Read Masters of the Veil Online

Authors: Daniel A. Cohen

Tags: #Fairy Tales & Folklore, #Action & Adventure, #Juvenile Fiction, #Fantasy & Magic, #Fiction, #Fantasy, #General

Masters of the Veil (10 page)

BOOK: Masters of the Veil
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Letting the odor pull him, he continued on for a few minutes. The rancid smell grew more potent. Once he got back to Atlas Crown, he vowed to stick an entire handful of rinsefish globs in his nose—
if
he got back to Atlas Crown.

A few more turns, and small grains of the crystal lined the base of the walls. The smell guided him through a confusing, twisting labyrinth, where the shiny material looked less tarnished than the rest.

How am I going to get back out?

He continued on until, suddenly, he turned a corner and gasped. Sam was face to face with the massive serpent, close enough to feel its hot breath. It stared at him, eyes not twitching, scales not stirring.

Up close, Sam could see the utter beauty in the beast. Other than the fangs that could scare the white off a goalpost and the bewitching eyes, it was a striking creature. Its body was obsidian, with specks of light all over its skin, especially concentrated on its underbelly. A few cloudy spots along its scales gave the impression of distant galaxies.

“Is there something else?”

Sam again heard the voice reverberate throughout his head. He didn’t see the snake’s mouth move—nor did he expect to—but he
knew
that it was the snake talking to him.

“Y-yes,” Sam answered.

“Well, speak up, what is it?”

“I guess…” Sam gulped. “I need some of your skin.”

The long tongue slowly flickered from its jaws and fluttered in the air. “
Yes?

“Um… yeah.”

The snake let out a hiss. “
How would you feel if I said I needed your skin in exchange?

A jolt of fear tied up his stomach. He took a slow step back. “Well… I need my skin.”


And I don’t need mine?

“I—”


You don’t even introduce yourself, and you come right out and ask me for something as precious as my skin?
” The long fangs peeked out, and ropey slime dripped from the tips. “
How uncouth.

This is it
, Sam’s throat felt like sandpaper.
I’m done for
.

The snake slithered forward. Its fangs protruded just inches away from his face. “
I think you can see my… point.
” The voice rattled in his brain.

“I’m sorry,” Sam managed to squeak.

All of a sudden, the fangs were sheathed.


Ah well, I guess that’s a start.

Sam’s heart pounded so hard he thought it was going to explode. “So…so you’re not going to eat me?”

What might have been a smile appeared on the snake’s face. “
Of course not. I’m a vegetarian.

Sam made a sound that was half laugh, half gasp.


But when someone comes asking for your skin…

“Again, so sorry,” Sam said with relief. “Let’s try this again. My name’s Sam. I hope you enjoyed your gift.”


Pleasure, Sam. However, that gift was not for me, as much as I appreciate it.

Sam wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Then who was it for?”

The snake dipped its body out of the way. Sam could finally see where he was. They were in a cavern under a massive dome of the clear gemstone material. Behind the snake were round, green pods, just big enough for a person to curl up in, covered in layers of leaves that rested upon each other like shingles on a roof. Each pod floated above a twisting braid of tiny green roots that tethered it to the ground. They looked like balloons, but far too heavy to float or to be supported on the delicate roots.


For them.

“What are they?”


Cultivated by my own hand, if I had a hand, that is. I do not have a name for them, simply because they need no name. Miracles can often be best captured without the captivity that comes with a label.

Sam snorted. “You sound just like Bariv.”


That is not surprising. Come, let me show you.

The mighty body unwound and slithered over to the looming pods. Moonlight filtered through the overhead dome, so Sam had no problem seeing the details. Curiosity replaced the last of the lingering fear as Sam drew nearer to the pod.


Take a peek.

Hoping he wasn’t going to find the last person Bariv had sent out to find the snake, Sam peeled back a leaf.

Intense light burst forth from inside.

Startled, Sam let the leaf fall back in place.


Do not be frightened; you will not be harmed.

Sam again pried open a leaf, releasing the oddly bright light. The leaves tickled his cheek as he drew close and peered inside.

In the center of the spherical plant was a tiny sun—floating, pulsing, almost breathing with light. It was no larger than a closed fist, suspended in midair. Circling the sun were tiny particles of varying colors—blue, orange, turquoise, auburn—like miniscule planets in orbit. Some of the little planets even had almost microscopic rings. He felt like he was intruding on a tiny solar system, somewhere he was not supposed to be, yet he still felt drawn to watch. In an act of deep willpower, Sam pulled his head away. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust. “It’s amazing.”

The snake dipped its head. “
I knew you would appreciate it.

“What am I looking at?”


A plant that creates its own energy source. It is a brilliant manifestation. Absolutely miraculous of Her. They have captured my full attention for a very long time.

“How long?”


Almost a millennium.

Sam paused a moment. “I think that was the first straight answer I’ve gotten since I got to Atlas Crown.”

The snake rotated its head. “
I cannot stop my obsession, nor do I have any intent to. As you have noticed, there is a self-sustaining symbiotic system inside the plant. They feed off each other. The sun gives the plant food and the plant keeps it safe. The plant feeds off the light and gets larger and grows stronger. Eventually, like everything must, the system dies. The sun expands in the most infinitesimal moment, swallowing up the tiny planets, and instantaneously crystallizes the plant. The minerals are sent in all directions and join with the other fallen.

Sam looked around. “Is that how this place got formed?”


As a matter of fact, it was,
” the voice paused. “
Then the sun implodes, and hardens into a very dense seed. The seed falls and slowly grows into a plant by using the latent and innate energy. When the energy reserve gets low, it uses it all to create a new sun. A fascinating system.

“That’s incredible.”


It is but one of the wonders She has given, yet it is the one I feel the most connection to.

Sam gestured to the pods. “You said the plants came from your hand?”

The snake snatched up Bariv’s pungent bag with its fangs. Sam had forgotten about the smell, but now it was back.


I didn’t create them, but I do watch over them and help them grow.
” The snake gestured toward the bag with its eyes. “
Fertilizer. With this, the plant has extra energy that it can put into fruit.

“A snake with fruit? That can’t end well.” Sam allowed himself a small chuckle.

The snake cocked its head.

“Never mind. What does the fruit do?”


Exactly what it is supposed to.

It pierced the bag with a fang and let the juices fall onto the various pods. The liquid seeped through, and the plant subtly changed shades.

After the bag was drained, the voice spoke. “
I know why you want my skin.

Sam absentmindedly put his right hand into his pocket. “You do?”


You are not the first to ask.

“Bariv?”

The voice gave a haunting laugh. “
No.

“Who?”


He never introduced himself.

Sam smiled.

The voice hesitated for a moment. “
I chose not to give it to him.

“Why not?” Sam rolled the diamond around in his fingers.


I have my reasons. Now. Why do you want my skin?

Sam thought for a moment. “To be honest, I just want to go home and play football. If I do what Bariv says, he told me he’d fix my life. So, here I am.”


You came all this way. And my skin is some of the finest. Is that the only reason? Just to turn on your path and wander home?

It
was
the main reason, but something else, something deeper pulled at him.

“Well, I’ve been studying with Bariv. Studying the Veil…”


Go on.

“And I guess I’m suited for power magics.”


You guess?

Sam thought about how he had stopped Bariv’s attack and how right it had felt. The skull-wolf skin definitely had been the right pick. “I know.”


Yes?

Sam gave a sharp nod.


Do you know what the Veil is?

Sam inhaled. “The Veil is where you grip magic from. It is all around us and some people can use it—”

The snake thrust its body forward, ending its strike just inches from Sam’s face. A strong gust of air whizzed by.

Sam, astonishingly, didn’t flinch.


Wrong.

Sam hesitated a moment. He thought about what had happened when he grabbed the cornerback’s shoulder. He had tapped into something primal; he knew that for sure. Something ancient, something unique, something full of…

All pretention disappeared from his voice. “Power.”


Yes…
” The snake retreated. “
But She is more than that.

Sam took his hand away from the diamond and out of his pocket. “More than power?”

The snake bowed its head low. “
She is imagination.

Sam frowned in confusion.


Does this surprise you?

“I just… I don’t understand.”


I know you just met Her,
” the voice said, “
but I’m sure you will.

Sam felt his chest tighten in frustration.


I will try and help you understand.
” The snake eased backwards. “
Peer again into the plant. Deep this time.

This time, Sam peeled back a handful of leaves and stuck his entire head inside.


Truly look.”

Staring at the tiny sun didn’t burn his eyes at all, unlike the times he had caught a glimpse of the real sun while attempting to catch a lobbed pass. He felt his focus being summoned inward.


Look deep.

The sun hung in the air, giving warmth and light. Giving life. Until that moment, Sam was sure he knew what silence was, but now, his head completely within the pod, the world melted away, and he truly understood. Warmth spread over his face as the yellow light drifted past his consciousness and reached deep into the crevices of his soul. The honeycombed sections of his mind filled with the sweet nectar of the tiny sun. The weight on his feet was forgotten. His muscles, tense from the second he’d entered the forest, were kneaded into complacency. The world he knew was no longer there.

“She has always been here,” the voice said, although now it was much more than a vibrating noise, as it had been earlier. Now, it was part of him. He no longer felt the words, he knew them. He had always known them.

“She lives where we cannot, but we can always visit.”

“Imagination?” Sam didn’t speak the words; it was a conversation that he was listening to.

“Yes. The world is hidden to most. Though She is not different from the world you thought you knew. Imagination is what sets people apart. She was a part of it, the seed of a magnanimous fruit, whose flesh was consumed and whose essence was discarded. People covered themselves in self-righteousness. You were always in Her presence. You can reach Her in the place where ideas are discovered. Imagination is both cradle and grave to power. She is a cycle. She is whole.”

“But why now?” he asked. “Why do I get to know Her now?”

“If you receive a gift which you are not ready to appreciate, it is not a gift; it is… a burden.”

“Am I ready?”

“That is up to you. She can only give, the other side is yours.”

“What about my world? What about football?”

“What about it?”

“It’s all I have.”

“Apparently not.”

“I need it.”

“Why?”

“I don’t belong here.”

“Belonging implies possession. Do you not believe yourself to be free?”

“I think I am.”

“The key is to know.”

“I feel like I don’t know anything anymore.”

“A clear mind is the perfect vessel to fill.”

“But I can’t just leave my other life behind. What about my friends? My family?”

“Family is family; that will never change, even when the world changes you.”

“And my friends?”

“Friends are always left behind—it is the nature of life. A true friend will be there no matter how much time elapses.”

“So I’ll be able to visit?”

“When you become truly free.”

“How will I know?”

“When the time comes, you will have to choose whether or not to work with Her, and it will be soon.”

“When?”

The voice said nothing.

“When?” Sam demanded, but he was already on his way back.

CHAPTER 12

I
t wasn’t quite like waking up from a dream, Sam thought, it was sort of like a dream that woke him up
.

The world was fresh; it smelled new.

Sam looked back at the crystal cavern and let his hand drift to the pocket on his thigh.

Inside was a fruit. A ripe, red fruit.

Sam thought about what had just happened.

After he’d come out of the trance, everything had happened so fast. The tremendous snake sprawled on the floor, writhing in pain. Sam had run over and placed a palm against its skin. It had been burning up, so hot, in fact, that Sam had to pull his hand away. “What’s happening?”

The serpent’s voice was missing from his head. It twisted and convulsed into loops and knots. The stars on its skin changed shapes, making the constellations swirl across the scales.

The snake hissed and spat and Sam didn’t know what to do. Then he realized what was going on. A portion of the skin detached from its body, bringing with it a select fragment of the constellations.

Sam tore his attention back to the present, away from the crystal cavern, as he examined what else he had been given.

Covering his right hand, fitting his dimensions precisely, was a glove.

Second-skin
, Sam corrected himself. He finally understood what Bariv had been trying to teach him before.

The snake had given him a portion of skin. The offering had looked hideously painful, but after the small section was shed, the snake had nodded toward it, urging Sam to take it. Sam had wrapped it around his hand and the beautiful skin had shaped itself to fit. It’d shrunk in some places and stretched in others, until it had become unquestionably Sam’s.

Sam knew he could take it off at any moment, yet doing so was the furthest thing from his mind. It really was a second skin, maybe even a better skin.

After recovering, the snake had lifted itself up and glided toward the three pods. Sam hadn’t noticed, but the plant he’d just been looking in had produced a fruit—the one currently in his possession. The snake had plucked it with its mouth and dropped it into Sam’s hand before it motioned Sam toward the exit.

Now back out of the maze, he let his fingertips roll over the lump on his thigh. After pulling out the pad, he had placed the fruit securely in his slime-free pocket, next to the diamond.

I desperately need a change of clothes.

It wasn’t hard to find his way out of the cave, as it felt like he had been living there for a while, like he knew the exact layout of the crystal labyrinth—though he knew that couldn’t be true. Once out, he sped off, hoping to get back to town as quickly as possible and find May. Then he realized he had no idea which way the town was.

A drop of rain splashed on his forehead. The droplets started out as beads the size of sand, but quickly grew larger. His hair became saturated in a matter of seconds and cool water ran down the inside of his jersey. Normally, being stranded in a storm would have annoyed him, but this one was different. He felt as if the world was trying to wash away certain things—things he needed to let go of.

Despite the chilly weather, he felt something warm. Even as the freezing water pelted his body, the second-skin insulated his hand, trapping heat.

No
,
it’s giving heat
.

He knew it was time to try it out.

The bright pins of light on his new second-skin glowed against the smooth black scales as it was struck by rain. Closing his eyes and thinking about the tiny sun, he let his fingers curve inward toward his palm. It felt instinctual.

He could feel energy rushing through his grip like a stampede. It shot in between his thumb and index finger. It was like trying to hold onto lightning.

Imagination
, he remembered.

Concentrating hard, he thought about the pillars of Atlas Crown.

Something warm scuttled through his hand down to his feet. As it passed out of his toes, he looked down. Just in front of him lay a disc of light—the same color as the light he’d seen in the pod. Flaws in the crystal ground reflected small spines of light around it.

He placed a cleat against the light.

Just as he applied pressure, the disc slid forward the distance of a stride.

He knew it would take him back because that was what he had imagined. A certain amount of pride welled up inside him. In Bariv’s cave, he had been able to do a few menial tricks, but this was real. This was magic.

Like playing hopscotch, he jumped from light point to light point, traveling a good distance in the pouring rain.

He stopped to watch a bird paddling itself through the air with long flipper-like feet. A few minutes later, he stopped again to observe a flower that reflected the rain back toward the sky like a negatively charged magnet. In one spot he even saw a pack of drecklers, whose cotton was extra puffy with soaked-up moisture.

He followed the light for a good while. The rain did nothing to slow him down; he was used to harsh practices in downpours like this one, and his cleats gave him stability.

He froze at the sound of music. A friendly tune carried through the rain and reached his ears in a crescendo of lovely notes, the pitter-patter of rain providing a backbeat to the melody.

Taking a chance, he stepped away from his light and pursued the sound.

Immediately, the next luminous spot disappeared.

Oh well
.
I can always do it again
.

He stepped through the drenched bushes and advanced toward the notes. They grew more piercingly beautiful as he hacked at weeds and tore through vines. He pushed and pulled and struggled, and the tune became more enticing. The notes were almost voices, familiar in a way.

Back home in Stanton—not being one for live music—he’d listened to whatever was on the radio. This, however, could never be captured through speakers, regardless of amps or watts.

He came to a clearing and smiled.

Sitting on a stump next to a cluster of audible symflowers, a boy played a horn. Sam recognized him as the curly-haired kid who’d patted him on the back earlier, though his hair was now plastered flat across his forehead.

Thankfully, the boy didn’t notice him and continued his wonderful composition.

The boy’s horn wove flawlessly among the beats, accenting perfectly constructed solos against the symflowers’ background. The boy splashed his foot along in time with the music, sending jets of water into the air.

Sam’s own foot was doing something very similar. He closed his eyes to listen, determined not to miss a single note. After a little while, the horn died down.

Sam craved more. He opened his eyes and found the curly-haired kid standing right in front of him. He stared at Sam with a curious expression, holding the tan horn down at his hip, the illegible writing on it brighter than before.

“That was incredible!” Sam shouted over the rain.

The boy managed a slight smile and nodded politely.

“I’ve never heard anything like that!” Sam’s ears were still tingling with delight. “I’m Sam. Sam Lock. What’s your name?”

The boy said nothing, but placed his horn on the small of his back and gave a low bow, still looking Sam square in the eyes.

“Your name?” Sam asked, a little louder this time, trying to be heard over the singing of the symflowers.

Again the boy said nothing, but he raised the horn to his lips.

A single note left the horn, and Sam instantly knew the boy’s name.

Though he had no idea how—as the boy had played the horn and not spoken—Sam heard a name.

“Glissandro Thicket?”

The boy nodded.

“How did I know that?”

Glissandro jiggled the horn in his hand.

“You can speak through that horn?”

His head bobbed from side to side.

“So you’re a sorcerer.”

A nod.

“Don’t talk much, huh?”

A silent laugh.

Sam’s eyes fell on Glissandro’s horn. “So is this mystical magic?”

The boy touched the tip of his index finger to his other fingers. Sam frowned.
No glove—nothing to grip into the Veil with.

“I thought you needed metal or something for mystical magics to work best.”

The boy lifted the tan horn to Sam’s eye level. Golden writing that Sam could not identify ran over the surface of the musical horn.

“Ah.” Sam nodded. “Can you play some more?”

The symflowers’ voices trilled in the air as Glissandro looked off into the distance for a moment.

Then he shook his head.

“Why not?”

All of a sudden, as quickly as it had arrived, the rainfall dwindled. The symflowers’ singing quieted as the last of the drops fell. It sounded like the batteries dying in a stereo.

Glissandro shook the water from his head and his curls perked back up.

“Well,” Sam wrung the water from the front of his jersey, “it was nice while it lasted.”

Looking Sam up and down, Glissandro’s eyes came to rest on his second-skin. His eyes opened wide, and Sam could see he was either surprised or impressed.

“I just got it,” Sam explained. “It’s a long story.”

Glissandro looked as if he wanted to inspect it. His eyes kept flickering from Sam’s face to the snake’s skin—
Sam’s
skin.

Sam decided it wouldn’t hurt to let him. “Go ahead.”

The silent boy caressed the star-encrusted skin on the back of Sam’s hand.

Sam flexed his fingers. “Pretty cool, huh?”

Glissandro gave a fierce nod. He took his horn, wiped the water off the tip, and placed it in Sam’s palm. Glissandro looked at him as if to say “go ahead.”

Sam placed his lips against the opening and blew.

A terrible noise came out. He imagined it sounded like a lion frog being stepped on.

Sam laughed, wiped off the tip with his jersey—though that probably made it dirtier—and handed the horn back.

“I was never good at music.” Sam continued to wring out his jersey, though it didn’t do him much good.

Glissandro brought the horn to his mouth and let out a few quick bursts of noise. The sound acted like air in a wind tunnel. The water shot out of Sam’s clothing. He was left dry and warm, like his entire outfit had just come off a clothesline.

Sam felt much cleaner as well; the various stains and smells were no longer there. His jersey looked fresh out of the box.

Sam gave him a pat on the shoulder. “Thanks.”

Glissandro nodded.

Sam noticed Glissandro’s clothing was waterless as well.

“I need to learn how to do that. I hate doing laundry.”

The boy still said nothing.

“Can… do you know the way back?”

Glissandro nodded and motioned back the way Sam had come. Sam turned around and saw the tip of a pillar in the distance.

He smiled. “That’ll come in handy.”

They trudged through the bushes toward the sandstone column.

Sam followed behind Glissandro, and after a few minutes of silence, he decided to try and get some information out of his new companion.

“So, Gliss.” Sam wondered if he went by that. “Were you born here?”

The boy nodded.

“How old are you?”

Glissandro stopped, turned around, and bit his bottom lip in contemplation. After a moment, he shrugged in defeat.

“You don’t know how old you are?” Sam’s eyes went wide.

The boy pressed the horn to his lips and blew.

Again, Sam didn’t hear any words, but he knew what Glissandro was trying to convey. The words “Age loses importance very quickly here” nestled in Sam’s head.

Glissandro turned around and started toward their destination again.

“Do you know May?”

The horn played again and Sam heard what Glissandro intended.

“Really?” Sam asked. “Everyone knows her?”

Again the boy nodded.

“I guess I can see why,” Sam said, remembering how stunning she was.

Suddenly, a strong surge of nausea came over Sam, and he realized just how hungry he was. He wondered how long it had been since his last meal. “Hey, anything to eat out here? I wouldn’t mind some of that dreckler cotton about now.”

“Hold out a little longer,” Glissandro played. “It’ll be worth it. Tonight is a seam.”

“What’s a seam?”

“It’s a clan union,” Glissandro played with a smile.

“There are clans? Like, Native Americans?”

Glissandro turned around and pointed to the design on his robe. It was an upside-down V with a circle above and below the tip. Turning back toward Atlas Crown, Glissandro played a few more notes. This time, Sam didn’t hear any words, but the tangle of green fire-vines in front of them bent out of their path.

“You’re pretty good.”

Another nod.

At the next tremor of hunger, Sam remembered the taste of the slider-buns Fromson had given him earlier.
If all their food is that good
,
it would be well worth staying at least a little while
.

“Do you always come out here when it rains?”

“I try to.”

“Why?”

“It is the only gift I can give back,” Glissandro played. The notes’ pitch bent upward.

“Back to who?”

Glissandro stopped and pointed his horn toward Sam’s covered hand.

“The Veil?” Sam asked.

“Boys!” A voice called out. “Over here!”

Sam was glad to finally hear a voice coming into his head in the normal fashion.

May perched on the lone rock in the otherwise muddy field in front of the pillar. She waved her diamond-covered hand through the air; it sparkled as it cut through the mist. In her other hand, she held a bundled up piece of cloth.

They joined May in the muddy moat.

“Splendid, Sam.” She clapped her hands together. “You’ve met Glissandro.”

“Yeah, I heard him playing on the way back.”

“Wonderful. I have had the pleasure of hearing his divine music many times. Which, if I may add, is many times too few.”

Glissandro made a small bow.

May grabbed the hem of her robe and curtsied. “If you don’t mind, Glissandro, I would like to have a private word with Sam. I trust I’ll see you later at the seam?”

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