Masters of the Veil (4 page)

CHAPTER 6

“
O
kay.” Sam followed the mystery woman past the parked patrol cars and across the lawn. She had an elegance that Sam hadn’t really seen before. Probably in her early thirties, she moved with the grace of a dancer. “What’s going on?”

“There’s no time for long explanations. I’m sure you’ve been through a lot tonight, but just know that you’re not alone, and there is nothing wrong with you.”

“What does that mean? And why do I feel like I can trust you?”

“Because,” she tossed him a quick look over her shoulder, “you’re with one of your own now.”

“One of my own? What’s ‘my own?’”

“I promise I’ll explain everything once you’re safe.”

“Please, just tell me that I’m not going crazy.”

“You’re not. Just the opposite, in fact—you’re about to see things as they really are.”

She led him into the woods. Sam pulled in his questions with a heavy sigh; she wasn’t going to give him answers until she was ready to give them. The moon cast ghostly shadows among the trees, giving enough light for him to avoid smashing his face into one of the branches.

Why does she always keep that hand in her pocket?

“So, your name is Agent Greenford?”

She stopped and turned to him. “No.”

“But that’s what he called—”

“I had to lie to get you out. I am not a member of the FBI. My name is May.” She extended her free hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Sam.”

“Nice to meet you, too. Is there any chance I could have those answers now?”

“We’re almost there. Just be patient and I’ll explain everything.”

She moved deeper into the trees, stopping in front of a mound of giant palm tree leaves about the size of a car.

She pulled at the leaves, and they came off in one piece, revealing something that looked like a giant anvil. The whatever-it-was had the dull grey luster of an old nickel, along with two doors like a car, but the front end was pointed and, having no wheels, it sat flat against the earth.

“What is that thing?”

“Trust me when I say that you are so very close to being safe. Just hop in and I’ll explain anything you want to know while we go.”

“But how does it move?”

“Please.” Desperation tinted her voice. “Just trust me.”

Sam opened the door on the passenger’s side. The inside had no windows, no steering wheel, no… anything, but at least the seats had armrests. The interior glowed with a soft light that allowed him to see the beautiful artwork on the doors, ceiling, and what should have been the dashboard. The scenes depicted farmers working on huge fields with animals beside them. Sam didn’t recognize the creatures, which looked vaguely horse-like and towered above the farmers.

He sank into the seat, which was infinitely more comfortable and less pungent than the cot in the cell. It even accommodated his size. May took the other seat and made some motion with her pocketed hand. The lines where the doors met the sides melded together and sealed tight, leaving smooth metal. A tiny light hovered above their heads, but it wasn’t attached to anything; it just floated there like a big firefly.

“Why are we sitting in here? And how is that light doing that?”

“Soon, Sam. Just hold on, we have to get out of here.”

“How are we going to see where we’re going?”

“We don’t have to.” She finally took her hand out of her pocket and Sam’s eyes widened. Stretched across her hand was some sort of glove, but it was like no glove he’d ever seen before. It had the texture of a diamond, yet it flowed with her fingers like silk and caught the light with its tiny, iridescent facets.

“Nice glove.”

She moved her fingers back and forth. “It’s called a second-skin.”

“Why?”

“Well, before I can explain the more advanced aspects, I have to tell you the basics. You see—”

The vehicle shook as if a wrecking ball had struck the outside. Sam clutched the arms of his seat to keep from being thrown from it.

“They’ve found us.” May’s eyes widened as the blood drained from her cheeks. “We’re out of time.”

Sam furrowed his brow at the windowless walls. “Who found us?”

Another violent impact slammed him back into his chair.

“The Tembrath Elite.”

“Um, who?”

“Hold on tight, Sam. We have to get under. Now!”

“Under?” He tightened his grip on the soft armrest. “Under what?”

She thrust her gloved hand into a side compartment. Sam’s gut rose into his throat as his chair dropped beneath him.

Huh? But we’re on solid ground!

May closed her eyes and took a long breath.

Bone-crushing force shoved Sam back against his seat. It felt like a missile launch.

May finally let out a relieved sigh. She pulled back her gloved hand and the pressure lifted, allowing Sam to sit back up in his seat. He rotated his shoulders and stretched out his back.

“We’re not out of the woods yet. But as of now, it is out of my hand.” She gave Sam a wry smile. “Let’s just hope they don’t catch up. They shouldn’t, though, since no one’s as good as I am at this particular skill.”

“Okay, this is getting a little too strange. What’s going on? I’ve really lost it, haven’t I?”

“Magic is real,” May stated matter-of-factly.

Sam gave her a blank stare. “Excuse me?”

“Basics, remember. As far as we’re concerned, that’s as basic as it gets.”

Sam blinked a few times before answering. “You
are
joking, right?”

“Magic is real.” She grinned. “That’s your first lesson. Trust me, the next lessons will be much more in-depth, but they’ll make the first lesson real for
you
.”

Sam slumped back down in his chair. “So I’m not the only one who’s lost his marbles, then?”

“Hey.” She raised her eyebrows. “You’re the one who made an entire crowd of people freeze.”

Sam’s brows furrowed. “What do you mean,
I made
that happen?”

“Congratulations, you’ve had your first hiccup.”

“Hiccup?”

May tapped a finger against her lips. “You know, you’re right. It was much more than a hiccup.
Grip
is probably more accurate.”

Sam paused. “Huh?”

“Magic… you grip it.” She flexed her gloved fingers. “We say gripping, although really you can grip it, push it, twirl it, caress it, manipulate it, drape it. And of course by ‘it’ I mean ‘Her’, but we’re getting ahead of ourselves.”

Sam squeezed his eyes shut and wondered when he’d wake up from this dream. “Riiiiight. Magic. Absolutely.”

“I assure you, this is very real.”

“And currently we are traveling...?”

May touched the wall of the vehicle with her gloved hand and tilted her head. “Underground.”

“Of course, underground.” He threw his hands up.

She looked at him with a playful grin. “Once we hit the ocean, we’re going to speed up a bit, but we still have a long trip ahead of us. If you would like, I can explain a whole lot in that time. Or, you can stay in denial, with no answers.” She pointed up and the hovering light flickered. “In the proverbial dark. Your choice.”

Sam sat back in his seat and let out a deep breath.

“Okay.” He was too tired to fight against whatever hallucination he was having. “Explain away.”

“Excellent choice. So, like I said, magic is real. However, it takes a lot to understand and use, and you won’t be proficient unless you work excruciatingly hard. But I promise, every headache, every sore muscle, every long night of practice is worth it. It is layer upon layer of unfathomable glory, every flake a miracle.”

With that, she took her gloved hand and placed it on his naked one. A strange tingling traveled up his arm as she squeezed. When she removed her hand, the white tape had melted off his hand, and all the scrapes and cuts from playing football were gone.

Sam looked at his smooth fingers, and then turned wide eyes to May.

This can’t be real. I’ve gotta be dreaming.
Either that, or he would shortly be needing a psych ward. He’d play along until he woke up.
“How?”

“I’ve been studying for a long time, longer than most.”

Time to start the charade
.

He put on his most perplexed look and played along. “But you’re so young.”

She shook her head with a knowing half-smile. “I’m much older than I look. You will learn that, where we are going, looks can be most deceiving. By the way, most people feel the same when they find out. Unfortunately, you had to find out in a different way than most. I’m terribly sorry it had to happen this way.”

Sam rolled his eyes. “This can’t be real.”

“If that’s what you need to believe, that is completely acceptable. All I ask is that your ‘dream-self’ keep an open mind.”

Sam snorted. “Whatever.”

“Good.”

“So where are we going, oh wise figment of my imagination?”

“That,” she flicked her index finger, “is going to be a surprise, a place I don’t want to insult by trying to use words to describe it.”

Sam touched the image of a horse-like creature with a long furry tail in the painting next to him. “So if magic is real, how do you do it?”

“It’s not so much that you do it, it’s more that you use it. Magic is a wonderful thing, but tales of magic in your world don’t quite capture what it truly is. Where it comes from, in our society, we call the Veil.”

Sam absentmindedly cracked his knuckles. “Why the Veil?”

“You will learn that magic, or rather, what you
perceive
as magic, lies all around us like a blanket that we cannot see, but some can feel and even use it. We do not know why only some can access it and others cannot, and we assume we will never know, as we have tried for so long to figure it out. The world would be such a better place, for everyone, if all could use the Veil, but it just can’t happen. In our society, some things,” her face turned serious, “are just not to be tampered with.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t tamper.” Sam humphed. “How can I tamper with something that isn’t real?”

“Never mind that. What you will find interesting is that you are able to access the Veil.”

“You’re telling me that’s what happened at the game?”

Sam suddenly became aware that he was still wearing his football jersey. So much had happened, yet he had still not been able to change into regular clothes. This dream was too vivid, the details too precise.

“That was the first time you were able to access the Veil, and with it, the wondrous properties and infinite possibilities it holds. Usually, the first hiccup is triggered by an intensely powerful emotion. In your case, I’m assuming it was the desire to win the game.”

Sam was beginning to feel unnerved. This was getting too real.

But it can’t be, can it?

“But if this happens to everyone the first time, why have I never heard of anything like this happening before? It seems to me that thousands of people simultaneously freezing in place would be a pretty big deal.”

May looked him up and down. “So, you’re not
all
brawn.”

Sam gave a coy smile. “Okay, I’m going to put logic on hold for a minute and play along. Explain.”

“You see,” she began, “most of our kind—”

“You mean wizards?” Sam asked in the most sarcastic tone he could muster.

“If you must, we prefer ‘sorcerers.’”

“Wait, why?”

“Because magic comes from a
source
.”

Sam paused. “Are you serious?”

“You see,” she started again, not confirming or denying, “most of our kind come
from
our kind. Two sorcerers,” she smiled, “always produce a child who will be capable of accessing the Veil. It is a strange phenomenon when two flathands produce someone with abilities.”

“Flathands? The Lieutenant called Officer Gaetani that,” Sam said. “What’s it mean?”

May flexed her gloved hand.

Sam let out a small sigh. “Right, gripping.”

“We have a way of tracking these hiccups. Actually, we have a person, and you will study with him. His name is Bariv.”

Sam gave her a skeptical look. “What kind of name is Bariv? Russian?”

“Names have existed for a very long time and many are forgotten. But just because they are forgotten does not mean they don’t exist. In our society you will find many names that are unique. Normally, when Bariv feels the hiccups of new sorcerers, they are quite small. Things like making objects change color, or moving small amounts of water just by thinking it. We then offer to help these young people grow into their gift, but like I said, it is quite rare for new sorcerers to spring up. You are sort of a first.”

“But I thought you said flathands, or whatever,
can
have magical children.”

“Not a first for that. A first for what you have done.”

Sam raised an eyebrow.

“You seem to have tapped into an extraordinary amount of the Veil for your first time. You made thousands of people literally stop moving, prisoners in their own bodies. It’s something not even I can do.”

Sam tried to hold back a smile. He could feel the hilarity of the situation bubbling up in his chest. “So what are you saying? That I’m some sort of super-sorcerer?”

“No.” She shook her head. “I’m saying that you could be great if you want to be. Gripping the Veil while unfocused and unlearned is dangerous, and it can start something awful. One must work to control the power that comes from it.”

Sam sighed. “Can I just wake up, already?”

“I could pinch you, but I doubt it would do anything other than sting.”

Sam took a deep breath and let his muscles relax. He squeezed his eyes shut and smoothed his eyebrows with his thumb and forefinger. “So, are we flying? Does this machine, like, blast away the dirt and then float through the crevice?” The question sounded absurd to him as soon as it was asked.

“If that was the case, we would have been caught by now.”

Sam rapped the metal door a few times with his knuckles. “I didn’t realize my subconscious was so cryptic.”

“I will tell you something concrete then.” She stared at her glove. “There are three types of magic that come from the Veil. There are natural magics,” she waved her hand through the air, “mystical magics, and power magics. Every sorcerer has an aptitude for one of these disciplines and they usually choose to study that path. I excel at natural magics: things that have to do with the world around us, born of this Earth, not from the minds of men. I have used my talent and mixed it with this technology to create a path for us underground. Things like dirt, roots, and rock are bending themselves to allow us passage to where we are going. They are closing after we pass so as not to leave a trace of where we have been.”