Timeless (Immortal Love Series)

by Amy Richie

  The men were wearing clothes similar to mine, just not as tight. Sols laced his boots slowly, as if he had all the time in the world. I puffed out my cheeks in irritation.

  “They should have made Eva wear a dress,” Sols said to Max.

  Max answered as if I wasn’t even in the room, barely three feet away. “Yeah, I don’t see how they expect her to fit in.”

  I rolled my eyes. I couldn’t believe how ignorant these two were. I crossed my arms over my chest and pressed my lips together. I wanted to inform them that Neleh herself had agreed with me about wearing what I had on, but I held my tongue. No point in opening a conversation with two idiots. My lips curled up in slight amusement when I thought about the argument that David had lost regarding my attire.

  “She has to fit in, that’s the most important thing,” he had declared hotly.

  “No.” Neleh was calm, she already knew we would do as she told us to, but she graced him with an explanation. “The most important thing is that she defeat Dominick Letrell. She cannot do that in a dress.”

  My eyes had lit up. I didn’t even need to say anything. Neleh and I were on the same thinking process. In the last few months before we were to leave, I felt closer to Neleh than David -which was odd for me. It left me feeling uncomfortable with the whole mission. We had come so far, why was David changing now?

  But I realized that for David killing Dominick was secondary to Orbex. It had always been like that of course. My fitting into the past was more important for him. It was me who had changed. My hatred for Dominick Letrell grew until it had consumed me. I had only one purpose.

  Sols took a small bag from his locker and stood up. I looked at the bag curiously. We weren’t supposed to be taking anything. David’s rule. “Ready?” Sols asked, looking right at me.

  I didn’t say anything, just turned my head away from him. It was Max who answered. “Yeah, just about.”

  Sols looked away from me to look down at his partner. “What are you doing?”

  “I can’t get this…” He didn’t finish his grunted sentence. He was obviously agitated.

  Sols sat back down. “Here let me see it,” he ordered.

  I shook my head in disbelief and irritation. How could David have chosen these two? I leaned against the wall.

  David and I had quit seeing things the same about a month before takeoff day — Tday. Neleh had come up with the nickname. She had cackled at her own cleverness while David and I exchanged the ‘she’s crazy’ look behind her back. But that was before she and I had started thinking the same, before David became one of them. A month before Tday David left Lexon; it was the first time I could ever remember him leaving his small city. He and Neleh had argued but in the end, he still left.

  He didn’t return until the next morning. After that he left a lot, usually only for a few hours at a time. He often came back and tried to change our plans around. But Neleh always won those arguments.

  I was relieved when Neleh finally agreed with me that the plan needed some adjustments. The part that David didn’t like the most was my clothing. He was afraid that if someone saw me dressed differently they would be suspicious.

  I doubted that anyone would guess I had come from the future in a tiny machine called Orbex. Besides, I didn’t plan on seeing anyone except Dominick Letrell. As long as Sols and Max stuck to the plan.

  Originally, David had wanted me to appear like I was in danger. Then when Dominick came to save the day, I would finish my mission. That had been the plan for years.

  Sols and Max would pretend to be hurting me. As long as there was blood and screaming, David was confident that Dominick would come. It didn’t make sense to me though. Why would Dominick Letrell care if I was in distress?

  “He was…different back then,” Neleh had grudgingly admitted.

  “He would have helped anyone,” David added.

  I looked from one to the other. I didn’t believe it. But I shrugged and went along with it. Anyways, what choice did I have in the matter? It wasn’t until David started leaving Lexon that Neleh started listening to me.

  “He wasn’t a ‘good guy’ back then. It’s all an act,” I told her one night.

  “Where do you think David is going?” she asked distractedly.

  “Um,” I twisted my face, “maybe he has a girlfriend.”

  Her head spun around to eye me suspiciously. “Has he told you that?”

  “No.”

  “Then why would you suggest that?”

  “I was just making a guess.” I was impatient to get back to Dominick Letrell.

  “Hmm.” She looked away again. “No,” she said after a while, “he doesn’t have a girlfriend.”

  I sat there without saying a word. I couldn’t understand why Neleh cared where David went. He probably just needed a break from Lexon and Orbex and her.

  “That may be true,” Neleh responded to my thoughts, “but now is not the time for a break. We are less than a month away from Tday. No,” she shook her head, “do you want to know where I think he is?”

  I nodded quietly.

  “I think he is visiting Damien Letrell.” Neleh had leaned forward in her seat to catch my reaction. I was very careful to have no reaction. I knew she was baiting me.

  “Why would you think that?” I asked evenly.

  “And you know what else I think,” she went on without answering; “I think you know something that you aren’t telling me.”

  I didn’t miss a beat. “I only know what you tell me Neleh.”

  “Hmm.” She put her dainty finger against her mouth, obviously not convinced.

  “I think,” I said forcefully, “that we should be more focused on the important things. The only things we can control. What David does, or will do, is already set in motion.”

  “What do you mean? What we can control?”

  “I think we need to change the plan. I think it is flawed.” She sat up straighter. At least I had her attention now. “If David really has had a change of heart, we can no longer fully trust him.”

  “That is what I’ve been saying.”

  “But we can trust me and my actions.” I looked directly at her. She narrowed her eyes, seeing the plan unfold in my head. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to be helpless. I can be the one in control.”

  “Have Max and Sols lead him to a secluded place in the woods.”

  “Where I will be waiting.”

  “He would be caught off guard. Killing him would be easy.”

  “And when David objects I can tell him that I don’t trust Dominick.”

  “And even if he doesn’t like it...”

  “I would have you to back me...”

  “And David wouldn’t have a choice.” She smiled a little.

  What did we need David for now anyways? He had already done his part. He changed me enough to kill Dominick and he completed Orbex.

  “You’re right.” I knew she would hear my thoughts. “Who cares if he changes his mind? He’s not even going back with you. He can only control things here.” She shrugged.

  “And I will control things there.”

  “I like the way you think Eva. I’ll inform David of the change in plans when he returns.” We both smiled at each other in a moment of rare camaraderie between us.

  I felt bad later for selling David out like that. I didn’t really believe that he would ever betray Neleh, but the seed of doubt and suspicion had already been planted. More strongly than that though, I didn’t want to be rescued by Dominick Letrell. The idea of him touching me didn’t appeal to me.

  Sol’s voice brought me back to the changing room. “Those things are harder than I remember them,” he laughed.

  “Come on, let’s get going,” Max ordered, “If we are a minute late David will call us back. Then we’ll have to go through decam all over again.” Sols made a face and fell in step behind Max. I followed the two men.

  Inside of Orbex was even smaller than I thought it would be. I had a d
ifficult time getting into the seat behind my two fellow time travelers. I was grateful yet again for not having long skirts to fight with.

  “It should only take us a few minutes to land,” Max said to no one in particular.

  I was excited in spite of myself. For the first time ever I wondered what the past would look like. I wondered childishly if anyone had ever written a story about traveling through time. Maybe a love story, like my beloved Jane Eyre.

  The thought of the book brought reality crashing down on me. It was foolish to be thinking of stories at such a time. I could still remember with clarity the day Neleh had caught me reading my book.

  “Who gave you this?” she had asked. Her face was bright red with fury.

  “It’s just…it’s just a book,” I stammered.

  “Just a book,” she fumed. Without warning she brought the book smashing against my face. “This is nonsense.” She shook her hand in my face. “I told him, I warned him not to fill your head with silly notions.”

  “He...” I wanted to defend David but no words would come.

  “So what’s this about,” she sneered angrily, “love?” She widened her eyes mockingly and laughed. “Does it teach of happily ever after?”

  I shook my head, eyes remaining downcast.

  “Do you believe in this crap Eva? Do you think there is someone out there to love you?” she sang cruelly.

  “No.” I kept my eyes down still.

  I saw a different side to Neleh that day. Her cruelty. She burned my book right there in my room. She punished me severely for protesting. I didn’t read anymore after that.

  “Eva?” Sols’ voice sounded far away.

  “Yes.” I answered automatically.

  “You need to strap your lap belt,” Max said. I wondered how many times he had said it.

  I quickly pulled the thin brown strap over my lap and latched it. Almost immediately, a large white harness came from behind the seat and over my head. Similar harnesses fit themselves over Sols and max. One of them reached up and pressed a small black button. The top of the machine started to close.

  My heart sped up. This was it. The day I had spent my entire life preparing for. I closed my eyes as the top closed and engulfed us in darkness. A small light came on in the front to allow Max enough visibility to get us going. When even that light went off I knew we were finally almost there.

  Chapter Six

  The sudden bright light surprised me. I blinked rapidly, trying to clear my eyes of the circular orbs created by the light. There was a tiny jolt that signaled our landing.

  “Do you think it worked?” Sols asked quietly.

  “We’ll soon see,” replied Max with a grim expression. He reached up and pulled a lever that released our harnesses. I leaned forward expectantly. I didn’t miss the look that passed between the two men. I moved my hand to clutch the knife hidden under my seat. Neleh’s words burned in my ears, making my heart beat loudly.

  Sols pushed a black button on the control panel and the hatch opened with a hiss. We all three took a deep breath. “Here we go,” I muttered.

  I was the last one to get out of the ship. Sols and Max had their heads bent low over a large piece of paper. They were pointing excitedly to it and then looking out at the scenery. It took me a minute to realize they had a map.

  I was glad that the two of them were distracted and missed my reaction to the scene that met my eyes. We had left from Lexon and were supposed to end up in that exact spot, only nine or so centuries in the past. I wondered if maybe something had gone wrong, because there was nothing here. For as far as I could see, which was fairly far, the only thing out there was trees. The occasional break in the trees only housed long grass. Small animals scurried around everywhere. There were no buildings, no houses, nothing. My mouth fell open as I took it all in.

  Far in the distance I thought I could see smoke. I knew from David that smoke might indicate that a house was located there.

  “This is amazing,” Max exclaimed. “David would love this!” He inhaled deeply. “Do you smell that?” he asked with a wide grin.

  I sniffed the air experimentally. All the smells I knew were absent. The cleanliness of the lab and even the smells outside Lexon were missing. No gunpowder, or ash, or blood. It sounded different here too. Gone were the familiar sounds of home. No screaming, or sirens, or shooting. It was so still here.

  Sols raised an eyebrow at Max. “All I smell is animal waste,” he complained. He sent a distasteful look in my direction. “What do you think Eva?” he asked me.

  I looked at him with confusion and slight annoyance. He knew he wasn’t supposed to talk to me. Were all the rules different here? “It’s fine,” I said shortly. I didn’t like these two very much, but I couldn’t help but wonder if it was my own distrust or Neleh’s warning that had me checking for my knife.

  “So,” Max said to break the uncomfortable silence, “we are here,” he pointed to the map to show where we were. “The wolves attacked about five miles this way,” he traced a path along the paper, “so Dominick is probably close.” The hair on my neck stood up at the sound of his name.

  “Then let’s go,” I said impatiently.

  “There is something we need to…talk to you about first,” Sols began. He shot a look at Max, the same look from inside the machine. I mentally calculated how long it would take me to reach my knife.

  Faster than my eyes could see, Sols’ hand was bulging with a concealed object. “We are not going to hurt you Eva,” he crooned.

  His words betrayed his intensions. I concentrated only on keeping my breathing even. In and then out. I glared furiously at him.

  “Listen,” Max said stepping forward. He held his hands up and stretched them between the two of us. “Eva, David changed his mind.” His eyes were intense, begging for my understanding. I didn’t change my expression. “He doesn’t want you to kill him. Dominick is his friend.”

  “Dominick Letrell is a friend to no one,” I recited through clenched teeth. “He is evil and despised among his kind. He is known only for violence,” I reminded them of Neleh’s words.

  “David used to run with the Letrell’s,” Max revealed.

  Nothing on my face betrayed my surprise that these two would know this. I hadn’t expected them to turn on me quite so soon but I was prepared and confident. Let them try whatever they wanted to, I could find Dominick by myself. He had to be close.

  “Max is going to hold you down and I am going to inject you with memory cleaner,” Sols explained calmly. He could have been telling me he was going to take a shower.

  “That’s not going to happen,” I replied angrily. I was careful to keep my voice even.

  “Eva, just make this easy on all of us.”

  I glared at him. “You mean easy on you,” I hissed.

  “This was David’s decision,” he reminded me as if that mattered.

  “David is not here.”

  Max swallowed audibly. “He will learn of your subordinance.”

  I arched one eyebrow. “And Neleh will learn of yours.”

  “You won’t remember any of this,” Sols promised.

  I pulled my knife slowly from the inside of my boot. I shrugged cockily. “We shall see.”

  Sols’ eyes widened slightly. “Where did you get that?” His eyes swung over to Max. “She was checked, wasn’t she checked?” Max kept his eyes on me. Max was definitely the smarter of the two men.

  “Neleh gave it to me,” I said calmly. Let them worry about that.

  “Why would she give you a knife? It was already decided…” His words trailed off.

  “Maybe she didn’t trust you. With good reason it seems.”

  “You’re not going to be hurt Eva,” Sols crooned.

  “I’m sorry that I can’t promise you the same.”

  His eyes turned to twin slits. “Enough of this.” Like a magic trick from a cheap magician, a large syringe appeared in Sols’ empty hand. I didn’t even see his hand move. Clea
rly these two had hidden their true abilities from me. My respect for them increased a little.

  The syringe was large with a long needle. Brown colored liquid sloshed inside the glass. Memory cleaner. It was something David had created. It was his attempt to free the workers of Lexon, so they wouldn’t have to be killed. I had begged him to use it on my Reva, but Neleh refused. She said it was better to cut all those ties cleanly.

  The cleaner could be used to forget a day, a moment, a conversation, years, or even an entire lifetime. It just depended on the potency and the amount given. I couldn’t be sure how strong this cleaner was, but clearly there was a lot.

  Did David want me to forget this day so he could tell Neleh that I had failed? Did he want me to forget that he had betrayed me? Or was it more than that? Maybe he wanted me to forget everything so these two men could kill me easily or just leave me here in the past. Certainly not that far, I thought, David wouldn’t have told them to kill me. But what did he tell them to do to me?

  Only one thing I was sure of, I could not let them come anywhere near me with that needle. I couldn’t give them any opportunity to get the upper hand. I was in control here, not them. Besides, I had practiced fighting two vampires at once. This should be no problem.

  I set my face in a mask of fury. “Agreed,” I said through clenched teeth, “enough of this.”

  “And what do you plan to do Eva?” Sols asked. “Kill us both and go after Dominick yourself?” He spoke in a mocking tone but I heard his nervousness. His weakness.

  “That about sums it up. Are you afraid Sols?” He regarded me warily. Better to move quickly, I thought to myself, catch them off guard.

  In a fluid motion, I sent my knife soaring. It met its mark. Sols sank down to one knee; the one with my knife sticking out of it had given way. As expected, he ripped it out of his leg and flung it back at me. He must have hoped to hit me but my hand shot up and caught it.

  While Sols healed, I turned on Max. He was ready for me. He matched the fight move for move. In a blur, he was behind me and had my arms pinned back.