Time Masters Book One; The Call (An Urban Fantasy, Time Travel Romance)

by Geralyn Beauchamp

  “Enough already!” Lany tossed the gun onto the pile of clothes lying on the damp ground. “Come on let’s get this over with. It’s late.”

  “Aye, as ye say.” Dallan turned from the fence and went to stand in front of his catches. “Weel, gentlemen, I think we’re ready. We thank ye ever so much fer yer earlier cooperation. I ken how dishonoring it must ha’ been fer ye and I really wish I could grant ye back some o’ yer lost honor by killing ye both. But Master Lany here seems to think that ‘twould be a verra bad idea.” He nodded at Lany, who had decided a grimace would be most appropriate. “So, I suppose this will ha’ to suffice.”

  Dallan stepped over to the shorter of the two, picked him up and sat him on top of the fence. The fat little man teetered a bit before Dallan poked him with a finger, sending him over the side, his muffled screams drowned in the gag placed on him earlier. He then walked over to the taller one, Graves, and gave the thug a huge grin, then let his face fall into one of sincere sympathy as he shook his head sadly. “’Tis a real shame I no get to kill ye. I hope this doesna get back to yer kinfolk too quickly. I ken how some families wilna let a warrior come back home once he’s lost his honor.”

  Lany stepped forward and tapped the Scot on the arm. “Dallan, you’re enjoying this far too much. Normally, I might, but it’s after midnight, I’m tired and I’m hungry. Just get it over with.” He walked back to the pile of clothes.

  Dallan looked from Lany to the trussed-up Graves, naked & shivering against the fence, fearfully awaiting his turn. “I still say ‘tis a horrible shame to no get to kill him. Why, his family probably wilna ever speak to him again. I hope ye can bear it on yer conscience, Master Lany.”

  Lany had to smile despite his exhaustion. “I’ll survive. Just do it, okay?”

  Dallan shrugged, picked up the thug, set him on the fence as he did the other and held him there a moment. “Weel, it canna be helped. If it’s any consolation, I’ll most likely kill yer friend Brennan,” his voice was no longer full of mischief, his words serious. “I ken ye wouldna want to see him dishonored like yerselves, but I canna promise it will be a quick death. Most likely a right painful one, one deserving of deeds done, if ye ken my meaning.”

  He got right in Graves’ face. “And should ye survive the night, tell him he’s as good as dead if I ever see him near my wee lass again.” He got even closer and lowered his voice. “The same goes for yerselves. If I ever see ye again, man, I’ll kill ye as sure as the fair sun sets. No matter what Master Lany says.” He unceremoniously shoved him over the side and waited for the muffled pain-filled cry of Graves trussed up body slamming against the concrete wall. He then went to the pile of clothes, took the gun, tucked it into the waistband of his shorts then picked up the clothes and tossed them over the fence as well. He turned to Lany. “Let’s go.”

  Lany breathed a sigh of relief and then noticed the purposeful stride with which Dallan walked. He trotted to catch up. “Where are we going?”

  “To the lass.”

  Lany stopped. He ached everywhere, especially his empty stomach. “Right,” he mused, then wondered how Eaton was faring. “Wait a minute, let me check something first.”

  Dallan ignored him and kept walking, fast.

  “Wait, I need to contact…”

  Dallan spun on him. “She hasna called to me tonight. I’ve no heard her song. Something’s not right, I know it!”

  Lany could hardly believe his ears. “What did you say?’

  Dallan began to look frantic. “I no can feel her. The music, I canna hear it!”

  “Oh, boy.” Lany reached into his back pocket and pulled out his communicator.

  Dallan began to pace, staring up at the night sky. “I dinna ken how to go to her. She doesna answer my call. Why can she no hear me?”

  Lany switched the communicator on.

  “And those two Sassenachh devils, ye should ha’ let me deal with them my own way!”

  “Eaton, I hope you’re there…”

  “And what of that cur from the library? How could ye let him take her? I should ha’ never let her go; nay I could ha’ made her stay.”

  “What is it, Lany?”

  “And it hurts, ye ken. It hurts now not to ha’ her here in my arms… holding her. I should never ha’ let her go.”

  “Did you hear him, Eaton?”

  “Uh oh.”

  “He’s falling apart on me. I don’t know what happened; he was fine a minute ago.”

  Dallan clutched his stomach and doubled over in pain with a groan.

  “Lany, where are you?”

  “City zoo.”

  “The… what? What in the Creator’s name are you doing there? Do you know what time it is?”

  “I’m aware. Let’s talk about the current crisis, okay?”

  A bit of stactic came over Lany's communicator then, “Do you think she’s calling?”

  Dallan threw back his head, and choked down a pain-filled sob.

  Lany froze as his heart lurched. “Eaton, I’m in the middle of the zoo with no immediate means of getting him out of here. I need Zara, now.”

  “Zara and Kwaku are with the Maiden. I’m at the shop with Angus. I’m afraid you’re on your own.”

  Now Lany became frantic. “There’s no way to get a hold of them?”

  “I’m sorry, Lany, no. Do what you can. Talk to him, anything. Just get him out of there and back to the shop. How far away are you?”

  “Several miles, at least.”

  “From the Maiden?”

  “Closer but I’m not sure how to get there.”

  “Head for the Maiden. Zara will sense him eventually and find you.”

  “On my way.” Lany shut the communicator off and stared at Dallan, who knelt, face to the sky, eyes closed, arms held loose at his sides. He took a cautious step forward.

  Dallan turned toward the sound of his footsteps and looked up at him, pain in his eyes. “Can ye no hear it? Can ye no feel it? Where is she?”

  Lany swallowed back his empathy and knelt next to the Weapons Master. “I think I can take you to her…”

  Dallan gripped his shoulders hard. “I canna bear this much more, Master Lany. Why does this ha’ to happen? I dinna understand!” His face fell to his chest, his body now shaking with pain.

  Lany bit the inside of his cheek and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Get up, Dallan. You have to get up now.”

  He again raised his face, “Master Lany, did ye… did ye ken that I love herrr?” His entire body began to tremble uncontrollably. “I dinna feel right, something’s wrong with m… me.” He gripped his shoulders even tighter. “Help, help me L… Lany, p… please.”

  Lany froze for only a second before tightly closing his eyes. Oh Creator please, please help him. Oh please, something’s wrong, what’s hap… His eyes suddenly sprang open. “Brennan?”

  “I dinna ken how to go to her, I told her… I told her in the city to run, run t ... to the b… building. It came so f… fast. And they took her. He took her from me. I… I wanted to kill him, he laughed at me… I…”

  “D… Dallan, stop. Stop it and get up!”

  “They were… in the carriage. They took her from me, bound her, took her.” Dallan grabbed the front of Lany’s shirt, gripping it so hard the material began to tear away from the collar. “I tried to go… to her. Then he came and laughed at m… me. He wanted to hurt her. I wilna let him! Do ye no hear me? I wilna let him! Dinna let him take her!”

  He shook Lany so hard his teeth rattled. A blessing, really. The action shook Lany’s senses wide awake, and he did what he felt was the only thing he could do under the circumstances.

  He pulled back his arm and punched Dallan square in the jaw, knocking him to the cold, damp ground.

  The Weapons Master lay stunned a moment, and then curled up into a ball, his arms held protectively around his stomach. His body then began to jerk violently.

  “No!” Lany was again at his side, communicator in hand. “Eaton!” />
  Dallan threw his head back, eyes closed tightly shut and began to choke.

  “Eaton! Dallan, no, please!” He knew the Scot was having some sort of seizure, and he also knew how helpless he was at the moment to help.

  Oh Creator! Send Zara, please! Send her now, I need help! I can’t do this alone, plea…

  “Move away from him, Mos-go-fi -an.”

  Lany threw himself from Dallan, who now lay on his back in the full throes of the seizure as Kwaku knelt by his side and pulled a small black case out of his pants pocket. He flipped it open and extracted a tiny metal rectangular object. Throwing his body over Dallan’s, he lifted the Scot’s head by the hair and pushed the metal object into the back of his neck. There was a slight flash of blue light. Dallan’s body jerked one final time then suddenly went completely still.

  Lany, on his knees, fell face first to the ground.

  “Give your danks quickly, Mos-go-fi -an. We must get him to safety.”

  Lany pushed himself up and stared blankly at Kwaku, then looked to the discarded case. “Nerve regulators are forbidden past the first time quadrant.”

  “I know.”

  Lany half-laughed, half sighed and shook his head. “Kwaku, there are times like now when I’m glad you hold absolutely no respect for the law.”

  Kwaku nodded gravely. “So also is my wife.” He put his arms beneath Dallan’s limp form, and lifted him as if he were a child. “Come, Mos-go-fi-an. Zara must tend him. She should be droo wid de Maiden by now and will be here at any moment.”

  Lany got to his feet and followed the Time Master only a few steps before stopping him. “Kwaku…”

  He turned to Lany, Dallan cradled in his arms, and took in his expression. “Yes, Councilor.” He nodded his head slowly, his eyes narrowed to slits. “Brennan…” He turned back to Dallan as a father looks to an injured child. “We are almost out of time. Brennan, he must have touched de Maiden, done someding to confuse her heart, been wid her while she was in Flux.”

  Lany’s eyes widened as he blanched. “That means…”

  “De bonding is badly damaged. De Maiden and de Boyeee,” Kwaku closed his eyes and swallowed hard, “are now dying.”

  * * *

  John paced nervously. At least ten minutes had passed since Lany’s urgent cry for help, then nothing. Not a word. What could be happening with Dallan? Was he all right?

  “Here, Lord John, drink this. ‘Twill make yer stomach more agreeable.” Angus offered him a bottle of thick pink liquid.

  John stared at the bottle a moment and shook his head. “I’m worried, Angus. Something bad has happened. I know it.” He resumed pacing.

  Angus eyed the bottle. “Ye canna let it affect ye like this. Ye’ll be no help to the others when they gets here.” He opened it, took a healthy swig, grimaced as he shook himself and held the bottle out to John.

  The Lord Councilor watched as Angus’s face contorted, looked at the bottle, then back to Angus. “What is that?”

  Angus smiled. “I always keeps a supply on hand when I ken the heathen’s a-coming fer a visit. Thought we might be need’n extra, so I brought a bottle here.”

  John took the bottle and peered at the contents. He took a cautious sniff and wrinkled his nose. “This is disgusting.”

  “Aye, but so is the heathen. Sometimes a man has to pick the lesser o’ two evils.”

  John was about to comment, when the lights suddenly flickered. “What was that?”

  Angus shrugged. “’Tis an old building. The electrical sometimes goes on and off when I run the microwave.”

  The lights flickered again and what weapons lay about the back room of the shop, rattled.

  “I don’t think it’s from the microwave, Angus. For one thing, it’s not on.” John stated.

  Angus’s eyes grew wide. “Mother o’ God! What’s that De’il heathen trying to do, ruin me?”

  John looked apprehensively about. “What’s going on?” The whole room shook, sending various pieces of weaponry to the floor with a clatter.

  “Ye mean to say ye’ve never seen the heathen’s a-comins and a-goins?”

  “No!” John dodged a falling lance. “At least not from this end.”

  “Well then, gets ready! Here he comes!” Angus dove behind a shield as a piercing yellow light sliced through the wall in front of them, tracing the long rows of swords, books and other paraphernalia as it flowed from some unseen source.

  Then John heard it. Music. “Zara?” He blanched as he realized that for Kwaku to risk using a door to get to the shop could only mean one thing.

  No sooner had the thought struck him the outline made by the light peeled away to reveal a grassy knoll, a sky filled with stars and a full moon. A cool breeze drifted through the room, lifting the hair from John’s forehead as he took in what lay before him.

  Kwaku was just coming over the knoll, Lany close on his heels, both men’s faces filled with concern. But John hardly let that register. Another sight caught the Lord Councilor, one much more disturbing. “Oh no, no, please.” He raced from the room into the night.

  Kwaku carried the unconscious form of Dallan, his large Scots body cradled like a child in the Time Master’s arms. “Go back droo de door, Lord Councilor. My wife cannot hold it for long.”

  John skidded to a stop and turned. Zara knelt in the grass, head thrown back, arms lifted to the sky as she sang. He could see her body sway slightly, a sure sign she was tiring. He ran back through the door behind Lany.

  Kwaku quickly laid Dallan on the floor then ran to his wife. “Beloved, come with me.” He took her uplifted hands, pulled her to her feet and ushered her through the door just in time. The knoll and night sky faded slowly from sight, bringing back into existence the wall of the shop’s back room.

  Zara, exhausted, needed Kwaku’s help just to kneel beside Dallan.

  “Kawahnee…” Her voice was weak. “He is injured?”

  Kwaku knelt beside his wife and wrapped his arms around her. “He suffered when de bond became damaged. De regulator should have caught it in time, but only you can be sure, pretty one. He has been unconscious too long. Search his body, find de weakness.”

  “The loss of his Maiden is the weakness. He cannot survive now without her. I can repair him physically, but not emotionally.”

  Kwaku merely nodded, his face full of concern.

  John pulled Lany aside. “What happened?”

  Lany let go a weary sigh, his eyes still glued to Dallan. “Eaton, there was nothing I could do! He was fine, then boom, he fell into some sort of seizure.”

  John stared at Dallan as Zara placed one hand on the Scot’s forehead, the other on one leg. She threw her head back eyes closed in concentration, and softly sang, Muiraran features still in place. Not once had they changed since the door closed. She was indeed tired. “Oh no. The Maiden?”

  Lany’s face suddenly changed to anger, his eyes narrowed to slits, his jaw tense. John had never seen him so angry. “Brennan.”

  “No, no, tell me he…”

  “He must have touched her, probably while she was sleeping and in Flux. It’s the only explanation. She and Dallan have too strong a bond for anything else to affect it. I don’t think Brennan even knows the damage he’s done.”

  “Damage?”

  Lany nodded his face still tense. “Eaton, we have to move fast. Kwaku said the Maiden experienced a mild form of what happened to Dallan. Her heart’s confused; it doesn’t know who to bond with. Brennan all but stole what Dallan had gained from her. Now that… that stupid, lousy…”

  “Lany, calm down.”

  He took a deep breath. “Brennan wouldn’t have touched her if he knew the harm it would cause.” He turned to John with an expression of rage and despair. “The next time she needs to feed, the next time her heart calls, Brennan could easily take her.”

  John backed up a few steps and fell into the chair behind him.

  “And if no one is able to answer the Call…” Lany closed his
eyes, his hands balling into fists. “She’ll die.”

  John sat, stunned at the words. “What in the Creator’s name are we going to do?”

  Angus hobbled forward to stand before the two Councilors, at last able to break away from the sight of Zara. He offered them a sheepish look. “Might I make a suggestion?”

  “What is it?” Lany asked.

  The old Scot shuffled his feet around and pulled his lower lip between his teeth. “Weel, if the bond has only been weakened, not broken, then seems to me ye only need something to fix the tear, to … weel, sew it together?”

  John and Lany exchanged a quick look.

  “Ye ken what fixes lover’s quarrels and all that. Ye must ha’ done it a thousand times yerselves.”

  John began to smile. “Go on, Angus.”

  “To fix the bond, why do they no seal it back up?”

  Lany was still confused. “With what?”

  Angus shrugged. “A kiss, o’ course.”

  “Seal it with a kiss.” Lany’s mouth dropped into an amazed smile. He quickly looked to Kwaku and Zara.

  The Time Master still knelt, a huge grin across his face, while his wife stared at Angus, her own face weary but smiling. “For dis, little bro-dar, you will be well rewarded.”

  * * *

  Shona opened her eyes slowly, her vision blurred. Where was she? Where was… was… she couldn’t seem to remember who might be there with her, or rather, who she wished was with her. How confusing.

  She wearily sat up and took in her surroundings, cataloguing the furniture, wallpaper, pictures, curtains, everything her eyes took in. Her mind quickly sorted the information and brought forth the answer she wanted.