Bridgeworlds: Rise of the Magi (8 page)

Despite his agony, Myles managed a wide smile. “Doc…oh ... Doc…thanks, partner! Hey, my leg is bad. I don’t know if it’s fixable. I really need some of your genius right now.”

“What are you doing?” Omar shouted. “You could’ve gotten yourself killed!” But then he sighed and softened his tone. “Myles, I told you not to go rushing off. Your leg looks horrible. I have some medical supplies back at the bike. I’ll look at your leg and see if we can save it.”

Myles tried to get up and the purple man rushed to his aid. “I’m Sebastian of the Gabad. I will help you, stranger. I owe you my life. Thank you for saving me!”

Myles flushed. “You don’t owe me nothing, buddy. As far as I’m concerned, that thing had it coming.”

The purple man swelled and scowled. “That he did, but I would appreciate it if you didn’t call my life nothing.”

Omar spun away and spread his wings. “Stay here with your new friend, Myles, and I’ll go and get my medical supplies.”

Myles smiled.
Where did he think I’d go with my leg like this?

Myles turned to Sebastian. “What did that creature call me, an Ad…a what?”

“You’re of the Adam. Why do you ask? Have you lost your memory?”

Myles grimaced. “Yeah, that might be the case. Just indulge me, please.”

Sebastian shrugged, “Until you, there have only been 13 of the Adam to visit Musterion in the past one thousand years. You are a new one—the 14th Adam to arrive.”

Myles raised an eyebrow. “Musterion huh? Is that where we are?”

“Yes, stranger. You’re in Musterion. Where are you from, Soterion?”

The pain was distracting Myles. “I plead the fifth.” He stared down at his leg.

“I’m sorry, the what?”

“It means, I’m not telling, at least right now. It’s better that way.” Myles didn’t want Omar to throw another hissy-fit because of his talking too much.

“Okay, stranger.”

People began to crowd the streets, astonishment on their faces. The presence of Myles drew them as much as the sight of the vampire creature lying dead on the street.
Attracting a crowd like this is not going to sit well with Omar.
One of the other Gabad came up and hovered over them like a helicopter. She grabbed a horn from her side and blew a blast.

Hurry up, Omar. Hurry up!
The curiosity of the crowd continued to grow.

7

Encounters

Myles thought about what a mess he’d created with his impulsive move.
Is this how all my efforts to do the right thing are going to turn out?
The truth was that he was much better at doing bad things than he was at doing good things. But he’d saved someone’s life, and that had to be good. Maybe he just needed more practice at doing good things in order to change his downhill momentum. Then again, maybe he was just over-thinking all of this and needed to trust his instincts more. He decided that, for now, he’d stick with what he knew and work out the rest later.

What he knew was that there was no way to hide from these people the truth about who he was without lying. But he’d also promised the Doc that he wouldn’t get them into any more trouble. Now, with a dead vampire creature on the street, whatever authority there was around here would have questions; and what the two of them needed to avoid most would be questions. This was where Myles’ talents usually excelled. Rather than lie to anyone, he’d just misdirect attention like a magician. He looked over at Sebastian. “Cover me. You owe me one.” Sebastian nodded.

As a con artist Myles had thrown himself in front of moving cars, taken a few punches, and orchestrated many other purposeful accidents. Myles had even gone to the extent of creating a ‘cacklebladder’, faking his own death with chicken blood all over him as his ‘outside man’ blackmailed the mark to not go to the authorities and to clean the mess up. It was particularly effective on politicians not wanting publicity. But all of that was going to pale in comparison to the amount of pain he was about to inflict on himself now. He remembered how Omar had told him the first encounter with the peoples of this world was important. Unfortunately, Myles’ lack of education or experience in other cultures would probably result in a bad first meeting with these natives. So he pulled himself up, took in a deep breath, and then shifted as much weight and pressure as he could onto his shattered leg. Instantly, Myles let out a yell that could be heard throughout the entire city and then fell to the ground unconscious.

Sebastian had seen that Myles purposefully hurt himself. Though was confused by his actions, he picked him up and moved him to the café patio and out of the street. Hundreds of natives now crowded the patio, wondering what had happened. Fortunately, Omar arrived at the same time as the governing officials did.

Omar took charge. “Everyone please stand back! Can someone clear this crowd? We have a serious injury here.” Omar’s winged appearance was familiar to them so no one questioned him. They stepped back and gave him room.

A creature stepped forward. He looked to be an official, and was different from any of the species that Omar had studied already. He began issuing orders to several bystanders dressed in uniforms. The official wore clothing fit for a king, and he let off a glow brighter than that of the Gabad race, those purple people like Sebastian.
But his skin is of a more human peach color.
He had green eyes and blonde hair. It seemed that he might have some form of wings tucked against his muscular frame under a long cape, but Omar couldn’t be sure. He also had angular features and pointed ears like Omar did.

Being the scientist, Omar wanted to stop and study all the species around him, but he had to pull himself away from analyzing this strange new breed. It took everything he had to redirect his attention to Myles. Omar looked at Sebastian, who was standing over Myles’ body, and asked pointedly, “What happened?” Without waiting for an answer, Omar bent down and began to cut away Myles’ pants leg from the knee down.

Sebastian leaned over and whispered to Omar, “The invisible ones are always on the watch. He can tell you what happened later, and then he can also tell you why. That I don’t know.”

Did he say invisible ones?
Omar had to fight the urge to ask a thousand questions. He slipped on his Perspective Goggles and turned his attention to Myles’ leg. These allowed him to see things in many different ways, including x-ray vision.

“Fascinating. That creature with the white epidermis apparently had the strength to break his fibula into hundreds of pieces. Because of that vampire creature, Myles will never walk on that leg again.”

“That creature was one of the Kalat. Vampires are rare, but Kalat unfortunately are not. And your friend may possibly walk again. I’ve seen stranger things happen here in Musterion.”

Omar attached a brace to Myles’ leg. “It’s highly doubtful, but I appreciate your optimism. This brace should keep the movement down for now.” He looked up at Sebastian. “Kalat huh? Are they cousins to your race?”

Sebastian nodded. “You could say that, but it’s much more complicated than that.”

About that time, the man who had taken charge of the crowd walked over to Omar. There was a confidence and majesty about him. “My name is Baron Ischus Kaio Meren. And you are?”

“I am Omar and this is my companion, Myles. Can you help us? I need to get him somewhere away from prying eyes.”

Ischus seemed to peer into Omar's soul before he nodded. “Indeed you do, Omar. Welcome to my Barony, Pneuma Karpos. Once this Myles is taken care of I will get to the bottom of what happened here. I hope you don’t mind if I take Sebastian off your hands since he was a witness to the murder of this Kalat.”

Omar shook his head but maintained a respectful demeanor. “Actually, I do mind. I mean no offense, sir. I perceive your authority here and will try to do as you ask. I do request, however, that you allow Sebastian to stay with me for the moment. I need his assistance to take care of my friend.”

Ischus rubbed his chin as he looked at Omar. “You’re telling the truth, but there’s more to it than you’re telling me now. Very well then, when you’re done tending to your friend you’ll visit me at the city hall, and we’ll discuss what transpired here today. Make sure that you come as soon as your friend is stable. You may leave Sebastian to watch after him if you wish.”

“Yes sir, I’ll do that. Where is the city hall?”

Ischus was already setting off to make sure that there was order in the streets.

He waved Omar away but called over his shoulder. “Sebastian will give you directions. Good day, sir. I hope your friend recovers fully.”

Omar bowed toward him. “Thank you, sir, and good day to you.”

Omar could hear people whispering to each other. “Who killed the Kalat?” and, “I hear the Akana shot fire from a stick!” as well as, “The council of six will not be happy about this.” Most intriguing of all was the comment, “There’s another Adam in Musterion…he fought the Kalat and survived.”
What did they mean by “another Adam”?

Several other Gabad brought Sebastian a makeshift stretcher to carry Myles away. As they lifted him onto the stretcher, Sebastian turned to Omar. “I know of a safe place nearby to take him.”

Omar nodded agreement. Sebastian picked up one end of the stretcher and Omar picked up the other. “Lead the way!”

Sebastian led them for three blocks down the brick-paved street. “Don’t get me wrong, sir," Omar ventured. "My focus is genuinely on my friend Myles here, but I need to know some things. I’ve heard two words today that I need you to define without asking me questions. Can you do that for me?”

Sebastian turned right, taking them between some buildings and down an alley. “I don’t know what secret you and Myles are keeping, but I’m sure you’ll share when you’re ready. I’ll gladly define these words for you if I know their meanings.”

Relieved to hear that, Omar cleared his throat. “What are Adam and Akana?”

They came to a dead end at a brick wall and Sebastian stopped. “Your question is more revealing than you mean for it to be. You see, your friend here is an Adam and you are an Akana.” With that, Sebastian put his hand on a brick in the upper right corner and pushed it. The wall receded fifteen feet to reveal a sparkling blue pool of water. “From this point on, I’m going to assume that you know nothing of Musterion or Soterion.”

Omar peered behind the wall. Several people swam within the deep pool of water. A closer look revealed that these people had gills on the backs of their necks and webbed digits. “Mer-folk,” Omar whispered to himself while shaking his head.

Sebastian raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know what mer-folk are, but these people are the ’Am Mayim. They live both in water and on land, leading a pure and simple life. Most importantly, they can be trusted. You’re safe here.”

Sebastian pointed to a glass-encased cage. “That lift will lower us to Takeleth, the secret city of the ’Am Mayim. There are little beings called the Nepsah and the Haspen. They are invisible to all except the ’Am Mayim. In Takeleth we won’t need to worry about these spies for either council. There we may speak freely and your friend will be safe. None dare challenge them underwater.”

They stepped into the glass cage, closed the door, and something began to pull it downward. Omar looked down and could see a male ’Am Mayim pulling them down through the water by a rope tied to the bottom of the glass-encased cage. “You’ve proven to be a good friend. May I ask some more questions now?”

“Yes, it is safe now.”

Omar didn’t know where to start. “Does ’Am Mayim mean ‘people of the waters’? Are there others of this race called Adam in Musterion? What are these councils that you speak of that have spies? What are Nepsah and Haspen? What is Ischus’ race? You’ll have to excuse me. I’ve been waiting to ask you those questions and many more.” Omar finally paused for breath.

“Yeah and why did that Kalat try to kill you?” Myles looked up and grinned at them both.

“Myles, you dog! How long have you been awake?” Omar laughed in relief.

“Since Sebastian opened the wall. I’ll admit that I’m not feeling so hot, Doc, but I’ve got questions too.”

Sebastian looked down at Myles, who fought his pain to keep a cocky smile in place. “It’s good to see you’re with us now. Don’t worry, I’ll answer your questions. However, regarding your first question, if you want to know the origin of words you’d do better to ask one of the Akana.”

Omar scribbled notes in his journal.

Sebastian continued his explanation. “There is one other Adam that we know of in Musterion. His name is Nekar, but he went mad many years ago when the other twelve elders of the original council left him behind. They discovered a way out of Musterion and left without him. That was over one thousand years ago.”

Myles sat up. “Did you say one thousand years? People can live that long here?”

Sebastian nodded. “Yes, Musterion tends to give long life to its inhabitants.”

Omar rubbed his chin as he considered that idea. “Interesting…and what is this council you mentioned?”

“After the original Council of Thirteen Elders left, a new Council of Thirteen formed. A disagreement arose among the members, and they split into two different factions. Now we have the Council of Six and the Council of Seven. Ischus is the chairman of the Council of Seven. Ischus is of the Miyka, meaning born rulers, who are cousins to the Gabad like me. He’d be most upset with me if I explained all about the councils before he had a chance to tell you about them, so you’ll have to wait for more on that.”

Omar nodded. “Sure, that’s fine.”

Sebastian smiled. “Nepsah are a friendly but mischievous people. A Nepsah could easily sit in the palm of your hand. They have to will themselves to be visible to others and have iridescent wings which enable them to fly. It’s also said that the Nepsah must eat ten times their body weight in an average day. The Haspen are Nepsah who have committed a crime so vile that the other Nepsah have stripped them of their wings. Haspen, though small, are a frightful race. They are generally dark, bitter, and have a morbid sense of humor. They can also become invisible, but they don’t have to eat as much as the Nepsah do.”

Myles saw an opportunity to cut in with a question and asked, “Why was that Kalat attacking you?”

“Most of the races here are from a planet called Soterion but have somehow gotten trapped in the Maze of Musterion. This entire world is made of tunnels. Kalat are just cursed Miyka, the people who are like Ischus. They are cursed for their wickedness and now they must wear the visage of their wicked hearts. On Soterion they war with all of the Malakadam, the ones who dwell on Soterion.” Sebastian smiled at the look of confusion on the two strangers' faces. “The Malakadam are made up of four groups: the Gabad, like me; the Miyka, like Ischus; the Yaarma, whom you haven’t seen yet; and the Akana, like you,” pointing at Omar. “There are no Yaarma in Musterion. The Yaarma are dark-skinned, wood-dwelling Malakadam who can speak to animals. So now to answer your question, the Kalat attacked me because that is what Kalat want to do most—kill Malakadam.”

Myles rubbed his head as he tried to process all that. “Wow, that’s a lot of information to absorb in one sitting. I may have to ask you about some of that again some time.”

Sebastian smiled, “Indeed. But a bit of advice to you, Omar—hide your tattoo. The original Council of Thirteen each came to Musterion with an 8-digit tattoo just like yours, but they were all Adam. If you don’t like answering too many questions, I wouldn’t let anyone see an Akana walking around with an Adam tattoo. That will start a whole new inquiry much worse than the one you face now.”

The glass cage suddenly stopped as it touched a giant bubble encompassing an entire city at the bottom. Then the cage slowly pushed its way through the bubble without letting any water in and continued descending until it touched the bottom.

Omar watched this happen. “That’s not physically possible.”

Sebastian grinned. “Anything is possible in Musterion. You’ll soon learn that.”