Vrin: Ten Mortal Gods

by John Michael Hileman

  “You don’t think fallen angels will know where to find us?”

  “They can’t seem to find Hazel.”

  Annie folded her arms. “I don’t like it.”

  “Which part? The us hiding part?”

  “I’m worried about Sam. I know him, he won’t walk away from this.”

  “Then let him fight the battle.”

  Rebecca put her hand on her mothers leg. “Don’t worry, Mom, God will protect him.”

  Annie’s face was devoid of emotion.

  My eyes drifted up to the clock on the wall. It was only quarter past seven, but it felt more like two in the morning to me. I let out a long sigh. “I hate to do this to you, but can we talk more in the morning? I can not stay awake another minute.”

  “Yes,” Annie said blankly. “Yes, of course.”

  I stood awkwardly and looked toward the hallway. “Where are we staying?”

  Rebecca stood up. “I’ll show you.”

  I followed her to a room at the end of the hall, where a single mattress was made up under a full skylight. I brushed past her into the room. She leaned in and gave me a peck on the cheek. “We’ll figure this out, Dad, I’m not worried.”

  “Well, that makes one of us.” I gave her a weak smile.

  “Goodnight,” she said, then gently closed the door. Immediately it opened back up. “Oh, Mom and I picked up a few things for you, a robe and some other stuff. They’re in the bag.” She pointed.

  I reached down and pulled out the robe. “Thanks, honey. Tell Mom thanks too.”

  “I will, g’night.” She closed the door.

  My eyes fell on the bed, and a heaviness pressed in on my heart. There was no peace here, only a fearful anticipation. If it was true-- if Vrin was a real place-- would I remember? Would I sense myself going past my dreams into that mysterious world beyond? My heart quickened at the thought.

  Slowly I began to undress. Maybe I’m just dreaming this whole nightmare, I thought. Maybe at any moment I’ll wake up in the hotel in New York and be heading off on our vacation. Maybe there’s no such thing as Vrin, or Doctor Solomon, or Nan, or Haz...” As I removed my pants, a button fell from my pocket and rolled across the floor. It was the one Hazel had placed in my hand.

  I let out a long sigh.

  For a moment, I stood and thought about trying to stay awake, but quickly dismissed the idea, and climbed in under the sheet. My head pressed heavily into the pillow. My eyes burned in their sockets. I stared at the ceiling fan, dreading the thought of falling asleep, yet knowing there would be no stopping it. My body was beyond exhaustion, my head was already slipping into the warm dark. I rolled over onto my side.

  Oh, well, I thought, here we go, back to the magical realm of Vrin-- to save it from an evil mastermind.

  CHAPTER 28

  THE MAGIC

  001001011001110

  “Wake up!”

  The voice seemed distant.

  “Wake UP!”

  The pain in my head was excruciating. The rope on my wrists scratched and burned. I opened my eyes a slit.

  “Is he awake?” came another voice.

  “Arganis?” I asked dryly. “Is that you?”

  The lumbering shadow before me moved aside, revealing Arganis in the flickering light of the lantern.

  “ I do not know you, yet you call me by name?”

  “We have met before.”

  “We have not. I would remember such a meeting.” His voice was not as friendly as I remembered it. “--The signet on your collar tells me you are from the ruling house. Are you a spy?”

  “No. I have come to seek your help.”

  He laughed. “My help? What could Daru possibly want from me, a humble peasant?”

  Though painful, I forced my eyes open. From my position on the floor, I counted five, maybe six figures.

  “Arganis, I need to speak with you, alone.”

  He crouched down before me. “You may speak freely.”

  “I can't. It would put my life at risk.”

  “If you do not speak, that will put your life at risk!”

  “Look, Arganis, I'm not a spy. I am a friend of Sajin's.

  “Sajin made no mention of you.”

  “Listen. He and Sam' Dejal sent me here with a private message.”

  He gave me an examining stare. “How can I trust you?”

  “Do you remember your conversation with Sam' Dejal?”

  He squinted at me. “--Yes.”

  “Do you remember how he told you about the gods dreaming a dream, and how you pondered the meaning of this world.”

  “Yes, of course I remember.” There was curiosity in his voice.

  “Arganis. The dreamer has awakened.”

  His brows knitted. “Leave us,” he stated. The room quickly emptied, and soon we were alone. “What is it you wish to tell me?”

  I rolled over and sat up with a grunt. My head reeled. “Did you-- hear the voice of Gaza in the sky?”

  “Yes.”

  “I am the one he is looking for.”

  “You are Charm?”

  “Yes.”

  He looked me over closely. “Why are you here? And how do you know me?”

  “I’m here because I need to learn the magic of The Circle of Ghosts.”

  His eyebrows raised. “And you think I will teach you this?”

  “Yes, because with that knowledge I can stop Gaza from destroying Vrin.”

  He assessed me with incredulous eyes. “How?”

  “By entering the cognosphere.”

  “You cannot change the past by using an event cell. What Gaza has done, is done.”

  “No, I am not speaking of changing the past. I intend to enter the cognosphere itself.”

  In the flickering light of the lantern, I wasn't sure if I saw horror, or surprise on his face. “Th-that's not possible!”

  “It is only possible if you help me. Your magic holds the key. Once in the event cell, there will be no way for me to find my way back to my physical body, unless you help me.”

  “You would go mad in an empty event cell.”

  “You are incorrect. I would not.”

  “Everyone who has ever attempted this has gone mad, how are you any different?”

  I leaned forward, against the objection of my restraints. I looked him directly in the eye. “Because, Arganis-- I am, Sam' Dejal.”

  His face went slack. “You are already mad!”

  “Arganis, listen to me. I know things that only he would know. I can tell you the conversation we had in this very cellar. We talked about the dream, and the world beyond Vrin. We drank together and chose to believe in Ethral. Then we traveled into Rath’s castle. Ask me anything. I remember it all.”

  He sat shaking his head slowly. “How is this possible?”

  “The body of Sam’ Dejal still lies deep in the heart of the Citadel, but who he was, is now in this body.”

  “If you are him,” He paused, “then why do you not have his power?”

  “I am no longer connected to the source of the power. I have the memories of Sam’ Dejal, but in every other way, I am just like you.”

  Again he examined me. His eyes narrowed. “How did we enter Rath’s castle?”

  I suppressed a smile. “First you showed me the map with the best place to enter, then I created a hole in the ground, and we went into the dungeon through the wall.”

  He put his hand on his chin. “If you are so interested in my magic, then why did you not ask me to use it in the dungeon?”

  “Ah, but I did ask. You created smoke and a blinding flash to make my appearance to the guard more dramatic. And it worked quite nicely, if I remember correctly.”

  “So...” His eyebrows rose. “The god who would be man-- is now a man?”

  “Yes.”

  “A man who needs my help.”

  “Most definitely.”

  His whole face smiled.

  I returned the smile.

  “This is won
derful!”

  “Not so much for me.”

  “I’m sorry, no, of course not.” He crouched down and cut the bonds from my wrists and ankles. “It must be very hard for you to be without your powers, but the implications of this are remarkable. It means the gods are human.” His head cocked and his eyes focused on a distant point. “You said you were sleeping. How could you be sleeping, in the dream.”

  That was a very good question. One I wished I knew the answer to. “I did not wake up where I expected, so I don’t have an answer to that.”

  “This person you are now was not the one who was sleeping?”

  “No. In fact, I met the person I am now while I was still in Sam’ Dejal.” I started to rise.

  Arganis helped me up and into a chair, his voice prattling the whole time. “Amazing! When you were Sam’ Dejal, you actually met this person you are now? Did he know you, or was he someone else before you inhabited this body?”

  “He was frozen.”

  “Frozen? Had he always been frozen?”

  “No. I froze-- I mean-- this body froze while I was reading Davata Notrals at the capital. I had lived a whole life up to that point.”

  “And when you left Sam’ Dejal, you woke as Charm?”

  “Yes, but it was not what I was expecting. I expected to awake in the place I was sleeping.”

  “Are you still dreaming the dream?”

  “I believe I am a part of the dream now.”

  His furry brows danced. “Amazing!”

  “I’m glad you think so.”

  He brushed me off. “I’m sorry for my enthusiasm. I must remind myself that you are in great danger in this body. Gaza himself is searching for you, and you are without your power. I should not be indulging my petty curiosities. Please, accept my apology.”

  “I am humbled by your wisdom and restraint, Arganis. It would not be so with me, if I were in your place.”

  “Your compliment brings me great honor.”

  I gripped the table and stood. “It is deserving, I assure you. Now, let’s get down to business.”

  He stepped back and allowed me room.

  I thought a moment. “The cognosphere remembers everything that has ever been done, correct?”

  “Indeed.” There was youthful enthusiasm in his expression.

  “But it doesn’t just remember the past. It places the present.”

  The wizard’s face dropped.

  “What I mean is, the cognosphere remembers where everyone was standing, how big they were, what time of day it was, the odors, the sounds-- everything, right?”

  “You mean, in the past?”

  “Yes. The cognosphere remembers everything.”

  “I suppose it does.”

  “Imagine controlling all of those things, location, weight and such, in the present simply by telling the cognosphere that what it is recording is different.”

  He looked down at the table, then spoke. “It knows where this candle is, but you can tell it to remember it being elsewhere?”

  “Yes. Everything in this world is recorded in a book, for lack of a better word. What has happened in the past cannot be rewritten, but the page that contains the now, the present, that can be changed.”

  “And any mortal man can tap into this power?”

  “No. Only one who understand the language that the book is written in, can change what is written.”

  His irises looked like tiny green islands on a sea of white. “And you can write this language?”

  “Yes.”

  “Can the other gods?”

  “None that I know of, except Gaza.”

  “That explains why he is so greatly feared.”

  “Yes. And why I must learn your magic to stop him.”

  He squinted. “How can my magic compare to such power?”

  “It doesn’t. But it may be my only way back. See, when a person enters an event cell, the pages of the book are turned back, and he is brought to the page where the event is written.”

  “Like a storybook.”

  “Yes. Like a storybook. But in a blank event cell, the entire book is scrambled, and I won’t know what page I’m on.”

  His eye grew wide. “This is when the madness sets in.”

  “I hope not.” I grimaced. “Hopefully there’s a way to order the information. I’ve seen the book before, and I know what it’s supposed to look like. The only problem is, getting back.”

  “You just close your eyes...”

  “What if I don’t know where my eyes are?”

  His face turned down.

  “I believe your magic will help me find my way back to this body.”

  “How?”

  That was a good question. “I don’t know. I need you to show me how it works. Maybe it will spark an idea.”

  He shook his head sadly. “I do not see how my magic can help. It is not of this world.”

  “That is precisely why I think it will help me. I’m going to leave this world.”

  He looked at me intently. “I don’t understand, but I’ll show you what I know.” He went to a trunk in the corner of the cellar, and removed several items from its cover. It made an awful creak as it opened.

  “This,” he said, pulling a heavy book from within, “is the book I told you of. It was written by my ancestor Nor’ Trull. In it is all we know about the magic.” He came back over, set the enormous book on the table before me, and opened to the center. The letters and numbers were written in a faded calligraphy. “See these numbers.” He pointed. “They correspond to notes on this.” He pulled a tarnished metal tuning fork from his pocket. It had several tines protruding from a handle. “When I strike this instrument, it tells me what sound I must make with my voice. Such as...” He hit the tuning fork against the table. The sound resonated off the wet cellar walls, and Arganis joined his voice with it. The two became a perfect match-- and I felt something brush past me.

  “What was that?”

  “The magic responding to the command.”

  “What was the command?”

  “I asked it to make a box around you.”

  I reached out and my hands came in contact with something. It gave way as I pushed on it. “It moves?”

  “Only because we are far from The Circle. If we were closer, it would not move, and you would see it as I have envisioned it in my mind.”

  “You communicated what you were thinking, through music?”

  He laughed. “It is not that amazing, I’m afraid. The magic can be anything I want it to be. The sound is just what tells it to listen to me. There are actually only five notes.”

  My jaw went slack. “Only five? How does it know?”

  “The magic is like a gas, and I make it a solid. It responds to my thoughts. All I do, is give it the sound, then imagine what I want.”

  “What are the sounds?”

  “Like I said, there are five sounds. Each corresponds with a command. The commands are: create, destroy, move, and move me.”

  “That’s only four.”

  “Yes. I don’t know what the fifth one is.”

  “Doesn’t it say in the book?” I looked down at the page. “Speaking of the book, this is a large book for only five notes. I thought you said he catalogued all the vibrations.”

  Arganis smiled, and the smile touched into his eyes. “He didn’t realize till the end of the book that it was his thoughts producing the effects.” He flipped the book to the last page. On it were the five notes with their corresponding command word. The description for the fifth note was scratched beyond recognition.

  “Who did this?” I rubbed my fingers where the book had been damaged.

  “I do not know. My father forbade me to ask about it.”

  “So this is it, five notes.”

  “Yes, and the closer you get to The Circle, the more real your creations become.”

  “Fascinating.” I ran my eyes down the page, pronouncing the words in my head. Create. Destroy. Move. Move me. “The fi
rst three I understand, but what is move me?”

  He stepped back and began to sing, and as the song filled the room, his feet lifted from the ground, and he floated to the other side of the room.

  I couldn’t help myself. “You’re flying!”

  “It will take me any way I wish to go.”

  I leaped to my feet. “That’s it!”

  “What is?”

  “That’s how I will return from the event cell! I’ll use the fourth note!”

  The wizard dropped back to the ground. “Well then,” he said, smiling with satisfaction, “let’s teach you how to make the sounds!”

  CHAPTER 29

  THE COGNOSPHERE

  001001011001110

  The lesson was over, and I waited patiently. Soon the stairs began to creak, and a dark form entered the room. As he came into the light of the candles I recognized him. I could not remember his name, but the face was familiar. He was a stout bald man, and was garbed in clothing I knew well, the uniform of the Sky Searchers League. His eyes gleamed as he approached. It was clear he recognized me as well. This was not uncommon, I was sky searcher to the throne, and there wasn’t a sky searcher in the kingdom who did not know my name-- a name made even more famous by my recent run in with Gaza.

  “This is Gadson,” said Arganis. “He is a trusted friend.”

  The man bowed low. “I am honored, Charm.”

  “It has been many years,” I replied.

  Arganis snapped a look at me. “You know each other.”

  “I believe we met once, at the capital.”

  “I forget, you lived many years before...”

  I brought my hand up. “We should move forward with what we came to do.”

  I could see the apology on his face. He had almost revealed more to Gadson than I would have liked.

  Arganis held his hand out toward his friend. “May I have the event cell.”

  Gadson took a leather bag off his shoulder and handed it to Arganis. Arganis opened it and held it out to me. “Do you mind if Gadson stays with us? I would feel more comfortable.”

  “Not at all,” I said, reaching into the bag. I drew out the event cell. It was cold and hard in my hands. I lifted my eyes toward Arganis. “Are you ready?”

  His eyebrows raised.“ What's more important is, are you ready?”