Chrysocolla

by B. Kristin McMichael

  The TV still played as I made my way back upstairs. Ty didn’t even know what I had done to him as he disappeared.

  Seth was still sleeping. I walked over to him and sat on the bed. It jostled him a bit and he reached up and pulled me into his arms.

  “Mmmmm,” he said into my hair. He was still asleep.

  I touched his face and studied him. It was possible I wasn’t going to see him again. I felt in my gut that going to see Logan was a trap, but I had to. He had Sim. He had Kye. They were my family, too. I couldn’t leave them with him. I touched the slight stubble on Seth’s chin. That was the same stubble that tickled when he kissed my neck. Slowly I reached up and put my fingers in his hair lightly. He moved his head into my hand as his eyes cracked open a little.

  “Everything okay?” he asked, concern lacing his voice.

  “Yes,” I replied. “Why?”

  He reached up and touched a tear on my cheek.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “Do you trust me?” I asked him.

  “Absolutely,” he replied with no hesitation.

  “Will you always love me?” I asked.

  “Forever.”

  “Can you forgive me?” He was so going to kill me when he finally figured out what I was up to.

  “For what?”

  I reached up and pulled his face to mine. His lips met mine in confusion. Tenderly he kissed me as if it would cause me to cry more. And I would. After he was home and safe. I let the power of the stones course through my veins before I pressed him into the past. It was time to go save Kye and Sim. I just hoped I did the right thing and that Seth and Ty would stay safe.

  Appearing in Chicago didn’t take too much effort. I didn’t stop at my own house, but went straight to Logan’s. I stood outside his mansion and waited for my nerves to settle. It was like going into a lion’s den. I expected things get more difficult and I hated not having a plan, but I had to go. I had to save them. My desire drove me, even if my nerves wanted me to run back to Egypt and grab Seth for protection. I had seen both sides of Logan and was pretty sure nice Logan wasn’t going to be the one to come out and play.

  The door to the house opened, and I held my breath. Time to play the game.

  “Mari?” Miller asked in shock as he looked at me.

  I let out my breath. I wasn’t expecting him to answer.

  “Logan said to let our guest in, but I didn’t think it would be you,” Miller replied. “You should leave before he can follow you,” Miller advised me, looking behind me like he was expecting someone else to show up.

  “I can’t leave. He has Sim. I can’t let him have my friend,” I answered.

  Miller looked quickly behind himself. “Sim is one person. If she disappears from the timeline, nothing will end up screwed up. You, on the other hand, are important. You should be back in Egypt. You have to go on and play your role or everything changes.”

  “My life isn’t any more important than anyone else’s,” I replied. And it definitely wasn’t more important than my friends.

  “That’s where you’re wrong. It is,” Miller added, but stood straighter. “Would you care to follow me in?” he asked, much more formally. I looked behind him and saw Logan turning the corner.

  “Love to,” I replied, and passed Miller as he held the door open.

  I bundled my nerves down and prepared to face the lion waiting in his den. I didn’t care what he wanted to do to me or what he had planned. I had one objective: get Sim out of whatever prison Logan was holding her in.

  “Mari, it’s nice that you came to join us. I’m sure Sim will be happy to see you,” Logan said, his voice smooth and sweet, but I didn’t buy it.

  “Where is she?” I asked, no niceness in my voice. I had one objective.

  “She was tired and went to lie down about ten minutes ago. I think she’s asleep. Would you care to join me for supper?” Logan asked. Was he really going to play that game? He knew exactly why I was there and yet he pretended like nothing was wrong.

  “I’m here, so let her go,” I replied, cutting to the chase.

  “Mari, Mari.” Logan tsked at me. “Why that angry? Shouldn’t old friends get caught up first before we turn to business?”

  “I’m not your friend,” I replied, not even trying to hide the disdain from my voice. There was no need to pretend. I had seen the real Logan, and I wanted nothing to do with him.

  “Well, if you want to see your friend, then you’re going to have to play nice. Now follow me to dinner,” Logan added. He turned and began walking away. He didn’t wait for me to reply.

  I felt anger boiling up inside of me, but I did my best to control it. Why was Logan playing like this? Wasn’t he trying to trap me and get me to himself? Dinner was just going to give Seth and Ty time to come looking for me.

  “This way,” Miller said, causing me to remember to follow Logan.

  I’d play his game, right until I found the loophole to rescue Sim.

  Logan led the way to the patio deck, with Miller right behind. The grill was going and Miller went to it to tend to the food. Logan walked over to the table and pulled out a seat. He waited for me to sit down. I could play his game, but I didn’t have to go that far, I didn’t have to give him everything he wanted. I walked around to the other side and pulled out my own chair.

  “Touché,” Logan replied as he sat and smiled at me.

  I studied his face. It was still the same handsome face I fell in love with years ago, but now I saw beyond the surface. His bright smile held more than just cheerfulness, there was a slight strain evident at the corners which dipped down slightly. He didn’t appreciate me not playing by his rules. Good. I was done with his rules. I planned to give him enough to think I was going along with him before I’d make my exit.

  “Miller is an excellent cook,” Logan said as Miller brought food to the table. “I was sad to have him sent off to take care of my father’s guests for many years.”

  I didn’t know how to reply. Logan was being so casual, but there was nothing casual about our situation. He was holding my friend captive.

  Logan helped himself to the food on the table and passed the meat over to me. I set it down and waited. I wasn’t hungry.

  “Eat,” Logan told me. I just stared back at him. “I thought you got how this works. You play nice, and then I’ll play nice.”

  “Why are you doing this? If we sit around long enough that will give Ty and Seth time to come back here,” I told him. I didn’t want to point out that this was his chance to take me, but he was acting strangely. Logan was normally more in control.

  Logan grinned at me. Then it hit me. That was exactly what he wanted. He didn’t want to just take me away where no one could get me. He wanted to do that in front of Ty and Seth.

  “You’re an ass,” I said to Logan before standing up. I didn’t need him to tell me where Sim was. I could already feel the connection leading exactly where I thought she would be.

  Logan stood also. The smile fell from his face as I turned from him. I didn’t have to play his game. I didn’t need him or his permission. I had powers now. And I was beginning to realize that I knew exactly how to use them.

  “While it was fun, I’ll go get my friend now,” I replied and walked away from him.

  I passed Miller on my way, and his mouth hung open in shock. I kind of wanted to turn around and look at Logan too, but I knew better. I was already nervous as it was standing up to him. I didn’t need him to see my weakness.

  I didn’t wait for Logan to join me opening the pool room door. I hesitated in the doorway and looked inside. The lights were dim, but there on the couch I saw her. Sim was curled up in a blanket, fast asleep. I touched my pocket and walked into the room. I might not be able to time travel, but I could always call for help on my phone. The twenty-first century had some perks, and Logan threatening me wasn’t as much of a threat as it was in the past.

  “Sim,” I said as I kneeled and touched her face. Sh
e was completely out. “Sim, wake up.”

  “She’s not going to wake up for another eight or so hours, right Miller?” Logan said from the doorway.

  “What’d you do to her?”

  “I did nothing?” Logan held his hands up in surrender. “Can’t say the same for Miller.”

  I looked at Miller.

  “Just one sleeping pill,” Miller replied.

  I rolled my eyes. I was going to need help carrying her out of the room before traveling with her, but I didn’t think either Logan or Miller were going to help me. I took out my phone and dialed Kye. He said he wasn’t going to leave this time, and I sure hoped that was the case.

  I heard the phone ring as Kye walked in behind Logan.

  “Hello, son. Finally coming to join us?” Logan asked. Kye didn’t even look at me.

  “Kye, I need help carrying Sim out of here. Can you come grab her?” I asked.

  Kye came over to me. Instead of bending down and taking Sim, he took the phone from my hand. He walked back and handed it to Logan. I stared at him in shock. What was going on? Kye continued to look only at Logan. Logan grinned at me with a look that made my blood turn to ice.

  “Kye?” I asked.

  Logan nodded to me. Kye turned to me to respond.

  His eyes stared vacantly at me.

  “Who is she?” Kye asked.

  My world dropped out from beneath me, and I did everything in my power to pull it together to keep standing. Kye’s eyes were vacant. He’d taken my phone, my lifeline out of the room I couldn’t travel from. He just destroyed my one quick move to leave. Worst of all, Kye didn’t know who I was.

  “Oh, did you think I wasn’t smart enough to go back and change his memories?” Logan asked from beside Kye. “Did you know the secret to changing memories of someone who can time travel is to go back to before they could travel and change things from there? All I had to do was go back and change how his life turned out from the moment I first took him time traveling. It was that simple, and all his memories and drive to save you are gone.”

  “But he’s our son. Why would you keep me out of his memories?” I asked. I was sad that Kye didn’t know me, but even more furious that Logan would take away any of the good memories Kye ever had. Kye was just an unfeeling shell now.

  “Because you tainted him into believing he was better off not being born. This way he knows exactly where he should be, and this Kye would never disobey his father,” Logan replied. “Now, if you would like to make yourself cozy while we wait for our guests, please be advised there’s no way out of here, and if you plan to try something, Kye just hid your grandfather.”

  My stomach sank. I had left people behind because they had nothing to do with the time travel world. I thought Logan would leave them alone. It seemed that wasn’t going to be the case. I looked back to Kye for any recognition of me but found nothing.

  “Come on son. Our guests should be here any time.” Logan walked away without looking back. “Thanks for making this easy, Mari. Why you and Kye thought you could outsmart me was beyond me.”

  They shut the door behind them as they left. I wanted to smack my head for being so stupid to fall into his plans. At least I knew why Kye hadn’t returned.

  I walked over to Sim on the couch. She was bundled up and sleeping soundly. At least I hoped that once I was gone Logan would leave her alone. She turned and rolled over. Who was I kidding? He was never going to leave anyone I loved alone. That was the problem. Now I just needed to fix it.

  The door opened, and I stood, expecting to see Logan again. Instead, Miller made his way into the room with a tray of food.

  “Figured you might be hungry,” Miller said as he moved over to the kitchen peninsula separating the kitchen from the living room.

  “Why would he do that to his own son?” I asked Miller.

  Miller slowly set down the tray and then went to the cabinets. He shrugged as he rummaged through them for a glass.

  “Did Kye ever tell you about his first time traveling?” Miller asked, wiggling his eyebrows to the ceiling.

  I didn’t look up, but I got the hint. We weren’t alone, more than likely. I would have put it past Logan to bug the place, and since I couldn’t be sure it was audio or video, I needed to be extra careful.

  “I don’t remember,” I replied.

  Kye did mention something about Logan changing his memories once, but Logan only changed them from a specific time. Miller continued to slowly get me a drink before rummaging through the cupboards to get something else.

  “You’re his son, right?” I asked.

  Startled, Miller looked up at me.

  “He had a chance to tell you?” Miller asked.

  “Yes, he told me about you. He said you can’t time travel, but you’re Logan’s son,” I replied. “Why not?”

  I had to keep Miller in the room and talking. I got the feeling that he wanted to tell me something, but I needed to be the one to drag it out of him. Logan was nearby listening, or watching, or both. I couldn’t risk Miller. Not for his sake or mine, as he was the only one I had left in Logan’s demented world.

  Miller paused at the cupboard. His eyes glazed over for a moment as he thought of the past, and then he focused back to me.

  “I couldn’t travel when I was first born,” he replied.

  I sucked in my breath. He was born that way. Was this Logan’s doing? Miller didn’t continue talking.

  “Will he do that to Kye?” I asked, barely a whisper. Kye might not have remembered me, but I didn’t want more to befall him at the hands of Logan.

  “Oh, no,” Miller replied. He bent down in the cupboard and then stood again, holding a bowl. He began rearranging my food and leaving the extra bowl beside all of it. His answer was done.

  “Is Logan waiting for the guys to come try to rescue me?” I asked. It seemed Miller could only answer questions from me but not start anything.

  “I don’t know. I’m not privy to those plans,” Miller replied with a shrug.

  I sighed. I really didn’t want to know about those plans either. Logan wasn’t playing nice, and I had a feeling it was going to be even worse for Seth and Ty. I saw it in Logan’s eyes. He hated both of them with a passion. I had to think it was other reasons, but it was obvious that Logan hated anything that took my focus away from him. I looked over at Sim. He was never going to let her go.

  “You’ll want to eat up,” Miller told me as he finished with everything he had arranged on the plate.

  “You didn’t drug it like hers?” I asked. It wasn’t nice to accuse him, but I wasn’t sure what I could and couldn’t eat.

  “Oh, no. Logan wants you awake. Part of all of this is that you have to come willingly. If he forces you to do something, then fate will interfere. Fate is a crazy thing. There are things that are meant to happen in our lives and fate tries to make it so, but everyone has free will. You have the chance to change things if you want. Logan needs you to be wide awake to make the changes he wants,” Miller explained, going to the doorway.

  “What about what I want?” I asked as he opened the door.

  Miller didn’t answer as he slipped out.

  Yeah, I had gotten that message already from Logan. It didn’t matter what I wanted.

  I walked over to the door and tried to turn the handle. If this really had to be about me wanting to go, then I should be able to leave, shouldn’t I? The handle didn’t turn. So much for free will.

  My stomach grumbled, and I finally realized I couldn’t remember when I last ate. Sim was still sleeping soundly, so I went over to the food Miller left. I had to hope he wasn’t lying as it looked really good. I remembered what a good cook Miller was, and I had to trust he wasn’t going to drug me.

  “Please put back any unused dishes when you’re done and all dirty dishes in the sink,” a note said that was lying next to the food. I looked at the burger, baked beans, coleslaw, corn cake, and the random empty bowl. Was I supposed to share with Sim? Did the bo
wl mean she would be waking soon? I looked back down and was puzzled. One bowl wasn’t going to hold all the food. It just seemed off.

  I read the note a second time and then wondered more about the empty bowl. I saw Miller kneel to get the bowl, so it belonged in one of the lower cabinets. I began to open doors and quickly found the one he took it from. Inside the cabinet was a second note for me.

  “Answers come from our pasts. Start at the beginning.”

  I looked at the note a second time. What was he trying to tell me about everything? I had to think back about all my conversations with Kye in the past few months. It was hard to think of me as the mother he had talked about, but he had talked about me. I just needed to remember. I knew about their pasts, even if I didn’t remember it firsthand.

  “Ugh. I feel like I’m hung over. What was in those drinks Logan gave me?” Sim said from the couch. She was awake. “One of these days I’m going to have to listen to my mother. When will I realize she knows more than me?”

  I stood up and looked at Sim. She was rubbing her forehead as she leaned forward with her head almost on her knees.

  It hit me then. Listen to your mother. I had been the one to teach Kye to time travel. Not Logan. If he erased Kye’s memories back to the first time Kye had traveled with him, then Kye was still Kye. Was that what Miller was hinting at? There had to be more. And that meant I had to go back and see it all. It was time to break out of Logan’s prison. I just didn’t know how.

  I jumped up from my spot and ran to the front door to try the handle again. It didn’t even budge.

  “Mari?” Sim asked, like she was seeing things.

  “Hi, Sim,” I replied briskly as I hurried back to the opposite door in the back of the kitchen. I wiggled that handle, and it didn’t move either.

  “What’s going on?” Sim asked as she tried to stand. She was a bit wobbly and quickly sat down.

  “Logan drugged you and kidnaped me,” I replied, cutting to the chase. Did it even matter if she believed me? I planned to go back and change the past again anyway.

  “He did what?” Sim was getting her energy back, and her face was contorting in anger. I was surprised by how fast she believed me.