Reborn (The Cartographer Book 2) (34 page)

“My God, this tastes like used motor oil,” I spat. I put the cup down and punched in an order for water. As soon as the door opened I guzzled the water down in the hope it would drown out the taste of engine. I also ordered some toast with butter which tasted bland, but I was able to choke it down.

A knock at the door interrupted my breakfast. “Come in,” I shouted through mouthfuls of toast.

Grillick entered along with one of his armored soldiers. I swallowed hard.
What does he need a soldier for
? He quickly put my suspicions to rest. “Good morning, Nathan. I trust you slept well? This here is Sergeant Cantrell, he will show you around the complex before you meet with Vanth today.”

When the soldier removed his helmet I recognized him as the person in the train tunnel on Gorganna. “I'm no babysitter so let's make this quick,” he grumbled.

“Sergeant Cantrell's pleasance has no equal,” Grillick countered sarcastically. “Fortunately for him the tour will have to be quick because Vanth is expecting you in one hour.”

“Bah,” the sergeant barked. “Follow me and try to keep up.”

I followed him out the door and tried to keep up as best I could. For every step he took I had to take two. He was a big man and his legs were long. In the beginning of the tour I could tell he wanted to get it over quickly but eventually he slowed and explained areas more thoroughly, especially when it came to the barracks area and mess hall. The entire complex was designed as a perfect circle. The walls of the halls were constructed of some sort of gray synthetic material that lit up as we walked past. Vanth's complex had been designed with four guest rooms, a medical facility, a mess hall, a barracks, a weapons storage room and his office. Every room surrounded what Cantrell referred to as “The Octagon”—a room designed with eight angled walls that served as a training room. “Oh, you are gonna have fun in here,” Cantrell scoffed when we passed by the room.

The tour ended in front of Vanth's office. Unlike my first visit, this time the door was open. “This is where our little tour comes to an end,” Cantrell said gruffly. “Hopefully he doesn't break you like he did with the last one.” He hitched his belt and stomped off towards the barracks.

“Gee, thanks,” I muttered before stepping into Vanth's office. I found him hunched over a tome as big as a dictionary with a single candle burning nearby. A feeling of déjà vu came over me as I recalled our first meeting.

“Good morning, Nathan,” he said without looking up from the tome. “Are you ready to become the person the universe needs you to be.”

I shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. “Wow, the entire universe,” I mumbled. “No pressure, I guess.”

Vanth stared at me, and despite his blindness I felt his cloudy eyes studying me. He lifted his hood over his head, enveloping his face in shadow. “There will be pressure. You will deal with it or you will die.” He grabbed his staff and led me from the room.

I chewed a fingernail off on the way to the training room. To say I was nervous would be like saying a tornado was just a mild breeze.
Set panic mode to DEFCON 1 please.
When we entered the training room I was convinced I would piss myself.

Cantrell rushed me through the room during the tour so I didn't get a chance to take in everything around me. Now that we were about to start training I examined the room with a bit more scrutiny. Paintings of people (some slightly human, others with faces so unearthly they seemed to be yanked directly from the nightmares of hell) lined almost every inch of the walls.

“Who are they?” I motioned to the images, but then I remembered he was blind and mentally facepalmed myself before adding, “The people on the walls.”

Vanth placed his hand upon the closest wall, covering one of the images. He closed his eyes and spoke slowly and methodically. “They came to me seeking the way. Some days I can feel their souls crying out. They beg me for a second chance; one that I cannot give.”

“A straight answer would be nice sometimes,” I grumbled.

Vanth let out a long, deep sigh. “This is your first day so I will forgive your impatience. Just remember that I will not always be so forgiving.” He clutched his staff tightly and the skull scraped ominously against the stone-tiled floor. “They failed their training and paid for that failure with their lives.”

I swallowed hard and studied their faces. There had to have been hundreds of pictures hanging on the walls. Some looked like warriors, others could have been no older than kids.
Just like me
.

Vanth led me to the center of the room which was separated by four foot metal poles scattered around the area, forming a smaller octagon. The “mini-octagon” was roughly thirty feet from corner to corner. The floor felt soft underneath my boots, sort of like the wrestling mats we had at our school gym. “This is where most of your combat training will take place.”

“Is this where they failed?” I asked, indicating the people on the wall.

“That question is the first in what will surely be a long list of failures on your part. Let us pray that you do not fail when it counts.” Vanth scowled and gripped his staff tightly. “Do not focus on the where or how, focus on the
why
. Your question should have been: 'Why did they fail'?” He leaned against a nearby pole and rested his chin against his staff before closing his eyes. “They all failed for various reasons. Several did not
believe
my words. A few did not
listen
to my words. Others did not
hear
my words.”

I had no clue what the difference was between the three but decided to remain silent. It didn't seem to be the proper time to be asking such questions. Vanth left the inner octagon and I followed but he held up his hand.

“Wait here,” he commanded. “Your training will begin shortly. This part is just an assessment and will not be used toward the final judgment.”

I stiffened. “What am I supposed to do?”

“You fight.” Vanth turned and slammed his staff into a notch in the ground. Electricity passed between the poles, forming an electric fence. The center of the floor began to glow bright orange and an image formed above it. At first it was nothing more than a dark-colored shadow. As the seconds passed it swirled, molded and morphed like a large black chunk of modeling clay. Eventually it stopped and took on the form of a man. When the transformation was complete, Shai stood at the center of the room, tossing me the same smug smile I left him with. I looked to Vanth for guidance. He held out his hand, palm facing me as if he were expecting me to high-five him. “Go.”

I turned my attention to my adversary who looked at me like a predator and I was the prey. I clenched my right hand and looked at it, recalling what he did to me which only filled me with rage. He took a step forward and my mind went blank. Everything was covered in a red blanket of rage. I rushed him with the intent of caving in his smug face and pummeling it until it was nothing more than a slush pile.

He apparently had other ideas. He easily side-stepped my advance and punched me in the side, knocking the wind out of me and bringing me to my knees.

“No,” I gasped and got back up on one knee.

Shai knocked me to the floor with a blow to the back of my head. It felt like he dropped an anvil on it. I laid face down on the ground, gasping for air as the world dimmed around me. I turned to see his boots. I felt like I had just been run over by a bus. I struggled to move and braced for a blow which never came.

“There is more work to be done than I had originally estimated,” Vanth said. The fence disappeared and he entered the ring. Shai was gone.

“What the hell was that?” I asked, struggling to catch my breath.

“That was your first test to measure your ability in battle. I have concluded that you have none.” He brought the staff down and clubbed me over the head.

“Ow, what the—,” I cried.

“That was for being absolutely terrible in a simple skirmish. What would have happened had there been two adversaries? What would have happened if there were ten?” He tapped the staff on the ground impatiently.

“I probably would have gotten my butt kicked,” I mumbled. I rubbed my head and would not have been surprised had I felt a lantern-shaped indentation in my skull.

“You would be dead,” he clarified.

“So does that mean I fail?” He was right. If I couldn't beat a holographic image of Shai, how was I supposed to beat the real version? I have never felt more disappointed.

“No.” He clutched the staff in both hands and leaned on it. “I was disappointed by your performance but not surprised. You were never expected to beat him. You can savor one small victory. You got up and continued to fight. That is a start.”

“But I lost,” I argued.

“Combat rule number one.” He held up his index finger. “Some people fight for riches, others fight for glory. A few fight for honor. It is only important that you fight.”

“What do you want me to gain from all this?” I felt the back of my head where Shai struck me. A lump was beginning to form. Vanth's training partners were more real than holograms.

“This training is like life. It's a journey where you will encounter many obstacles. You will also come to crossroads. A person may guide you but in the end only you can walk the path.” He motioned toward the door.

“That's it for today?” I asked incredulously.

Vanth nodded. “I will send Grillick for you at first light. Your grace period is over.”

“Great,” I muttered and headed to my room.

Day 2

Vanth was right. I ended up in the training room at first light. Unfortunately for me, Exorg 1 only experienced twelve hour days. Grillick collected me and half-dragged my groggy body down the hall.

Grillick stopped at the entrance. He turned to me and frowned. “Why so grumpy today?”

“Are you serious with that question? I couldn't have slept for more than an hour,” I groaned.

“Actually, you slept five and a half hours.” When he saw my frown deepen, he smiled. “I know what will cheer you up! A joke!”

I glared at him. This did not stop him. “Why do they call curium and barium the medical elements?” He hopped up and down and clapped his hands together. He was exploding with eagerness to reveal the answer.

“Go away,” I groaned.

My request did not faze him. With a broad smile he responded, “Because if you can't curium than you will have to barium!” He braced himself against the wall and roared laughter.

He continued roaring with laughter after I entered the octagon. The door slammed shut but didn't drown out his incessant tittering. I shook my head and pressed my lips together tightly. Vanth stood in the center of the room, staff in hand, unperturbed by the mousy laughter booming from the other side of the door. The laughter only died down when Grillick began coughing violently. After a few seconds of retching, the halls went silent and I knew he had coughed up another hair ball.

“So, what's on the agenda today?” I asked sourly. I felt my gorge rising at the thought of stumbling into a slimy hairball in the hallway.

“Your initial physical assessment has been completed,” Vanth responded, unperturbed by the events outside his door. “It is time for the mental assessment.” He touched the wall and the lights dimmed. His dark purple robe blended into the shadows cast throughout the room. He pulled the hood over his face, blanketing his face in darkness. “Our exercise today will test your mental prowess in the face of adversity.” The lights dimmed further, creating a fog of gloom. Vanth vanished into shadow. “This is just an initial mental assessment which will not be counted toward your final score but do not let that fool you. Do the best you can.”

Suddenly the room lit up around me. I was no longer in the octagon nor was I alone. Kedge stood next to me and Wraith stood behind us. I was in New Mexico again. Shai and his ship stood before us.

“Oh, please God no,” I pleaded. “I can't go through this again.”

“You must,” Vanth's voice boomed from an overhead speaker like the disembodied voice of God. “You will.”

Noz, Shai and the soldier were on the ramp, just like last time except I was not present—well at least my physical body wasn't. The New Mexico version of myself stood next to Wraith. I was still in Vanth's training room acting as a spectator. That was when I noticed everything moved in slow motion. New Mexico Nathan lifted the AR-15 for what seemed like an eternity. When Wraith started firing, the bullets sailed by me so slow I reached up to grab one but my hand slipped through it like an illusion.

The barrel of the sniper rifle gleamed in the sun just before the side of Wraith's head exploded like a watermelon under a sledgehammer. New Mexico Nathan was out of ammunition and cried out in rage. Kedge parried Shai's blow. As quickly as it had started, it stopped, frozen in time. I noticed brown spots in Shai's teeth when he clenched them together to put his weight behind the blow. Flame encircled the barrel of the sniper's rifle and the bullet was frozen just outside of it. Wraith was frozen in death, bent backwards, halfway to the ground.

“WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO?” I screamed. I looked around but the only thing surrounding me was the New Mexico landscape. “I can't stop this from happening.”

“Of course not,” Vanth boomed from overhead. “I want you to remember this day and what you were feeling. Think, recall and remember.”

I clenched and unclenched my fake hand as I recalled my feelings. “I remember being afraid at first,” I admitted. “But after they killed Wraith I became angry.”

“What were your mistakes?” Vanth asked.

I answered quickly. “I missed my shots.”

A long, drawn-out sigh came from the loudspeaker. “No,” he responded curtly. “Your first mistake was fear. Fear led to indecision. When your enemy first appeared you should have struck. Instead, you hesitated.”

“Wait a minute. I didn't—”

“QUIET!” he roared. Never speak during assessment. “Your second mistake was uncontrolled anger. The anger blinded you. Fear started what anger finished, therefore leading to complete failure.”