Reborn (The Cartographer Book 2) (33 page)

“So, are you guys some sort of gods then?”

He shook his head. “We are immortal only in the fact that we do not age. We can still be killed.” He stopped suddenly and rubbed his hands together, as if he were recalling a distant memory. I thought I saw pain in his eyes.

“There were more of you.” I meant it as a question but it came out a statement. His fidgeting at the mention of death gave it away.

He nodded slowly. “Sixteen of us, originally,” he lamented. “I will not bother delving into their history at this time. But it serves a valid point. We can die.”

When I didn't press the issue further, he continued. “Wars have come and gone in this universe. There was the War of Galaxies, the Vaire-Charr trade embargo, the Lumagom-Consortium war, the Exorg conflict and many others. Throughout the centuries there was one constant. That constant was us. We remained vigilant but stayed out of the conflicts. We chose to stand aside in order to let the natural order of things progress. We agreed to be the watchers, only interfering if the integrity of the universe was at stake.”

“Which is now, I assume?” I asked.

“When Corvus came through years ago, we took notice but stayed our hand. We were alerted every time someone traveled through a wormhole. Heck that was the only job Lapiz the Protector had. His job was to monitor wormholes. He was alerted every time someone stepped through. We realized that people have been traveling through wormholes for centuries.”

“Aren't you concerned that what they do in the past could affect the future?” I found it difficult to believe that these sentient beings did not interfere with people who jumped through time.

Grillick shook his head. “What they did in one time period would have not affect the one they came from.”

“Why not?”

He scratched his head vigorously before replying. He scratched so hard I was afraid he would remove his hand with large tufts of his hair. “Time is like a river. If you place a rock in the water, the waters will simply flow around it. If you try to block it with a dam, the force of the river will tear it asunder. Time cannot be stopped. It can only be
redirected
.”

“What does that mean exactly?” I pressed.

“It means you cannot simply travel back in time within your own time period. What has passed has already passed. It can never be recovered.”

“But how do you explain Corvus?”

“Easy!” Grillick smiled. “Corvus is from another
timeline
. His past has already been written. Even though this time
period
is technically from his past, he is in the wrong timeline. Nothing he does here will affect where he came from.”

“I'm so lost right now,” I admitted.

Grillick chuckled. “I admit it is enough to blow one's mind. It was many moons ago when I discovered the truth behind timelines. Sometimes I wonder if I blew a cerebral gasket back then trying to piece it all together.” He dug a finger into his ear and pulled out a large glob of greenish wax. “Sorry mister glob of wax but we are no longer accepting passengers for this flight.” He flicked it aside with a scowl before looking at his watch. “Uh oh, we are late. I better get you to Vanth,” he gasped.

Watching the interaction between him and his earwax I found myself agreeing with his assessment. Perhaps he did blow a cerebral gasket years ago.

Fear

Grillick led me to a set of dark, oversized doors with a large, red bird engulfed in flame etched on the surface. It didn't look very inviting. I paused, fearing what might wait on the other side.

He noticed my apprehension. “Vanth can be…
quirky
…but effective. You will go in a mouse and come out a lion.”

“I'm not here to become a lion,” I mumbled.

I looked down at him and he looked up at me, matching my gaze. Suddenly he began scratching at his beard as if something was irritating him. He stopped and pulled out a metal bolt and tossed it aside with a look of disdain. “Strange,” he muttered. “That must have been left over from the Mitochondria Capacitance Meter. Useless thing blew up in the lab.” He conducted one final sweep of his beard. “That appears to be it.” He tossed me a smile. “I'm sorry what were you saying?”

“Never mind.” I moved to open the door but he grabbed my arm.

“NO, WAIT!” Grillick shouted. He shoved me aside violently.

“What the—” I blurted with surprise.

“No, no, no, NO!” Grillick stomped his foot in irritation. “Vanth enjoys his privacy and prefers seclusion,” he replied, drawing a deep breath. “The door is warded.”

“Warded?” I repeated.

“Yes, yes, YES!” he replied impatiently. “Anyone who touches it wakes the Phoenix.” Grillick pointed at the bird on the door. Carefully, he moved to the side and opened a panel in the wall. Underneath was a smooth, glass interface which was currently blank. Grillick pressed his face into it and a bluish light engulfed his face.

“
Welcome, Grillick the Artificer
,” a pleasant female voice chirped from the interface. The door swung inward slowly. The creak that followed sounded like ancient hinges screaming for oil.

“Now, let's go before you blow us all into the next universe.” He muttered several curses under his breath before leading me through the door.

The room inside was dimly lit by a single lamp attached to a desk in the corner of the room. Bookshelves lined the walls. Books were stuffed into them like sausage into a casing. When I passed one I thought the breeze of my passing would cause it to burst and rain books all over the place. A hooded figure sat in an oversized chair that looked to be carved from bone. Its bleached whiteness shined with an internal luster which kept the shadows at bay. In the dimly lit room it was impossible to see his face. The hood covered his face and the shadows made it seem like I was looking down a deep well. The armrests of the chair had been carved into serpent heads and his hands were gripping them tightly. With dread I looked for Grillick but he was no longer by my side. He remained next to the door.

“Don't look at me.” He squeaked. “I'm not going in there.”

“What the—” I stopped myself before I said something I would later regret. Cautiously I turned toward the hooded figure. He remained seated, completely motionless—dark and silent like the shadows. The door slammed shut behind me and I knew Grillick had left.

“Son of a bitch,” I griped.

“There is no need for that language here,” the hooded figure boomed. Inside the confines of the room, his voice was that of God. He rose from the chair and pulled back the hood. His face was pale, rivaling only the whiteness of his chair. His skin, like the chair, glowed with its own luminescence. The shadows feared him and remained in their respective corners. I wasn't sure if it was the effect of being inside such a dimly lit room, but it seemed that the being standing before me radiated power. He was barrel-chested and stood over six feet, but despite his size he was as graceful as a cat. He glided toward me, almost floating above the cobblestone floor. His eyes were milky white like someone affected with cataracts. His eyes were more oblong than a human's, forming boomerangs along the side of his face. His eyebrows seemed to be missing—either that or they blended in with his paleness.

“I'm s-s-sorry,” I stuttered, shrinking against the door. My back slammed against it as Vanth towered over me. He leaned in to the point where I tasted the smell of musty tomes and mildew radiating off him. His nostrils, the size of quarters, flared as he sniffed the air around me.

“I smell your fear, human.” As he continued to study me his movements suggested that he was blind. He smelled the air around me and traced my face with cold fingers.

My fear subsided and became disappointment. “You have to be kidding me.”

He leaned back with an expression of confusion. “Excuse me?”

I peeled my back from the door and folded my arms in irritation. “You're blind, aren't you?”

He paused. “Blind is a relative term,” he replied with a frown. “I see more than you realize.”

“Great. Grillick said you would help train me to fight. You were supposed to make me some sort of lean, mean fighting machine,” I replied with dismay.

Vanth bellowed laughter but there was no humor in it. “Who do you think I am? Do you think I am some simple potter and you are this block of clay to be molded into whatever your little heart desires?” He stepped aside and touched the wall with his index finger. Light bathed the room, drowning out the shadows cast from the desk lamp. “I am here to teach you the things you need, not the things you want. Today is the day to let go of the things that no longer serve you.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means everything,” he replied gruffly. “Your training hinges on your ability to let go. Let go of your weaknesses. Let go of the past. Embrace your strengths. Prepare for the future.”

“Thanks a lot Sun Tzu,” I replied, dripping with sarcasm. “What do you suppose I let go of first?”

“Your attitude, for one thing,” he replied, unsmiling. “Aside from that, what do you think is your biggest weakness?”

The question caught me by surprise. I pondered it for a long time before answering.
What would be considered a weakness to him?
I was skinny, not very strong, not that attractive, my hair sucked, I couldn't run very fast, I wasn't athletic. The “weaknesses” poured into my brain like water from a faucet until I looked down at the hand Grillick designed. The loss of my hand culminated from my inability to do what needed to be done to save the ones I loved. In the end my weakness caused me to get captured twice, get several people killed, created failures of epic proportions. I took a deep breath and said the word slowly. “
Fear
.” When I muttered the word his scowl faded.

“Fear?” He seemed amused.

I nodded. “I can't stop being a scared kid. I realize I am no longer some naïve teenager from Earth. I need to put my big boy pants on and become a man.”

Vanth folded his arms across his barrel chest. “Fear is a tool. Use it. Wield it like a weapon and strike your enemies down with it. Learn that and nothing can stop you.”

His words reminded me of something and I chuckled.

“What's so funny?” he demanded.

My smile faded quickly. “Sorry, I was thinking of something someone said long ago. A former President of the United States once said; 'the only thing you have to fear is fear itself'.”

For several moments he stood and stared at me. Finally he shook his head in dismay. “That is a statement for the weak. Never fear an emotion, control it.”

“Well, anyway,” I muttered. “It's probably my biggest weakness. That and these skinny arms,” I added. He glanced at them with a disinterested look. When I looked at them, however, I grimaced. I hadn't exactly been eating well these past few months and it showed in my arms. They looked as if they could scare off a few crows.

“So be it.” He retrieved a six-foot-long staff from the corner of the room. The shaft was an angry gray, like a stormy sky. At the top of the staff was a carving which resembled a lantern and at the bottom was a baseball-sized knob shaped like a skull. Two black gems, similar to onyx, were embedded in the eye sockets. “If you are prepared to forget the past, improve the present and lay the path for the future, follow me and begin your voyage.”

Without taking my eyes off the staff I nodded and followed him out the door.

Training

Day 1

Sunlight fell on my face, waking me. I stretched and felt a renewed sense of purpose after my conversation with Vanth. Outside my window, the barren wasteland of Exorg 1 greeted me. Even though I was anxious regarding my upcoming training, I looked forward to conquering my fears. Clasping my hands over my head I stretched one last time before strolling over to the mobile Sustanant. Grillick had been kind enough to bring one in yesterday.

“Time for me to start my voyage to the unknown,” I said with a yawn. “Let's start it with a coffee.”

I punched in “COFFEE” and the door slid open, revealing a steaming cup of the black stuff. With a smile I grabbed the cup and lifted it to my lips. It only took one sip for the smile to fade.