Blue Abyss: Timewalker Chronicles, Book 3 (The Timewalker Chronicles)

by Michele Callahan

Tim grunted. “Unless someone didn’t want the royal family to know. Perhaps there is a traitor among you, or another reason a Timewalker would feel the need to hide from you…or from your family?”

  That logic hit too close to home. Had a Timewalker learned of his brother’s betrayal? Could a Seer have known asked the Dark One to create a special stone? But who and why? And even more importantly, when?

  “Well, it lit up on the inside.” Sarah tilted her head. “What was it supposed to do?”

  He debated before reluctantly revealing the truth, or at least part of it. “It should have revealed the name of its creator, or activated a beacon, a tracking device, so the Remnant could be returned to the physical body where the rest of its pieces remain. But, any number of things could be locked in this stone, a piece of someone’s soul, a memory, maps, stored data, a personal communication…”

  Sarah bit her lower lip and stared at him for a moment, looking at him, through him, as if she could see into his soul. Judging him. It was an unnerving experience. His entire life people respected his judgment in battle, followed his orders without question or hesitation. But these three treated him like an unknown rookie. He was out of his element here. Out of his time.

  The truth was, they shouldn’t trust him. And now, thanks to the Mark, Mari’s life was in danger and he was the cause. He didn’t like it one bit, but held his tongue. Did Sarah see the truth in his eyes? Did she know? Did Mari?

  Sarah came to some sort of decision. He saw it in the stiff set of her shoulders. Tim took a step closer to her.

  “Sarah?”

  Sarah held up her hand to stop both men from moving or speaking again. She looked over her shoulder at Mari and then back at Raiden. “Mari’s blood opened the cave doors. Not yours. Maybe you need Mari’s blood to activate the crystal.”

  Raiden shook his head. “No. That would be impossible. She is not royal or Itaran. For her blood to activate the stone, she would have had to be there when the crystal was created.”

  Sarah arched her eyebrow at him. “And how do you know that she wasn’t?”

  Raiden’s head began to ache. How indeed? Timewalkers. Time…Walkers.

  “Okay. Hand it to me, please.” Mari held out her hand and Raiden settled next to her knees on the bed. Her hand shook so much he wasn’t sure she could hold on to the stone without help. Her whispered question made his heart actually hurt. “What’s a Remnant?”

  What indeed. Raiden didn’t want to distress her further. He didn’t dare tell her everything, but in this, he could speak the truth. “It’s a piece of someone’s soul, torn from the whole and trapped inside the stone. It must be returned to the body left behind. The Remnant might be half a soul, or less, depending on the stone and the purpose and the strength of the creator. The body left behind will function normally, for a time. The Immortals can last thousands of years split in this way. But eventually, even they becomes soulless. Insane. Once that happens, they are locked up in a place too terrible to name until their soul stone is found. Some half-bloods have been locked up for centuries, waiting.”

  She shuddered. “That’s terrible.”

  “I am sorry, Marina. I did not want to lie to you.”

  Mari shook her head. “No. I’m glad I know.” She took a deep breath, “Whose soul do you think is in this stone?” She shoved her hand, palm up, close to his chest. “Please.”

  He knew he should allow her to do this on her own, but he couldn’t seem to stop his hand from lifting to cup hers from below and still her shaking. With his other hand he placed the stone in her palm and held it there, trapped her hand between his until her shuddering stopped.

  She smiled, eyes glassy with apprehension and her voice filled with a slow sigh of exhaustion. “Let’s see if this thing is going to help us…” She pulled her hand from his and sliced her thumb open along its edge as he’d done. “Let’s hope it’s not Timewalker kryptonite.”

  “Kryptonite?” Mari ignored him, so Raiden looked to Tim and Sarah for an answer.

  Sarah shook her head but didn’t take her eyes form the stone, which was absorbing Mari’s blood like a sponge. “It’s a Superman thing. Forget it.”

  “Superman?” Raiden had no idea what they were talking about, but it didn’t matter. The crystal added a soft orange glow at its center. Now there were two small lights buried within the crystal. They did not flicker or blink, they simply were. Raiden cursed and checked Mari’s thumb even though the tug on his shoulder told him that the wound had already healed.

  “Now what, Prince Charming?” Tim held out his hand and Mari placed the crystal in his large palm, her shaking fingers small and slight against the brute’s paws. That was what her hands looked like within his own grip. Too small. Too delicate. Easily injured. Perhaps if he put some distance between them, her link to him and her dangerous ability to absorb his wounds without even touching him would cease.

  “Should we try our blood?” Sarah suggested it and Raiden waved them off. “Try it. It shouldn’t have accepted Mari’s blood either. But if it were Timewalker blood it needed, the quota has been met.”

  “True.” Tim sliced his finger open and smeared blood on the stone. “But I think we need to eliminate the possibility.”

  When nothing happened, Tim gave the stone to Sarah and she did the same. Raiden turned away in disappointment. All hope that some cosmic destiny had pulled him here, to this time and these people for a reason, fled. He had one purpose and it had not changed. His mission was what drove him to place himself in the pod, to battle the Triscani for a century, to suffer two years in dreamless sleep. He just hoped none of these people had to be hurt in the process. Especially Mari. Although, if he didn’t break their bond, he’d destroy her.

  Would it better to die before he’d completed his mission? Better to fail and free her? Better to doom both her people and his? The fact that he considered sacrificing two worlds to save her life spoke volumes about the seductive power she now wielded over him. He definitely wasn’t in his right mind. He couldn’t be. No sane man would be thinking these thoughts.

  “What do we do now?” Sarah asked no one in particular.

  The answer? He had to live. He had to complete his mission and find a way to break Mari’s hold on him without losing his sanity. She helped hold the darkness at bay, helped sooth the Remnant’s fire within him. But he’d survived without her healing touch, he could do so again…after she led him to his ship. “We find my ship. I know about where it crashed in the Bermuda Triangle. It’s close.”

  “That’s great in theory, but you have no idea where it is.” Tim crossed his arms and glared. “They found you. Locked you up in that cave. Who the hell knows what they might have done with your ship. Lots of water on the planet, lots of caves, in case you didn’t know.”

  Raiden glared right back at him. “I will recreate the battle and calculate my entry point. It shouldn’t be that difficult to get a good idea where to look. Moving a stasis pod is one thing, moving an entire ship would be much more difficult.”

  Tim snorted.

  Hell. Tim was right. He hoped they had not moved his ship from its crash site. If they had, he had no way to track his vessel. Anger clogged his throat and he couldn’t speak.

  Mari squeezed his hand. “I can find it.”

  Dread sank through Raiden’s chest to settle in his stomach like a boulder. “How?”

  “I can feel it, calling me. Just like you did.” Mari closed her eyes as goose bumps coated her arms and a shudder racked her small frame. “And it’s close.”

  Tim wrapped his arm around Sarah’s shoulders and addressed him. “How much time do we have? You on a deadline?”

  Raiden wanted to laugh. How much time indeed? “Not that I know of.”

  “Seven weeks, two days, and change.” Sarah’s quiet confidence silenced them all.

  “What do you mean, seven weeks? What happens in seven weeks?” Mari leaned forward, her brow creased with concern.

  Sarah held out the ta
blet and some printed photographs. “This is what Mari found in the cave. There was a countdown running and a timeline posted on the wall. Most of the dates are in the past.” She handed copies to Mari and shared hers with Tim. Raiden leaned in close to Mari to look over the photos.

  Sarah continued. “Assuming the timer was accurate as of today, and assuming it took Mari several hours to reach us, we’ve got just over seven weeks until that timer reaches zero.”

  “And then what?” Mari paled, and even though he knew it was a bad idea, Raiden couldn’t stand to see her suffer. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her in close.

  “May 22nd.” Raiden dropped his hand and traced the outline of the image staring up at him from the photograph. “By the gods, it can’t be.”

  “What?” Mari looked up at him, and the wide-eyed trust and fear he saw in her gaze nearly undid him. “What happens on May 22nd? ”

  “War.”

  “What are you talking about?” Mari shivered. “With who? What kind of war?”

  “The kind that kills most humans on your planet.”

  Tim cursed and Sarah grabbed his hand. Raiden tightened his hold on Mari and she leaned into him as Tim continued. “And if we find your ship? Find this weapon you won’t tell us about?”

  Raiden shook his head. “Maybe. Maybe, if I can warn the Dark One and prevent the Triscani from opening the Gate…” Perhaps this was what the Seer had witnessed, the reason he’d been lost in time and Mari sent to his side. The Crux was mere weeks away. Somewhere, out there on his home world, the arrogant youth he’d once been walked the hallways of the stone castle this very moment, ignorant of his destiny. What was this? A parallel universe? A cosmic joke? He sure as hell didn’t feel like laughing.

  “I can find your ship. It’s not far from the cave. I felt it.” Mari pulled out of his arms and collapsed back on her pillows, weak, pale, and shaking.

  “You’re in no condition to go back out into the water, amata mea.” Raiden tried to be calm, but the thought of putting her back in the salt water anywhere near those bastards set his blood to boiling. It was too big of a risk. She’d nearly died in his arms mere hours ago.

  “He’s right.” Tim thumped the photograph he held against his opposite hand. “Sarah and I need to make a call, formulate our plans. We don’t know where this Dark One is, so even if we can find your ship, you’re going to need transportation, passports, and money. The bastard could be on the island or he could be in Siberia. We need a day. Probably two.”

  Sarah nodded agreement. “You two rest and heal. We’ll worry about the rest tomorrow.”

  Raiden looked out the window at the dark sky and starlight. Home was out there somewhere, but it didn’t call to him any longer. It was just another place to battle, to do the political dance and clean up his family’s messes. To fight and bleed and survive while scores of friends died.

  But sitting still when his ship was so close was anathema, until he looked at the woman on the bed, the woman whose soft skin lay covered in salt residue and whose hands shook when she moved. The woman who’d faced down Triscani to save his life, then risked death to heal him. If he owed anyone allegiance now, it was her, for as long as he drew breath.

  And he was cursed to leave her.

  How long he had, he wasn’t sure. Weeks perhaps. The Remnant ate away his soul a bit at a time. But he could survive the bitch Queen’s control long enough to complete his mission and save Mari’s world. Save her. As long as they didn’t bond completely. As long as he could find the strength to refuse her Mark and set her free.

  He nodded at Tim and watched the man escort his willowy wife from the room. Tomorrow would be soon enough to face reality. Tonight’s conversation had somehow zapped all of his strength.

  Mari soon slept, unable to stay awake any longer and he lay down beside her, suddenly exhausted. The Shen pulsed on his shoulder and he knew she was drawing power from the bond, healing herself.

  “Take all you want, Mari.” He pressed a kiss to her shoulder and pulled the blanket away and cocooned her in his arms where she’d be safe. Immediately the draining sensation changed to a warm buzzing. He held her close and went to sleep surrounded by the scent of sunshine, tropical beaches and the wild sea.

  <><><>

  He woke before dawn with Mari curled up pressed to his side. Overnight more salt had exited her system and the white residue turned her soft skin a chalky white. Her black hair, was tinged gray with dried salt. He indulged his need to touch her, traced the soft curve of her cheek with his knuckles.

  The last few hours had shaken him to his core. He was rattled and unsure. More twisted up inside than he’d been since his very first battle. And all because the woman in his arms wanted something from him was couldn’t give.

  But he could take care of her. Hold her. Help her heal.

  Raiden slid from the bed and made his way to the bathroom. A few minutes later, the shower ran with nice, warm water. He’d laid out soap and a towel, and stripped to the boxers Tim had given him.

  Gently, he lifted her in his arms and carried her to the waiting water. Her eyelids fluttered open and she grinned at him.

  “How about washing off all that salt?”

  “God, yes.” She tried to stand and he let her legs slide down to the floor. When he released her completely, she wobbled, nearly crashed into the wall. “Guess I’m not ready yet.”

  Raiden caught her, wrapped an arm around her waist and helped her dip her hair under the water. “Don’t worry, Mari. I’ve got you. I won’t let you fall.”

  “Promise?”

  He was about to say, yes, to give his word, but stopped himself and stared down at her upturned face and closed eyes. The black crescent of her lashes rested on perfectly sculpted face. The face of a goddess. A woman too perfect to be real, and too valuable to be his. And though her question was simple, her meaning was not. She wasn’t just talking about the shower now, and they both knew it.

  In answer he turned her around so her back leaned against his chest and began to gently wash her hair. She didn’t move away from him, even when his erection jumped up and demanded attention against her curvy ass. She leaned into him and trusted him to take care of her.

  It was humbling. Perfect. Beautiful.

  It scared the shit out of him.

  When she reached up to her shoulders and peeled off her swim suit, he helped her. The soft contour of her hips, the full weight of her breasts seduced him into dangerous territory. He wanted to fuck her, to claim her, to keep her. His brain warred with his cock, and won. Barely.

  He kept his touch clinical and his eyes on the tile walls as she washed the salt from her skin. What he wanted didn’t matter. If he couldn’t find the Dark One, or if the famously callous male refused to aid him, he’d turn soon, the light in his soul devoured by both the Queen’s Remnant and the souls he’d tasted during battle. He’d be dead, or he’d be Triscani. Either way, he wouldn’t take her with him.

  When she was done, and his body felt like a caldera ready to explode, she turned in his arms and looked up at him, forced him to meet her gaze. “What are you doing here, Raiden? Why won’t you even look at me? Don’t you want me?”

  He gulped past a huge lump in his throat. Here he was, hanging on to his control by a thread, and the hurt in her eyes nearly unmanned him. “Gods, yes. You are a beautiful woman, Mari. Perfect.”

  “I want you, too.”

  “I know.” She was going to kill him.

  “Then why won’t you touch me? Isn’t that why you brought me in here? I don’t know about things on your world, but when a man takes a woman into the shower here on Earth, she expects to get a little action.”

  “Action?”

  She leaned forward, evidently quite recovered from her earlier ordeal, and wrapped a hot hand around his cock, the scant thread of the boxers he still wore all that saved him. “Yes. Action. Sex. You. Inside me.”

  “That’s what you want? Even if I tell you that I can’t st
ay? That I can’t be what you want me to be?” He looked down into her dark eyes and prayed she’d say yes. He wanted her. It was a fact. And he knew that she’d wanted him too. Yes, he felt a need to care for her, to make sure she was all right. But she was right. He’d stripped her naked in the shower. His cock had made that decision, and his brain had played along, hoping for this very outcome. He wanted her. Hot. Hard. Against the wall. The floor. He didn’t much care where, as long as she came apart in his arms.

  Sex. That was all. Just sex. He’d told her he couldn’t stay. The decision was hers now, and he’d have a clear conscience.

  “Yes, Raiden. That’s what I want.” She continued to stroke him with one hand as the other explored his chest before climbing up his neck to wrap around his head and pull his mouth down to hers for a blazing, soul-stealing kiss.

  Raiden took what he wanted, and she gave him everything, opened to his mouth, his hands, and his dominance like a flower welcoming the sun. Total acceptance. Total trust. And so fucking hot he had to fight to stay in control.

  He kissed her, kept her mouth open as he tasted and plundered. One hand found a breast, tweaking the nipple and massaging the full weight while his other travelled south. He slid two fingers into her slick heat and stroked the inside of her vaginal walls until she moaned and writhed against his hand, whimpered into his mouth, desperate for release.

  He dropped to his knees and spread her thighs, lifting them to his shoulders in one fast move before finding her center and tasting her. Mari’s hands tugged at his hair and she bucked against his mouth, but he held her still, feet off the ground, open for his sensual assault. He was relentless, determined to conquer her senses, to brand her flesh with his name, his touch, his memory until no other male would ever be able to make her forget this moment or his mastery.

  She cried out with her orgasm, and he didn’t give her a chance to recover. He lifted her as he stood, and placed her sweet core over his cock, exactly where he needed her to be.

  They both shuddered as he pulled her body down, impaled her, conquered her.

  Claimed her.