by Wyatt Kane
“It really is,” Shell replied. “I’ve outdone myself this time.”
“But you got it all from my head,” the wizard said. “Speaking of head, there’s lots of room here, but not too much, you see. We’ll all be perfectly comfortable, of course.”
June was staring at the bed. “You couldn’t have summoned multiple beds?”
“What would be the fun in that, my dear?” The wizard ran with surprising nimbleness for one so old over to the bed and tossed himself onto the white sheets. “This is perfect.”
I couldn’t help but think of him outside the Good Times Club, where he’d walked with the aid of a knobbly old staff. Maybe the staff had been just for show. He didn’t appear to need it.
April was staring at him with a disgusted look on her face.
“Don’t worry,” I said. “I’ll sleep on the floor.”
“But there’s plenty of room,” Shell said.
“Yes,” the Wizard agreed. “Plenty of room for whatever your imagination can conjure. And I bet you have loads of ideas.” He grinned at me.
I was starting to get the idea that the old man was a bigger pervert than I’d thought, but he wasn’t wrong. The notion of spending the night with the girls would be like a fantasy come true, and it sent my heart racing. Of course, there wasn’t any privacy, so nothing would happen.
“I’m bone tired,” I said, trying to deflect. But as soon as I said it, though, I realized my mistake.
The wizard guffawed. “Bone! Ha ha. Did you hear that, Shell? Bone?” He sat up on the bed and offered a half-bow to June. “His bone is tired, milady, but I bet he could find enough energy for one more go … or is it two?”
He laughed crazily. April just shook her head, and June scowled at him. The dark-haired twin grabbed her sister’s hand and stalked to the bathtub. I’d already seen the women naked, but I wasn’t about to let the old man get that satisfaction. So I pulled the curtains closed around the pool behind them. Even though they were sheer, they would give April and June at least the illusion of having their own space. Then I turned my back, crossing my arms over my chest like I was their bodyguard.
The wizard waved me off. “You’re so close, Caleb. Don’t you want to peek? You don’t have to worry about me. I have my own at home.”
“Your own what?”
He winked. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
Shaking my head, I uncrossed my arms. “Where is your home?”
“Here and there. A long ways away. Come on, while they’re freshening up, I’ll give you a tour.”
“I thought there was just this one room?”
“Not a tour of this, but of my mind.”
“Now that’s something I’m not sure I want to see.”
“Trust me, you’ll want to see this.”
Despite my best intentions, the wizard led me back to the cockpit. I couldn’t help but glance at the bathing pool area, and I saw both women were naked. The sheer curtains only tantalized me, showing off the girls’ perfect forms in an unconsciously sensuous display that was better than any seedy stage. As I turned away, I tried to discreetly adjust myself.
The wizard giggled as if at some private joke. Then he motioned me into the driver’s capsule, which was the only thing about the van that had stayed as it was.
“Now. You’ve got questions. I’ve got answers. You’ll find everything you need to know here. Of course, some of it is locked away for your own good, but I figure much of my knowledge is safe for you to know now.” The old man grinned very broadly. “First and most important: you are just at the start. That one out of ten rating was no joke. From here on, you will continue to gain power and so will the girls.”
Just like that, the old man had gained my full attention. I had a million questions, most of which revolved around how he seemed to know so much about me, April and June.
“The girls?” I asked.
The old man gave a knowing grin. “Yes. Surely you’ve noticed they are different?”
I had. “Well, yeah. That thing with April. She can communicate telepathically?”
The wizard nodded. “And June?”
“I’m not as sure about her, but I can sense her feelings, somehow. Like she can project her strongest emotions.”
“Good. Exactly right. And it will get better with time.”
A day ago, I was working at my job as a bouncer in a strip club, and the only peculiar thing in my life was my minor talent for slowing down time. Since then, I’d faced down enormous bug-monsters from another dimension, traveled through time in an aging Bedford van, and watched that Bedford van transform into a luxurious, exotic apartment. I’d also seen the old man fade into non-existence only to reappear, had several discussions with a floating AI, and been in telepathic conversation with April.
Because of all this, I was more than able to believe dozens of impossible things before breakfast. I didn’t even bat an eye.
“Do they know?” I asked.
“They are only just beginning to understand their own abilities.” The wizard winked. “And you are the key to unlocking them, just as they are the keys to unlocking yours.”
I rolled my eyes, not at the words so much as at his delivery. Was everything a dirty joke with him? I mean, the girls were beautiful, smart, courageous, and had the best bodies I’d ever seen, but I didn’t want to think about sex with them at every waking moment. That was bound to become uncomfortable.
The wizard had a wicked grin plastered across his face. “Hard, isn’t it?”
“What’s hard?”
He cleared his throat.
I adjusted myself again. Suddenly, my pants had become too tight. I shook my head, thinking about the near-death experiences that night. Those memories would surely dampen my mood. To the contrary, I found myself more aroused than ever when I remembered the way April had ridden that minor demon, beating it with her tire iron. She had been incredible!
“Dammit, old man. What do you have to show me?”
“Loads.”
I swear, he made everything sound perverted.
XI
“Shell, get your shiny metal ass over here,” the old man commanded.
Obediently, the floating, egg-shaped AI did as he asked.
“It’s time,” said the wizard. “Give young Caleb here the information he needs to know. But keep it short. Cliffnotes version should do the trick.”
Shell had no face, no ability to convey expression at all, and yet I got the distinct impression she was happy to accept the old man’s will. And with that, the AI started to speak.
“The universe we live in is not singular. Instead, it is one of an infinite number of universes, a vast, ever-moving, ever-changing sea of universes, all with their own rules, their own worlds, and their own physical laws.”
It was a theory I’d heard before, but Shell made it much more real by projecting a holographic image that somehow conveyed it clearly. It was a dazzling display in perfect color, and it was majestic to behold. A Total Perspective Vortex and then some, because it managed to convey the multiverse in its entirety, and it made me feel very small indeed.
“Within this multiverse, there are millions of time streams at once. Some of those time streams are within our grasp. Others are not. The timelines are fickle, but not without rules.”
The images changed and warped, showing me through a thousand different universes at once, and all along the timelines. I caught glimpses of the beginning of everything all the way through to the end of time itself. Dinosaurs changed places with alien lifeforms and enormous cities that had never existed, in our timeline at least.
It was incredible. Inspiring. Magnificent. And yet, also as scary as hell, for as I watched, drawn in completely, I saw the bug-demons in their own inimical universe, and knew true horror. They were a nightmare made flesh, bent on destruction, and it seemed to me that they were congregating on the borders between their universe and ours.
Nor were they the only beings that made my skin crawl. There were o
thers, many others, from amorphous blobs of pure hate through to AIs like Shell, but distinctly unfriendly. And a multitude of things that defied description.
It was eye-opening, terrifying, and it seemed utterly hopeless. How could our universe, which up until then I’d never thought of as fragile, hope to survive against such ongoing hostility?
Yet, for some reason, I also felt hope. And a sense of determination to DO something about it.
And then everything changed. Instead of showing the mysteries of the universe, the holograms showed … something else. For lack of a better word, call them spells. Written words described with associated gestures, and each one I focused on displayed a holographic image of the old man performing them.
I watched the old man mumble a spell that made an apple rot in an instant, then return to full health. Another showed him opening a rift in time and stepping through. Still another, and he seemed to be imbuing small devices with weaponized time.
It was fascinating, and I would have liked to see more. But all too soon, the images faded.
The old man began talking. “So now you understand,” he said, sounding very sober. “I’m doing all I can to keep those things you saw from breaching the walls between their own universe and this one, all along the timelines. But it’s becoming harder with every encounter. You saw what happened to me in the forest. I am weakening, and I don’t know why, Caleb. My ability to fight them is becoming restricted, and I don’t know for how much longer my efforts will suffice.”
Despite the doom and gloom of his words, the old wizard managed a grin. “But that’s where you and the ladies come in.”
It was a lot to accept. My mind was whirling like a galaxy around a supermassive black hole. “I get it. My ability to work with time. Time bending. You’ve got something similar, right? But more developed. That’s why you need me. You think I could help. But why are you dragging April and June into this mess? Let them go home.”
“The twins don’t know it yet, but they are important as well. They are augmenters.”
As the old man spoke, April approached from the main room. “Aug-what?” she asked. She smelled like fresh flowers and clean water. Her wet hair hung over her shoulder, and she was wrapped in a sheer linen she had found somewhere. The blonde had wrapped it around several times, though, obscuring any nudity. A drop of water fell out of her hair and trailed down her shoulder, disappearing beneath the folds of fabric. I tried not to follow it with my gaze, but I only partially succeeded.
Think of something else, I told myself. I was as horny as a teenager discovering porn for the first time.
“An augmenter,” the wizard answered, completely unruffled. “Someone who aids Caleb with his powers. You noticed he could slow time? Well, his ability improved when you were near, especially after you decided to help him.”
It did? From my perspective, it had barely worked at all, at least as far as the bug-demons were concerned. And yet … it had certainly felt easier once April joined the fight.
“I helped him, how?” she asked.
“How indeed.” The wizard grinned his dirty grin again as he looked at me. “Simply put, you and those like you give Caleb strength. The closer you become to each other, the more your powers are enhanced. You will gain strength just like he does.”
“So, he really could hear me,” April said thoughtfully. “I wanted to talk to him so badly.”
I nodded. “I heard you speak to me, April, inside my head. Have you always been able to do that?”
She shook her head. “Tonight was the first time, really. But I’ve always felt like it was possible. I wonder what June will think of this.”
I thought about the dark-haired sister. “She doesn’t like me much, does she?” I asked.
April flashed me her smile. “She likes you fine. You did save us, after all. It’s him she doesn’t like.” She pointed to the wizard.
The old man just grinned. “Ah, June, June, she’ll come around soon. Give her a little reason to love you, Caleb, and she will.”
I wasn’t entirely comfortable with the wizard’s familiarity, so I changed the subject. “Back at the Club, you already knew about my talent, didn’t you? And you knew I’d be there. How?”
“That’s one question I can’t answer today. You’ll figure it out on your own.”
“Why not just tell me?” I asked.
The wizard shrugged. “I don’t want to.”
Infuriating old man, I thought to myself.
“Caleb,” April said. “June and I are finished, and you stink.”
“You really do,” the wizard chimed in. “Why not let April help you off with your clothes?”
“No way,” she said. “I just got clean.”
“Too bad,” the old man said. “Caleb should have joined you two in the bath, then you would all be clean at the same time. Not to mention the pool is there for community bathing, and all sorts of fun things can happen when you’re in the steaming water, splashing each other, touching—”
“Enough,” I said. I swear, the old wizard really did like to push the limits. “I can take off my own damn clothes.”
I acted annoyed, and I was, but April’s words contained an element of hope. Her objection to the old man’s suggestion had been based on not wanting to get dirty again. Of course, maybe she was just being polite, but I couldn’t help think that maybe she wouldn’t have minded in other circumstances.
As I shed my clothing and limped into the hot water, I remembered the glimpse I’d had of April and June’s bodies in here moments before. I grunted, annoyed once again. If I were in my own apartment, I could let my mind wander and my body respond. Here, with April, June, the wizard, and Shell as an audience, I needed to keep my thoughts on something more boring.
I focused on the way the water poured over a marble basin and into the pool. The gentle waves rocked me, and before I had finished washing, I was almost too tired to stand. I did anyway, and turned my attention to my clothes.
My jacket had been with me for years. It was padded and a little unusual, but it had served me well. Now it and my pants were disgusting, covered in drying bug-guts. Even my shirt hadn’t escaped the carnage, so I grabbed one of the folded linens near the bath, just like the girls had, and wrapped it firmly around my waist. It looked like I was wearing a skirt to my ankles, but at least I was covered.
When I joined the girls, they were arguing with the wizard.
“…why can’t you just add more beds?” April asked. I’d been aware of the conversation for some time as I bathed, but hadn’t paid attention to it until now.
“Because you and Caleb need to get to know one another,” the old man responded, just as blithely as ever.
“Why, so you can watch?” June demanded.
The wizard chuckled but he didn’t really deny it. “I’ll just sleep in the cockpit, and if anything happens to, ahem, happen tonight, don’t you worry about me. I’ll seal myself in and won’t know a thing.”
“Look,” I interrupted, “it’s a big enough bed for the twins. I’ll pile some of these curtains on the floor and sleep there.” I shrugged. “I’ve had worse beds.”
“Nonsense,” April said, eyeing my bare chest before looking into my eyes. “You must be exhausted after the fight.” She bit her lower lip for just a moment, then turned away, her cheeks slightly flushed. “The bed is plenty big enough. Sleep at the foot?”
June elbowed her, and April turned to her sister. “Why should Caleb have to sleep on the cold marble floor just because the old man is too perverted to give us all our own beds? He’s a decent guy. You know it as well as I do.”
June looked at me.
“Hi,” I waved. “Decent guy here. I just want a good night’s rest,” I said, even though that wasn’t strictly true. After all, both of the girls were absolutely stunning. Only a dead man would have felt no desire for either of them.
The dark-haired sister sighed. “If you talk in your sleep, I’m kicking you out of the bed.”
“I’ve never talked in my sleep, ever,” I said.
“He doesn’t snore, either,” the wizard said. “In fact, he’s a perfect sleeper. One you can cuddle and hold and do naughty things to, all through the night.”
“Enough! You aren’t helping!” I said, and then muttered, “What is wrong with you?”
June didn’t look completely sold, but she didn’t argue anymore, and within a few minutes the three of us had settled into the massive bed. I was curled up at the girls’ feet like a puppy, and while I had mixed feelings about that, it felt good to relax into the soft mattress.
At first, my mind whirled with everything that had happened combined with the nearness of the twins, but soon, I forgot about everything and fell into a deep, comfortable sleep.
XII
I woke to someone’s icy foot in the small of my back. Wincing, I sat up and tried to remember where I was.
The Greek palace looked the same as the night before, only dawn was just breaking over the distant hills visible out the window. I had rolled out of my makeshift linen skirt sometime during the night, and it was entangled beneath the girls, leaving me completely naked.
April was the one who had woken me with her foot, which stuck out beneath the gossamer sheets. The sleeping form of her naked body could have been that of a goddess. One breast was exposed, the nipple taught in the cool air. June lay beside her, her dark hair spread out over her pillow in a sexy cascade.
Turning away, I went to look for something with which to hide my erection. I hadn’t woken up next to a woman in some time, never two at once, and never anyone this hot.
The pile of linens beside the pool had disappeared, as had my clothes. Since they’d been there last night, I could only assume the wizard had stolen them. Of course, he wasn’t anywhere to be seen.
“Dammit, old man,” I grumbled. Who did he think he was? Some ancient, disreputable Cupid wannabe?
April stirred, and I put both my hands in front of my crotch. But that was only a temporary solution, at best. Eyeing the curtains draping the bath, I grabbed one to yank it down, but it proved remarkably resistant to my efforts.