NOVA: The Time Bender Series Book 1

by Isabelle Champion

  “How many exactly?”

  “Only seven. Spread out through time.” Only seven.

  “And how will people in the past have any kind of effect on the Rebellion?”

  She glared at me. “That won’t concern you. You can trust me though. If I were to give you any drastic task I’d put everything I have at risk and I can assure you I love my job,” she continued. “And now we know you can spend longer in the past, you’ll have time to find our individuals and do as we say.”

  “I can’t stay more than two days though... I lose my Totem.” Did she know anything? She certainly didn’t care for my health like she let on.

  “Then we’ll fix it,” she replied brightly.

  I nodded my head numbly. “I suppose I don’t have a choice.”

  “I’m trusting that you’ll be able to do this. A final task with a grand sum of money.”

  “Final?”

  “We’ll release you with enough money for a lifetime.” I wondered if there would be a life for me to go back to after this. “It’s come to my understanding that Time Bending has had drastic effects on your health. We wouldn’t like to risk losing our most prized possession.”

  I felt hot rage surge through my veins and I plastered a smile. “Thank you.” Possession, it’s all I’d ever been.

  “We’ll have a team of specialists working on some form of treatment in the meantime,” she continued. I nodded my head as she turned to face me with an innocent smile.

  “Right well, we’ll send you the details.” She said it as though we weren’t living in the same building. Our home had been taken over by her workers, her friends - my clients. The Elites.

  I bowed my head and backed away from her before swivelling to face my friends. My jaw clenched and my fists balled together tightly as I fought every nerve telling me to turn and kill her with my bare hands.

  Fynn smiled, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “We’re almost done with this life, don’t you see?”

  No I didn’t.

  I was ashamed - so ashamed. I’d spent months in the past only for me to come out the same person I’d been. It was a part of my identity. But it didn’t have to be.

  “How did this happen?” I breathed. Aeron came from behind me and tilted his mouth to my ear.

  “Someone - one of us from the future told her.”

  “Who?” I snapped.

  “I don't know. I can't imagine any of us doing it.”

  It seemed an awful lot like something I would do if I were being honest. Still, I shook that feeling from me, not wanting to even risk planting the seed of thought in my mind.

  I caught Ace’s eye and clenched my jaw as Aeron held him back from cutting through the stream of people working and making his way towards me. They didn’t want this, I realised.

  I didn’t know how or when they’d realised what we were doing was wrong and I was surprised that out of all of us, the two people who loved Prospect life the most, no longer wanted it. You could see it written all over their faces.

  But they wouldn’t see it on mine.

  I would do as she told me. I’d plaster a smile and find a way to show change without actually doing anything.

  I clutched the fabric. I’d find Jack. If he was alive then it meant we'd still be connected somehow. I would find him. I knew I would because Jamie told me so.

  I didn’t have to be cold and uncaring, materialistic and evil. I could be who I wanted to be: I could be all of my lives. I could be selfless like Marion, free like Daisy, moral like Lucy, intelligent like Nikki and I would save the world instead of ruin it for once. I was going to be one badass Nova (minus the bad part). Even if it meant taking down an entire city...

  Which seemed like a pretty solid option.

  THE STUFF AT THE BACK OF THE BOOK

  Right, buckle up for some shameless self-promo and a large thank you to everyone who finished reading NOVA. Nova and the whole concept of Time Bending has consumed me for years now so I’m beyond curious to hear your thoughts: who was your favourite character? What parts did you like - even better, what parts did you laugh at?

  Follow me on Instagram @bellesxbooks for updates on Book 2 of the Time Bender Series and DM me! I want to chat! Or if that isn’t your thing but you enjoyed the book and made it this far please leave a review! I love feedback and it would help massively if you recommended it to someone you know. Let’s build a fandom!

  Where you can find me:

  https://www.instagram.com/bellesxbooks/

  https://twitter.com/IsabelleChampi7

  If you still need more I’ve also created some Spotify playlists on Isabelle_ with songs that remind me of the series:

  https://open.spotify.com/user/m7pt4bk0mkrs8mxopnui65jdq?si=paJIN0HTQCC_li7fncYVjw

  Now all the begging for you to follow me is over I want to thank you for reading and everyone who has supported me thus far through the series! You’ll see more of Nova very soon! In fact… you’ll see her in the next page of the first chapter of RAVEN.

  Is it really that easy to change over night?

  The answer is no.

  Find out more in the second book of The Time Bender Series:

  RAVEN

  COMING SOON

  (But until then, here’s Chapter 1)

  CHAPTER 1

  Time: 13th January 2018

  Location: Paris, France.

  Right.

  How long did you think that would last? Oh! I’m Nova! I’m going to change! I’ll save the world instead of ruin it! Christ - I mean have you ever heard more dramatic bull crap in your life? If you really thought this was going to be some kind of beautiful character arc about the journey of me growing to be a better human, then I think I’m not the only one who made a mistake.

  I mean - I went backwards. And that’s saying a lot because I’ve done some seriously screwed up stuff. So the whole ‘Let's save the world and find Jack!’ attitude died pretty quick - so quick it’d give you whiplash.

  Speaking of whiplash… How about I take you back to before shit hit the fan (the first time) and I was getting my ass handed to me by a bin lorry.

  In my defence, the streets of Paris in 2018 were a little bit of a shock to the old system.

  “Jesus Nova! Are you trying to get yourself killed?” Halo shrieked, accidentally slipping into English as she pulled me away from the speeding lorry.

  My head flew backwards and I stumbled back onto the wet pavement. This was too much for someone who hadn’t even stepped out of her room in the future. I hadn’t been outside since 1661 and trust me - this was incredibly different.

  For one the air smelt of cigarettes, petrol and wet pavements; the clouds were grey and there was the distant sound of sirens that echoed in my head.

  “You need your head focused on the mission,” Halo continued and I stared at my trainers embarrassed. Yes, think of the mission - the mission you plan on stopping. Focus on making sure the mission fails - shouldn’t be hard.

  You see, after being stuck in the past for 4 months with a handsome rebel from the future I’d learnt a lot. For example, crapping in bushes 5 feet away from the said handsome stranger was incredibly uncomfortable. Not to mention peeing in the wild is much harder for girls - what’s up with that? Oh and I suppose I’d learnt a lot about what not to do that would change the future. For example: maybe don’t set an entire village's winter supplies on fire. Oh and whilst you’re at it, try to refrain from causing a prisoner uprising.

  Likewise, think twice before eating any kind of wild mushrooms or berries (I learnt that the hard way… or good way).

  But hey that’s not all I’d learnt on ‘Summer Camp: 1661 edition’. I suppose I’d learnt some pretty valuable lessons on Time Bending as well. I’d discovered we weren’t the only ones with this... gift of travelling into past lives and bending time to change the future. There were others - Reincarnations who were brothers and sisters of ours who seemed to know everything.

  Speaking of which: my reincarnated si
ster O was also my sister in this life. But on my way to meeting Halo I hadn’t come across her, which was disappointing. I was hoping for some answers about Jack. How would I find him? Why couldn’t I see his Totem? Was he even alive? Perhaps more importantly - how was it possible that the fabric of his cloak followed me to the future? I didn’t want to think about that though - not if I wanted to keep the target alive.

  They’d taken it from me - to study it.

  I clenched my fists, standing still and breathing heavily.

  “What the hell is wrong with you?” Halo hissed, grabbing my arm and pulling me further down the street. I shrugged her off and glared at her. Halo’s dark wild hair was hanging freely over her shoulders and she was decked out in black. Standing next to her I looked like a child, well technically I was. I was only sixteen in this life and she looked like she was in her mid-thirties.

  “There’s a list of things wrong with me at the moment,” I grumbled, shaking my head and stumbling after her.

  I was taken aback when her gaze softened slightly but then she scowled at me again. “He should be sitting at his desk by 8:30. I’ve already booked an appointment in advance.”

  “You’ll make it fine right?” I asked.

  “We have two days. I’ve only been here since last night. Stop acting so paranoid.” Halo rolled her eyes and strutted her way down the street.

  I clenched my teeth together and refrained from tripping her up. “I’m surprised you’re even allowed on this mission, wouldn’t Time Bending affect the baby?”

  “Yeah, can’t say I’m not surprised that the President dragged me out of constant examinations on it to make me go on a mission that her favourite Time Bender could have done alone-” she turned her head towards me. “Oh wait. Never mind, you need me here to save you from getting run over.”

  Not true. The mission would be easy if I wanted to complete it - but I didn’t. And Vix probably sensed it so convinced the President to allow Halo to come. I wasn’t going to say that though - even if I suspected Halo had her own doubts about the mission.

  If you don’t remember what I’m talking about: this was one of seven missions the President had instructed us to complete to wipe out the rebellion. I know, it was insane - wiping out an entire society of people with just seven people randomly spread through time? And trust me they were random. 2018 was miles away from the present time - heck I think they wanted me to go to the 1800s at some point.

  It didn’t make sense (well yet at least but I’m not about to hand out spoilers for free).

  How did the President know that these were the exact people who needed to be taken out - you might ask? Well someone from the future told her.

  Anyway, enough about all that. I’ll keep the interruptions to a minimum. Sound fair?

  Insert dreamlike sounds and ripple of the picture back to 2018:

  “So when’s the baby due?” I attempted to make conversation as we carried on walking through the crowded Paris streets of tourists arriving at their hotels early in the morning with bleary eyes and suitcases and other people on their way to work.

  Halo didn’t turn her head to me when she answered. “Does it matter? The baby’s going to die as usual and then shit will hit the fan for me...” Her voice trailed off and her breath got stuck in her throat as she realised she’d let one slip.

  But not really. I already knew what secret she’d let slip and it wasn’t about the fact all Time Bender’s children die.

  You see, I was a nosy bitch and one day read all her logs trying to find some dirt to bully Halo with (this was a long time ago).

  I found out her recurring theme in all her lives and it wasn’t pretty. Whereas all my mothers tried to kill me - Halo’s recurring theme was that she went insane - specifically after giving birth to a faulty half human half Time Bender.

  Our reoccurring themes were something we never spoke about and only Vix studied in private. No one knew why they were always random and no one knew why they kept happening. Just like no one knew why we existed.

  I turned away from Halo and pretended I hadn’t heard the last part. Yeah, it was definitely bullying worth material, hello? Think of all the psycho, insane jokes I could make up for her. But still, something had stopped me in the past from teasing her, and I wasn’t going to now.

  Instead, I took a completely unnatural Nova approach and made an attempt to comfort her. “Maybe it will be different between two Time Benders, we don’t know-”

  “Jesus Nova stop talking,” she snapped, crossing the road suddenly and stopping on the pavement.

  Why did I bother?

  Despite her being years older than me in this life I still towered over her. “What the hell happened to you? You never spoke to me unless it was to tell me I was doing something wrong, or to call me a slut. But now you suddenly want to become buddies?”

  She flicked her hair over her shoulder and began walking again but I snapped a hold of her wrist and lowered my face to hers. “I might have gained some morals. - but not enough to stop me from killing you.”

  I tried?

  We walked the rest of the way in a tense silence that only grew stronger when Halo practically shoved me through a glass door and we stepped into a tight, air-conditioned building with marble floors and barred windows. Cosy. Halo made her way over to the desk where a woman sat tapping away at a keyboard with red fingernails. Halo leant over the desk and smiled warmly. “I have an appointment with Mr Holmes.”

  The woman looked up from her computer and glanced at me as Halo continued, “this is my daughter.”

  “She’ll have to stay here.”

  I scowled at Halo who turned to me smugly. “Go sit over there, darling.”

  I looked at an old man holding a magazine and sat next to him tapping my feet anxiously as Halo began filling out a form. When she finally walked through double doors and up a white staircase I grew anxious.

  What was I supposed to do? I was meant to not complete the mission and Halo was in the way.

  Soon enough my question was answered when the fire alarm began ringing and the woman at the desk rose to her feet with a tired sigh and strutted out of the building, barely sending us a glance. I couldn’t stop the smile that crawled its way to my face. I bet Halo hadn’t accounted for the man pulling the fire alarm. She was probably panicking like a headless chicken right now.

  I made my way over to the double doors Halo had gone through and spared a glance at the old man who appeared as though he hadn’t even heard the blaring alarm but then he stood with a sigh and made his way out the front turning his head to face me and raising a bushy grey eyebrow. I shrugged helplessly and gestured to the doors my ‘mother’ had gone through.

  As soon as I saw the glass door close behind him I crashed through the doors Halo had gone through and into a long stretched hallway. Holy crap it was loud. My head began to feel dizzy from the blaring alarm - I was still extremely sensitive to loud noises after spending time in the peaceful countryside of England in 1661. Or perhaps it was because of the constant injections Vix had been giving me, you know, so travelling into 200 and however many past lives didn’t kill me - mundane things really.

  There was a crash in the room to my left and when I flung the door open two startled faces met my own and looked down at the table on the floor. Halo had a gun pointed to a man’s chest whilst he had a gun pointed at her. He wasn’t very old and appeared quite dad-like actually.

  “Who the hell are you?” he spoke in English.

  “Nova,” Halo snapped to me looking down at a small handgun by my feet.

  “No time for this kiddos,” I breathed. “Police are downstairs,” I lied but hey ho it worked temporarily. We skedaddled out of there by jumping out the window onto a metal ladder. “No bending okay? It was like this never happened?” I snapped.

  Halo looked like she wanted to say something else but I split ways with her before she could say anything, quickly following my Totem and forcing myself to drift away from that timel
ine - not taking it with me as I found my own timeline.

  You see, there was a difference between travelling to a past life and then Time Bending. How about we just do a small recap on what it is. Everybody, no talking, hands on the table and listen to me carefully.

  When I went to 2018, I had to go to a different timeline, understand? Remember that thing about there being parallel timelines all with different presents – and there were millions – a timeline for each second of the universe let’s say.

  I can visit these beautiful timelines, choosing whichever timeline suits my needs – providing I had a life there and my Totem was there.

  But if I wanted to change my own timeline (the timeline of my present) I’d have to make the changes on another timeline and intertwine it with my own by bending them together. This happens naturally. To get back to my own timeline (or own present) I have to cross the timelines over, essentially bending them together.

  And that’s Time Bending.

  But for special instances, it is possible to go against this universal rule and not bend the timelines. For example, although it took a lot of energy to resist in 1661 – I did not bend that timeline with my own.

  Because think about it? All those conversations with strangers… the British army chasing me, Tobias, the Count – I’d done so much in that timeline.

  So why had I cared so much about preserving that life, why didn’t I just break all the rules? Well, just because it’s not my timeline – doesn’t mean it’s not someone else’s. Us Time Benders like to keep every timeline neat and simple – we don’t need to screw things up for anyone else. I mean, could you imagine if we exposed ourselves before our own timeline? What if one of us from that timeline bent their timeline with ours – I didn’t even want to think about it.