Marjorie brought over the cranberries and a box of candy canes. "Help me hang these."
"It's starting to look like Christmas in here. I hope he wakes up today so we can surprise him. Christmas has always been Niki's favorite holiday. We would sleep on the floor in the living room of Mr. Allen's house with the fire going in the fireplace on Christmas Eve, waiting for Santa. We watched movies and sang carols. How's that peppermint hot cocoa coming?"
"Nearly finished." Leo, wearing a Santa hat, took a spoonful of the steaming chocolate and sipped it. "I'll keep it in the crock pot so it can stay warm. I also made some whipped cream, just how Niki likes it."
"Perfect."
"All done in there?" Leo asked.
"Almost." Jack sorted through the bags he brought from shopping. "Where's the nativity scene?"
Marjorie placed her hands on her hips. "The what?"
"It shows the baby Jesus in the stables with the wise men and animals. Niki loves it."
"Why?"
"I don't know. He just does." Jack got on his hands and knees then fetched the box from underneath the sofa. "Found it. Niki, he even carved one himself one year. I helped him paint it."
"Is he religious?" Leo asked, his interest in his son piqued.
"I've never seen him go to church, but he prays. For him and me, it's more about spirituality on a personal level."
"So, he's not Muslim. Interesting."
Jack carried the box to the counter and began unpacking the porcelain pieces. "Why is it interesting? Not everyone from Iran is Muslim."
"No, I know that. It's just that his mother was. It was part of the reason we cut off her family. They were pressuring me to convert before we got married. I was raised Roman Catholic, so that wasn't going to happen. We didn't care that we had different religions, so we got married at a courthouse. I guess love does conquer all. I just assumed that Shadi would have raised Niki the way her family wanted. But she honored my wishes by letting him choose. That means a lot to me, actually."
Jack set up the nativity scene on the counter, placing each piece as he had every year before while Niki would read the verses out of the Bible and Ellie watched in wide-eyed wonder. It was the one time each year that Niki opened the book that usually sat dust-kissed on his bookshelf, but when he did, he held it with the utmost care and reverence. He turned the hair-thin pages delicately so as to not rip them. He even held it to his chest as if he was protecting it. Jack had asked him about it one time, about his beliefs, but he only got a warm smile in return and an offer to go get tacos.
"Jack?"
He blinked away the memories to see Thyme poking him in the knee. "What's up, Thyme?"
"Your Time Knight is awake."
Jack gasped. He jumped up to see Niki standing in the doorway to the bedroom. The Time Knight was holding onto the door frame, wearing baggy grey sweatpants and a black t-shirt. His lack of hair made his cheekbones and angular nose more prominent while bringing out his eyes that were glazed with a medicated haze. A swollen bruise covered his lower left jaw where stubble had grown. Jack opened his mouth to speak, but his voice caught in his throat. There was something different about him, something that hung over him. Defeat? Exhaustion? Endless pain?
Niki let out a quiet sigh as he looked around at the decorations and the people who had gathered there for him. He wiped excess ointment from the few cigarette burns that peeked out of the collar of his shirt. "Smells good in here."
Holding out his hands, Jack stepped up to his Time Knight. "Niki, Merry Christmas."
"Jack. It's you. You're here."
"Yeah, I'm here. I'm right here. I'm here for you. Can I touch you? I'll be gentle. I just need to feel you breathing."
Niki nodded his head.
Jack wrapped his arms around him and brought his friend to his chest. He held Niki there as he felt the Time Knight trembling. Warm tears soaked through his flannel shirt as his heart broke. "Oh, Niki. It's all right. I'm here now. I'm here and I'm not leaving. You saved me, Niki. You did what you always wanted to do. You protected me by taking the blame. I'm here because of you. Now I'm here to take care of you."
"I couldn't let you go to prison."
"I know, and I will be eternally in your debt. I owe you my life."
"You owe me nothing." Niki pulled out of his arms and wiped his eyes on his cut and bruised arms. "I did my duty as your Time Knight. That's all."
Leo called to him from the kitchen. "Son, I made your favorite hot cocoa."
"I need to sit down."
"I've got you." Jack placed his arm around his friend's back and led him to the sofa. He sat down next to him. "There we are. Breathe."
Niki groaned, sinking into the corner of the couch. He closed his eyes and held onto Jack's hand. "Who's the woman?"
"Agent Marjorie Dunley. She's Syndicate, but don't worry. She's part of the reason you're here right now. She loved my father."
"Mmm."
Thyme tiptoed over to the living room with a cup of steaming hot cocoa in his tiny hands. He looked up at Niki. "Hot cocoa?"
"Sure. Thank you."
The sage boy smiled and glanced at Jack for approval
Jack nodded. "Go ask Mr. Leo for a cup."
"Really?"
"Go on."
"Thank you, Jack!"
Niki took a drink of his cocoa and the tension visibly melted from his muscles. "Peppermint and milk chocolate with whipped cream. I knew this was my father's recipe. My mother always made it for me. It was the last thing I asked to be served at my funeral before I fell unconscious at Sand Headquarters. Am I dead? Did I die and now you're here, Jack? And it's Christmas? I knew heaven would be like Christmas."
Jack cleared his throat then stood and helped Niki up. He had to stop that line of thinking. Did Niki actually think he was dead? He helped his friend into the bedroom then out onto the balcony where the snow had started to melt. "Come out here with me. Get some air."
"It's cold in heaven." Niki's bare feet sunk into the slushy snow as he went to the railing and peered over. "There's more people."
"Niki, you're not dead. This isn't heaven. You survived the night. I think you're just tired and woozy from medications."
"Oh."
"You sound disappointed."
Niki sipped his hot cocoa. "Heaven sounds nice. You're right, though. I wouldn't be hurting if I was in heaven. If you were with me in heaven, that would mean you were dead, too. So, I guess I'm okay with still being alive. I had a dream last night about dying. It was through your eyes. You were there at my funeral, crying, standing beside my casket and you kissed my forehead before you climbed in with me. You stayed there as they closed it and buried you alive."
"That sure is an interesting dream."
"I'm just traumatized. Yesterday was . . . a lot to deal with." He held the warm cup as he shivered. "Has anyone told you what happened?"
"I watched it, the video."
"I see."
"It showed up on Marjorie's phone. I saw your name attached to it, so I opened it. Niki . . ."
He shook his head. "So you know what they did."
"I do."
"I can still serve you. Give me a week to heal and I'll be back to full operating condition."
"I wanted to ask you about that. Why are you like this?" Jack asked, rubbing his Time Knight's back.
"Like what?"
"I know what you were raised to be for me. I know what Mr. Allen taught you and what was pounded into your head since the day you were born. Niki, you've done enough."
Niki slammed his cup down on the railing, knocking an icicle loose. "It will never be enough."
"Why, though? You've gone above and beyond what a Time Knight should do for their Chronomancer. This really started recently. You would have died in that freezer for me. That's not okay."
"I have a confession to make." He ran his hand over his shaved head. "I am at fault for what happened to you and Ellie in middle school."
"You're tired and h
urting. You don't know what you're saying."
"I do know what I'm saying, Jack. I was drag racing through the streets of Mana Glen. I bet money I didn't have on a race, but I lost. Those bullies who attacked you beat me up and found your pictures in my wallet. I told them who you were and where you went to school. I didn't want to be hit anymore. I couldn't take pain as well back then as I can now. They left me alone and I thought it was over. I didn't make the connection until you told your account of that day after you came back from Venice. That's why I got so upset and left to get cigarettes."
Was he serious? "That wasn't your fault."
"But I was supposed to protect you. I failed you."
"You have more than paid for that. You paid a price that no one should ever have to pay. Now it's my time to help you. You know about the bond we have, right? You know that you're only doing as well as you are after yesterday because we've been so close to each other in this hotel? If we're close to each other, it helps us heal."
Niki sighed then took another drink of his hot cocoa. "I figured as much. I should have died in that freezer. I know they left me there to bleed out."
"Niki, I need you to remember as much as you can about the people who hurt you. I need to know their voices, their eyes, any part of their faces you saw. Did they have accents? Did they know who you were? I swear to you that I'm going to find these people and make them pay for every cut, every bruise, and every burn they put on your body. Tell me who did this."
"I know who did it. I know one of them, at least. His voice, his eyes, the hourglass on his hand. Xander."
Jack took a step back. "Xander Sutcliff?"
"It was him. He was the one with the uh . . . the meat hook."
"Oh my God. Why, though? Why would Xander do that to you?"
"He's always hated me. You knew that."
Jack bit his lip. "I didn't think he would take it that far."
"He was betting on me dying to that gunshot wound. When I didn't, he had to do something else."
"Like calling the FBI to raid Sand HQ. He wanted you dead."
Niki wrung his fingers together. "From the very beginning."
"I should have seen it. I should have taken his threats towards you seriously. This falls on my shoulders."
"If you're going to get onto me for blaming myself, then you can't do it as well. We have to stop blaming ourselves for this stuff. It's letting them win if we argue. They want to divide us, to tear us apart. We need each other."
"I agree." Jack placed his hand on Niki's shoulder and turned him to look at him. "Then no more self-sacrificing. From now on, you are my equal and I mean that. You don't serve me, you don't take bullets for me, you don't die for me."
"That's going to be harder than you think."
"I know, but I need you to be by my side, not under my feet. We are strongest when were are together. We always have been. Can you do this for me, Niki? This is my final order to you as your Chronomancer. Be my equal and fight beside me against this entire institution of slavery and abuse and evil. We'll end this together."
"And make sure no one goes through this?" Niki asked.
"No one else. It ends here. Will you do this for me?"
Niki took Jack's hand and brought it to his lips. He kissed it, holding it there as he breathed against his skin. "I will fight with you. We're partners."
"We're brothers."
"Brothers."
The glass door slid open and Leo called to them, looking tipsy as if he had spiked his own hot cocoa. "Hey, boys, why don't you come back inside so we can open presents? Shay just got back with some stuff."
After Niki finished his hot cocoa, Jack looped his arm through his and helped him back into the hotel room. He joined Niki on the sofa in the living area where the others had gathered around with chairs on the dark green carpet beside the Christmas tree. He squeezed Niki's arm reassuringly, sensing the anxiety that radiated off of his friend. Was this too much too soon?
Shay Terringer carried in two guitar cases and set them down on the carpet. "I have something for you boys that I think will help in the future. I got permission from the head of the Inquisition of Purity, Father, to take these from the vaults. He said it was a good investment. Now, don't be afraid to accept these. There are no strings attached. They are merely a show of goodwill and an apology for a rough start to our relationship. Niki, you're first."
Niki's grasp tightened around Jack's hand when one of the guitar cases was placed across his lap. "I don't play anymore. I used to."
"It's not a guitar. Just open it. You'll see."
He let go of Jack's hand then unlatched the case. When he lifted it, Niki's mouth fell open. He touched the curved golden blade in a jeweled scabbard that was encrusted with dark green emeralds. Three giant emeralds sat on either side of the hilt, sparkling in the lights from the Christmas Tree. "Oh my God."
"You know what it is?" Shay asked, toying with the golden axe buttons on his white shirt.
"This can't be real. My mother used to tell me the legend of Amir Arsalan when I was a child. This sword, Shamshir-e Zomorrodnegar was the only blade that could kill the demon Fulad-zereh. It was said to belong to King Solomon and that it grants the wielder a charm against magic. I . . . where did you find this? It was supposed to be only legendary, a myth."
"You can wrap cloth or leather around the hilt when you're using it in combat. And yes, it's real."
"You mean . . . the demon part, too?" Niki asked, setting the blade back into the guitar case.
"Due to our dealings with the Zurvan Syndicate and their deity that we believe to be a demon, the Inquisition of Purity has been seeking out any weapons of legend that could combat demonic forces."
"Are demons real?" Dean asked, pouring whiskey from his flask into his hot cocoa.
"It's a source of debate between Inquisition scholars." Shay shot a glance at Marjorie, who was caught eating whipped cream with a spoon. "Perhaps the Syndicate agent in the room might shed some light on the subject."
Jack turned to his mother. "Marjorie? Does the Syndicate worship a demon? Is Zurvan real?"
"I can't personally speak on the subject."
"Why lie?" Shay asked, his statuesque shadow falling over the living room. "Because I'm here, your enemy?"
She set the bowl of whipped cream aside and wiped away the few drops that landed on her purple blouse. "Can we just continue this? I don't want to start anything, for the boys' sake."
"Sure, sure. But I will get my answers, Marjorie. The Inquisition always wins."
Marjorie kicked her heels across the carpet then crossed her legs. "I'm not interested in winning, Inquisitor. I want peace."
"Anyway, we can discuss that more later. Jack, it's your turn. I took the liberty of tracing your heritage as well so I could find a sword that would be meaningful to you as well as useful for its utility and abilities." Shay placed the guitar case on Jack's lap. "Open it up. Check it out."
Jack opened it and examined the blade that waited for him. He removed it from the crimson sheathe adorned with golden filigree and held it up in the light. Its blade was nearly white in its mirrored finish with ancient engravings of ivy twisting up its length. The ivy wrapped around the hilt where it turned to heavy golden details on the guard. A single rough-cut diamond the size of Jack's eye sat in the pommel. "It's beautiful."
"It's very old."
"What is it?" Jack asked.
"It went missing a long time ago. It was rumored to be destroyed, but according to legend, it is indestructible. That's how our scholars knew it had to be out there in one piece. And they were right. It's just as untarnished and immaculate as the day the angel bestowed it upon Charlemagne."
"Charlemagne? I heard I was related to Charlemagne."
"Close, but not exactly. You are related to Charlemagne's paladin, Roland. That sword was given to him by Charlemagne. It is called Durendal. According to legend, its hilt contains numerous holy items, including part of the raiment of Mary, Mother
of Jesus."
Jack laid the sword down in his lap, overcome with the power and importance that seemed to emanate from it. "Oh, my goodness."
"Don't be afraid to use it. Like I said, it is indestructible and rumored to be the sharpest blade in history."
"I don't know what to say."
"I don't need you to say anything. I want you boys to use those weapons if you ever need them. I never want to have to rescue either of you again. Those blades go back to your ancestors, your cultures, and your legacy. Iskaydrian and Avelayan cease to matter much with you two. You are brothers, that much is clear. I humbly apologize for the way I treated you initially, Jackson. I was merely following orders, orders that I now find reprehensible."
He closed the case and set it carefully to the side. He paused when he noticed the scars around his Chronomancer mark. The deep puncture wounds surrounded with electrical burn marks were from the first arm band, the fresh bruises were from the arm band that was recently removed by Marjorie, and the jagged pink scars were from when Shay tortured him in Venice. "It's fine."
"Except that it's not. But I am grateful that you would say so. Again, you owe the Inquisition nothing for these. I only want to extend a hand of friendship so we may possibly work together in the future, should the occasion arise. We are not your enemy."
Jack rubbed away the lingering pain in his arm. "Thank you, Inquisitor Terringer. I have something for you, Niki."
Niki protested. "No, Jack. I . . . no. I don't have anything for you."
"Having you here with me is all I could ever ask for." He nodded to the boy who was eagerly waiting at the end of the sofa. "Go ahead, Thyme. He won't bite."
The sage boy timidly walked over in front of Niki and held out the small velvet-covered box. He blinked, his large white eyes betraying his stoic training. "Hi."
"Hello, Thyme. It's nice to meet you."
"This is for you. Merry Christmas."
Niki took the box and lifted the lid. The white gold and purple pendant in the shape of a lily sparkled in the lights from the Christmas tree. His jaw tensed. "Oh."
Chronomancer Page 37