Pain Stones (Coalescence Book 2) Read online

  Janine, the woman from the desk in front, came to him with a cup of tea about then, she smiled at him as it, and a small plate, were handed off.

  “Do you need sugar or honey? Something to eat to go along with it?”

  Thankfully she was focused on what he was supposed to do, given the situation, which was to taste the beverage first. Then he could make an informed choice on the matter.

  Doing that, carefully sipping the warm, but not hot, tea, he was able to smile.

  “This is perfect, thank you. Are all the programs so…” He didn't know how to explain what he was going for then. Will understood that the man was talking to people, and that he didn't seem to care about what he looked like while he did it, so pictures probably weren’t part of what was happening.

  Janine shook her head.

  “So animated? That varies, from person to person. Gwen and Brian aren’t nearly that hard on people, for instance. Will Werner can be hard, but tends to actually go out and find stories, instead of just reporting what others have done the work on. The main draw for Mrs. Harrison is of course how different she is, being from another world. Did… Did you say that you were as well?”

  He nodded, taking a sip.

  “This is really good, thank you. To answer the question, yes. I’m a line walker. The one who takes messages from world to world? We should have some others in as well. They’re both from a different world than I am. Avery Rome and Eve Benson. They tend to take passengers places.” He was trying to match the local accent, which either was polite of him or going unnoticed at the moment.

  “That’s incredible. We should see about extending things, if you can all stay? Maybe do an announcement first, that you’ll be in today? We don’t always get people from different realities in like this. No one ever has before, other than Gwen, that I know of. I’m just the secretary though, so can only mention it. Still, I can get with Mr. Pottersmith on this? It should at least be mentioned.” Then, in her excitement, she practically ran off. That was to an office off to the side, across from her. There was a small table with four chairs in the front, so he sat at it, waiting and listening to the programs, so that he’d be able to do his part properly.

  Janine came out of the office door, seeming pleased enough. No one else did however. Not until a very thin man, who looked to be about fifty, having a nicely lined face, came and sat across from him. He’d come through the front however, and settled, pulling papers from a leather case. After a few minutes of going over things and sorting, the man looked up, a hand coming out to shake.

  “Sorry there! I’m up next. Will Werner.” The way he spoke made it sound like he expected to be recognized.

  “Willum Baker. Pleased to meet you.” He was matching the accent fairly well, he hoped. The man just nodded then, looking at the things in front of him again.

  After a while the other man looked up again.

  “Are you new here? I haven’t heard anything like that, but I know that Gwen Farris just got married. Is she leaving us?”

  “No? I’m just going to be on her program with her today. I think. I could be wrong about how that works. I’m from a different reality, and we don’t have this kind of thing, so…”

  “Really? How? I mean… that’s incredible. Can you explain that to me? How it works? Why are you here? There are… Ten thousand things to ask. Which is probably what Gwen and Brian have in mind.”

  They spoke about who he was and how things worked, with the other man promising not to give too much away. Stealing from Gwen it seemed, wasn’t going to go over well. As in the man didn’t think that he’d survive doing that. At least the feeling from him was honestly scared, if only a bit.

  A man, who seemed to be stern, having a big mustache and tired seeming eyes came out of the door that led to Poterrsmith, probably meaning it was the man himself. There were only so many people there after all.

  Instead of growling about things, which was what the man wanted to do, he stood back and forced a smile he didn't mean. That wasn’t about Willum though. It was clearly directed at the other man there.

  “Werner… You’ve gotten up to speed on our guests for the day? I want promotion on them, at least three times in your hour. Script something.” Then the man turned and left, as if what he’d said was enough for the man.

  After he walked away, Werner rolled his eyes.

  “There was a problem a few years ago. The old manager here was trying to force me out, so the Verner Shipping concern bought us out and put Pottersmith in. He’s never gotten over the fact that they don’t want me to be let go. It’s odd, since he doesn’t seem to want to do that to me, he just bristles over not having the power. Except, of course, if I don’t do my job, he really could just drop me and no one would say anything about it.”

  Focusing, Willum picked up more of what was going on that way. It was that Werner was close to the owners, and also good at his job. It really did make him nearly untouchable there. Unless, as he’d suggested, his work wasn’t being done correctly.

  To that end, they went over everything very carefully. Covering who was coming in, as well as the fact that there was a special announcement that everyone would want to be there for.

  Will took over from the people in the booth, who had changed without speaking to anyone, coming in at the last moment. His show was a lot more fact based than the others as well, with several things being pointed out that no one else had been talking about at all. Including secrets from inside the government.

  As promised, he read out some things about Will, Avery and Eve, who were special visitors from other worlds, coming up in the next hour. An older man came and sat with him, coming in just before the noon hour. By about twenty minutes.

  A hand came out, as the man took his hat off and settled it on the table.

  “Brian Weathers.”

  Shaking the dry and warm hand, Willum nodded.

  “Will Baker. We should be on with Gwen and the others, Avery Rome and Eve Benson. I think that’s the plan.” The booth didn't seem large enough for that many people, but the older man, looked at him, and smiled.

  “Oh? That’s different then. What’s the plan for the day? Are you from the S.R.R. Gwen has had her people in from that several times over the last months. Or… Are you part of the new Westmorland project?” He searched Will then, shaking his head just a little bit for some reason. Mainly focusing on his clothing.

  “I don’t think so? We’re putting together a new line transport service. You know, taking messages and people to other realities and back?”

  The other man just nodded and then took notes, grilling him right until the three women walked into the place. More accurately, they appeared together in front of the building, the stress on space alerting him to them coming into being. Gwen did it differently, but he could still feel her doing it. According to the clock, they had two minutes to get set up, which was pushing things a lot.

  Gwen went wide eyed and made a hard face when she saw the clock.

  “Darn. Sorry, Brian… I can carry this? It’s different…”

  The man laughed at her, seeming nearly playful, as he waved a notebook.

  “I’ve gotten a line on things, I think? Thanks to Mr. Baker here, who filled me in very nicely. I just need to know who’s who…” He looked at the others, as Willum stood up. Both women were in dresses, which was normal for Avery and strange to see on Eve.

  “Avery Rome and Eve Benson.” He pointed to each one, as they moved into the glass and wood box. The people inside, a man and a woman at the moment, started speaking to Brian and Gwen, ignoring the others, even as they were pressed into different locations. He ended up pressed against both Avery and Gwen enough that, had they been in Pine Creek, he would have been run out of the village. Physically forced out, if he didn’t flee fast enough.

  They were all in wooden chairs, which Brian and Janine brought in for them.

  The man in their group, was down to the left, and leaned in to speak to the people at
home. Eve was practically on top of him, which he didn't seem to mind.

  “This is the Gwen Harrison hour, with your hosts, Brian Weathers and Gwen Harrison. We have some very, very special guests in the studio with us. Avery Rome, Eve Benson and Willum Baker. Each of them is from another reality. If I have this right, you’re from a different one than the ladies, Will?”

  Leaning in as Gwen touched a metal tab on the speaking device, he made his voice smooth and matched the local accent as well as he could.

  “That’s right, Mr. Weathers. I know that we’re all very pleased to be here with you and Baroness Harrison today. I want to thank everyone listening at home for being here with us as well. It means a lot and I know that I for one, feel very welcome.”

  Gwen rolled her eyes at him, but spoke next, leaning in as he moved back. The others had done that every time, rocking in and out, away from the silver metal devices.

  “Will, Avery and Eve are all part of a new program. They, along with myself and perhaps a few others, will be taking people and packages between realities. Everyone will be allowed to hire transport this way. We’ll be running things out of Wellington, in the Western Kingdom, for those of you in other parts of the world. The plan is to start taking passengers in the next few months.”

  That sounded about right and there was silence for a few moments, with Brian finally clearing is throat.

  “I’d heard, from Willum here, about that. Amazing. So, how do I get in on this? I was thinking that I’d vacation in a different world this year? Can a humble newsie afford that kind of thing?” It was clear that he didn’t expect that to be the case. Everywhere else was pretty much like that, so it made sense to Willum.

  No one else said anything for a bit, so Will leaned in.

  “Honestly? No. Line travel is incredibly expensive in the main. You, here, are having this subsidized by Gwen Harrison and her husband directly, making it far more affordable. Special consideration will be made for those seeking business or religious duties. It’s really very kind of them to set this up for you all. Rare, too. I’ve never heard of it being done before.” He didn’t know if that, religion, was a thing there, but no one shouted him down about it.

  Gwen wrinkled her nose and leaned into Avery a little bit. It was cozy, and a thing that Gwen noticed inside. It wasn’t sexual at all, just warm and friendly.

  “So, you’re all open to being bribed with candies then?”

  That got a chuckle, from Brian Weathers, at least.

  Will just nodded.

  “That sounds great, actually. I tend to have to eat a lot more than a regular person.” Then, he hadn’t eaten in a day, either and was close to starving. That made it a really good payment option at the moment.

  More importantly, Willum knew what the real issue was.

  He’d been raised to think that helping people, anyone really, was more valuable than mere gold. So, if his friend, even a new one, needed his help, then he’d give it. It was a great way to live. If you weren’t at war with people who just might do anything. Then, the value of that kind of thing might just not be the best idea in the world.

  Chapter eight

  The plan for the day, once he got home, was a fairly simple one. Willum had some things to build, out of magic, after all. One of them was pretty much planned out already, and the other almost didn’t need real work to put together. Oh, he’d do it, since going over the same basic thing ten times to make Taman happy enough with his work wasn’t going to fit into his schedule.

  His tower was vast seeming, and totally empty when he got there. If anyone had thought to come and visit, it didn’t seem to show at all. That was all to the good, of course. Having people, anyone, be too close to him was probably not a wonderful idea for the time being. He was, like it or not, kind of involved in a fight. One that he still barely understood. If it wasn’t for all of the lethal and nearly lethal attacks that had taken place, he might have simply walked away from the whole thing.

  Which left him feeling lonely and sad, if only in abstract. Will wanted to have someone in his life that way. It was just too hard to keep anyone safe enough. That didn't mean he wasn’t tempted to do it anyway.

  After all, he’d literally gone from living in a tiny village of fifty people to being told that he, and apparently, he alone, had to be the spy for his entire Earth. Nothing in his entire life had prepared him for that kind of thing. Then, on the same day that he’d found out that he was supposed to be anything other than an apprentice woodworker in Pine Creek, his entire life had been shifted around. Literally. His very being had been changed for him.

  Sure, it was all about preventing his death at the hands of his relatives, and possibly some others, but even the way he thought was different now. Faster and easier for one thing. He’d always been intelligent enough, Willum knew. In school he’d gotten top marks and learned what he was supposed to as fast as the next students, if not in half the time it took them.

  Now he was pushed so far beyond that it wasn’t funny. It should have been almost impossible to count what he was doing that way, but it wasn’t. Not for him. He was learning languages about a hundred times faster than he would have before. That one was fairly specific, so indicated a specific change having been made to him in that area. He worked out problems faster as well. Normally before the whole thing was finished being presented to him. His memory wasn’t perfect, thankfully. It was close enough that he could see the glaring holes left by his failures that way, almost every time.

  Really, it should have been fun. Understanding things was, in the main, a good thing. Except that he understood too much. Even that wasn’t perfect, since his ability to read minds was fairly low powered. He could do it and it was useful, but tended to give him basic ideas and concepts, rather than the direct words and pictures that someone like Cindy Mableton worked with.

  So, he got in, ate as much food as he could hold, showered and changed, then spent two full days working on magic. Things that should have taken weeks for a top builder to come up with the first time settled powerfully into existence. Also, he didn't doubt, due to a change made to him. Except that he was nearly certain that part was something he’d been born with. So a genetic difference, not one that had been created in him by Tim Baker.

  After eating more, Willum decided to make certain he was up on his rounds as far as message taking. It took a bit over a day, Noram time. That was because almost nothing had really been coming in. Which was, in the end, fine. After all, the cover for that portion of things was that it was a hobby for him. Most people that could afford that kind of thing at all, just traveled to the world they wanted things taken to themselves. Those people didn’t really need him for anything. He tried to keep the price down to make up for that, but the raw fact was that no one really understood that part of things yet.

  It meant that, by going to all the depots that he’d set up, Willum only had nine packages or letters to take around that week. Eight of them were so bland that he’d had to force himself to bother being polite and recalling everyone by name. It was possible that anyone could be important. He knew that. It was, at least in theory, his entire point in doing what he was altogether.

  Someday they might bump into something being sent to the right person or place. He hoped so, because otherwise the whole job was starting to get a bit annoying.

  The last package of the day, instead of being something vastly important, was interesting for a different reason. From the scent of the thing, the brown cardboard box, wrapped in brown paper, about a foot wide and two long, being about a foot high… Held baked goods of some sort. Chocolate ones, he thought. Possibly some other things as well. There were definitely some tree nuts involved from the oils that were floating off the thing into the air. There was more than one kind of thing in the decently heavy container.

  The address it needed to go to was a feeling, more than anything else. It was just a scribble on the box, in ink. The strange thing was that the intent involved was solid and nearly
perfect, even without being a clearly written instruction or description of anything at all.

  A line of intent that took him from the shopping mall in Human Zack’s world, where he’d picked the thing up, to a place decently far away, in the scheme of reality. The world itself was normal seeming enough, when he walked through the void. The air was salty and held a lot of moisture. There were dark clouds in the sky above him as well at the moment. Other things, like the gravity and magnetic fields seemed pretty normal. Indeed, there was even a node right there.

  One sitting outside in the open, just floating in space. A wild node, that no one had bothered to build a structure around at all.

  Behind him there was a rocky cliff, showing a blue and green ocean below by about two hundred feet. The waves crashed, thrumming along his nerves. It was relaxing though, instead of frightening. To the left was a small cabin, made of what seemed like drift wood. Bits and pieces of other things as well. A simple shack, really. The roof was made of things that had once been living and had been clearly taken from the ocean below. They weren’t anything he recognized, of course. Flat pieces that looked like they might have been from turtles or some kind of large crab.

  Then, he was truly far away from home at the moment. The gray color of the things showed that pretty clearly.

  Steeling himself, he went to the door of the place. The line of intent clearly led him there. It was a bit of a dilemma, since there was no way to know what Willum was allowed to do in order to get attention. In Pine Creek, you could knock or call out. There was no visible bell, so it was probably something like that.

  Except that pounding on the door could be seen as an attack, in the wrong place. A startling thing that meant you were in trouble. Yelling in a strange language was a risk that way as well. He could try for an announcement that he had a message for the person in there, only to have them hear about how he was there to end their lives.

  Standing there all day wasn’t going to work either, given that there were incredibly heavy clouds over head. Ones that started to drip on him, making a soft pounding noise on the roof of the place in front of him.