Time of Treason

by Susan M. MacDonald

“I’ll take all of them,” Alec said to the sales clerk.

  “Very good, sir,” the man gave a slight bow. “Would you prefer to wear them now or shall I wrap?”

  “I’ll wear them. Just cut off the tags. You can throw my old stuff out.”

  Within minutes the clerk had run through the sale and Alec had handed over a sizable chunk of his cash. He hadn’t realized just how expensive Harrods was but for the first time in years money wasn’t an issue. Alec picked up the small package that contained the gold earrings he’d bought for his mom and shoved it into the jacket pocket along with the receipt for the new clothes. He’d have to find a post office and send them off to her, before he lost them. He grinned as he imagined her opening it. She’d probably cry.

  He turned and headed towards the escalators, his thoughts filled with plans. He was going to need another withdrawal for supper and a hotel room. There was an ATM in the store. He remembered seeing a sign for it when he came in. He’d just nip downstairs, grab some cash then snare a taxi. Suddenly, as if someone had punched him in his guts, he realized. His orb. Where was it?

  Frantically he patted the pockets of his new jeans and the jacket. Nothing. Cripes. He was sure he’d transferred it to his new jacket. Could it have fallen out onto the carpeted floor and he hadn’t heard it? He was defenseless without the orb. He turned, intending to run back up the escalator stairs but there was no room. Other than tossing shopper after shopper over the side of the movable stairway he wasn’t going to be able to make it.

  It seemed to take ages to land at the next floor down, run around to the up escalator and propel himself ahead of the people already waiting. He ignored the outraged comments. The second he was off the step he broke into a run and headed back to the fitting rooms.

  “Excuse me, sir, that room is occupied.” An unfamiliar salesman appeared out of nowhere, brandishing a measuring tape and supercilious expression.

  Alec tugged on the locked door of the change room. “I was just in here,” he said. “My old clothes are there and I left something important in a pocket. Or on the floor.”

  “I’m sure you didn’t,” the salesman sniffed. “I personally noted this cubicle was empty.”

  “Where’s the other guy?” Alec snapped. “The skinny one with the mustache. He helped me buy these clothes and he said he’d get rid of my old ones.”

  The salesman pursed his lips. “I’m sure I don’t know.”

  “You do,” Alec almost shouted. “He was just here five minutes ago.”

  “I believe Mr. Steiner has left on his dinner break. You may check back in an hour or leave your telephone number and I shall be sure to pass it to him.”

  Alec let go of the door handle and took a step towards the clerk. He reached out and poked the man in the chest, just above his nametag. “Look, Geoffrey,” he said as he read the tag, “I need my clothes. Now. Or else.”

  “Are you threatening me?” Geoffrey’s eyes narrowed and he straightened to his full height, which was several inches taller than Alec although most of that height was neck.

  “Not yet,” Alec growled.

  “Is there a problem?” The elderly man that emerged from the cubicle was almost wider than he was tall but he carried himself with the bearing of a Navy Rear Admiral. Alec dripped his hand to his side and unconsciously took a step back.

  “I left my old clothes in this change room.” Alec heard the respectful tone of his own voice in surprise. “I’ve lost something important.”

  The customer sidestepped and waved at the interior. “You are most welcome to take a look.”

  Alec didn’t hesitate. Pushing past the clerk he leaned around the door. Other than the portly gentleman’s trousers, neatly folded on the velvet wing chair and a hanger on the hook above it, the cubicle was empty.

  “He’s taken them then,” Alec addressed his comments to Geoffrey. “Where would he take my clothes? He was going to throw them out.”

  Geoffrey gave a sour look and his generous Adam’s apple bobbed a few times before he wordlessly turned and led the way out of the fitting room. Alec followed immediately behind, a sick feeling growing in his stomach with every step. If his clothes were already in the incinerator he’d be up a creek. He’d have no choice but to eventually call his parents and have them bring him home. The airline ticket alone would doom them.

  “I can’t leave the floor, at this hour,” Geoffrey said, “and I suspect your clothes, if they were for disposal, have been taken to the basement. But perhaps it’s worth checking the bins, just in case.”

  Alec pushed past him and reached for the garbage container under the cashier’s desk. There were several wads of crumpled packaging and someone’s leftover sandwich, but Alec didn’t care. He shoved his hand as far into the bin as possible and rummaged around.

  Geoffrey had just opened his mouth to clearly tell him off when Alec’s hand touched cloth and the distinct bulge of rounded crystal. “Got it,” he gasped with relief. It took both hands to pull the worn jeans out and extract the orb. Paper and bits of bread rained onto the floor. Alec gripped the orb tightly and leaned against the counter as the adrenaline ebbed. Thank heavens.

  It was the horror reflected in Geoffrey’s eyes that had Alec ducking. The swoosh of the golf club slicing the air just above his head was the signal to run. That and the goosebumps that had sprung to life all over. Alec caught a glimpse of the customer from the change room wielding the club like a samurai and Geoffrey’s shocked face before he dropped to the ground and rolled. Crack. The golf club hit the counter with enough force to split the surface and throw the box of paperclips into the air. They rained down on the floor where Alec had been a second before.

  “Oh please, sir, no,” Geoffrey cried. He was abruptly silenced as the golf club whirled again and hit him with a dull splat across his face. Alec saw the splash of blood and internally cringed. But there was no time to help the salesman. Already the club was sailing through the air in his direction.

  Alec scrambled to his feet and ran. The store was too crowded to get any real speed but Alec had years of zigzagging through opponents on the soccer field and he put every skill to use now. He dashed around shoppers and baby carriages, careened around displays of mannequins—one of which depicted a golf scenario and was missing a club— and jumped over a toddler who was taking a tantrum on the floor. He heard the shouts of outrage from the patrons he knocked over but there was no time to apologize. The crazed rear admiral was right behind him.

  If he could get to the escalators he could push himself in between people and escape to another floor much faster than the Emissary. His assailant was too fat to get by anyone on the stairs. He glanced around at the signage hanging from the ceiling as he darted into an area full of racks of clothes. Nothing. He gritted his jaw. He was sure he’d come this way before, but there was no sign of the escalator and he must have gotten turned around.

  He ran out of the racks on the other side and skidded to a stop. Right in front of him a huge crowd waited at the wall of elevator doors. And a light glowing above the one to the far right indicated it was heading downwards. Alec didn’t hesitate. He ran around the crowd and thrust himself through, stepping into the elevator right in front of an elderly lady and almost pushing her back out. The doors slammed shut in front of him, trapping him in a tightly packed space with almost no room to breathe.

  He sighed with relief and closed his eyes.

  “That, young man, was incredibly rude.”

  Alec didn’t crack an eye open at the matronly voice beside him and, with great restraint, refrained from giving her the finger. He concentrated instead on keeping his hand off his orb and catching his breath. That had been too close. Rhozan had found him when he least expected it and if he’d been half a second faster, it would have been Alec’s brains all over the countertop, not paperclips. There was no way he was going to use an ATM in this store now. Better wait and find one with plenty of space for a quick exit.

  The elevator jerked. For a
second Alec lost his balance and bumped into the cranky woman who’d told him off.

  “Sorry,” he muttered.

  “I should think so,” she replied haughtily.

  Alec didn’t get a chance to reply. The floor of the elevator abruptly dropped away from Alec’s feet.

  16

  The sun was hidden by a slow moving band of clouds that threatened only shade as Riley and Peter made their way slowly up the steep hill that preceded Deborah’s neighbourhood. The day hadn’t been an entire loss, she thought to herself. They’d managed a type of truce. As long as Riley said nothing about Alec or the situation they were in, Peter managed to keep a veneer of politeness over his feelings. There had actually been seconds when she hadn’t minded his company. Riley pulled a brochure out from her pocket and stretched the accordioned page out.

  “Look at this,” she said, peering more closely at the pictorial display of a crowded beach she’d picked up at a travel agent’s. “Even in winter, people in Sydney can go swimming. It’s winter there now.”

  Peter glanced over her shoulder. His new sunglasses hid his eyes. “I have a pen pal there,” he said.

  “Pen pal?” Riley laughed. “Like, with letters? Who does that these days? Everyone emails and Facebooks and stuff.”

  “Letter writing is a lost art,” Peter said in a chilly tone. “Some of us still appreciate it.”

  Riley shrugged. “Each to his own, I guess.” She stuffed the folder back. “So, Australia next?”

  “Sure,” Peter nodded.

  “Okay. We’ll spend the night at Deb’s. Rest up. Tomorrow, when she goes out for the day, we’ll…,” Riley waved her hand to indicate their special mode of transport, “and see how we get on.”

  “I’ve always wanted to see the Outback,” Peter said as they turned the corner onto Deborah’s street.

  Riley glanced up. “Sure,” she started to say. But the word died on her tongue as she froze in place and Peter stumbled into her. Up ahead, on the steps of Deborah’s apartment building, two very familiar people were talking to an even more familiar, dark-haired woman in stiletto heels.

  “Stop.” Riley grabbed Peter’s arm. She swung him around. “Walk quickly.”

  “What is it?”

  “I think that’s Darius and Anna. Talking to Deb. No, don’t look!” Hurrying back the way they came, Riley turned the corner, Peter right beside her. She ducked into the side of the building and peeked out. “Get behind me,” she ordered.

  “Stop telling me what to do.” Peter elbowed her out of the way and poked his own head around the brickwork. He immediately ducked back. “I think it’s them.”

  “We’ll run down this road and grab the next bus. There’s one every five minutes. I don’t think they saw us.”

  “No. Transport out.” Peter was already reaching towards her pocket where she kept her orb. “Let’s go.”

  “Don’t be crazy. They’ll feel the power so close. He’ll be right behind me. We’re better off running.”

  “Gimme the orb.”

  “No.”

  He was bigger and stronger and her shoulder still ached terribly. Riley didn’t stand a chance. He pulled it right out of her hand. He backed away, holding the orb above his head. His face was a mask of triumph.

  “Who’s in charge now, huh?” he hissed. “Either you do what I say for a change or I leave you behind. Got it?”

  Riley’s voice was low and urgent. Even now Darius could be sensing Peter’s touch on the crystal. “You don’t know what you’re doing with that thing and I do. Your best chance of surviving is to do what I tell you. Give me back my orb before you totally screw things up.”

  Peter backed away, his steps taking him further into the shadows between the buildings they were hiding behind. “You had your turn. Now it’s mine.”

  “This isn’t an issue of what’s fair, you idiot,” she spat.

  “You guys think you’re better than me, don’t you?” Peter taunted. “You thought I was coming around nicely, all afternoon, didn’t you? Play Peter along and he’ll do everything you want. Well, I’m not going to. I’m not Alec. You mean nothing to me.”

  Riley was slightly shocked at the vitriol. She hadn’t sensed this, not once. “I’ve trained for weeks to do this and you—”

  Riley didn’t get out another word. A firm hand came down on her sore shoulder, sending her into spasms of pain. She dropped to the ground with a scream.

  “Don’t even think about it, Peter,” Darius warned. He dropped to his knees to cradle Riley as she rocked in agony. “What happened to—?”

  Anna flew around the corner and skidded to a stop. She took in the scene in one glance.

  Peter cursed. Clasping the orb with both hands, he squeezed his eyes shut tight and grimaced. For a second nothing happened and Anna calmly reached for her own orb and raised it. Then he vanished.

  17

  Alec had paid enough attention in physics class to know that falling seven stories totally sucked. There was no choice. Turn into a bloody pancake or use his orb.

  He shoved his hand into his pocket and tightened his fingers around the crystal. Move it, he ordered. The satisfying surge of Tyon power made his skin tingle and his heart race. Around him, panic seized the other occupants of the elevator. Their screams filled the air and elbows and hands beat futilely at him and the walls. Alec didn’t have time to pick a destination or to fight off the wildly terrified people around him. He just left.

  He was vaguely aware of the usual pulling and pushing sensations and that he was not alone as he travelled. He was also aware of a growing sense of guilt. He had left at least ten people to die. It didn’t matter that there was nothing he could have done to save them; no one had the power to move so many through space with a Tyon crystal. But those people were dying directly because of him. Rhozan wouldn’t have cut the cable otherwise.

  Sickened, he landed with a thud and toppled backwards into the tiled walls. Someone fell on top of him and someone else gave a loud grunt and shoved him from behind. An almost-familiar voice was screaming. Alec opened his eyes as he jammed the orb back into his pocket.

  He was back in the same subway he’d started in, he realized with a start. Clearly his subconscious had been driving and had recognized the tube station as a safe place. But on the other hand, he’d brought four people with him, which explained the massive headache that was now making its unpleasantness known. Groaning, he clasped a hand to his forehead and checked out the vicinity. Five people winking into existence in the middle of a very public space was not going to be missed. Especially by the people who’d done the travelling.

  The matronly woman who’d told him off in the elevator had landed several feet away and was lying on her back, her wool skirt around her waist and her knee-high nylons kicking in the air. Alec groaned. What a horrible sight. Directly on top of him was a businessman. The man was struggling to right himself and grabbing at the papers that had escaped his briefcase and were floating downwards to settle all over the filthy floor while his eyes darted all over the subway station, Alec, and the screaming matron. The businessman gibbered something unintelligible, gave one final terrified look at Alec and bolted. Alec pulled himself to his feet and turned to see whom he’d landed on. It was actually two people and one of them looked enough like Riley that Alec’s heart zoomed right back up into his throat. He couldn’t tear his eyes away and for a long moment stood entranced.

  A closer inspection showed that the Riley look-alike was actually much older and not nearly as pretty. Especially as her eyes narrowed and she snarled, “Who the hell are you?”

  Okay, that was more like Riley.

  Alec was just about to take a step away when a heavy hand dropped to his shoulder and spun him around. Off balance and sickened by the teleportation and the headache, Alec fell against the uniformed chest of a burly man.

  “Ere, young man. What’s going on?”

  Alec blinked at the shiny buttons under his nose. The hands gripped his sh
oulders again, this time both sides, and pulled him upwards to stand about a foot away. Alec craned his neck upwards. The police officer was nearly a foot taller and twice as wide. He stank of nicotine and his hazel eyes didn’t have a fraction of kindness anywhere.

  Alec tried to moisten his mouth enough to unstick his tongue from the roof. He was about to protest his innocence, when the matron shoved herself between the officer and Alec and started screeching.

  Alec watched the bobby’s face harden as he focused on the woman. The second the grip on his shoulders slackened, Alec was off. Head still pounding, vertigo threatening to topple him to the ground with every step, he ran. He heard the shouts behind him. The cop’s thick baritone brogue, the matron’s shriek of indignation and the Riley look-alike’s profanity. None of it mattered. The icy sensation of being targeted galvanized his feet. An Emissary. Somewhere nearby and moving in fast.

  Alec tore through the station. He vaulted over the exit turnstiles and took the stairs upwards three at a time. There were more shouts but he ignored them. The instant he was out of the station and on the street he turned on the speed. He didn’t spare a look behind.

  He ran down the street for several blocks before the goosebumps faded and the uneasy feeling disappeared. He slowed to a walk and tried to catch his breath. That had been far too close and way too scary.

  He forced himself to take a few slow and deep breaths. He would have to grab a cab and get something to eat and find a place to stay for the night. He had only a few pounds left in his pocket so another ATM was on the list too, and he didn’t fancy that at all. Rhozan was getting faster at showing up when he touched his orb. One of these times his luck was going to run out.

  He buttoned his jacket and rammed his hands in the pockets, mostly to keep them well away from his orb. The lights in the shops on either side of the street were coming on and the crowds thinning. All the cabs seemed full and now that the adrenaline rush was over he felt drained and weary. He had just spotted a bank machine on the other side of the street when the freezing sensation started in his orb again. Without pausing to consider it, he ducked in the closest shop, scurried around a rack of clothing and slipped up to the window, hiding behind a mannequin. He peered through the glass and waited.