“About that...,” Alex began awkwardly.
Alamina looked at him, waiting for him to continue.
“Well, I actually didn’t vanish back then. Not exactly.”
“Then what happened?”
She waited for an answer, and then it dawned on her. “You jumped!”
A broad smile formed on Alex’s face. “I wasn’t exactly thrilled about disappearing into nothing,” he said, “so I took matters into my own hands.”
“But I thought a Memory Master could only jump backward?”
Alex chuckled. “Normally, that would be true,” he said. “But you forget, I’m originally from 1991, and I remember it quite well. It’s an odd loophole, but forward is backward to me!”
Alamina shook her head. It made sense. But she was also embarrassed that she, a Time Wielder, had been too scared to try to jump again herself.
Alex must have seen that embarrassment in her face. “There’s something I should tell you,” he said. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Alamina raised her eyebrows. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, you were supposed to arrive twenty years ago,” he said.
“That’s impossible.”
“It’s not only possible, it’s true. I’m sure you remember the second principle of temporal management.”
Of course, she had it memorized. She recited it aloud: “In order change time, you must alter your perception of it.”
“And its corollary?”
“Time is always as it should be.”
“They call that the Principle of Destiny,” Alex said. “And you, after all, are the Pathfinder of Destiny. It was, and is, impossible for you to do anything ‘wrong’ when it comes to time.”
Alamina frowned.
“Think about it,” Alex said. “If you hadn’t jumped here twenty years before you thought you should have, you never would have met Ethelinda, and she never would have entrusted you with the Compass of the Seventh Kingdom.”
Recognition dawned on Alamina’s face. “And I never would have taken it into the labyrinth.”
“And we both would have been stuck in there forever.”
“And you would never have founded the Academy, which explains why everything was starting to fade away.”
Alex nodded. “It’s hard to believe I was a young boy just yesterday on the calendar, and today, I’m an old man.”
“I suppose that’s the way it feels for all of us,” said Alamina. “Just not literally so!”
Alex laughed.
“Do you ever wonder what happened to Lord Nigel?” asked Dreqnir.
Alamina felt a chill run through her. “I try not to think about it,” she said. Then her expression brightened. “I have enough to think about, just planning for next semester!”
“I can help you with that,” Alex said with a wink. “I dumped this place in your lap, and you’ve been doing wonderfully without me, but I spent so much time in the library while I was here, I never really got a chance to know the students. I’d like to do that in the few years I have left. You don’t suppose there’s an opening on the faculty for an old man with a talent for memorizing things?”
Alamina stood, walked around the desk, and kissed him lightly on the top of his head. “We’re always looking for qualified instructors,” she said, “and I can’t think of anyone more qualified than you.”
...
Want more?
Read the exciting sequel, Pathfinder of Destiny
About the author
Stephen H. Provost is a novelist, historian and journalist. He has worked for more than three decades as a managing editor, copy desk chief, columnist and reporter at five newspapers. Now a full-time author, he has written on such diverse topics as American highways, dragons, mutant superheroes, mythic archetypes, language, department stores and his hometown. He currently lives in Martinsville, Virginia. And he loves cats. Read his blogs and keep up with his activities at stephenhprovost.com.
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Also by the author
Works of Fiction
Pathfinder of Destiny
The Memortality Saga
Memortality
Paralucidity
The Only Dragon
Identity Break
Feathercap
Nightmare’s Eve
Works of Nonfiction
A Whole Different League
The Great American Shopping Experience (2020)
Highway 99
Highway 101
Fresno Growing Up
Martinsville Memories
The Legend of Molly Bolin
Undefeated
Please Stop Saying That!
The Phoenix Chronicles
The Osiris Testament
The Way of the Phoenix
The Gospel of the Phoenix
The Phoenix Principle
Forged in Ancient Fires
Messiah in the Making
Media Meltdown
Praise for other works
“The complex idea of mixing morality and mortality is a fresh twist on the human condition. … Memortality is one of those books that will incite more questions than it answers. And for fandom, that’s a good thing.”
― Ricky L. Brown, Amazing Stories
“Punchy and fast paced, Memortality reads like a graphic novel. … (Provost’s) style makes the trippy landscapes and mind-bending plot points more believable and adds a thrilling edge to this vivid crossover fantasy.”
― Foreword Reviews
“The genres in this volume span horror, fantasy, and science-fiction, and each is handled deftly. ... Nightmare’s Eve should be on your reading list. The stories are at the intersection of nightmare and lucid dreaming, up ahead a signpost... next stop, your reading pile. Keep the nightlight on.”
― R.B. Payne, Cemetery Dance
“Memortality by Stephen Provost is a highly original, thrilling novel unlike anything else out there.”
― David McAfee, bestselling author of
33 A.D., 61 A.D., and 79 A.D.
“Profusely illustrated throughout, Highway 99 is unreservedly recommended as an essential and core addition to every community and academic library’s California History collections.”
― California Bookwatch
“An essential primer for anyone seeking an entrée into the genre. Provost serves up a smorgasbord of highlights gleaned from his personal memories of and research into the various nooks and crannies of what ‘used-to-be’ in professional team sports."
― Tim Hanlon, Good Seats Still Available,
on A Whole Different League
“As informed and informative as it is entertaining and absorbing, Fresno Growing Up is very highly recommended for personal, community, and academic library 20th Century
American History collections.”
― John Burroughs, Reviewer’s Bookwatch
“Provost sticks mostly to the classics: vampires, ghosts, aliens, and even dragons. But trekking familiar terrain allows the author to subvert readers’ expectations. ... Provost’s poetry skillfully displays the same somber themes as the stories. ... Worthy tales that prove external forces are no more terrifying than what’s inside people’s heads.”
― Kirkus Reviews on Nightmare’s Eve
“… an engaging narrative that pulls the reader into the story and onto the road. … I highly recommend Highway 99: The History of California’s Main Street, whether you’re a roadside archaeology nut or just someone who enjoys a ripping story peppered with vintage photographs.”
― Barbara Gossett,
Society for Commercial Archaeology Journal
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The Talismans of Time (Academy of the Lost Labyrinth Book 1) Page 21
