Blood in the Fire (Timelaws Trilogy) (11 page)

The tense muscles in my back and shoulders released.
Thank goodness he’d listened.
I limped toward my bed for a nap. It didn’t matter that they were all watching me through the bedroom door. As I fell on top of the blanket, I heard Luke grab his keys and call for Anton and Tamer to meet him in the garage. He also instructed Mark to get me a wet cloth and promised he would stop by the pharmacy on his way home.
Glory, the bed felt comfortable.
I was asleep before I heard Mark’s response.

Earth – June 1981

Elizabeth

The TV playing softly in the living room penetrated my dreams and pulled me out of a heavy sleep. I didn’t want to open my eyes. Instead, I lay there and tried to decide how the situation with Melissa should be handled.

Melissa was my counterpart in the twenty-ninth century: a time period well beyond any that I was allowed to visit. A few days ago, she and I, along with other Darks, had worked in unison with wizards to cast a spell regulating time travel: the Timelaws. The Timelaws allowed agents like myself and the wizards to make short jumps into the past or future. It’s what had allowed me and my brothers to visit the twenty-second century to rescue Eln. But that was as far as we were allowed to go. The rules were intricate and complicated, but talking to Melissa was a clear violation. My meeting with her had only been possible once because the Timelaws were inactive. With that no longer the case, it could never happen again. 

And yet, I had to find a way. Melissa had tried to write some extra lines into the Timelaws spell and I had stopped her. What I didn’t know at the time, but now suspected, was that the wizards had, in fact, added to the incantation.

Because we had won a battle against them, their addendum to the Timelaws shouldn’t matter. But only if we won. The only way to ensure our victory was to tell Melissa what would happen at that battle. It was a loop of sorts. I would have to tell her about the wizards’ plan so that she could tell the past me. Then my past self would work with her to stop them. It was one of the many possible timelines I had glimpsed as they swam through my head while the Timelaws were inactive.  

I concentrated on remembering the details of the incantation, but my thoughts were confused and my memory was clouded by false images from my dreams. It was hard to think. I was tired and nauseous. A headache didn’t help much either.

Finally, I gave up trying to work through a solution and opened my eyes. Mark was sitting on the bed next to me, reading a book, and Luke was asleep on the armchair in the living room. I could see him through the door.

Mark let his book fall to his lap when he saw me stir. It didn’t seem like he’d bookmarked the page he was on. “I didn’t notice you come in,” I said weakly. “Why aren’t you watching TV with Luke?” I don’t think I had ever seen Mark pick up a book unless it was something he had to read for school.

Mark smiled. “I’ve been in here since this afternoon,” he said. I didn’t want Mark next to me. I wasn’t sure how contagious wizard flu was. “Thought maybe this book might help me get some sleep,” he continued.
It must be one of Luke’s
.

“Why can’t you sleep?” I asked, not quite thinking straight. Then, after a pause, I added, “What time is it?”

“About three in the morning,” Mark replied, ignoring my first question.

“Hmmmm…” I mumbled with my eyes closed. I hadn’t realized I’d been asleep so long. “Luke should be in bed, doesn’t he have work in the morning?”
Actually, I thought you had to babysit in the morning too?
I thought, too lazy to ask.

Mark put his hand on my forehead as he replied, “No one’s going to work with you sick and delirious.”

“Delirious? I just have the flu, that’s all.” Mark’s hand felt nice and cool, but it gave me a chill and I wished they’d turn up the heat.
Since when is it so cold in here?

“You woke up a couple of times, mostly spouting things in that language,” Mark explained. “I guess your translation voodoo must have worn off...” He paused then asked, “You don’t remember waking up?”

I shook my head and wished I hadn’t when it made me more nauseous. I took a moment to control my stomach’s bubbling and then opened my eyes to look at Luke sprawled on the armchair. “He’s not taking this magic thing so well is he?” I asked, knowing the answer.
Please tell me he had an epiphany while I was asleep and realized the perks of having a sorceress in the family.
Mark’s expression told me I had no such luck.

“Yeah, he’s pretty freaked out right now, but you’ve got to give him some time. This weekend we were all nearly killed by wizards and now you’re infected with some alien disease. It’s just a lot to take in. But he’ll come around.”

Mark paused for a moment with his lips pressed together as he looked off into the living room. He was debating whether or not to tell me something. “The last time you woke up, he called Anton and begged him to do something,” Mark said. “That boyfriend of yours was pretty torn up. But he did manage to talk us both out of taking you to the hospital. Said the rules wouldn’t let him heal you if we got regular doctors involved.”

I looked at Mark with sympathy;
I guess Luke’s not the only one with a lot to take in.

“I’m glad he did,” I said, feeling horrible for what I must have put them through. “I’ll be fine by tonight.”

Okay, enough procrastinating.
My hand pushed the covers away and I rolled out of bed. Mark jerked upright, alarmed. “Where are you going?” he asked.

“Restroom,” I replied. “Don’t have a cow.” My wide-eyed brother looked like he thought I was about to drive off a cliff. I considered telling him that there were no tall ledges or dangerous obstacles between my bedroom and our bathroom. Instead, I just limped quietly toward the door. Unfortunately, my steps on the wood floor must have made enough noise to wake Luke up because he suddenly jumped out of the armchair and onto his feet.

“What’s wrong?” he commanded.

For one, this apartment is freezing.
My body had started to shiver and I missed my blanket. “Go to bed, Luke,” I said. “I’m just going to the bathroom. Do you want to check for wizards behind the shower curtain first?” Luke’s expression was just as stunned as Mark’s. Tonight needed to hurry up and get here before my brothers died of stress-induced heart attacks.

***

The next time I woke up, it was on the couch with my head against the armrest. Luke was back in his armchair, watching TV, and Jack was snoozing on the end of the couch next to my feet. I couldn’t hear or see my other brother, but I hoped he was in his room getting some sleep.

“Where’s Mark?” I asked.

Luke sat up when he realized I was awake. “He went to buy a pack of smokes. He’ll be back soon,” Luke replied. “How are you feeling?”

Jabbing pain had taken hold of my stomach and my head was pounding.

“Okay, considering,” I replied. Luke still looked concerned and it bothered me that I couldn’t remember how I’d ended up on the couch. “This’ll all be over as soon as Tamer and Anton have enough power to heal me,” I said to reassure both of us. Reminding myself made the gap in my memory seem more bearable.
What time was it?
I could see sunlight outside so my best guess was early morning.

“If you make it that long,” Luke whispered to himself under his breath. I don’t think he’d intended for me to hear that.

I chuckled. “Of all the things I’ve had thrown at me, Luke, a wizard’s not going to do me in with a little flu,” I told him. To my surprise, my words seemed to calm him down. His posture relaxed, and he slumped back into his armchair.

“Has Brian been around at all?” I asked, hoping Brian’s beef with me wouldn’t keep him away. With everything going on, Mark needed a best friend around.

“Yeah,” Luke replied. “Mark straightened him out. You don’t need to worry about him anymore.”

I winced. That wasn’t what I’d wanted.

“Is Brian mad?” I asked.

“Mark is,” Luke replied. “Told him not to come around for a while.” Then seeing the look on my face, he added, “I’m sure it’ll all blow over by next week. You know Mark, he can’t stay angry with Brian for long.” It wasn’t that Mark couldn’t stay angry with Brian. It was that Mark never got angry with Brian in the first place. No matter what that guy did, including making out with Mark’s girlfriend once when he was drunk, Mark had always shrugged it off. A fight between those two was unheard of.

“I bet Brian’s sorry,” I said. Part of what made their friendship work was that Brian, at least, had the common sense to be sorry when he messed up.  Only if he hurt Mark, though. He was never sorry for any of the stuff he did to anyone else.

“Yeah,” Luke said. “He apologized, but Mark wouldn’t listen. Like I said, I’m sure it’ll blow over between them.”

“Yeah, sure,” I replied.

I needed to use the bathroom again. My stomach was churning as wildly as an industrial sized blender, and it didn’t seem I would be able to hold down the contents much longer. I mustered the strength to push myself off the couch and onto my feet. For a moment, I was overcome by dizziness and I swayed. Eyes closed, I gathered my bearings and let the wave subside.

“What do you need?” Luke asked.

“I’m good,” I said and started toward my destination. Unfortunately, my vision was still a bit of a blur, and I guess I must have tripped over Jack’s foot ‘cause I toppled over just as he jerked up. Before I knew what was going on, Luke had picked me up by the waist and spun me to face him. He held me with my feet dangling a few inches from the ground. The motion intensified my stomachache.

“Luke, please put me down,” I tried to request calmly while fighting to keep my insides where they belonged. He must have tried to do as I asked because the next thing I knew, I felt like I was falling. A four letter word slipped through my lips as I went down, and I think I might have heard Jack let one slip too. I was passed out before my body hit the floor. My last thought before the blackness was:
Maybe wizard flu will be the end of me after all.

Centream-96th Cycle of the Wizard Calendar

Anthe’s Story

Ketya ran upwind, but the fire chased her nonetheless. Balls of flame continued to stream above her head and into Centream. She ignored them, except to appreciate the added visibility they offered as they flew by. Then the fireballs seemed to stop. Ketya stood still and looked up to the sky, just as one last ball of fire came into view from behind the distant ori. It was flying in low. So low, Ketya felt the urge to duck when it passed directly overhead. She followed its path with her eyes; there was no mistaking its trajectory. A tall burst of fire exploded where their home had stood. There could be nothing left. If Brovkyl had been alive in the house, perhaps trapped or unconscious, he wasn’t anymore.

Naimi cried in Ketya’s arms and fought to get free. The creature knew her master was dead. Ketya set her down in the field and watched the young pet grieve. The animal’s sounds oscillated between crying and yelling at the fire. She ran around in circles and huffed smoke into the air until, finally, she tired and lay still on the ground, releasing only a constant, quiet whimper.

Ketya wanted to cry too, but she was too emotionally exhausted. She felt dead inside. Empty.

You have to keep moving, Ketya. You’re not safe yet,
a voice spoke into Ketya’s mind. A hallucination perhaps? She must have breathed in too much smoke. Nonetheless, the voice was right. The fire was edging closer and the head wizard’s army might be on its way.

“If I’m going to hallucinate voices, they might as well be telling me something useful,” she told herself, fearing that perhaps witnessing Brovkyl’s death would make her crazy. Could she be losing her mind?

“Too much smoke,” she whispered. Then she turned to run toward the line of ori in the distance. Naimi lifted her head and sent a cry after her, but when Ketya didn’t stop, Naimi stirred to follow.

***

The next morning, Ketya found herself lying sprawled out in the ori forest. Both suns were already high in the sky and Naimi had taken shelter from them by burying her head under Ketya’s skirt. The creature was fast asleep, oblivious to the rocky ground beneath her. Ketya must have been oblivious too when she had selected this spot. She didn’t remember reaching the forest or going to sleep the night before.
Is this what it feels like to go crazy?

Her eyes fell closed and her thoughts drifted to Brovkyl. There was a pit in her stomach—an empty hole. But she couldn’t cry.
I loved Brovkyl
. Ketya would have died in that fire if she thought it could have saved him. Yet, here she lay on the morn after his death, cool as a stone.
Why can’t I cry?

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know much about healing,” a woman’s voice said.

Ketya shot up to a sitting position. She turned to the voice and saw a tall, elderly woman perched on a dead ori stump.

“I’ve done what I can,” the woman continued.

Ketya followed the woman’s gaze, then lifted her scorched and bloodstained skirt. Her legs were scarred and a few clotted wounds remained, but there were no fresh scrapes or burns. She looked at her shoe where blood had soaked into the fabric and followed a trail of dried blood up to a healed scar on her thigh. Such a deep cut would have become infected if left untreated. This woman’s kindness was nothing short of life-saving. Had Ketya’s hallucinations taken on a visual component? Perhaps she had already been apprehended by the wizards and this made-up reality was her mind's way of coping with the loss.

“You’re voice is familiar,” Ketya whispered.

“Yes, I spoke to you telepathically yesterday. I told you to keep running and when you’d gone far enough, I told you to stop and rest.”

Ketya didn’t remember hearing the voice a second time.

“My name is Anthe,” the frail woman said. She was thin, as though her fat and muscle had been worn away by age, leaving behind only a wrinkled exterior shell. Wizard skin was typically pale, but Anthe’s skin almost glowed white. The three fingers on each of her hands had shrunken and curled into unnatural hooks. However, there was one mark of what might have been her former beauty: her long wavy hair. It was still thick and retained its original dark blond hue, as though untouched by the years that had run their toll on the rest of her figure.

“I’m Ketya.”

“Yes, I know who you are.” The woman smiled warmly. “You should wake her,” she said, nodding to Naimi. “It’s getting late, and we still have a ways to go.”

Ketya pulled her skirt off Naimi and lifted the creature into her lap. Naimi groaned and curled back up on Ketya’s legs, refusing to be roused.

“She stayed up for quite a while last night,” Anthe said. “I think she was keeping watch in the hope that Brovkyl might walk up.”

“You knew Brovkyl?” Ketya asked. Her head remained bowed and her voice was barely audible.

“Yes. We discussed your circumstances,” Anthe replied. Ketya looked up to meet her eyes. “Don’t worry. I checked,” Anthe continued. “Your daughter is still safe for now. But she won’t be if we don’t get moving soon.”

Ketya lifted Naimi’s head into her palm. Naimi opened her eyes and regarded Ketya, then she pulled her chin away and resumed her position.

“Give her some of this,” Anthe offered. “I’m sure she’s hungry by now.” She handed Ketya a pair of pippons. Ketya glided the fruit past Naimi’s nose and was immediately rewarded with a reaction. Naimi bounded up and made for the food in Ketya’s hand.

“I’m sure you’re hungry, too. Go ahead,” Anthe offered as she handed Ketya another pair of fruit. Ketya gratefully accepted.

The two women watched Naimi devour her breakfast. “It’s good to see her eat,” Anthe said. “After last night, I was worried she might be too grief-stricken.” Ketya turned away in shame.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Anthe apologized. “I didn’t mean anything by that dear. You’re just in shock. For better or worse, the loss will eventually catch up with you.”

Ketya wasn’t sure if that made her feel better. “Let’s go,” she said, picking herself up off the ground. She considered dusting off her skirt, but it was in such ruin that she figured the ash might as well keep company with the mud and dried blood. “Perhaps you can point me toward a river so I can clean myself up.”

“There’s a small pond on our way,” Anthe replied. “Probably won’t make it that far today. By mid-day tomorrow for sure, though.”

“Where are we going?” But Ketya’s question fell on deaf ears. Anthe had begun making her way deeper into the ori forest and didn’t turn back to respond.

Well, I suppose I don’t have anywhere else to go.
Ketya tossed her arms up in frustration and then scurried to catch up.
Might as well follow this woman, or hallucination, whichever she may be.
Naimi grabbed another fat pippon from the ground and followed.