by Jen Pretty
“Alright. Go get showered and changed and meet me for breakfast. Victor wants to say hi before we have to go.”
I grinned at him before jumping up to do as he suggested. Quickly showering and changing and dashing down the hall towards the kitchen. I ran straight into a broad chest. Shit. My nose. Fucking giant hunters.
I looked up into Armond’s eyes. Why is he always here? Surely, he could be somewhere else. Anywhere else!
"Sorry," I mumbled before trying to scoot around his broad chest to continue down the hall.
“Where’s the fire?” he asked blocking my way.
“I’m meeting Luke and Victor for breakfast. They have to leave soon. Let me pass,” I pleaded.
He looked at me before wrinkling his brow and sliding out of my way.
I picked up my pace but didn’t run this time, my nose stung from running face first into Armond.
I grabbed a plate and mug and scanned the room for Luke and Victor. Spotting them speaking to Reg at a table on the other side of the room I made my way over. I sat down between Luke and Victor and sighed. This felt like home. All the tension of the last few days faded away.
Luke had been talking to Fritz across the table but stopped when I sat down, and he swung his arm over the back of my chair before popping bacon in his mouth. I turned to Victor, but he looked worried instead of happy to see me.
"You got into a bit of trouble yesterday," he said sternly.
"It was nothing," I replied before giving Reg a look that I hoped he took as a threat, but since he was twice my size, he probably didn't.
“Margot saw it. She nearly sent me to you. You must be more careful with vamps, Lex. No more risks. We need you.” He was very serious, his grey eyes steely and stern and I didn’t want Margot to worry.
"Ok. I'm sorry" I said "I'll be careful and listen to Reg. Tell Margot I'll be careful."
Victor smiled then. His classic Victor smile "Alright. I'll tell her. We have to go, but Master Evan said to tell you hello."
“Thank you. Tell him I said hello back.” I frowned “Do you really have to go already? You only just got here,” I said sounding a bit like a child and not caring. I missed them.
“Sorry, you know it’s not safe for us,” Victor said “when this is all over we can stay as long as we want but for now it’s better we don’t. It puts everyone at risk if the hunters have more fae to protect.”
He was right of course, but that didn't make me feel any better about them leaving again.
Victor stood, and so did Reg. They shook hands, and Reg thanked him. "Come on Luke, let's get home. I'm sure Margot is already making our lunch," they both laughed.
Luke turned to me and whispered "You're doing really great here Lex. Just hang on, and we will be safe again soon" he hugged me one last time and walked out following Victor. The farther he walked, the colder I felt.
Then I was alone again. I sat back down and stared at my cold bacon. I wasn't very hungry now, so I got up and took my plate into the kitchen. Sweet old kitchen lady gave me a cookie and told me I was a good girl before shooing me out of the kitchen. So, I went in search of some distraction. It was too early to drink, so I just explored the house. I found the wide stairs that led to the basement and discovered a full gym including sparring mats. It looked like a lot of the hunters enjoyed mixed martial arts and in the far corner was a heavy punching bag. Score.
I raced upstairs and changed into some more workout friendly clothes and raced back down to the basement. There were probably 20 guys down there doing various activities from sparring to weights to treadmills. I zeroed in on the punching bag and mentally called dibs as I headed across the room towards it. I started with some stretches and quick jumps to warm up. Once I felt loose and ready, I started with some easy, quick punches and kicks before moving onto some combinations and speed drills and finally letting all my power beat the holy shit out of the thing. I was going so hard and fast I didn't notice I was attracting attention until friggin Armond stepped up and grabbed hold of the bag from the other side to steady it. I didn’t care. Maybe I'd slip once I started to get tired and accidentally bloody him up again. I smiled at that idea.
So, I kept going until I felt that tug of exhaustion and then just went a bit harder. This was what I needed to ground me. Center me.
When I finally stopped the gym was silent. Armond peeked out from behind the punching bag he had been holding still for me and grinned. “Well, not a total princess maybe.”
Fucker.
Chapter seven
“10 years of boxing. I can hold my own.” I grinned at him.
“You want to spar?” he asked with a wicked glint in his eye.
"NO!" came a voice from the back of the group watching us. Three guesses who that was. Never mind, it was Reg. The party pooper.
He pushed his way through the crowd. “You do not play with our timekeeper, Armond, she is too important.”
I scoffed turning back to Armond "He's worried I'll break your face again." I heard a few snickers from the group as I turned and headed back to my room to shower and change and maybe since we weren't working today I would nap till it was an acceptable time to drink. That sounded like a plan.
Later, as Darla was dragging my drunk ass back to my room, she told me that Luke and Victor had made it home fine and I’d see them again soon. Though I didn’t believe her that I’d see them soon, I did feel better knowing that, if they couldn’t be with me, at least they were safe.
Waking up screaming the next morning was extra fun. That tequila kicked my ass, and my brain was on fire. My screaming hurt. I closed my eyes and tried to go back to sleep but then there was a knock at the door, and some random asshole said "meeting in 15" I gave the guy the finger, but he couldn't see because he hadn't opened the door to deliver that joyous news.
Approximately 25 minutes later I staggered into the kitchen, and sweet kitchen lady handed me a mug of coffee and aimed me with a small shove towards the conference room. I love that lady.
“Now that our timekeeper has decided to grace us with her presence…”
“Lex” I mumbled as a reminder since he couldn’t seem to remember I had a name.
“…let’s go over our plan again,” Reg said giving me a disapproving look.
"At noon today, we plan to converge on a single location we believe houses several dozen low-level vamps and at least three mid-level vamps. These vamps are well armed and protected. It won't be as easy as the previous take outs, so all teams will go in together. Team 1 will protect the timekeeper and enter from the south. Team 2 will take the north entrance, and team three will take the east" he looked across the large group of hunters. "We need every man on their game today. This is a volatile situation, and we want to get in clean and bring everyone home."
“Do we have eyes on the site now?” a hunter asked from the other side of the room.
"We had eyes in the building yesterday, but it was too risky to leave anyone there to watch. The mid-level vamps can smell us coming so no Intel for the last 24 hours, but we can handle this."
Nods and grunts of agreement came from all over the room.
"We are working our way up now. Soon the vamps responsible for the deaths of our friends and family will have no more protection in numbers, and we will be able to end this war once and for all
He sounded a little clichéd now, but it seemed to be working for the hunters, so I let it go. Guess I was going to have some distraction today. That would be nice.
"We leave in 30," Reg said, and we all got up and headed for the door. Just as I was getting near the door, Reg called my name. Well, timekeeper still isn't my name, but I figured, since I was the only one, he was talking to me. I turned, and he waved me back into the room. Gah.
“Are you ready for this?” he asked looking doubtful.
"Sure. I'll just grab another coffee and be ready to rock and roll," I said before turning to leave again. Thinking, foolishly, that we were done talking.
"
Wait," He said. He sounded softer, not like the general hard-ass, so I turned back.
“I just want to say I’m sorry for coming down on you so hard last time. I just want to keep you safe. Please, just stick with me today. This is dangerous.”
“Ok.” I nodded, gave him a small smile and turned to hunt down my caffeine. I was going to need it.
It was a four-hour drive this time, but apparently, the warehouse was in a less populated area, so we took an extra vehicle, and I wasn't squished. I still had to ride with Armond but since he decided to drive it was just me and good old Kent in the back. Fritz took shotgun, and he and Kent prattled on about ammo and hand forged steel knives. Apparently, Kent was trying to learn the trade, and it was a bit of a lost art, but Kent seemed passionate about it if the length of time he discussed it was any indication.
We stopped once at a rest stop to stretch our legs and use the facilities. The pain reliever I took when I rolled out of bed in the morning wasn't working so I bought some more and another coffee from the gas station. The coffee was thick and dark and tasted horrible, but it was sure to kick me out of my hangover.
"You should consider not drinking so much while we are at war," Kent said to me as we got back in the SUV. Like it never occurred to me that I maybe shouldn't have drunk so much last night.
“Thank you, Kent, for your wisdom,” I muttered before downing 2 Advil with the swill coffee.
Armond snorted in the front seat and off we went on the second leg of our journey. It was nearly 1 pm by the time we got there. I'd had more than enough of the conversation regarding explosives and what they do to bodies, so I was quite thankful to vacate the vehicle. Reg was standing by as soon as I got out. He once again took hold of my hand and led me up the road and across the deserted parking lot towards the back of the building. Everyone was silent not a word had been spoken since we arrived and parked a mile away. As soon as everyone was in position we all moved at once like a well-oiled machine.
As soon as we came through the doors, I knew it wasn't right. I immediately hit my magic, but the building was massive, and it was filled with vamps. At least twice the number we had expected. Our team started taking down vamps smoothly enough, but the other teams were being swarmed. Too far away for my magic.
Shit.
I tried to pull Reg farther into the building, but he wouldn't budge. He caught my eye and shook his head. I knew he wanted me to stick to the plan, but it was so hard watching the vamps beating my hunters. I don't know when they became my hunters, but they were, damn it.
As our team cleared our section, we moved forward towards the middle of the building. Even when I had the rest of the vamps slowed down, there were so many I couldn't count them. Weapons clashed, teeth and nails. At this point, even Reg had his sword out and was fighting off vamps. I was useless in this. I couldn't do anything but stand there and watch. I glanced over and found Armond surrounded.
He had lost both his swords and all he had left was his knife. He was slashing at the vamps, but they were closing in. Then a vamp picked up one of his swords and lifted it above his head. Just as he was about to swing it downward toward Armond's head I screamed "No!!" and everything stopped.
Not just slowed. Stopped. All the vamps, all the hunters. Everyone.
I looked around at them but realized everyone was frozen because I had stopped time for the whole building. I was the only one left moving, so I went over and took Armond's hand thinking it would bring him back like it did when I slowed time and touched Luke or Victor, but nothing happened. He was still frozen in time, So, I decided to even the odds a bit. I took back Armond's sword from the vampire who was trying to kill him and then decapitated the frozen vamp. Then I picked up the other sword and pushed it back into Armond's hand.
As I carried on killing vamps, I assumed that if they fell down that meant they were dead. I mean, they probably wouldn't get back up without a head. It was hard work though, and eventually, I was so tired I couldn't lift the sword again, so I put it back beside Armond and went back to my place beside Reg. I had taken out about 15 vamps, not many, but I was sure to take out any that were ganging up on my hunters. I figured one or 2 vamps versus a hunter was ok odds. Then I said "ok" and time snapped back. I was still keeping the vamps slow, but it felt like I had run a marathon and finally saw the finish line. I could hold my magic a bit longer, so I hung on.
I couldn't open my eyes anymore, but I was still standing, and I could hear the battle slowing as my hunters took care of the vamps. Then the sounds died out, and the last thing I felt was the hard floor rise up to meet me. Gravity is a bitch.
I woke in the SUV cradled in someone's arms. Three guesses, who. Maybe If I just pretend to sleep…
"There she is. How are you feeling princess?" Armond asked. I peeked one eye open carefully, and he was grinning down at me.
"My face is broken," I mumbled out of one side of my mouth. The pain radiated from my jaw to my eye and tears immediately rolled down my cheeks. Probably better than landing on my nose but it still hurt a lot.
"Healers will have you fixed up in no time," he said "so want to tell me what happened back there? Cause one second, I was about to get my head chopped off and then the next I had my sword and three fewer vamps to kill…. you stealing my glory?" he asked with a grin.
"I don't know what happened, but you were all stopped, so I helped a bit till my arms got tired of swinging your huge sword." I tried to close my eyes again, but he wouldn't let it go.
“That’s interesting. Never heard of a timekeeper that can stop time. Usually just slow it or speed it up, that’s why there are hunters after all.” He considered this for a moment then a slow smile slid across his face “maybe Reg will let me train you now. If you can fight your own battles, you’ll need to know how to take out vamps quick. Particularly if it’s going to wipe you out like that.”
I didn't much care for swinging that sword and killing vamps. It was super gross. However, I did need to start some weight training in case I needed to do that again. My arms were still burning from taking out those few vamps. We pulled into the rest stop, so I figured we were halfway home. Armond slid out and set me on my feet and waited for me to get balanced before he tentatively let me go. Darla came up beside me and led the way to the women's room.
I stopped at the mirror and watched as horror flashed across my face in my reflection. The side of my face was swollen and blue already. I had blood splattered all over me, so I turned on the tap and grabbed some paper towels from the dispenser on the wall and started gently trying to rinse it off. Darla came out of the stall and washed her hands beside me. She hadn't said anything yet, so I looked at her in the mirror, and she looked like she had been crying.
“What’s wrong?” I asked turning to look at her.
"We lost Kent," she mumbled with a sigh. "He's been on our team for 40 years. He was a good man."
“Oh shit. I thought he was just in another vehicle,” I said “he seemed like a good guy. I’m sorry.”
She gave me a sad smile before rinsing her face and walking out of the restroom. I needed to be doing more. If I could stop time, I didn't need to be led around like a child while they fought. I could fight too. I could help at least, and maybe then we wouldn't lose any more hunters. These were my people, and I was going to keep them all, damn it.
The rest of the ride back was solemn. I didn't know Kent that well, but he was family to the hunters.
When we got back, Reg led me to the medical room. I had apparently been here before, but I was unconscious at the time. I hadn't found this room in my roaming of the house, but when I walked in, I was surprised to see it looked more like a spa than a doctor's office.
"Listen, Reg; I think I can help more if I learn to fight properly. I could easily fight and hold time."
“No,” Reg said before turning to leave.
"What do you mean ‘no'?" I asked catching his sleeve before he left. "I'm not going to stand around while everyone else puts the
ir life at risk."
"It's too dangerous for you to be fighting vamps. We have to keep you protected. Some vamps might be strong enough to fight still while you have everyone else frozen. What will happen to you then? Are you going to fight alone? You have no training. It's better if we stick with what works and let hunters fight and timekeepers’ slow vamps. That is how we win this war." He pulled his sleeve from my hand and walked out.
I lay down on the bed. This was crap. I am a trained boxer; surely, I can learn to use a sword as well. I just need some help.
A woman walked in then, "My name is Angela, I'm the healer who healed you last time you came in with the vampire bite." She was very professional looking in a pants suit. Her long black hair was twisted up on top of her head, and her small frame barely took up any space in the room. She didn't look anything like a doctor or nurse. She looked more like a tiny librarian though everyone seemed little when you spent all your time around hunters.
"Uh hi. It's nice to meet you, Angela. So, you are a healer? What do you do exactly? I mean, how does your magic work?" I was rambling.
"I just have to touch you, and my magic does the rest. Is it alright if I touch your face?" she asked.
“Sure,” I replied. Laying back again and closing my eyes.
As soon and her fingers touched my face it felt like the warm glow was racing over my skin replacing the burning pain of my run-in with the ground. "Whoa," I said surprised. I don't know what I expected from a healer, but I guess I assumed it, would hurt like most medical things. Before I knew it, she took her hand off my face, and I opened my eyes to her smiling face. I reached up and felt the places that were bruised and swollen a moment ago.
“That’s amazing,” I said.
“Not as amazing as stopping time.” She said a little bashfully.
"I'd rather have your magic than mine. Thank you, Angela and thanks for last time too."
"No problem. Good luck. We all have so much hope now that you are here." She turned and left the room, and I hopped up.
