by Cate Farren
But the blackness isn't totally gone. I still want Loki dead more than anything else in the world.
"What now?" she asked him.
The demon regarded solemnly her before saying, "Now we go to Dracula. We get an army and we find Loki and we kill him."
"And what if Dracula refuses to budge?"
"We kill him too."
Chapter 30
"Are we all ready?" Trent asked.
The team were all dressed in thick winter clothing, ready for the mission. There was a species of bison on this world whose hide made warm, comfortable coats. Apparently they needed them. The upper hemisphere of the home dimension was currently in the middle of a terrible winter, a sort of mini ice age. It was expected, which was why they were ready for it.
The three witches watched Jared intensely as he talked with his mother. She wasn't coming with them. She wasn't a fighter, and she was needed here.
He’d said goodbye to Clo last night and it had broken his heart. His granddaughter was the brightest star in his life. In a way he was glad she wasn’t here, if only because seeing her sad eyes might make him stay.
“I don’t want you to go,” Clo had wailed.
“You know why I have to do this,” he’d explained.
“I know that, but I’m scared. I don’t know what’s going to happen next.”
He’s tried to console her, to reassure her that all would be well, but he just didn’t know. All he did know was that he would never hear his beautiful granddaughter’s laugh ever again.
"I'm never going to see you again," said his mother sadly. She caressed his face, tears rolling down her cheek. “I love you, you know that?”
"I'll get in touch when I get back," he said. "I promise."
"You know what I was like back then. Your father made me into a bad mother. I'll probably just ignore your calls."
"Then I'll find you and force you to be part of my life again."
She smiled and he pulled her into a fierce hug. He hadn't realized how much he missed his mother until he was walking away from her. The only role model he'd ever had in his life was his father, and he was a rapist. He wished he'd had a parent in his life that he could look up to and trust. He vowed his own son would have both parents for as long as possible.
"The portal's open," JJ called.
Jared smiled at his son and pulled away from his mother. He gave her one last kiss on the cheek before he walked away.
"That was difficult," he admitted, trying not to cry. "I never really knew what it was to have a mother."
"Neither did I," JJ snapped.
"I'm sorry."
The witches stepped through the portal, followed by Trent. Jared stared at it for what felt like an eternity, thinking about the colossal task ahead of him.
"What happens when I change history?" Jared asked. "What happens to this time?"
JJ shrugged. "I don't know. Some think things will carry on here as normal. Some think we'll simply just disappear. Nobody knows for sure. It's never been done before. Or maybe it has. Maybe people do it all the time and nobody remembers."
Jared was confused. Time travel seemed so easy in the movies.
"So if I change history...you'll be gone?" Jared asked.
JJ said, "We won't know any better. This timeline will have never existed. Or, like I said, we'll just carry on as normal. Who knows?"
JJ stepped through the portal, leaving Jared in a quandary. He hadn't thought about the ramifications of his mission. If he changed the past, then he'd be killing everyone here. No, worse than that; he'd wipe them from existence, as if they never were.
I've got to kill so many people...They’re shapeshifters, sure, but still people...
"Hurry up," Sarah complained, playfully punching his shoulder. "We have a mission to complete here. We can't stand around all day chatting."
"I'm not sure I can do it," he admitted.
Sarah sighed. "Think about why you're doing this, Jared, and you'll come to a decision. Be selfish for once."
He watched as the rest of the team, his old mentor and aunt included, poured into the portal. In the end there was only him left, waiting, thinking.
Clover...
He had to stop her from siding with Loki. He had to kill Loki before the witches could release the virus that would kill her. She was his reason. It was all for Clover. Her, and his son. Saving the universe was just a by-product of making sure the people he loved could live and be happy.
"Here goes," he whispered.
He steadied himself, took a deep breath. This was for Clover and his son. Only for them would he make the ultimate sacrifice.
THE PORTAL DEPOSITED Jared next to a giant silver edifice of a building. As the portal vanished behind him in a puff of magical smoke he looked up the wall of the building. He couldn't see the top. It seemed to edge into the clouds and beyond. It was like something out of Blade Runner.
"Are we all here?" Trent demanded.
The assembled warriors nodded. The three witches were standing to the side, conferring among themselves. JJ was talking with Sarah, who was staring down at some sort of electronic device which looked like a small sheet of glass. Jared looked around, taking things in. They were in some sort of back alley, but it wasn't like the garbage stinking alleys of his time. It was meticulously clean and tidy with not a garbage can or rat or homeless person in sight. There was a light dusting of snow on every surface and the temperature was, as expected, bitterly cold.
He walked away, poking his head out onto the street. It was a busy city street, with old fashioned cars from the 1920s mixing with more modern cars as well as ones that hovered. There was no smell of exhaust fumes. There was hardly any noise. The shop fronts were stores he'd never heard of, and the sidewalks were spotlessly clean. The air smelled fresh, like a woodland glade.
The horizon was taken up with futuristic buildings with neon billboards on the sides. Unlike Blade Runner and other visions of the future this wasn't a dark dystopia. Everything was clean and sterile, but not sterile in a sinister way. He could feel that this place, this world, was at peace.
He noticed a couple walking by, pushing a baby in a stroller. They smiled benignly at him as they passed. He smiled back. He continued to watch. The people were happy. They weren't stressed out or miserable or even being forced to be happy at gunpoint. They were genuinely happy and well.
"Sickening, right?" Sarah whispered.
He turned to her. "What's going on?"
"You expecting something out of Blade Runner or Terminator, right?" When he nodded Sarah said, "I'm afraid not. What we have here is a genuine utopia. There are no wars over skin color or religion or anything. Everyone gets along well. It’s...nice."
He couldn't believe it. He'd been expecting a post-apocalyptic nightmare, not this.
"Are they all shapeshifters?" he asked.
She nodded. "Shapeshifters loving and breeding and completely oblivious to what it took to bring this about. They've living on a bed of lies and bones."
He watched a family as they ate in a cafe across the street. Mother, father and children were from all different races. They laughed and ate together. A gay couple walked hand in hand, laughing and smiling, nodding at an elderly man who walked by. A neon sign on the wall opposite announced the birth of triplets on the planet Vulcan.
Shapeshifters have colonized space. I forgot about that.
"But they're happy," stated Jared. "Everyone is really happy. Back in my day people gave two men walking down the street, hand in hand, odd looks, even in the so-called tolerant 21st century. And..."
"It's a utopia."
"They don't know what Loki did."
Sarah sighed. "Does that matter? They took this world from us and killed billions."
"I'm pretty sure that baby over there didn't kill billions."
He walked back into the alley to join the others. His son was talking with the witches now, who were giving him death glares. This wasn't part of the plan. He thoug
ht he was going to be sacrificing a million warrior shapeshifters, enemies who'd murdered and massacred their way to the top. The people out there weren't warriors or killers. They knew nothing of war or murder. They were innocents.
A part of me knew this all along, though, right? I was just too angry, too grief stricken, to see the truth.
"Have your enjoyed your sightseeing trip?" the witch Pink asked.
Jared nodded. "It was enlightening."
"You seem troubled," said Black.
"No," he admitted. "Let's just get this over with."
What he'd seen hadn't changed his mind, just made him a little conflicted. He had to get back to Clover, no matter the cost, no matter the sacrifice. Saving her would save billions of lives, perhaps trillions. What did a million shapeshifters matter in the scheme of things?
Then why do I feel so dam guilty?
Jared waited while Gable Trent, Sarah and the other soldiers left to rescue Dracula. He wished them well on their mission. He didn't expect to see them again. He hoped never to see them again, otherwise that meant his own mission was a complete failure.
"Hey Dad," said JJ.
He hadn't noticed his son. The kid knew how to sneak up on people.
"I thought you were going with them?" Jared asked.
JJ shrugged. "I wanted to see you off. I'm...I'm going to miss you, you know that."
Jared felt torn. He had a relationship with JJ now. He loved him like the son he was and he was going to leave him forever. He hoped to have a relationship with JJ in the past, but what about this JJ? He didn't want to leave him.
"You could come with me," Jared offered.
"I can't leave," said JJ. "I wish I could."
"You can have both of your parents back. You can be with us."
"And play second fiddle to another version of me? No thanks."
"You would never be second fiddle."
Jared had to convince him to come with them. They could make this work. It didn't have to be awkward. He just wanted his son with him.
"We don't have much time," said Jared, hating to bed. "Please come with me."
JJ shook his head, adamant. "I'm sorry. How could I leave my wife and Clo? There’s a chance that this timeline will continue. Did you really, honestly expect me to leave them?"
Jared pulled his son into another hug. He'd never forget this moment for as long as he lived. This version of his son would live in his heart forever.
"Anyway," said Jared, wiping at his eyes. "I guess we better get on with this."
"The witches look impatient," said JJ, grinning.
Jared laughed. "They always look constipated to me."
“Good luck.”
Jared watched as JJ walked away. He felt like a part of his own soul was being ripped from his body.
Goodbye my son.
The witches glared at him malevolently as he moved to join them. They were chanting now, moving around in a circle. Wisps of bright blue energy flickered between them like electricity. Their eyes were black, like orbs of tar, and their hair was floating in the air like they were under water.
"What do you need me to do?" he asked.
Pink pointed to a cross made from chalk in the middle of their circle. He did as he was bid and stood on the cross. The magic hit him instantly, making him almost choke. It was dark magic, the worst kind he'd ever felt in his life. It made him feel sick to his stomach.
This feels wrong.
"This magic feels evil," he said.
Pink said, "It is. We are changing the past and massacring a lot of people. What did you expect?"
The spell continued to be cast over the space of half an hour. Every second was torture for Jared. All he could think about was JJ and the innocent baby shapeshifter he’d seen on the street.
“You look troubled,” said Pink.
“This is...this is evil,” he whispered.
"Changing the past is forbidden," said Black. "This is how history was supposed to unfold, and messing with it changes the very fabric of reality."
"It will lead to unseen consequences," White added. "Rips in time and space; fractures in reality."
"But it is worth it to stop Loki," said Pink.
Jared felt uneasy. He hadn't realized this trip back in time would have such effects on reality. He was unleashing the worst dark magic spell in history on the universe, all to make sure Clover lived.
And all I have to do is murder a million innocent shapeshifters.
It wasn't worth it. If this was how history was supposed to unfold then so be it. They could make things work. Something could be done. But not this. Not this.
"I can't do it," he admitted.
The witches grinned and said as one, "You have no choice."
He attempted to leave the circle but the magic pinned him in place. He tried to change into a bat and fly away but it wouldn't work. He was stuck here, almost paralyzed. They intended to force him into this mission whether he wanted to or not.
"I don't want to do this!" he begged. "Let me go!"
JJ came forward. "Dad?"
"Make them stop!" he yelled, frantic. He knew it was getting too late to stop it. "I can't kill all these people!"
His son looked torn as he stared at the witches and back to him. He was scared. The witches were all powerful and he was just human, more or less. They'd incinerate him on the spot.
JJ grinned. "I was hoping you'd say that."
He ran at Pink, pointing a gun to her head. She sighed and flipped one of her fingers. The weapon in his hand exploded, shredding his fingers. JJ screamed and fell back as the spell continued to weave. Jared could feel his body starting to disintegrate. They didn't have much time left.
"Please stop this," Jared begged them. "You don't want to kill all these people."
Pink said, "They're shapeshifters."
"They deserve death for killing our kind," said Black.
His son was in mortal danger. If the spell worked, he would die too.
"JJ, you have to run!" Jared yelled. "The spell will kill you!"
His son's eyes widened in shock. "Dad..."
Jared screamed in pain as magical energy enveloped him. His body was almost transparent now. He could feel time itself, a sort of cosmic force, tugging at his soul. Pretty soon he'd be gone and JJ would be dead.
"I'm sorry," Jared called.
JJ leapt to his feet and charged at Pink again. She didn't move, and Jared knew they had her. It was far too late in the spell now for her to deviate. Jared knew the spell would break if she talked or tried to defend herself.
You have to do this...
JJ shoved a dagger into Pink's neck. She screamed in agony and there was a burst of magic. Jared saw the whole universe shatter and explode around him. The last thing he saw as he was dragged back through time was his son, screaming in pain, as the spell incinerated him.
SOMETHING WAS NUZZLING at his face. When a tongue started lapping at his nose Jared used his hand to motion it away. He felt a wet nose and fur.
What the...
For a terrifying second he couldn't remember who he was or where he was. When it came to him he jumped to his feet, scaring away the deer that had taken an interest in him.
"Deer?"
He looked around, finding himself in some sort of forest woodland. This was wrong. He should be in a developed city. He should be in Bangor, Maine. The witches said he'd appear in the exact same place as he left, but in the past. It should be 2016, four days after he died.
He walked around, thinking maybe he'd ended up in Bangor City Forrest. There were plenty of deer in there. Maybe the spell had shifted him a mile or so away from the designated coordinates by accident?
After a few hours Jared realized something had gone terribly wrong. He found no signs of habitation anywhere. He spied plenty of wildlife, from deer to beavers, even the Penobscot river, but no buildings, no people, nothing.
Something crunched in the bushes behind him. Jared tensed and turned into a b
at to escape. He flew into the trees and watched from a branch as a small group of Native Americans trudged by. One of them had a deer carcass slung over his back. They were a hunting party.
The Penobscot people...
He batted his wings and flew higher, following the party until they reached a small settlement of wooden thatch houses nestled by the Penobscot river. He didn't understand it. This Native American tribe hadn't lived in this location since the 1700s, yet it must be a long time before that because by then there were European settlements dotted around the area.
The spell had been interrupted by Pink's death. He'd been catapulted far back in time. He could be hundreds of years out - or thousands.
Chapter 31
"I suppose I should be dancing on their graves, but I haven't got it in me."
Clover and Saskia dropped the final piles of earth, sealing the bodies of Rose and Romily away forever. The two witches them would share a grave for all eternity now.
Saskia wiped her hands down her top. She seemed subdued as she said, "Should I say something?"
"There has to be some good memories," said Clover, feeling awkward. “Even I can remember your mom being nice. Sometimes.”
"Of course there were." Saskia turned away from the grave, lost in thought. “Not many, but there were.”
"Then talk about those."
Clover felt like they were being watched. She turned and saw a group of about a hundred shapeshifters staring at her. They were the ones that Loki was currently training. They'd started to develop sexual organs and other individual features like noses and lips. Some were male, some female, some neither. They all seemed to find the funeral utterly fascinating.
Saskia wiped at her eyes. "I know Mom cared for me. I know that. She may have been strict, and a complete bitch, but she cared for me." She looked up as Jessica approached the gravesite. The shapeshifter smiled and Saskia continued. "When I was in fifth grade this new girl started at our school. Dana Strompet, do you remember her?"