Skip: An Epic Science Fiction Fantasy Adventure Series (Book 3)

by Perrin Briar

  The new patron crossed the room, kicking up miniature clouds of dust on the floor, to a table occupied by one man.

  “Hello, Blake,” a female voice said.

  Blake looked up at her. He had the same jet black hair and bushy eyebrows she remembered from what felt like years ago, and the same hulking figure meant for action.

  “Jera,” Blake said with a smile. “I got your message. What brings you to this hole?”

  “You do, actually.”

  “Me?”

  “Are Mac and Felix around?”

  “Mac’s gone to see his family. Felix is camping outside the town, as always.”

  Jera smiled at the thought of her friends. She took a seat.

  “How have you been?” she said.

  “Not bad. A bit difficult to get back into the city.”

  “Family’s okay?”

  Blake noticed Grandfather Time standing off to one side.

  “Who’s this?” he said.

  “This is Grandfa- uh, Ganol Nos. He’s been helping me out on a few things.”

  Blake shook Grandfather Time’s hand.

  “Any friend of yours is a friend of mine,” Blake said.

  Jera smiled.

  “I was hoping you’d say that,” she said.

  Blake’s grin faded.

  “You’ve got a look in your eye I don’t much care for,” he said. “You want me to do something for you, and it doesn’t seem like it’s going to be something I’m much going to like doing.”

  Jera blinked.

  “How did you know that?” she said.

  “My wife gets the same look in her eye when she wants me to do something around the house.”

  “You’re right, and I do. But it’s not a bit of dusting. It’s something big. I need your help.”

  “Just name it.”

  Jera took a piece of paper out of her pocket and handed it to Blake. As Blake read it, he looked over the page at Jera.

  “And why would you be needing men such as this?”

  “I’m assembling a crew.”

  “That much I can see. But what do you know about leading a crew?”

  “Nothing. I won’t be leading them.”

  Blake squinted at the figure of Grandfather Time.

  “Him neither,” Jera said.

  “Then who?”

  “You’ll have to meet us at the meeting place to find out.”

  There was a pause.

  “Will you bring them?” Jera said. “Please.”

  “What’s the angle?”

  “Come to the meeting place and I’ll explain everything to you.”

  “It’d be a help if I could tell the men on this list what it’s in aid of.”

  “Let’s just say it’s a chance for a big score – one that will see them right for the rest of their lives.”

  “With a promise like that it’ll be tough keeping them from not going. Just one piece of advice: if you’re going to offer these men something, you’d better be able to deliver. They don’t take kindly to having their time wasted.”

  Jera smiled.

  “That’s good,” she said, “because we haven’t got much to waste.”

  Chapter Eight

  Blake, Mac and two other men climbed of out the carriage. Blake handed the driver five coppers. The driver touched the peak of his cap, tutted twice, and the horse set off at a leisurely pace.

  Before them was a large disused warehouse. A large sign, the letters barely legible, read: ‘MACEY’S LINENDRAPERS’. Refuse sat in piles along the roadside.

  “Are you sure this is the right place?” Mac said.

  “According to the address, it is,” Blake said.

  Blake pulled the door open. It squeaked on rusted hinges. The inside was as dilapidated as the outside. The entire warehouse had been stripped bare, leaving just a few strips of cloth. A bird flapped its wings somewhere in the rafters, and a metal pole fell and clanged out of sight. Jera stood in the middle of the room.

  “Welcome!” she said.

  She wrapped her arms around Mac, embracing him, but her arms only reached around his shoulders.

  “How have you been, Mac?” she said.

  “Good, thanks. You?”

  “Not bad. How’s the family?”

  “Hungry, but alive.”

  Jera turned to a small man shorter than she was. He had big ears that protruded from either side of his head.

  “Hello,” Jera said, shaking his hand. “I’m Jera.”

  “Spit,” the little man said.

  “Rather cruel parents.”

  Spit shrugged.

  “They believed giving me a bad name would keep away evil spirits,” he said. “You can fault their logic, but not their love.”

  “Indeed.”

  Jera turned to the fourth man. He was thick around the waist and short in the leg.

  “I’m Lewis, ma’am,” he said.

  His hands were as soft as a young girl’s.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you both,” Jera said.

  She turned to Blake.

  “Where are the others?” she said. “There were eight on the list.”

  “Samuel hit the road shortly after our last job. No one’s seen neither hide nor hair of him since. And Jacob got nabbed by the Force on the next job he did. He’s now serving time. I couldn’t reach the other two. So that just leaves us four.”

  “Did you explain it was a good opportunity?”

  “They weren’t interested. Now, how about you tell us exactly what it is we’re doing here?”

  “I’ll field that one,” a voice said, echoing high up in the rafters.

  There were loud footsteps on the metal walkway above.

  “Hello, friends,” a voice said.

  It was Elian.

  “Friends?” Blake said. “I’m gonna kill him!”

  Blake stepped toward the spiral staircase that led up to the ledge where Elian stood. Mac blocked Blake’s path with his huge body.

  “Calm down now,” Mac said.

  “Calm down? Calm down? Are you serious? I’ve been dreaming about what I would do to him the moment I saw him. Now, move out of my way!”

  Blake ran forward, but Mac was in his way. He shifted right, but Mac was there again.

  “Fine,” Blake said with steel in his eyes.

  He reached into his pocket and took out a pistol. He aimed it at Elian.

  “Blake! Wait!” Jera said. “Please!”

  Blake looked down the sight. Stump didn’t move.

  “Put the pistol down,” Jera said.

  “Sorry Jera,”’ Blake said. “No can do.”

  “Then listen to him,” she said. “Please. Just hear what he has to say.”

  Blake was silent a moment. He looked up at Elian.

  “What do you say, Stump?” he said. “Willing to put your life on the line for the words in your mouth?”

  “At least that way I’ll have a chance,” Elian said.

  “I can give you what no one else can.”

  “I can get that by pulling this trigger. Blowing you away would make me so happy.”

  “Maybe at first it would. But then you’ll realise you still have the same problems. Nothing’ll change. But if you listen, I’ll give you a way to get back everything you lost.”

  “No, everything you took from us.”

  Elian nodded.

  “You’re right,” he said, “but that doesn’t mean I’m wrong.”

  “Give him a chance,” Mac said.

  Blake pursed his lips.

  “All right,” he said, looking up at Elian. “I’ll listen to your proposal, but it’s because of her,” he gestured to Jera, “and after I listen, I’ll make a decision about whether or not to kill you.”

  “Fair enough,” Elian said.

  He descended the spiral stairs, his footsteps ringing out in the large warehouse, and stood before the men. Their hands tightened into white knuckled fists. Elian didn’t look perturbed.

&
nbsp; “I went on a long journey recently,” Elian said. “I learned a few things. I learned that what goes around, comes around. I learned that none of us are alone and that the universe is always looking out for us. I learned that time is not infinite, and in fact it is very, very finite. We can’t control everything, but we can control ourselves and what we do to others.

  “I took something from you all. I took away the chance to live comfortably, to provide for your family. I took that from you, but today I’m going to make amends and give you the opportunity to not only give back everything I took, but to give you much more besides. The golden cog would have given each of you and your families a few months of comfortable living. I’m going to give you stability, honour, respect, and the adoration of millions, so that you and your families can live comfortably for the rest of their lives.”

  Blake clapped his hands.

  “Wonderful,” he said. “But pointless. None of us would ever pick maybe a fortune later in favour of a concrete amount now. And where is this hoard of money?”

  “It’s in the Ascar National Museum.”

  “Just sitting there, is it? Waiting for us?”

  “Pretty much. We just have to get it.”

  Blake grinned an ugly smile.

  “And there’s the rub,” he said. “He wants us to do a job for free.”

  “Not for free. For the benefit of your family.”

  “What’s the plan?” Mac said.

  “That’s the best part. It’s the same plan as before.”

  “What?” Blake said. “They’ll catch us in seconds! They’ll know where we are and what we’re doing. They’ll have increased security and made it nigh-on impossible for anyone to get in or steal anything.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong,” Elian said. “They haven’t increased security anywhere. I think they never figured out how I got in in the first place. Museum security is the same as it was a month ago. As far as they’re concerned nothing was taken. A few people looked like they got in, but weren’t able to steal anything. If anything, it made them more confident.”

  “The museum doesn’t know what we were trying to steal, only that we were trying to steal something.”

  “But they do know it was you who planned it,” Blake said. “If they see you within a hundred yards of the place they’re going to come down on you like a ton of bricks. You’re a wanted man. Your poster is everywhere from here to the very fringes of the map! It’s a surprise they haven’t found you already.”

  “If everything is the same as it was before,” Blake said, eyes flashing like a bristling wolf, “why do we need you? You’re worth a pretty penny yourself. Why don’t we just cash you in?”

  “Because we’ll need fast hands. And because you won’t live to enjoy the ransom. This is about more than just money.”

  “With you, nothing’s ever more than just about money.”

  “No. The reason I ran out on you all before wasn’t because of money.”

  Elian looked at each man present one by one.

  “But I can’t do this without you all,” he said. “You all have expertise I don’t have, and if we’re going to have the best chance of succeeding we’ll need all of us to be on the top of our game. We’ve got a few people missing, but I’m sure we can do this.”

  “No,” Blake said. “You fooled us once, you will not fool me again. How can we trust you after you left us in the lurch like that last time? We barely managed to escape. Our families are struggling to survive enough as it is. If we get caught it’ll be the end for all of them.”

  “But if we succeed, they will all live the rest of their lives in luxury. They will never starve again. I’m not going to lie to you. Now we know the true value of the object we’re after. It’s made of gold, but worth so much more than that.”

  “How much more?” Blake said.

  “An infinite amount more.”

  “Everything has a limitation.”

  “Not everything.”

  “They say things are priceless, but they never are. There is always a price. On everything. What is this piece really worth?”

  “You’re right,” Elian said. “It does have a value. Do you know what it is? Life.”

  “Life?”

  Blake chuckled.

  “Listen to him!” he said. “He’s giving us vague answers without really telling us anything!”

  “I don’t know if you’ve noticed,” Elian said, “but time hasn’t exactly been running regularly recently. It’s jumping and hopping around and it’s hard to remember where you are in your life. Things are going to get worse before they get better. We can fix that.”

  “You said our families would live like kings if we steal this thing. How is that going to happen if we’re not allowed to sell it on?”

  “Because we will be heroes. We will have stopped the skipping from happening and everyone will love us for it. They will shower us with food and homes and clothes and everything we will ever need in our lives, and we will no longer be thieves and hunted down by society, by the Force, but respected by them.

  “They will treat us the same – in fact, better – than anyone else. And once we have that kind of power our children will be able to marry upper class people – if they want to – or join a company with your name and earn good money for themselves. That’s got to be better than a few gold coins in your back pocket, hasn’t it? And if we don’t do anything, your families will be dead anyway. And so will everyone else.”

  “This is all well and good saying it now, but how do we know the king and the people will know it was us that did it?”

  “Because of her,” Elian said, pointing to Jera.

  “She is Jera Wythnos, of the noble Wythnos family,” he said. “She is due to marry into the Ascar family this week. She will tell the king about all the heroic things we’ve done and ensure we are rewarded for our efforts. She knows the king personally. They grew up together.”

  “Why should it be up to us to fix anything?” Blake said. “We didn’t break anything.”

  “Because we’re the best men for the job. This is an opportunity, guys. One we ought to seize and make the most of because we will never get this chance again in our lives.

  “I broke the first rule, and I’m sorry. But I discovered something that I knew I couldn’t ignore. I’ve never told anyone what I’m about to tell you now. As you all know, Arthur Ascar has an office at the museum. In it he kept a master key that could open every display. That’s how we were going to get the display cases open. And, as planned, I got into the office. I searched through the desk. I found a locked drawer and picked it. Inside was the key. I took it and replaced it with a fake. I then locked the drawer again. But then I saw something.

  “I saw all those papers spread across the desk. I couldn’t help myself. I felt an urge to look at them, for the next opportunity. I looked at the desk of the great and powerful Arthur Ascar and I saw the plans for a global apocalypse. He was going to destroy the earth. He was going to send Gap all over the world using Wythnos ships, and it was going ruin the world. Against that, what was a golden cog? How much would Ascar pay to get his plans back? I’ve dreamed about that moment every night since, and I still don’t understand what happened to me, why I made that decision. But I’m glad I did. It was the only decision in my life I’m glad I made.

  “I knew if I could use those plans to bribe the Ascars, they would give me any amount I asked. I ran back to get the golden cog – but I ran into a guard, and our time was up. He raised the alarm and we all barely escaped. I ran away to the town of Time to hide away. But the problem came after I had the plans: how do I live after exposing them? Their power is so wide and extensive I didn’t know if I’d be able to get away after exposing them. What use is money if I can never live in peace? And how could they let me live knowing I knew all about their plans?”

  “Do you still have these plans?” Mac said.

  “Yes. I’ve hidden them somewhere safe.”

  �
��Well,” Blake said, “I’ve listened. And I have to say, I find it incredible you believe all this rubbish. Saving time? Becoming heroes? Do you know what you sound like? I really do think it’s best if I just put you out of your misery now.”

  Blake’s hand flashed up, the pistol aimed at Elian’s head. He fired just as Elian ducked. Blake growled in the back of his throat. He wrapped his arm around Elian’s head.

  “Don’t!” Jera said. “Please!”

  “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t bust your head open right now!” Blake said.

  “Because I’m the world’s last hope!” Elian gasped.

  “Then we’re screwed anyway!”

  Blake began to squeeze Elian’s head. Blake’s arms shook with the effort. Then the pressure was relieved as Blake and Elian were swept up into the air.

  “That’s enough, Blake,” Mac said.

  He had them held in his giant arms.

  “He broke the first rule!” Blake said. “He has to pay!”

  “This isn’t just about you. This is about all our families. We’ll vote. Elian gets my vote, and he gets Felix’s too.”

  Mac turned to the others.

  “Spit?” he said. “Lewis?”

  Spit nodded.

  “Ay,” he said. “He gets my vote.”

  “Mine too,” Lewis said.

  “He’ll betray us again,” Blake said. “You just wait and see!”

  “I’m going to put you both down now,” Mac said. “Do you promise to behave yourselves?”

  Elian nodded, and after a pause, so did Blake. Their feet returned to the concrete floor. Elian offered his hand to Blake, who sneered, turned away, and marched toward the exit.

  “Where’s he going?” Elian said.

  “He just needs to cool off a little,” Mac said

  “Thanks,” Elian said, offering his hand to Mac. “For helping out.”

  Mac eyed the hand with a grimace.

  “Don’t make me regret it,” he said.

  And he headed outside to find Blake. Spit and Lewis headed to a bench and sat down.

  “‘I grew up with the king’?” Jera said under her breath. “Why did you say that? I’ve never met him before!”

  “Because I needed to make it sound more real,” Elian said.