cares? All that really matters is that she’s not attacking us, right?” Cendan sat down in a chair covered with golden leaves. “Let’s just enjoy the peace while it lasts.”
A snort was Marcus’s only reply at first. Shoulders hunched, Marcus stalked toward the door to leave the barrier room.
“Peace? Cendan, there is no peace, ever. One way or another this is all going to have to end.” Marcus paused and turned toward Cendan, his eyes sunken and his voice even more worn than normal. “You don’t get it do you? At first, when you brought that machine back online, the one in your head, I was happy. Ecstatic even. For the first time in an unknown number of years, we were going to be gaining ground. Or so I thought. But Sal died. You lived. That got me thinking. What would happen if you died? Would EVA keep working? Would it stop all over again? There are now just three of us left, Cendan. Three.”
Cendan didn’t have an answer for him. Truthfully he’d never considered it, what would happen if he died? Before he could ask EVA, Marcus continued speaking.
“Cendan, Jasmine and I are the last of the born and raised Bridgefinders. We are it. You, while a Maker, didn’t grow up in this. You didn’t have it drilled into you day in and day out just how hard this fight is. Sal didn’t either. It’s one reason he’s dead. I should have made sure he understood that losing even one of us is far too many.”
“And you… Cendan, you don’t understand any of it. You mock our traditions, push us to things that are out of bounds, want us to believe in things that can’t be true. Magic? Other worlds besides the Slyph’s? You treat this like a game. This is for the very damn survival of the species, and all you can think of is hypothetical nonsense!” Marcus spat the last words at Cendan, leaving him surprised at the venom behind them.
“You brought us a reprieve, Cendan, but I wish beyond measure that you hadn’t come to the Red Orchid that day. That Grellnot hadn’t found you when he did. I wish you’d never become one of us. I thought having a Maker would fix so many problems, but all it’s done is give us a breather at the cost of what it means to be a Bridgefinder.” Grimacing, Marcus paused, his mouth snapping shut and his eyes shooting a look of hate that surprised Cendan to the core.
The door to the Barrier room slammed behind him as Marcus left, leaving Cendan to stare at the board himself and wonder what was coming next.
Chapter 2
Jasmine was happy though still somewhat in pain. Her fingers rubbed her scalp, feeling the short sharp hairs starting to grow, even as she avoided touching the healing blisters at her hairline. She knew she looked somewhat terrifying still to people though. Normal people that is. Her running excuse of a car accident that she used when pressed on what happened seemed to mollify the curious though.
Grocery buying wasn’t the most glamorous part of being a Bridgefinder. Really, though, they had to eat. She mentally checked off her list, trying hard not to think about the items missing, the one's Sal would have wanted. Sal. Earnest and friendly, and truly out of his league on things. Sal had never been powerful in skill. In the past he’d never have been a Bridgefinder, but these days they took anyone who had the ability.
A deep sigh escaped her as Jasmine thought about the newest member, Cendan. In her heart, she still had trouble putting him in as a Bridgefinder. And not just any Bridgefinder, but a Maker. The first Maker in over a thousand years, and he had to be an ex. An ex that she couldn’t even begin to make sense of. Still attractive, but hard headed. Talented and an amazing mind, but still not really plugged in emotionally. There had been some movement in that direction though; he’d grown some.
Jasmine was still ruminating about the state of
A snort was Marcus’s only reply at first. Shoulders hunched, Marcus stalked toward the door to leave the barrier room.
“Peace? Cendan, there is no peace, ever. One way or another this is all going to have to end.” Marcus paused and turned toward Cendan, his eyes sunken and his voice even more worn than normal. “You don’t get it do you? At first, when you brought that machine back online, the one in your head, I was happy. Ecstatic even. For the first time in an unknown number of years, we were going to be gaining ground. Or so I thought. But Sal died. You lived. That got me thinking. What would happen if you died? Would EVA keep working? Would it stop all over again? There are now just three of us left, Cendan. Three.”
Cendan didn’t have an answer for him. Truthfully he’d never considered it, what would happen if he died? Before he could ask EVA, Marcus continued speaking.
“Cendan, Jasmine and I are the last of the born and raised Bridgefinders. We are it. You, while a Maker, didn’t grow up in this. You didn’t have it drilled into you day in and day out just how hard this fight is. Sal didn’t either. It’s one reason he’s dead. I should have made sure he understood that losing even one of us is far too many.”
“And you… Cendan, you don’t understand any of it. You mock our traditions, push us to things that are out of bounds, want us to believe in things that can’t be true. Magic? Other worlds besides the Slyph’s? You treat this like a game. This is for the very damn survival of the species, and all you can think of is hypothetical nonsense!” Marcus spat the last words at Cendan, leaving him surprised at the venom behind them.
“You brought us a reprieve, Cendan, but I wish beyond measure that you hadn’t come to the Red Orchid that day. That Grellnot hadn’t found you when he did. I wish you’d never become one of us. I thought having a Maker would fix so many problems, but all it’s done is give us a breather at the cost of what it means to be a Bridgefinder.” Grimacing, Marcus paused, his mouth snapping shut and his eyes shooting a look of hate that surprised Cendan to the core.
The door to the Barrier room slammed behind him as Marcus left, leaving Cendan to stare at the board himself and wonder what was coming next.
Chapter 2
Jasmine was happy though still somewhat in pain. Her fingers rubbed her scalp, feeling the short sharp hairs starting to grow, even as she avoided touching the healing blisters at her hairline. She knew she looked somewhat terrifying still to people though. Normal people that is. Her running excuse of a car accident that she used when pressed on what happened seemed to mollify the curious though.
Grocery buying wasn’t the most glamorous part of being a Bridgefinder. Really, though, they had to eat. She mentally checked off her list, trying hard not to think about the items missing, the one's Sal would have wanted. Sal. Earnest and friendly, and truly out of his league on things. Sal had never been powerful in skill. In the past he’d never have been a Bridgefinder, but these days they took anyone who had the ability.
A deep sigh escaped her as Jasmine thought about the newest member, Cendan. In her heart, she still had trouble putting him in as a Bridgefinder. And not just any Bridgefinder, but a Maker. The first Maker in over a thousand years, and he had to be an ex. An ex that she couldn’t even begin to make sense of. Still attractive, but hard headed. Talented and an amazing mind, but still not really plugged in emotionally. There had been some movement in that direction though; he’d grown some.
Jasmine was still ruminating about the state of
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