Out of Time the Grand Quest

by Christopher Douglass

  Giving the four of them a wink, the Thrustvis moved his clawed hand across Cleopatra’s throat to grip the side of her head. While staring at all four of them he yanked, the woman’s neck snapping until her face was looking directly behind her. Four hands shot out, stone from the floor clamping around the creatures legs as he tried to jump. A block of ice fell from the sky, solidified from the water in the air. Blades of wind converged from twelve directions at different angles. Kimi manipulated the blood oozing from the wounds along its stomach, pulling its guts out with her magic.

  The blades of wind sliced through Cleopatra and the beast, the ice crushing its skull at the same moment. Body parts of both woman and monster fell to the floor, the priests and other servants staring on in wide eyed horror. Letting out her breath, Kimi let go of her blood mage character, focusing her mind to drop the Ageless Sorceress character from Jasmine as well.

  As the staff dropped to the floor as an ordinary stick, Jasmine began to freak out. “No, no, no, no, no! We failed! We failed! We’re stuck here! We failed! No, no, no!”

  Kimi grabbed her Map, reading the words inside. As she watched, the anomaly itself changed from Cleopatra coming down sick, to a Thrustvis killing her. She found it amazing the way the words just erased themselves as new ones appeared. There was some kind of useful information in that. She just couldn’t think of what exactly that was. Right now though, the anomaly wasn’t important. What was important was the part underneath the description of the anomaly.

  The condition for success was still the same.

  Kimberly noticed the other two women were starting to feed into Jasmine’s hysteria. Their bodies shaking as the mediator dropped to her knees, still repeating no over and over. Kimi’s mind was going a mile a minute though, her hands grabbing at her hair as she tried to think. An idea popped into her head. It was crazy, but it was a chance. Stepping in front of the woman on the floor, she pulled her to her feet with hands on her collar, shaking her back and forth.

  “Jasmine! Jasmine!”

  The girl wasn’t listening. Lost in her own mind at failing to stop the monster. Gritting her teeth, Kimi slapped the girl hard across the face. This snapped her back to reality, her hand reaching up to nurse her cheek as her eyes focused on Kimi.

  “Good. Answer me, can you control a dead body with your power?”

  “I can’t sew her back together or anything! Once the soul leaves, that’s it.”

  “Just answer me!”

  “Y-yes. I don’t need the body to be living, since I control flesh like a puppet.”

  “Could you pull the body parts back together?”

  “Easily, but I can’t sew the wounds shut.”

  “That’s fine, get ready to pull her together on my word.”

  Isabelle and Bree stepped closer when Kimberly beckoned, listening to her mad idea and nodding their head slowly.

  “But will it work?”

  “The condition for success is to have Cleopatra meet Julius Caesar for the first time. That hasn’t changed. Caesar doesn’t know what Cleopatra looks like. At most they might have had correspondence by letter or messenger.”

  “But how will this fool them?”

  “Because they are god fearing. These people still believe in gods. They believe the gods walk among them. Cleopatra was, or I should say is, considered an embodiment of the mother of all gods, Isis being housed inside of her. Sort of like the whole Jesus the son of God on earth thing. Not to mention she is believed to have powerful magic. I don’t know if it will work, but we have to try. Are you in?”

  “Yeah, I’m in. It’s better than doing nothing.”

  The four broke from their rushed strategy meeting. Kimberly clamped down on her urge to vomit as she walked closer to the corpses. Jasmine threw out a hand, her fingers twiddling up and down. Kimi saw no magical lines or anything, but the severed body parts pulled themselves together like a jigsaw puzzle solving itself. The organs which were falling out got shoved back up inside with no regard to their proper place. Wind picked up, the body rose to its feet again and the head turned to face front once more.

  The Egyptians all fell to their knees, heads touching floor as their arms reached out in supplication. The believed this was the act of a god. That they were witnessing Isis exercising her power. The wind expanded, wrapping around Kimberly as well as the still dead Cleopatra. The Pharaoh’s mouth opened, Kimi mimicking the motion. Light shot from the mouth into Kimi’s, though she felt no heat or anything. The Egyptians began babbling excitedly, being witness to such an event. As the light connected the two, Isabelle’s voice boomed in the air around them all. Distorted by magic to sound like it was coming from everywhere at once.

  “I choose you to be my new vessel. Be honored.”

  The light cut off, the wind ended and the corpse crumpled to the floor once more. Kimberly looked around at the Egyptians who were once again bowing and scraping. Only this time they were doing so to her directly.

  “O great Isis! Queen of the heavens! Mother to all! We are honored to be your servants. We are honored by your presence. Command us o goddess!”

  “Food. I require much food.”

  Instantly three women jumped to their feet, rushing off out of the temple to do her bidding.

  “These clothes are outlandish. I require attire more fitting of my station.”

  Another two women dashed out the door, asking no questions, nor stopping to wonder why she didn’t just magic such things into existence.

  “I require a room of solitude. Priests! Direct me and my personal servants here to such a place at once.”

  “Yes o mighty Isis. Your wish is my command. I am overjoyed to serve you.”

  Kimberly followed the priest to a room in the back. Filled with rich fabrics and mounds of jewelry. Kimi assumed it was Isis’ personal chamber in this temple. The priest left the four of them alone, allowing Kimi to finally breath out a sigh of relief.

  “I can’t believe they actually bought that! That wouldn’t have even fooled the youngest child back home!”

  “I told you Bree, these people believe in this kind of stuff. We have evolved past getting tricked by such things, but they haven’t.”

  “So after you eat you’re going to transform into an Egyptian Queen and pull this off?”

  “No, I’m going to eat so my stomach doesn’t gnaw on my spine. After that I’m going to have to play the best role of my life. I don’t have any kind of character like that. This skill of mine isn’t all powerful you know. And really, I only got a handful of them, with a few unique ones thrown in.”

  “Can you do it?”

  “I’m going to have to won’t I? If I fail, we get trapped here.”

  “Do you even know how to act?”

  “Not a clue. I read a little bit about Cleopatra, but not much about Egypt. I know a little bit about the culture, but not speech patterns or anything like that. I’m just winging it. Taking it one step at a time. It doesn’t matter how much I screw up, as long as I make it through this day and Caesar’s visit.”

  A knock on the stone wall shut Kimi up. She didn’t need anyone overhearing her words. The flap of fabric which served as a door was pushed to the side, large platters of food were carried in by burly near-naked men. Their muscles bulged under the weight and their oiled skin glistened in the light coming from the window. Behind them came two women with new clothes, their eyes downcast. The men set their platters down, standing to the side with hands clasped in front of them. The two women stopped in front of Kimi, bowing even deeper but not looking her in the face.

  “By your leave Pharaoh.”

  Not knowing exactly what they were talking about, Kimi waved her hand to give them permission. Taking that for the assent it was, the two proceeded to strip her, they stumbled over the unfamiliar clothing, but they were professional and efficient. Clamping down on her protests, she felt her face reddening. She stood naked in front of the burly men who continued to stare at the far wall. Despite that sma
ll blessing Kimi felt more exposed than she had ever felt before.

  The women washed her quickly with a sponge before wrapping the new attire around her body in a way only they understood. The moment they were done, they pulled out a bunch of pouches. From these pouches they took sticks of paint and charcoal, putting these items to her face and eyes. Kimberly tried to just stand there as they did their work, even though inside she wanted to tell them to go away. This was part of the culture she knew a little about. Having an unpainted face would be sacrilegious. Perhaps even enough to make them realize she really wasn’t an embodiment of Isis.

  Once the two women were done, they bowed again, backing out of the room without turning around. With a sigh, Kimi sat on a pile of pillows near the food, reaching for a bunch of grapes. Instantly one of the men leapt forward, grabbing the string and plucking one from the stem. This he proceeded to hold out for her to eat. Feeling foolish she did so, opening her mouth to accept the sweet fruit. Reclining backwards, she propped herself up on one hand. Again, another one of the muscular men jumped into action, sliding behind her so she could recline at ease within his lap while the first continued to feed her.

  “This isn’t exactly what I expected.”

  “Well, you are a god. And a queen.”

  Jasmine reached for some food as she said that, having to yank her arm back as the third man pulled out his belt knife and nearly impaled her as he slammed it downward.

  “I think he is trying to say this food is yours and yours alone.”

  Kimi agreed with Jasmine’s statement, telling the men that the women were allowed to eat as well. That they were personal servants. The man who had attacked Jasmine reseated his dagger with a nod, stepping back and allowing the three to partake of the bounty. Despite this royal treatment, Kimi couldn’t feel comfortable. She could feel his manhood against her back. It was the first time she had been so close to a guys private parts. She had seen pictures of it, read about it, and knew intellectually it was just a lump of flesh like her breasts. But despite knowing all that, she couldn’t help feeling a little afraid at being so close.

  As the men continued to feed her, Kimberly’s stomach began to churn. Despite trying to act confident in front of these three women, she just couldn’t tell them how out of her depth she actually felt. Deep down she knew if she started breaking down, they would follow suite. She had seen how quickly Bree and Isabelle had gotten caught up in Jasmine’s hysterics. And by the way Jasmine was looking to her for answers she knew the woman was barely keeping it together herself. If Kimi broke down, it was all over. She had to just endure all these new experiences and bite her tongue.

  “Hey Isabelle, Bree, I got a question for you. Why do none of these people find it odd we wear strange clothing? Or that I wear glasses? Or even that we can understand each other? I never took Egyptian or Greek.”

  Isabelle shrugged. “Magic. I don’t know how it works. It just does. It’s not that they don’t notice them, it is more like they look past them. Their mind supplies what they should see over top of what is really there. Since glasses weren’t invented yet, they see them on your nose, but their mind filters it out and shows them only your eyes.”

  “Oh. I should have figured that out myself.”

  Kimi ate another slice of meat offered to her as she sunk into her thoughts, shoring up her confidence for the day to come.

  Chapter 13: Kimberly’s Fears

  “Kimi, what are you doing?”

  Kimi cracked open an eye to look at Bree from her position on the floor. The cushion under her butt was more comfortable than she had thought possible, these ancient Egyptians had known a thing or two about luxury. Uncrossing her legs, she let out a sigh, breaking out of her meditative pose.

  “Honestly? I’m trying to pull up anything I know about Cleopatra. Movies, books, histories, even far fetched fantasies and fan fiction. She is a historical figure in my time, and I remember being interested at one point after watching part of a documentary on her. Now I wish I had paid more attention to that show or read more on her.”

  Bree sat on the floor across from Kimberly, tucking her legs underneath her body as she got comfortable. Linking her fingers together she leaned forward, the interest on her face genuine.

  “So what do you remember? And will it help you pull this off? Caesar will be here soon, a runner just came into the palace with the news.”

  “I know, a messenger just informed me not long ago. As to what I remember, not much more than what I already told all of you about her marriages and current standing as ruler. Caesar is coming here so Cleopatra can strengthen her position as ruler of Egypt. But something is off about all this.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Ptolemy is dead right now and Cleopatra is already sole ruler. But if I remember what I know correctly, that’s not exactly how it happened at all. Cleopatra fled from Egypt and went into hiding after making a power play for the throne against her husband Ptolemy the thirteenth, who was thirteen years old. That went against the tradition that women ruled under men. That coupled with angering the wrong people is what caused her to flee. Ptolemy beheaded a man named Pompey and offered the head to Caesar when he came to visit, Pompey being Caesar’s political enemy. But Pompey was also a Roman Consul and widower of Caesar’s only legitimate daughter who died in childbirth. Julietta I think her name was?

  “Because of this act, Caesar seized control of the Egyptian capital and acted as arbiter between Cleopatra and Ptolomy’s rival claims. Cleopatra took the opportunity presented and smuggled herself back into the palace to meet with Caesar and form an alliance to solidify her power, becoming his mistress and bearing him a son. That is, if I am remembering everything correctly. I’m not sure, since it has been a few years since I was interested in this stuff. It was kind of a fad of mine I grew out of.”

  “So what’s the problem?”

  “Isn’t it obvious! I’m here in the palace! I’m not going to sneak myself in. Ptolemy didn’t kill Pompey, he is dead already. He shouldn’t be dead yet. This is almost like this isn’t my timeline.”

  “It probably isn’t.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You know how the events of the first timeline bleed over into your past right? That creates the rifts in the first place. At least, most of the time. When we go inside, we aren’t necessarily there to recreate your past, sometimes we have to recreate the first timelines past. It just depends on which one has a stronger hold on that particular rift. What’s most important is the conditions for success. If we can pull that off, the anomaly resolves itself, separating the two timeframes on it’s own.

  “If it helps, think of it as two diverging paths that will eventually meet up again farther ahead. From the point it diverges, until the point it comes together again, is our window of opportunity to make things right. While the imaginary players of both timelines continue to walk down both paths, sometimes they cross, because those two paths weave in and out of each other. This creates a tangle, or jam of sorts. But even if they are stopped from moving, there is an imaginary entity called time that doesn’t stop, or get tangled up. It is moving on its own. Our job is to ensure at least one of those sets of players on one of those paths makes it to the converge point at the other side before that entity of time does. I’m not sure if I explained that well, I had a hard time following it when my teacher taught it to me too.”

  “So basically, I’m over thinking it.”

  “Maybe just a little.”

  Kimi smiled at Bree who gave her a tentative one back. The two shared a moment of camaraderie before Kimberly heard a few damning words slip out of her mouth in a small voice.

  “I’m scared.”

  “Of what?”

  Kimi shook her head quickly, unable to believe she had just said that. She couldn’t let them see her weaknesses, they were counting on her. If she was scared, they would get scared too.

  “Nothing. Never mind.”

  “No, tell me.
You might not be my contract partner, but that doesn’t mean I’m not counting on you. All of us are counting on you to get us out of this. If your afraid of something I want to know. If I can do something about it than I will.”

  “And that’s what I’m afraid of. You’re all relying on me and this insane plan I cooked up that even I’m not sure is going to work. It’s like-- like you are somehow all my responsibility. If I fail, not only will I be trapped here and possible die, but you three as well. I’m afraid of all that responsibility. I’m not used to being a leader of any kind. When it is just me, the decisions are easy to make. But all three of you are looking to me for guidance because, as you said, my Other power makes me strong.

  Plus I’m afraid of meeting Caesar. History says Cleopatra became his mistress. And their son was born nine months after their first meeting. What if I have to-- you know, sleep with him in order to make this plan succeed? I’m a-- I’ve never slept with a guy before! I’ve never had a boyfriend, hell, I’ve never even French kissed a boy before! I’ve always believed the more you know about something, the less you have to fear from it. I know lots about sex, but that’s just making me even more afraid instead of less. I’m sure if I didn’t know what happens between man and woman I wouldn’t be so scared. But I do, so I am terrified!”

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize we were putting so much pressure on you. I guess Emry must have felt the same. Like she was responsible for all of us since she was the strongest. I can’t tell you not to sleep with him if it comes to it, fixing the anomaly is more important than anything else.”

  “And how am I supposed to explain that I’m-- that I’ve not slept with anyone before? These Egyptians may believe Isis moved from Cleopatra’s body to mine, but Caesar won’t. The Greeks and Romans believed gods wore their own bodies when they walked among mortals. Not in reincarnation or transference of power. If Caesar finds out, he might kill me out of hand and the anomaly will never be resolved. Not to mention I really don’t want my first time to be with someone I don’t care about.”