NOVA: The Time Bender Series Book 1

by Isabelle Champion

  “You aren’t funny.”

  He raised an eyebrow smirking and leant forward to examine the mirror, playing with his curly hair. “I look the same in this life as I do in real life. That’s boring.”

  “This is real life still, you realise that right?”

  “Well obviously. It’s real, you can change things, interlink timelines. I know the drill. Why do you think we’re so against you?”

  “You say you like it’s only me,” I fired back.

  “Well you’re the one who kills. Correct? You’re the assassin, the others just do odd jobs.”

  Not true, Fynn and Ace were both used to kill people. Sure, maybe not as much as me. I was trusted the most to kill people without screwing up too much.

  “We don’t just kill random people,” I defended myself.

  “I realised that since you’re an assassin - not a serial killer.” He rolled his eyes and then frowned. “Well I hope not, otherwise, an innocent pretty little boy like myself just walked straight into the monster’s jaws. Ahhh!” He waved his hands in front of him and then laughed.

  And he called me crazy? What did the Rebellion feed these people? Crack?

  “Tell me. Do you wake up every day wondering whose life you’re going to take away next? Then go celebrate in one of your elite parties and get paid by your sugar daddies-”

  “What did you just say?” I growled, jumping to my feet, he watched me in the reflection of the mirror.

  “I said-”

  “What I do is immorally wrong, but I am by no means doing this for so-called sugar daddies,” I spat the word. “Surely with how many lives you’ve had, you’ve realised there’s a hierarchy.” I was hot with rage, if I didn’t calm down I would kill him and never get this ‘cure’ and I’d never find a way home. “You work your way to the top.”

  “And yet the poor stay poor and the rich get rich,” he snapped, turning to face me and grabbing hold of my shoulder. I had no response, partly because I knew deep down it was right. I was the bad guy. But if being the bad guy meant my life didn’t have to be crap I’d take it. So instead I slapped him.

  He didn’t react the way I’d wanted him to, instead he turned his head to face me with his eyebrows raised and a smile that only infuriated me more.

  “Either we get to the point or you can leave and stay here forever,” he said. My eyebrows raised in shock.

  “Are you bipolar or something?” I said, following him with my eyes as he sat on the window seat, looking down into the courtyard.

  “Were you the one in 1944 shooting at me?” I asked finally.

  “Yup.”

  “You shot my friend.”

  “You tried to screw up the future.”

  “By saving innocents,” I fired back.

  “It’s the same thing.”

  “Then what are you doing here?” I asked.

  He looked at me silently before clamping his mouth shut. “I have a protocol.”

  What? He’d had one this whole time? Why the hell hadn’t he already gotten his people to help him? Oh. His people couldn’t help him from the future - unless there was a team of Time Benders there.

  He grimaced. “They want me to kill myself.”

  Oh.

  “If you die in this life and can’t find your Totem before... whatever happens... you die for good.”

  “That’s the point,” he sighed. “The longer I’m here the more chance I have of messing things up. And that would go against the whole purpose of us being here in the first place.”

  “Well, I’ll put myself forward.” I smiled brightly and placed two fists on my hips. “I volunteer for the grim task of killing you.”

  He snorted. “It’s the protocol. I never said I wanted to die. Besides I’m not going to leave you here to mess things up, that just defeats the point in me dying.”

  “So what? You want to kill me and then kill yourself?” He didn’t reply, but he looked conflicted. That at least brought some comfort to me. I continued. “I’m happy to die, it’s not like it’ll be forever. You’ll be dealing with the next reincarnation of me in the next few years from the present. Hell, maybe we’ll even be friends.” I fought back a smug smile.

  He glared at me. “You might be happy to die but I’m not. Not if there’s a way out of here.”

  We were silent for a moment; each lost in our own thoughts. Each hoping either one of us would come up with a genius plan that didn’t involve suicide.

  I swallowed my pride and spoke up. “Meditation - that’s the only way I can think of. But I don’t know if my Totem is lost or dead.”

  He cocked his head to the side and stared at me through impossibly thick eyelashes. “Is it possible to get a new Totem?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “What if we tried it together?” he asked. I didn’t understand what he meant.

  “Like how you followed me here. We come from the same timeline, correct?”

  “But-”

  “Or we could just try piece it together-”

  “Jack!” I snapped and he turned to face me startled. “Can we just slow down for a moment.”

  I needed time to think, to process what he was saying and see if it would work.

  “The others could be searching for me,” I finally said, having to clarify it for myself because by this point I was starting to have doubts.

  “It’s been a month now. Ace probably didn’t remember you or they’re busy debating killing you.”

  “I don’t know.” I was getting frustrated, my mind was jumbled and I couldn’t think straight at all.

  “Okay,” he sighed. He acted like he understood - like he thought this was normal. No one had ever been stuck in the past before and by him going so far back, he heightened the chances of losing our Totems.

  “We’ll try tomorrow. We’ll figure something out,” he suggested and then stretched his arms over his head and yawned. “Meet here at the same time tomorrow night.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “Don’t tell me what to do.”

  “Don’t choke on your ego,” he fired back with a lazy, close-lipped smile. By default my mouth hung open and my face twisted into an angry sneer that was wiped clean from my face as he leant forward and flicked my nose.

  I blinked completely shocked. Did he know who I was? I was the best assassin in the world, I had over two-hundred lives, I was awesome and intimidating and powerful and he just flicked my nose. I snapped out of it with an angry growl but before I could punch him in the face he’d dipped away and slipped out of the door as silently as he’d arrived.

  …

  Asshole.

  CHAPTER 18

  Time: 21st July 1661

  Location: England Montgomery Estate

  I slept well into noon and only awoke when my aunt creaked open a window. The smell of sweet roses and horse manure wafted in through the window by a breeze that fanned my face causing me to sit up frowning – squinting at the bright light streaking in through the window.

  That night I’d dreamt.

  I dreamt of cocktails: of loud obnoxious laughter, fixed smiles and the faces of my friends. I dreamt of a crowd leaning so far forward I could feel their eyes on me like a stream of colourful ants crawling over my skin, suffocating me.

  I sat at breakfast staring at the plate of food in front of me numbly. I wanted to get home. I didn’t want to marry anyone. I wanted to feel better.

  “Marion? Why aren’t you eating?” My aunt asked from across the table. I poked the bland food gently and looked up with a smile.

  “I’m not feeling myself. Might I go lie down?” I asked.

  My father’s head rose from the head of the table and he looked at me sternly. “Nonsense, eat. We don’t want another one of those incidents again do we?”

  I swallowed the lump in my throat and nodded my head stiffly. “Yes father.”

  And so I obeyed, I ate and then I was excused with the utmost politeness. I took the stairs two at a time, ignoring the light-headedn
ess that had appeared recently. I was just about to storm through my bedroom door when I noticed Jack was leant against a wall, shielded by the shadows.

  “What are you doing?” I hissed, twisting my head side to side to see if anyone was close.

  “The Count requests your presence.”

  My heart dropped. “Now? My Father and Aunt didn’t say anything at dinner-”

  “Well, it isn’t exactly formal,” he said, taking my elbow and leading me down the corridor away from my room.

  “Where are you taking me?” I asked, panting as we rose to the third flight of stairs.

  “The Count’s chambers.”

  My heart stopped. “What?” I breathed.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll be there the whole time. I don’t think anything happens.”

  “Think?” I hissed worriedly.

  He shrugged. “He wants to make sure your loyalty lies with him,” he chuckled to himself and god I wanted to slap him, kill him - either I didn’t really mind.

  I groaned frustrated. “I hate not knowing what’s going to happen. Does he do anything to me?”

  Jack closes his eyes for a moment. “No. You marry him and give birth to a stillborn but the Count never does anything bad - not by what I remember.”

  “So we’ve shared a life together?” I stopped suddenly and he turned back to face me with a grim smile.

  “Why did you think I picked this life?”

  “Because you love torturing me?”

  “True.” He smiled again and my stomach flipped. God, could he smile again? It really took your breath away.

  I continued. “How do you remember all this anyway?”

  He shrugged. “I just remember these kinds of things whenever something’s about to happen. Why do no other Time Benders remember stuff from their past lives?”

  “We do sometimes, but I can’t remember anything this far back.”

  He shrugged absentmindedly and cheekily remarked. “Guess I’m just better than you guys.”

  I cocked my head to the side examining the side of his face. “Don’t you ever want to change something if you remember so much? Surely there’s someone you would save?”

  Jack looked at me sternly. “No.”

  I rolled my eyes at his seriousness. “Okay let’s not get back into one of those kinds of discussions. Let's just get out of here as quick as possible before I have to consummate any marriage.”

  He let out a bark of laughter. “We’ll see. Hell, maybe I’ll just take my sweet time figuring this out so you can suffer for all you’ve-” My elbow jabbed him in the side and he rolled his eyes. “I’m not as cruel as Prospect. I won’t let anything happen to you.” If he didn’t look sincere then I would have considered genuinely killing the guy for real this time. However, he was being serious so I let it slide by hesitantly returning his smile.

  If he weren’t such a political, moral crusader who hated me he’d probably make a good friend. I doubted he saw me the same way though.

  I was the villain in this story, remember.

  When the door was opened by one of the Count's servants I could literally feel my heart trapped in my throat. I was panicking and fully aware I was wearing a simple blue dress and my hair was braided loosely into a side braid. This kind of wild hair was something I wasn’t used to in the future.

  Catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror I flattened the braid and muttered under my breath. “I look like freaking Elsa.”

  Jack stumbled and shook his head. I looked at him with a curious expression and he cleared his throat before replying. “I'm not used to hearing people make references from other times.”

  The Count appeared in front of us suddenly and clapped Jack on the shoulder looking at him longer than necessary before finally turning to me, kissing my hand politely. I painted on a smile and bowed my head.

  “This is a very informal meeting - my apologies,” he said, leading me further into the room. It was an impressive size, with sofas and a fireplace in the middle, the bed in a separate room and bathroom adjoined behind the fireplace. The balcony you could see from behind the estate was just through the doors and he led me through them. Jack followed much to my relief, but stopped just at the door, whilst we ventured to the end of the balcony.

  “It’s a gorgeous view,” he said, clearing his throat. I nodded my head and scanned my eyes over the hills and trees stretched far and wide. You could see the lake from here and faint mist rose from it.

  “It is,” I agreed.

  He looked at me with a slight awkwardness, as though he didn’t really know why I was here.

  “Might I ask why I am here my Lord?” I asked nervously.

  His face twisted into a crooked smile. “I wanted to introduce myself without having an audience. Perhaps I wish to court you rather than simply marry you to benefit your family and myself. I fear I came off too harshly yesterday.”

  It sounded forced, and I didn’t understand why it would be. But there was a part of me that felt he had to say this, to prove something to himself or someone.

  “I look forward to our marriage,” I said.

  “As do I,” he said, still smiling tightly. He faltered on what to say next before calling Jack over who bounded over with a bright smile on his face.

  “Yes my Lord?”

  “What do you think of my fiancée?” He smiled broadly, wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me into his side with stiffness. Both Jack and my eyes grew wide.

  “I think you’re very lucky,” Jack replied cautiously. Was this a trick? What was he supposed to say?

  The Count’s smile faltered. “She is certainly beautiful. My son will have a handsome face.”

  My stomach dropped and had to avoid the thought of ever having to provide him with an heir but Jack coughed awkwardly, of course. Marion gave birth to a stillborn. He was never going to get a living heir from me. No one would ever get a child from me, or at least one that had a long life ahead of them – it was what happened with Time Benders.

  “I’ll be glad to be by your side the whole time,” Jack smiled graciously.

  The Count’s face blossomed into a smile. “Ah!” he cried, enveloping Jack into a hug. “I’m so grateful you’re a part of the family now. I’m forever in your debt for saving me from those bandits.”

  Jack grinned proudly. “Damn straight.”

  The Count looked puzzled by the remark for a moment before suddenly directing his attention towards me. “Tough luck she’s mine instead of yours.”

  I really didn’t like being treated like a possession, and I didn’t take Jack to be kind of a sexist jerk but he seemed to at least like me being treated this way.

  Why did he hate me so much? Well - the reason he hated me so much may have had something to do with my career choice.

  “Nah! I’m not interested.”

  Ouch. Did he have to twist the knife further in?

  The Count's grin widened even more as he stared into Jack, completely ignoring me. “You excite me,” he laughed shrilly.

  Jack wasn’t laughing, instead, he was staring at me thoughtfully. I raised my eyebrows glaring his way.

  “Very well. Jack could you escort my fiancée to wherever she needs to be, presumably whatever female duties consist of.”

  I had to resist rolling my eyes. “I believe I’m meeting with Cecilia to discuss wedding arrangements.”

  “Wonderful,” he cried, rolling his tongue and turning away from us back to the balcony.

  Once the door shut I let the shiver out. “Let’s get the hell out of here. Quick, just tell me what you were going to earlier.”

  Jack titled his head to the side. “I thought you needed to do wedding stuff?”

  “I do. But I’m sure Marion can be a few minutes late," I replied. "What’s the plan?”

  “You realise you know more about Time Bending than I do...” he trailed off, watching my face concerned.

  “What?” I asked quickly.

  He reached into his pocke
t to produce a handkerchief and then pressed it to my nose. “Oh crap. Have you been feeling dizzy lately? Tired?”

  “Sometimes...” I took the handkerchief away from him and dabbed my nose where it was bleeding.

  “Okay, let’s just test a theory. We can’t be in there long though.”

  “What theory?” I asked, allowing him to guide me by my elbow down a corridor. “Where are we going?”

  He unlocked a door and slid in quickly. I followed after him, waiting for him to lock the door. We were in a quaint plain and dark bedroom down the corridor from the Counts. There was a bed the same size of mine pressed against a wall and it seemed to swallow up the small size of the room.

  “Your bedroom is a little nicer than mine,” he said, closing the window and then going to a water basin sat on the windowsill. He wet some cloth and then walked over to me to clean the blood.

  “Thank you,” I said, letting him wipe the blood clean from my lips. I stilled as he tugged on my bottom lip and his eyes lowered.

  “Uh, there’s a little on your dress.” He cleared his throat, looking away and handing me the cloth.

  “It can wait,” I said, my voice strained. "Let’s just get out of here first. I’m done with this hellhole of a place.”

  He nodded his head quickly and sat on the bed cross-legged, I clambered on after him. Jack looked at me silently for a moment. “If this doesn’t work then you still have to marry the Count. It’s Fate.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “We can change fate! Well, the majority of it…” I looked at him incredulously. “But still we have the power to change fate.”

  His face went slack, as he breathed in sharply. I was waiting for him to go on his moral crusade on how we shouldn’t mess with nature before he finally said something useful. “Genius. Holy crap.” He scrambled up onto his knees surprised.

  “We have the power,” he repeated. “It’s a power! Not everyone can do this! We have this gift – a power to bend time to shape the future. We are Time Benders,” he rambled and I watched him as though he’d gone insane.

  And he had clearly lost his mind.