The Wizard of Time (Book 1) (30 page)

“I will destroy only the worlds that I absolutely must,” Gabriel said, making it a promise and a pledge to himself as he voiced the words.

“A good enough answer for now,” Vicaquirao said, standing up and stretching. “I think tomorrow I shall show you something that will help clarify the choices you will need to make in the future. For now, feel free to wander around the grounds. Please do not be foolish enough to try and flee. I can find you wherever you go. And you cannot get far in this terrain. Dinner will be at sun down.”

With that, Vicaquirao made a slight bow and walked back into the main room of the cabin. Gabriel watched him go, but lost sight of him as Vicaquirao moved deeper into the shadows of the house. Not knowing what else to do, Gabriel got up and walked down the steps of the porch. Running away would probably be futile, but at least he could take a walk and clear his head.

Gabriel strolled down the grassy slope of the hill the cabin sat on. He soon came to a path that led into the woods. As he walked, he tried to consider his options. Did he have any options?  He could run now, but to where? How far could he get on foot?  Vicaquirao was right. The landscape was much too formidable for an escape. He was trapped here until he could think of something. He would have to start planning an escape from scratch. He would need to find a new object to begin imbuing and hope for clues from Vicaquirao that would tell him how to escape from this world and get back to the Primary Continuum. For the moment, however, he could do nothing. Which left him little to occupy his thoughts other than his conversation with Vicaquirao.

How much of what Vicaquirao had said could he trust?  How much should he believe? Gabriel had the distinct feeling that Vicaquirao had not lied to him, but had phrased his arguments in such a way as to sway Gabriel’s thinking closer to his own. He had admitted that he wanted to influence Gabriel’s choices. Which was ironic, as Gabriel hadn’t had any real choices lately, not since he had been plucked from that bus at the bottom of the river. Or was that true? 

He had choices. He could have chosen to become a castle servant rather than a mage. He could have refused to go on missions. If he had, he might never have been revealed as the Seventh True Mage. And he was the only one who made the choice to save Ling. Vicaquirao was right. Gabriel had even made choices while held captive by Kumaradevi. He might not have been able to refuse training without risking the lives of his parents, but he could have failed at it instead of succeeding. He could make that choice now. He could refuse to help Vicaquirao with his plans, whatever they really were. But how would he know that he wasn’t making exactly the choice Vicaquirao wanted him to? Did Vicaquirao truly want to be left alone after he had achieved his revenge? Somehow Gabriel couldn’t really imagine it.

The path Gabriel had been walking along came out of the forest and deposited him back in the clearing, well down the hill from the cabin. He looked at the sky and saw the sun slipping behind the western mountains. As he walked back to the cabin, he wondered what mountains these were. It looked like Colorado. Maybe these were some alternate-reality version of the Rocky Mountains. If he knew where in the world he was, it would help him know where to go when he had imbued an object enough to jump somewhere.

Even before he entered the cabin, his mouth started to water from the smell of the food. Stepping through the door, the smell of garlic, onions, and a tangy hint of tomatoes filled his nostrils. The cabin had a large open design, with a kitchen on one side, a dining area in the middle and a living room in the back. A set of wide, rough-hewn stairs led up to the second floor. The first thing to grab Gabriel’s attention was the presence of light bulbs. Electric light bulbs.

“You have electricity,” Gabriel said as though he’d never seen it before. It had been a long while since he’d seen an electric light bulb. Kumaradevi’s world had only oil lamps, candles, and torches for light.

“Yes,” Vicaquirao said. “I believe in the creature comforts. There is a solar power array on the backside of the roof. This little world of mine is not anywhere near that level of technology yet, but I detest the way oil lamps and candles stain the ceilings. And electric lamps have a warm, soothing glow that is difficult to achieve with magic glow bulbs. Have a seat. Dinner will be up shortly.”

Gabriel took a seat at a long dining table of thick cut oak planks lacquered and polished to a high sheen. Two glasses of red wine, an open bottle, simple glazed clay plates, and a large wooden bowl with salad sat on the table.

As Gabriel pulled his chair in and placed his napkin on his lap, Vicaquirao entered from the kitchen carrying a tray containing a large bowl of steaming linguine and a smaller bowl with tomato sauce. The tray also contained a basket overflowing with thick-cut, garlic-topped slices of bread. Gabriel’s stomach rumbled as he began to lick his lips in anticipation. Until he remembered something. This was his favorite meal. Right down to the cherry tomatoes in the salad. Had the meal been made by anyone else he might have chalked it up to coincidence, but not with Vicaquirao. And why had Vicaquirao made the meal himself? Were there really no servants? Or were they hidden?

“You made dinner yourself?” Gabriel said as Vicaquirao sat down.

“I love to cook,” Vicaquirao said. “I hope you enjoy it.”

“You don’t have any servants?” Gabriel asked.

“No,” Vicaquirao said. “I prefer solitude. Fewer chances for betrayal. It is just you and me. So you will do the dishes.”

Vicaquirao served Gabriel the pasta and sauce, placing a small portion of salad on the side of his plate and handing him a piece of garlic bread. When he had served himself, he raised his glass of wine. Gabriel did the same. He was very conscious of the choice.

“To the future,” Vicaquirao said. Gabriel touched his glass to Vicaquirao’s and took a sip. It was very good, but it went straight to his head. He decided to avoid any more of it until he had a full stomach. He would need his wits about him to have dinner with Vicaquirao.

“It’s very good,” Gabriel said, between bites of linguini. It was always best to compliment the chef, especially when he was the jailer.

“Thank you,” Vicaquirao said. He had still not given any hint as to how he knew this was Gabriel’s favorite meal. Gabriel could only think of one possible explanation. Vicaquirao had spent some spying on him in the Primary Continuum before his near-death there. Which meant Vicaquirao might know as much about Gabriel as he knew about himself.

He could see that Vicaquirao would be a much more difficult adversary than Kumaradevi had ever been. She was cunning, but in a cruel and crude fashion compared to Vicaquirao. It would be best to try to steer the conversation in directions that might he might use himself, Gabriel thought, before Vicaquirao could steer them elsewhere.

“I was wondering something,” Gabriel said as he took another piece of garlic bread from the basket. “When I was brought to Kumaradevi’s world, did that create a bifurcation? Does she now have two worlds to rule?”

 “Interesting and perceptive question,” Vicaquirao said, taking a sip of wine. “The simple answer is no, your presence did not create a new bifurcation.”

“But what happens to the people in the future of a branch that has its past changed?” Gabriel asked. “Do they suddenly forget things that have happened? Do they suddenly cease to exist?”

“Essentially, yes,” Vicaquirao said. “A change in the past of an alternate reality could mean that someone is not born or that someone does not meet their future spouse. The potentiality of the branch will reorganize to accommodate this new reality. Therefore, people will cease to exist or forget what they had known. Unless the alteration to the branch is too large to allow its reality to reorganize, in which case a new branch will be formed.”

“And that new branch will be even less stable and have an even more flexible reality,” Gabriel said, seeing it in his head like an endlessly tall tree of ever-branching possibilities.

 “Exactly,” Vicaquirao said. “Very astute. You really are as bright as everyone says.” Gabriel felt his face warming and hated himself for it. That was the danger of Vicaquirao. He was so likable that the things he did and said almost seemed reasonable. Gabriel took a sip of wine to cover his face and tried to focus on the fact that he was a prisoner of the man sitting across the table.

The rest of the meal passed in idle conversation, Gabriel trying his best to glean any information he could with obscure questions. He had hoped that his original line of questioning would have given him some more information about Vicaquirao’s world, but the older mage proved very adept at being informative while revealing nothing useful. After dinner, Gabriel washed the dishes and set them to dry on a wooden rack near the sink. When he had finished, he returned to the main living area to find Vicaquirao reading in a large leather chair near a fire.

“I think I’ll go to bed,” Gabriel said.

“A wise idea,” Vicaquirao said, looking up from the book. Gabriel tried to get a look at the author, but could only see a title that said
Thus Spake Zarathustra
. “You will find your room on the right at the end of the hall upstairs. The bathroom is across from it, if you wish to shower. We will leave early tomorrow after breakfast. I have something I want to show you, and I like to get an early start. You should be used to that. I will wake you at dawn. And please, do not try to imbue any of the things you might find in your room. I will know of it if you do. Your bedside lamp is a little more cumbersome than a candleholder in any case.

“Beside your bed, you will also find your copy of
The Time Traveler’s Pocket Guide to History
. Your study of history was sorely neglected under Kumaradevi’s tutelage. I will not be so lax. Do not bother trying to use it as a means to travel back to the castle. The time shield that prevents the castle from falling permanently into the timeline of the Primary Continuum also prevents any objects created there from being used as relics for time travel. It is just a book. It will not take you from this cabin. Besides which, we will not be staying in any one place for very long. Make yourself comfortable in my homes and in my presence, but do not try to leave without my permission. While your time with me will be far more comfortable than it was with Kumaradevi, you no more want to cross me than you would her.”

Vicaquirao paused a moment to make sure his words had been heard. Gabriel said nothing in response.

“Good. We understand each other. Sleep well.”

Gabriel chose to say nothing. Instead, he climbed the stairs, walking down the hall to his room at the end. A large bed covered in a patchwork quilt of colored squares sat near the window. There was a closet, a dresser, a small desk against a window, and a table near the bed with an electric lamp. The dresser and closet held clothes similar to those that would have hung in his closet back in his bedroom at his parent’s house. Gabriel suspected Vicaquirao was trying to make him feel comfortable.

On the bedside table, Gabriel found his copy of
The Time Traveler’s Pocket Guide to History
. He sat on the bed and picked up the book. He flipped through the pages in the moonlight, not bothering to flick on the lamp. He had missed the book. It was like being reunited with an old friend. With all of his friends. The book was the only real connection to the castle and his life there.

Setting the book back on the nightstand, Gabriel lay down on the bed and stared at the darkened ceiling. Turning his head to look through the window, he could see the stars in the sky above the mountains. How had Vicaquirao known about the imbued candleholder? And more importantly, how much more did he know about Gabriel? And how had he come to have Gabriel’s copy of
The Time Traveler’s Pocket Guide to History
? Could it really be the same book? Gabriel had little time to contemplate these questions as sleep took hold of his thoughts and cast them into a dream world, a deserted island, shadows and shapes following him along the beach and into the jungle.

Chapter 21: Grace and Atrocity

Gabriel woke to a knock on the door. As he raised his head, he saw Vicaquirao entering with a wooden tray that held a bowl of fruit, a cup of tea, and a slice of toasted bread with a thin slab of butter melting in the middle of it. A dim light filtered through the window. He sighed. He hated getting up early.

“A light breakfast,” Vicaquirao said. “Eat and shower and meet me downstairs in half an hour. And I assure you, the sheets are clean.” Vicaquirao smiled and walked back down the hall.

Gabriel realized he had slept in his clothes on top of the quilt all night. He started to wonder what his dreams had been about, but his dreams had been unpleasant for so long that he had no real desire to relive them.

Gabriel ate, showered, and dressed exactly as instructed. As much as Vicaquirao liked to talk about choices, Gabriel realized that his were very limited. He dressed in a pair of faded jeans and a blue t-shirt covered by a long sleeve flannel shirt. Sliding on a pair of sneakers, he stuffed
The Time Traveler’s Pocket Guide to History
into his back pocket, picked up the serving tray, and carried it downstairs. Through the windows, he saw Vicaquirao sitting in a chair on the porch. Setting the tray in the kitchen, he joined Vicaquirao outside.

“Good,” Vicaquirao said, “you look well rested. We have a bit of traveling to do today. There are some things I want to show you. To continue the conversation we started yesterday afternoon.” Vicaquirao took a concatenate crystal from his pocket and held it gently in his hand. “First though, I am afraid you will need to take a quick morning nap. The pathway into my world is a maze filled with traps, and I would not want to tempt you to retrace our way.”

“But…” Gabriel said, as he felt a cloud of insensibility roll over his mind. The last thing he felt were his knees buckling and two strong hands taking hold of him.

It could have been a moment later, or it could have been hours, when Gabriel opened his eyes to find Vicaquirao holding him upright.