This chapter was made entirely from scratch, whereas previous chapters have been merely altered and mashed together. Took me a bit longer to get it together.
The original Legacy of Salem had very little information about Endymion himself. This was something of a writer's mistake on my part, because I assumed too many would read across fandoms about The Traveler. Not only that, I have decided to extend this story beyond where it was going to end.
Enjoy.
"This is everything you've been able to gather?" Endymion spoke as he perused the table of books and notes.
"Afraid so." Jake answered from his position opposite. "The trials occurred all over the region, but we have all kinds of records on that. Same as a run-of-the-mill history book. But…"
"Salem itself is a blank spot. Hmm…"
"How's that even possible? I thought the library knew almost everything." Cassandra croaked from the couch. The redhead was still in rough shape but, just as Endymion assured, was recovering remarkably fast. Her arm was no longer looked blackened, and her skin seemed to be regaining some color. "Especially something like that, I know technology wasn't very advanced back then, but you'd think someone from the Library would be able to piece it together."
"If I had to hazard a guess? Something nasty happened, and no librarian was able to report on it." Endymion supplied while flipping through a book. "Could have easily been actual witches the peasants were able to take care of."
"Speakin' of hazards, you seem to know quite a bit." Jake did not trust their guest in the slightest, but were it not for Endymion's intervention, Cassandra wouldn't be among the living. Hell, maybe none of them would have survived. Saving Cassandra automatically earned him the benefit of the doubt as far as Jake was concerned. "Just what in the hell was that thing?"
"Afraid that's impossible for me to tell you."
"Why not?" Jake didn't intend for it to sound so hostile, it just came out that way. "It nearly killed Cassie!"
"If I could tell you, I would. But I can't, because there's too many possibilities." Endymion replied, voice not raised in the slightest. "At first I thought maybe a death specter, but the behavior was off. Or, it could have been an umbral hound, shadow beast, night horror, maybe even a djinn. I could rattle on over five hundred more right now. Give me a minute and I'll have an additional several hundred."
"There can't be that many creatures like that. Oh, and we actually met a djinn before, he looked nothing like this." Cassandra was at last able to sit up fully, but her body was still physically weak. Her recovery would go quicker if she stopped trying to join them at the table.
"Because there isn't, and this djinn would be radically different from that one." Endymion sighed. "Did either of you get a weird feeling when in that thing's presence? Like a horrible feeling of unease, like that thing out there didn't belong?"
Jake hadn't thought about it, he'd been so focused on getting Cassandra to safety he put little to no thought toward how the monster made him feel, but now that Endymion mentioned it. "I think I did feel somethin' weird. Cassie?"
"Right before it came at me, yeah." The redhead nodded.
"Figured so." Endymion sighed. "Best case scenario, the thing came out of a rip."
"Rip?" Cassandra asked. "What's that?"
"Hey guys!" Jones' voice echoed as he came into the room, new book in hand. "Found something."
"What is it?" Jake took the hefty tome.
"Evidently a record of all previous librarians." Jones answered. "I was taking a peek for anything we might have missed, and this almost fell on my head. Figured Ray wanted us to have it."
"Wait…" Cassandra pondered. "Endymion, you said no one could have been around to tell the story of Salem, right?"
"Correct."
"Jake, who was Librarian in 1692 through 1693?"
"Uh let's see…" Jake flipped pages until he found the year. "Guy Norrington, died 1693…"
"No way that's a coincidence." Jones shook his head. "Librarian dies the same year the trials end? Come on."
"Mr. Jones is right, it can't be a coincidence that this monster returns to Salem of all places. Even with the ley line overhead, it's no place all that special." Endymion sat the book he was holding back on their pile.
"Hold up a sec, you didn't finish what you were saying." Jake remembered. "What's a rip?"
"Quite possibly the second worst thing that can happen." Endymion explained. "Rips are… oh how to put it simply… think of them like doorways. They only stay open for a fraction of a second, but almost always something gets through, something that doesn't belong. Sometimes it's harmless, like a painting made by someone who doesn't exist, other times it's a horrifying monster."
"Doorways to where?"
"Other worlds, Miss Cillian." Endymion looked around until his eyes found their globe. "Picture this as earth." The man then held up a second hand where a duplicate globe of light appeared. "And this, is the world our shadow monster came from. A rip must have formed between the two, and this thing was dragged through."
"Any other threats that came through?" Jake had a nasty feeling in his gut upon hearing this. One was certainly bad enough, lord help them if there was more.
"Universally no. Rips are too small for a group to pass through, usually. And if there was more than one shadow monster, you'd have double the numbers of slain. They would both be consuming energy from the townspeople."
"Something else." Cassandra again tried to stand, only to fall back onto the cushions with a scowl. "You said best case scenario, what's the worst?"
Endymion's face darkened, it was the first time thus far Jake had seen him anything but calm and stoic. For some reason, it worried him more than the monster they had to deal with.
"Worst case… that is one avenue you don't want to consider." Endymion shook his head.
Jake wanted to ask for more clarification, but suddenly the back door began to rattle. All eyes turned to the sealed portal in less than a heartbeat.
"That might be Baird or Flynn." As Cassandra spoke, numerous glowing symbols appeared on the door itself. They flared brightly each time the material shook.
"No." Endymion had already drawn his revolvers. "That isn't your friends."
The shaking grew in intensity, but so too did the brightness of the symbols. As they watched, Jake found himself unconsciously stepping between Cassandra and the sealed back door. All the while, Endymion held his weapons pointed at the door.
Just then a loud screech tore through the entire room. So loud it was, that the Librarians had to cover their ears. Even then, Jake felt like it was tearing right through his entire body and brain.
"Nice try." Endymion didn't react at first. Holstering his guns, he strode forward and slapped a hand on the door. The moment he did, the symbols intensified several times as a hiss carried through from the other side, followed by a blood curdling scream.
"What… was that?" Jake groaned, the sound had dissipated, but his new headache wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.
"Remember the wards I placed on your door?" Endymion kicked the door behind him for whatever reason. "Our friend just tried to breach your annex. My spells gave it the boot, along with a few billion volts of power."
Cassandra eyed the man with wonder. "What are you? Some kind of wizard?"
Endymion sighed. "Personally? I prefer sorcerer, but whatever's easier for you. Your sanctuary should be safe, that thing is too intelligent to try for a direct attack again. No doubt it's searching Salem for an alternate way in."
"It will be looking for quite a while." Jones smirked.
"Yes, and hopefully it will be too distracted and took enough from your friend over there. If we are fortunate, it will not attack the people of Salem again tonight." Endymion moved back to their table and took a seat in one of their stools to face the door. "Returning to Salem tonight would be foolhardy, we'd best wait until dawn. We should be safe, but just in case, I will remain here to watch the door."
Cassandra was in no condition to be returning to her apartment, and Jake really didn't like the ideal of leaving a stranger unattended in the Library. Even if he was there to help them. Good thing they had those extra sleeping quarters here in the annex.
Endymion turned his gaze on Jake and Jones, almost as if he was sizing them up. With inhuman speed, the sorcerer drew his two daggers from inside his coat. Jake was a split second from reaching for his go to rapier when Endymion twirled the weapons around so that he was holding them by the blades. "Mr. Stone, Mr. Jones, I suggest you each take one of these. They couldn't kill it, but they worked to hurt it at least. Should something happen, they may very well save your lives."
Ever one to value expensive items, particularly jeweled ones, Jones snatched his up and vanished form the room before Jake even processed what the man was offering.
"You're probably not going to get that back." Jake chuckled as he gripped the dagger's handle. At first, Endymion didn't let go. That was how Jake found himself under the full scrutiny of those silver eyes. In that moment, Jake felt something inside him clench up. Like he was frozen by some kind of magic spell.
"We know not what we value most until we lose it." Endymion spoke with perfect fluent Italian. The words were nothing special, but they were spoken in such a way that disturbed Jake to his very core. In that moment, Jake was more afraid of this man than he was the shadow monster. "Remember that Mr. Stone."
It took Jake's mind a few seconds to process that Endymion had released the weapon, and Jake was holding it mid-air. He tried to hide his embarrassment from Cassandra by pretending the examine the knife. It was certainly fine craftsmanship, Jake may not be an expert on weaponry, but this was made like a fancy show piece. At the same time, it felt solidly built in Jake's hand. Much like a more practical one would be.
"Hey, any chance I can get an interview?" Jake couldn't have rolled his eyes any harder at Cassandra's words. When she looked back at Jake, the redhead shrugged. "What? He's the first wizard that is even somewhat friendly! Imagine what we could learn from him."
Jake really should have seen this coming. He knew how much Cassandra wanted to learn how to use magic, and she knew just how badly he disapproved. It wouldn't be so bad if Endymion was actually someone they knew.
Endymion chuckled. "Sure, I sometimes give out one every few thousand years. But you must wait until this is all done and finished. Tonight, Miss Cillian, you need rest if you wish to recover completely."
I was a little worried this would be too short, but it wasn't as bad as I thought. It is something of a filler chapter though, at least it feels like one. Anyway, review please and let me know how I'm doing.