{"id":1141,"date":"2019-04-10T00:15:37","date_gmt":"2019-04-10T07:15:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/?p=1141"},"modified":"2019-04-10T09:48:46","modified_gmt":"2019-04-10T16:48:46","slug":"the-reluctant-apprentice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/?p=1141","title":{"rendered":"The Reluctant Apprentice"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Click here<\/a> to find other stories set in the WFGC Hotel.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake Potts stood in the lobby of the\nhotel, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the light.  In front of him, a massive, twisted oak tree\nsprang from the lobby floor, reaching towards a domed ceiling decorated to look\nlike a sky split between night and day, with the a brilliant sun shining in a\ncerulean sky on one side, a crescent moon and twinkling stars on the\nother.  Jake blinked again, looking\naround the rest of the lobby, trying to take in the hotel’s staff dressed in\nblue and gold livery, and the massive wooden desk waiting for people to\napproach for check-in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Where am I?” Jake\nasked.  His voice sounded strange in his\nears, as if coming from a distance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Ah, Master Jacob.” The man\nstanding next to him spoke with a deep voice colored with a strong, upper-crust\nBritish accent.  Jake recognized the\nvoice, though he couldn’t put a name to it. “I did warn you to order your\nthoughts.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“What?” Jake turned and\nlooked at the British man.  He wore a\nblack suit with vest and pocket watch, and he had wings of white hair running\nback behind his ears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It’s the first lesson,”\nthe British man said. “Order your thoughts.  You cannot hope to master the arcane arts if\nyou cannot master your own mind.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“What are you talking\nabout?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Oh dear, this is worse than I\nthought.” The British man was not much taller than Jake.  When he got down on one knee to talk to him,\nJake found himself looking down into the British man’s sharp blue eyes. “What\nis the last thing you remember?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake tried to think.  The first memory that sprang to mind, still painful and fresh, was picking up the phone at home and hearing a crackling voice deliver news of the accident.  Jake shook his head.  No, that wasn’t the last thing he remembered.  The call had been weeks ago.  The memory just refused to fade like the rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The foster home.” Jake\nfrowned and looked around. “Wait. \nWhere is Michael and Clementine?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Master Jacob.” The British\nman’s voice became stern. “Focus!  I\nneed you to remember.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake locked gazes with the British\nman for a moment.  Then, like morning fog\ngiving way to sunlight, details in his memory became clear.  He remembered packing his bag and leaving the\nfoster home.  He packed everything because\nhe knew he would not be returning.  And\nhe remembered this stranger’s name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Miles Baker,” Jake said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Yes, that’s right.  What else do you remember?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“You told me… you told me we\nwere going somewhere.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“For what purpose, Master\nJacob?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake took a deep breath.  He remembered something, but he didn’t\nbelieve it.  He looked back into Miles’\neyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Yes, that’s right.” Miles\nstood back up, placed his hands on his hips, and stretched. “You have the\ngift and the potential to join the ranks of the Arcane Guardians.  Or, to put it in terms you may be more\nfamiliar with, you are a wizard, Master Jacob.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Bullshit.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Language!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake opened his mouth to deliver a\nstronger swear word, and stopped.  A\nbitter taste coated his tongue, running down his throat and making him\ngag.  He clapped a hand over his mouth\nand stared as Miles’ lips twisted into an impish grin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Now,” Miles said,\n“why don’t you wait here while I finish securing our rooms.  And please do not wander off or touch\nanything.  This place is not what it\nseems.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As soon as Miles took a step towards\nthe front desk, the awful taste of soap in Jake’s mouth disappeared.  He licked his lips, wondering if he’d\nimagined it.  Had Miles done something to\nhim?  No. Impossible.  Magic wasn’t real.  Could Miles have hypnotized him?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake turned to watch Miles at the\nfront desk.  The dapper British gentleman\nsmiled and spoke with animated hands to the person behind the counter.  Jake tried to look at the night clerk and\nfound himself staring at the white marble flooring that surrounded the massive\ntree.  The huge oak came right out of the\nfloor with no visible gaps to expose the soil beneath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frowning, Jake tried again to look at\nthe night clerk.  He blinked, and then\nstared at an ornate painting on the wall depicting a knight in silvery armor\nastride a massive black horse.  The\nknight held a gleaming sword in one hand as his other hovered near the edge of\nhis visor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“What the hell?” Jake\nsaid.  He remembered what Miles had said\nbefore and tried to focus his thoughts. \nGritting his teeth, keeping his intention clear in his mind, Jake slowly\nturned to look back at the night clerk. \nA muscle spasmed in his neck and he ignored it.  A figure stood on the other side of the\nmassive desk, but Jake’s eyes refused to focus. \nHis vision blurred, and he felt a tear run down his cheek.  When his head began to ache, he let his\nvision turn away.  The tree stood before\nhim, tiny decorative houses lining its massive, twisted branches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Master Jacob,” Miles said.\n“Are you quite alright?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“What’s happening?” Jake’s\nhead throbbed, though the pain began to subside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before Jake could pull away, Miles\nreached forward and wiped the tear from his cheek.  When Miles didn’t withdraw his hand, Jake\nlooked down at it.  Blood covered the tip\nof Miles’ finger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Is that–“<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“One cannot look upon The Night Manager without their express permission,” Miles said. “But don’t worry.  I’m sure you will become acquainted soon enough.  And see here!  It takes a strong will and a focused mind to look for as long as you managed.  You certainly must have what it takes to be a Guardian.  Mark my words.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake reached up and wiped his eyes\nand his cheek.  He felt the tacky warm\nblood on his fingers before he looked down to confirm.  Miles hadn’t tricked him, and he hadn’t hypnotized\nhim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Let’s climb up to our rooms so\nyou can wash up.  You’re going to want to\nget a good night’s rest so you’ll be ready for tomorrow.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“What’s happening\ntomorrow?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Tomorrow, Master Jacob, you are\ngoing to cast your first spell.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake sat in a creaky wooden desk\nchair in Miles’ room.  They shared\nadjoining suites, and Jake could see his unmade bed through the open door\nbetween their rooms.  Hunger twisted\nJake’s stomach into knots, and he hoped that the joke or farce would be over quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Now,” Miles said.  He bent over one of his black-scaled bags and\nrummaged through the contents. “Let’s see… ah!  Here it is.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Can’t we go down to breakfast\nfirst?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Oh no, my boy.  One’s first brush with the arcane can lead to\nnausea, and–“<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I’m not your boy.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I’m sorry?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I’m not your boy, Mr.\nBaker.  Don’t call me that.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Ah.  My apologies, Master Jacob.  Now as I was saying–“<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Can’t you just call me\nJake?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Of course, Master Jacob.  Of course. \nNow where were we…”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake heaved a sigh and looked towards\nthe door.  He wondered what his British\nhost would do if he just got up and left.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Take this.” Miles offered\nwhat looked like a brass thimble and an eye dropper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“What is this?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“In the cup?  Tap water, though we’ll fix that up soon enough.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake found himself holding the thimble in one hand and the dropper in the other. “What am I supposed to do with this?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Just hold it for now, and clear\nyour mind.  Once I’ve explained what it\nis we’re doing, I’ll–“<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“No.  Stop.” Jake set the thimble down on the\ndesk behind him. “I don’t want to do this. \nI don’t believe in magic.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I know, Master Jacob.  I know. \nAnd I understand.  That’s why this\nfirst spell we’ll be casting is to clear your vision and open your eyes.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake opened his mouth to argue, then\nstopped.  He raised a hand and touched\nthe corner of his eye.  He had seen\nthings already that he couldn’t explain. \nWhat would be the harm in going along with Miles?  If it got them down to breakfast that much\nsooner, it would be worth it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miles gestured towards the dropper\nstill in Jake’s hand. “That is called a Dropper of Clarity.  It’s a tool the Guardians devised some time\nago, easily made and easy to use.  What goes\nin the dropper does not matter, but what comes out will wash away the sticky film\nof the mundane that covers most people’s eyes.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake blinked a few times.\n“What?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It’s a magic item that helps\nyou see magic.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Why didn’t you just say that in\nthe first place?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Because the details are important.” Miles gestured towards the thimble on the desk. “Please pick that up, and follow my instructions.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake did as he was asked and sat up\nstraighter in his chair, mirroring Miles’ posture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Some magical artifacts are more\ndifficult to use than others,” Miles said. “Some require a specific\nlocation to work, or the utterance of triggering words.  Droppers of Clarity, on the other hand, only\nrequire a small effort of will.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Right.  How do I do that?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Clear your mind.  Empty it of everything.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake shook his head. “I can’t do\nthat.  No one can do that.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I know it can be difficult at\nfirst but–“<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It’s like telling someone not\nto think of a kitten.  Just saying it out\nloud makes people think of it.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Master Jacob,” Miles’\nvoice became suddenly stern. “I would appreciate it very much if you would\nnot interrupt me when I am instructing you. \nFurthermore, until you have learned more in the ways of the arcane arts,\nit would reflect well on you not to proclaim what is and is not possible.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake sat back in his seat.  He felt his cheeks warm, and he wanted to be anywhere out of Miles’ presence.  Jake knew that he’d been rude to the British gentleman, and getting called out on it made him feel small and ashamed.  He wanted desperately to see his parents.  Of course, his father wouldn’t have put up with Jake’s tone or behavior.  Jake’s shoulders slumped and he wished he could crawl into the thimble and hide under the tiny pool of water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“You have already demonstrated\nthat you can do this,” Miles said. “You tried to look upon The Night\nManager, and as far as I can tell, nearly succeeded.  Compared to that, activating the dropper\nshould be simple.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake smiled. “So, you’re saying\nthis isn’t going to make my eyes bleed?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miles did not smile. “Most\nlikely not.  We’ll have a clean washcloth\nhandy, just in case.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake swallowed and reached to touch\nthe corner of his eye again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“If, as you say, you cannot\ncompletely clear your mind, then I’d like you to visualize something\nappropriate.  Imagine a door opening, or\na dense fog lifting.  Anything that gives\nyou a sense of revelation.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake closed his eyes and tried to go\nwith it.  He tried to imagine the things\nMiles had described, but neither doors nor fog gave him a sense of\nclarity.  He kept seeing the door close,\nand the fog return, and it all reminded him of a life he’d never have again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Concentrate, Master\nJacob.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A sharp comment formed on Jake’s tongue but he bit it back.  He was<\/em> concentrating.  What did Miles think he was doing?  He imagined wiping a hand across a foggy mirror and seeing his own, red-rimmed eyes looking back.  He visualized ripping wrapping paper off a package.  The last Christmas with his parents, his mother had given him a leather jacket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“You had something for a moment\nthere.  Keep trying!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake pushed away the thoughts of his mother and his jacket and reached for a memory that wasn’t so close to recent events.  He thought back to a science class.  The teacher had smudged something oily on a plate of glass, and all of the kids took turns looking through the microscope.  Jake remembered twisting a dial, raising and lowering the glass until the circle of empty white light solidified into an image of tiny, translucent cells, swimming in pale liquid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“That’s it!  Very good, Master Jacob!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake opened his eyes and looked at\nthe objects in his hands.  Neither the\nthimble nor the dropper looked any different. “Okay, what now?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Draw some of the water into the\ndropper and release a single drop into one of your eyes.  Do it quickly, though, before the device goes\nback to sleep.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Which eye?  Why not both?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“You certainly may choose both\neyes, if you wish, but I do not recommend it. \nYou will soon be able to see things you never would have imagined.  If it becomes overwhelming, you may want to\nbe able to close one eye and still see the mundane world, as you’ve seen it\nyour entire life.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Did you put something in the\nwater while I had my eyes closed?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I think you already know that I\ndid not.  Hurry, please.  The dropper will only remain active for a few\nmore seconds.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake shook his head as put the glass\ninto the thimble.  The tiny dropper drank\nthe water and glimmered in the hotel light. \nHe tipped his head back and held the dropper over his left eye.  He squeezed, the drop formed and fell, and a\nsplit second before the liquid touched his naked eye, he thought he saw a\ngolden light.  Then the cool moisture was\nthere.  He blinked and raised a hand to\nwipe the water away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“A moment!” Miles said,\ntaking hold of Jake’s arm.  A few seconds\nlater, Miles let him go. “That should do it.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake wiped his face.  It felt like wiping tears, something he’d done far too often over the last few weeks.  He looked at Miles and shook his head again. “Nothing happened.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Are you so sure?” Miles\npointed towards one wall of the room. “Look there.  Close your right eye, if you must.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake set the thimble and stopper down\nand turned towards the indicated wall.  A\nframed painting of a farmhouse interrupted a cream-white surface.  Faint shadows drew darkened lines diagonally\nfrom carpet to ceiling.  It looked like\nan ordinary hotel wall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I told you, it didn’t–”\nJake started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The wall rippled.  Something long and sinuous slithered just\nbeneath the paint.  The creature\nstretched along a narrow passage Jake hadn’t seen before.  Jake thought at first it was a snake, but its\nthick body didn’t seem to end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Is that…?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“A tentacle,” Miles said,\nsounding pleased. “Some sort of giant squid, I believe.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake’s chair fell over as he tried to\nget away.  He propped himself on his\nhands and crab-walked backwards, away from the wall.  Miles put a hand on his shoulder and stopped\nhim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“She will not harm you.  For the most part, she isn’t even really\nhere.  Or more precisely, we are not\nthere.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“What’s that supposed to\nmean?” Jake realized he’d shrieked his question.  His breathing came in short gulps.  He wanted to look away but he couldn’t turn\nhis head.  Miles’ firm hand kept him in\nplace on the floor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“If you hadn’t guessed yet, this\nhotel is an unusual place.  In our world,\nit sits directly over the conjunction of two powerful lay lines.  Because of this, it–“<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Let me go!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Of course, Master Jacob.  Why don’t you close your left eye for a\nmoment and catch your breath.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake blinked several times before\nreaching up with one hand and covering his left eye.  The undulating image and the corridor within\nthe wall disappeared.  Through his right\neye, he saw the painting and the plain off-white wall he’d seen before.  He quit trying to scramble away from it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“What did you do to me?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Nothing!  I simply helped you cast a spell which allows you to see beneath the surface of the mundane world.  I assure you, Master Jacob, this effect is quite temporary.  In an hour or two, the fog of creation will fill your eyes again.  But with practice, you can open your eyes to magic at will and see what lies beneath whenever you like.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Why would I want to do\nthat?  What did you put in the\nwater?  Did you drug me?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miles reached past Jake and picked up\nthe thimble.  He raised it in a brief\ntoast, then tossed back the contents as if it were a shot of liquor. “It’s\njust water.  No drugs.  Nothing extra except for whatever it might\nhave collected from this hotel’s old, brass pipes.  Consider, Master Jacob.  If you’d been drugged, why would the unseen\nworld disappear when you covered your left eye?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It could still be–“<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“No,” Miles said in a sharp\ntone.  He took a deep breath and forced a\nsmile before continuing. “We don’t have much time here, and I don’t want\nto spend what we have trying to explain to you what most of the world would\nfind unexplainable.  For your sake and\nmine, I need you to start trusting in what I have to teach you.  As for your other question, why someone would\nopen their eyes to the supernatural, there are many reasons.  Open your left eye and look at the\nstopper.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake lowered his hand and looked.  The stopper appeared as it had before with its smoky glass and its bright red rubber stopper.  Closing his right eye, Jake saw something else.  The stopper glowed with a soft golden light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I see it.” Jake turned and looked back at Miles.  A small, round object rested above Miles’ heart, glowing from beneath Miles’ shirt more brightly than the dropper.  Jake pointed towards it. “I see something there, too.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miles’s eyes went wide and he clutched\nat the object at his chest. “Ah, yes. \nThis.  You don’t have to worry\nabout this.  Not yet, anyway.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“What is it?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Not something you’re ready\nfor.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“But what is it?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a sigh, Miles loosened his tie\nand unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt.  He tucked a finger beneath his collar and\nfished out a silver chain.  The chain\nitself didn’t glow, but the golden medallion that emerged shone like a torch.\n“This is a Master Key.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“What does it open?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It’s complicated.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake crossed his arms in front of him. “You just said I need to start trusting you.  It goes both ways.  How am I supposed trust you if you don’t trust me enough to answer my questions?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Oh, very well.” Miles\nremoved the medallion from his neck and held it out in front of him. “Most\npeople live their lives believing that the only world that exists is the one\nthey were born into.  But there are many\nworlds.  More than you can imagine.  Master Keys like this one open and close the\ndoors between the many worlds.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake stared at the gold disk in Miles’\nhands.  In spite of the otherworldly\nlight that surrounded it, in spite of his heart still beating fast from seeing\na monster slithering through the walls, Jake clung to his doubts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Why don’t we have a little\nstroll around the hotel?” Miles asked, closing his hands around the Master\nKey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before Jake could form words to\nprotest, he found himself walking down the hallway next to Miles.  Wood-paneled walls stretched out in front of\nhim, occasionally interrupted by immaculate white doors with ornate brass\nhandles.  More paintings of countrysides\nand farmhouses dotted the walls, each composed with exquisite detail, none\nmemorable enough to capture Jake’s attention as he walked past them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Where are we going?” Jake\nasked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Just around the hotel.  Not too far, I’m sure.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake started to ask another question,\nthen stopped mid-step.  He turned to his\nleft and stared at the wall.  He covered\neach of his eyes in turn.  Through his\nleft, he saw a closed door like the rest in the hallway.  With his right eye, the wall continued\nuninterrupted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Is this one of those doors you\nmentioned before?  Into another\nworld?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“There is a door there, and it\nis in another world.  It’s just not\nconnected to our world.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I don’t understand.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Try to open it.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake reached for the handle.  His hand passed through empty air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This hotel is a special\nplace,” Miles said. “Built on a conjunction of many lay lines, the\nboundary between worlds here is quite thin. \nThin enough that we can sometimes stop and look across the gap and\nglimpse the places beyond.  That’s why I\nbrought us here, Master Jacob. \nSometimes, seeing is believing, and I need you to believe.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake lay on his bed above the covers, his fingers knitted behind his head, his eyes fixed and unfocused on the ceiling.  Jake and Miles had walked for almost two hours before the effects of the eye dropper wore off.  During that time, he’d seen things he couldn’t believe.  One of the phantom doors had opened to reveal a long-haired goat chewing a cigar with an intelligent gleam in its bar-shaped eyes.  Only it hadn’t been chewing.  It had been smoking.  Through a window, Jake had seen what looked like a modern bathroom dominated by a velociraptor, snarling and slashing the linoleum, like something out of a Stephen Spielberg movie.  They passed an elderly woman in a wheelchair that looked normal enough, except for the silenced pistol tucked into her knitting bag.  Jake saw dozens of things he had no explanation for, any one of which would have been enough to keep him awake at night.  Then there had been the explanations.  All day, Miles went on and on about lay lines, incantations, the history of magic… it had all been overwhelming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sun had set long ago and the\nclock had made the transition from large numbers to small.  Laying on his bed with his mind swimming\nthrough memories he couldn’t catalog, sleep eluded him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With only one lamp lit, long shadows\nreached dark fingers across the walls. \nJake stared at them, closing one eye. \nAfter everything he’d seen, he half-expected to see something looking\nback at him through the darkness.  He\nfocused.  For just a moment, he could\nalmost see the outline of a tentacle, long and sinuous.  Or was his imagination getting the best of\nhim?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An unrelenting silence pressed down on\nJake.  It had never been so quiet in his\nhome.  His mother always had something\ngoing on the television.  Half the time,\nshe couldn’t tell you what was playing. \nShe just wanted the noise, she’d say. \nEven after the accident, after Jake had gone to the foster home, there\nhad never been true silence.  The foster\nhome had creaked and hummed around him like a living thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However else Miles had disrupted\nJake’s life, one constant remained: Jake’s mind found its way back to his\nparents and the accident.  He didn’t like\nto think of it, but he couldn’t avoid it. \nHow can a person make themselves not think of something?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If Jake’s dad was there, he might\nhave had an answer.  His dad was so\nsmart.  He’d work on crosswords with a\npen.  If Miles had been pulling some sort\nof trick on Jake, Jake’s dad would have seen through it.  Jake wished his father was there right now,\nif only to help Jake process the impossible things he’d seen that day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A sound like fabric tearing broke the\nsilence.  Jake flinched from the noise.  It came again, sounding through the door that\nseparated the two rooms.  Snoring.  Miles had a snore like a sputtering lawn\nmower.  Did the British man have sleep\napnea or something?  Jake added another\ntally to the mental checklist of things keeping him from sleeping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake’s memories tumbled back to\nanother time when snoring had kept him awake. \nHe and his parents had gone camping and they’d had to share a tent.  Jake had ducked down into his sleeping bag\nwith a flashlight to read while his parents fell asleep a couple of feet\naway.  When the batteries ran out and his\neyes got heavy, he could hear the sleep noises coming from his parents.  Eventually, insect chirping and an occasional\nbreeze through dry leaves lulled Jake off to dreamland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sleep wouldn’t be so easy this\nnight.  He’d seen things in the hotel\nthat wouldn’t let his brain rest, like the tiny people that lived in the tree\nin the lobby.  As Jake had watched, one\nof the little elves raised a hand and waved at Jake.  They could see him, just as Jake could see\nthem.  Miles insisted that they were in a\ndifferent world, but they acknowledged Jake’s presence.  That made them real.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As another one of Miles’ resonant\nsnores penetrated the walls into Jake’s room, Jake sat up.  A new thought filled his mind.  A possibility.  Something he never would have considered\nbefore that day.  He rose from his bed\nand crept towards the door into Miles’ room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake gave the doorknob a slow\nturn.  It clicked open, and the hinges\nsnitched on him with a creak that sounded like a scream.  Jake waited in the open door.  Miles’ thunderous sleep noise encouraged him\nforward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The British man lay unconscious above\nthe covers, an open book spread on his chest. \nMiles’ head rested on the pillow facing Jake, his mouth open and a thin\nline of drool running in a line to the fabric. \nJake froze part way into Miles’ room, only moving whenever the sleeping\nman emitted another resonant blast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miles kept his room neat and\norganized, with his clothes hung up in the closet and his sundry other\npossessions tucked into his crocodile skin bags, which he left open on the\ndresser.  Jake tip-toed to the bags and\npeaked inside.  He found the box with the\ndropper, pulled it out, and moved on to the bathroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake drew water from the tap and tried to activate the dropper.  It took him several tries.  Jake’s eyes stung and his cheeks felt wet as though he’d been crying.  Eventually, the dropper glowed in his hand.  This time, he’d dosed both eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As he made his way back towards his\nroom, his footsteps slowed.  Other items\nin Miles’ room wore similar auras to the dropper.  Items beamed from Mile’s bag on the dresser.  The book resting on the British man’s chest\nbore a rose-colored light.  None of the\nother magical items in Miles’ room lit up like the Master Key, though, which\nJake could see radiating from the bedside table drawer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake’s plan had been to look for a\nwindow that showed him his parents.  With\nso many possible worlds, there had to be one where the accident had never taken\nplace.  Jake thought that if he looked\nhard enough in the hotel, maybe he could find that world.  Maybe he’d be able to see them.  Maybe they’d be able to see him, too.  But why look for a window when you might be\nable open a door?  Jake crept towards the\ntable with the glowing golden amulet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The drawer slid open with a soft\nsigh.  Jake reached for the chain.  Miles stopped mid-snore.  Jake looked towards the British man, caught in\nthe act, his heart pounding in his ears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miles snorted, closed his lips, and\nturned his head.  The snoring resumed, a\nbit quieter than before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake withdrew the Master Key and\nslunk back to his room.  He closed the\ndoor behind him and released the breath he’d been holding.  He had the key.  All he had to do next was figure out how to\nuse it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With both eyes opened to the magical\nworld, Jake had a hard time navigating the hotel.  He kept trying to follow hallways that didn’t\nexist.  When he found the stairs, he\nnearly tripped and fell.  Whatever world\nhe was looking into had seven steps down before the turn, while the real world\nhad eight.  He managed to catch himself\non the rail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the bottom floor, he started\ntowards the lobby, then stopped.  If the\nNight Manager were on shift, what would happen? \nWould Jake’s eyes start to bleed again? \nWith the effects of the dropper running, would his head simply\nexplode?  Jake turned around.  Best not to risk it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In front of him, the world flickered and moved.  Hallways winked into existence, slanted off into different directions, then disappeared.  A casino appeared in front of Jake for a moment, its occupants wreathed in smoke as they pulled one-armed bandits.  The slot machines disappeared, replaced with poker tables.  A restaurant took the place of the casino, with waitresses wearing blue dresses appropriate for a sock hop.  The restaurant morphed into a diner.  Jake locked eyes momentarily with a short-order cook that had a scar twisting his mouth and cheek into a wicked sneer.  The diner disappeared but the grim-faced cook remained, only he was a bouncer standing in front of a dance hall.  A line of waiting guests stood in front of him next to a velvet roped queue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Can I help you, sir?” a\nman whispered in Jake’s ear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake turned to see an older man in a\nbright red bell-hop’s uniform.  A name\ntag read “Sammy” in black letters on a gold background.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I think I need a quiet place to\nsit down.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Have you been to the\nlounge?  The bar is closed this time of\nnight, but the seats are comfy and it should be very quiet.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Can you take me there?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sammy smiled, his blue eyes\ntwinkling. “Of course!  Right this\nway.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The old bellhop walked forward into\nthe heart of the chaos.  Jake kept his\neyes focused on Sammy while the geography of the hotel shifted around them.  A few moments later, Sammy stopped and\ngestured towards a beige sofa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whatever room Sammy had brought them\nto, it continued to warp through different realities.  Jake reached his hands forward and placed\nthem on the back of the couch.  He felt\nthe soft material and sighed in relief. \nIt was real.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake turned to thank the\nbellhop.  Sammy was gone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Right.  I think I’m just gonna sit and wait this\nout.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake lowered himself onto the sofa as\nthe hotel continued its dizzying dance. \nFor as long as Jake had walked with Miles earlier that day, Jake hadn’t\nseen anything like this.  Had they just\nnot come to this part of the hotel?  Was\nit not so dramatic before because Jake had only dosed one eye?  Perhaps Miles had done something to keep the\nrealities straight.  Jake could only\nguess.  With a heavy sigh, he sat back\nand resigned himself to watching different realms of possibility twist all\naround him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the immediate surroundings changed\nfrom a bar to a pool to a well equipped gymnasium, Jake noticed one detail\nremain fixed in place.  However else the\nrooms changed, he could see a stationary door leading out of the hotel.  It changed colors and shapes but it did not\nmove relative to Jake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a few minutes, Jake reached\ndown and pulled up the Master Key.  In his\nhands, it glowed with hope and possibility. \nHe looked from the Master Key to the door.  He’d come this far.  Why stop now?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keeping his eyes on the door, Jake\nstood up and walked across the chaos of the hotel.  Phantoms of people and furniture appeared in\nfront of him.  Jake gritted his teeth and\nwalked through them.  He reached a hand\nup and touched the door knob.  A static\nshock stung him as he wrapped his fingers around the cold metal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake pulled out the Master Key and\nheld it against the door and thought of Miles’ instructions on using the\ndropper.  He had to focus and\nvisualize.  Visualize what?  Probably something to do with opening.  Jake’s mind conjured a memory of his old\nhome, before the accident.  He visualized\nthe heavy front door which his mother decorated with a wreath every holiday\nseason.  He saw the door opening in his\nmind, with his parents waiting for him on the other side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He opened the door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plates crashed.  A man shouted.  Jake turned and saw a waiter surrounded by\nshards of porcelain, his cart overturned next to a set of dumbbells.  A woman with long brown hair, platform shoes,\nbell bottoms, and a tie-die shirt stood a short distance off, staring at\nanother woman wearing a big-shouldered, tan business suit.  Except for their clothing, they could have\nbeen twins.  Another waiter in a\ncompletely different uniform from the first pushed a mop bucket towards the\nspilled plates, stepping over gymnasium equipment before sliding around the\nbeige couch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“What’s happening?” asked a\nman in a blue blazer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Where am I?” asked another\nman in a space suit, his helmet tucked under one arm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More people appeared, each adding\ntheir voices to the chorus of questions and exclamations.  Jake heard more sounds of dishes breaking,\nfollowed by a gunshot.  Then screaming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Oh no,” Jake said.  The door was gone.  Where it should have been, a ragged hole in\nreality yawned, the edges frayed and moving. \nBeyond the opening, Jake saw another hotel.  As he watched, the hole widened by several\ninches on each side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This can’t be happening.”\nJake squeezed his eyes shut, hoping to break the spell.  After a moment, he heard a familiar voice\napproaching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“There, there.  Be a good chap and help this woman up, would\nyou?  That’s it.  Everything will be all right.  No need to worry.  Ah! \nMaster Jacob, there you are.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A hand gripped Jake’s shoulder and he\nopened his eyes.  In front of him, the\ntear in reality continued to eat away at the wall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Miles, I don’t know what to\ndo.” Jake turned to the British man and pressed the Master Key into his\nhands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The British man looked at the amulet.\n“Impressive.  It usually takes\nmonths of practice to get an artifact like this to respond at all.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“You’re… saying I did a good\njob?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Oh, heaven’s no.  An unstable rift at a nexus of power like\nthis can tear the fabric of our reality to ribbons.  This was quite irresponsible on your part,\nMaster Jacob.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“How do we fix it?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wood splintered and glass shattered\nsomewhere behind Miles.  The British man\nrubbed his chin as he examined the rift. \nAfter a moment, he took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh.  He handed the amulet back to Jake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We’ll do this together.  The Master Key will only work from this side,\nso you hold on to it.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before Jake could protest, Miles stepped around him and through the portal.  As Jake watched, duplicates of Miles stepped off to the right and left.  More copies of Miles appeared behind Jake wearing different outfits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Now,” Miles said from the\nother side of the rift. “Hold up the key where the door should be.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake lifted the amulet.  It felt heavier than before. “Miles,\nwait.  What are you doing?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It’s very important you try and\nfocus, Master Jacob.  We don’t have much\ntime.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Focus on what?  If this closes and you’re on the other\nside–“<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This will take both of us, one\non each side.  Visualize a boulder or a\nstone.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Not a door?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Doors are meant to be\nopened.  This is a break, and what we\nneed is something solid and whole.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The memory of a lake with a rocky beach sprung immediately to Jake’s mind.  He remembered climbing the huge boulders next to the cold, blue water.  He tried to put the image out of his mind, but how do you delete a thought once it’s in your mind?  The amulet touched something solid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“No!  Don’t leave me like this!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I’m sorry, Master Jacob, but\nthis is the only way.  We only have a few\nmoments, now.  There’s a book in my\nroom.  I want you to–“<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake didn’t want to hear it.  He tried to pull the Master Key away, but it\nrefused to budge.  Jake brought a foot\nup, braced himself, and pulled harder. \nSomething gave and he fell, landing hard on his back.  The door that had not been there slammed\nshut.  The click of the lock echoed into\nthe sudden silence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Groaning, Jake sat up and looked\naround.  The strange warping of reality\nhad ceased, and he found himself on the floor of a sparse lounge.  Alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake scrambled to his feet and opened\nthe door.  Cold night air rushed in,\nprickling his skin to goose flesh.  He\nstepped outside and looked around.  Miles\nwas nowhere to be found.  A crescent moon\npartially obscured by clouds beamed down at him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Miles, I’m so sorry.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The empty night offered no response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake found Miles’ book on the bedside table beneath an ornately carved wooden pen.  Jake picked up the writing instrument and examined it.  On the top where a clicker would be, Jake found a dime-sized ruby set into the dark wood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Setting the pen aside, Jake opened\nthe book and thumbed through it.  Half\nthe pages were blank while the other held words and pictures drawn in black\nink.  Jake turned to the last page and\nfound a message addressed to him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dear Master Jacob,<\/p>

You have already experienced more grief than any young man your age should have to bear, and I hope that my departure does not add to your burden.<\/p>

Though I have only known you for a short time, I am certain that you will make an excellent Guardian.  You are inquisitive, strong-willed, and pure in your intentions.  Do not let the experience with the rift dissuade you.  I believe in you.<\/p>

As you may have already guessed, this book is special.  In addition to containing my notes and instructions on the mystic arts, it is also a way for us to communicate.  I have a copy, and whatever is written in one appears in the other.  But please have a care as there are only so many pages.<\/p>

You will find the resources you need within my bags, and the hotel staff has been instructed to attend to you for as long as you’d like.  Study my notes, and for the sake of our reality, do not try and open a portal to reach me.  Trust me when I tell you that you are not ready for that.<\/p>

But someday, you will be.<\/p>

Humbly yours,<\/p>

Miles Baker<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Jake traced the last few words with a\nfinger.  He picked up the pen, set it to\nthe page, then stopped.  What was he\ngoing to say?  Was he going to thank his\nbrief mentor, or apologize?  He riffled\nthrough the empty pages with his thumb. \nMiles was right.  There weren’t\nenough pages to waste.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turning off the light, Jake returned to his room and closed the door behind him.  As he saw it, there really was only one thing left for him to do. He turned on the bedside lamp, sat on his bed, and opened the book to the beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He began to read. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Click here to find other stories set in the WFGC Hotel. Jake Potts stood in the lobby of the hotel, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the light.  In front of him, a massive, twisted oak tree sprang from the lobby floor, reaching towards a domed ceiling decorated to look like a sky split between […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1141"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1141\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1146,"href":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1141\/revisions\/1146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briancebuhl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}