by Mara Amberly
“I’m not intending to,” Eric replied, as they stopped by the corner of a closed store. “The next rift will form tomorrow night. It’s just east of the town.”
“So we only have one day to enjoy this?” she asked, looking around. “I know I might get a few looks in this dress, but why don’t we go out for some dinner?”
“We can but we’re now in Victorian times, which means I might need to change my money again.”
“Victorian; how interesting. I have money so I’ll need to change it too,” she replied.
“I know I could use a proper meal. The food we brought with us is starting to get a bit ripe, and not in a good way.”
“Let’s find somewhere to stay tonight,” she suggested.
Cora felt somewhere with a comfortable bed was definitely preferable to sleeping on the cold, hard ground.
“Let’s see what the options are,” he replied, and they walked on enjoying the sights.
“So how does it work?” Cora asked, reaching for his wrist.
“It’s complicated,” he replied, pulling his hand away. “Extraordinarily complicated, and we probably shouldn’t talk about it here.”
“I’ll accept that for now,” she replied, smiling, “but sooner or later, I’d love to discover how it works.”
Eric chuckled. “Oh, I’m sure you would.”
He knew the fewer people who knew about it or understood the technology, the better. That was why he never intended to tell Cora how it worked, especially in any way that could be developed over time from her knowledge.
Eric noticed some tables and chairs in the street ahead, and he soon realised there were more in the building behind them. He was surprised but pleased to find the words ‘Dining Room’ painted in ornate letters.
“They should have what we’re looking for,” he said, finally feeling like he was getting back to civilisation.
Eric and Cora made sure their money would be accepted and chose to pay before they ordered what would be a large meal. They’d been eating lightly for the last day or two, and when their meals arrived, they didn’t hold back.
She noticed several women watching her and talking among themselves.
“This is getting a little creepy,” she admitted. “It’s probably my dress that’s drawing their attention. It could be that I’m out dining with you, but for all they know you’re my husband.”
“If anyone asks, that’s what I’ll tell them,” he promised her. Eric could also tell he was drawing a few glances, but he tried to ignore them and focus on his meal.
When the ladies finally left, it occurred to Cora that there was no sign of the serving staff. There were only a few men left indoors eating and a few patrons outside.
“Eric, something isn’t right.”
He looked up from his plate, his brow furrowing with concern. “You may be on to something.”
The front door opened a moment later, and three men and a woman filed into the restaurant. The woman and one of the men were older – perhaps in their fifties; the other two were younger in their mid to late twenties.
Eric and Cora focused on eating, but they paid enough attention to their surroundings to tell the strangers were approaching their table.
When they reached his table, Eric gave them a disarming smile. “No thanks. I couldn’t eat any more.”
He knew they weren’t serving staff. They were well-dressed for the era, whoever they were.
“We’re not here to serve you,” one of the men replied. “Quite the contrary, in fact, Master Merlin.”
Eric coughed. “Pardon me?” He didn’t have to feign confusion; it was written all over his face.
“I don’t know quite how to tell you this, but you have the wrong person,” Eric explained in a conversational tone. He was getting worried, but he tried not to show it.
It was beyond coincidental that they should think he was Merlin when he’d visited Merlin’s Cave just days before in the past.
“I don’t think we do,” the woman replied.
Her hair was short and curled, but she had a hard face that seemed neither gentle nor kind.
Cora studied her for a moment and then gasped.
Eric didn’t know why, but he wasn’t going to ask while they were standing there.
“Recognise me, do you?” the well-dressed woman asked.
“It’s hard to say,” Cora replied, not lying particularly well. “People your age all look a bit alike to me.”
The woman moved to strike Cora, but Eric caught her hand mid-air. “Don’t do that. We’re just having dinner and there’s no reason to spoil it.”
“We know who you are,” she said, folding her arms.
“You really don’t,” he replied and his gaze grew more intense. “You wouldn’t be forcing this conversation if you did. Leave us be before you come to regret this.”
One of the younger men appeared to grow nervous, but the others seemed unaffected by his words.
“We need you to come with us, and since we don’t believe you’re going to come willingly, that leaves unwillingly…”
It seemed one of the men crushed something in his palm and light exploded from his hand. Eric and Cora felt their consciousness torn away and there was nothing they could do about it. One moment they were conscious and the next they were at the strangers’ mercy.
Chapter 7
March 1846 – Somewhere in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England
Eric awakened to the chill of a cold breeze on his skin. The ground was hard and his back ached; in fact, he was sure he hurt everywhere. Blinking several times, it took him a moment to realise he was in a garden laying on the grass. Glancing around cautiously, he noticed a wall in the distance and the sky was dark above him. His thoughts were in disarray, and it took him a minute to piece together his last memories.
Had these people brought him here? They must’ve done. Where was Cora? There was no sign of her close-by. Did they take her too? He hoped she was alright.
He assumed it was the same night, but he didn’t know for sure. He glanced at his wrist and pushed back his sleeve. They hadn’t taken his TSAI 40, and it confirmed almost two hours had passed. He wondered what could’ve knocked him out; he was hardier than most humans. It would likely have taken something strong to put him down for hours.
He remembered the flash, which implied some kind of weapon to him; one that hadn’t affected his attackers. He’d need some time to think about it.
There was someone in the direction of the wall. He couldn’t make out their features, only an overweight figure with a long coat. They fit the description of the older man from the restaurant and it made sense that it might’ve been him. He seemed to be standing guard.
Did his kidnappers think he was Merlin or did they merely hope to give a false impression of it? Could these people have been descended from those who visited Merlin’s Cave? If so, how could they have even recognised him?
It would be ironic if, at some future point in time, he or Cora set this chain of events in motion. It wouldn’t have surprised him because time could spring twists of fate on you sometimes if you dared to change something important. It had happened before and he wouldn’t have been surprised if it happened again.
Eric doubted there was any intelligence behind it, but sometimes it sure felt that way.
Moving carefully from where he lay, Eric realised how shaky he felt. The source of his earlier unconsciousness was probably still affecting him. The thought made him extremely uncomfortable. Out here he had no one to rely on but himself and Cora.
Eric was tempted to call out for her, but he didn’t want to alert the watcher to the fact he was awake. Instead, after making sure he wasn’t restrained, he kept his eyes open.
Why would they have dumped him out here? Eric wondered if they were afraid of him. They should be.
Eric determined that the guard was smoking and not paying a great deal of attention. When Eric was sure he’d turned away, he climbed to his feet and ran. He only
got a few steps before he was stopped by a wall of immovable force. It was a force field – no doubt about it, and it glowed a faint gold when he collided with it. He tried other directions, but it seemed to surround him – all but the ground beneath his feet and perhaps the air above him.
He glanced back toward the wall and saw two figures out there now.
“Oh no, you don’t,” he murmured and glanced down at his TSAI.
Eric activated the sensor on his device and scanned the force field. Its energy was cycling fast but there wasn’t anything special or unduly complicated about it. It kept to the same predictable frequency.
He turned on the voice recognition software to keep his hands free.
“TSAI, match the charge of the energy field’s pulses with a negation field.”
“Working,” it replied in a pleasant female voice. “Negation field active.”
He was fairly certain that a field with an opposing charge would counteract the force field, and he was right. As soon as it dropped, he escaped across the garden. Eric was still shaky on his feet, but he was alright and keeping to the shadows so he wouldn’t be seen.
They probably thought they were so smart, and for the 19th Century, they probably were. It was beyond the technology they should’ve had unless they were alien.
Eric found cover behind some bushes as he considered his options. He wanted to escape, but he needed to find Cora first.
He raised his wrist device to his lips and whispered. “Scan a 300-foot radius for female human life signs.”
“Scanning,” the voice replied. “Insufficient information to differentiate gender. Six human life signs found.”
Eric groaned. It wasn’t as helpful as he’d hoped, but it still told him something. There were six people other than himself because he wasn’t human.
“TSAI, show the locations of all life signs in the radius area.”
“Coordinates downloaded to tracker.”
The tracker would allow him to better judge distances than by coordinates alone, which were really just strings of numbers.
Eric thought he must’ve been on a rural property, which made him wonder how they’d got him here and why they’d left him outside. Perhaps they feared he’d destroy the building with his so-called magic. He probably would’ve and still might, but magic had nothing to do with it.
He had things to do, and he should be getting a good rest to go with Cora in the morning, not dealing with whoever these misguided yet technologically-advanced fools were.
Glancing at his TSAI, Eric saw there were 3 life signs outdoors and 3 in the nearest building. He judged it more likely Cora was in the building, but he couldn’t say for sure. There was a greater risk breaking in than looking in on the ones in the garden, so he decided to try that first.
As he crept between trees and ran across a patch of lawn, he heard distant shouts behind him. They’d discovered him missing.
So much for the element of surprise.
At least they’d be easier to spot if they were searching for him.
Glancing between his wrist device and the garden, Eric crept toward the location of the nearest life signs. He knew it was risky, dangerous and foolish, but it had to be done.
He kept out of sight as best as he could, sheltering in the shadows, but tried to get close enough to identify who was there. The nearest life sign was close now and not moving. He climbed in a little closer; whoever they were, they weren’t responding to the shouts he’d heard.
It wasn’t Cora, but he recognised the older woman. It clarified for him that Cora was almost certainly in the building. The other two life signs outside were moving, and he had seen the older man’s silhouette and one other earlier.
The older woman was seated on the ground by the light of a single candle.
Eric couldn’t tell what she was doing – praying perhaps or attempting to cast some magic, but that wasn’t his concern. He turned away and carefully made his way toward the building from the nearest side.
Leaving Cora behind in a different time was not an option. Maybe the others in the building would join the search for him, leaving it unprotected. It was his hope, though not a realistic one.
He’d considered waiting until later in the night when the others went to sleep, but he needed sleep as well, and he was already feeling exhausted and out of sorts. He also knew the longer he stayed out in the garden, the more likely it was that someone would find him.
The wall had a gate in it and there was a doorway into the building, probably a house, on the other side. It seemed he’d been in a walled-off garden. Glancing into the distance, he saw the tops of other buildings, which suggested he was still in the town; probably on the outskirts of it.
Eric approached the gate and listened for sounds on the other side.
As he did so, he took the time to adjust the coordinates on his wrist device, so it would take him much closer to the rift in this time frame that his ship would cause.
He heard a man’s voice through the gate; he was fairly certain it carried from inside the building. He couldn’t quite make out the man’s words, no matter how hard he listened.
“TSAI,” he whispered. “Record sound from inside the building and transmit to me with two measures of volume increase on minimal delay.”
“Working,” the AI replied.
Then he could hear more clearly. The sound had been transmitted through an implant in his ears, not externally, which meant it wouldn’t be overheard.
“Merlin will do as he’s told or your body will be pulled from the River Avon. He’s ours now and he’ll do what we tell him to do.”
Eric gritted his teeth. He’d see about that.
“Don’t you get it? He’s not Merlin. He never was, but he’s going to come for me. If you don’t set us free, you’re the ones who’ll pay the price.”
“You tell ‘em, Cora,” he whispered in response, even though she couldn’t hear him.
“I don’t think so,” a second man replied. “You’ll discover how serious this situation is soon enough. The High Priest will have questions for you and he’s a lot less tolerant than we are.”
That didn’t sound good to Eric, but if he could learn who this ‘High Priest’ was, then perhaps the information could be useful. Still, it wasn’t his priority. Getting Cora and himself out was. He wondered if they had a means of tracking him or if rumours had spread about the energy discharges from the rift when they arrived. They could’ve had some way of knowing and he didn’t want to risk them tracking him.
“TSAI, stop transmitting sound from within the building,” Eric said.
“Transmission ceased,” the female voice replied.
Eric crept around the side of the building until he found a window low enough to reach. It wasn’t an ideal place; he was in an exposed area with minimal cover.
It was hard to make out much detail in the dark, but through the window, the room looked empty. He gave the window a firm but controlled shove, trying to force it without making too much noise, and managed to open it enough to climb in. Hesitating only briefly, Eric eased into the room and took cover behind the door, which was only slightly ajar. It was a relief to know for sure that it was empty. He couldn’t hear the voices now, but he was alert for any sound or movement. He noticed an interesting writing desk in the room. It contained a great many drawers, so he looked through them while he was there.
Everything seemed to make noise, but it probably seemed that way because he was trying to be as quiet as possible.
“TSAI, illumination level one,” he whispered and was rewarded with just enough light to see by when he directed his TSAI into the drawers. He found papers, which looked to be old letters. It would take time to decode the handwriting, so he slipped them into the pocket of his jacket.
There was a cry from further into the house. “You have no right to hold me here!”
He recognised Cora’s voice and felt a sudden urge to help her. He needed to get Cora out of there, but he wa
nted to look around first and find out who these people were.
“TSAI, cease illumination,” he whispered and the light switched off.
Eric approached the door, glancing along the corridor to make sure it was empty before he slipped from the room. There was another bedroom opposite, which was also dark. As soon as Eric was sure it was empty, he re-activated the light on his TSAI 40 and quickly searched his surroundings. There was no writing desk, but he noticed a trunk by the door. It seemed it might belong to a visitor.
It contained a very strange collection of objects. Books, candles, an ornate knife – which he took, incense and a transceiver, if he was not mistaken. It was hard to tell by what was effectively torchlight, but it looked Alloroan. They were a species he’d never have expected to see on Earth. They were their galaxy’s peacekeepers, so Eric had no idea how these people had come into possession of one of their transceivers. They certainly didn’t look Alloroan; big spiny-backed individuals that that were. It seemed more likely these people had acquired alien technology and were using it under the guise of magic… or believed it to be magical.
Eric quickly searched and found something else. He couldn’t have said what it was. It looked like a shiny metal capsule roughly the size of his palm.
“TSAI,” he whispered, “technology scan. What is this? Is it safe?”
“Working,” the TSAI replied. It took an inordinately long time. “Low level radiation detected. No other information is available.”
Eric kept the transceiver and mysterious object, and searched further, but he didn’t find anything useful. He also didn’t want to put Cora at further risk by taking too long.
“TSAI, cease illumination,” he whispered.
Eric looked down the corridor once again. He could hear the murmur of voices in a room near the end.
“Somehow he broke through the shield…” a man exclaimed.