Dead Man's Hand (26 page)

I was certain
that Alexis would spare me and eventually reveal all of his secrets.  I
didn’t care if I had to beg for the information, I would learn everything that
he knew.  With a smile on my lips I turned my attention back to creating a
marble of air.  Over the next few minutes I had successfully made two
marbles and was working on my third when I heard Alexis speak.  “You
better get into the cab so our friend can have the entire bed to himself.”

I leapt out
of truck and Alexis immediately laid Dempsey down before taking the necessary
steps to secure him into the bed.  Next he moved towards the hood as I
climbed into the passenger seat.  Alexis was doing something to the road
in front of the truck but I had no idea what it was.  But before I could
climb out to ask he was standing up and walking back to the driver’s side
door.  Without saying a word, Alexis climbed into the cab, made a series
of fluid motions, and his seat belt flew across his body clicking in just a
fraction of a second before the truck roared to life.

In contrast
with the frenzied pace upon his arrival, Alexis now merely withdrew his foot
from the brake, allowing the truck to slowly and gently creep its way
forward.  Puzzled I looked over at him but was greeted by one of his
fingers, which was pointing out the front window.  Instead of asking him
anything, I silently looked out the windshield and was startled when I saw that
a good chunk of the car’s front was missing.  Despite missing almost a
third of its engine I could still hear the truck’s roar and, by all the visible
evidence, it was still functional.  Only the sheer awe of what I was
seeing kept me from asking the first logical question.  
What in the
world is going on here?
  As I saw the vanished section slowly creep
towards me I couldn’t stay quiet any longer.  “What did you do?”

“Show me how
clever you can be, try and figure it out on your own.”

“But, the car
is disintegrating.”

He was
apparently disappointed in my answer because, out of the corner of my eye, I
saw him shaking his head.  “The truck is not disintegrating.  Tell
you what, if this is too hard,” he used his hand and gestured to the rapidly
vanishing hood.  “Then tell me how you think I managed to pull Dempsey out
of his heavily guarded home without raising an alarm.”

“How did you
get into the house in the first place?”

“That’s
another good question, boy.”  But he simply turned his head and fixed me
with a new stare.  This one didn’t carry the disgust or hatred that had
been so constant earlier, instead it held a teacher’s quality to it.  He
was hoping I would make the connections. As such, it shouldn’t have come as a
surprise when he added.  “You tell me.”

I tried to
imitate his calmness but my confusion was keeping me from concentrating. 
“It doesn’t make sense.  You have to be touching something in order to
forge it.”

“And…?” 

“So how to do
you manage to forge something that isn’t within your grasp?”  I asked as I
pushed my back into the seat, desperately trying to keep the oncoming
nothingness from getting to me.

“I had the
same question back when my master started my training.”  I could sense the
smirk on his face as he spoke.

I immediately
latched onto one thing he had said, “Master?”

 “Yes,
my master.  And if that word doesn’t work for you substitute ‘teacher’ in
its place and you’re mostly there.”

Though that
certainly got my attention, I stopped struggling and stared at the side of his
head and dumbly asked, “You’re going to be my teacher?”  I was a little
slow, but I soon caught up with the meaning behind his words.  “Wait a
second.  Teacher implies that you’re going to keep me alive.”

Through a
smirk he calmly answered my statement, “No, I haven’t decided your fate one way
or the other.  But the chance of your surviving the night certainly is
growing.”

Grumbling
under my breath I turned my attention back to the disappearing vehicle, and
with a start, realized that my legs had already crossed the plane.  Unable
to fully keep control of my nerves I looked back over to Alexis and pleaded,
“Seriously what’s happening to me, Alexis?”

All that he
was willing to say was, “Wait a few seconds and you’ll find out.”

So sitting
there, as scared as I was, there was nothing I could do to avoid Alexis’
twisted humor.  As I was being driven through the plane I kept trying to
inch back to delay the inevitable.  Just before my face went through the
invisible barrier, I cursed my inability to push myself through the back of the
cab, and then I was being swallowed into the maw of the unknown.

As my limbs
had disappeared, apparently nothing disastrous happened as I hadn’t felt
anything to accompany the disappearance.  When my eyes finally crossed the
plane I had to do a double take.  While Alexis looked at me, I was too
busy looking from side to side trying to figure out what had happened.  I
had been expecting to find a vast void of nothingness, but instead I found
myself, well the front half of the truck actually, no longer on the street
where we had been.  Now we were in a cavern. This made no sense. 
“Where are we?  What was that?  Was that teleportation?”

With a
chuckle Alexis replied.  “We are in a safe house of mine.  And only
by the strictest of definitions was that teleportation.  We are almost
fourteen hundred miles away from Dempsey’s home.”  Alexis used his thumb
to gesture at the still missing back of his truck.

“But how… how
did you do that?”  I asked unable to hide my curiosity and astonishment.

“All in good
time.”  He replied but, after a half moment he added, “Provided you get
the chance.”

His attempt
at a jibe pulled me out of my awe.  Annoyed, I looked over, stared into
his eyes, and calmly retorted.  “You can make all the jokes you want to
Alexis.  I already know that you’re going to spare my life, and I’m fairly
sure that you’re going to take me on as your student…”  I paused just long
enough to flash him a smile before adding a little jab of my own.  “Well
you’ll probably call me your apprentice.”

“A little
cocky aren’t you?”  Annoyance laced his voice.

“Not
really.”  I replied confidently. “If you hadn’t already made up your mind
you would have laughed off my request to release me.  But instead, you
decided to trust me.”  As I said that the old saying, ‘trust, but verify’
popped into my head, as did another possibility.  “I suppose you could
have just lengthened my bonds, enough to give me the illusion of freedom, but…”

With a
clinical eye focused upon me Alexis asked, “So if I trust you, why wouldn’t I
have just given you the answers to your questions?”

“Because,” I
replied with an ever growing smile as I lifted one of my two brand new marbles
of air.  When he saw what I was holding he started to smile,, “Students
learn better when they’re forced to figure out a problem on their own, or at
least that’s what teachers or, as you call them, ‘masters’ claim.”

With a smile
on his face he added, “Say that’s true, why did I give you a straight answer
concerning how we got here.”

“You did, and
you didn’t.”  He was trying to trip me up, but that wasn’t going to
happen.  “You gave me a straight answer about the end effect, not about
how you managed it.  And I’d guess that’s simply because this is too
complicated to experiment with.”  I shook the marble for emphasis, “It’s
not like it’s a marble of air.”

With a smile
of his own, he pulled the now fully visible truck to a stop.  “Good for
you boy.  You’ve got quite the head for reasoning on your shoulders. 
It’ll be a pleasure to teach you the craft.”

“Can I get a
hint at least?”

With a laugh
he said, “Not now.  The first thing you have to do is think about the
possible theories, and yes there are multiple ways to do what I just did, and
I’m only a master of the one that I know.”  The warm smile began to take
on a wicked gleam as he added, “But in the meantime, we have someone to
terrify.”  Alexis got out of the truck and I followed suit. Alexis lifted
Dempsey from the bed as if he were a baby and hung the limp body in thin air.

Surprised by
the lack of a struggle, I asked, “Is he still asleep?”

“Oh, I didn’t
want him waking up while we were transporting him so I drugged him.” 
Reaching into his jacket he pulled out a small vial.  As he moved the
uncorked vial under Dempsey’s nose he added. “Come over here, I’d rather he see
you right away.”

“Are you sure
that’s a good idea?”  I asked quietly as I got ready for the verbal tirade
that Dempsey was sure to release when he awoke.

“Yes, I’m
sure.”  Alexis answered with nothing but confidence in his voice. 
When he noticed that I was still hesitant he added, “Remember you’re going to
be my apprentice and that means you’re under my protection.  And after
this little demonstration, he’ll think twice before having anyone go after
you.  Come on.”  With that command, I took a deep breath, steeling my
resolve, and moved next to Alexis.

No sooner was
I settled than Dempsey’s head whipped back as the vial finally did its work and
brought him back into consciousness.  His eyes instantly started to dart
back and forth as he tried to understand what was going on.  When they
landed on Alexis they instantly widened in shock.  He fought to control
his breathing before managing to speak.  “How long do you think you can
hold me in my own home?”

With a
shark’s smile Alexis looked into Dempsey’s outraged eyes, “Look around you
fool.  Do you really think this is your home?”  Alexis extended his
arms inviting Dempsey to examine the cavern we were in.

Hesitantly,
Dempsey began to take in his surroundings, which was when he noticed me for the
first time.  But, instead of launching into a tirade, he simply stared at
me.  But when I refused to back down and continued to meet his icy glare,
he started to speak in a father’s tone, “I'm disappointed in you Francis
Harrison Bailey.”  Eventually, he broke contact as if dismissing my
presence as he once more took in the surrounding cavern.  He did all of
this in the blink of an eye and without losing any of his menace. 
Eventually, he returned his attention to Alexis before asking.  “Fine,
then where am I?”

“About,”
Alexis replied, letting his words linger a moment as if calculating, “Fourteen
hundred miles away from your home.”  Alexis’ tone was flat and
emotionless.

I knew
Dempsey would consider this to be impossible, yet the surroundings definitely
suggested that impossible things were in fact possible.  And so the subtle
hint of fear in his eyes made sense as he started to answer, “Fourteen… hundred
miles…”

With a shrug
Alexis broke in, “That’s right, though, I know you probably don’t believe
me.  But let me ask you this, even if we are closer to your home than
that.  How did you wake up in a cavern after falling asleep in your
bedroom?”

“How…”

“Dempsey, I
did it with the greatest of ease, and in the blink of an eye.”  Alexis
said emphasizing the comment with a wave of his hand.

“But that’s
not possible!”  Dempsey cried out.

Alexis
straightened as he calmly said, “You see, unlike my new friend here, I am a
true forger.  I have been perfecting and expanding my skills for longer
than either of you have been alive.”  Alexis stopped speaking for a brief
moment, letting his words sink in. I knew he wasn’t lying.  “I can do
things that you wouldn’t be able to dream of.  For example, abducting you
right from your bedroom without raising a single alarm.”

For a moment
I thought that Alexis’ words had had their desired effect, because I briefly
saw absolute terror upon Dempsey’s face.  But then the despicable man must
have found some fire left inside and asked a question, though it lacked the
absolute fury of a moment ago.  “How do I know we still aren’t in my home
and that this isn’t just some grand illusion?”

“That is a possibility,
it’s certainly something I’m capable of.”  Alexis replied with a
shrug.  “I suppose you could call out for help.”

As if on cue Dempsey
called out for help, but his cry was only answered with silence.

“Though that wouldn’t do
you any good.”  Alexis continued, as if the scream had never pierced the
cavern, “since we’re not in your home.  Believe me Bertrand, you’re out of
your depth with me.”

Alexis’ absolute
confidence in his own words must have shattered Dempsey’s legendary resolve
because the once ruthless lord was now a hollow shell of himself.  And
from all appearances, Alexis was in no hurry to put the criminal out of his
misery as he allowed the silence to stretch out.  Judging from the worry
lines spreading across Dempsey’s face it was clear that uncertainty was something
he was unaccustomed to.  As Dempsey’s fear and desperation continued to
build, Alexis went on.

“Now as you’ve begun to
realize, you are quite helpless.  And as no one even knows you’re missing,
you are unlikely to be rescued any time soon.  So, if you want to have any
hope of a continued existence you’ll answer any and all questions put before
you.  Do you understand?”

As Dempsey hung there in
silence he raised his head as far as he could, contemplating Alexis’ threat.
 I couldn’t tell if it was fear keeping him silent or his legendary
stubbornness.  Eventually, he nodded.  “Very good.”  Alexis
replied with joy in his voice.  “Now the first question I want answered is
why you wanted me dead?  I cannot recall ever interfering in your business,
so why the assassination attempts?”

This time I could tell
that Dempsey’s silence was due to his stubborn streak.  His mouth clenched
tightly as though to keep himself from accidently saying something he didn’t want
to.  Alexis only let Dempsey play that game for so long before taking
action. Even though I never saw Alexis so much as twitch, Dempsey uttered a
sudden a cry of pain that raced through the cavern.  The pain must have
broken Dempsey completely.  I noticed a smile starting to spread across my
face so I turned my eyes away, hoping they would just think I was a little
squeamish.

Alexis must have used
forgery to inflict the pain.  I was going to have to figure out these new
laws that were going to influence my life.  When I had regained mastery of
my face I turned to see Dempsey’s full attention focused upon a scowling
Alexis.  After another uncomfortable silence Alexis scolded Dempsey as if
he were a disobedient child.

“I asked you a question
Bertrand.  We already agreed to my asking the questions and you answering
them.  And you just found out what’ll happen if you refuse to answer a
question.  Is that clear?”

Instead of the piercing
eyes that had pinned me into my chair earlier today, now I only saw eyes that
were truly frightened.  I was barely able to hear his mumbled answer, but
it was enough for Alexis.  “Now let’s try this once again.  What is
the real reason you wanted me dead?”

“You.... You have been
interfering with my business, you just haven’t known about it.  Francis
over there wasn’t the first forger I tried to recruit.”

“And how are you finding
these forgers?”  Alexis asked, his eyes burning as hotly as the sun.

“I have the resources to
scour not only this city but others as well.  I simply keep my ears open
for interesting stories.”  Dempsey answered in an emotionless voice.

Alexis registered the
answer as he asked his next question, “How long have you been searching for
forgers?”

“I’ve always searched for
them.”  Dempsey’s reply bordered on curt.

I thought Alexis might
make another objection but he restrained himself and asked another
question.  “What brought our kind to your notice in the first place?”

Dempsey hesitated for
only a second but it was a second too long as Alexis somehow managed to force
pain through his body.  “I thought you remembered our agreement to answer
any question I put to you.”

“I’ll never give you the
answer to that!  No matter how much pain you pour into me.”  Dempsey
snapped.

Alexis silently studied
his captive before coming to a decision.  “I believe you would endure any
kind of torment I could possibly imagine and I would never get any closer to
that answer.”  Alexis nodded with what appeared to be a sort approval
before concluding his thoughts.  “Fine, I’ll not ask you to reveal
anything about your witch to me.”

As Dempsey heard those
words I thought Alexis and I would be washed away by the fear that flowed out
of Dempsey’s eyes.  Seeing the intended reaction from Dempsey, Alexis
leaned right next to the other man’s ear and spoke so softly I almost missed
the words.

“It was not all that
difficult a leap to make, Dempsey.  How have you managed to be so
successful if a simple, logical conclusion draws such a fearful reaction from
you?  Now that I know how you became aware of our world, tell me, who was
the forger I denied you access to.  Why was he so special?”

“You and your kind are
all special, don’t you know that?”

“Of course I do. 
But why was this one specifically so special to you?”

Dempsey began with as
much force as he could muster.  I guess he wanted or needed to hold onto
any piece of dignity he could.  “Her name was Julia Santiago.  She
wasn’t as powerful as your friend over there or you apparently.  But she
had power all the same.”

“Power you wanted to
harness for your own gain no doubt.”

“Of course, I would have
used her for my own gain.” 

Alexis began chewing his
lip in thought and I could tell that he had wanted to ask a specific question,
but after a moment’s thought he chose to move on for the time being. “Fine, so
I kept you from getting forgers and ultimately, when you finally had a name to
chase, you wanted to stop the interference.  I’ll assume your witch was
involved in most of this up to then.  But why did you send Francis here
after me?”