Book of Names (Casters of Syndrial 1)

by Rain Oxford

  There were three doors, one leading to a bedroom, one to a bathroom, and one to the engine room. Healer introduced me to the three people who were navigating and steering the vehicle. Before taking off, we were joined by a man and woman, both wearing colorful robes. I thought they were just a couple of travelers, but they were actually guards.

  I told Healer I was going to take a nap in the bedroom because I hadn’t slept well the night before. The bedroom consisted of a full-sized bed that was too short for me and a small, metal table in the corner with a lit lamp on it.

  As soon as I was alone, I popped open the book Luca had given me and started studying it. I decided to learn the spells in order, since Luca seemingly listed them from simplest to most complicated. First, however, I did a quick run through of what I already knew. I levitated the lamp off the table and into my hand.

  “Kerar mortoa.” It took more effort than it had at the wizard’s home. I calmed myself and focused on repeating the exercises for an hour. It was the first time since I learned to light and douse a flame that I was able to just sit and practice it.

  After that, I created my ward and my energy ball at the same time.

  Then I got into the book. The first one I wanted to do was to change the state of something, like to make water turn to ice or gas. I could even melt metal. However, since there was nothing in the room I could safely practice on, I skipped that spell and moved onto freezing something.

  I didn’t need water, I could actually suck the heat out of an object. I practiced on the pillow.

  I calmed my mind, but didn’t clear it like Keeper had taught me. Instead, I imagined feeling heat in the pillow. I once felt a pillow that had been in the sunlight all day and imagined this one had that same heat.

  When I could feel it, I visualized that heat being sucked into it and said, “Tremsa.” The pillow froze solid and the train shuddered to a halt. “What now?”

  The door opened suddenly and I shoved the pillow behind me. “What are you doing?” Healer asked.

  “Practicing what Keeper taught me,” I lied. “Are we almost there?”

  “We’re about halfway there.”

  “Why did we stop?”

  “There’s a bad sandstorm.”

  “Oh,” I said, surprised and relieved it wasn’t something worse. “So we’re just going to chill out for an hour or so until it passes?”

  “You don’t understand how bad a storm is, apparently. We have to turn back.”

  “Are we worried about the Khapma? We should be fine as long as we don’t make any noise or move.”

  “No, the Khapma are not the worst threat in a sandstorm. The storm brings out other creatures, like the Tajke that eat metal.”

  “Oh. Shit.”

  * * *

  Turning the train around was not a fun or easy matter. Several times, I heard something scratching the roof or sides of the train, but there were no windows to peer out of. I made the mistake of entering the engine room in hopes of helping.

  There were tools all over the place like I would have expected of an engine room. In the center was a metal tank, which I assumed was a water reservoir. At the front of the room was a wall-to-wall windshield above a row of switches, levers, and gages.

  Outside was the worst sandstorm I had ever seen. And then something crawled across the windshield. It was easily recognizable, despite only seeing the belly of it. Everyone from the Southwest United States knew a scorpion on sight, and the fact that this sand-colored one was six feet long didn’t change that.

  “We’re going to need a massive boot.”

  “I would rather we don’t get that close to it,” Healer said, entering the room behind me. He walked up to the windshield as he pulled a ring out of his pocket. There was nothing about the ring that told me it was magic, but I didn’t think he was just accessorizing. When he put the ring on and aimed it at the windshield, I prepared myself to create my ward. It wouldn’t help if the windshield shattered, but it would if Healer’s spell bounced off the glass and shot towards me. That kind of shit happened around me.

  It didn’t this time, though. The scorpion started convulsing and shriveling up. He was microwaving the fucker. When the arachnid fell off the side of the shield, Healer lowered his hand.

  “We’re going in the right direction, but the storm is making it really hard to stay that way,” one of the navigators said, gesturing to a gage. While it had foreign symbols instead of English letters, I figured it was a compass based on the four lines and metal needle.

  Healer put his ring away, grabbed his staff with both of his hands, and pointed it at the windshield like he was going to push against it. “Khatva taha.”

  Instead of blowing widely all over the place, the sand suddenly blew away from us. It took a minute for the storm to get with the program because there was so much sand, but soon, I saw what Healer was doing. A wind tunnel around us created a ten-foot path clear ahead of us. We couldn’t see out of the storm, but we could see what was directly in front of us.

  At least we wouldn’t run into the kingdom’s wall.

  A dozen or so giant scorpions blew by, some as long as ten feet. After what felt like an hour, the storm broke. By then, Healer was sweating and panting like he had run full out for hours. “Are you okay?” I asked.

  “I will be. I need to rest.” The exhaustion in his voice wasn’t reassuring. I decided that as soon as I had a safe place to practice it, I would learn the wind tunnel spell next. I wasn’t going to keep relying on others to help me and my brother. Sure enough, it was in the book Luca had made me.

  Chapter 10

  We made it back to the city with no problems, although Healer had to use his staff as a walking cane. I asked him if he could heal himself and he said it didn’t work that way. Furthermore it wasn’t something that could be healed. He’d pushed his limits.

  I realized something was wrong the moment I saw the temple. The doors were wide open and part of the awning was broken. Although the entrance was empty, what I saw in the Hall of Statues made me freeze at the doorway. In the middle of the room was a man I couldn’t describe.

  I looked directly at his face, which was not concealed, and his hair, which was uncovered, yet I couldn’t say what color his eyes or hair were, if his features were angular or soft, or even what length his hair was. I couldn’t tell if he was short or tall, or if he was fat, skinny, or muscular.

  I could tell that he wore a black leather jacket, blue jeans, and black leather boots. In his left hand was a black book and in his other was a paintbrush. It was a strange paintbrush made of gold and glass, and even had some gears in it. It made me think of a steampunk wand.

  I could also tell that he was in the midst of murder.

  Thirteen of the priests were on their knees in a circle, facing the Painter. Each one of them was on top of a small, red, glowing magic circle, much like the portal that had brought me here. Their hands were planted on the ground in their circles and their mouths were taped shut. Behind them were horse-sized, black German Shepherds.

  Among the thirteen were two more priests— dead. I didn’t know either of them personally, but I felt bad for them. The amount of blood surrounding them told me they died gruesome deaths.

  “Nathan! So kind of you to join us!” The Painter’s ecstatic tone tore my attention from the dead men.

  “What are you doing?”

  The Painter frowned with confusion and looked at the two bodies, as if to be sure they were still there. “I… I thought that would be obvious. I’m killing the priests.” He looked at the remaining men. “Wasn’t that obvious?” He turned back to me and motioned to Healer. “Him, too.”

  Healer pointed his staff at the Painter and said, “Megyar!”

  Yellow fire shot from his staff and hit an invisible wall in front of Painter. Painter arched his eyebrows. “Really, Healer? You cast pain now? That’s so rude.” One of the dogs appeared behind us and shoved Healer to the floor. His staff rolled away.

&
nbsp; I tried kicking the dog, but he might as well have been made of stone. As if I wasn’t even there, the dog dragged Healer towards the other priests. Every time Healer tried to get a word of magic out, the dog slammed him down, bashing his head into the stone and temporarily shutting him up. Obviously, the dog was familiar with manhandling casters.

  Once Healer was in place, a circle formed under him and tape appeared over his mouth. I was surprised it could stay on over the blood pouring from his nose.

  “Why are you killing them?” I asked.

  The Painter scowled. “Because they’re not giving me what I want.”

  “What do you want?”

  He grinned. “You know what I want. You don’t think you do, but you do. Anyway, as I was saying…” He turned back to the next priest in the row, opened his book, and held the back end of his paintbrush over the page. “Do you have it?” he asked.

  The tape disappeared over the priest’s mouth. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, and if I did, I wouldn’t give it to---”

  “Oh, don’t be so boring,” Painter interrupted with a frustrated sigh. “I hate boring people. You’re worse than irritating people.” He pressed the brush handle to the page and lightning formed in midair. It struck the priest with blinding light and a deafening crack.

  The priest screamed and blood sprayed before he hit the floor. His body was still convulsing, even though he was dead. “You’re sick,” I said.

  He shot a kind smile over his shoulder. “Thank you for being so concerned with my health. It’s rare to find someone with such courtesy.” He pressed something in his book and the tape over Keeper and Watcher’s mouth disappeared.

  That was stupid on the Painter’s part; they were two of the oldest priests and would know to cast a curse instead of goading the Painter.

  “Nathan, run,” Keeper said. Sweat poured down his face.

  Apparently, he wasn’t as smart as I’d thought. I wasn’t thinking of running, I was thinking of snatching up Healer’s staff as soon as the Painter looked away and spearing Painter in the chest.

  “Run?” Painter looked appalled. “Run?! Why does everyone want to run?! Where’s the fun in that?” He started painting in his book. “Nathan is staying right where he is. He has questions and unlike you miserable old goats, I have answers for him.”

  Instead of going after the staff, I decided to approach him slowly. He seemed easily distracted. As much damage as he could cause, he wasn’t a threat without a paintbrush. Unfortunately, that plan was doomed from the moment I attempted to lift my foot; my feet wouldn’t move. Beneath me was a small magic circle, just like the ones the priests were in.

  “Oh, no,” Painter said, “I meant right where you are.”

  “You are a disgrace to testicles everywhere. Release me and fight me like a man.”

  He laughed. “You’re so funny that I may do that when I’m done with you. Unfortunately, as I want you alive, that would be counterproductive. You see, I am not a man.”

  I looked him over. “I’m sorry. My bad. They don’t make women so ugly where I come from.”

  He laughed even louder. “I am not a man or woman,” he said when his laughter died. It was unnerving. “What none of these pathetic vermin neglected to tell you was that I am a god.”

  That was a big oversight. If I was to believe in gods, I had to believe they were more powerful than I could become. “Why didn’t they tell me?”

  “Because they wanted you to fight me, and they didn’t care if you lived or not. They knew if they told you, that you would be too afraid to fight me.”

  “That’s not true,” Watcher said. “He’s only half god. He can be beaten.”

  “Are you calling me a liar, Markese?”

  Watcher shuddered before glaring and meeting the Painter’s eyes. “I am not bound by that name.”

  “No, it’s not your true name, but I don’t need it to send you to Kradga. Celot will take your place of leisure while you bathe in fire.”

  “Who?”

  “You never even knew her name?! Her mother was screaming it! ‘Please don’t take Celot! Celot is my only daughter! Let me take Celot out of the kingdom!’ You didn’t listen! You don’t deserve a quick death!”

  He pointed to the priest and three of the dogs lunged at him. They tore him apart slowly and their growls resembled laughter, although the sound was mostly drowned out by the priest’s screams. I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t even think of a spell because I was too horrified by the brutality.

  Painter took in a deep breath, smiled, and faced Keeper. “Your turn. Do you have it?” Keeper looked at his fallen brethren and shook his head. The Painter lowered his paintbrush to the page.

  “Wait!” I shouted. He looked at me. “Why did you bring me here? Is it because you plan to use me against them?”

  “No, but it’s a good idea.”

  “Why then?”

  “You’ll learn that later.”

  “You said you have answers for me.”

  “But I didn’t say you would get them all today.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because you’re not worthy. You barely know any magic and you know nothing about me.” He sneered, insulted. “Come here.”

  One of the dogs approached and bit into my arm. It hurt like a bitch, but I managed not to voice my agony. The dog jerked me forward and started dragging me. I tried to pry the dog off me with my free hand, but my legs still wouldn’t move. The damned circle followed me.

  When I was in front of him, he patted my head and then his dog’s. “You will someday be a worthy opponent. I look forward to that day. Until then, you should keep your mouth shut so you don’t end up with your tongue cut out.”

  He turned back to Keeper, who closed his eyes. He looked peaceful.

  “Damn you,” Painter said, suddenly irritated. “I’m not in the mood for killing anymore. I’m not going to waste their deaths. I’ll be back when I feel like it. Now what am I supposed to do with the rest of my day?”

  He waved his hand and the dogs vanished. A moment later, the remaining thirteen priests also disappeared, including Healer. “What did you do to them?”

  He frowned at me. “What do you think? I sent them back to doing whatever they were doing before I pulled them in here and put Healer in his bed. You can get up now.”

  I did. My knees were scraped and I was pretty sure my right arm was broken, but he hadn’t killed me yet.

  “Why would you let me go?”

  “Because you will be very powerful soon, and I can use you.”

  “You can’t make me help you.”

  “Everyone has a price. Yours is named Luca, right?”

  “Leave him out of this.”

  “I have no intention of hurting you or anyone you love. I’m not a bad guy; I just want what’s mine. Oh, and revenge. Lots of revenge. I love the stuff— can’t get enough of it. Having the power to make your enemies wish they were dead is better than anything. The second person I killed begged for it. She begged for days before I was done with her.”

  “Who was she?” I asked. I was looking for a clue as to what his true motive was.

  He grinned. “My mother.”

  “You’re half god. That means one of your parents was a god, right?”

  “Yes. My father. He’s a nasty one. You want to avoid him when you take your trials. I wish I’d never trusted him.”

  “You were abused.”

  “Was I? Maybe I just got what was coming to me. Maybe it was just in my blood. Maybe I was born evil.”

  “Maybe you were, but you can’t hate your parents without motive.”

  “Is that right?”

  “I believe it is. There are people you can hate just by looking at them, for no reason at all, but not your biological parents. If you hate them, it’s because they’ve done something.”

  “How would you know? You’ve never met your mother.”

  I felt a chill down my spine and realized I should have
run when I had the chance.

  “I have,” he said. “She was a beautiful, sweet woman. I met her before my trials. I was only thirteen, but I was old enough to recognize a pure heart when I saw one.”

  “I wouldn’t know.”

  “No, of course not. Poor you. You got a second mother to comfort you. She died, too, though. You don’t have much luck with loved ones, do you? I’d hate to see anything happen to the only person you have left just because you wouldn’t keep your nose out of other people’s business.”

  “Don’t threaten Luca.”

  He looked at me, his eyes wide with surprise. “I’m not! I just said I didn’t want to see him dead. Weren’t you listening?”

  “You weren’t being sincere.”

  Now he frowned with confusion. “I wasn’t? Huh. I thought I was. Maybe not. Take my advice; get good at magic fast. You’ll need it, and soon. Don’t ask questions, don’t snoop around, just get powerful. I’ll be back.”

  * * *

  I searched half the temple and found no one before I checked the common room. To my surprise, the doorway had been blocked off with a metal bookcase. “Luca! If you’re in there, scream like a girl.”

  “What’s the password?” he called back.

  “I’m not saying it!”

  “Password!”

  I didn’t answer, and he didn’t unblock the doorway. Eventually, I sighed. “Nathan likes unicorns.” It was a password he had come up with when we were kids. I argued with him because he wanted a horse, so he locked himself in our room and wouldn’t let me in until I said it. We were ten at the time, and it was immature even then.

  “What kind of unicorns?”

  “I’m not playing. Let me in.”

  “What kind of unicorns?”

  “I’m going to smother you in your sleep.”

  “What kind of unicorns?”

  “The fucking pink kind of fucking unicorns, you jackass.” Metal scraped across the floor loudly as the bookshelf moved out of the way. I wanted to punch my brother, but it was Katok, not Luca, who had moved the shelf. Instead, Luca was sitting on the floor, surrounded by ten of the youngest apprentices. “What are you doing?”