The Midnight Strider (The Chronomancer Chronicles Book 2)
Page 33
Miko starts bouncing in her chair.
“Okay, calm down. He didn’t ask her to marry him.”
“He might as well have,” she says as she turns back around to face me. “The next wedding I go to will be theirs.”
“Not yours?” I ask, falling into the chair beside hers.
“Honestly, for the longest time I thought I was gay but I think I’m just —” she shrugs, “— not interested. I still very much appreciate women but I just don’t desire — that. Other people though,” she says as she glances back at Jace and Rhiannon. “So adorable, what the hell. And he said this wasn’t a love story. Look at them!”
Love takes the shape of many forms, and confuses even the smartest people. It’s not something meant to be understood. It’s meant to be felt, if you let yourself feel it.
We all feel love, and it’s okay to feel it differently.
Chapter THIRTY-FOUR
the guardians
Artemis!” someone yells. “Artemis! Wake up!”
“What?” I say groggily, wiping the sleep from my eyes. “What’s happening? What time is it?”
I blink several times as Kina comes into view. She’s still dressed like she had just come from the reception.
“They’re taking him,” she tells me. “They’re taking Apollo!”
I sit up, suddenly very awake. “What? Who is?”
“The guardians! They’ve come for him!”
I follow her outside. It’s still dark out, and there are few people standing around, several of my friends are among them. Rhiannon steps behind Jace, his broad shoulders easily hide her small frame, as Stanton walks past the two of them. Dimitri is holding onto my brother.
“I don’t think taking him and isolating him will solve anything,” Nova says, staring at Stanton who is now standing right in front of him. “He needs to be with his brother!”
“He’s a threat,” Stanton tells him. “He’s been with Drarkodon for too long. We can’t take any chances. He may be just as bad, if not worse. His brother, after all, is a lot worse than his father.” He sweeps his eyes over to me.
Normally I’d look away, I hated being put on the spot, but I don’t this time. He’s probably right anyway.
I walk right onto the bridge.
“You’re not taking my brother,” I say.
“That’s what you think,” Stanton says. He tilts his head to the side and snaps his fingers; I drop neck deep into the wood of the bridge, trapping me in the boards. Sea creatures brush up against my legs that are now submerged in the water. “I’m sick of children.” Stanton then instructs Dimitri to grab hold of Apollo again.
Apollo doesn’t put up a fight, instead, he goes with them willingly. He doesn’t pull against Dimitri, he doesn’t yell for anyone. He doesn’t ask for help. He just goes.
“I’ll get you out!” I shout to him as they start dragging him away. He nods to me, just before they all vanish into white smoke.
I just got my brother back and I already lost him all over again. Disappearing, right before my eyes.
As soon as the guardians all disappear, I’m released from the boards that held me captive, allowing them to take my brother.
I stay outside, staring at the black waters that shine as the sun begins to rise. Jace manages to get everyone to go back inside, allowing me to have time to myself.
But Nova steps beside me.
“Did you see the paper the other day?” he asks. His hands are tucked into the pockets of his jacket as he stares out at the rising sun.
“About Kilerth? Yeah, I saw it.”
“Artemis, this isn’t something we can ignore any longer. We let the Grim Reaper out of the Underworld. Things are happening, now.”
“What are you trying to say?” I ask as I turn to face him.
“I think you know what I’m trying to say,” Nova says. “We’re running out of time.”
I sigh. “Can you find my father?”
“Not necessary.”
I look around, everything has stopped moving except for me and Nova — and Weylan. He’s standing there at the end of the bridge, grasping his staff. I think he remains looking like that to make me comfortable. After all, he’s the one who took care of me. Not my father. Not the old, fragile man I had known through my childhood.
“I was just trying to help,” I say, averting my eyes. I look back at the lake.
“I know,” he tells me, his voice is soft as he approaches us. He's not mad. “Are you ready?”
I clench my jaw.
The Time Traveler will rise, but not without force.
The force wasn’t just one thing; it was a collection. It was everything. Caliswen was right; no matter what I did, what is to happen is fated. One of us is going to die.
I sweep my eyes over to my dad and I nod. “I’m ready to learn — Dad.”
“Do you want to say goodbye?” He glances at the inn.
I frown. “Goodbye? Why do I have to say goodbye?”
“You can’t learn here, Artemis,” Nova says.
“I’m taking you to Glasskeep,” my dad tells me. “If you’re ready, then we have no time to waste.”
“Can't they come with me?”
“I think you know the answer to that.”
I look at the inn, all of my friends are in there, even the ones who wanted to leave. I gave Jace a hard time for leaving, and now I don't have a choice but to do the same thing. I bite the inside of my cheek.
Stanton has my brother, and I’m not prepared for war.
I go up to my room, Jace is sleeping on the couch, his arm is covering his face. I consider waking him, but decide against it. I grab an old napkin off of the table and scribble a note.
I turn around as he readjusts himself on the couch.
Goodbye, Jace.
Acknowledgments
First and foremost, I wish to thank my parents, Robert and Cheryl, my sister, Rachel, and my brother-in-law, Bryce. They have been nothing but supportive throughout this journey and I couldn't have asked for a better family. They keep me going, and make sure I get my work done. Thank you to my editor, Kaz Vasquez, who always shows the most amazing support, and wants others to know the story and the characters as much as I do. Thank you to Chelsea Gillihan, who is always willing to read all of my drafts, and encourages me every day to keep writing. Kaz and Chelsea have seen me at my lowest points and have stuck by me. Words can't express how thankful I am to have the both of them in my life. Thank you to Carmen Carrillo, Rachel Fernando, and Heather Hanson, for always believing in me, in Artemis, and giving Apollo a chance. Thank you for listening to me talk endlessly about them throughout my teens. If I didn't have that support then, I wouldn't be writing about them now.
Last but not least: I beg forgiveness of all those who have supported me and whose names I have failed to mention.
Thank you all, so much.
What's next?
A third installment in The Chronomancer Chronicles is currently in the works. We also have plans to release The Aridetian Collection, which will be a series of prequels, sidequels, and interquels that correspond with the series from the POVs of the other important characters featured.
The Aridetian Collection is not required reading to follow the events of The Chronomancer Chronicles. It's solely for those who would like more out of the world of Aridete, and to see it through the eyes of other characters.
For more information, please visit:
www.reilynjhardy.com
Contact:
email: reilynjhardy@gmail.com
tumblr: www.reilynjhardy.tumblr.com
instagram: @reilynjhardy
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insight through time1
what you deserve17
happy birthday artemis35
livi
ng in the past57
beg for death75
dripping blood97
cursed or not105
specter117
dare me127
sleepless145
feels like a dream155
believe in me163
what makes a monster?177
blowing smoke193
tree of life215
room 313225
slightly unstable243
deserted houses257
courage to resist273
unpleasant surprise281
killer, kill her293
black and white315
benny's suggestions327
fade into light339
everything dies351
phantom faces365
the same eyes375
the wailing river399
hope for the hopeless409
not kids anymore419
vampire bites435
the trap door447
time for a wedding455
the guardians471
Contents
For Mom and Dad
thank you for all that you do
One can see what will trouble
This sleep of mine, whatever sleep is.
Were he not gone,
The woodchuck could say whether it's like his
Long sleep, as I describe its coming on,
Or just some human sleep.
–AFTER APPLE-PICKING by robert frost