The guarding militia down, Triaten kicked several bodies away from the door, and the three stepped into the building.
The question of Doctor Saima’s fate was answered three steps into the building, as her body laid on its back by the door, baby in her arms.
Skye had to swallow hard on the bile that rose again in her throat as they stepped past the bodies. Noise above them drew the three up the stairs. At the top, the concrete block hallway was empty, but of the rooms branching off the hall, only one door was closed.
Triaten started down the hall, just as a charging scream preceded a hulking man, sword drawn, charging out from the closest open room. Triaten had his blade up just in time to block the first heavy swing. By the time the clash of swords rang into the air, Aiden had drawn a dagger and thrust it past Triaten’s shoulder, into the heart of the Malefic. The Malefic slid to the ground, sword still above his head.
Triaten shot Aiden an enraged look as he continued down the hall. “Malefics led this.” It confirmed what the elders had said.
With a nod, Aiden moved past Triaten and kicked open the closed wooden door in front of them. Three Malefics, swords swinging, rushed at the group. Aiden grabbed the wrist of one as it flew past him, jerking him to a stop, and sunk his dagger into his back.
Triaten handled the next through the door, and after two swings by the Malefic, he pounced on unsteadiness and kicked him in the chest, sending him to the ground.
Triaten’s blade sliced off his head in one furious motion.
Furious, because the third Malefic had stopped and slunk back into the room. The Malefic’s blade was over the body on the floor — Charlotte. He sneered as he raised the sword, ready to sink it into Charlotte.
The sneer lasted only an instant, for a dagger flew across the room, impaling the Malefic between the eyes. Both Triaten and Aiden glanced down in surprise at Skye, who had just thrown the blade. The Malefic fell backward, and Aiden was over to him in a blink, sword burying into the Malefic’s chest.
Aiden and Skye looked around, watching for more attacks, but it was silent. Triaten was already at Charlotte’s head, his hand on her cheek, trying to open her closed eyes.
“Charlotte. Wake up.” He patted her dirt-crusted cheek. “Wake up.”
“Triaten, her hand,” Skye whispered.
Triaten looked down at her body. Charlotte’s left hand sat flattened, palm down, over her own heart. Blood soaked the white t-shirt she wore. The blood was clearly thickest above her heart, tapering out in circular fashion from the spot below her hand. On the back of Charlotte’s hand, there was the faintest glow of red emanating from her skin.
“Shit, she’s healing herself,” Aiden murmured in awe what all three were thinking.
“Charlotte,” Triaten whispered, his voice desperate. He slapped her face harder as he pulled her head into his lap, taking care to not jar her hand from her heart. “Charlotte. Wake up.”
Slowly, through the dirt blanketing her face, the whites of Charlotte’s eyes appeared behind the tiniest cracks in her lashes.
Her mouth opened and air came out, but no sound.
“Charlotte, I’m right here. Open your eyes, Charlotte.”
She closed her mouth and reopened it. This time, sound made it through. “Thomas?”
“No, Char,” Triaten’s voice cracked, “it’s Triaten.”
At his words, Charlotte’s lashes opened and her eyes tried to focus on the face above her. “Tri — I knew you would come.” She took a shallow breath as her eyes closed again. “Tri, Thomas is here.”
“Thomas is where, Charlotte?”
“He wants me to come. I told him I couldn’t. I couldn’t leave you. But I’m getting so tired.”
“Charlotte, open your eyes. Look at me,” Triaten demanded of her.
When her eyes re-opened, Triaten pounced. “When did they attack? How long ago? We need to know, Char.”
“I don’t know. I don’t know how long I’ve been here.” She drew a shuddered breath, and a blood-soaked cough was her reward. The red droplets flew out of her mouth, landing in a trail down her chin, but she kept talking once the cough ceased.
“I was moving through the bodies, helping the little ones I could find, until they found me crawling. I was so weak from healing. I couldn’t fight. They took me here. And tried to kill me, but couldn’t. And then they knew what I was...and they brought that one...that Malefic to kill me. He nicked my heart with his blade. How long have I been here?” Her eyes slid closed again.
It wasn’t the answer Triaten needed. “Char, stay with me. How long were they here before the girl called me? Think Charlotte, how long?”
She didn’t open her eyes, but her voice still came out. “Three, maybe four hours. They worked their way in from the fence — we didn’t know it was happening — and when we did, we tried to move some.”
Satisfied with the timeline, Triaten smoothed the hair at her forehead. “Don’t worry Char, Skye is here and she’s going to set it back. We’ll go back and be ready when they come again.”
Triaten tore his eyes from Charlotte and commanded Skye. “You need to go back days. We have to have time for the flight and to be ready. Go back to the day you two came back from Mustique.”
Charlotte’s body jerked and her hand slipped off her heart. It became obvious her mind was no longer clear as she started to mumbled. “Thomas? I know. But I can’t go...No, it’s Tri…Yes, Tri, he’s here. I told you he would come…no…I don’t want to…” She was silent for a moment.
“Char, stay with me.” Triaten ordered.
“But...no...please no…I can’t…but…okay. Goodbye? I can’t. Don’t make me. No...I won’t…okay. I’ll come.”
The mumbled conversation behind Charlotte’s closed eyes terrified Triaten, and in despair, he grabbed her hand and put it back over her heart. But the glow was gone. He leaned down, close to her face, grasping her cheeks.
“Stay with me, Char. Stay. Here, right here. Skye will fix this. You need to just stay with me.”
Her eyes slit open. “Tri. Promise me.” The words muddled in her labored breath, barely audible.
“Anything Char. Anything.”
“Bring me home…after. My body. Bring me home. Don’t leave me here.”
Tears fell down from Triaten onto her face. “No, Char, you’re going to be fine. Just hold on. Stay with me. Just a little longer.”
“Promise me. I want to be near you.”
“Char.”
A weak cough sprayed more blood. “Promise me.”
Triaten’s head dropped, and he put his forehead onto hers. “I promise.”
Her eyes slid closed. “Thomas...now?”
Triaten’s hands moved, and he gripped Charlotte’s body, clutching her limpness into him. He looked up at Skye, yelling. “Skye — god, just do it — she’s dying.”
“I know. I’m trying.” Skye shot back, and slipped down against a wall onto her heels. Eyes closed, she clasped her hands over her face.
Seconds ticked by.
Charlotte’s breath slowed.
“Do it now, Skye, do it now.” Triaten’s voice pitched desperation. “She’s going. We don’t know what will happen if she dies. We could lose her. Go back, Skye. Hurry, god dammit.”
Skye didn’t answer, didn’t move.
A gargle of air popped through Charlotte’s mouth. She was taking her last breaths.
“For god’s sake, Skye, just do it, dammit!” Anguish etched Triaten’s words.
Aiden strode from the open doorway and slapped Triaten across the head. “She needs it quiet.”
“What the fuck, Aiden? Charlotte’s dying and Skye needs it quiet?”
Aiden crossed his arms, glaring down at Triaten. “Skye can do it, Triaten, just shut the hell up.”
Aiden looked over at the ball Skye had wrapped herself into at the wall. “Do it now, Skye.” It was a demanding whisper. “You can do it. Just send it back.”
In an instant, Skye was standi
ng in the study at the ranch, swinging her hand at Triaten. Her arm froze in mid-slap as they looked at each other. It was the day Aiden and she had come back from Mustique, and she was just about to deck Triaten for sleeping with her sister.
Triaten and Skye stared at each other as the enormity of what Skye had just done sunk in. And once it did sink in, Triaten ran at Skye and wrapped his arms around her, crushing her as he yanked her off the ground.
“You did it. Thank god, Skye.” The relief in his words were ground shaking. “Thank god. Thank you.”
“Skye.” Aiden opened the study door and walked in.
Triaten reluctantly put her down, only to pass the manhandling to Aiden. Aiden grabbed her shoulders and spun her toward him.
He bent over so he was eye level with her. Concern angled his brows inward. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” Skye rubbed her forehead, still shifting her mind back to the past — to the now. She was the one that actually had control over the time shifts, but they were disconcerting to her. So how Triaten and Aiden took time shifts so in stride, she didn’t know.
When the present moment actually manifested in her mind, Skye exhaled in sorrow. “Oh hell, Shiv.”
“Shiv? She’s fine. I just left her in the kitchen,” Aiden said.
“No. It’s that I didn’t know where to go back to, and this was the only moment that popped into my mind — slapping Triaten.”
She looked over her shoulder at him with an apologetic half-smile, then turned back to Aiden. “But I erased everything with Shiv. All the repair, Aiden. She forgave me, and I threw it away.” Her hand went to her forehead. “I threw it away.”
“So you’ll talk to her again. You’ll get back to where you need to be. You will find a way.”
Aiden’s eyes shifted to Triaten. Aiden read his look immediately. He looked back down at Skye. “But not now. We need to get back down to Charlotte. We have to be there before they attack again.”
“Shit.” Skye bit her lip in disgruntled acceptance. “I know.”
The phone rang. Triaten answered it before the first ring ended. “Charlotte?”
Relief flashed across Triaten’s face.
“We’re on our way. I’m not letting anyone take you away.”
{ Chapter 13 }
They were on the plane again within an hour. Triaten and Aiden spent the next three hours juggling a multitude of cell lines, in order to coordinate Panthenites from around the world to converge and protect as many of the attacked camps and villages as they could. Not knowing whether the Malefics would attack again after the time shift was a gamble. But if they could stop the mass murders, they would.
Skye mostly ignored the two of them. Instead, her mind kept running over how they had left Shiv. The three of them had clipped through the house, going through the kitchen. Shiv still sat at the table, playing absent-mindedly with the beans and almonds on her plate.
Triaten had stiffly grabbed Shiv’s shoulder and told her they had to leave unexpectedly.
“All of you?” Shiv asked, confused and looking around at the three of them. Her eyes ended on Skye.
“We’ll be back within a couple days, I promise.” Skye offered.
Triaten squeezed Shiv’s shoulder and then walked across the kitchen, grabbed keys from the wall, and went out the kitchen door. Aiden followed.
Skye was left standing across from Shiv, watching her. Shiv’s eyes were trained on the empty open door. She had looked...abandoned, Skye had to acknowledge. And it broke Skye’s heart to see the look, for she recognized it as the same from years ago, when the police had taken her away from Shiv.
Shiv shifted her eyes to Skye. “No need to stay on my account,” she said, dismissing her with a twinge of bitterness.
Saving thousands was more important, Skye told herself, but she couldn’t help the selfish thought from filling her head — she wished she hadn’t gone back in time. Hadn’t erased all that she had gained back with Shiv.
Her gut like a rock, she gave Shiv a weak smile. “See you in a couple days.”
And she walked out the door.
Shutting off his last call with his thumb, Aiden walked across the airplane’s cabin and plopped down next to Skye on the couch. His hand went to the back of her neck, thumb and forefinger gently manipulating the tight tendons.
“You did good, my love.” He bent over and kissed her forehead.
Skye leaned into his chest, pulling her feet off the floor and tucking them in. “Why does it not feel like that?”
“Worried about Shiv?”
Skye nodded, her head rubbing against Aiden’s chest. He played with her chestnut curls, hanging loose since she had pulled her hair out of the ponytail once they got on the plane.
“And I’m worried about Charlotte,” Aiden said.
“Charlotte? Why?”
“Did you not see what was happening between Charlotte and Triaten? I suppose not. You were working on sending time back.”
“What was going on?” Skye asked.
“Let’s just say I have some questions for Triaten.”
Convenient for Aiden, at that moment, Triaten finished his last call. Standing, he glanced down at the two on the couch. “I think that’s it. We’ve pulled in as many Panthenites as we have available at the moment, and they’re all en route. I just hope it’ll be enough.”
“Did the elders learn anything more?” Aiden asked.
“No.” Triaten shook his head, perplexed. “They didn’t see this coming the first time around, and all they have to go on are the reports from the sites that were attacked.”
Aiden watched his friend closely as he sat down across the cabin. Triaten picked up a pen, tapping it on the arm of the seat as he studied the map of Africa spread out on the table next to him. A computer and tablet were half on the map, pushed to the wall of the plane. Both had a variety of satellite imagery pulled up.
“Triaten, about Charlotte.” Aiden started, and waited for Triaten to look over at him. He continued once he had Triaten’s attention. “What’s going on with you two?”
Triaten looked back down at the map. The pen tapping got faster. “Nothing. What do you mean?”
“I mean — Charlotte leaves the mountain unexpectedly and without a word. She’s gone for months without contact. We find her, and then you, well, you were holding onto her like you were losing your soul.”
Triaten glanced up sharply at Aiden. At the same moment, Skye pulled away from his chest, sitting up straight next to him. She looked back and forth from Aiden to Triaten, as the understanding of the insinuation Aiden made dawned across her face.
Aiden continued. “So, do you need to tell us something?”
Triaten didn’t break Aiden’s gaze. “It’s private.”
“It’s not private if it puts Charlotte in danger,” Aiden countered. “Do you have something to tell us?”
The tapping of the pen froze, and Triaten’s jaw flexed. “Do you remember the night before the flame moon? It was before Skye sent time back, and you were on your rampage, and Charlotte and I were just trying to keep you alive?”
Aiden nodded.
“At that motel. Charlotte was in a bad way. And things...things just went too far.”
Aiden’s lips tightened. “You slept with her?”
“Yes, I did. But she wasn’t with me.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.” Aiden’s voice was hard.
Triaten suddenly resigned himself to tell them the full story. “In her mind she was with Thomas.”
“Ouch.” Aiden cringed.
“And then the night of the flame moon. The moon threw her. I brought her home and it was almost a repeat of the night at the motel, but I stopped it. I thought maybe the first time I was misreading it. Misreading who she was imagining I was. But I wasn’t. So I stopped it. The next morning she left. Right before your wedding.”
“She was in that bad of a state-of-mind and you just let her leave?” Aiden asked accusingly.
The buzz of the plane’s air system was the only sound in the silence that followed Triaten’s words.
Skye’s face had slowly contorted into anger. “You’re in love with Charlotte, aren’t you?”
Triaten looked at her, but didn’t answer.
Full realization sunk in and Skye stood up, her height allowing her to only slightly tower above him. “Holy shit, Triaten. You’re in love with Charlotte and you’re banging my sister. What the hell are you thinking?”
“Your sister is her own person, Skye, in case you hadn’t noticed. A grown woman. And it was her idea. And her idea to keep it casual.”
Skye didn’t let him continue. “Casual? Don’t even start on that. It is not casual, and you know it. And now you’re fucking going to break Shiv’s heart –”
“Charlotte doesn’t want me, Skye. She made that clear.”
Aiden stood up next to his wife. “Did she, Triaten? Because when she was half-dead and mumbling, it was pretty clear she was choosing you over Thomas.”
Triaten glared up at the two of them. “And that is why this is none of your business.”
“Don’t tell me this is none of my business.” Skye spat out. “This is my sister.”
“And this is Charlotte.” Aiden echoed.
Triaten didn’t answer, just scowled up at the two of them. A scowl that reflected two-fold back down at him.
Triaten broke. “Before you two stick me on a spit, can we please just concentrate on getting Charlotte back to the mountain — alive?”
Skye crossed her arms across her chest, a deep glower making her cheek twitch. But she chose not to say anything. Instead, she turned and walked toward the back of the plane, disappearing behind the half wall that separated the bed from the main cabin.
Aiden didn’t move from his spot. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“There wasn’t anything to tell, Aiden.” He sighed and leaned back in the chair. “It was over before it began. There was no need.”
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