Chronomancer

by Mackenzie Morris

  Thyme's pale brows furrowed. "I don't think you're less than me, Uncle Niki. Am I bad like them?"

  "No. You're a good kid, Thyme. Just don't forget this when you get older. Racism is alive and well all over. Be kind to people, no matter their race, their skin color, who they love, or what religion they follow. Can you do that for me?"

  The boy nodded his head. "Mmm hmm."

  "That's my nephew."

  Jack smiled. He had been worried that Niki wouldn't accept Thyme. But now, the three of them were like a mismatched family. A dysfunctional family with brothers who were having difficulties communicating, but a family, nonetheless. As long as they had each other, they would find a way to make things work in the present and in the past.

  They rode under the stone archway and into the bustling central street of Alexandria where vibrant green bushes had been planted in the middle. Citizens in flowing robes and layered colored fabrics strolled down the wide roads, stopping at the numerous stalls and alcoves under latticed walkways to barter for goods. Beneath patterned awnings of linen fabric, noisy merchants called out to potential customers. Giant clay pots, bags of colorful spices, gold trinkets, and baskets overflowing with blue, purple, and yellow flowers decorated the markets.

  Thyme pointed at the things that caught his young eyes. Smooth marble statues of barely clothed women, men with towels around their waists outside of a steaming bathhouse, musicians filling the mid morning air with fluttering notes, and Egyptian dancing girls with sparkling coins jangling on their hips.

  The latter made Jack squirm in uncomfortable arousal.

  A mangy dog darted between the red and white homes with vines growing across the balconies. Half-dressed Egyptian children laughed as they chased the mutt between camels, carts, and groups of soldiers who barked at them. Scholars studied scrolls from tall shelves that housed hundreds while Greek women in white dresses of bunched cloths poured wine for them.

  Niki turned to the right. "The temple of Serapis is this way."

  They rode up a gradually sloping hill with extinguished braziers on either side of the street. They guided the horses up the hundreds of shallow steps until they arrived at the top in the shadow of the pointed-top building with tall white columns out front. Scholars meandered from room to room in the open courtyard, carrying scrolls to the walls of wooden shelves. A rectangular pool of water sparkled in the white stone floors with marble benches on the sides for patrons.

  Jack slowed his horse beside a rustling green tree then dismounted. He patted Thyme's leg. "Stay here while we go inside, okay? We won't be long. If you need us, just call and we'll hear you."

  "It's pretty here."

  He looked around to take in the scenery. The cliff overlooked distant rocky hills spotted with vegetation and merchant homes on one side, then the azure waters of the sea on the other. Sailboats carried soldier and goods into the canals where workers waited to unload them. "It is pretty."

  "Let's get moving." Niki stormed up the polished steps to the open iron doors between the columns. "Aren't you coming?"

  There was something Jack had to say first. "I'm sorry, Niki. I don't want to fight."

  "It's not you. I'm hurting."

  "We'll finish up here, then get you some rest. I'm here for you."

  "I know."

  Jack followed his Time Knight into the square room of the temple where a group of men stood in the back corner, whispering between each other. Two braziers crackled in the incense-fogged air, surrounded by red and tan carpets, clay bowls of flower petals, and jugs of oil. Cushions were scattered around with flickering candles at the foot of a towering statue of a bearded man in robes. More seemingly terrified men leaned over the second floor railing, pointing at something by the Serapis statue.

  "What are they so afraid of?" Jack asked, still not able to understand their language.

  Niki stepped up to the statue and began running his hands along the carved grooves. He moved behind the pedestal then waved for Jack, "Come here. Come check this out."

  The whispering grew louder as Jack joined Niki. There, dancing in the shadows, was a single blue butterfly. It fluttered around until it landed on Jack's hand. He brought it up to examine the creature. Two more butterflies flew down from the head of the statue and perched on his arm.

  "Interesting. They like you, Jack."

  He spoke to them. "Hello, butterflies. What are you guys doing in a place like this? You're scaring those men, for some reason. Let's get you outside to a garden. You'll like it better than this stuffy place."

  A hollow female voice spoke to him. "We are fine in here, thank you, Chronomancer."

  Jack's mouth fell open. "Did you hear that?"

  "Yeah. What are you, butterflies?" Niki asked.

  "I am little of what I used to be, but I am still myself. I used to be Chronomancer Lily Vondrake. The one with a missing antenna is Chronomancer James Hill and the one with the darker blue spots is Chronomancer Odin Yngouf."

  Niki crossed his arms. "They're echoes who have possessed the bodies of butterflies. I should have known. Allen used to tell me about the blue butterflies in stories that Ellie loved."

  Jack brought the first butterfly closer to his face. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Lily. I was told to come find you so we could talk. I'm trying to find my fiance, Elizabeth Dawson. She may have been taken by a Chronomancer named Xander Sutcliff."

  The butterfly rapidly flapped its cerulean wings. "Bad man! He killed Javier. He murdered him in a garage."

  "Who was Javier?" Niki asked.

  "The boy we died while trying to save him. The three of us and thirty-four other Chronomancers attempted to warp into the past to minutes before Javier was tied up in that car and save him, but we couldn't take our Time Knights because we knew how much Xander hated Avelayans. We didn't want to put our beloved companions in harm's way. The massive number of us warping at once took too much of a toll on us and we died, suspended in time. Now we're trapped. We can dart from time to time, speaking to those who can hear us. We can't feel anything other than the loss we carried after losing Javier."

  The thought of being trapped with only parts of himself remaining felt like a hot stone in his stomach. "I'm so sorry. That's awful."

  "We know where your fiance is, young Chronomancer. We were a group of Iskaydrians who did good in the world. We weren't with the Syndicate or the Inquisition or Sand. We were high school and middle school students who met at a multi-state band competition. We had a talk and found what we had in common. After that, we stayed in touch. We donated clothes, had food drives, and went back in time to help people find their long-lost parents or a missing pet. Then Xander came. He pretended to be our friend, but he kidnapped Javier and forced his parents to give consent to be married. I hated Mr. Dawson for what he did."

  Could it have been the same one? "Dawson?"

  Lily continued. "Javier was Ellie's half brother. They never met. Xander wanted him so he could extract his power and have it for himself."

  "He ate him?" Jack asked.

  "In a way, yes. Xander is what some call a sorcerer. He can kill other Chronomancers and absorb their life into him. He's immortal. Be careful around him, Jackson Carter. He has been stalking you since you were a baby, grooming your essence through certain events to make you more appealing to him. Now he wants to lure you to London."

  "London?" Niki asked. "Why London?"

  "He is from London, so it's a familiar location, but it's more than that." The butterfly crawled across Jack's fingers. "It's coming to me. I can almost see it. Ah, there. Royal Opera House, 1893. A wedding. He has Elizabeth Dawson as his captive . . . and she has a wedding gown. It's hanging on the back of a bathroom door and she's on her knees by a bathtub, crying. She . . . she's holding a pregnancy test."

  He squeaked with a gasp as he fumbled for words. "Wh-What? What did you . . . what?"

  Niki took Jack's arm and dragged him towards the doors. "Come on. They're just insects, Jack. They can't know this
stuff. Whatever you heard the voices say to you . . . it's not real. You're hearing things. You're hallucinating. It's from lack of sleep. Maybe there's something in this incense. Jack, look."

  In the sunlight, Thyme was on his knees beside the horse with tears sliding down his sun-pinkened cheeks and his hands held out, palms offered up for punishment. His white eyes were glued to the marble floor.

  "Thyme, what's wrong?" Jack asked. "What happened?"

  Niki shoved Jack out of the way. "Don't touch him."

  "He's my son, Niki. Look at him. He needs me."

  "No, he doesn't. Not right now. Let me handle this." Niki went to Thyme then squatted in front of him. "You brought us here, didn't you? Thyme, I need to know why you came into bed back in the hotel room crying like you were."

  The boy held his scarred hands higher as he trembled.

  "What happened, you can tell me. Uncle Niki is here. I'm not gonna be mad. Why did you bring us here? How did you bring us here when you're not Iskaydrian?"

  Thyme mumbled quietly. "I don't know."

  "Has this happened before?" Niki asked.

  "Kill me. Don't lock me in the dark room. Just kill me, please."

  "That's not gonna happen. What's the dark room? Tell me, Thyme."

  "I killed him. I saw Jack talking to the butterflies. They know what I've done."

  Niki brushed a few grains of sand from the boy's forehead. "What did you do? Who did you kill?"

  "Master."

  "Jack is your master."

  Thyme wrung his hands together. "The first one. The inquisitor I was designed for. I shouldn't be talking. Talking was forbidden. It was bad. I was a bad boy. Such a bad boy. Why do you make me talk? Why? Stop it!"

  "Hey, hey, shh. You're talking because Jack loves you and he wants you to talk and to laugh and live a normal life like a normal kid. And I'm starting to realize that you've been pretending these past few days because you don't know what normal kids do. You haven't been happy, have you?"

  Thyme hung his head. "Please don't put me in the dark room. Don't cane me. I get so hungry in there. So hungry . . ."

  Jack knelt next to Niki and took Thyme into a giant hug. "I want you to listen to me, Thyme. I don't want you to pretend anymore. If you're sad, if you're scared, if you hate me, don't hide that. It has only been a few days since I took you from that pen in Alvezenden. A few days won't undo years of conditioning and abuse. You're a good actor. I know because I'm one, too. I can see it now. You're terrified of me, aren't you? It's been hell for you to smile and laugh, to fall asleep in my arms. I guess I just thought that getting you away from all that you went through would help. I'm sorry."

  "I killed him. He locked me in the dark room because I didn't fluff his pillows. I forgot. It was so dark, nighttime forever. Cold. He took my clothes and put me on the floor with belts to hold me down. I couldn't move. He left me. I was so hungry and thirsty. I cried until I fell asleep. He heard me asking for water so he caned my feet and stuck needles in my tongue. He left me again. I was sick when he came back with a bottle of water. He poured it on me but wouldn't let me drink any. That's when it happened."

  "What happened?" Jack asked.

  "He touched me. I had read about it in books he made me read. He touched me and I screamed. Then he was gone. I was alone in the dark room and I was dying. It was scary. But then there was a butterfly. Blue, like the ones in there. A shadow appeared with the voice of my master, but the butterfly flew out of the dark room and brought his assistant who let me go and took me to that market."

  "What happened to the shadow, the echo of your first master?" Niki asked.

  "He faded away. I did that to him. Then I did it to one of the guards at the market and a doctor and a Chronomancer who tried to buy me before Jack. I killed them when they touched me in bad ways. I sent them in time and they became those shadows. I didn't mean to. I didn't want to kill them. I just wanted them to stop."

  A realization dawned on Jack. "Were you trying to kill me when you warped us here?"

  "I'm scared of you, but you feed me and give me blankets. I won't try to hurt a master who feeds me and doesn't touch me like that. I had seen a shadow in the hotel room and I was scared, so I ran to you and Niki. Then it just happened. I'm sorry!"

  Jack stood and led Niki a few feet away from the weeping boy. "What do we do with him? I need to get to London and stop this wedding before it's too late. I can't bring him with us in the state he's in."

  "We'll take him to the present and leave him with Dean. He's a father. He'll know how to care for him."

  "Thyme hates me."

  Niki grunted. "He doesn't hate you. I'm honestly surprised how well he's doing after what he's been through. He's incredibly strong and intelligent, but he's still a beaten little boy who has never had a normal day in his life. In his eyes, you're just another master ordering him to be something he's not. It will take time, lots of time. Right now, we have to focus on fixing the problems we can actually do something about."

  "You're right. I have to go get Ellie."

  "We're going together. I won't let you face Xander alone, not with those weak fighting skills I saw this morning." Niki chuckled, but then stopped when the laughter wasn't returned. "Jack, it was a joke."

  "What if she's carrying his baby?"

  "Like I said, we need to focus on the problems we can solve, not ones we've yet to encounter. One step at a time, Jack. Let's go get your little sage son and take him somewhere safe, okay?"

  "Promise me that we'll kill Xander for everything he's done. Promise me, Niki!

  Niki took Jack by his shoulders and stared up into his eyes. "I make a vow to you, Jackson Kai Carter, that we will kill Xander Sutcliff . . . even if it takes my life to do it."

  A curvy woman in a plain brown dress with pants underneath her skirt and a dark blue wrap covering her hair emerged from the bushes. Her prominent features and ruby red lips gave her away. "Psst. Hey, my Persian cream puff. Fancy seeing you again. I thought you were leaving for good."

  Niki knelt before her. "Cleopatra?"

  "Quiet. Keep your voices down. No one needs to know I'm here. There's been some developments in your present time. Come with me and I'll fill you in. And bring the sage boy. He doesn't look like he's feeling well. I have a secret hideout nearby. It's under the city. Cream puff, your father is here."

  "Why is he here?" Niki asked, standing and brushing the sand from his pants.

  The queen placed her hands on her hips. "Like I said, there have been developments. Whenever the Zurvan Syndicate is involved, developments are never good. And I heard about Sammy. I'm sorry, Jack."

  "Aren't you in the Syndicate?" Jack asked.

  "It's complicated." Cleopatra motioned towards the horses. "Can we ride together? We'll be free to talk more in private. The people around here have ears of spies and a penchant for rumors."

  Jack returned to Thyme and scooped him up before lightly tossing him over the back of his white horse. He mounted in front of the sniffling boy then followed Niki and Cleopatra who started down the cliff-side steps. He clenched his knees against the mare's sides when Niki let out a wild shriek and took off racing through the city streets. Cleopatra's laughter and the galloping horse sent people rushing to get out of the way. He rolled his eyes before taking off after them. Guards shouted and women screamed. A cart of fruit overturned, spilling pomegranates and figs across the white stones.

  By the time they stopped in a grassy alcove with a well in the middle of the secluded area, half of Alexandria was scavenging fruits and nuts from destroyed merchant stalls. Jack dismounted and took Thyme into his arms while Cleopatra climbed into the well. "Where are we going?"

  "It's a false well. Come along, now."

  Jack lowered the now sleeping boy into well where Niki's strong arms took him. Then it was his turn. Jack climbed over the grey clay blocks and let go. Eight feet down, his boots hit sand. The dark well was lit with lantern light coming from a room at the end of a corridor, s
o he headed that way. The room was cozy with blankets in the corners, silk pillows, and tables topped with maps, scrolls, and gold coins.

  Niki laid Thyme on a rug, propping the sage's head up on a pillow. "How could he sleep through all that? Jack, I'm worried."

  "Me, too."

  Cleopatra's hips swayed as she moved around the map table to open a gigantic chestnut wardrobe. Colorful dresses, lace corsets, trousers, and boots spilled out of the packed doors. "I assume you know about the upcoming wedding, so you'll need clothes. London . . . 1893. Let's see . . ." She took out a notebook and flipped through the pages filed with dates, coordinates, and information about dress, customs, and languages.

  "Wow, you're prepared to warp to anywhere, aren't you?" Niki asked, his dark eyes shining with adoration.

  "Always. I'm not Queen of Egypt because I'm stupid, Cream Puff. Tell your owner that he can help himself to whatever he needs so he can go save his bride-to-be."

  Jack stood from where he had been smoothing Thyme's hair. "I can hear you just fine. I don't own Niki."

  "My apologies. If you wish, I can tend to the sage boy while you and your Time Knight go to London. I play with the children of my servants all the time, so I'm good with kids. Plus, Leo Valentino will be back any minute to help me. He's here because he was worried about you, Cream Puff. I also have some modern medicine that I brought back from my last trip into the future."

  "You warp to the future?" Jack asked.

  "Just as far as I can now that the Syndicate has all these limiting base marks in place, which is to your present day. They clamped down on anything past that after Xander's shenanigans. I can travel to places and times that would be in the future for me, but you can only warp to the present. Anyway, you should get going. There's some water and soap for bathing, food over there in the other cabinet, and if you need anything else, just let me know. While you two get cleaned up, I'll doctor the sage boy's feet."

  Niki headed over to the buckets of water and began undressing. "Come on, Jack. This is no time to be shy."