A New Reality

by Clare Solomon

  They talked for a little longer and then she left and Elliot went in search of Farlden, needing to see with his own eyes that he was okay after what had happened to Nariss. He looked in vain until the door of Dervyl’s office opened just as he was walking by ten minutes later and Farlden came out.

  They hurried over to each other and hugged, holding each other tightly as they stood in the middle of the corridor. Elliot drank in the feeling of the other man in his arms: the muscled body and soft blond hair beneath his hands. With the danger that hung over everyone these days he was desperate to make the most of every moment he had with Fal. He kissed Farlden’s cheek and warm lips, wanting to forget everything but this. Almost at once, though, Farlden pulled away.

  “What’s wrong?” Elliot asked, hurt. Farlden had got back his memories of their relationship but he still seemed reluctant to go back to how things used to be between them. Had his experiences in this reality changed him so much that he didn’t love Elliot anymore?

  “It’s nothing,” Farlden said. “I just need us to take this slowly.”

  “Why?” he demanded. “What’s changed?” The fear came to him that maybe Farlden still loved Callie.

  “Everything,” Farlden shot back, voice rising. “This world is crazy and nothing’s like it used to be.”

  “What does that have to do with us?” The whole point of being in a relationship was that couples could make each other happy and help each other through difficult times. If Fal didn’t feel like that about being with Elliot, there must be something specific wrong. “Have I done something in this timeline to upset or annoy you?”

  “No, of course not.”

  “Then what is it?” Elliot couldn’t solve something he didn’t understand.

  “I told you before: I just need some time to deal with it all.”

  It felt like a rejection, like Farlden pushing him away and, after all the time it had taken for them to get this far, it hurt more than just about anything else could have. “Do what you like,” Elliot said, too tired and miserable to argue any longer.

  He turned round and walked away. After a few steps, Farlden called his name, but Elliot ignored him and kept going.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  “I AM so sorry for what has happened to Nariss,” Dervyl told the young woman’s mother, who would now have to take care of a daughter who had lost her mind. They stood in the woman’s living room, Nariss resting in the bedroom upstairs, muttering nonsense like Barve and too many others. “She risked her life to help try to stop the ghosts hurting others.”

  “She was always brave,” the woman said, wiping tears from her face. She and Nariss had the same thin nose and wide mouth. “When someone was being bullied at her school, she protected the boy and lately she was so proud of having the chance to work for you and achieve something with her magic. She’s only twenty years old, though. This shouldn’t have happened to her.”

  She was right and losing another member of her team to madness wrenched at Dervyl’s heart. “I cannot tell you how much I regret it, but the ghosts are a growing threat that my team and I have to deal with.”

  “Then at least tell me you’ve found a way to defeat them, that her mind wasn’t destroyed for nothing.”

  Dervyl was silent, unable to give even this slight consolation.

  She returned to the government building to find Amy in tears over the loss of her friend and a message from the Prime Minister, who wanted to know what they had achieved.

  She got the file of information she had compiled on the ghosts out of a desk drawer and opened it to review for the umpteenth time, determined to discover something to use against the ghosts. The creatures must have some weakness.

  * * *

  There was another meeting in the Izient dimension the next day, which was the first time Farlden had seen Elliot since their argument. Farlden had wanted to talk to him and somehow make things right between them but Elliot hadn’t been anywhere around. Even now, Elliot didn’t look at him and deliberately sat with Lila and Amy at the spiralling table of the huge conference room which, after having spent the previous evening listening to his brother’s insane ramblings, made Farlden feel more alone that he ever had before.

  Tchaffi led the gathering again. “Horal asked me to convene this meeting as she says she has important information to share.” She gestured to an Izient woman with auburn hair.

  Horal stood up and said, “I know we hoped that the next time we were all together would be when we had a solution to the damage to Time we could work on, but I am afraid I actually have the worst news to give you.”

  She paused and Farlden glanced at Tchaffi. The older Izient’s expression never gave much away but he got the impression that she knew no more about what this was about than he did.

  Horal continued, “After studying the point where the break in Time has occurred and given the constant increase in ghosts since their first appearance, we have reached the conclusion the situation will continue to grow worse until a collision happens between the current time and the future. This collision could destroy everyone in both earth dimensions.”

  There was a roar of voices as people reacted to this and Farlden felt his stomach drop at the thought of being partly responsible for such a devastating situation. Could he and Elliot and the others who had helped them have done something different when performing the magic to change reality that could have stopped all of this?

  “That is an alarming claim,” Tchaffi said, the voices around her falling silent as soon as she began to speak. “Exactly how many people believe this will happen?”

  “The findings of all the groups show that the trouble is worsening,” Horal said.

  “That much is certainly clear,” Tchaffi agreed, “but what evidence do you have to support the theory of an approaching collision in Time?”

  “We have all been looking into Time and analysing all the available data. Some of us are convinced that this will be the result.”

  “Then it is nothing more than one possibility?”

  “Surely that is enough for it to be clear that we need to come up with an answer immediately?”

  Tchaffi met her glare calmly and said, “I would be glad to see the data you have been using so that I can make my own analysis. Nothing I have seen so far indicates so severe a problem.”

  Horal glanced away, looking directly at Abbrin, and Farlden abruptly had a bad feeling about what the whole meeting was supposed to achieve.

  Abbrin stood up and said, “It is understandable that you would want to make light of this horrific outcome given that you and Dervyl helped make the change to reality that led to this, but the situation is dire. We need to know right now what you intend to do to put your mistake right.”

  All eyes turned towards Dervyl and Tchaffi.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  “I CAN’T believe they’re talking about the end of the world,” Lila said to Elliot when they had returned to the government building in their own dimension. “This is insane.”

  Elliot was waiting for his small magical group to get to the office but Abbrin was nowhere to be found, probably coming up with some new scheme against Dervyl, and Mosrra had gone off to find him. Elliot had no idea where Callie was but, after what had been said at the meeting, he wasn’t surprised that people were taking time to react to it. Nothing had been decided on in the end and Elliot just wanted to keep working so they could find a solution before it was too late.

  “I helped do this,” he said. “I was the one who actually made the change in the minds of people in the distant past, so it’s probably my mistake.”

  “Cut that out,” she told him sharply, sitting on the windowsill opposite him, the light behind her giving her hair a halo while her face was shadowed. “There’s been enough blame thrown around and it doesn’t do the slightest bit of good. From what I understand, the entire Nean race and the entire Izient race along with some Sapiens all agreed that the change to Time was necessary, so blaming a
handful of people just because they performed the magic is pointless. This is no more your fault than anyone else’s but you have magic so there’s a chance you can put things right – that’s all that matters.”

  “I’m glad you’re here,” he said, grateful for her straightforward view of life.

  “So am I. Even if I can’t do magic, I want to help any way I can.” They sat in silence for a few minutes then, when there was still no sign of anyone else arriving, she asked, “What’s going on with you and Farlden? I saw the way you were avoiding him at the meeting.”

  He ran a hand through his hair, not sure how to begin answering her question. “He got his memories back of the two of us being in love and I thought it would be like that between us again, but he keeps pulling away from me. I’m afraid his feelings have changed or maybe Callie still means a lot to him. I honestly don’t know what’s going on with him.”

  “Has he said he doesn’t want to ever get involved with you?”

  “No. He said he wanted us to be together but that he wanted to take it slowly, whatever that means. It feels as if he doesn’t want what we had.”

  “Maybe that’s your own fear. Perhaps you should just take him at his word.”

  “What do you mean?” he asked, not understanding.

  “Well, he has two sets of memories, doesn’t he? I mean for you it’s all clear-cut because you only remember him as your boyfriend but he has a lifetime of memories of this reality, so of course he can’t just be the person he used to be with you. He was recently in a relationship with someone else and, on top of that, he’s dealing with his brother having just gone crazy.”

  Put like that, Farlden did have a ridiculous amount to cope with and Elliot hated himself for having made Farlden feel even worse. Seeing Farlden dating Callie had shaken Elliot’s faith in the two of them and he hadn’t given Farlden a chance. “You’re right.”

  “He broke up with Callie and he’s said he wants to be with you so you should believe that.”

  “I do.” He just needed to find Fal and tell him. He got to his feet to do just that as the door opened and Mosrra and Abbrin walked in.

  “Are we ready to start the magic?” Abbrin asked, causing problems even with his bad timing.

  “Callie isn’t here to pull us out of danger,” Elliot said.

  “I can do that,” Lila offered and winked at him.

  Elliot smiled, knowing he could safely put his trust in her, and let his personal worries fade as he sat back down.

  Chapter Forty

  “I DID not call any meeting,” Dervyl said when the team began trooping into her office.

  Elliot stopped in the doorway, ready to leave again, but ahead of him Abbrin said, “I did.”

  He gave no more explanation and, since they had been performing magic together, Elliot knew Abbrin hadn’t come up with any solution to the problem with Time. Elliot looked over at Dervyl who said easily, “Then you had better all come and sit down.”

  Elliot wished she had refused to do as Abbrin wanted, worried about what Abbrin might be up to this time. Someone put a hand lightly on his back and, realising he was still blocking the door, he moved forward, glancing round. It was Farlden. Elliot’s pulse rate increased at the sight of him and, not giving himself the chance to get nervous and put this off, he whispered to him, “Can we talk after the meeting?”

  “Yeah,” Farlden said at once but there was a troubled expression in his dark eyes.

  Everyone had arrived now and they were taking seats around Dervyl’s table, so Elliot couldn’t say anything else. He just hoped he could put things right between them soon. They joined the others, Farlden taking the seat next to him, which felt like a good start. Elliot gave him a tentative smile and gave a sigh of relief when it was reciprocated.

  “What did you want to discuss?” Dervyl asked Abbrin and Elliot focused on the meeting.

  “I’ve been increasingly concerned about your objectivity in this matter,” Abbrin said to her, “and I no longer believe you are fit to lead this team. I have expressed my concerns to the Prime Minister who has agreed to put me in charge so that we can swiftly deal with the problem.”

  “That trouble-making git,” Lila muttered, from the chair on Elliot’s left side.

  Abbrin’s expression was distinctly smug and Elliot wanted to punch him. Dervyl had been nothing but objective but she hadn’t given in to Abbrin’s plans. Keeping his voice low while others talked around them, Elliot said to Farlden, “He’s going to try and force us to undo the change in the timeline.”

  Farlden swore. “We can’t do that. What about the danger to my people?”

  “I know. We can’t let him say anything now before we can come up with another idea.” He turned back towards Abbrin and cut across the noise, saying, “We all took jobs here to work for Dervyl and, while she might have been given leadership of the team by the P.M., she was chosen by the Izient people to work with those with magic in this earth dimension. Has there been a vote by the Izients to give you her job?”

  Abbrin glared at Elliot. “There is no time for that. We have to act immediately.”

  “I agree with Abbrin,” Amy said and all eyes turned on her. “I’m married and I want to have children one day. Everyone in the world could die if we don’t do something.”

  “And what if we panic and do the wrong thing?” Farlden said. “We don’t know that there’s actually any danger of this so-called collision of present and future. If we make a bad choice we could cause worse damage to Time and that might not even be possible to fix.”

  “Fal’s right,” Elliot said. “Taking an extra few days to come up with the right solution is better than agreeing to something bad. We should study everyone’s findings on this and try to come up with a number of suggestions which can be decided on at a slightly later date.”

  “That sounds like a wise idea,” Dervyl said and – to Elliot’s relief – the others agreed, including Mosrra.

  “Very well,” Abbrin said. “We’ll meet again in two days and I’ll bring with me any ideas people in the other earth dimension have, but I won’t wait any longer than that.”

  Chapter Forty-One

  “I KNOW we need to talk about us,” Farlden said when Elliot caught his arm in the corridor after the meeting, “but, with the world and the fate of my people at stake, there isn’t time right now. I can’t think of anything but that.”

  He had spent the last couple of nights lying awake, grief-stricken over messing things up with Elliot as well as over the harm to Barve. In the early hours of the morning, it was difficult to imagine that anything would ever get better. He had thought about going through life without either of them and it sent a surge of panic and dread through his body.

  After what had happened in the meeting, though, Farlden had to concentrate on protecting the Nean people. If Abbrin got what he wanted, his entire race could end up being slaughtered.

  Elliot let go of his arm but continued to stand close by as people vanished from sight and doors closed around them. “You’re right. Look, all I really wanted to say was that I love you and I know I was unfair before. I’ll gladly wait for you or take things slowly.”

  Farlden gave a sigh of startled relief. He didn’t know what had changed Elliot’s mind and had been afraid they would end up arguing again, which was the last thing he wanted. The distance between them before had been painful. “Thanks. That means a lot to me. After this mess with Time and Abbrin is sorted out we’ll talk everything over properly, okay?”

  “Definitely.”

  They headed in different directions and Farlden glanced backwards at Elliot with a smile, everything seeming more manageable now that they had somehow resolved the problems between them. His smile faded away as he thought about what Abbrin had planned. The Izient had wanted this from the start – from before Time was even changed – and, unless they could think of another solution, Abbrin would succeed in an act that would likely result in genocide.

  He went i
nto an office to grab his laptop and found Callie sitting cross-legged on the floor with her own computer open in front of her. She glanced up at him and offered a distracted smile. “I’m trying to collate information so as to come up with a good idea to suggest at the next meeting.”

  “That’s exactly what I intended to do.”

  “If you’re willing, it might be better to work together. I don’t have magic so I haven’t seen what’s actually wrong with Time. You understand the whole situation better.”

  “Yeah and you’re better at research. That makes sense.” They had always worked well together in the past and it felt oddly normal to do it again now. If Callie could get past the changes in their relationship to do this, then he could too.

  He sat down on a cushion near hers and she said, “How about we talk about what we definitely know as facts rather than guesses and I’ll type that out as we speak.”

  “Okay. Well, Tchaffi, Dervyl, Elliot and me changed the timeline to avoid the murder of my race and that was when the ghosts started appearing.”

  She began typing. “Could you describe exactly what you did to alter reality?”

  “We went back about a hundred and fifty thousand years and Elliot put an idea of cooperation into the minds of the primitive human races.”

  “Just so I’m sure I’m saying this right, you didn’t actually travel back in Time?”

  “No. I used my magic, helped by Tchaffi and Dervyl, to look back in Time and Elliot’s magic let us find the memory of primitive Sapiens and Neans when they were just getting to know each other. It had all been agreed on by the Izients for more than a hundred years – they were just waiting for people from our earth dimension with strong enough magic to do it.”

  “Why couldn’t they do it themselves?”

  “It was something about us needing to have a link to this dimension. In that reality, Sapiens didn’t know about the existence of the Izient race; there weren’t any Izients living in this earth dimension. So it had to be Neans or Sapiens who actually performed the magic.” He watched as she typed furiously for a few minutes.