my eyes. “I’m just tired and not in the mood for another monster.”

  “Try the book trigger.”

  I halfheartedly started tilting books outward. “You know that only happens in escape rooms and movies, and I want to…” the soft trigger made my skin crawl. I stepped back, and as I did, the bookshelf swung forward. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  It didn’t open to a room but a door. It was an old wooden door with a circular metal device centered on it. Luca and I were familiar enough with puzzles to get that it was a lock. I tried to twist it, but it wouldn’t move. There was a round hole in the middle of it, making me wonder if the lock needed a key.

  “Would you grab my robe?” I asked. “It’s cold here at night.”

  “I should be here in case you open it and there’s trouble,” Luca insisted.

  That was actually the reason I didn’t want him there. “I’m not going to do anything until you get back,” I lied.

  He sighed and got dressed, even putting on his robe. The second he left the room, I pulled out my pen and stuck it in the hole. I didn’t know if a pen was supposed to be the key or if it was something else pen-shaped, but it fit perfectly. The lock turned and the door released. I quickly put my pen back in my pocket and opened the door. Inside was nothing more than a magic room.

  It was only ten-by-ten, with a bookshelf taking up the entire north wall and a writing desk against the west wall. Another table spanned the east wall, covered in magical equipment and potions. Creepy charms and papers with magic symbols all over them covered the brick walls.

  “Not cool,” Luca said, handing me my robe.

  “It just popped open.”

  He glared, not buying it for a second. We went straight for the books. I checked over the ones on the desk while he checked the ones on the shelf. The first four weren’t written in English or Syndrial’s language.

  “Look for a lamp,” he suggested.

  “This isn’t Agrabah.”

  He rolled his eyes. “How did we get here?”

  “Magic.”

  “So why the hell shouldn’t we look for a magic lamp?” A few minutes later, he held one of the books out for me and said, “Hey, they’re magic books.” It was a book of magic circles, rituals, and potions. I didn’t understand most of it. Luca handed me another book that talked about different worlds. “This stuff can help us. We should keep the books that we can read.”

  “It’s not a good idea to steal from a wizard.”

  He scoffed. “I doubt there has been anyone here in a year.”

  “You have a point.”

  “Plus, we already ate his food and drank his water. Maybe we should stay here instead of going back to the priests.”

  “You want to live on canned food and water for the rest of our lives?”

  He sighed. “No. You’re right. I just think living in a wizard’s mansion is better than a stuffy temple.”

  “I agree with you there. Maybe one of these spells will help us get home.”

  “I would rather go back to the priests. What’s so great about home anyway, Dorothy?”

  “There’s no place like it.”

  “Right. College is totally cooler than learning magic. We read about it, play it, watch it, but when you have the chance to actually do it, you---”

  “Enough,” I interrupted. “It’s all fun and games until people get hurt, and they have been hurt. I always thought I was cursed; that things happened to people around me because some supernatural force didn’t like me. I was unlucky, jinxed. I just learned everything that
has happened was my fault. Forgive me for not being happy about it.”

  “You can learn to control it now.”

  “That doesn’t undo what’s been done. That doesn’t bring our parents back.”

  “That was a freak accident.”

  “How can I know that?”

  Luca didn’t have an answer, so we went back to searching the books in silence. Half a dozen books later, he suddenly shrieked, threw the book in his hand to the floor, and started stomping on it like he was trying to put out a fire.

  “What the hell?”

  “It was moving!”

  “It’s a book.”

  “Not the book, the guy in the painting.”

  “What?”

  The book was black leather without a title or any writing on the cover. It made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Something told me that it was extremely dangerous and powerful.

  I picked it up and flipped it open. The pages were stiff and had a strange chill. Most of them were blank, but a few had writing. There were symbols and words in other languages. It wasn’t until I saw a few of them in English that I realized it was full of names. “Is this the Book of Names?”

  Luca shrugged. “That wasn’t what I was focused on. Keep going.”

  I skimmed a few more pages before reaching the middle, where a sheet of papyrus had been stuck. It was a painting of a man who was sitting in a garden… only the man was waving his hands for my attention.

  He was a slim man in his late thirties. His shoulder-length, silver-red hair was strange enough to tell me he wasn’t human. He was also wearing a green satin shirt and black slacks, which was not anything like what I had seen on Syndrial.

  “I’m so glad you found me!” he said.

  I blinked. “I think that coffee might have been bad,” I said.

  Luca nodded his agreement.

  “You’re not crazy or hallucinating!” the man insisted desperately. “Please don’t leave! I’ve been trapped in here for years.”

  “You’re trapped in a garden?”

  “I’m trapped in a painting.”

  “How is that possible?”

  “I angered the wrong wizard. I don’t know where I am.”

  “You’re in a book in a wizard’s mansion.”

  He nodded. “That makes sense. I must still be in my home. I thought the Painter transported me somewhere.”

  “The Painter did this to you?”

  “You know him?”

  “Not personally, no, but he’s the reason I’m on Syndrial.”

  “What is Syndrial?”

  “The world we’re on. You’re in your house… but it’s in the middle of the desert.”

  He gave an exasperated sigh. “I’m going to be in trouble when I get home.” To me, he said, “Please help me escape. I’ll help you as best as I can.”

  “That sounds fair. How do I get you out of the painting?”

  “One of the Painter’s weaknesses is that his art must be intact for his magic to work. Burn the painting and I should be freed.”

  “Should be?”

  “I am no good here. I can’t take another day sitting here. Please.”

  I nodded. “Alright. Don’t hate me if you burn up.” I lit the candle magically and then held the painting over it. There was ten times the smoke that should have been emitted. When the wizard didn’t immediately appear, I got discouraged. However, the smoke slowly twisted and condensed on the floor. I dropped the flaming painting where the smoke was forming and as soon as it was completely reduced to ash, the smoke changed into the wizard, who was coughing and waving his hand in front of his face in an attempt to get fresh air. “Thank… you,” he choked out.

  I noticed that his striking, stone gray eyes with specks of gold were just as unique as his hair. “No problem. All I did was burn some paper and it helped to know the Painter has a weakness.”

  “How did you end up on his bad side?” the wizard asked.

  “I’ve never met the guy before; my brother and I just fell through his portal. Then these priests tried to kill us and a god stepped in to save us.”

  “Which one?” he asked like it was a perfectly normal question.

  “Isis,” Luca said.

  “I’ve never heard of him.”

  “Her, and you seem surprisingly not surprised,” Luca accused.

  “I am surprised a goddess would approach a regular person, but the only goddess I know of is Tiamat, so I assume there is a miscommunication.”

  “I’ll say,” Luca agreed. “Tiamat is Sumerian and Babylonian, whereas Isis is Egyptian. What world are you from?”

  “I am Rilryn, the Guardian of Dayo.”

  “I’m Nathan, and this is Luca. We’re from Earth.”

  “I am very familiar with Earth and its Guardian.”

  “I don’t know what a Guardian is.”

  “Every Guardian protects his world’s book.” He gestured to the book he had been trapped in. “I assume since you were approached by a god that you are to be the Guardian of this world.”

  “I don’t like the sound of that. All I know is that I have to get a Book of Names from the Painter and then I can go home. Are you saying there is more than one Book of Names?”

  “It may be similar. Do you know anything about the one you’re after?”

  “It contains the true names of the gods and the names of the priests on Syndrial.”

  He paled. “Wow. That’s… dangerous. Mine can destroy my world, but not its god. Let alone multiple gods. You can’t let the Painter have that kind of power. To show my appreciation for your help, I will return the favor.”

  “You’ll help me take out the Painter?”

  “No,” he said, his voice on the verge of cracking. “I’ve already faced him and you saw how that turned out. Instead, I will give you two things.” He handed me a book from the table.

  It was a six-by-eight black journal with blank pages.

  “This looks like a regular book, but it is actually a powerful spell book. It can hide and even change information, so that if one of your enemies gets it, it can show them something that will confuse them or nothing at all.”

  “That’s awesome!” Luca said.

  The Guardian blushed before searching the shelves and desk drawers. “It can also be used as a means to organize your spells. Oh, here it is.” He pulled a gold ring out of a decorative jar and handed it to me. “If you’re wearing this and someone transports you to another world or time, it will transport you back to the last world and time you had been. If you’re not wearing it when you’re transported, however, it won’t work.”

  “That would have been useful when we were on Earth. How do we activate it?”

  “In whatever language you would like, say, ‘There’s no place like home’ three times.”

  “Please tell me you’re joking.”

  “Like I said; I have spent a lot of time on Earth. This ring was made by the first Guardian of Earth. I have never needed it and it sounds like you might.”

  “Well, I really appreciate it,” I said, putting the ring on my right middle finger. It was a plain gold band, not at all what I expected a magic ring to look like. “Is there any chance you can send us home to Earth?”

  “As I am not the Guardian of Earth and I doubt your name is in its book, I can’t.”

  “My name isn’t in Syndrial’s Book of Names. That’s why the gods think I can get the book; it doesn’t hold power over me.”

  “We’re dealing with different books here. The Painter uses portals, so you would have to know the portal to Earth. I don’t use them or know them.”

  “That makes sense,” Luca said.

  “In what way?” I asked.

  “Cultures on Earth are so different from each other. I imagine that two different worlds would have different magical rules. That doesn’t mean magic is different, only how we use it. In that sense, you can learn magic from one world, go to another world, and use magic the same way, without having
to learn the other world’s system.”

  “That sounds disastrous. What if someone like the Painter went to a defenseless world, like Earth?”

  Rilryn scoffed. “Earth isn’t defenseless. Aside from having an extremely powerful Guardian protecting it, a good portion of the population is trained in magic. Now, I need to get myself and my home back to Dayo, but I don’t want to send you two off into the desert. Do you want to come with me?”

  Luca and I looked at each other. Neither of us was sure what the right move to make was. Dayo could be more dangerous and it could take longer for us to get home. However, facing the hot desert didn’t sound any better.

  “I know what I want to do,” Luca said.

  I nodded and turned to the wizard. Just as I opened my mouth to tell the wizard, a glowing, red portal appeared between us, depositing Traveler and another priest I hadn’t met. They both wore their half-masks, but I recognized Traveler’s strange eye color.

  Traveler sighed with relief when they saw me. “It’s them. I’m sorry it took us so long to find you,” he said to me.

  “It’s suddenly really cramped in here,” Luca said.

  “How did you find us?” I asked.

  “I am the Seeker,” the other priest explained. “I can find objects and people if I have their true names. I tracked you by your special robes.”

  “We had to hunt down Seeker before we could get him to find you,” Traveler explained.

  “Why did you go through all this trouble to find us?” I asked. He frowned as if my question made no sense. “You guys don’t even want us there.”

  “You don’t understand what priests are, do you?”

  “You are servants of the gods.”

  “We are the protectors of our people. Sure, we don’t approve of people outside the walls because they refuse to obey the gods, but we would not hurt them. You two would not survive here and it is our responsibility to protect you and teach you magic.”

  “Because the gods said so?”

  “Because you don’t know this world and we do. You may not know or like Syndrial, but you were born here. Besides, even if you weren’t, you’re still a person. All people deserve our help.”