NOVA: The Time Bender Series Book 1

by Isabelle Champion

  I didn’t dare move closer towards it and so Tobias stretched across me, making sure to slide his head in between my neck and shoulder as he began to unwrap the cloth. I turned my head away and clenched my eyes shut, only being forced to open them when he grasped my chin and turned my head sharply to the side.

  Jack’s lifeless heart sat in the middle of my plate and it was enough to completely send me over the edge.

  I scraped my chair against the hardwood floor, bashing Tobias in the stomach. Quickly, with what adrenaline I had from seeing his heart sat lifeless in front of me, I stabbed the knife into Tobias’ neck.

  Fuck the future. Fuck whatever life Ace might have had after this moment. Fuck the rules because God did it feel good to watch blood squirt from his neck and his mouth open in shock.

  He’d underestimated me massively.

  Even as soldiers threw open the door by the sound of his gurgled cry I snarled triumphantly as he dropped to his knees and then onto his back.

  “I’m your destiny, asshole.”

  I was held by my shoulders and my wrists were clamped together with iron cuffs - not that I needed holding back or restraints - I walked back to my cell willingly.

  Once we arrived back in the dungeons there were soldiers already running around frantically crying about an escape. It was only then I realised a bell was being rung and the heavy sound of boots echoed above us.

  When I got pushed into the cell I turned to my left expecting to see Jamie when really there was a hole in the stonewall that had been blasted by a canon. Jamie had been rescued, and I wouldn’t be. The gap between the blown-out wall and where the metal cell ended wasn’t large enough for me to climb through and so I’d been left here to die.

  Perhaps Jamie hadn’t saved me because I was supposed to die here. So much for not letting Jack die in vain. But he hadn’t now. I’d killed the person who sent him to his death and gotten his revenge.

  Despite telling myself this, it didn’t stop the floods of tears that cascaded down my cheeks as I sat alone in a puddle of prisoner’s piss and water. I held onto the dress tightly wanting to rip it to shreds. Then, when my hysteria faded I began stroking the torn fabric of Jack’s cloak I’d taken out of my shoe. I closed my eyes as I tried to imagine a time before everything took a terrible turn.

  I imagined the summer days at the Montgomery estate, the evenings I’d spent with Jack trying to find a way out of this life - when now I would die in it. I pictured the feeling of his torso and the horse as we climbed steep hills and the night we spent sleeping soundly in each other’s arms - safe in his family’s home.

  I slept well, dreaming for once of the future - not the present but the future. I dreamt that for once the world would be at peace - that there was hope for humanity yet and none of it would rest on my shoulders. I would no longer be the risk to humanity everyone thought I was. Someday. Jack’s voice echoed in my head. Someday, I would see him again.

  Someday...

  CHAPTER 37

  Time: 26th September 1661

  Location: Unknown Prison

  It was a good day to die, I’d decided before I even knew it was sunny outside. I was eerily calm - ready for my next death or maybe even the possibility that I’d wake up back in my body. But that wasn’t possible. I’d checked the ring too many times to count to know.

  I was forced into a line of prisoners, all of them were gaunt and skinny. Some watched me curiously, whispering and praying to themselves.

  I could hear male prisoners behind me spitting and hissing at me and I rolled my eyes at their superstitions. Little did they know I could Time Bend and travel to previous lives. I suppose in that regard I sounded even more like a witch.

  I’d changed my mind about the day the instant I stepped out from the shade into a patch of sunlight and hadn’t moved for five minutes. The dress was painfully heavy and hot.

  You’d think the weather would have been cool and rainy - being near Scotland and all - but I supposed 1661 was going through a heatwave or something.

  The line was moving slowly, probably to the relief of many of the prisoners behind me but I wanted it to get a move on. I clenched the fabric in my hand tightly, it was covered in sweat, dirt and blood but so was I.

  Only one person was hung at a time and that included a whole speech about whatever their crime was and then the time it took for them to die. In most cases it was instant but there were a few stragglers. Then they had to untie the body from the noose and move them to a cart whilst the next person stepped up.

  I leant forward to the woman in front of me. She was fair-skinned and crying. “Can I skip in front?”

  Her eyes lit up and she gestured me forward welcomingly. “May God be with you.”

  The man behind her clanked his shackles together and whispered to her I was accused of being a witch and she gasped. A soldier appeared from the side, bashing her head with his gun. “Back in front.” He forced her in front of me and I watched helplessly as she was pushed up the stairs.

  Her crime was theft but I imagined she was wrongly accused. You could see the goodness in her - the only similarities she shared with the other prisoners was fear of death and poor hygiene.

  She struggled longer than the others, gasping and trying to save herself when the fall didn’t break her neck instantly. Just let it go you silly girl, you’re going to die anyway. Nevertheless, she was a fighter.

  I practically jogged up the stairs, which was hard to do when you were wearing a dress that swept the ground and your feet were chained together. I faced the view of the rest of the criminals and there weren’t many left. It was spring-cleaning here in fort-wherever-we-were and they were throwing out all their prisoners.

  The wood was creaky and the executioner stood with his arm bent over the stick, sweating uncomfortably. Although he perked up when he saw me. He adjusted himself and came forward with the noose.

  I stepped onto the trap door, lightly bouncing on it curious to see how much strength it could hold. Not much it seemed - it was probably the reason they starved their prisoners before sending them on to get hung.

  It seemed my luck just kept getting worse when the executioner became aroused at the sight of me. He took his time, pressing himself against my ass ignoring the awkward shuffles of soldiers as they tried not to look like they were enjoying the show.

  You have got to be kidding me.

  I balled my fists in their chains tightly, the fabric squeezed in my grip. I closed my eyes, and soaked in my final moments.

  “Marion, former Countess of Eldermore-” It wasn’t as long as a list I knew I really had. I’d killed a total of... how many people? Some not born and quite a few that I’d killed in this life. I was accused of using witchcraft on another man and the murder of English soldiers. I didn’t know if I’d killed Tobias but one could hope.

  I opened my eyes and scanned the crowd of soldiers carefully taking my time to pick out if Tobias was here or if I’d been successful. But perhaps he was watching from a window in bed unable to speak – but also unable to miss the opportunity of seeing me die.

  The executioner swept my hair to one side breathing in deeply and groaning. I didn’t imagine I smelt good enough to be wanted in bed but hey - this man spent day after day hanging rotting prisoners.

  Even worse, the executioner took his time tightening the noose around my neck, sweeping his gloved hand against my cheek and then tightening the rope. “I’ll be seeing you later,” he growled in my ear, taking strides to his lever.

  Did he just?

  “What the f-” I began to say but he’d pulled the lever forward until there was a loud thump and the ground fell beneath me as I fell.

  Death wasn’t up to my standards honestly.

  It wasn’t as special as I thought it would have been - probably because I landed with a thud into a pile of mud. I lay on the ground for a moment staring up through the gap and wondering why I wasn’t hanging.

  Everything seemed to freeze for a moment, n
one of the soldiers moved. They just stood still, as did the prisoners as they watched in amazement

  “She really is a witch! She’s doomed us all!” cried one prisoner, dropping to his knees and pointing at me. The rest cried in horror whilst the soldiers suddenly came to it, stepping forward to grab me. They tried to run forward until one by one they were shot down.

  I sat up, the air having been forced from my chest as I realised the rope hadn’t just snapped - somebody (very talented) had shot it.

  By the time I’d managed to crawl myself up, there was chaos surrounding me. It was only when I saw a familiar face that it dawned on me what was happening. He gave me a slight smile and held out a hand, then hauled me to my feet and cut me free from my chains.

  “You aren’t supposed to die just yet.” He winked.

  Jamie handed me a sword and dagger and jumped back into the action. I followed along slightly dazed as I watched men bash soldier’s heads. There was the small guy from Jamie’s family and the red-bearded man. But it wasn’t just those two butchering their way through soldier upon soldier, clumsily missing bullets - there were more men with them.

  So Jamie was part of a... group on bandits or something? Jack failed to mention that slither of detail, although I imagine he hadn’t remembered.

  There was a thud behind me and I swivelled to face the executioner. In one hand he was swinging rope and in the other was an axe.

  I narrowed my eyes. “You’re a disgusting-” What was the word again? “Necrophiliac.”

  He cocked his head to the side, taking a step forward to fight but before he could take another I threw the dagger into his chest and he looked down shocked. He was a beast of a man so I didn’t really know what I’d been expecting when he pulled it out and staggered his way towards me with a growl.

  I froze momentarily, watching as he charged towards me before I tightened my grip on the sword and brought it up to defend my head as he took a swing with the axe. He snarled through his mask trying to break against my force and before he put in all his strength I turned to the side.

  It was just like fighting Cedrix really but a weaker version. This man was slow and clumsy - he was used to killing people in chains, not actual combat. So I used this to my advantage, swivelling around him with my speed and stabbing him from behind.

  At first, he fell to his knees and then onto his front. But just as I thought he was dead he managed to climb up on his elbows and caught the rope underneath my feet.

  Oh fu-

  I fell to the floor caught in the rope as he hauled me towards him, grabbing my legs and then using the rope to tie it around my neck. I wheezed, trying to tear the rope from around my neck when suddenly it went limp and the executioner landed on me with a thud.

  I looked up and met eyes with Red-Beard who held his hand out for me, which I took gratefully.

  “We need to leave now,” he said and I nodded enthusiastically. Get me the hell out of here. Most of the Redcoats were crawling on the ground and the prisoners had now joined in on the fun, taking fallen weapons and running around like mad people. The bell was being rung and the sound of heavy footsteps echoed from inside. More were coming.

  Jamie was beckoning from a doorway and we ran quickly to it. He led the way around the corridors avoiding any trace of Redcoats appearing.

  However, when was I ever lucky? What a surprise that the one person who did storm down a corner and skid to a halt was Tobias. His neck was wrapped in thick bandages and his eyes widened when he saw me and his lip turned up into a scowl.

  “Are you kidding me?” I threw my hands up into the air as if I were talking to a higher power. Then my eyes settled on Tobias with a grimace. “How many times do I have to try and kill you?”

  He didn’t reply - maybe he couldn’t now. Hopefully, he couldn’t. If I had to hear one more cocky word come out of his mouth I’d stab him... again. Instead, he drew out a sword to fight - not a pistol. Clearly, he wanted this to be fun.

  I wasn’t up for dramatics though. I held my hand out for a pistol and Jamie cautiously handed me one.

  Tobias raised an eyebrow with a smirk, putting his sword back and reaching for his pistol. But like I said - I wasn’t up for dramatics. He’d forced Jack to kill himself and then ripped out his heart with the intentions of serving it to me for dinner. Just two of the things he’d done to ruin literally everything about this life. Hell - even from the beginning. If I hadn’t met him I might have found Jack within the time and would have made it home with my Totem still present unless Jack killed me first. Even if that meant I couldn’t have spent time with Jack and developed feelings for him - Tobias was still and always would be - an asshat.

  I didn’t think twice about shooting a bullet into his chest, sending him to the floor. The shot seemed to echo down the corridors and the others shuffled restlessly.

  “One second,” I replied, hastily moving towards Tobias on the floor motionless. I glanced over his black hair, stupid uniform and the wrinkles surrounding his eyes. Thanks for being a former asshole Ace. I pressed the pistol to Tobias’ head and shot again.

  I didn't look back as I strode toward the others with a smirk. I imagined Tobias thought his destiny was more epic than that and maybe it would have been in this life but he didn’t deserve epic.

  “What was that for?” one of the men asked.

  “A double-tap.”

  Just in case Fate had other plans.

  I squeezed the material in my hands and felt my shoulders relax slightly. Even so, I held my breath as we came to a thick oak door on a level below us. Jamie heaved it open to reveal a small passage below the hill and quickly climbed a slope.

  Red-Beard and two other men followed behind me and Jamie held out a hand for me to grab as he lifted me up the slope. The other two followed as we kept close to the wall. Our backs pressed right against it as we looked up cautiously at the Redcoats that ran around panicked, turning canons in the direction of the courtyard to shoot at the prisoners.

  Whilst the soldiers focused their attention on the prison riots we were able to slip away without being noticed. Which I supposed was lucky.

  The small man and a few others had a group of horses, which we all climbed on to eager to get out of this place.

  “Where are the others?” a blonde man asked. Red-Beard shook his head and climbed onto the back of his horse. Meanwhile, Jamie held a hand out for me and helped me up behind him. Almost as soon as the last person had got on their horse we stormed down the hill, quickly heading for North.

  ⚔

  “What did you tell them?” I asked Jamie a little way into the journey. He glanced behind at the handful of men that were following us.

  “That you needed to get home.”

  “And they’re willing to ride a few days north from here just to accompany me home?” I replied dumbfounded, wiping my nose with a handkerchief and feeling my eyes drop tired.

  “They would do anything to help Tom’s girl out.”

  “I’m not Tom’s girl,” I replied, feeling my chest tighten with the sensation that told me we were heading to the well. I held my breath until I got used to its familiar feeling.

  “Ah right.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “I’m not Jack’s girl either. We were supposed to kill each other, and then he got us stuck here.” My throat tightened and I stroked the fabric. It felt good to talk about him - even making fun of him and shedding light on the fact I was stuck in the past. But it left a painful jolt in my chest.

  “I thought you had to have the same parents as a Time Bender, to be a reincarnation?” I asked.

  “Jack and I are usually brothers, but for this life, I had another Time Bender brother - he died. He only has three more lives after this before he stops being reborn.”

  I nodded quietly, wishing for more answers.

  Jamie adjusted his position on the horse and looked back at the men before speaking. “They think you’re an angel.”

  “An Angel?” I exclaimed with
a laugh - the irony. I was even Satan’s worst nightmare. “I’m far from anything angelic.”

  “They don’t ask questions, and if you are an angel then they think it’s their duty to help you get home.”

  “Do angels exist? Does God exist?” I asked. Jamie tilted his head to the side and smiled.

  “People will believe what they want to believe. I don’t believe in angels. For us there is no God, the only thing that exists is Time. It is our creator. But in terms of religion, I guess reincarnations are some kind of angel and Time is some kind of God.”

  Even when reincarnation was proven - we still needed something else to believe in. More answers. Humanity - or Time Benders - or Time’s Bitches, (if we’re being all inclusive now that Reincarnations exist) would always need more.

  “I thought you couldn’t say - why can’t you say? Is Time stopping you from saying? Is Time a person?”

  He chuckled. “You have a lot of questions. The only thing stopping us is nature and the rules we created. I do not know if Time is a person. All I know is that it exists.”

  Clearly.

  “But... how don’t you know that when you know everything that is going to happen?”

  He shrugged. “All time does is tick, and you have the power to change it. You don’t need a purpose for that. Nature stops you from remembering but really there is no beginning or end. Does a circle have a beginning or an end? No. Clocks are circles, aren’t they? So where does time begin? Does it have an end?”

  It sounded crazy, ambiguous and full of clues I couldn’t figure out but for some reason I trusted him. Even though he had completely avoided my question.

  “If time is like a circle why is the timeline I see made of lines?” I was confused.

  “You need to look at the full picture.”

  “That’d be great if I could see the picture.”

  Jamie continued with a small smile. “You’re more powerful than you believe.” I thought I already believed I was pretty awesome. “You can change time, so perhaps you are angels of some sort.” He winked.