by Robert Ross
“Hmm, just Papa, Donal and Liam.”
“Jesus, that’s enough. What was I thinking?”
“Will you think,” corrected Shannon.
“Huh? Oh, yeah, what will I think? Hold on. If that’s future me, maybe I let them see me do those things because you told me now that I would.”
Shannon just grinned at Kellan knowingly. “I know you hate time travel, sweetie, but it really is best to not worry about the paradox. They work themselves out.” She paused thoughtfully and added, “for the most part.”
Kellan plopped down into a chair facing Shannon.
“You’re angry,” she said.
“No, I’m not angry.”
“Yes, you are.”
“Ok, I am angry. I’m the Sentinel here and I feel like I’m just bumbling around being schooled by my sidekick.”
Shannon took a deep, calming breath. “I promised future you I wouldn’t get mad when you said that, and I’m trying, but Kellan, I am not your sidekick. I am many things. I am a woman. I am your lover. I am your friend. I am your tether to your humanity. One thing I am not, have never been, will never be, is your sidekick.” She sighed then said softly, “That came out better than I expected.”
Kellan stared at her. “So future me called you my sidekick before?” She nodded. “I’m guessing it didn’t go so well?”
She shook her head. “Once you explained what a sidekick was? No, Kellan, it did not go well. However, it did move our relationship along in a quite enjoyable way once the fighting was over.” She smiled at him wolfishly and he felt the heat rising again as she added, in a throaty voice, “I you knowed you the first time that very night and it was spectacular. I probably shouldn’t have told you, but now that I think of it, you looked oddly happy when I started yelling at you, so you must have known how things would end up.”
“Ug,” Kellan said, “This makes my head hurt, can we please stop talking about future me.”
“Timey Wimey. Wibbly Wobbly.” Shannon said, tapping her mug to the table. “More tea?”
“Sure, so why did I let your dad and the boys know about me?”
Shannon turned from the kettle, glancing over her shoulder for a moment, “Oh, they saw you levitating a beam and moving rocks while your eyes were doing their sparkles. They thought you were a witch.” She sighed. “That wasn’t fun to straighten out. I’ll tell you that for nothing.”
Kellan leaned forward, “I was moving things? With my power?”
She looked back at him, brows furrowed with confusion and then frowned, shaking her head, “Yes, Kellan, you figure out teleki-whatsis at some point between now and when you go back.”
“Telekinesis,” Kellan corrected.
“Whatever.”
“Did I fly too?”
“No, Kellan Thorne, you did not fly and I am done talking about your future self.”
Kellan banged the table, grumbling, “That stupid vampire still has it over me.” He felt her eyes on him and added with a grumble, “Fine, explain the rest of the timeline.”
“There isn’t much more to explain. As I’ve said, 1280 we rebuilt the cottage, and you returned many times between then and when I traveled to Atlanta.”
“Which was when, for you?”
Shannon thought a moment, “That would have been around 1288 or 1289. I really don’t pay much attention.”
Kellan shook his head in confusion, “But when is now?”
Shannon raised her hands, “Why ask me? You brought us here. I thought you had to fix a time and location in your mind to open the portal.
“I do,” said Kellan, frustrated, “So I must have, but you were kind of dead at the time so I wasn’t completely in my right mind. It’s all a jumble. I just wanted to make sure I got you back somewhere in your timeline to keep the tether from completely snapping.”
Shannon leaned over the table and gave Kellan a soft kiss. “Thank you for that,” then she stood and walked around the cottage examining things. “Well,” she began. “We know it is some time after 1280 because the cottage is here and it’s before 1288.”
“How do we know that?” Kellan asked.
“Because something is missing that should be here if it is after 1288.”
“What’s that?”
Shannon smiled and placed a finger to her lips, “Spoilers…”
“Oh, for god’s sake,” said Kellan with a laugh, “I should never have told you about River Song.”
“You haven’t told me,” Shannon said innocently then showed her teeth, “but you will.”
Kellan awoke to the sounds of birds and gentle rain pattering against the thatched roof. He reached over to the other side of the bed but found nothing. Sitting up, Kellan glanced at his Apple Watch noting with some interest that it still displayed time: 6:20 am.
“Shannon…” he called into the early morning gloom. No response.
Kellan rolled out of the small bed, having fallen asleep in his clothes after he and Shannon decided to just ‘rest their eyes’ for a few minutes the evening before. Apparently the day’s events had gotten the better of both of them since sleep came quickly and lasted until the morning, or had for Kellan at least.
He stumbled into the small kitchen area and found a plate with some salted meat and cheese sitting on the table with a Post-it note stuck beside it. Kellan chuckled as he tugged on the small piece of yellow paper feeling the adhesive release. Shannon loved many aspects of the 21 century, especially paper. Kellan remembered taking her to an Office Depot and how she marveled at the wealth of paper available for anyone to buy. Post-it notes where her favorite and it didn’t surprise Kellan a bit that she might have a pad or two secreted away in some pocket. He glanced at her wavy writing and nodded as he grabbed a bite of cheese. Only two words were written on the paper: My Rock.
Kellan continued to gnaw on the bit of salted meat as he strode down the hill toward the stream. The morning mist hadn’t even begun to lift and the air was sharp and cool. He paused as the grass changed from its verdant green to a dull brown. Kellan kicked at the ground with his foot and lifted his eyes to take in the large expanse of dead grass that spread outward from where he stood all the way to the stream. There he saw the large boulder on which sat Shannon, eyes closed, legs folded crosswise with her arms resting on knees.
The young Sentinel felt his heart quicken at the sight of her. “Stupid,” he whispered aloud, “You are acting like a schoolboy with his first crush.” Kellan cocked his head, still staring at her distant form, then decided he really didn’t care how he was acting. Just the sight of her could make his stomach do flip flops and that was after a year together. He counted himself lucky, especially given the trauma of the day before.
Moments later he stood before her still form, staring up at her closed eyes then glanced away wondering what he should do next. He remembered the first time he’d seen her there, more girl than woman, barely into her teen years. How strange he found her, and then her completely unexpected declaration of love as he left her to return to Atlanta that first time. He shook his head clearing away the revelry.
“I remember that too,” she said and he looked up to meet her now open eyes. “Truth be told, I replayed the moment a hundred times after you left, wondering why I said what I did. I didn’t know what love was. I just knew it to be true. I do know now though.”
Kellan just nodded. He knew too.
Shannon unfolded her legs and slid off her rock and into Kellan’s arms, hugging him tightly then tilted up her face to accept his kiss.
“We’re pretty well fucked, aren’t we?” she said and Kellan barked a laugh at her unexpected outburst.
“Probably,” he responded, “but in what way do you mean?”
“Time, stupid. I’m stuck in this timeline. I can travel, what, fifty or sixty years and then my soul starts to unravel.”
Kellan leaned against the rock and nudged her with his shoulder, “We don’t know that. All we know is that you can’t travel 750 years into t
he future and spend eighteen months there.”
She nodded, then said, “But I could be stuck here. We don’t know whether my tether to this time has been fully restored or if it’s still weak. We really don’t know anything.”
“I’ll find out, Shannon. I will.”
She nodded again, but didn’t seem convinced. “You’re leaving aren’t you?”
Kellan sighed. “I don’t want to. God knows I don’t want to, but, I need to find this Council of Havilah and figure out what the hell is going on. When I first woke up, I decided I’d just stay here until we figured out your soul-tether problem and travel back to arrive the same time we left.”
“So why don’t you,” she asked then answered her own question. “Fixed points in time?”
“Yeah. If this Cabal is planning to muck with time to the point where it unravels all of creation, you can pretty much bet they are doing it at a fixed point or in doing so they create one. I don’t know which, but either way—“
“You have to leave,” she answered for him.
“I have to leave,” he repeated.
She laughed mirthlessly, “This sure does seem familiar. Same place. Same us. You leaving me.”
“Sucks,” Kellan said.
“When will you be back?”
The young Sentinel brightened, “Soon Shannon. Very soon. I’m planning to bring one of the artifacts to you for safe keeping.”
She arched an eyebrow questioningly and Kellan continued. “Yeah, this Cabal is looking for the Spear and the Seal, but they wouldn’t think to look here.”
“Makes sense.” She said.
“Yep. So I’m just going to head back, go to Havilah, find the Seal and Spear, then bring the Spear here, no problem.”
“Well, I can’t stay here, Kellan.”
“Shannon, you know I’d want you to come back, but not if it means—“
“No, Kellan. I know I can’t go with you, but I can’t stay here either. It’s somewhere before 1289.”
“So?”
Shannons sighed, “You really have to get a handle on this time traveling. Now think. Why can’t I stay here?”
Kellan looked blankly and shrugged. Shannon continued. “Who lives in the cottage up there?”
“You do?” Kellan asked slowly and his eyes grew wide, “You do.”
She smiled. “Now, I don’t ever remember meeting myself in my house so I’m pretty sure that’s because you portal me to 1289 so my past and future selves don’t bump into each other.”
“You are very smart,” Kellan said bumping her again with his shoulder.
“Yes, fortunately for both of us. Now, no long goodbyes my time challenged Sentinel. You will be collecting me very soon, right?”
“Promise.” Kellan said moving his finger across his chest.
“Good, then portal me to 1289 and give me a kiss, but make it a good one.”
Kellan did just that. Moments later he found himself standing beside Shannon’s rock feeling more alone than ever he had before.
Chapter 7
Eden
Kellan stepped out of the portal and immediately looked around. He sighed in relief. No one around. The young Sentinel recalled Micah explaining how, unless specifically directed otherwise, portals tended to open as close to the desired destination as possible but in a place that was also the most discrete available. He had traveled by portal hundreds of times at this point, but hadn’t completely gotten over the fear of stepping into a throng of people.
Pulling his iPhone from the back pocket of his jeans, Kellan quickly tapped the Messages icon and scrolled down. He chuckled as he reread the conversation from several hours earlier, comprised of a dozen blue and gray bubbles.
Unknown sender: Travel to this location at your earliest opportunity and let me know when you arrive.
Kellan: Who is this?
Unknown: Ah’Anon
Kellan: WTF? Vampires use iPhones now?
Ah’Anon: You expect us to use Android? ;-)
Kellan: Cute. I don’t know what I expected, but not to get a text.
Ah’Anon: I told you. We must change with the times or be swallowed by it.
Kellan: You read that on a bumper sticker? Send me your loc. I’ll text you when close.
Ah’Anon: Accept my friend request and I will track you.
Kellan: NFW
Ah’Anon: ??
Kellan: No. Fucking. Way!
Ah’Anon: :-(
Ah’Anon: Map Location Sent
Kellan tapped the map and waited as his phone calculated his current location and plotted the most direct route to the destination pin. As the activity indicator spun, he glanced around again, absently wondering what kind of roaming data charges he was racking up. Having never been to the indicated destination before, Kellan knew his portal would have gotten him reasonably close, within a few miles anyway. The terrain was much greener than he had expected, while still being far from lush. Thin grasses could be seen stretching into the distance with patches of much darker green that seemed to be low lying bushes. To the west, lay rolling hills and with even larger ones further on that seemed to be foothills to the most distant mountains. The low 70s, temperature was a pleasant surprise. Kellan had always thought of Africa as being unbearably hot and humid. He made a mental note to spend time reading global temperature and weather charts in the future.
Kellan felt his phone pulse, looked down, and frowned at the display. It indicated he was about three and a half miles from his destination. He sighed knowing that his portal accuracy to an unknown location couldn’t be relied upon to get him any closer. Kellan spun around until he was facing the appropriate direction and identified a fixed object in the distance. The Sentinel took a calming breath and reached inward for the raging green river of power. He felt it course upward and through him. Kellan’s eyes warmed as he channeled the power to his purpose. He began running westward, slowly at first and then with ever increasing speed feeding off his internal energy while slightly decreasing the gravity and fragmenting lightwaves around him. Should he be spied by a casual observer, Kellan would only appear as a fast moving shimmer across the landscape.
He continued to run for some fifteen minutes, occasionally pulling up to course correct with his phone. Kellan slowly jogged to a stop just as he heard the chime indicating that he had arrived at his destination. Before him stood an old rock-cut church, or, more accurately, the top of a rock-cut church. Kellan whistled softly at the enormity of it. He walked up to the deep gash cut in the ground and looked down. It had to be almost a hundred feet to the bottom. Kellan remembered reading about the rock-cut churches made in the 12th century as Ethiopian Orthodoxy spread throughout the country. The pictures flashing through his memory didn’t do justice to what his eyes now saw directly.
Viewed from above, the church would have looked like a large cross carved into the earth surrounded by a deep pit. The cross itself was simply the top of a multi story structure carved directly into the bedrock. Seen from the side it rose up from a tiered pedestal with its first story entrance standing at least thirty five feet high and each of the subsequent three stories being around twenty feet. The stone had a faintly rust colored hue to it and the architecture was as plain as the effort to carve such a massive structure was impressive. Simple, horizontal bands marked where one story of the building led to the next with only the first and third stories having windows. The church maintained the cross shape throughout with each section of the structure having been carved at right angles to the other. Kellan found himself shaking his head in awe at the amount of effort required to carve the building out of solid bedrock.
“That thing is never going anywhere,” Kellan said quietly as he looked around for a way down. There were no steps carved into the side of the rough bowl shaped hole in which sat the church proper. As Kellan walked around the edge he found iron rings attached at various intervals. “I bet they used some kind of pulley system to raise and lower a platform,” Kellan mumbled.
“Wha!” screamed Kellan whirling, eyes ablaze.
“Peace! I mean you no harm,” said the creature before him, glancing upward as angry clouds formed in an otherwise blue sky.
She stood over six feet tall and wore tan boots, blue jeans, and a loose fitting olive green work shirt through which extended two massive black leathery wings. Her hair framed an angular face with a sharply pointed chin and cascaded down her shoulders in tight dreads. At first Kellan though her to be dark skinned but as he looked more carefully, he saw it was comprised of delicately interlocking scales colored a deep red.
“Uh,” began Kellan, “So, you’re a—“
“Demon,” she said her eyes suddenly blazing with a brilliant red light causing Kellan to jump back in alarm. “Careful, young Sentinel, I wouldn’t want you falling over the edge and cracking your pretty skull on the stone below. It took quite some doing to gain agreement among the council to involve you. After all that work, I’d prefer you not die.” She smiled. “At least not yet.”
“That’s comforting,” said Kellan with a snort, “Now why don’t you stand down and turn off the juice.”
She smirked at him and asked, “Which one of us killed the other’s Prince? You first.”
She has a point thought Kellan and then added to himself, but Asmodeus was a douche. Maybe she’s a douche too. I mean, she is a fracking demon and doesn’t look—
“Sentinel,” the demon said, head cocked as if she could hear his inner monologue. “Did you hear me?”
“Yeah, I heard you, but you look a lot more like Asmodeus, than Lamia and she and I had a pretty rough start.”
The demon laughed, “I imagine we do look differently. Lamia is a seductress. I am a soldier.” She lifted one foot. “See, boots. Soldier.”
Kellan stared at her. “Was that a joke?”
The demon inclined her head slightly and said, “Honestly, Kellan, would we have gone to all this trouble just to try and kill you? The council has great need of your assistance.”
