Alexander nodded. “Yes. Our Celine opened a portal for them.”
Celine sighed. They had come to the correct time band, but missed them by less than a full day. They would need to discuss a plan to get to them somehow. “Thank you, Alexander. We should leave.” Celine stood from the couch.
“Just a moment,” Marcus interjected. “You said events here were quite different. What was Celine’s situation that Michael and Damien set out to correct?”
Alexander paused, glancing between the two of them. “They were quite disturbed to learn that you were not married to Grayson, and instead…” he paused. “You were married to Duke Northcott.”
“And did they succeed in ‘correcting’ the matter?” Marcus pressed. Celine shot him a glance.
“Well, yes. I just put you… our Celine on a ship bound for America with Grayson.”
Marcus closed his eyes for a moment. “I see. Well, I suppose we should depart as Celine suggested.”
“Yes, thank you. You’ve been a great help,” Celine assured Alexander.
Alexander stood. “There is no need to leave. If you require any assistance, please stay.”
Celine understood his impulse. She smiled at him. “No, we must find Damien and Michael, but thank you.”
“Are you sure? You’re sure you’re safe?”
“Yes, I’m sure. I am safe. But Michael and Damien, wherever they are now, must be alarmed realizing their plan may not have achieved what they intended. We must find them and take them home.”
“Good luck, Celine. I hope you find them.”
“Thank you,” Celine answered, squeezing his hands. She stepped away to exit the room with Marcus following her.
“Oh, Celine,” Alexander said before she left. “Say ‘hello’ to my counterpart in your time. I understand we are good friends.”
Celine smiled at him. “I will do that for you.”
They departed from the Buckley residence, making their way down the street. “Your meddling friends have ruined another time band for me, I see,” Marcus complained.
“Oh, stop, Marcus,” Celine groaned. “Complaining is not your style. Focus. We need to figure out how to get to Damien and Michael! If they are in the future here, how can we get to them?”
“It’s not an issue, Celine. We shall simply go forward in time.”
“Simply go forward in time?” Celine questioned, grinding to a halt on the sidewalk.
“Yes, Celine. Have you forgotten I am capable of opening time portals and traveling through them? I shall open a time portal. You will go through it and I will follow. Simple.”
A smile crept over Celine’s face. “That’s right. Your newfound ability can be put to good use this time.”
“I found it a good use the last time I exercised the ability.”
Celine rolled her eyes. “Stop making jokes. Come on, let’s get on with this.”
“I wasn’t joking,” Marcus assured her. “Do you suppose they traveled to the Buckley estate in our time?”
“Yes,” Celine answered. “They most likely assumed once they ‘fixed’ the past, everything would return to normal in the future. I’ll bet they were distraught once they arrived there. Events were likely quite different due to the aberrations already existing in this time band.”
“How unfortunate for them,” Marcus replied, rolling his eyes while he guided her to a deserted alleyway.
“They must be so scared. We must get there,” Celine urged.
“Yes, Celine, we will get there. Just a moment,” Marcus tempered. “Are you always this impatient?”
“I’m afraid so,” Celine confessed. “Lucky you missed out on it, huh? Now enough small talk, let’s go.”
“All right, all right,” Marcus answered. “When it opens, go through, do not wait for me.” Celine nodded. Marcus stretched his arms out in front of him, closing his eyes. Celine waited for the characteristic sparkle to appear in front of her. The wind picked up, and the sparkle turned to a small black hole. The hole grew in size until it was large enough for her to step through. She wasted no time in entering the portal, taking a few steps until she stepped into a recognizable spot.
She glanced behind her. The portal remained open. Within moments, Marcus stepped through and the portal snapped shut behind him. “Okay, let’s go to the house,” Celine insisted, beginning to walk toward the path.
“Aren’t you going to tell me how happy you are to see me?” Marcus questioned.
“Don’t push your luck. Come on.” They traipsed through the woods toward the house. As the house came into view, Celine commented, “Perhaps we shouldn’t use the front entrance. Even at this hour, we may run into someone.”
“A wise idea,” Marcus responded. “I have no desire to run into any more Buckleys on this trip. It’s enough to anticipate dealing with them when we return.”
They approached the house, easing open a side door. Celine peeked inside. “Coast is clear, come on!” she whispered. They hurried down the hall to a back stairway. “If I know me, I put them in the same rooms they have in our time band.”
Celine led them through the halls to the rooms she guessed were Michael’s and Damien’s. She approached Damien’s door. Celine turned the handle inch by inch, easing the door open. She peered into the darkness. A figure lay in bed. She crossed her fingers, hoping it was Damien.
Tiptoeing into the room, she peered closer at the figure in the bed. A grin came over her face. Damien lay asleep on his side. She glanced to Marcus, nodding her head as he slid the door shut.
“D,” Celine whispered, reaching out to touch his shoulder. “D, wake up!”
Celine shook him again. “Huh, what?” Damien asked, sleep still in his voice. He opened his eyes, blinking a few times in the darkness.
“D, it’s me,” Celine whispered. She flipped on the light on the night table, perching on the edge of the bed. Marcus approached from across the room.
Damien blinked against the light, covering his eyes for a moment. “Wow, that light is bright.” After a moment, he lowered his arm. His eyes grew wide, and he leaned away from Celine, climbing out of bed and backing away. “No. No! It can’t be. Celine, no!” he shouted.
“D, wait,” Celine said, springing to her feet. “Just a second.”
Michael burst through the bathroom door moments later. “Damien, what’s going on?” He glanced at the two new people in the room. “Oh, no. Wait, this can’t be. How is this happening? Are things just randomly getting worse?”
“Michael!” Celine exclaimed. “Now, wait just a minute, both of you. You’re jumping to the wrong conclusion. I can explain.”
Damien stared at Celine, cocking his head. “Wait,” he said. He glanced to Michael then back to Celine. “Wait, your accent. It’s gone.”
Celine nodded. “Yes. D, it’s me! It’s the real Celine from your time.”
“Huh?” Michael queried. “Why are you dressed like that?”
“You are not in your own time. You’re in an alternate time band,” Marcus explained. “The pulse wave that struck you sent you to an alternate world. We followed you to it but arrived where you did in the 1800s.”
Damien and Michael shared a glance, unsure whether or not to believe Marcus. “He’s telling the truth,” Celine replied. “You’re in a place called Alterra. We’ve come to take you home.”
“We? What kind of world are we going back to?” Damien cried.
“Yeah, this one was bad enough, but you and him working together seems way worse,” Michael agreed.
Marcus rolled his eyes. Celine informed them, “The one you are used to. Your bodies are still there. But they are dying. We came to retrieve you. We must take you back across the in-between to our world to revive you. To save you.”
Michael approached Damien, standing next to him. “Yeah, I’m not buying it,” he said. “A world where you’re working with him? Why?”
“Your family always exhibits such deep depths of gratitude, Celine,” Marcus commented.
Celine shot him a glance. “Marcus was the only one I knew who had experience traveling to Alterra. I asked him for help.”
“You asked HIM for help?” Damien questioned; his voice incredulous.
“You are dying, D. Millie can’t help you. No one can help. Marcus was the only one who could help me save you.” Damien eyed them, suspicion filling him. “It’s me, D. Ask me anything!”
“How did we meet?” Michael fired at her.
“I ran into you when I was Josie at a coffee shop, The Burnt Bean, on Third Street. Right down from your office. I literally ran into you, spilled my coffee all over you. You told me I could make it up to you by going to dinner with you.”
Michael and Damien glanced at each other. “When did you marry Gray?” Damien inquired.
“1789,” Celine answered.
“What’s your mom’s name? Your adopted mom, my aunt?” Damien questioned.
“Monica,” Celine responded.
Damien glanced to Michael, nodding his head. “It’s her.”
Celine breathed a sigh of relief. Now they could begin the journey home. The nightmare was coming to a close. Soon, Damien would be safe back in their world. She opened her mouth to speak, but a knock sounded at the door. “Damien?” a familiar voice with a British accent called through the door. “May I come in?”
“Shoot!” Damien exclaimed. “It’s the other Celine! Should she see you?”
“Probably not,” Marcus admitted.
“She definitely shouldn’t see him,” Michael added, pointing to Marcus.
“Ah,” Damien glanced around before suggesting, “hide in the bathroom, I guess?”
“Okay,” Celine answered, retreating with Marcus to the bathroom and pulling the door almost closed. She left a slit open to peer through.
Present Day, Bucksville, Original Timeline
Gray paced the floor, glancing at Celine’s limp form in the chair. Her hand clutched Marcus’ hand. Alexander sat in the armchair across the room. Millie flitted in and out, checking vital signs on everyone in Alterra.
“Any change?” Gray inquired as she did her latest check of Damien’s vitals.
“None. Which is a good thing. They are no worse.”
“I hope Celine finds him in time,” Gray commented. “She will never forgive herself if he dies.”
In an instant, the monitors in the room indicated abnormal activity. Gray stopped pacing, staring at them then Millie. “What is it? What’s happening?”
“A stimulus, it seems,” Millie replied. “Breathing, heart rate, brain activity are all elevated. I’ll confirm it with Michael.” She disappeared from the room, when she returned, Gray hovered over Celine. “Michael is the same. What are you doing, Gray?”
Gray held the red vial in his hand. “Something is wrong.”
“Wait, cousin,” Alexander answered, standing and approaching Gray. “Look, Northcott is experiencing the same.”
Millie checked both Celine and Marcus. “They are exhibiting similar symptoms to Damien and Michael,” she announced. “Elevated heart rate and breathing.”
“Perhaps they’ve found one another,” Alexander suggested.
“I hope so,” Gray responded. “I cannot wait for this to be over.”
Chapter 26
Present day, Bucksville, Alterra
“Curious?” Marcus inquired.
“A little,” she answered, shrugging.
“Come in!” Damien called.
Celine peered through the crack in the door as a figure entered the room. She recognized herself, although it was bizarre to see herself in the third person. “Is everything all right?” the other Celine asked. “I heard shouting.”
Damien nodded. “Yep,” he answered, his voice an octave higher than normal. “Just fine. Just a bad dream. Really bad dream, terrible, the kind that you wake up screaming from. Well, you know that because you heard it, so, we’re all good here. Everything is all good.”
“Wow,” Celine whispered to Marcus. “Good thing she doesn’t know him better. She’d be able to tell he was lying in a heartbeat.”
“He is rather bad at it, isn’t he?” Marcus commented.
Celine glanced at him. “Some people have trouble being evil and dishonest,” she noted.
He made a face at her and they returned their attention to the events in the bedroom.
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. No doubt what you’ve been through has been traumatic. It isn’t any wonder that you’d have nightmares.”
“Everything all right in here?” Gray asked, entering the room. Marcus grumbled, hidden behind the door. Celine rolled her eyes at him.
“Damien had a nightmare,” Celine informed him.
“I’m okay now. Michael and I were just chatting for a few minutes before I went back to sleep.”
Celine smiled at him. “Good night, then. I hope you sleep well.”
“Thanks, good night.”
They all said their goodnights and Celine and Gray left the room. Celine burst from the bathroom, glancing around to ensure the coast was clear. “Okay,” she said. “Let’s get going. We don’t have any time to waste!”
Celine reached for Damien’s hand, but he pulled back. “Wait, wait,” he protested.
“What?” she questioned.
“I feel bad. Like we should leave a note or something for this Celine.”
“All right,” Celine agreed, “but hurry.”
Damien grabbed a piece of paper from the side table in the room and a pen. He spoke aloud as he wrote. “Dear Celine,” he said as he scrawled it on the paper. He stopped dead. “Wait, now what? Do I just say ‘turns out we aren’t from this time band, we went home?’”
“Put ‘We learned we’re from another time band and the electric pulse sent us here by accident. We’re returning home tonight. Sorry we didn’t get to say goodbye, we’ll never forget you.’ Then sign our names.”
“Oh, yeah, that’s good.” Damien scrawled it on the paper then signed their names, leaving the note on his pillow. “Okay, that should do it. Okay, ready. Now what?”
Celine stared at Marcus. “We must find an exit location. There should be one near, they exist everywhere. Come along, we should try the cave near the beach.”
“Okay,” Celine answered. She grabbed Damien’s hand, pulling him along.
“Wait, wait, wait,” Damien protested.
“Now what?” Celine queried.
“Just… follow him?” he questioned, motioning toward Marcus.
“Yes, follow him. Do what he says. He’s the only one who knows how to do this.”
Damien frowned, but acquiesced. “Okay,” he mumbled, a hint of uncertainty in his voice.
Marcus rolled his eyes. “We could always leave you here,” he suggested.
“No one is leaving anyone here,” Celine retorted.
“Yeah, just because we don’t like you doesn’t mean we don’t want to go home. This is just a new sensation for us. You know, trusting you with anything,” Damien protested.
Marcus rolled his eyes. “It is little wonder why I abhor doing good. I receive nothing but grief for it.”
“Oh, Marcus,” Celine sighed, shaking her head. “You’ll survive. Now let’s go.”
Together, they crept through the halls and out of the house. They navigated to the beach cave. As they entered, Celine asked, “What are we looking for?”
“An etching, small and subtle. Something like this,” he answered, drawing in the sand with a stick.
“And you’re sure it’s here?” Michael asked, studying the walls.
“No, I’m not certain it’s here. I have never been to this Alterra. How would I know where one is? I suggested this spot since they tend to be near natural structures like this.”
“Let’s just spread out and search,” Celine suggested. After thirty minutes they came up empty.
“It’s not here, now what?” Michael demanded of Marcus.
“We search somewhere else.”
<
br /> “And what if it’s not there either?” Michael questioned. “Perhaps we continue to try sites until our bodies wither away in the real world?”
“I could kill you here first. It would be much faster,” Marcus suggested.
“Probably your plan all along!” Damien exclaimed. “You’re really something, you know!”
“Will you all please stop bickering? No one is killing anyone anywhere in any world. We will find the exit portal location. Let’s just move to another location as quickly as possible,” Celine suggested. “Perhaps the cave that leads to the beach.”
“Fine,” Marcus and Michael agreed simultaneously.
“I don’t trust him,” Damien confided to Celine as they walked to the other cave.
“I know, D. I get it, but we don’t have much choice. Marcus is the only one who had any knowledge of Alterra and how to move between the worlds.”
“I don’t like this at all,” Damien added.
“I wasn’t thrilled with asking for his help either, but I couldn’t let you die. There was no way either of you would have found your way back alone. We had no choice.”
“I can’t believe Gray agreed to this,” Damien said.
“He’s no happier than you or Michael. But, again, we had little choice.”
They arrived at the cave leading to the beach, ending their conversation. After a thorough search of it, they found nothing. Discouragement filled Celine. She plopped on a large rock as they exited the cave to the beach. “Now what?” Michael asked.
“Wait,” Celine answered, narrowing her eyes as her hand rubbed the cold, wet stone’s side. “In our world, there is an etching on the large rock just up the beach. Perhaps that is it!”
“Worth a look,” Damien agreed.
They traveled up the beach toward the large stone. Celine circled it before she found what she sought. “There!” she called, pointing. “That’s it, right?”
“Indeed. Of course, it would be here,” Marcus grumbled. The etched stone lay at the spot from which Celine returned him to the underworld, following her retrieval of his book.
“Let’s dwell on the unfortunate placement another time, Marcus. How do we exit this world?”
Gone: A Shadow Slayers Story (Shadow Slayers Stories Book 3) Page 31
