by Joshua Cook
Cendan kept reminding himself that to them, he’d only been gone two hours, not the days it had felt like. As he neared the barrier room he heard, voices arguing. One glance at the door showed that all three foci were in place—only his was missing. He paused and listened to the voices. It was better to know what he was walking into.
“I don’t get it, Jasmine… you say he pushed you down and jumped into a Bridge? Why? What possible reason could he have for that? Why didn’t you stop him?” Sal’s voice cut through the door. “First Maker in fifteen hundred years, and we lose him right off the bat.”
“And how would I be able to stop him? Cendan is bigger than I am, and he knocked my focus out of my hand. He knew what he was doing. And I don’t know why. I wish I did, trust me. I’ve been trying to figure it out since it happened. We were closing the Bridge, the Jabbers and the new centipede things had already been sent back. I was already in position, Cendan came up and then bam! He pushed me down, knocked my focus away, and jumped into the Bridge, somehow closing it behind him as he jumped.” Jasmine was annoyed—Cendan could tell by her tone.
“You know him better than we do, Jasmine. Can you think of anything or any reason why he would do this?” Marcus didn’t sound particularly annoyed, to Cendan’s surprise. Maybe he had already vented all his annoyance out.
“Cendan doesn’t do anything without a reason. He isn’t impulsive, or at least, not normally. I can only think that he felt he had no choice that he had to do it. But why? No clue,” Jasmine answered.
Cendan took a deep breath and opened the door. “Because I had to get information, and it was the only way to do it.”
All three faces turned towards him with shocked expressions and some concern.
“Cendan!” Sal said, coming over and clapping him on the back. “Dude, what the hell happened?”
“Yes, Cendan. What was that?” Jasmine asked, crossing her arms. Yeah, she wasn’t happy with him. He knew that face.
Marcus surprisingly said nothing. Sitting in his ornate chair, he just gazed at Cendan and rubbed his temples.
“Jasmine, I’m sorry. I really am. And I apologize to you all for not saying anything beforehand. But I knew you all would either try to stop me, or would stop me. I couldn’t risk that.” Cendan sat down in a plain wooden chair and continued.
“I knew I needed more information about what was in the Maker wing. I also knew that there wasn’t a cypher. I lied. I needed the space on that so I could come up with a plan. There was only one way to get the information needed—go to the Echo World and somehow find and communicate with Oakheart. Then, somehow get back here. It wasn’t the smartest or safest plan, I know, but I had to. I saw no other way.” Cendan held up a hand as he saw them all about to ask questions at once.
“Yes, I found Oakheart, and yes, I got the answers I wanted and more. I don’t know how he did it, but he somehow encoded everything he knew about being a Maker, and the Bridgefinders as a whole, onto the key, my focus. It had been his focus back when he was one of us.” Looking around, he knew there was going to be a lot of talking over this.
“Okay, so you went to the Echo World. How did you find Oakheart? How did you survive? How did you get back?” Marcus asked, talking for the first time. “You know we would have lost everything if the Slyph had caught you? With two Makers under her control, I don’t think we would have lasted a year.”
“I know. But I had to risk it. And truthfully, I got lucky, sort of. The first creatures I came across were elves,” Cendan answered. He was fishing to see if any of them knew the truth about those beings, but no one seemed to be disgusted. “They helped me find Oakheart and helped me get home, for personal reasons.”
“Elves?” Sal asked, looking surprised. “Real elves? Do those even exist?”
“They exist. But no one has seen an elf in our world for centuries,” Jasmine answered, keeping her eyes on Cendan. “Why would they help you, though?”
“The Slyph apparently punished them long ago for not hating humans enough. They can’t use any Bridges from their world to ours. As to why they helped me… I made a bargain.” Wincing, Cendan kept going. “I told the elves I’d try to find a way to help them in exchange for them helping me find Oakheart.”
“You made a deal with an elf?” Marcus growled. “We don’t know a lot about them, but I was always taught to never make a deal with an elf.”
“It was either make the deal or get caught by the Slyph or worse, by Grellnot—who, by the way, is also having a falling-out with the Slyph. Grellnot and I… met. In the Echo World. I managed to convince him to let me go. How, I’m not sure.” Cendan sighed. “It was a stupid move, I know. It was successful, however. I have all the knowledge we need, and even better, the Slyph has lost Oakheart.”
“What?” Marcus stood.
“Yeah, at the end he transferred his knowledge into the focus, and he said he was going to give in to the tree. I’m assuming that means he gave up and stopped fighting it. It must have worked, because as I was leaving, the Slyph arrived. I ran for it and was able to get out of there, but something must have happened, because she destroyed the whole area. The Slyph can no longer use Oakheart to do anything.” Cendan noticed that this information didn’t make Marcus happy.
“Cendan, she’s going to be furious. And I mean furious. If you’re right, she is going to strike back at us, hard. Really hard. Everyone, I’m calling in all defenses active, right now.” Marcus ran out of the room.
“I’m confused.” Cendan turned towards Jasmine. “Why is he so worried?”
“Cendan, you just went into her realm, destroyed her most valuable treasure, and then left and she couldn’t stop you. The Slyph is going to be hell-bent on revenge. You struck at her in her home. The odds are she’s going to try to return the favor.” Jasmine waved around the room. “She’s done it before, right? I mean, your vision that first night here… if she’s really lost Oakheart, she’s coming for you.”
Sal nodded. “I think you should get to the Maker wing and get to work. Fast. We’ll do what we can, but if the Slyph hits us, the only thing that might be able to stop her is a working EVA. At least that’s what Marcus thinks.”
Nodding, Cendan started that way. “Hey, Sal, when things calm down, remind me tell you something. I’ve got something I want to run by you.” Purposefully ignoring Jasmine, he headed toward the Maker wing. She would know what he wanted to talk to Sal about, but hopefully she wouldn’t say anything about it. Unlike Marcus who got angry about the subject of magic, Jasmine just thought it was silly.
“How wrong they both are,” Cendan muttered as he walked. Outside the door to the Maker rooms, he paused. He hadn’t been back to EVA and the room where he heard its voice since that first day. So many things had happened since then that he’d sort of put it off until it dropped out of his mind. It was just a machine, right?
But it was a living, sentient one, so the others said. Curious, he held his focus and concentrated on EVA—what it was, what it could do, whether it was really alive—everything and anything that the focus had on it. A gasp escaped Cendan as he felt his whole body go ice-cold for a moment before information flooded into him. He knew everything there was to know about the EVA. He didn’t even need the notes. It was all there. Everything.
EVA was alive, but hadn’t meant to be. Exposure to that much raw magical power had changed it. There had been much concern about that at first, and some had suggested that EVA be destroyed as an abomination of the Echo World. Her creator, who had become Oakheart, had argued forcefully and passionately to stop them, and had won a reprieve.
EVA was a construct capable of far more than the others realized. Not only could it strengthen the barrier between worlds, making it far harder for the Slyph to send creatures or Bridges between the worlds, it could also reverse a Bridge. That made it possible for even normal Bridgefinders to travel to the Echo World.
For a second, Cendan wondered if he could use that ability to fulfill his end of the ba
rgain with the elves, but he put that out of his mind for now. Worrying about Echo World creatures who couldn’t travel here right now wasn’t going to get them any closer to fixing the EVA. He had planned on deciphering the books, then trying to figure out what needed to be fixed in the room where EVA lay. But now…
Cendan turned on his heel and jogged to the room that Jasmine had showed him that first day. As he stepped onto the platform and surveyed the damage, he did so with the full knowledge of its creation in his head. He could see in his mind what was supposed to be where, overlaying the damage and wrecked machinery. The Valock had done a fairly through job all those years ago, tearing through things with abandon. This wasn’t going to be a ten-minute repair job. He would need a helper and a day or two, and even then, it would be a somewhat sloppy job, but EVA would be working again.
Cendan took a breath and reached out, feeling his way, trying to find that spark he had heard before. Deeper and deeper he went, searching, and then, finally, felt a light touch on his mind. EVA.
I’m sorry I didn’t come back before, but I didn’t know how to fix you. I know now. I can make this right, EVA, Cendan said in his mind. You can be whole.
A feeling of both joy and curiosity flowed through his mind in response. I went to the Echo World, EVA. I found your creator, he gave me the knowledge on how to fix you. You were the crowning creation of his life to him, and bluntly, we need you.
Joy and happiness flowed, stronger this time at the mention of its creator. Cendan wasn’t sure, but guessed that EVA wanted to know where its creator was. Or was it her? He realized that to Oakheart, EVA was a she. And truthfully, there was some aspect or feeling that gave EVA a maternal feel.
Sadly, Oakheart was almost gone. The Slyph had drained him of everything but his knowledge over all these years. She even turned him into a tree. All that was left was his mind. The Slyph only used him as a conduit to this world’s magic. Anger was the response, white-hot anger. I know, EVA. I know. But he is beyond the Slyph now. After he gave me his knowledge, he gave in. He allowed himself to become just a tree.
Sadness tinged with anger was all he felt. It was hard, this emotional communication. He wasn’t even sure he was getting the right information to what was left of EVA. The only way to know was to fix her. The parts to do so were in the Maker labs. This could be done. Cendan turned and ran out of the room. He needed Sal, and he needed to get to work.
Chapter Thirteen
Cendan found Sal in the map room with Marcus, plotting out strategies for how to deal with the Slyph if she came after them. “Marcus, I need Sal’s help. It’s going to take more than one person to fix the EVA. I need another set of hands.”
Marcus eyed Cendan. “I don’t trust you. You’ve lied to me, to us, more times already in your short history here than I could have ever dreamed. But we need EVA fixed. And you are the only one who can do it.” Marcus gazed back at the map. “Without that machine, we don’t stand a chance.”
“But know this, Cendan… if you were a normal Finder, you’d no longer be here. I would strip you of your focus, kick you out, and let Grellnot have you. But I can’t do that, and you aren’t a normal Finder.” Marcus waved to Sal. “Go with him and help him. God help us if he’s lying to us again.”
Cendan opened his mouth and closed it again. Marcus had a point, sort of. He’d not been honest with them, but then again, he’d not been honest with himself. He wondered also if some of this was because Marcus was afraid, afraid of losing his position, afraid of the changes that came with a Maker being there again. There was no time for that though. Fixing the EVA took precedence over any petty power struggles.
Cendan grabbed Sal and ran off down the hall. “For the record, Sal, I’m not lying. I know I’ve not been honest with you all. I’m sorry. I had my reasons. But I can’t do this alone, at least, not in a fast manner. Even as it is, it’s going to be a patch job. To really fix the EVA, I need weeks. This will, however, get her working enough to communicate, and more importantly, make it very hard for the Slyph to send anything against us.”
Sal nodded. “No worries. I figure you have your reasons, right? I mean, we drag you out of what appeared to be a pretty normal life and throw you into this. I don’t blame you for your hiding things.” Sal glanced behind them. “I shouldn’t tell you this, but Marcus told me not to listen to anything you say about magic. He wouldn’t explain why though.”
Jogging down the hall, Cendan laughed. “Let’s get to the Maker wing and I’ll explain while we gather what we are going to need. This is going to take hours, Sal. Hope you don’t get tired easily!” The rest of the way they were both quiet, lost in their own thoughts.
The storerooms were exactly how Cendan remembered them, chock full of parts and gears, liquids, and glass. But this time, he knew what they were, thanks to Oakhearts gift. The metal may have appeared to be brass, but it was really an alloy of several metals, including one that came from this place, from the building of the Bridgefinders’ headquarters.
That was new information, so Cendan concentrated on it. As before, the knowledge rushed into him, telling him all he needed to know. The base wasn’t on their world, nor was it on the Echo World. Oakheart had thought of it as a leftover piece of both. Cendan pictured it in his head as an asteroid, a leftover piece of planet creation. It had aspects of both, and some things that neither had. It had no atmosphere, no life, but as it was infused with magic from both worlds, metals, rocks, gems—all of that held special powers here.
It also explained why when they entered the place he got that wrenching feeling—they were traveling. It was a Bridge of sorts, but not as strong. There was more. The reason for all the randomness—patterns had power here. Great power. They kept everything outside the special places as random and different as they could. Patterns here had to be controlled. The right pattern could do amazing things, keep rooms locked and safe as if they were just left over a thousand years. Wrong patterns could kill you, or draw attention from things, things older and worse than the Slyph.
That last part confused him. What other things? There was more than just this and the Echo World? Too many questions, not enough time for answers. “Okay, Sal. I’m going to be blunt, honest, whatever you want to call it, but above all, truthful. Marcus and Jasmine don’t believe me, but they unlike you were raised as Bridgefinders. I’m fighting years and years of entrenched learning. Learning that’s wrong.”
“Bridgefinders use magic, Sal. I know Marcus says we don’t. But we do. Our world has magic. A deep, old magic. But not all can use it, just those few humans born with the native ability. On top of that, we need to be taught how to use it. Oakheart explained it to me.” Cendan rushed through his explanations. He needed to get this out, and just as quickly, needed to get to work.
“There were Bridgefinders in Oakhearts day, a minority who claimed that they didn’t use magic. They were shunned because of this. From what I gather, though I haven’t had time to dig into it, the magic we can wield can do far more than what we are using it for. Somehow during the decline of the Bridgefinders, this fringe belief became the only belief, and the truth was lost.”
Sal erupted. “I knew it! I knew it was magic!” A grin covered his face. “I never thought the idea that it was some non-magical innate human ability made any sense. I mean, look at this place. Look at my focus. It’s textbook Magic 101. But Marcus and Jasmine just kept telling me I was wrong. I didn’t know what I was talking about. So I stopped saying it, but never stopped believing it. That’s so friggin’ cool, man—we can do magic!”
Sal walked in a circle as he continued. “Makes total sense, though. Total. It’s all politics and games. Bury your head in the sand stuff. They did a pretty good job of it, too, whom ever started that story that we don’t do magic.” A huge grin broke out on Sal’s face “This proves that my theory on what’s real is right. Magic is real. Hiding away and pretending something isn’t actually there, regardless of who believes it, doesn’t make it real.”
Cendan had to grin. Sal’s happiness was infectious. “I’m glad, but now, let’s get busy. We can explore all of the magic side of things after we get EVA back up and running. Jasmine and Marcus may be wrong on magic, but I think they are probably right on the Slyph. She’s angry. And an angry and hurt Slyph, from my limited interactions with her, is a downright terrifying Slyph.”
Cendan and Sal worked through the night, measuring pipes, installing conduit, and filling things full of liquids. After he had searched once through his newfound knowledge about what a red and yellow streaked liquid was, Cendan decided he didn’t want to know what all this stuff was, maybe. Sal’s face when he told him the stuff was in fact ogre bile was amusing, however.
Thankfully, the work went quickly. Working out a system of cutting the pipes and fittings took longer than Cendan had hoped, but Sal had a very steady hand and a knack for getting it right the first time. As for the EVA itself, Cendan was more and more convinced that some of this was strictly for show. Parts like a little green crystal shaped like a maple seed that spun in circles didn’t seem to have any real importance. Cendan noted, however, that he’d never repaired a living clockwork computer before, so who knew what was needed or not?
Not for the first time, Cendan was amazed at how well-stocked the Maker workshops were. Given enough time, he could build two or three whole new EVA’s from the spare parts in the various rooms. The main sense of frustration was the fact that nothing was labeled, so every time they needed something new, he had to search through the transferred knowledge and find out what it was and what it looked like.
“It’s like you got a do-it-yourself furniture set with a thousand pieces. You got very detailed and well-written instructions, but they didn’t label anything,” Sal griped as they searched for a small silver gear in yet another work room. “Why not label any of this stuff?”
