Chrysoprase (The Chalcedony Chronicles)

by B. Kristin McMichael

  Ty was back to business and planning our next steps. He led me back between the houses. We had to pause often and let people pass. The village was full, but not many people were out. Most were probably hiding from the Egyptians who marched around freely, and they were our main challenge to avoid. After over an hour of playing go, stop, and hide, we made it to the edge of the village. Ty didn’t even pause at his house this time to see his mother and little brother. I had no doubt the truth stung too much, no matter how strong he seemed to be. When we got to the last house on the edge, we sat down in the shadows and waited for nightfall. There was nothing but open grassland and trees beyond the wall. I trusted Ty to know where we were going, and just sat and waited with him. Once it was night and complete darkness, Ty led me into the area outside his home. I was slightly worried about wild animals, but he didn’t seem too concerned.

  He led me further into the darkness and my eyes adjusted. There was enough moonlight to see by, and we made our way up a hill away from the sounds of the people below. He found a specific grouping of trees and sat down. I sat beside him. When we were finally far enough away to still see the village, but not be seen by them, he talked.

  “I never knew,” he said quietly, watching over the town he had been longing to go back to for over a decade.

  I looked up at his lost eyes. His world had changed with this one trip. The goddess’ warning had played in my mind again. Every trip has a price. Traveling through time changes things. Even without directly interacting with his past, it still changed things. Ty was changed. His world wasn’t the world he thought it was. He was never coming back to this place a free man. He could never go home. In one little trip, he lost his family and his hope.

  “We need to get back to my time,” I told him. I looked down at my arm. In the moonlight I could make out that the lines were not filled enough to travel. Ty nodded, but saw the truth. We were going to have to stay a while longer.

  “Get some sleep,” Ty told me, wrapping an arm around me and pulling me close to lean against him. “I’ll keep watch.”

  For once I didn’t ask, but I did as he told me. I was exhausted from the travel more than I ever expected to be, but it was going to be hard to sleep as my mind was still thinking of what to do. Everything we had planned thus far wasn’t going to work. I couldn’t bring Ty back to the past to live if he was just going to stay a slave. I wasn’t sure how he felt, but I just couldn’t do it. Now we had to go back and replan everything. Our original thought of saving my mother, and then going back to be with Seth and Dee wasn’t in the cards now. I had to protect Ty. Even though we could travel into the past, we needed a new plan. I closed my eyes and tried to think of options. Nothing came to me but the haze of sleep.

  Birds were chirping when I finally opened my eyes to find it was morning. I had no clue when I drifted off in my thoughts, but the sun had risen, and Ty was still sitting there watching the town. I couldn’t tell if he had slept or not.

  We were seated in an area a little up from the village to the northwest. It gave us a clear view of the entire town and the activity below us. I watched as the Egyptian men, with their lighter skin and swath of white fabric around their waists, ushered darker-skinned men away from the town. I could barely make out the men walking as they were lost from our view. Ty was watching. We sat in silence as the last of the Egyptians left the village. Right here was when Ty’s life changed forever, both in the past and watching it now.

  “I want to stay in the future,” Ty told me as he helped me stand.

  I looked down at my arm. The lines were full. We could go home. And it was home now for Ty. His heart, that had longed to be in the village below, had changed. I took his hand and held on tight. We were heading home.

  Chapter 6

  Changing Plans

  I looked across my desk to Ty. Papers were scattered around everywhere. His small, distinct writing was on some of the pages and my more girly handwriting was on most. Small papers and large papers were intertwined. It was one large mess. We had spent hours making the notes and knew exactly where my mother was, what time period, and what country, we even knew which city she would be located in. There were notes on everything from food to clothing to political systems, yet we couldn’t agree what to do.

  “I can’t take you with me,” I told Ty for the twentieth time. “If we get separated, you won’t be able to come back. I can’t do that to you. You already told me you want to stay here, and we know what your fate will be if you stay there.”

  “I do want to stay here, but I have to help. I know that time better than you. You’ll need me,” Ty replied. “And I promised Seti,” he added quietly.

  I sighed and shook my head. He wanted to be free of his past, yet he was still just as loyal to Seth as he was when he lived there. He wasn’t free, and wouldn’t let himself be. Ty made a great protective older brother, but at this point I wanted to smack him over the head and run off. It was time he let me protect him.

  “If I take Dee’s stone and go back, you don’t have to worry. I won’t have to wait to recharge my carnelian if I get in trouble. I can just use Dee’s chrysoprase. And if everything goes according to plan, then I use the chrysoprase to bring my mother back,” I explained for what seemed like the umpteenth time. My plan had logic and a back-up plan. I would be safe.

  “I don’t like you going off alone to a time you don’t understand yet,” Ty argued with my solution. He wasn’t debating how it would work. There was too much logic behind my plan. Instead, he used the I don’t like it response. “And you’re female. You don’t understand what it’s like to be female back then.”

  I pointed to all the papers on the desk. “What is there left to know? I’m not going to go there to live. I’m just going there to get my mother and bring her home. I don’t need to know anything beyond how to grab her and time travel back.”

  “You could get trapped there. You could end up no where near your mother, and have to get to her in a city you don’t understand. You could end up hurt, kidnapped, or even taken by traders to sell,” Ty replied. “I still don’t like it.”

  “And neither do I,” Logan said as he shimmered into the room.

  “You were right,” he said to Ty. “Your mother was returned to her people by the Egyptians, yet her cousin, who is in charge, still thinks it’s a ploy. If you go in and take your mother away, they will think the Egyptians took her again. They will attack the Egyptian men in the city, and your precious Seth happens to be right there.”

  My mouth must have been hanging open as he chuckled at me. I really didn’t want to see Logan again. He was too confusing, and didn’t seem to take the hint that I wasn’t interested in him anymore. Logan was convinced that Seth had moved on, and that I should be with him, but even if that was true I still couldn’t turn to Logan. I didn’t trust him, and I didn’t feel the same for him as I felt for Seth.

  “Ty asked me to head back and see what the situation was,” Logan explained his presence.

  I turned my back to Logan and gave Ty a look to say what the heck are you doing bringing Logan into this? He got my message and shrugged.

  “Have you told her your plan?” Logan asked Ty.

  “Yes, Ty, have you told me your plan?” I mocked Logan with a bit of anger.

  Ty smiled meekly at me. He had told Logan more than I was willing to at this point, and he knew how I felt about Logan. Guys were annoying. I hated that guys could move on so fast from arguments. It was only weeks ago that Ty punched Logan and likely broke his nose. Now they seemed to be buddies again. Dumb boys.

  “Logan and I thought that it might be best to go in and bring everyone back at once,” Ty replied, begging my forgiveness with his eyes. I turned from him and glared at Logan. I still wasn’t happy with him, and I really didn’t want him in on the planning with us. I didn’t need to owe Logan any favors.

  “You know I can only travel with one person, and we only have one extra stone,” I replied, shooting down their plan
immediately. That meant we could only take home two people, not the three we left behind.

  “With Logan’s help we can get more than one because Logan can travel back twice to get two people,” Ty replied. My eyes had to bug open at that. We were just fighting not even two minutes ago about how he wouldn’t let me go alone. If Logan was going back and forth, I would be left alone at some point.

  “I can take one person at a time and come back immediately for the other person,” Logan replied, like he was making completely logical sense.

  I looked between them. They were both nodding together. They had already agreed on what to do, and were just waiting for me to jump on board with their plans. Was Ty really suggesting I go off alone with Logan again? It didn’t end too well the last time. I really didn’t want a second round.

  “Can we talk alone?” I asked Ty. Logan smiled and nodded before fading away.

  Ty waited on my bed for me to say something. I marched over to him and realized that I stood only a little taller than him when he was sitting. I just stared at him, looking for the reason he was suggesting such an idea.

  “Did you forget my last travels with Logan?” I asked Ty finally.

  “I talked to him about it. He said it was a one time lapse in judgment,” Ty replied, trying to mimic Logan’s voice, which was higher than his own bass voice. “It won’t happen again. He promised that he is trying to help you get to Seti. This is his way to make it up to you.”

  “And I’m to just trust him?” I asked. And trust myself alone with him, I wanted to add.

  “Mari. I can’t have you going off alone on this. Logan can help, and get everyone home. If he is with you then you won’t be alone, and all the danger I’m imagining can’t happen. Anything bad happens, and he’ll whisk you away back here. Your protection had always been his priority,” Ty replied. “Why don’t we just let him help?”

  “Because I still don’t know why he’s helping. What does he get out of it?” I tapped my fingers on my desk as I sat there.

  “He just wants to help. And we need help. You don’t want to let me go, and I don’t want to let you go alone. We need to do something,” Ty replied. “This is a compromise because we can’t agree.”

  It was true that we couldn’t agree. He was right. We were at a standstill, but I wasn’t sure that Logan was the solution. There had to be another way. I had hesitations about Logan helping. I already knew that there was another Logan, who wasn’t the one I knew two years ago. This new Logan would take people and leave them in other times. Now that I knew how Logan felt about me, I doubted he would take me to Seth or help Seth come back here. That didn’t seem like the new Logan’s style.

  “Just let him explain his plan,” Ty replied. “If you don’t like it, then we start over and figure our own way on it. It can’t hurt to listen.” Ty was being too persuasive. He had to already know Logan’s plan.

  “Fine, but I refuse to do anything alone with Logan. If Logan comes with me, he follows behind me where I don’t see him, or have to interact with him,” I replied. It was a bad idea to involve Logan, but maybe that was just me trying to avoid the confusing feelings between us.

  “I can do that,” Logan said as he reappeared. I was beginning to hate how he could come and go as he pleased.

  “What is your plan?” I asked.

  I had to humor Ty even though I wasn’t sure I wanted to work with Logan on anything. Logan grinned at my question. Nope, I really didn’t want to work with him. It was a bad idea to trust him.

  “You travel to your mother. Once you find her, call for me. I’ll be around, but not alone with you as per your request. I can go instantly to Seth and Dee. I’ll have Ty’s stone with me so that I can bring them both. It will only take me a moment to bring them back here with me and then I’ll return to help you take your mother back. You will only be left alone one moment with your mother, who knows the time period exactly,” Logan explained.

  Ty looked at me hopefully. Logan’s plan met all of Ty requirements, and if he was willing to just follow me, and not touch me, then it met mine, too. I didn’t have an argument against it.

  “I go in and find my mom, and then we just leave?” I asked. That sounded a bit too simple. When I traveled I needed time to recover. Logan had to know that much.

  “I’ll take you to the past to your mother, and then I’ll take each person back, including you if needed,” Logan replied, seeing my dilemma.

  “And when would we do all this?” I asked.

  “Today works for me,” Logan replied. Ty nodded. Easy for him, he would just sit here and wait for us to come back.

  “Meet us back here in one hour,” Ty suggested, seeing that I wasn’t completely ready. It wouldn’t take an hour for me to be ready, but the less time with Logan, the better. Logan nodded and was gone again.

  “Why one hour?” I asked Ty after Logan left.

  “Because we need to plan a little more,” Ty replied, the conclusion was obvious to him, not me.

  “Plan? I thought you approved of the Logan plan.” I eyed him over. What game was he playing? Either Ty was with Logan or not. Couldn’t he make up his mind?

  “Oh, I trust Logan to keep you safe. Like I said, he looks at you just like Seti does. I just don’t trust him to care if he gets Dee or Seti back here, too,” Ty replied. I breathed a sigh of relief. Ty wasn’t completely fooled by the angel Logan was pretending to be.

  “Then what is your back-up plan?” I asked, knowing by the look on Ty’s face that he already had one.

  Ty stood and went to my nightstand drawer.

  “This,” he said, pulling out the green chrysoprase stone. I did wonder why Logan said he’d take Ty’s stone and not the extra stone. I hadn’t told Logan about Dee’s stone, but I figured that Ty had mentioned it to him in all their planning. I must have been wrong. “I’m not about to let him have it. You should have seen how his eyes lit up when I told him he could use the stone I used to get here, since I never wanted to go back. He didn’t snatch it out of my hand, but he looked like he was going to. I don’t think the gatekeepers are supposed to use the stones, but because he can, I think Logan likes having them in his possession.”

  “Then I’ll take the extra stone. It still doesn’t help me get everyone back here,” I replied, looking at the stone in Ty’s hand.

  “But it gives you an out if you need it. And more so, once you find your mother, you can send her home. We will figure out how to get Seti and Dee once you’re back, if everything falls apart. I just figured by including Logan we stood a chance to get everyone here at once. Without him, it was bound to end badly. I don’t exactly want to work with him, either. I don’t trust him. But I know he will protect you,” Ty said, explaining his reasoning and making me feel a bit better about everything.

  I stood up and moved over to the bed next to Ty to hug him.

  “I’d take you with me if I knew you would be safe, but we know it’s dangerous for you there. You need to stay here. You need to stay free,” I said as I hugged him. He patted my back.

  “You know I’m meant to be the one to protect you,” Ty replied. “Not the other way around.”

  “Ty, you’re my best friend. I’ll do anything to keep you safe, just like my mother, Seth, and Dee. You are all family in this weird time travel world. I’ll get everyone back, and I will be safe.” I sat back and looked at him to make sure he understood. Ty shook his head with a laugh.

  “I know you will.” Ty handed me the apple green stone in his hand. “I’d feel a lot better if this stone was permanently on your arm like the other one.”

  A wind blew through the air and the papers on my desk scattered. I looked around for an open door or window, but knew there would be none. It was winter in Chicago. Yes, it was the windy city, but I was pretty sure you had to be outside to feel it. This was a different type of breeze, and one I was getting used to by now.

  “And so would I,” a ghostly female voice came into the room.

  Ty im
mediately bowed his head to the dusty form appearing in front of us. I stared up at her. It may be rude to stare, but I couldn’t help it. I had talked to the goddess after Thanksgiving, but there was something about seeing her again. Her form was just as awe-inspiring as the first time I saw her, but her ghostly figure just was not as bright as I remembered. Her body was made of floating sparkles that caught the light in the room just right. She looked like a glittery human ghost, yet somehow more beautiful and not as scary.

  “You would what?” I asked. I wasn’t going to bow to her like Ty. She took away my family, and I wanted them back.

  She smiled at me and held out her hand. “The chrysoprase.”

  I handed the stone over to her. She took it and took hold of the arm that already had the carnelian on it. Soon dust poured from her hand. She swirled a new pattern on my arm with the green powder. It burned momentarily, and then it was embedded into my arm like the first stone.

  “But…” I tried to argue. With her perfect timing, she had to know what I was up to. She told me I had to accept the past, and here I was going against it.

  “I believe you will do what is right. You will see I’m not the bad guy,” the goddess said in her musical voice. Ty peeked up at her, but instantly lowered his head again. “Even you, Taraq, have a role to play in this time and the past. Don’t give up on your father. Sometimes parents must make the most heart-wrenching decisions.”

  “Yes, goddess,” Ty replied, his voice a bit stiff. Her words had made him think more.

  “I still don’t understand,” I replied, looking at the new light green lines. They were intertwined with the brownish red lines, but formed their own pattern.

  “You will, in time,” the goddess replied before vanishing as quickly as she came.

  Ty looked up at me, and I looked at him. I had no idea what it all meant, but I didn’t have time to wonder. Logan was fading back into the room. It wasn’t safe to talk around him. Our planning time was over. It was time to go back to get my mother.