by Cloud Riser
Welcome to the Point
A Point Epoch Tale
International Bestselling Author
Cloud S. Riser
Dedication
To all of the fans who so patiently stick by me. I appreciate you all so much.
Chapter One
Let’s Start at the Very Beginning
There’s a song that says the beginning is the very best place to start, so that’s what I’m going to do. Start at the beginning.
Let’s go back a hundred years and change. A hundred years sounds dramatic and cool, even though I think it truth it might have been only about eighty-seven or ninety-two. The time was the early 1900s. Life was still relatively simple. Technology wasn’t quite booming, and people were still superstitious about stupid things like black cats, breaking mirrors, and salt spilling on a table.
That was the time that I was last born into.
I’ll add that in my time and my place, the town’s people believed in public executions. Awesome, huh?
At the age of nineteen, I had a noose around my neck and an angry mob cheering for my demise. There were somewhere near thirty people witnessing the grand event. I made sure to look each of them in the eyes. As I made my way through that crowd, one by one, I took great joy in watching them go from eager and cocky to cold and afraid. That one second of eye contact was enough for me to communicate the truth: not even death can stop me.
“William Hough Hermans, you have been convicted of ten counts of murder in the first. The state has hereby sentenced you to death by hanging,” Mr. Kellan Lutgin the fine judge who ordered I should die in the first place said. I gave the guy props for having the strength to watch his commands be carried out. Not everyone had the stomach for it.
Personally, I think Mr. Lutgin got off on seeing someone in his final moments because he had the highest death penalty sentencing in the area—and he never missed a show.
Mr. Lutgin gazed over at me with a whole lot more arrogance than he should have. Like everyone else, he thought he’d won. “Do you have any final words?”
Did I have any final words?
“When I take my last breath, Becker is no longer going to be the precious town you once knew,” I sneered. “Everything will be changed, and so will everyone in it. Your great grandchildren will be celebrating my return.”
Then I said the three words that sealed their fate.
“It is so.”
I had a lot more I could say. A lot. I actually had a twenty-minute speech planned out that I could have easily stretched into hours. Did Mr. Lutgin give me that luxury? No. Not like I should be surprised because I didn’t even get a last meal before I died. A shame, too, because I was looking forward to some good old fashioned blueberry pancakes.
Mr. Lutgin nodded at the officer in charge of pulling the trapdoor from under me.
And...snap!
And that, as they say, was that.
Chapter Two
Where Things Are at Today
I succeeded in everything I said on that scaffolding all those years ago. All thirty of those people have great grandchildren that still reside in Becker, now Point Epoch, and those grandkids love the crap out of me. I call that part of the story the beginning because it was the moment everything was set into motion.
When I died, the barrier keeping my home separate from the other dimensions broke free. That was the day Point Epoch became the center for all things paranormal and strange. Because before that day, Point Epoch was just a normal First Earth town. First Earth being the original Earth. No, not the Earth most people think of. That earth was actually several attempts down the line from mine. Our homes are pretty darn different too. Example: in my earth, darn is actually the worst swear word on the planet.
Supernatural creatures don’t exist on First Earth, either. By breaking the veil between the worlds and letting out all of the monsters into town overnight, it ushered in the beginning of my reign of chaos. Imagine, going to sleep on your boring farmland and waking up to vampires feeding on your pigs or goddesses trying to seduce your spouse. Magic became readily available to anyone who wanted it. Ordinary people took a leap of faith to become something more than what they were originally destined for.
It was a fate a lot of Epoch resisted for a number of years. About twelve in, they finally embraced it and the constant influx of residents. Eventually, the supernatural citizens outnumbered the regular people.
Point Epoch became known more for being a supernatural hub between dimensions than anything else. There was only one family left that is completely ordinary, and that is the home of my beloved Delia.
She and I had been on a long journey. I had loved her for a while. Admitting when my affection for her started could be embarrassing. She’s only a teenager. As soon as her personality started to blossom, I knew we were going to get along smashingly once she reached a dating appropriate age. Plus, there’s this thing called destiny. I felt it the day she was born. That’s one of my many gifts, being able to feel the pull of fate.
Delia was just the beginning of my resurrection. With her help, I would be able to return. Unfortunately for me, she was dating this doorknob of a guy named Trevor. He’d been given the task of protecting her from all of my evil plans. Well, evil according to his guild of goodie-goodies.
For a while, she didn’t know he only existed in Point Epoch to protect her. Thanks to some well-orchestrated shenanigans on my part, that information has been brought out into the open. I wrote of that in my other memoir, Under the Marble Frosted Surface.
Since discovering my name and Trevor’s true identity, Delia has had a lot of questions. I love it. The more they talk about me, the stronger I become.
“I get that this William guy is so evil, but what makes him so bad? What did he do? What’s his story?” she asked.
Like a good girlfriend, she liked to visit Trevor at his workplace, The Shine On Cafe. There, he gave her free donuts, all the tea she desired, and made schmoopy eyes with her when he was supposed to be cleaning tables and checking garbage cans. The guy had it bad. I didn’t blame him because she was an absolute catch, but it always made watching them interact painful. He was so pathetic around her.
Trevor continued to wipe the same spot on the counter he’d been cleaning for the past three minutes. It helped him look busy even though he was doing nothing. No one else was in the cafe, though. He tried. Under other circumstances, I think he and I might have gotten along.
It took a long time for him to come up with an answer.
“His story is…complicated,” he said.
“I would think so since he’s trying to take over the world,” Delia said. “Come on, Trev, throw me a bone or two. This impacts my life, a lot since he seems obsessed with me. How am I supposed to stay away if I don’t know why?”
He glared at her. “Can’t you just trust me?”
“Do you really want to hear my answer to that?” She pursed her lips and met his glare with one of her own.
With a heavy, overly dramatic sigh, Trevor let go of his rag. “He is…he was a powerful warlock, for one. Self-taught, which means the magic didn’t come naturally. He killed a lot of people to get that power.”
“William is dead, though,” she pointed out.
Trevor growled a little. “I’ve told you to stop saying his name all of the time!”
“It’s just a name!”
“A name with power!”
“What kind of power! Explain this better!” The desperation in her voice was cute.
He pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers and squeezed his eyes shut. “It’s so long and complicated and I’m not even sure of all of the
details.”
“Where can I go then to get them?”
“Ugh, you’re never going to stop are you…”
Delia flashed him a smile. “Nope.”
After a long pause, Trevor finally relented. “Okay, let’s see. Did you know that Point Epoch used to be all farms?”
“Yeah, but what does that…”
He held up a hand. “Have to do with anything? Because it’s…” He choked on air for a moment. “William’s…fault that the town is the way it is now.”
Dear readers, rather than subject you to his terrible and inaccurate retelling of my life’s events, I will be sharing my story. There is no better place to get the truth than from the source.
Chapter Three
The Before
Point Epoch used to be miles upon miles of farmland. In fact, it used to not be called Point Epoch. The town got its name after the rip in dimensions formed. Before all of that happened, our small hamlet was named Becker. For the most part, the land was flat and rich with crops. My family grew several of them and tended to several barns worth of animals. You could say we were the largest and most prosperous in the state. I grew up with money, but no one would think that with the simplicity my parents preferred to live in.
Simple was boring and that was perhaps what initially led me onto my current path.
I spent a lot of my free time staring at the ceiling of my room. That should explain a lot. Chores took a lot of my time. Television didn’t exist. I had some books, but only nerds liked to read for hours on end. I’d never had the heart of a nerd in me. I was a guy who needed adventure, and adventure lacked something fierce in Becker.
The highlight of my life was going to the market to sell the goods of the day. On the day my life changed for the better, I had potato duty. Get rid of all the sacks, that was the goal, and I pushed those babies hard.
“They’re the best potatoes in the country! The largest too! You can’t go wrong with an authentic Hermanson spud!” I called out while also taking cash from a customer. With a nod and a grin, I passed off a bag and looked for my next buyer.
My eyes locked with the most beautiful pair I’d ever seen. Large and dark, that other set of eyes was the gateway to a rather deep soul, and I knew instantly I had to go exploring. “Miss, can I interest you in an experience of a lifetime?”
The young woman before me smiled and instantly I detected a hint of devilishness. She wanted to cause trouble; I could tell. Definitely my type. Slowly, her gaze roamed over my body more than a few times. “Possibly. Elaborate.”
“This potato is a gift from the gods.” I held up the root vegetable, never breaking eye contact with her. “It’s sweet like candy yet satisfies all of your savory cravings. Whatever you wish, it will become that desire.”
“Now you’re promising more than you can deliver.” She giggled, though. “Sounds like hogwash.”
“Tell you what, I’ll give you this one for free. You try it and see for yourself.” She reached to take that potato from my hand. Just as she was about to grab hold of it, I lifted my hand away. “One condition, if you do like it, you have to come back and buy a bag. The big ten pound one.”
Her dark eyes narrowed for a moment, and I thought for a moment I’d pissed her off. Then the smile returned, and she snatched the vegetable. Her skin felt so warm and soft for those brief seconds she touched me.
“Deal,” she said and placed the potato in her purse.
After that, I was hooked. From that moment on, I thought about her. Constantly. It helped me get through an otherwise boring day to imagine our future encounter. She’d be back. She had to come back. I couldn’t go on without her. Right away, I knew she was “the one.” I understand how dramatic and cliche that sounds. While I may be dramatic, I try hard to not be cliche, so as much as I hate being one in that particular instance, I also don’t lie. And my pull to her was more than just raging teenage hormones.
Too bad I didn’t have her name.
That night everyone at home noticed I was more than a little off.
“William, are you sick?” my mother asked. She’d always been a sweet woman who cared more about the needs of others than her own. I still feel bad for the pain I’d caused her. She made so many sacrifices for me, and I still don’t feel worthy of them. People suck.
I smiled over at her across the dinner table. “Yes, I feel fine.”
“You’re not eating,” she persisted.
“I must have gotten lost in thought…” How did I explain all of the new feelings and sensations moving through me? I’d never been smitten by someone before.
Somehow, my dad knew. He had the gift of perception, though. A gift I’d been lucky enough to inherit. It was one of the few things we had in common. As soon as I saw the playful glint in his eyes, I knew he was going to embarrass me.
“You’re thinking about a girl,” he stated. “About time. I was beginning to wonder about you. All of the other boys have been working on becoming men, and you keep to yourself.”
I took a bite of dinner for the sake of not saying the first thing that came to my mind. Back then, I actually cared about respecting my elders…regardless of whether or not they deserved it. Mostly because my father didn’t hesitate to make sure I treated him with respect—or else. Some parents taught their children to honor them through love and patience. That was my mother’s path. My father went more for terrifying his children into submission. Being the youngest of my siblings, I was the last one left at home. All of them were married and popping out little people. At nineteen, I should have been doing the same thing.
“What’s her name?” Dad pressed.
“Don’t know,” I said. “Gave her a potato today and made her promise to come back if she liked it.”
My father gripped his fork tightly. “You gave her a potato?”
“Just one and it wasn’t big.” Sweat began to bead into my palms and my legs started to quiver slightly. He couldn’t know I felt scared. “She’ll be back. She liked me too.”
His jaw tightened, and he took in several deep breaths. “Think with your head when she returns. No more freebies.”
“Yes, Father.”
In the present world, I would have told him I knew what I was doing and to back off. Back then, my confidence was shot.
“Work on getting her to let you court her too. I’m tired of looking at you all of the time. Your mother and I are supposed to be enjoying a house without kids again,” he grumbled.
I held my tongue, but the feeling was mutual. I was done looking at him too.
Chapter Four
Patience is not a Virtue
Days passed and I started to lose hope that my mysterious maiden would return. She must have been passing through town, and I let her sucker me out of a good potato! When I thought about those deep, soulful eyes, I always thought—but it was worth it. Just that one moment with her was everything.
Patience was not something that came easy to me in my youth. Now, I thrive on it. My mystery woman was the first thing I had ever truly hoped for. To not have her felt like torture. The smart thing would have been to accept the facts and not pine after her so much. I wasn’t smart in those days. So, I pined, oaked, and birched hardcore.
It felt like agony.
And then, on day five of not seeing her, right as I was about to get ready to head home from the stand, I heard her call out.
“I hope you have one of those ten-pound bags left!”
The tiniest of smiles formed on my lips as I faced her. “Told you they were amazing.”
“You did, and I am a woman of my word,” she said. “Though, I don’t suppose I could convince you to deliver it to my place. Ten pounds is a bit more than I’d like to carry.”
Ten pounds was hardly anything, and we both knew it. She did have a fancy dress on, though, and the bag was large and dirty. It’d have been a shame to ruin her clothes. Besides, I couldn’t deny her the true thing she sought—the pleasure of my company.
&
nbsp; I pointed to my cart near the stand. “Would you like a ride home? Or do you have other plans?”
“Originally, I had other plans, but I’d rather spend more time with you.” Her blunt honesty sent tingles of pleasure down my spine. “My parents sent me to be measured for a ball gown. From there, my governess was supposed to parade me around a bit to ensure the mayor’s son saw me. She conveniently decided she’d rather spend time with her boyfriend in the library. It’s part of our arrangement.”
“You have an arrangement with your governess?” I raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
My mystery maiden bit her lip as though she’d said too much. “The point I was going to get to eventually was that we had walked here. While I would like to make my mile-long journey worth the effort, I also don’t particularly feel like walking all of the way back.”
“Your governess isn’t going to get in trouble, is she?”
She laughed. “My parents will not be home to find out, though they wouldn’t care even if they were. All that matters is that I came and was seen. I was, I made sure of that.”
“By the mayor’s son?”
“By the mayor. He’s who I truly need to please.”
I swallowed, trying to hide the jealousy bubbling up inside of me. Whoever she was, I’d already decided she belonged to me, and anyone who got in the way of that was a problem that needed to be fixed. Pronto.
The sexy smirk from the other day returned. “Are you jealous?”
“Would you think less of me if I said yes?” Our eyes locked. “Forgive me, I know we just met. However, it’d be foolish of me to deny an attraction to you. I’m sure any man whose eyes fall upon you will feel the same way. So yes, there is a bit of jealousy. However, I’m not a mayor’s son, so I’m sure my qualifications are not enough to woo you.”
She shrugged. “You have a cart, and the most amazing potatoes I’ve ever tasted. That’s plenty to make me happy.” She lowered her voice into a sultry tone. “In my opinion, you are far more qualified to make me happy than a man who spends his time flaunting that he has a lot of fancy pieces of paper. Because that’s all money is. Paper.”
