As Farlden’s gaze turned from Dervyl to him, Elliot hurried across the room, ready to throw himself into his boyfriend’s arms, when he took in the blank expression on Farlden’s face. “Fal, it’s me.”
Farlden frowned at Elliot, who waited in vain for a sign of recognition from him. “I’m sorry but I don’t know you.”
Chapter Two
FARLDEN LOOKED at the young man in front of him, shocked at the misery visible on the teenager’s face that somehow seemed to have been caused by Farlden not knowing him. The man had piercing blue eyes in a handsome face and he looked stylish in his suit where Farlden just felt awkward in his own similar, but probably far less expensive, clothes.
“You don’t remember anything?” the man asked intently, a warm hand resting on Farlden’s suit-covered arm.
“About what?”
Dervyl walked over to join them and, when he looked questioningly at her, she said, “Elliot Rivers is joining our team today. He remembers a version of reality that the rest of us don’t, which is how he knows you.”
Farlden struggled to take this in, wondering for a moment if she could be making a joke, as unlikely as that was. “How could there have been a different version of reality? Why would the world have changed?”
“That is a long story,” she said, “and one which you don’t need to hear right now. Why don’t you show Elliot round and the two of you can get to know each other.”
The stranger shot her a grateful look and, seeing that Dervyl would tell him nothing more, Farlden took him out of the office, his mind full of questions. Once they were in the corridor alone, Elliot turned to him. “I know this must be weird to you but we were close in the world I remember. Really close.”
Given how near to him Elliot was standing and the desperate expression in his eyes, Farlden had an idea of what he meant. “Look, I’m really sorry I don’t remember the same things as you but I’m dating someone already.”
“Oh.” The stranger’s eyes dimmed.
Farlden began to lead Elliot down the corridor towards the stairs, unable to ask about the whole altered universe thing that made absolutely no sense to him when the man with him was so unhappy. He had encountered bizarre situations in his training here, seeing all the things that different types of magic could do, but nothing was more peculiar than standing here with a total stranger who clearly knew him and cared about him. He felt terrible about not being able to give the man the recognition he wanted and patted the man’s shoulder, even though he wasn’t sure what he was sympathising over.
Elliot gave him a look of hope mingled with heartbreak that was painful to even see, let alone what it must be like to experience.
“So how did we meet in this other timeline?” Dervyl hadn’t forbidden them to talk about it and, assuming the strange part-explanation really was true, Farlden wanted to understand how it was possible that the world had been altered and to know something of the relationship he had apparently shared with this man.
“We met at Uni. You, me and Barve all attended the same university.”
“You know my brother?”
For some reason this made Elliot laugh and Farlden was struck again by how attractive he was. “Yes, I do. I don’t know what either of us would have done without his and Lila’s help. Well, we probably would never have had the chance to change reality and we’d both still be locked up in a government prison, I expect.”
Farlden had no idea who Lila was but that wasn’t what mattered most. “We helped do this? Make this change to the world you remember? You have magic too?”
Elliot smiled at him, something warm and intimate in the expression. Farlden felt an inexplicable desire to know Elliot better, to accept that their relationship was what Elliot said, but Farlden was already dating someone he cared for and he would never cheat on her.
Answering his questions, Elliot said, “I can read people’s thoughts and, as our magic grew, I could plant a new idea in someone’s mind. We did magic together from the moment we met – I had never known anyone else with magic before you. You were able to find a particular moment in time so that I could read a certain memory.”
This man understood Farlden’s magic: there was no doubt that he was telling the truth as he remembered it. “There are other magic users here but I’ve not had much success combining my magic with anyone else yet.” The thought of finding someone he could share magic with was exciting. Farlden wanted to see what more he could do with his gift than just seeing random moments in Time, which had seemed a feeble ability compared to what others here could do. “Is that how we helped change reality?” For the first time, Farlden really thought about the fact that all his memories – his entire life – could be new, that another world had existed until some time fairly recently where he had lived a different life. It was mind-blowing. Everything he knew about his life now felt real and he didn’t want to accept that it might not be.
Oblivious to this confusion, Elliot answered, “Dervyl and Tchaffi helped but it was our combined magic that did it. We went back in Time to when Sapiens and Neanderthals first encountered each other and I planted an idea in their minds, encouraging them to want to help each other and work together.”
“We have done that. That’s how it’s always been.”
“No, it hasn’t,” Elliot said as he stopped walking and moved in front of him, standing too close again, as if this was how they were with each other; as if they already had a strong relationship. Farlden felt a touch of resentment at Elliot for arriving out of nowhere and messing up everything Farlden believed and thought. “It only changed today. A few hours ago everything was different and nothing that you remember existed. We were together in that other timeline...” He broke off, swallowing, the light vanishing from his eyes. “... And now we’re here and I’m the only one who seems to remember it. I don’t understand anything about this new reality and I’ve got no idea what to do with my new life.”
“You don’t remember anything about this world?”
“No. I found myself in my parents’ house this morning and everyone was acting differently and remembering a world that I didn’t.”
Farlden’s sympathy for Elliot returned. None of this was his fault and it must be like having amnesia for him or, worse, having a lifetime of memories that no one else would ever share. For all intents and purposes, Elliot had lost every relationship in his life. Fal and Barve still lived at home with their parents and they all had a close relationship; he also had a girlfriend he loved along with friends and an extended family: to have all that ripped away was about the worst thing he could imagine. “I’m sorry. That must be a nightmare.”
Elliot looked intently at him in a way that made Farlden really want to remember what they had shared in this other universe. It was both disconcerting and fascinating to think that Elliot knew a wealth of information about Farlden, both personal and general. He wondered how they had got together.
Elliot turned away and began walking again at a slow pace beside him, his mind probably filled with even more questions than Farlden’s was. They reached the stairs and Elliot stopped, looking about with confusion.
“I’m supposed to be giving you a tour,” Farlden reminded him. “If we go downstairs I can show you where the canteen and drinks machines are and the different rooms we work in.”
Elliot followed him and they both jogged down the stairs. Farlden began the tour and, as he explained about their work, Elliot also asked him questions about the world. “Have Sapiens always known about the existence of Izients in this reality?”
“Yes, of course. How could they not?”
“They just lived in another dimension in the old timeline, not here.”
“I can’t imagine what the lives of the rest of us would be like without them.” Farlden paused in the canteen doorway. “Izients have been responsible for countless scientific, educational and medical advances. Also, Neans don’t often have anything to do with politics – it isn’t in our nature – but Izie
nts have often been chosen as leaders, keeping the peace between the races and in making sure the laws are fair to everyone.”
“Then Neans have never been slaves in this reality?”
“Spirits, no!” The idea was repulsive. “Is that what it was like in your world?”
“It had been. Slavery was ended in most countries but Neans were still treated really badly and viewed by Sapiens as a dangerous enemy.”
“Why didn’t the Izients help us?” They would never allow such things to happen here and it was difficult for Farlden to imagine Sapiens being so cruel.
“They did but, because they only existed in a separate dimension, there was a limit to what they could do. Their magic wasn’t as strong here as in their own dimension and they couldn’t move the whole Nean race as a large percentage of Neans didn’t have the ability to survive the trip to that version of earth. That’s why we did this: to prevent the Nean race from being destroyed.”
“Wow.” He realised that Elliot had lost everything familiar to him in order to help a human species that wasn’t even his. He looked at the other man anew, seeing someone willing to give up everything to make the world better for Farlden and his people. “Why is it that you’re the only one who remembers?”
Elliot shook his head, the corners of his mouth turning downwards. “I wish I knew. There was always a possibility that any or all of us would forget and, as much as we loved each other and dreaded losing what we shared, changing the world was about something a lot bigger than the two of us.”
They were looking into each other’s eyes again, Farlden reeling at the casual way that Elliot said they had loved each other. The familiar perfume and touch on his shoulder pulled him out of the moment and he felt a stab of guilt for his wayward feelings as he looked round. “Er, Elliot this is my girlfriend...”
Before he could complete the introduction he saw Elliot look at her with widening eyes, all warmth gone from his expression. “Callie.”
Chapter Three
“SORRY, DO I know you?” Callie asked and Elliot wanted to demand to know how she could have lied to him and betrayed the friendship that he thought they had shared, but she wouldn’t be able to answer. She would remember nothing of the life where she had worked for the government and spied on him and Farlden. She too wore a trouser suit but, otherwise, she looked just as he remembered from Uni, before he had discovered what she had done.
Did Farlden refer to her as his girlfriend? The thought sent ice dripping through his body. “You two are dating?”
“Yes,” Farlden said, sounding uncomfortable and Elliot realised he was glaring at Callie. He tried to stop, knowing she hadn’t done anything to deserve it here, but it was impossible to dismiss the hurt and anger he felt at seeing her again. Of all the people in the world that they could have chosen, how could they be dating each other? It was like a second betrayal on top of the first except, of course, she wouldn’t understand that either.
Farlden explained to her, “This is Elliot. He sort of knows us because he remembers a different reality.”
“I don’t understand.” She gave Elliot a polite smile, a bit forced since she could probably tell that he wasn’t happy to see her.
“I’ll explain later,” Farlden said. “Elliot is joining our department, so I’m supposed to be showing him round.”
“Ok. I’ll see you shortly then.” She leaned forward and, before Elliot could object, she kissed Farlden’s cheek.
Everything in Elliot wanted him to tell her to back away, that Farlden was his boyfriend and she had no right to go near him, but that wasn’t true. He had helped change the universe to this: a world where Callie got the person who mattered most to Elliot and where she would never have to answer for the misery she had caused. He had to turn away from the sight of them together, unable to cope with the emotions coursing through him.
He heard her footsteps moving away but he didn’t look up. Farlden didn’t love him and would likely never love him in this reality. They had changed the world and Elliot had lost everything. He leaned against the wall as he took in just how empty his life had become in a few short hours.
He glanced back at Fal’s painfully familiar face and knew he couldn’t do this anymore. He couldn’t act as if it didn’t destroy him to see his boyfriend with someone else and to have Farlden look at him as a stranger. He turned away. “I have to go.”
“What? Where?”
He ignored Farlden’s voice and headed to the exit, escaping from the building he already hated. He couldn’t go back there, couldn’t face working with Farlden and knowing every second what he had lost. He would do something else with his life – anything else. It was just too painful to be around him when Farlden felt nothing for him.
* * *
“Ghosts – what do you mean?” Dervyl asked, confused.
“That’s how they were described to us,” Al said and glanced at the other man for confirmation.
“They resembled people but they were translucent,” Abbrin clarified as they both sat down with Dervyl in her office, Abbrin’s posture a little too perfect as it always was around her. She hadn’t wanted him on her team and she suspected that he had discovered this fact.
The first report she had received from her people’s dimension had been unclear but she certainly hadn’t expected this. Could it have something to do with the magic Elliot had done? It made no sense to her since nothing he had said about the magic performed could account for such a thing, but the timing made it seem as if there was a connection.
“Three different Izients saw them,” Al said.
“Did the beings say why they were here?” she asked.
Once again, Al glanced at Abbrin. She got the impression that Al found the man intimidating, which wasn’t surprising. Abbrin was too emotional for an Izient, too prone to anger. Coupled with the strength of his magic, she felt it made him unstable. And Al was young in Nean terms; just a teenager who was sharp but easily overwhelmed by only having the most basic understanding of magic. Perhaps it was a mistake to have them work together but the whole point of this department was to have Sapiens and Neans with magic learn from Izients and vice versa, combining their different ways of thinking to build up knowledge.
When Abbrin didn’t speak, Al hastily answered her question, “They vanished too quickly for anyone to try to communicate with them.”
“Vanished how?” she said.
“They appeared from thin air and disappeared the same way, like...” Al faltered. “Well, like magic. The fake kind of trick.”
“Perhaps that’s all this is,” Abbrin suggested.
She thought about Elliot and the kind of magic that could change the entire fate of three races. “I hope so.”
Abbrin’s gaze narrowed. “What is it you suspect?”
“It doesn’t matter. I know less than you do at the moment, so we had better wait to see what happens next rather than speculating.” She smiled at them. “Thank you for your help.”
Al gave a quick grin in response and got up to leave, Abbrin following more slowly and with an unsmiling backwards glance at her. Abbrin, she was quite sure, would cause her trouble.
When they were gone she returned to her reports and timetables. She would need to decide how to get Elliot interacting with the team and, with the confirmation she had received a few minutes ago from a trusted friend that his magic really was powerful enough to change the world, he would be a formidable new addition.
Her phone rang and, still writing down notes with her other hand, she picked it up. “Dervyl here.” She listened, the pen falling from her hand as what she heard caught all her attention. “What did these so-called ghosts do?”
Chapter Four
EVERYTHING LOOKED normal outside in the street: the sun was shining, a car driver honked a horn, pigeons pecked for food beside a bin and people hurried about as if this was any other day. Elliot could see those jarring changes in the city, though; signs of Izient and Nean culture that he should ha
ve been glad about but now it all just highlighted what a mess his own life was. He and Fal had faced imprisonment and torture and had even risked their lives to do the dangerous magic that changed reality. How was it fair that, after going through all that, he had ended up losing the only person he didn’t know how to live without?
“Hey, are you all right?”
A hand caught his arm and he looked up, heart racing at the sight of a familiar square face and blond hair, but this wasn’t his former boyfriend, although it was the next best thing. “Barve, it’s so good to see you.”
“You know me? You’re gone pale. Come and sit down.”
Barve tried to lead him back to the government building and Elliot shook his head, bile rising in his throat at the thought of returning. “Not there.”
“Okay. Come on.” Barve found them a bench nearby that overlooked a park Elliot was sure hadn’t existed before today. Barve was dressed in a purple suit with a pale pink shirt, stylish but with that colourful Nean vibe and he wore make-up and jewellery. “You’re still really white. Do you need me to call an ambulance?”
Barve got out a mobile and the sight of it reminded Elliot that this was not the brother he remembered, who had worn jeans or a skirt but not a suit and who had never been able to afford a mobile phone. Barve was friendly, as he had been before, but there was something more confident in his manner which was probably the result of never having to face the prejudice that had always been present in the other timeline.
Belatedly, Elliot said, “No, thanks. I’m all right. I just... had a shock.”
“You said my name but I’m afraid I don’t recognise you.”
“There’s a lot of that about,” Elliot said bitterly and then, because he needed his friend back, even if Barve was not quite the teenager he remembered, he began to tell Barve about the other timeline. He didn’t go into a lot of detail about it, just saying that they had been friends at university and how everything had changed, finishing with the meeting with Dervyl earlier.
A New Reality Page 2