Vibrations: Harmonic Magic Book 1

by P. E. Padilla

  One day, behind a relatively nondescript door, Sam found more wealth than he had ever thought possible. Gold and gems, some worked into jewelry or items and some just stored as ingots or raw uncut gems were stacked and scattered everywhere. The room was at least thirty feet on either side and aside from the narrow walkways there was no part of the floor that did not have treasure piled up or neatly arranged on shelves or in boxes.

  Sam asked Dr. Walt about it, bringing the older man to the room to show him. “Such things don’t have much value on Gythe. They may have at one time, though I can’t find records stating as much. Gold is soft and of little value since the apocalypse and gems are only useful for reflecting light. In a world where weapons and violence are the main currency, these things mean little.”

  “If they’re worthless, then why are they here? Why are they all together like this?” Sam asked.

  Thinking for a moment, Dr. Walt said, “The Gray Man…sorry, Grayson…was from our world. His plans were to take control of both worlds. He would need money to do so on Telani. What better way than to accumulate worthless items here that are valuable there?”

  Sam smiled inwardly at the doctor’s correction. He had asked that his friends remember the Gray Man not as the villain, but as the man he was before having his humanity torn from him. Dr. Walt and Rindu tried to be sympathetic and comply, but Nalia was still unable to do so. The pain of her mother’s murder was still too raw, even after all this time. She tried not to speak disparagingly of the man in Sam’s hearing, but she could not assign him humanity just yet either. Perhaps she never would be able to do so.

  “I see your point. Do you think it would be ok to take some of this? When I finally figure out how to do as he directed me and get back to my own world, this would be helpful in paying my mother’s house off and making sure she never had to worry about money again.”

  “Sam, your uncle, with his dying breath, gave you the entire fortress and all that is in it. Everything here is yours, including all the treasure in this room. If it will help, you can and should take as much as you’d like.”

  In addition to exploring, Sam, Rindu, and Dr. Walt worked on two things: enabling Sam to get back home and learning to apply the techniques referred to in the book for teleporting. They tackled the latter skill first.

  “The key seems to be the unique vibratory signature of a place. Do you remember how I taught you to recognize a place by its vibrations, by the proximity of the ley lines nearby?” Sam nodded. “That is the key thing to remember. The other thing is sheer power.”

  “What do you mean, master Rindu?”

  “The Arzbedim, having possession of ancient writings, which they copied in the book we are studying, were able to teleport, but only by using rituals to increase their power, and only in groups. No one was strong enough in ability to teleport on their own. They had certain artifacts that helped, too, I believe.”

  Sam looked puzzled. “But what about that assassin, Ix? She not only teleported, but she could teleport other people with her.”

  “Yes, but she is not a conventional user of rohw. I think her teleporting ability is something inherent. She was most likely born with the ability. In other ways, she is no more a rohw user than Skitter.”

  What about me? The hapaki sent Sam.

  Nothing, nothing at all. He just mentioned you. As you were. Sam and Skitter were closer than ever after their ordeal with the Gray Man, and the teasing had intensified in a satisfactory and entertaining way.

  “But you, surely, are powerful enough to do it, right Master Rindu?”

  “I am afraid not. I know of no one, historical or now alive, who could manage such a feat. That is, I knew of no one. I believe Grayson could have done so. And I believe you are capable of doing so as well.”

  “What?” Sam asked, turning fully to look the Zouy in the eyes. “You are much more powerful than me. Nalia is much more powerful than me, too.”

  “Yes, and no. Nalia and I have the benefit of training and experience. We have been using rohw for many years. However, you have the potential to be the strongest vibrational energy master ever seen on Gythe. It is something, perhaps, inherent in your family, since your uncle was very powerful as well. It is likely the same trait that made it possible for both of you to come to this world, him against his will and you accidentally of your own accord. With training, I believe you to be capable of doing this.”

  Sam shook his head silently.

  “Let us try. We have studied the technique and I believe I can guide you and aid you through it. Would you like to try?”

  Sam agreed. First, the Zouy mage had Sam attain the khulim so that he could read and recognize the room in which he had been staying. When he felt that he knew the place, after several days of practice, Rindu took him to another room, an audience chamber fifteen minute’s walk from Sam’s room.

  Sitting on the floor, legs crossed, knees almost touching Rindu’s knees as he sat facing him, both entered the khulim. Rindu’s voice was a soft echo through the buffer of Sam’s almost-trance. “Now, Sam, recognize the vibratory signature of this place.”

  Sam did so and after several long minutes, when he felt it, he nodded.

  “Think, now, upon the signature of your room. Seek it, feel it, hold it, but do nothing else.”

  Sam brought the feeling of his room up into his mind. He could almost feel the vibrational signature of the place going through him. He sat motionless, barely breathing, and held the feel of the place. Almost forgetting to do so, he nodded slightly.

  “Now, share the feeling of our destination with me. Feel the resonance and project it toward me so that I can recognize it.”

  Sam projected the vibration toward the Zouy.

  “Good, we are connected vibrationally. Using your memory, match our vibrations with that of your room, of the destination. Match it exactly, magnitude, frequency, and direction. Begin slowly and adjust in increments until you and I and our destination are one.”

  Sam focused on the vibratory signature he had learned. Slowly, he used his rohw to change his internal vibration, along with that of Rindu and the air between them, so that it more closely matched that of his destination. Slowly, over the course of several minutes, he adjusted the vibrations. Finally, he made one more small adjustment and knew he matched the vibrations he had learned exactly.

  He felt a shift, as if he was sitting on a slick surface and had just slid several feet on a tilting floor. The shock of it made his eyes snap open. Rindu sat in front of him, his eyes opening slowly. A small smile crept onto the Zouy’s face. “Good.”

  Sam looked around. He was in his room, more than a little embarrassed that he had not made the bed that morning and that he had clothes and a used towel thrown haphazardly about.

  “It worked!” he shouted. “We actually moved, even if just a little.”

  “Indeed,” the mage said, emotionless as ever. “It could just have easily been across the world, though. Distance plays no part in the difficulty or the power necessary to successfully teleport. The important thing is to know the vibratory signature of a place.”

  “So, I provided the knowledge of the signature of our destination and you used that to teleport us here?” Sam asked.

  “No. I did very little. All I did was to lightly nudge you. The power and the direction were yours, Sam. With practice, you will become more proficient at it. I would say that with just a few more times with us teleporting together, you will be able to do it yourself. You will get faster, too, but never so fast as the assassin, I think. What she does is instinctive. You will need time to think, to recognize a signature, and to match your vibrations. I believe it is possible to successfully do it in a handful of seconds, but not fast enough to use it in battle.”

  As Rindu guessed, Sam was teleporting by himself within a week. At times, he took someone else along with him. He did become more proficient and comfortable with the technique, enough so that he thought he could return to his house, hidden in the for
est far to the south. Because of the many hours spent in meditation there, he believed he could recognize its signature and teleport directly there.

  During this time, he and his friends worked out how he could go back to his world, to Telani. As Grayson said, it was a simple matter, though surrendering was hard for Sam. Before, he had wondered why the Gray Man had not gone back and forth between worlds. The answer was now clear. The Gray Man would never allow himself to surrender to anyone else. Not with his experiences and his promise to himself he would never again be under anyone else’s power. That was why he was seeking out Dr. Walt. He was trying to find another way back home, one that did not involve relying on someone else.

  57

  The day finally arrived when Sam would attempt to go back home. It would need to be done at his house, since crossing over into his own world would put him in exactly the same place, but on a different vibratory plane. After all the months he spent in Gythe, he was almost sad to go back home.

  “Take care, my boy,” Dr. Walt said as he patted Sam’s shoulder. “I have much work to do still on Gythe. Now more than ever, this place needs scholars and historians. I will stay and help set up some sort of government, with Rindu’s help. Even now, the news is spreading that the Gray Man is dead and soon the void from his passing will need to be filled. In a good way. There is no longer anything on Telani for me. Here is where I belong.”

  “I will miss you Sam,” Rindu told him. “I will miss training you. You are the best student I ever had.”

  “He is the only student you ever had, besides me,” Nalia deadpanned.

  “As I said,” Rindu winked, “my best student. I thank you for all you have done Sam. I hope to see you again.” The Zouy hugged Sam. Stiffly. Well, he isn’t a hugger.

  Sam turned to Nalia. He had been dreading this moment. He didn’t want to say goodbye to her. He knew now that he loved her desperately and he couldn’t think of life without her.

  She was not wearing her mask. In fact, she hadn’t worn it since the final battle. He drank in her features. She was simply perfect. Breathtakingly beautiful, competent, smart, kind. She was everything he had ever wanted in a woman. Locking eyes with her, still marveling how her greenish tinged blue eyes made his heart dance in his chest, he ached to think that he had to say goodbye.

  Before he could speak, she said, in broken English, “Sam, is it possible that you would allow me to go with you? I think I would like to see your world. And you would not know what to do without me.”

  Pulling her into a tight hug, he said into her hair, “You’re so right, Nalia. I wouldn’t know what to do without you. I don’t want to find out.”

  Preparations made, Sam, Nalia, and Skitter stood close to one another in the main audience room where they had fought their final battle with the Gray Man. The bodies had been removed, the stone meticulously scrubbed, and even more books and shelves added. There was no sign of the battle that had been fought, but at times, Sam was still uncomfortable from the memories that haunted the room. Sam and Nalia both had backpacks with a few supplies, including about thirty pounds of gold ingots each. Of course, they also had their weapons, Ahimiro for Sam and the shrapezi for Nalia. Skitter had only a small pouch full of dried kimatar fruit for the journey, telling them that he would be the most popular hapaki in his community because of it.

  Their goodbyes said, Sam closed his eyes, entered khulim. He felt for the familiar signature of his home and the three disappeared from the Gray Fortress, appearing instantly in Sam’s meditation room. A fine layer of dust coated everything, but otherwise the house seemed unharmed and unchanged. Sam had been afraid that animals may have gotten inside, but there didn’t appear to be any evidence of intruders.

  The three friends walked outside to the clearing where Sam’s adventure started. He bent down and picked up Skitter.

  You, my friend, are a hero, he sent to the hapaki. You were with me from the very start, from when I first came to this world. You never left me, even through all the danger, and the only reason we won in the end was because of your bravery. I will miss you most of all.

  A strange emotion leaked over from the hapaki’s mind. Was that embarrassment? You are my friend, Skitter sent. I couldn’t abandon you. I did only what any other honorable hapaki would do. Even some humans would have done as much. Could I do any less? I will miss you, too, Sam. We had quite an adventure, but it’s time for me to go to my home and you to go to yours. If you are able to come back, go toward the Northeast and call for me. Maybe we can talk about old times, sitting safely within my familiar forest.

  Sam laughed. I would like that. Take care of yourself, Skitter. Make the hapaki a great people again. I think this world will have need of your honor and bravery.

  As he turned to go, Skitter stopped and turned back around to face Sam. “Good…bye…Sam.” The hapaki hissed the words with difficulty from his too-small mouth.

  Sam and Nalia stared in amazement. “Skitter,” Sam said aloud for Nalia’s benefit while sending the same to Skitter’s mind, “you can speak English? When did you learn to do that?”

  Skitter was bursting with pride. I listened to you teaching Nalia and I practiced when I was alone. I can use primitive communication, too. Did you have any doubt?

  Sam’s smile hurt his cheeks. He translated Skitter’s thoughts for Nalia and then said, “I never doubted you for a minute. Thank you for putting forth the effort to learn. Maybe we can talk again the next time we meet.”

  I would like that.

  Sam watched Skitter turn and skitter off into the underbrush, dragging his overstuffed sack of edible loot with him. Goodbye, my friend, Sam sent as he disappeared.

  Just that quickly, there was only one thing left to do. Turning to Nalia and taking her hand, he headed back into his house. He paused at the door of his meditation room as he pulled the little statue from his pack and placed it in the location it always occupied on the table. Rubbing its head for luck, he thought of Grayson and smiled a sad smile.

  Seated on the floor of his meditation room, backpacks lying next to them, the two remaining party members closed their eyes and attained the khulim. Sam fixed his home world in his mind, picturing his neighborhood and the surrounding areas so vividly he felt as if he was seeing it with his eyes open. When he felt close enough to step into that world, he shifted his focus slightly to Nalia, who was sitting across from him, cross-legged as Rindu always was when they trained.

  In his mental picture, he saw her smile to see his world and then she locked eyes with him. In those eyes, he saw the love he had for her reflected back at him. He knew then that she loved him too and knew that he could trust her with anything, even his life. In that moment, he dropped all his defenses and let her absorb him. He felt himself sliding into her eyes, dissolving until he felt as if they were one person. He felt safe there, cradled and protected by her, his teacher, his hero, his love.

  Sam felt the familiar feeling of returning to his world. As before, colors swirled around him in a maelstrom. He automatically flipped the colors to their negatives and saw, there before him, the tunnel home. He let Nalia know his thoughts and she led him through it. Feeling the swirling, dizzying effects of his journey, the world suddenly stopped, and he regained his senses.

  Sam opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was Nalia, sitting perfectly motionless in front of him. As her eyes opened and found his, she smiled and his entire body grew warm. Leaning forward, he kissed her mouth gently and then leaned back to look into her eyes. “Shall we go see if it worked?” he asked her.

  “Yes,” She rose, took his hand to pull him to his feet, and headed for the door.

  He paused before his front door, not sure what he would find on the other side. He opened it slowly and was happy to see the familiar street and yard. He was back home. Stoker, Sam’s cat, rushed into the house between Sam’s feet, heading for the food dish.

  Picking the cat up and petting him, Sam thought absently about why his yard was not overgrown
with weeds. Did his house remain here even though it was on Gythe with him? What would have happened if they had built something else on this land while he was gone all those months, his house disappearing suddenly? How had his cat survived all this time?

  “Hey, Stoker,” he said to the cat, “I want you to meet Nalia. Nalia, this is my cat and best buddy Stoker.” The cat looked at Sam questioningly and Sam realized he was speaking Kasmali. He would have to get back into the habit of speaking English. “Sorry,” he said to the cat in English, “habit.” The cat gazed into his eyes, slowly blinked his own, and rubbed his forehead against Sam’s face.

  Sam’s cell phone, still on the table in his meditation room, chimed. Sam set the cat down, went to the room, and looked at his phone. He had one missed call and one voice mail. One. That seemed strange. He was gone for months and all he had was one call?

  The message was from his mother. He put it on speaker. “Sam, it’s mom. Are you still coming over for dinner tonight? Give me a call and let me know. Love you, bye.” The call had come in an hour ago. Just an hour. Looking again at the time and date on his phone, he realized that it was the same date on which he left, the day of the storm. It was less than half a day from when he had gone to Gythe. All those months he spent there and only half a day had passed here.

  Turning to Nalia and taking her into his arms, he laughed and cried and hugged her close while turning them around in circles. “It’s wonderful, Nalia! Hardly any time has passed here. My mother doesn’t even know I was gone. Even my cat is still in good shape, though maybe irritated that he’s been without his food dish for a few hours. What do you say I bring you to meet my mother tonight? She is expecting me for dinner and I would love for her to meet you.”