Free Bridgebreaker (The Echo Worlds Book 2) by Joshua Cook Page A

whistle.  “Sounds like your friend Marcus there has some anger issues.”
    Cendan climbed the stairs, standing in rapidly vanishing light.
    “Marcus is not my friend.”  Cendan dropped the bag with a thud on the ground.
    “What?  But aren’t you like a, what’s that word you all use…a Maker?” Heather asked confused.  “We don’t call them that, but for you all isn’t that a big deal?”
    It was Cendan’s turn to be surprised, then; what did she mean?  There were Makers outside of the Bridgefinders?  As soon as the thought came to him, he was slightly embarrassed he had never even considered the possibility.  He’d taken Marcus and Jasmine at their word that there was nothing but bad about those who were outside the Bridgefinders.
    “You’re not the only one, you know. The title is different, but powers the same.” Heather watched him for a reaction to her words.
    Cendan wasn’t about to give her the satisfaction of surprising her. “Ah well... yes.  But Marcus blames me for, well, everything apparently.  Jasmine thinks it’s just a case of hurt pride, but hurt pride doesn’t go around hitting people and kicking them out.”
    Heather nodded slowly.  “You’d be surprised.  Pride has made people do many a stupid thing in the world, Cendan.”
    Cendan nodded, but wanted to get back to the subject she had casually mentioned; about other Makers, or whatever they called them, since they don’t call them that, whoever they are.
    “Uh, Heather, what you just said, what do you mean?  Makers, or whatever you call them, or us, or… whatever.  I guess I’m confused.”
    Laughter greeted his question, and to his surprise he found himself smiling at the sound of it.  Immediately, he suspected some sort of compulsion was being used, but when he summoned his magic sight, there was nothing active.  Chalking it up to relief from stress, Cendan focused his attention on Heather.  Tossing her hair back, Heather grinned at Cendan; that same smart-aleck look that seemed to be her normal face.
    “I forget how little you guys know.  I find it funny really.  All I heard growing in my powers and abilities is about how the mighty Bridgefinders hate us, and we can never let them know anything about how we operate.  And now, after seeing the Bridgefinders up close, I see a dying group of people, in denial of their true powers, clinging to the remnants of what must have been an incredible past.”
    Cendan grimaced, but it wasn’t something he hadn’t thought of.  Oakheart had told him that this wasn’t the way it was supposed to be, this denial of magic.  How had the Bridgefinders come to this, a whimpering end?  Shaking himself, he turned his thoughts to the now.  The past would be something he’d have to look into, if he ever had the time.
    “Yes well, educate me then,” Cendan responded.  “Look, Heather, your help in there was more than valuable.  We’d never have even driven that thing out of the map if you hadn’t been there.  Just tell me, ok?”
    For once Heather didn’t respond immediately.  “I’d like to, Cendan, but I don’t think it’s a good idea; at least, not without talking to people.  You have to understand, the separation between the Bridgefinders and the rest of us is old; really old.  I’m not saying there’s prejudice or anything, but there may be people who really don’t want you and yours to know about us.”
    “That would make sense if I was still a Bridgefinder, but I got kicked out, remember?” he answered pointing to the bag on the ground.  “At this point I don’t think I’m a Bridgefinder.”
    Silence fell over them, Cendan watching Heather, and Heather looking Cendan.
    “Ok, I’ll do this.  You give me a ride to… a place.  I’ll ask them what they want to do.”
    Cendan nodded.  “That’s fair.”
    He wanted to know a lot more, like who was she going to ask?  He’d never really thought that the others, the ones that were labeled