The Wizard of Time Trilogy (A Fantasy Time Travel Series)

by G. L. Breedon

The mind of the Gabriel in Scotland dimmed into darkest oblivion, a sense of joy pervading him, a euphoria that carried him upwards into a light more brilliant than any he had ever conceived.

  “I am here.”

  Light became darkness and the darkness grew back into light and his eyes flickered.

  “I am here. You are alive. Again.”

  The eyes of Gabriel in Scotland gradually focused on an image of an old man, face wrinkled but eyes still alight with life.

  “Vicaquirao?”

  “Not the young man you remember, but the man nonetheless.”

  “I was dead.”

  “Not quite, but very close. I healed you.”

  “You saved me.”

  “Although not the first time, it will be the last.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  I don’t…

  We don’t…

  Understand…

  Questions echoed through Gabriel’s many minds.

  “How did you know where to be, and when?” Gabriel accepted Vicaquirao’s hand and stood up, slightly weak but far from death.

  “I have had a long time to think about it since you last saw me.” Vicaquirao smiled. “We can discuss technicalities later. You have a task to complete, I believe.”

  “Yes.”

  Yes…

  Yes…

  We should…

  Begin…

  Gabriel Prime, the version of himself existing outside all time, acted in concert with his other minds, willing the subtle energy of the Void and all potential universes to conform with his desires, touching the moment of his own universe’s creation and plying a line of energy through its continuum. He anchored it in places that would hold it steady against its own inherent instabilities, a line of indomitable power stretching across 13.8 billion years, anchor after anchor, linked together, flowing through to the final instant of forced stability in the year 2012 when the energy curved back upon itself, twisting ever so marginally before breaking free of solid reality and once more entering the Void, joining itself at its beginning, creating an infinite loop of potentiality, existing in every branch of reality that might ever split away from the continuum it allowed to exist.

  Gabriel Prime witnessed this act of creation as he and the others willed it into being, reveling in the resulting paradox of perfection and probability, his many duplicates marveling as they perceived their individual anchor points as both ceasing to exist and being born in the same instant. Gabriel Prime made one final, minor adjustment to the Barrier at a single moment in a particular place, altering it imperceptibly in one significant way. Then, his companion at the beginning of life on earth pulled him back from the Void and into the flow of time. As they smiled, they released their hold of the subtle cosmic energy, letting go of the state of mind that allowed its perception, turning their attentions to other things and other places.

  “You can stop kissing me now.” The Gabriel in 2012 grinned at Teresa.

  “Did it work?” Teresa held her breath, waiting for his reply.

  “We’re all still here, aren’t we?”

  Teresa kissed him as cheers rose up from the members of the Chimera team. They slapped him on the back and hugged him in joy. Meanwhile…

  Versions of Gabriel also gathered the unconscious Dark Mages who had attacked him, stripping them of their relics and talismans before projecting them one at a time to a place where another version of himself stood in a grassy valley in the year 52 million BCE. The Dark Mages would survive well enough until Gabriel Prime figured out what to do with them. Meanwhile…

  A version of Gabriel also stood beside Vicaquirao, looking out over the arctic summer ice, a large wooden shed beside them. Vicaquirao had brought them there when Gabriel had allowed the space-time bubble to dissolve in Scotland.

  “Where are we?” Gabriel watched snow blowing across the peaks of the nearby mountains.

  “Robert Scott’s cabin in Antarctica,” Vicaquirao said. “Around 1929. It’s abandoned from 1917 to 1956. A good place to find chalkboards if you need. Also a fine place to hide from the world. Though make sure you arrive after 1929 or you might find other guests already here.”

  “I still don’t understand how you figured out where and when to find me,” Gabriel said.

  “That would take far too long to explain, and, as usual, you wouldn’t believe me until forced to.” Vicaquirao laughed. “What is important is that you do not mention this the next time you see me. That would lead to confusion.”

  “I’m already confused,” Gabriel said.

  “This will help.” Vicaquirao reached in his pocket and removed a small hourglass. He handed it to Gabriel. “Keep this with you. Always.”

  “What is it for?” Gabriel turned the hourglass upside down in the palm of his hand, but the sand did not flow, seeming glued in place.

  “You’ll know when the time comes.” Vicaquirao winked at Gabriel. “Now I must leave you.”

  “Where are you going?” Gabriel asked.

  “Someplace I’ve never been,” Vicaquirao laughed cryptically. “You did well today. You should be proud. But don’t let that pride cloud your judgment. You have much left to do. Returning to a state of singularity, for one.”

  “We’re going to return to our alternate realities and sever the bifurcation shortly,” Gabriel said.

  “Might I suggest one last task for all of you?”

  “What task?”

  As Vicaquirao explained, a grin broke across 108 identical faces throughout time.

  The many Gabriels had at least an hour left before they needed to cleave themselves from the Primary Continuum.

  Plenty of time.

  Chapter 29

  Gabriel, the only Gabriel then inhabiting the Primary Continuum, walked hand in hand with Teresa, staring up at the stars, a blazing sea of light washing across the black of the sky, as they crossed the Upper Ward courtyard of Windsor Castle. Around them, men and women sang and danced and drank and ate and talked and laughed and cried and yelled with pride as they passed.

  “This was a brilliant idea.” Teresa kissed his cheek.

  “I wish I could take credit for it.” Gabriel waved to Leah and Liam as they ran past, holding sparklers in their hands and screaming with unreserved joy, as only children can do.

  “Vicaquirao may have suggested it, but you figured out how to do it,” Teresa said.

  Moving a version of Windsor castle from one of the alternate realities and back to the Primary Continuum had been easier than figuring out how not to disrupt that particular continuum’s timeline due to the castle’s absence. The Gabriel Collective, as he later came to call the sum of his various copies, had decided to steal Windsor Castle during World War II and make it look like it had been bombed out of existence. Faking the bombing proved simpler than altering the residents’ memories with Soul Magic to believe the story. As an alternate reality, the future of the world would adjust slightly to compensate for the loss of the castle. And the alternate world would have its own version of Gabriel to ensure that things did not stray too far from the original course of events. All of the severed alternate realities were gifted not merely with shadow-pasts grafted from the Primary Continuum, but also a duplicate Seventh True Mage to stand sentinel over their timelines.

  As Gabriel looked down from the stars to Teresa’s face, illuminated by the oil lamps and Fire Magic globes of light hovering around the court yard, he felt a pang of guilt for the copies of himself who would no longer have the benefit of Teresa’s love. They had all known this, of course, but he had sensed their pain as he severed the bifurcations creating their new worlds away from the Primary Continuum. Cutting the worlds free in the same way he had Kumaradevi’s alternate reality meant they would each have a stable, yet inaccessible, history prior to the moment the bifurcation had been formed. It also meant they would each have a future. 107 new universes with 107 versions of himself, each, he knew, pining for the girl they would likely never see again.

 
Unless, of course, they each chose to seek her out in their new worlds, bumping into her by accident sometime before her natural death, altering the course of her future slightly, the flexible nature of the alternate reality adapting to compensate, leaving her alive to decide if she might be interested in the boy who could teach her Fire Magic and introduce her to Time Travel.

  Gabriel wondered how many times that choice would be made and how often Teresa would say yes to him in those different realities. He decided it would be best to worry only about the love of the Teresa who walked beside him.

  “There they are.” Marcus’s voice carried above the din of revelry, guiding them to one of the many tables that had been brought from the castle and hastily splayed across the lawns of the Upper Ward. Marcus waved them toward two seats near the head of the table, food and drink piled along its polished surface. Gabriel saw Paramata seated next to Ohin, her hand holding his beneath the table. Gabriel smiled at Ohin, who returned the smile somewhat reluctantly, as though admitting his stubbornness. Paramata winked at Gabriel as he pulled a chair back for Teresa.

  “We were waiting for you,” Sema said as Gabriel and Teresa seated themselves.

  “Yes, we have an announcement.” Marcus rose to his feet, helping Sema up from her chair. The pair seemed flustered and unsure of exactly what they might want to announce. Their eyes scanned the faces around the table, then flicked to each other, then back to the table.

  “We are…” Marcus began.

  “We have decided…” Sema said.

  “We have come to the conclusion…” Marcus coughed.

  “It has become apparent…” Sema reached out and took Marcus’s hand.

  “Hopefully what’s been apparent to the rest of us forever has finally dawned on the two of you and you’re getting married.” Ling shook her head in exasperation.

  “Well…” Marcus coughed again.

  “Yes.” Sema blinked her eyes bashfully.

  “I have asked Sema to marry me and she has, for some unfathomable reason, agreed.” Marcus may have said something else, but any further words were lost in the uproarious shouts of congratulations from their friends and companions.

  Marcus’s face flushed a nearly-luminescent pink and Sema placed her hand across her mouth in embarrassment. As the two took their seats and the cheers died down, Gabriel realized he needed to wipe his eyes to see clearly. He clutched Teresa’s hand beneath the table and grinned and laughed along with the others.

  “When is the date?” Rajan asked.

  “How would I know?” Marcus said. “It took me long enough to realize what I should do. I haven’t had time to consider when.”

  “Sometime soon.” Sema glanced around the castle grounds. “When things are back to normal.”

  “What we knew as normal is hopefully gone for good.” Ohin stroked his chin in thought.

  “And good riddance,” Ling said.

  “Yes, yes.” Akikane placed his two hands upon the table as though to emphasize his thoughts. “We have an uncharted path to explore. It should be exiting.”

  “Indeed,” Elizabeth dabbed the corner of her mouth with her napkin. “This is the first real peace we have had in centuries.”

  “Assuming we can make it last.” Nefferati glanced around the table lamp at Gabriel. “There are still Dark Mages who may not wish a peace.”

  “The Apollyons for one,” Rajan said. “They may eventually make their way back to the Primary Continuum.”

  “Hopefully they’ll kill each other first,” Ling said.

  “I doubt we’ll be that lucky,” Teresa said.

  “No,” Gabriel said. “But I don’t think they’ll be concerned with The Great Barrier anymore.”

  “They will undoubtedly be trouble one day,” Paramata said.

  “And we should prepare for that,” Ling added.

  “Part of that preparation should be dealing with the Dark Mages Gabriel stranded in time,” Nefferati said.

  “Yes, yes,” Akikane said. “But deal with them how?”

  “Offer them a truce,” Ohin suggested.

  “Oh, I think we can offer then better than a truce.” Elizabeth smiled pointedly at Gabriel. “I think we can offer them new leadership.”

  “New what?” Gabriel choked on the bite of cheese he had been eating.

  “You’ve given us back the castle,” Elizabeth said. “We will need to invite the Council to rejoin us. To reunite with us. It occurred to me that the best way to turn this sudden lull into a lasting peace might be to invite all mages into the fold.”

  “You may have suffered permanent damage while in that coma,” Nefferati said.

  “No, no.” Akikane smiled. “The Dark Mages need a leader now. So do the Grace Mages. Who better than one who can lead us all?”

  “Someone who is both a Grace Mage and a Dark Mage,” Rajan added.

  “No…that…hold on a minute.” Gabriel waved his hands as though shooing dangerous insects or dangerous thoughts from the table. “I thought the Council would resume leading. As Councilman Romanov pointed out, I’m not even old enough to vote. How could I stand for a seat?”

  “Rules are sometimes changed to benefit the whole of a society,” Elizabeth countered. “I was thinking that new elections could be held. Elections open to the new citizens Gabriel could bring to us. Those we previously fought.”

  “Are you really Vicaquirao pretending to be Elizabeth?” Teresa squinted hard at Elizabeth.

  “I am quite certain I am not.” Elizabeth smiled slightly at the thought.

  “It would be easier to keep an eye on them.” Nefferati placed her fists beneath her chin as she contemplated the idea. “Unless we decide we’re interested in genocide, the only other real choice is allowing them to form their own nation of Dark Mages.”

  “Just so, just so,” Akikane said. “And how long before they decided to make war against us again?”

  “It sounds insane, but it’s really no more ridiculous than the idea of Marcus and me getting married.” A sly smile spread over Sema’s lips as she looked to Marcus beside her.

  “Asking you to marry me is not ridiculous or insane, it’s ironic.” Marcus feigned offense by looking away from Sema until she relented and kissed his cheek. “It’s also the smartest thing I’ve ever done.”

  “No doubt about that,” Rajan said.

  “But it does make one question Sema’s judgment,” Ling laughed as Marcus tossed a grape from a nearby bowl in her direction.

  “See,” Teresa said. “I am not the only one who starts food fights at the table.”

  “Food fights might be the least of our worries with Dark Mages sharing the castle with us.” Ohin grabbed the offending grape as it rolled along the table, holding it in his hand. “It will take firm leadership to unite all mages, Dark and Light, under one roof.” He plopped the grape in his mouth as he looked at Gabriel.

  Gabriel found himself possessed by an overwhelming desire to run from his seat and flee the castle and everyone and everything it represented. Teresa’s hand jerked him back into his chair as he realized he really had been about to stand and bolt. He glanced at her, then the others, then swallowed.

  “Using malignant imprints with no grace imprints to balance them changes people over time,” Gabriel said. “They will be angry and suspicious and lacking in basic human compassion after so many years of using dark magic. I can try to teach them how to control the emotions that come with dark imprints, but I can’t change what it does to them. I can try to lead them, but I don’t know if they will follow me anymore than if the Grace Mages will follow a Council that allows Malignancy Mages into the castle. And if we allow them into the castle, we have to allow them to vote, and they will vote for Dark Mages to sit in council seats.”

  “Sounds like a mess,” Paramata said.

  “A mess that may be better than the alternative messes,” Elizabeth countered.

  “Pairs,” Teresa said, her voice bright and exited.

  “Non sequitur
?” Rajan said. “Why pears and not apples?”

  “Not the fruit. Pairs. Like teams.” Teresa looked to Gabriel, nearly bouncing in her seat. “Teams of Grace and Malignancy Mages. Everyone paired together. Grace Fire Mages with Malignancy Fire Mages. Joining their magic and balancing the imprints.”

  “That might work.” Gabriel clenched his jaw as he considered Teresa’s idea. “That might actually work. It would be hard on the Grace Mages, feeling the malignant imprints through their partner, but it’s possible.”

  “Now all we need to do is convince the remaining Dark Mages that this idea is in their best interests as well as ours,” Nefferati said.

  “Not us, not us,” Akikane said. “There is only one man who can convince them to follow such a plan.”

  “Vicaquirao,” Gabriel said. Akikane understood the problem perfectly. Only someone the Dark Mages had once seen as an ally could persuade them to embrace new allies working together to build a better life.

  “Would he want to stand for Council then?” Ling asked.

  “I very much doubt that,” Elizabeth said. “Vicaquirao has little interest in such things.”

  “You would know,” Nefferati said in a low voice.

  “So, we have a plan,” Ohin said.

  “An insane and ridiculous plan,” Gabriel said.

  “We’re used to those.” Marcus laughed.

  “The Council is going to need a new name.” Sema looked around the table. “The Council War and Magic won’t fit any more.”

  “The Council of All Mages,” Gabriel suggested. “Something for everyone.”

  “We could call the castle Mageopolis,” Teresa said, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

  “I rather think not.” Elizabeth frowned.

  “Magicville,” Gabriel said, smiling at Teresa.

  “Magetopia,” Teresa offered.

  “Magicland,” Gabriel said, laughing.

  “We could get a rollercoaster,” Teresa said with a giggle.

  “I think we should separate the two of them before they come up with any more ridiculous ideas,” Sema said.

  “Next thing you know, they’ll be thinking of getting married,” Marcus said.