Time's Children

by D. B. Jackson

“It certainly lends weight to what you have to say.” Mearlan crossed to the window, a habit he apparently acquired in his youth. “How long can you remain with us?”

  “As long as I must, my liege. Walking through so many years, my destination can only be so precise.” The words echoed in his thoughts, reminding him of a similar conversation with this very man in this very chamber less than a bell before. Fourteen years from now. A chill ran through him. He made himself complete the thought. “Remaining here for a few bells, or even for a day or two, should make little difference.”

  “Good,” the sovereign said. He nodded to Gillian, who crossed to the door, opened it, and beckoned for one of the guards.

  A uniformed man appeared in the doorway.

  “Please find Walker…” Mearlan paused and turned back to Tobias, frowning again. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your full name.”

  “Tobias Doljan, my liege.”

  “And you were trained on Trevynisle?”

  “Yes, my liege. In the palace at Windhome, under the guidance of… Of the chancellor there.” He couldn’t recall when Shaan assumed his position, and he thought it best to err on the side of discretion.

  Once more, the sovereign appeared to read his thoughts. “Yes, very good.” To the guard, he said, “Find Walker Doljan something to eat, and have quarters prepared for him, in case his stay with us extends past this evening.”

  “Yes, my liege.” The guard left them.

  “In the meantime,” Mearlan said, “I’d like you to remain in my antechamber. Forgive me, but this is all quite extraordinary, and I think it best that we limit your interactions with all but my most trusted advisors. I hope you understand.”

  “I do, my liege,” he said, and meant it. He understood better than the sovereign thought, perhaps better than Mearlan did himself. The sovereign seemed to want him gone from his sight. Tobias’s mere presence here was evidence of Mearlan’s future failures.

  Tobias stood, and exited the chamber. The antechamber was empty save for a single guard, who watched Tobias as if she expected him to steal art off the wall. A fire blazed in the hearth along the far wall. Tobias moved a chair close to the flames and sat, knowing the woman followed his every movement. He tried to ignore her and soon found himself staring at his hands and arms, marveling at their transformation. His fingers looked too long. His forearms were those of a grown man. He wanted to see his face in a mirror, but wasn’t certain he could bring himself to look.

  On the thought, he raised a hand to his cheek and, to his astonishment, felt stubble. He had the beginnings of a beard! He fished the chronofor from his pocket and tried with little success to use its back as a mirror.

  The first guard returned with a generous repast of bread, cheese, and wine – golden, from Brenth. He ate slowly, more because it was something to do than because he was hungry. As he did, Gillian slipped out of the sovereign’s chamber and crossed to where he sat.

  “He wants me to fetch the Binder, so that he might explain a bit more about the journey you’ve just undertaken.”

  Tobias nodded, but then said, “He could just as easily ask me.”

  “Yes, well, I’m not sure he’s ready for that.”

  He knew she was right.

  “I can’t begin to imagine what you’re feeling right now,” the minister said.

  Tobias could only shrug. “Will he listen to me? Will he do what his older self wants him to do?”

  “I don’t know. He’s intelligent, wise beyond his years. But he’s young and new to his power, still trying to emerge from the long shadow cast by his father. And he’s a man, which doesn’t speak well of his judgment.”

  Tobias laughed. “I’m a man.”

  “You’re a boy in the body of a man. I’m not sure what that makes you.”

  His cheeks flushed.

  “I mean no offense,” she said. “I’m stating a fact. More, I’m certain that seeing both ends of this war you’re trying to prevent, gives you a perspective none of us can match.”

  “I hope the sovereign agrees.”

  She studied him as he continued to eat, until he grew uncomfortable under her gaze. “Forgive me. I’m… Your appearance here is unsettling for all of us. I’ll leave you.”

  Gillian stepped to the door, glanced back at him once more, and let herself out of the antechamber.

  She returned before long with a dour, dark-eyed man in tow. He wore ministerial robes like hers, and was as tall as she – perhaps a hand shorter than Tobias. His hair was dark, as were his meticulously groomed mustache and goatee.

  Again Gillian faltered at the sight of Tobias, and after a moment’s thought, she led the man to him. Tobias stood.

  “Walker Doljan, I’d like you to meet Bexler Filt, Hayncalde’s Binder. Bexler, this is the young man I told you about.”

  The Binder offered a hand, which Tobias gripped. The man eyed him keenly.

  “Gillian told me how far you’ve come,” he said, whispering and eyeing the guard. “I… I have so many questions for you.”

  “I understand,” Tobias said, keeping his voice low as well. “Sadly, I don’t believe it would be wise for us to have such a conversation.”

  “Yes, I understand. You’re wise to be cautious. And yet, I expect you’ve come to change history, haven’t you? There can be no other reason for Traveling so far.”

  “I told you,” Gillian said, “he’s trying to prevent a war.”

  “Yes, I was sorry to hear that.”

  “Have you advised the sovereign to send the fleet?” Tobias asked.

  “I have. I think it’s a fight we can win. Especially if I’m able to complete a project I’ve been working on.”

  At the periphery of his vision, Tobias thought he saw Gillian give a quick, sharp shake of her head.

  “It’s not yet ready to be shown,” Filt went on smoothly. “Especially to someone from another time. As you’ve indicated, your presence here creates risks none of us can fully understand.”

  Tobias looked from Gillian to the Binder. “Of course.” After another pause, he decided that he needed to trust someone, even at the risk of revealing details about the future. “I can’t tell you much, but I do need help from both of you. The sovereign – your sovereign – he wants this war. I can tell. But it will weaken Daerjen, and it will bring our allies to ruin. I swear it will.”

  “Can you tell us who we’re fighting?” Filt asked. “In your time, I mean.”

  Tobias weighed the question, remembering that Mearlan had spoken to him about details of the wars. Clearly the sovereign had expected him to discuss these matters. “We fight on two fronts: against the Oaqamarans and Milnos in the Bone Sea, and against privateers in the waters around Westisle.”

  “And in all this fighting, have we any advantages at all? Are there any… any weapons or tools that have turned battles our way, perhaps something–”

  “That’s enough, Bexler.”

  Tobias made no attempt to conceal his bewilderment. “I’m afraid I don’t understand.”

  She cast a hard glance Filt’s way. “It’s nothing. And I think we should keep in mind that history can be influenced in any number of ways. We in this time should be cautious as well.”

  “Yes, of course.” Filt’s gaze bounced between the two of them. “You make a fine point, minister.”

  Gillian’s smile was brittle, but she hooked an arm through the Binder’s and patted his hand. Tobias had seen her do something similar. In the future, with her husband, Haplar Jarrett. Apparently, Jarrett wasn’t the first Binder in her life.

  “You were telling us you need our help,” Gillian prompted.

  “That’s right,” Tobias said.

  “What do you want us to do?”

  “To start, believe me,” Tobias said. “And do what you can to help me convince the sovereign.”

  Gillian turned her bright eyes on Filt. “Binder?”

  “I’ll have to think about it. This is all quite sudden.”

  �
��I understand,” Tobias said.

  The minister tugged Filt toward Mearlan’s door. “We should get in there. The sovereign is waiting for us.”

  “Yes, of course. A pleasure to meet you, Binder.”

  “And you, Walker. Perhaps we can speak again later.”

  “I’d like that.”

  The two of them crossed to the door, and after knocking, entered the chamber. Tobias placed another log on the fire, and returned to his chair.

  He remained there for more than a bell, until at last the sovereign himself emerged from the chamber and walked his way. Tobias stood and straightened his shirt and robe, which didn’t fit him nearly as well as the clothes Lars had made for him.

  “You’ve been comfortable, I trust,” Mearlan said.

  “Yes, my liege, thank you.”

  “Your arrival has prompted quite a discussion, as I’m sure you can imagine. We’re not done, but I see no reason why you need to remain here. I’d like you to avoid contact with others in the castle, but with that in mind, if you would like to repair to the quarters we’ve arranged for you, you have my permission to do so.”

  “Thank you, my liege. I would like that. I take it, then, that you’d like me to remain here tonight.”

  “That would be best, yes. We can speak in the morning.”

  “Very well, my liege.”

  Mearlan beckoned to the guard and told her to accompany Tobias to the chamber that had been arranged for him.

  As it turned out, he had been assigned a room on the same corridor where his quarters had been in his own time. Once Tobias was settled, with a pallet, pillow, and blanket, the guard positioned herself in the corridor outside his door. With nothing else to do, Tobias lay down, thinking he would rest for a short while.

  He awoke some time later to a darkening sky and the tolling of the castle bells. Panic gripped him; he was sure the castle was under attack again. But within a tencount the tolling ceased and he realized it was just the early evening bell. He rolled off the pallet and searched the darkening chamber for a candle and flint. Finding none, he returned to the bed and sat. After a time, he began to pace, and at last he opened his door.

  Another guard had joined the woman.

  “Yes, my lord,” this soldier said. “Can we help you?”

  “I would like to go outside.”

  The two guards eyed each other.

  “I won’t speak with anyone. You can watch me the entire time. I just…” He opened his hands. “I’d like to get out of here.”

  The guards appeared unsure, and Tobias considered withdrawing his request, not wishing to get them in trouble. An instant later, he felt himself growing angry. He was fourteen years older than he had been that morning, fourteen years closer to a premature dotage. That they would treat him as a prisoner seemed like an affront.

  “I’m not sure we can allow that, my lord,” the woman said.

  “Did your sovereign give you any indication that I’m to be held captive? Did he say that I had committed some sort of crime?”

  “Well, no, my lord.”

  “In that case, I would leave this chamber. You may accompany me, but you will not hold me here.”

  He didn’t wait for a reply. Stepping past the guards, he strode down the corridor toward the stairway. The two soldiers hurried after him.

  Upon descending the stairs, and stepping outside, he paused to get his bearings. Then he struck out toward the sovereign’s courtyard, with its fountain and gardens. The guards followed a few paces behind him.

  He hadn’t expected that evening would bring such a chill; he had failed to take into account those extra three turns he’d added to his journey. It had been Kheraya’s Ascent when he left. Most lands had been in the midst of their planting seasons. Now it was Sipar’s Settling, or Her Stirring at the latest. The first plantings were still several turns off. As was his birthday. His former birthday.

  Tobias chuckled at the thought, surprising himself.

  He lingered near the fountain for only a short time before deciding to go back inside, perhaps to another chamber with an active hearth.

  He pivoted, intending to ask the guards where he might find one. As he did, though, he spotted a figure standing near the gate that led to the other courtyard. Tall, lean, clearly a man – but Tobias didn’t think he was a guard. He wore no armor.

  He started toward the figure.

  For his part, the stranger took no notice of Tobias. He glanced about, appearing to take note of archways, towers, the position of the next ward. Tobias thought he was orienting himself.

  Additional movement caught Tobias’s attention. Three men stood near the stranger, arrayed around him. Still, Tobias wouldn’t have given this much thought had two more guards not emerged from the gate at that moment, both of them brawny and well-armed. The figure took a step back and pressed himself against the courtyard wall. His companions did the same. The guards passed without taking notice of them.

  “Who are you?” Tobias said, more to himself than to the strangers. Pitching his voice to carry, he called, “You there! What are you doing?”

  The men spun in Tobias’s direction. Tobias’s guards hurried forward with the ring of drawn steel. Tobias pointed at the stranger. The two distant guards shouted, drew their swords as well.

  The man stared at Tobias for the span of a single breath. He bared his teeth in a grin and signaled to his compatriots, who took positions around him again. In less than a fivecount, they vanished from view as if they had never been there.

  Just before they disappeared, though, Tobias thought he saw something glimmer in the man’s hand. He could have sworn it was made of gold.

  Chapter 16

  21st Day of Sipar’s Settling, Year 633

  “Tell me again what you were doing in that courtyard.”

  The sovereign stood with his back to his desk, arms crossed over his chest, eyes fixed on Tobias, who sat in a chair before him. The Seer and Mearlan’s ministers of arms and state stood to the side, listening, their silence as weighty as stone.

  The minister of arms, a tall, steel-haired woman with fine features and the build of an Oaqamaran warrior, rested one hand on the hilt of her blade. Tobias half-expected her to draw the weapon and take off his head.

  “I told you,” he said. “I fell asleep in the chamber that was assigned to me. When I woke, I decided to wander the grounds a bit. In my own time, I’ve only lived in this castle for a couple of days. I’m still curious about it.”

  “So you chose to ignore my orders to remain in your quarters. You even prevailed upon your guards to accompany you as you defied my wishes.”

  “With all due respect, my liege, I did no such thing. You told me to avoid contact with others in the castle, and I was doing that. But you never said that I was to be a prisoner in my quarters, and I told your soldiers as much. They remained with me the entire time, and I made certain not to approach or speak with anyone else.”

  “Forgive me, my liege,” the minister of arms broke in. “Right now I’m more interested in this intruder the Walker claims to have seen. The rest can wait.”

  Mearlan still glowered, mistrust of Tobias manifest in his hard expression, his coiled posture. After a fivecount he nodded. “Go on, Walker.”

  “Yes, my liege. I was… I was walking. But it was colder than I expected, and I decided to go back indoors.”

  “Colder than you expected,” Mearlan said, seemingly unable to stop himself. “It’s Sipar’s Settling. Why shouldn’t it be cold?”

  “Because when I woke this morning,” Tobias fired back with more asperity than might have been wise, “I was in Kheraya’s Ascent.”

  That brought the sovereign up short.

  “The guards said the men simply vanished,” the Seer said, filling an uncomfortable silence. “Is that what you saw as well?”

  “Yes,” Tobias said, a catch in his voice.

  “It’s not a difficult question,” the sovereign said. “It either is or isn’t.”r />
  Tobias had decided he didn’t like this younger sovereign.

  He did a poor job of keeping his growing animosity out of his voice. “It’s what I saw; it’s just not all I saw.”

  “My liege,” the sovereign added for him, drawing out the last word.

  “My liege,” Tobias repeated. “I’m almost certain I saw something in his hand. Something made of gold.”

  “A jewel?” Mearlan asked.

  “A device,” said the Seer. “Like those the Binder makes.”

  The sovereign looked back and forth between them. “Is that what you meant?”

  “It is.” Tobias wished Gillian, or even Filt, was in the chamber with him, but maybe the Seer would prove himself more of an ally than he had anticipated.

  “Might these men have followed you here?”

  “I don’t see how, my liege. I was alone in your chamber when I began my journey. Few people knew you intended to send me back to prevent the war, and none save the two of us knew exactly how many years and turns I’d be Walking.”

  The minister of arms dismissed this last with a wave of her hand. “That would be easy enough to work out. If the war is being fought in your future, others would know when it started, wouldn’t they?”

  “Yes, I suppose they would.”

  “Minister, have your guards conduct another search of the grounds. If these men were, in fact, Travelers, you probably won’t find much, but let’s be certain.”

  “Yes, my liege.”

  She regarded Tobias, her hand straying again to the hilt of her weapon. Tobias sensed that she didn’t wish to leave while he was anywhere near Mearlan, but at last she strode from the chamber.

  “Who else knew of my intentions?” the sovereign asked once she was gone.

  When Tobias faltered, the Seer volunteered, “I must have. Isn’t that right?”

  “Yes. And also your minister of arms, who doesn’t serve you yet in that capacity.”

  “In what capacity does this person serve me?”

  “As an officer in your fleet, my liege, far away from here.”

  “All right, who else? The minister of protocol? Clearly you knew her in that other time.”