Time Weaver

by Jacinta Maree

  “Can I help you?” An accented voice asked.

  “Oh, I was…I was just…I left my coat here. I didn’t want to disturb—”

  “A liar.” The man cut across her stammering, “And a thief.” He took a few steps closer. “I’ve always been weary of sneaky girls in bronze dresses.”

  Elizabeth cocked her head at the comment. Bronze dresses? The only time she ever wore a bronze dress was at the Gala. She strained her eyes to see the man through the dark, and was able to match his features to the butler that grabbed her wrist when she tried to slash Arthur. Outside of Lady Claudia’s gaze he moved with more ease. “Looking for something?” He asked, twirling the golden pistol around his finger.

  She swallowed hard. He was taunting her. “You call me the thief when you are currently holding my father’s pistol?”

  “You must be pretty confident that this is indeed yours to risk breaking into the Beaumont’s house to retrieve it.”

  “I am. Give it back to me.”

  “See, you’re a liar.”

  “How am I lying?” She hissed.

  “Because if you were the rightful owner then you wouldn’t need to sneak in to steal it. Unless, of course, you weren’t sure it was the same gun. Therefore, lying.”

  Elizabeth faltered. Behind his silhouette the foyer light flicked on. The man turned his head to catch the sound of footsteps approaching. The sight of his profile drew her out of the moment. It sparked a memory inside. His turned cheek, the shape of his nose, the way the light haloed his golden hair.

  “Nikolas?” Harold Beaumont’s voice called from inside. “Are you talking to somebody?”

  Elizabeth froze. The scene unfolded as though she still stood in her mother’s hallway. The crackle of the glass breaking, the glint of silver from his knife. Nikolas, the corrupted Time Collector. The man who murdered her mother.

  Nikolas’ smile crept across his face. He cocked his head back toward Elizabeth. “I’m in the study with a guest.”

  “A guest? Who?” Before Nikolas could say anything more, Elizabeth spun back toward the window and bolted toward the front yard. “Who was that? Hey! Stop!” Harold caught just a glimpse of Elizabeth as she tumbled out the window.

  She bolted across the yard, scaled the walls and cleared the property line before Harold could reach the front door. In her haste, she forgot her shoes, running barefooted out into the streets. Taking the first corner she came across, Elizabeth slipped into a dark alley and sheltered herself among the shadows. She paced back and forth unsure what to do, or what to think.

  Her pulse raced. Nervously, she ran her hands over her face, clearing the sweat off. Her immediate thought was to find Klaus, but was quickly reminded she had no idea how to even find him. Harry can’t help. Sara is under the Beaumont’s thumb. Mother is dead. William is dead. She bit her thumbnail as she paced, when suddenly she turned into a man’s chest, not noticing him approaching from the shadows. Large hands grabbed her face, silencing her shriek. He moved fast. Swiftly. Fireworks popped over head as he marched her back, shoving her up against the brick walls. Gold light crossed the sky. Nikolas held her firmly. His expression unfaltering.

  “I can’t let you leave so soon.” She clawed at his fingers, trying to pry them off. Unlike before, his taunting wasn’t playful. “Not without accepting my gift.” From inside his jacket, Nikolas unsheathed the dagger and turned it toward her. Elizabeth’s eyes widened. “Forgive me.”

  For the second time in her life, Elizabeth was pinned underneath the body of a Time Collector. For the second time in her life, she had to stare down the glint of silver and wait to die. She couldn’t struggle. She couldn’t speak. He had moved too fast, pinned her, muted her. Knowing her one defence were her words. A swift stab to her chest would only take a second to finish the job. Beyond his bold stare, she couldn’t distinguish his face. He reared his arm back and swung.

  She clenched her eyes closed but the blade never hit her chest. Nikolas hovered mid-strike, his hand trembling inches from contact. Blood seeped out of his left nostril. His eyes began to water, deepening into the color of red ink. Confused, he shoved himself away, dropping his grip. Her cheeks still throbbed where he had grabbed her. Now free, Elizabeth still couldn’t find the command to scream. She simply pressed closer to the wall, wide-eyed and speechless. Nikolas didn’t linger. Just as quickly as he appeared, he suddenly vanished.

  It took her a few moments to comprehend what had happened. It was hard not to notice the similarities between Time Collector Klaus and Time Collector Nikolas. The touch of his hot-coal skin contradicted his chilling presence, and unlike Klaus’ German tongue, Nikolas’ Finnish accent didn’t slur his words. All she could think of was getting back home. Her heart pooled to the bottom of her feet. She wasn’t sure exactly how to feel. Being almost killed in an alleyway, with a chance of no one discovering her until the morning, definitely clarified her morality. Fearful of Nikolas’ return, she went straight back to Harry’s house in Rosefire.

  Chapter Twenty:

  “Harry! Harry, wake up!” Elizabeth jostled him awake.

  Harry bolted up from his chair in front of the fire place, “What? What’s going on?”

  “I know who the corrupted Collector is! How do I find Klaus? How did William find him?” She gripped the chairs’ arms, her body towering over him in her urgency.

  “What? Why?”

  “I’ve found Nikolas.”

  “Nikolas?” Harry looked around her confused. “Who’s Nikolas?”

  “The corrupted Time Collector! He’s the one we’ve been searching for.” An impatient bang sounded from the front door. Elizabeth shot up straight as Harry shifted around in the chair. After a few seconds of silence, the banging started again, just as determined and twice as violent.

  “Who on earth is that?” Harry rose from his chair, but Elizabeth held him back. The person behind the door hit with such velocity the entire house rattled.

  “Wait…” Paranoia spiked. Carefully, Elizabeth approached the front door and armed herself with an umbrella. The overhead light swung on its cord. “Who is it? What do you want?”

  Suddenly, the hammering stopped. Silence settled. There was no shadow pressed against the glass windows. No shift under the door gap. Elizabeth’s grip tightened on the umbrella handle, straining her ears for footsteps leading away. Suddenly, the knob twisted on its own and the distinct click of the lock flicking back pinged. A strong gust of wind kicked the door open the exact moment a figure crashed in from behind her. The man pushed Elizabeth to the side, running at the door and throwing his shoulder into it.

  “Get away from the door,” Klaus shouted.

  He stabbed the door panel with the tip of the blade, creating a faint tissue shield that barred the door from being torn from its hinges. The hammering and banging didn’t cease, yet the door didn’t budge a centimetre more. Klaus took Elizabeth by the elbow and walked her back to where Harry sat.

  “Klaus? How did you…? Why are you here?” She asked.

  “I never exactly left,” Klaus dropped his grip on her before walking over to the window to check the streets. “How did he find you?”

  “How did he…wait a minute! You knew Nikolas was Lady Claudia’s butler the whole time?”

  “Of course I knew.”

  “Wait, but…why were you searching all over town looking for him?”

  “Just shush, Elizabeth. Now is not the time.”

  “Not the time?” Elizabeth stumbled, overwhelmed. “You have to be the biggest con artist I have ever—”

  “Don’t be so dramatic! Both Sir Wicker and myself know who Nikolas is. I’ve already told you that. We need to find him, track him down.”

  “Bit of a dead giveaway considering it was Lady Claudia who Nikolas worked for.” She scoffed.

  Klaus weaved past her and crossed the room. He pulled back another curtain to see outside. “He has many contacts, not just her. In any case, that is why I am here in Divin Cadeau. Collector
s, Nikolas in particular, like to keep a very low profile. He is usually very careful to stay out of sight. I once trailed one of his contacts for months and he still managed to avoid me. He’s clever, he has to be.”

  “Clever? You’re complimenting him now?” The banging continued, drawing Elizabeth’s attention back around. “Is that him?”

  “Nein. He wouldn’t be that clumsy. He would send his gremlins. And before you ask the obvious, gremlins are shadow creatures Nikolas controls,” Klaus murmured under his breath, frustrated. “But he won’t be far. He’s hunting you now, but we need him to come out of hiding.”

  “Hunting me?”

  Suddenly, the relentless banging silenced. They both glanced over toward the front then back toward the window. Klaus held his hand up to shush her. He then reached behind him, speaking in a soft whisper, “Give me the gun.”

  Elizabeth shook her head. “I don’t have it.”

  “What? Why not?”

  “I er…”

  “Never mind. I’ll go get it. Wait here.”

  “Stop. You can’t.” He sighed and looked over at her impatiently. Elizabeth gulped. “Nikolas has it.”

  Klaus immediately straightened. He paused, looking at her, convinced he had misheard. “Nein. You must be joking—”

  “He stole it when I wasn’t home,” she explained defensively.

  Again, Klaus froze. Slowly, as he came to understand what she’d told him, his knuckles tightened. “You…gave him the gun?”

  “He stole it.”

  “How could you be so careless?”

  “I didn’t do it on purpose! The very definition of stealing is to take without permission!”

  Klaus shushed her again. He checked back over his shoulder toward the seemingly empty street. The strained quietness only emphasised the ticking of her mechanical heart. Shadows moved behind them, leaking out of the cracks in the walls. As the darkness approached, it thickened in texture, resembling sticky tar. In sluggish rolls, the lumpy blotch solidified and grew, forming arms, legs, a torso and a rounded head. It bubbled and popped, the noise turning Elizabeth around. Before she could scream or the creature could attack, Klaus’ arm struck the creature through its skull with his knife. It squealed and dispersed back into smoke.

  “Fine. We’ll play it your way, Nikolas.” Klaus wedged the dagger out and pulled Elizabeth to her feet.

  “W-W-Wha—” Elizabeth splattered. Even Harry couldn’t speak.

  “I told you. Gremlins.” Klaus quickly dismissed her. “As long as you are here, they will not stop. Mr. Smith, I will be taking Elizabeth back to my place. You need not worry. These creatures are not here for you.”

  “W-What do they w-want with Miss Wicker?” Harry stuttered.

  Klaus was careful not to reply. Perhaps saying, to murder her, would only further upset their situation. Instead, he took Elizabeth by the arm and pulled her toward the door. “I will be back to collect her things. Come, Elizabeth, you have to stay close.”

  Klaus lead the way out of Rosefire and back toward the poorer district. In his haste, Elizabeth struggled to keep up, her shoes skidding behind her as though she was being towed by a car. She had never seen Klaus act this way, as though he had heard a warrant for his own death. He eventually slowed when nearing a weed-infested dirt path and stopped outside an abandoned hut by a swamp. The cabin sat high on a hill top, casting a long view over the city and toward the Golden City.

  “You live here?” Elizabeth stepped back as Klaus unlocked the front door. “Are you sure we’re not safer back at Harry’s?”

  “Ja. Come.”

  “I’m just saying bacterial infection is the leading cause in most deaths.”

  Klaus grabbed her wrist and yanked her after him. “Come along, snob.”

  The entire shack shuddered on their entrance. Dampness softened the floorboards, making them creak and sink beneath their footsteps. Elizabeth held her hands close to her chest as she closed the door behind them. Rat droppings stained the furniture, creating perfect breeding grounds for clusters of fungus. Embarrassed, Klaus cleared his throat. “Well, there’s not much a man can do on such short notice. You did kick me out first, remember?”

  “Why did you bring me here?”

  “Concealment spells marks the doors. Nikolas can’t see you. Not even his gremlins can track you down. But I can’t conceal any house. It has to be abandoned. Belonging to no one,” Klaus answered with his back to her. He continued to rifle through his bag at the back of the room before pulling out his textbook. The whole dwelling was nothing more than a single room, with a bed in the corner, a one-man seat, table and chair, a basin with what appeared to be a broken sink, and a window. Elizabeth took the seat as Klaus placed the book in front of them. He pointed at the vague picture of a dark-colored creature, barely distinguishable, seemingly to climb out of darkness.

  “These are the gremlins. Corruption magic.”

  Elizabeth inched the book closer to her to read the description. “Gremlins. Mindless creatures incapable of thought or will power. Gremlins are powerful dark magic, only accessible to tainted Time Collectors. Said to be the making of trapped, tainted souls, gremlins cannot be killed, but only temporarily delayed by sunlight. Only the Time Collector who conjured it can stop it.” Elizabeth looked up at Klaus, alarmed. “Is it going to keep trying to kill me?”

  “The question we should be asking is why is Nikolas chasing you? How did you get his attention?”

  Elizabeth shook her head, trying to shake the fear out of her voice. “Oh, right, okay well I was at the Beaumont’s earlier where I happened to see William’s gun. I thought I’ll just return when everyone was out and steal it back. I almost had it too, but Nikolas caught me, but I swear, I didn’t say anything about Time Collectors. I just ran. Then…” Elizabeth paused in her pacing, bringing her hand back to her forehead as a memory blazed. “He followed me. He pinned me against a wall. He tried to stab me, but he stopped. He got a bloody nose, just like, just like you did!”

  Klaus’ expression remained slack as he processed Elizabeth’s words. “Ja. It’s punishment.”

  “Punishment, for what?”

  “When we fail to collect the time owing or when we refuse a contract, we are punished.” He turned and slouched exhausted against the windowsill. “No doubt he now knows you’re with a Collector. There goes my advantage. He’ll be watching you too carefully.”

  “How would he know?”

  Klaus sighed but didn’t turn to speak to her. “Try and sleep. I promise, you are safe here.”

  Elizabeth cast a sideways glance at the bed. Adrenaline made sleeping an impossible task, and quite frankly it was the last thing on her mind. She tried again to get him to talk to her. “Why didn’t he kill me when he had the chance?” Klaus didn’t move. Elizabeth clasped her shaking hands and stepped forward. “Klaus? Please?”

  “It’s not why he didn’t kill you, it’s why he couldn’t.” He stepped away from the window and toward her. As he stared into her eyes his expression hardened, angered by his own thoughts. “And he couldn’t because…you belong to me now.”

  #

  Sleep did not come easy and it did not come fast. Elizabeth curled her knees to her chest and wedged her clenched fists under her armpits for warmth. The thin blanket Klaus provided did very little to shield her from the icy breath coming from the wind outside. Klaus didn’t sleep, either. He had collected firewood and lit a small fire by the hearth, but it did nothing against the cold.

  Hours rolled over as Elizabeth glanced out across the room from her bed, watching Klaus staring into the dying flames. Within her chest remained an insistent flutter she couldn’t crush. A flutter of hope, or even worse, a flutter of joy at being in Klaus’ company again. She turned over and buried her head into the blanket. She really must be a fool to think like that. By the time exhaustion outweighed the cold, the sky had already started to bleed red with sunrise. She got up, unable to stand another moment.

  “Plea
se tell me this isn’t our permanent living condition. I couldn’t sleep a wink at all.”

  “You can always add in a potted plant if that helps.” Klaus suggested without glancing up.

  “Not funny, Klaus.”

  Despite reading all night, Klaus’ face didn’t droop with drowsiness. He seemed unfazed by the cold, by lack of sleep or the uncomfortable smell seeping from the swamp. He eased back into his chair, turning his attention to Elizabeth. “The sun is up now. It’s safer to walk around. I doubt Nikolas would send anymore gremlins your way. He must know you’re with a Collector, or at least have contact with one. It may be enough to hold him back.”

  “Then we’re safe to return to Rosefire? Or the Wicker mansion?”

  “We? I’m invited back, am I?” Klaus asked sarcastically. Elizabeth rolled her eyes, causing Klaus to laugh. “Nein, our focus is on getting the gun back, that you so helpfully lost.”

  “It was stolen.”

  “In any case, it’ll be for the best you avoid all Beaumont’s from now on, and stay away from places Nikolas can spy on you. I’ve kept my presence a secret from Nikolas so far, hopefully his attention on you hasn’t jeopardised everything.” Again, he looked at her bitterly.

  “Where am I to live then?”

  “I’ll figure something out. There are a few things I need from the estate, but first I’ll escort you back to Harry’s so you can shower, perhaps change your clothes. Freshen up a bit.”

  Elizabeth cringed. “Subtlety is not your strong suit.” Klaus grinned, and once he turned away Elizabeth sniffed her collar for an odour. “Maybe a shower won’t be such a bad idea.”

  “Good thinking. Let’s move.”

  Chapter Twenty-One:

  “Oh, Elizabeth there you are!” Harry was quick to greet the pair approaching his doorway. “Thank God you’re okay. I’ve been sitting up sick with worry all night.”