by MJ Fletcher
“Honestly,” Gavin stopped working on the device and looked around the room to each of us. “I don’t know. The last time Forget Me Not’s were used like this was over a hundred years ago.”
“Darkwatch.” The name escaped my lips before I could even think about it.
“Yes, how did you know that?” Gavin cocked an eyebrow and looked at me in surprise.
“I ran into Ichibod Masters during his fight with the Darkwatch. He told me that my halo was identical to those found on the people taken over by the Darkwatch.”
“You met our ancestor?” Dad ran is hand through his hair trying to wrap his mind around it the same way I had.
“You have to admit there are a lot of similarities between what happened then and what’s going on now,” Mr. Miller said.
Dad covered it all in brief detail. “Missing people, mistrust between the Societies, and members taken over by a mysterious group,”
“Not a group, one man,” I corrected.
“What’re you talking about?” Dad asked.
“Ichibod said that the Darkwatch was controlled by one man, Ian Gatekeeper.”
“Are you sure?” Dad was rubbing his hands together in the way that he did when he was trying to figure out a complex illusion.
I nodded and continued. “He explained that the Darkwatch was much older than anyone realized and that this Ian was controlling them. He wanted to know if he defeated him, did he?”
“He did,” Dad said, “though in all the history books I’ve read on the Darkwatch, none ever mentions a leader. This is the first I’ve ever heard of it.”
“We know the First Kind is controlled by someone higher up. Maybe it’s this Ian Gatekeeper. Ichibod could have defeated his forces and not him,” Mr. Miller suggested.
“How could he still be alive?” I asked and they all looked at each other but no one answered. The more I learned about the Old Kind the more I didn’t understand. I thought about Ichibod or should I call him Bodie. Rosalita had told me that I was going to meet him and she’d been right. Should I tell Dad and everyone else what happened? Keeping secrets hadn’t worked out for me so far. But I also wanted a chance to talk with Rosalita before everyone got involved. Once I did, then I would tell them about it and the freaky thing with the mirror.
Dad nodded to Mr. Miller. “I think we need to do some research on the Darkwatch, Ian Gatekeeper in particular.”
“I’ll check the archives of the Paladin Academy.” Mr. Miller swept out of the room to go and see what he could discover.
“I’m going to check with DS and then see about the Infinity Library.” Dad walked up to me and gently brushed the hair from my forehead. “You can rest up here for now.”
“I want to go home.”
“It’s too dangerous right now with the First Kind out there and the Mapmakers being as unhappy with you as they are.”
I sat up straighter, cursing myself for forgetting about Edgar. “What are we going to do about Edgar?”
“We’ll figure something out, Chloe, but right now we have to let the process run its course.”
“That didn’t work out too well for you, Dad,” I reminded. “After the process ran its course, you were kicked out of DS for over ten years.”
He shook his head and sighed. “Never-the-less, I think we have to take this one crisis at a time. We’ll help Edgar the best we can, and he’ll always have a place here.”
“Right,” I whispered not exactly comfortable with that reasoning and Dad leaned over and kissed the top of my head.
“Are you willing to help?” Dad turned asking Gavin who was still tinkering with the Forget Me Not.
Gavin stopped his work and placed the device on the table next to him. “I have some contacts that might have some pertinent information on this Gatekeeper character. I’ll see what I can find out.”
“Good, I can show you out,” Dad offered.
“No.” I grabbed Dad’s arm and he looked down at me. “I want to talk to him; I’ll show him the way out.”
Dad patted my arm and walked to the door. “I’ll call you later to check on you.” He shut the door behind him and I turned to Gavin who was staring at me.
“What’s on your mind?” he asked leaning back in his chair.
“I want the truth.”
“About what?”
“Everything.”
Chapter Thirty-two
Status: Time for a talk.
“What’re you talking about?”
“You gave me the Forget Me Not, you created it. You told me that I was a Polymorph and you’ve been training me. Not to mention all the missions to help hide people and gather information. What the hell are you up to, Gavin, what’s your end game?” I slid my arm around my waist pressing it tight against me, the ache from my injuries throbbing and forcing me to grit my teeth through the pain.
“The last time we talked, do you remember what I said to you?”
“You told me that when it was over we needed to talk.”
“That’s right I did. I had anticipated and planned on this little talk. You want the truth; I’ll give it to you. The question is... are you sure you can handle it?” –
I didn’t have to think very long on it. I needed the truth. It would help me in planning my next move, and so raising my chin defiantly I said, “Damn straight I can.”
“The truth is, my dear girl, that this world of ours is a lot deeper and more complex than you ever imagined. This is a struggle that’s been going on since the beginning of the Societies and was forged in their very existence.”
“What does that mean?”
“What do you know about the true First Kind?”
“They were the ones who came before us. They went crazy or power hungry and then a war broke out between those of us who became the Old Kind and the First Kind, and we won.”
“That’s the bedtime story we tell our kids, the truth, however, is much more complex. The First Kind was just that, the first humans to be able to transverse the dimensions. They had the abilities of each of what would become the eight Societies, the five known and the three lost.
“There was a race known as the Overlords that controlled most of the dimensions, they were a cruel and vicious lot. They ruled with an iron fist and immediately tried to bring the First Kind into the fold. The First Kind battled against them and after a very long struggle defeated the Overloads breaking their grip on the dimensions and bringing peace. They built a huge city called Accadia that existed throughout each dimension they held in their control. From there, they amassed power over everything and ruled people with no abilities. At first they ruled benevolently, but like they say, power corrupts.
”And so as the generations of First Kind grew so did their thirst for more power and control. That’s the crutch of all people in power; they crave more and will do anything to get it. Eventually, normal humans became nothing more than slaves to the will of the First Kind.
“They began to fight amongst themselves and a civil war broke out. It raged across the dimensions destroying whole sections of time and space. But the First Kind didn’t care, the only thing they craved was acquiring more for themselves.
“A few of the First Kind broke away from the war and realized that they had to stop their own kind. This was the beginning of the Old Kind. We call ourselves that because our intentions in the beginning were to bring knowledge and peace to the dimensions.”
Gavin paused with a frown, as if the retelling of the truth pained him. “Each of those who broke away was tasked with creating a Society and only using the power of that one society and never again using any other ability. In that way it limited the power of each group and made sure that all Societies needed the others to exist.
“But first they needed to stop the First Kind, and so they created artifacts imbued with the power of each society and attacked Accadia. The First Kind, realizing the threat, came together to fight them off. What they didn’t realize was that it was a trap. The Old Kind w
anted them all in Accadia and so they used the artifacts to warp time and space, to lock away Accadia for all time.”
“Wait... you mean—”
He nodded. “We cut Accadia off from all other dimensions, effectively locking the First Kind away in a prison of their own making for all eternity.”
“The First Kind wants the artifacts to—”
“Use them to open Accadia.”
I was too shocked to speak, a rarity for me. I’d known that the First Kind was up to something and wanted to end the Societies, but to think they wanted to bring the true First Kind back. That was completely insane.
A thought had me asking, “They all must be dead by now, right?”
“First Kind, don’t age like normal humans or Old Kind. They’re abilities can keep them alive a very long time.”
“How long?”
“Depending on how powerful they are... thousands of years.”
“Ian Gatekeeper, he could be a true First Kind?”
“Yes, he could or...” Gavin reached around and rubbed the back of his neck.
“Or what?”
“Or he could be like us.”
“Us?”
“A Polymorph.”
“Wait, what?” My mind was spinning thinking about the First Kind and this mysterious Ian Gatekeeper. But to think he was a Polymorph and that he could be like seriously old.
“Polymorph’s are the true inheritors of the First Kind legacy. We have all the abilities of the First Kind, and when powerful enough, we can live a very long time.”
“How many of us are there?”
“Not many but enough. We keep to ourselves for the most part and are even more secretive then most Old Kind.” Gavin shrugged. “I told you that there was a lot more going on here than you knew.”
“Does the Old Kind realize why they’re after the artifacts?”
“I honestly don’t know, but if the Societies don’t start working together, they’ll fall to the First Kind easily and then it will be open season. If they can actually make the artifacts work and open a portal to Accadia...” He let the words hang in the air and I didn’t want to even think about how bad that would be. It wouldn’t just mean the end of the Old Kind; humanity itself would be threatened.
“We have to do something.”
“What did you have in mind?” Gavin asked. “They have the Legend of the Mapmakers and the book to control it. They could use that to attack any Society at any time and it’ll make it that much easier for them to find the other artifacts.”
“They already had the book and were trying to access the Legend from a distance, why weren’t they able to do it?” I wracked my brain thinking about how they’d been after the Legend when we first stole it. Darker had shown up and the people with him hadn’t been able to access the Legend. Why not?
“It takes a uniquely perfect mind to work an artifact. You would need someone with extraordinary skill... a true mapmaker.”
“But the First Kind had Mapmakers and they couldn’t make it work for them. Yet Edgar could.”
“He’s the brightest Mapmaker of his generation.”
“Oh no,” I moaned with a sinking feeling.
“What?”
“That’s what they’re going to do next.” Fear rippled through me. ”They said they needed Edgar. They’re going to go after him... they need him to activate the Legend.”
Chapter Thirty-three
Status: I need to save a friend.
“Damn it.” I slammed the phone down and immediately regretted it. Sharp pains shot through my arm and a tingling sensation traveled up and over my shoulder. I wasn’t in any shape for action right now but it didn’t look like I was going to have much choice.
“I take it they disagree.” Gavin was wearing goggles and bent over a table holding two thin tools that he was using to dissect the Forget Me Not.
“Dad said he’ll send the information on to the Mapmakers Union but with the truces down he warned me against doing anything.”
“You’re in no shape to do anything anyway.” Sparks flew out of the device as he removed gears and reworked its inner workings.
“That doesn’t matter to me. Edgar’s in danger I just can’t leave him on his own with no one to help him. Plus the Mapmakers have no idea what they’re up against.”
“Don’t underestimate the Union, they may be less flashy than other Societies but they have some tricks up their sleeves.”
“Yeah, maybe, but I don’t like any of this at all.”
“Sometimes you have to let go and let other people handle things.”
“Oh, such wise knowledge, Zen Master,” I sighed and threw myself back against the couch cushions frustrated that I seemed to be stuck with no way to help Edgar. Even if I could come up with a plan how would I ever find the Mapmakers dimension?
“Okay, little miss wise-ass; you tell me, what do you think you can do? You’re hurt and don’t even know where to look or when the First Kind will make their move.”
“I don’t know, but I can’t just sit here.”
“And yet here you sit.” Gavin looked up from his work. “How far are you willing to go?”
“I’d do anything for my friends.”
“Okay.” He pushed the goggles up into his hair and it reminded me of Edgar “Let’s go then.” He stood and slid his tools back into a slim case, and then pulled the zipped closed on it. He wrapped a cloth around the pieces of the Forget Me Not and walked over to me.
“Where are we going?” I pulled myself out of my seat with a grunt.
“To get you fixed.”
We left the common room and exited the Reliquary through the portal room. He generated the coordinates for me, and I knew where he was taking us, so I activated my doorknob and stepped through.
Rosalita’s office looked the same since the last time, dilapidated and worn out. Gavin didn’t bother to tap on the frosted glass window, he opened the door and walked in. Cher was seated at her desk, her head held in her hands sobbing gently.
“Are you okay?” I asked and she looked up hurriedly wiping the tears from her face.
“Chloe, what are you doing here? I heard you were in hiding.” Her eyes were red from long bouts of crying and she glanced from me to Gavin nervously.
Gavin spoke up. “She was hurt saving your brother; we need to see Rosalita.”
Cher glanced around with worry. “If the Union finds out that you’re here they’ll come after you.”
“Well they best not find out then, right?” Gavin smiled and winked at Cher and she half smiled back.
“I could get in trouble for not informing them. My family already has enough problems with Edgar going on trial.”
I reached out placing my hands over hers. “I’m sorry, Cher, I want to help Edgar and I definitely don’t want you to get into any trouble.”
She smiled sadly and nodded. “Edgar has always been the most talented member of our family. His only real friend for years was Nightshade, until you came along. Go on back, no one has to know that you’re here.” She waved us toward the back and I smiled and released her hand.
We entered the backroom and found Rosalita sitting with her feet up and listening to an old record player.
She didn’t look at me as we entered, instead she kept her eyes on Gavin the whole time. “Not smart you being out and about girl.”
“She wanted to come,” Gavin said.
“You’re supposed to keep her out of trouble.” She shook her head and finally turned to look me up and down. Her hard-as-stone gaze disapproved in every way.
“Can I help it that she’s reckless?” Gavin protested.
“You’re her trainer; you should be teaching her discipline.”
My eyes volleyed back and forth between the two of them. Obviously, they knew each other and Rosalita knew a lot more about me than I did her. And right about now I was mad, really mad.
“If you hadn’t noticed, I’m in the room.” I tapped my chest to emphasis th
e fact.
“Exactly where you shouldn’t be,” Rosalita scolded. “Your trainer was supposed to keep you safely tucked away.”
“Exactly, who the hell are you? I know you’re not just some fixer. How do you know so much and how did you know about Bodie?” Her eyes softened when I mentioned his name and a hint of a smile played across her lips.
“I’ve known about Bodie and you for years. I’ve been waiting for this time for over a hundred of those years. Trying to set up all the pieces correctly to make sure you were prepared. I never knew it would be as hard as it has been,” she sighed and her shoulders sagged, as if she was carrying the most unbearable of weights.
“What are you talking about?” I demanded needing some straight answers.
“I’m a Polymorph like you and Gavin, as a matter of fact, I’m his boss.”
I turned to Gavin Brimstone leaning against an old filing cabinet and he nodded.
“She’s about as close to one as I have.”
I turned back to Rosalita figuring she might just be able to finally provide me with some definitive answers. “So you know about me?”
“Chloe, I’ve been following your family for generations waiting for you to be born. I’ve known everything about you since you took your first breath.”
“Why?”
“I was there... I saw you over a hundred years ago.”
“What?” Was this woman officially nuts?
Rosalita walked to one of her file cabinets and pulled open a drawer. She flipped through folders until she found what she was looking for and lifted it out. She looked at it smiling and then turned and held it out to me.
I reached out grabbing the photo, it was old. Instead of gray it was sepia toned and there were four people standing together all dressed in the fashion of the day, two men in suits and bowler hats while the women wore dresses that appeared highly restrictive. I stared at the photo and one of the men stared back at me and I recognized him.
Ichibod Masters, my ancestor I had met. He was just as I had seen him, though frozen in time through the photo.
“I’m the one on the right,” Rosalita pointed out.
