Bridgeworlds: Rise of the Magi (7 page)

1.
Sentio Bipedal Felis –
talking sentient creatures that look and react like cats but who walk on two feet and wear clothing.

2.
Petra Compleo Minimus –
3-to-4-foot tall humanoids with rock-like growths dispersed throughout their bodies.

3.
Compleo Exilis –
unusually thin humanoids, appearing to be poorly nourished.

4.
Compleo Profundus –
unusually thick humanoids, bulky in structure.

5.
Compleo Creaturas –
bestial creatures with humanoid forms but having multiple animal traits.

6.
Compleo pisci –
humanoids with webbed digits and gills as though intended for living or laboring in the water.

7.
Angelus Compleo Lux –
winged humanoids that give off light and have angular features.

After jotting down those notes, Omar turned to Myles and laid out his strategy. “We must wait for the right opportunity to reveal our presence. If we surprise them at a bad time, we could spend years trying to win their trust, or we could even be killed. I believe this is paramount to whatever we do, especially for you.”

“Yeah, Doc, I agree with you. Believe me, I don’t want to die now, just when it’s getting interesting. If we watch for the right moment, we could even get a hero’s welcome. I’m all about knowing your audience and then working the crowd for the best response possible. That’s why they call us 'con artists'.” His grin slowly widened until he was at his charming best, but Omar just waved him off in disgust. He didn’t want to con these beings. He genuinely wanted to win their trust so that he could learn from them.

As Omar walked away, he realized that Myles might be right. There was probably no one more skilled at winning a crowd than Myles. He would probably find a creative way for them to introduce themselves when the time was right. For now, though, they’d wait and watch and see how things unfolded.

Omar began to feel really tired so he turned back to Myles and said with a yawn, “It’s been another long day, Rags. Let’s get some shut-eye and we can work out the rest of our strategy when we’re thinking more clearly.” Myles nodded in agreement so they went back into the room and settled down to sleep.

For the past two days they’d survived by eating MREs, “Meals Ready to Eat”, field rations that Omar got from the Army. This wasn’t hard for Omar because he’d eaten them before and was used to them. Omar knew that MREs were designed for consumption in combat zones and were not meant for daily consumption. Knowing that they could cause many people stomach problems, he studied Myles for a moment, but he seemed fine. Omar slipped off into a deep sleep.

Myles, on the other hand, was used to the rich food of the casinos and now he felt like his stomach was eating him alive. He looked through Omar’s bags of tricks. Finding some antacids, he took them and as soon as they took effect, he slipped off into a deep sleep, probably the best rest he’d had in years.

~*~

As Myles lay there half asleep and half awake, he didn’t know if he wanted to wake up or just go back to sleep. This was a wonderful state to be in, and he wanted to savor it for a while. He felt like he was almost in a dream, it was such a relaxed and contented place. But his curiosity got the best of him again, so he opened his eyes to look around. Surprisingly, he found himself in a large bed instead of on the brick floor, the air smelled like fresh flowers on a summer morning. He rubbed his eyes and began to wonder where he was, so he got up and went over to the window.

The scene out the window was beautiful, but it was all wrong. He was on a farm, and Myles hated farms, especially all the boring, never-ending work that you did on one. He remembered how every morning as a child he would wake up with his siblings and go out to do the chores. They would work themselves to exhaustion day after day in the summer and then turn in for the night to do it all over again the next day. No, there was no doubt about it. Myles definitely did not like farms.

But as he gazed out the window, he could see that this farm was different. It looked like it was a full-blown estate with lots of hired workers to do all the chores. Then Myles looked toward the horizon and saw there were two suns in the sky.
Two suns! What’s going on?
He wondered what had happened while he was asleep. This place never ceased to amaze him.

He tried to clear his head and remember where he’d been last. He definitely remembered Omar, the tunnels, and the motorcycle. And he remembered falling asleep.
Hey wait, this has to be a dream!
Myles loved it when he realized he was dreaming because he could do anything he wanted and go anywhere he liked. He tried to imagine a casino, but he was distracted by what he saw walking out of one of the barns.

It was a woman and she was beautiful, but as he watched her he got a surprise. She didn’t look like a normal woman—she had angular features and pointed ears. He thought hard and remembered that he’d just been looking with Omar at people who looked like she did. But as he continued to watch her, he decided that she was somewhat different from the others. She wasn’t gray. There was a glow that radiated from her that was strong. In fact, if it got any stronger he would have to look away. Her beauty, he concluded, was indescribable. But this was his dream, after all, so maybe it was time to have some fun.

Myles looked around and found his coat and hat hanging in the closet, so he put them on. He grabbed a walking stick by the door and headed down the stairs. He realized as he descended that he had a slight limp, but he decided that he could mask it so he didn’t pay much attention to it. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, a man stood there waiting for him.

“Good day, my lord,” he said with a cheerful tone. “What would you like to have for breakfast today?” Myles laughed at his formal manner and waved him off as he walked past him and out the door. He headed straight toward the barn where he’d seen the woman from the window. As he got closer he could see that she carried a bale of hay.

She was absolutely radiant. Her long red hair was braided with a sharp metallic charm on the end. She had vivid green eyes that, even from a distance, he could see sparkling in the sunlight like rare gems. She was actually small in stature, but there was something about her that commanded his respect. When he reached her, she smiled.

“Good morning, my love. I trust you slept well. You’re up a bit late this morning, aren’t you?”

What did she just say? My love? What an odd turn of events this is. But hey, it’s only a dream.
Myles winked and tipped his hat to her. “Yes, my dear. I slept well.”

The woman laughed; a beautiful laugh. “I haven’t seen that outfit on you in some time. It still suits you well.”

Myles decided to act as if he knew her as well as she seemed to know him. “I’m glad you still like it after all this ti—.”

She cut him off with a kiss. Myles was shocked, though he wasn’t quite sure why. This had happened to him many times before but not with a woman this sober and certainly not one as beautiful as her. He remembered that this was a dream so Myles kissed her back.

She gently pulled away from him. “Something is different about you this morning, my husband.”

Husband? Now that was bad.
He had no intention of ever marrying…ever! He’d resolved a long time ago that no woman would ever tie Myles Callaghan down. Wondering if he had heard her right, he stole a glance at his finger and sure enough, there was a ring on it. It looked expensive, with a large red gem that seemed to be in the shape of a phoenix.

“Are you all right, Myles?” Genuine concern shone in her eyes. “You look a little pale.”

He didn’t respond right away but just looked at her for a moment, taking in her beauty close up this time. As he gazed at her he could feel all the blood rush back into his face. He’d never thought he would see the day, but at this moment he was definitely happy to have tied this woman down.
How about that?

While Myles was busy absorbing this wonderful moment, she grabbed his hand. Her touch was like nothing he’d ever felt before, so gentle and loving. She stood there holding his hand tightly with a look of trust in her eyes. This was something he hadn’t felt about anyone in a long time. He didn’t want to take advantage of her. What was happening to him? Was this possible? Had he genuinely fallen in love with someone? He began to hope that this wasn’t a dream after all.

Myles kept staring at her without saying anything. After a few minutes of adoring looks between them, she leaned in close to his ear and whispered, “I thought we could go for a walk in the forest today. It’s such a—.”

Behind her a horde of ghostly shadow creatures rose up. Black smoke-like arms wrapped around her. Myles instincts took over. He threw knives toward them that ignited into flames upon impact. The ones that he hit let out a shriek and dissipated, but there were too many.

While he furiously threw his flaming knives, she fought the shadowy creatures as well and seemed to be winning for a moment. In seconds, however, they all vanished, taking his beautiful wife with them.

Myles awoke suddenly in a cold sweat, emotions raging out of control, still lying on the brick floor.
That dream was too real!
Myles finally was able to push it out of his mind by repeating,
you can’t let nightmares bother you like that.

It was pitch black in the unlit room.

“Omar, are you awake?” a muffled snort was his only response.

Myles lit up his pipe and puffed away as he pondered where he’d been in life and where he was heading now. These were strange thoughts at a time like this, but they helped him get his mind off the nightmare. Myles debated with himself.
I've only killed in self-defense, but those who’ve tried to kill me also had good reasons for wanting me dead.
He’d always walked a fine line between just being criminal and becoming a monster.
But that's horrible. I want to be the person others admire, not the guy they want dead.

I don't deserve a second chance, but I sure want one.
But I'm such a liar. Am I just lying to myself about all this or could it be a real change of heart?
In this new dimension the possibilities were endless. He had a real chance here to move in a new direction. This was a real world that they’d been watching through the hole all day. Perhaps he could carve out a place for himself where he’d be admired rather than disdained.

That thought sparked his curiosity, so he pulled out his Zippo lighter to find his way to Omar’s bags. Myles pulled out the binoculars and went down the hall to the opening to take another look. He could only see a few gas lanterns still on in the city so it was fairly dark. Myles turned on the night vision setting, but the place looked pretty inactive.

As he sat there on the floor watching the quiet scene below, he suddenly saw some movement in an alley by the café. The purple man and the vampire argued with each other as he zoomed in. The vampire had a jagged knife hidden behind his back. He kept fondling it as they argued.

Myles remembered the blood they had seen earlier under the vampire creature's fingernails.
This guy is a killer, and the purple man is about to become his next victim.
Myles knew that he had little time to act. On his way to the motorcycle where the bags were, he kicked Omar.

"Wake up!" But Omar only turned over and said, “You see, Misaki, due to gravitational effects, you weigh slightly less when the moon is directly overhead.” Omar groaned and rolled back over.

Myles sighed. “Then it’s just me, I guess.” He grabbed the auto-audio translator, some gloves, a rope, and a grappling hook. The rest of what he might need was already hidden in his clothes. He knew the rope was short of the 100 ft. drop but Myles was used to impulsive action.

He secured the grappling hook to a crevice in the brick floor of the hallway and looked down to see the purple man and the vampire now fighting. He lowered the rope and slid down, holding on with his gloves and boots.

The rope must have been close to thirty feet too short, so when he reached the end, he swung himself over into a trash heap. That was the moment Myles realized he should have grabbed a gun out of Omar’s bags. Feeling like an idiot, he grabbed a broken broomstick out of the heap and ran over to the café. Myles had learned stick fighting, among other things, while performing with the circus. But that was a long time ago.

The purple man looked pretty badly beaten and exhausted. The vampire had pinned the purple man’s arms to his chest with only one hand and in his other hand was his jagged dagger, raised and ready to strike.

“I haven’t tasted Gabad flesh in so long. This will be such a pleasure.”

The vampire's wicked laugh choked off in a scream. Knives pierced his dagger hand, his left shoulder, and his right forearm. The vampire let go of the purple man, and in a rage, yanked the knives from his body. High, piercing shrieks erupted from him. Both the vampire and the purple man turned and gaped at Myles.

“Hey, Dracula, all you’re eating tonight is broomstick!” Myles shoved the butt of his weapon into the vampire’s face. It knocked the vampire back and stunned it for a moment.

“Scram!” Myles yelled at the purple man. He just continued to lie there staring as if he’d seen a ghost.

Myles went to hit the vampire in the face again, but it caught the stick in its hand and crushed it to dust.
That isn’t good...
Myles thought.

The vampire gazed at Myles,
Salt or pepper?
Myles read in its eyes. “Oh yes…an Adam. It is most feisty. I think it will make a rare, juicy skin bag. Yes, an Adam will do just fine.”

Myles tried kicking the vampire in the chest, but it caught his leg with both hands. Myles let out a scream of agony as he felt and heard his bones popping into little pieces. He’d learned to endure pain with the circus, but this was a totally new and indescribably horrible pain. Every instinct was useless now as Myles felt sure he was being slowly crushed to death.

A loud pop sounded behind Myles and a light flashed past him.
That’s a flare gun
. The vampire fell backward, shrieking. The flare was embedded in its chest and still burning. After a moment, the creature went limp and died. Omar stood behind Myles, still holding up the smoking flare gun with a trembling hand.