My hand flew out over and over. I didn’t notice the blood on my knuckles as I punched, kicked, and bounced around until the room spun around me at a dizzying speed.
“Sage!” I stopped mid-punch and wiped the sweat out of my eyes and found Soren standing in front of me, holding bags, his eyes betraying his concern. When my body finally caught up with the speed and momentum in which I’d pushed myself, I swayed on my feet. I touched the punching bag only to find it smeared with blood. Stuffing littered the floor at my feet. I sat down roughly on the floor and Soren was next to me in a blink. “Come on. Let’s get you in the shower.” I could barely stand on my wobbling legs. Soren started the shower and helped me out of my clothes. I had no shame. I was too drained to care that I was being treated like an invalid. Once he was sure I could stand by myself under the shower head, he left me alone with instructions to call for him if I needed him. As the door closed behind him, I slid to the floor and cried until I couldn’t cry any more. A while later, I pulled myself up and finished washing my hair and body. I exited the shower and wrapped myself in a big fluffy towel.
I shuffled into the large, main room and Soren walked over to me. I noticed he had cleaned up the mess I’d made. “I’m really sorry about the punching bag,” I said sheepishly.
“I don’t care about that, Sage. I only care about you.” He handed me a bag of clothing, a clean t-shirt, and some small women’s pajama bottoms. I smiled at his thoughtfulness and went to change. When I came back out, I braced myself for a serious talk with Soren. I sat down at the bar and took out my cold tacos and began eating them.
“I know you think you were brought here to save your parents, Sage. If I was in your shoes, I’d probably think the same thing.”
“Soren, I have to save them. What else can it be? What are the odds I’d warp back to the single most horrible day in my life? Is it some sort of sick joke then?” My stomach revolted, and I sat the taco I’d taken a bite of back down.
“I don’t know, Sage, but I do know that you have to think about this very carefully. If you do this, what will the consequences be to your future?”
“I’d have my parents alive. That’s what the consequences would be, Soren!” I shouted, unable to stop myself. I was shaking from the force of my words, shaking with the need to convince Soren, to convince myself, that I was right. I had to be right.
“Yes, you’d have your parents, Sage. But at what cost? Do you think you’d have become a warper if you hadn’t endured the hardship of losing your parents? Do you think you would have warped back to 1904 to save the future if you had your parents? Think of all those lives saved—all of those years and years of lives saved because you are who you are, because of the hardships and trials that shaped you into the woman you became.”
A tear rolled down my cheek as I listened to what Soren had to say. I knew what he said made sense, and I knew he might have even been right, but I didn’t want to believe it. I wanted to hold on to the hope that I had warped there to save my parents. “It isn’t right, Soren. It hurts too much to be here.” I sniffled and raised my eyes to meet his.
“I know. I’m glad I’m here with you. We’ll figure this out. Let’s go to bed, Sage. Tomorrow comes very quickly for an old Vampire like me.” My lips turned up slightly, and I let him pull me off the stool to lead me to the bed.
I slipped out of bed early and took another hot shower. I stood in front of the mirror, staring at my reflection and trying to gain the composure I needed to face the day that lay ahead of me. I dressed in the stonewashed blue jeans and navy blue v-neck tee shirt Soren had purchased for me the night before, and I loosely French-braided my hair. By the time I came out of the bathroom, Soren was up and dressed. He looked about as cheerful as I felt.
“Are you sure you’re going to be okay today, Soren?” His face looked paler than normal and there were dark circles underneath his eyes. I wasn’t sure of his limitations as a vampire. I knew he could go out during the day, and he could go without blood and sleep longer than most vampires because of his age, but I wasn’t sure exactly how far he could push himself. We needed to discuss that one day soon.
“I’ll be fine. We need to worry about what is going to happen today. Do you have a plan?” His gaze burned into my heart, and I knew right then I’d have to lie to him and worry about his wrath later.
“I want to scope out the park today. There is a Fourth of July celebration there every year and my family had, umm has a picnic there today.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea? Do we even know what would or could happen if you meet your parents or the younger version of yourself today? There could be consequences. Bad consequences.” He murmured the last few words, but I heard the uncertainty. I felt the same uncertainty myself, after all.
“I don’t plan on letting them see me.” I chewed on my bottom lip and looked up into Soren’s discerning eyes. “I just want to catch a glimpse of them. I don’t have to get too close. Just see them one last time,” I whispered. Soren walked over to me and wrapped his reassuring arms around me and enveloped me in his warm, strong arms.
“Oh, Sage,” he whispered gruffly into my hair. “Babe, I’m so sorry you have to go through this. I wish I had never touched you in the park. Maybe if I hadn’t been near you, our power wouldn’t have spiked and you wouldn’t have to be tortured like this.” His voice came out husky and fierce. He blamed himself for the little trip we took the day before. Silly vampire.
“Soren, none of this is your fault. It was meant to be, and we’re meant to do something or see something today—together. There’s no other explanation.” I could feel a little strain and guilt leak out of his body as I wrapped myself further into his embrace. No matter what the day would bring, I was glad Soren was there with me to deal with it all.
We left as little evidence of ourselves being in the apartment as possible. I wasn’t sure we would be back. I wasn’t even sure how long we’d be in 1991. When I’d warped to 1904, I ended up staying there for over six weeks. But everything about this time warp was different, and the rules I had come to expect didn’t count this time around. Anything could happen. We exited the apartment building at 8:00AM with no other plan than to scout out the park and surrounding areas before it began to fill up with people going on their Fourth of July picnic with their families. Before my family got there. I set my jaw and concentrated on trying to remember every single detail I could of the day my parents had died before we made it to our destination.
Two hours later, I sat in a diner that faced the park. People were starting to show up to find a good picnic spot for the holiday, and I was starting to feel very twitchy inside. We didn’t find anything unusual, and we still had no idea what we had been brought there for. The only thing it could have been was to prevent my parents’ deaths. It had to be. I sat there with only half of my sandwich eaten, waiting for Soren to get done with his lunch probably somewhere close by. I didn’t think too hard about that. I didn’t have any available space inside me just then. I was lost in my own thoughts and memories when Soren slid into the booth in front of me.
“So, I was thinking we’d just kind of scout out the park for now. I know my parents will be there soon, so we’ll stay out of sight mostly. I’m pretty sure they would never recognize me anyway, so it should be pretty safe. We have until later tonight after the fireworks to figure out what is going on. That’s when…” I trailed off, unable to finish the sentence. Only hours…that’s how long I had to figure out how I was going to save my parents. Soren’s hand covered mine.
“We’ll do this together. It will be okay. We’ll make it okay.” His words brooked no argument, and I found myself a little more hopeful just because of the strength and conviction in his voice. We left the restaurant hand in hand and made our way across the street into the park that I loved so much, where all my sweetest memories had been made and where I would be able to see my parents’ faces at least one more time. My hand involuntarily clenched around Soren’s as we
entered the gates to the park. I could hear people talking and laughing all around us. Our mojo must have been cranking on full blast because I was bombarded with so many sounds that I flinched at the wave of noise that assaulted my eardrums.
“Is this what it’s like for you all the time? So much noise to filter through?” I gritted out. I looked up at Soren and noticed small beads of sweat dotting his forehead and his jaw clenched in determination. Oh crap. “Soren, did you feed?” His sunglass-covered eyes met mine.
“Yes. But this kind of heat at this time of day saps a lot of my strength away very quickly. Don’t worry, though. I have hours left. I may have to feed more often though just to be of any use to you.” He looked away quickly. I could tell his weaknesses embarrassed him, but before I could form a reply, he was pulling me along the perimeter of the park and leading me underneath a large tree.
“Soren…what the…?” He pulled me forward until I was leaning into him with his back up against the trunk of the tree. He wrapped his arms around my waist and buried his face into the sensitive skin at my neck. Despite my bewilderment I sucked in a breath at the contact.
“There are at least two vampires in the area.” His breath caressed my earlobe and a fine tremor vibrated throughout my body. I felt a chuckle rumble through Soren’s chest. “No time for that right now, little warper.” His words registered, and I stiffened in his arms. Vampires were there and that couldn’t have been a coincidence. “We’ll spread out. I’ll stay close to the shadows as much as possible. You steer clear of your parents if possible. You have your dagger?” I nodded. Soren kissed me gently on the tip of my nose, and I watched as he moved quickly out of my sight. He was lightning fast, and even out of his usual comfort zone, he was a vision to behold.
I started walking briskly to the place I had planned to visit even as I was abusing Soren’s punching bag the night before. The last place I remembered seeing my parents alive. My heart rate accelerated when I recognized the pathway near the small pond that we had at one time fed ducks together. Our little picnicking spot wasn’t too much further away. My ears began to buzz, and I could feel my powers beginning to surface as a result of the realization that I might be able to see the faces of my parents once again. What would I tell them? Would they think I was crazy for trying to tell them not to drive home? Should I tell them they would die if they didn’t listen to me? I stopped abruptly and had to bend over to catch my breath and wipe my clammy hands on my jeans. I took two long, slow, steadying breaths before I felt calm enough to stand upright once again.
“Are you okay?” The small voice came from a few feet away, and I froze in place. I don’t know how, except for instincts, but I knew that when I looked up I’d be looking into the eyes of a younger version of myself—a younger, much more innocent version of myself. I sent up a small prayer that I wouldn’t somehow screw up the entire world by speaking to myself before I slowly straightened and glanced up. I found my own large brown eyes looking intently back at me. The eyes were the same, but they hadn’t yet known sorrow or the pain that I knew was lurking just around the corner. “You okay, pretty lady? You’re not going to throw up are you?” My mini-me scrunched up her little nose at the thought.
“I’m okay.” I breathed. “And you are much prettier than I am. I love your hair bow,” I said with small smile. Five-year-old Sage smiled a huge toothy grin and twirled around to show off her lovely new matching dress and sandals. I smiled and felt a tiny weight lift from my heart. I had been so very happy back then.
“Oh, no! My sandal came undone.” A lip pooched out and promptly began to quiver. I walked over and knelt down in front of her.
‘Don’t worry. I’ll fix it up for you. No need to be sad.” I smiled up into her tear-brimmed brown eyes and then back down at her sandal as I fixed the offending strap. “See? Didn’t take long at all, and now you’re all ready to go.” She squealed and jumped up and down, happy that her new shoes hadn’t been ruined. “Now why don’t you go and find your mommy and daddy? You shouldn’t be wandering off alone when so many people are around the park today.” I wanted to hug her and shield her from the sadness and loneliness that I knew would be in her future if I didn’t do the job I’d set out to do that morning.
“Sage?” I froze where I was. My back was to the woman who was calling for her little girl. I clutched my chest, aware that my heart was about to be ripped from it. The little girl looked at me, probably about to ask me if I was all right again before I could find the breath to whisper “go” to her. She shrugged and skipped away from me, still kneeling on the ground.
“Look, Mommy. The nice lady fixed my shoe! I don’t think she feels well, though.”
“She did? Well, that was awfully nice of her. But, I remember telling you not to go off where I couldn’t see you.” I heard Sage giggle as she was no doubt tickled for such a horrible trespass. A moment later, a shadow fell over me. “Young lady, are you okay?” Never in my life had I been so scared. I was torn between the need to run as far away as possible and the need to turn around and launch myself into the arms of a woman who had her five-year-old daughter skipping around by her side. I heard her suck in a shocked breath, and I was on my feet and swinging around quicker than lightening with my dagger unsheathed, afraid the vampires had come up upon us while I was in the middle of my personal crisis.
But all that met my gaze was my mother’s beautiful face, her eyes wide in shock and awe, taking in every inch of me. If she noticed the dagger in my hand she didn’t act like it. She paid no attention to the wild look of panic in my eyes or the yelp of concern from my younger self. She just stood there with the same look of astonishment on her face. I glanced around and swallowed self-consciously. I quickly put the dagger back in my boot before someone else happened by and saw a crazy woman waving a knife around.
“I’m sorry if I startled you or your little girl,” I said quietly.
“Turn around.” She said it so softly I wasn’t sure I heard her correctly.
“Excuse me?”
“I said turn around. Please.” She said it a little louder this time, but her voice quavered ever so slightly. I turned around slowly, not understanding, but willing to do whatever she asked as long as I could talk with her just a little longer. “It can’t be.” She whispered closer to me. Her fingers brushed the hairs that had escaped my braid away from my mark and then she ran her fingers lightly over it. “It’s impossible,” she breathed. She touched my shoulder and pulled me around gently to face her. Her eyes searched mine and despite my best efforts, a tear escaped and trickled down my cheek. “Och, child, what has happened?” A fresh memory of her Scottish brogue thickening when she was upset or emotional hit me full force, and I had to swallow a sob.
“I’m not sure I should say or that you would even want to know. I don’t know what rules apply to this situation.” I sniffled. She searched my eyes again, full of concern and love, and my heart swelled with emotions and pains I had long ago locked away. I don’t know what see saw there. Maybe she could sense a little piece of my soul. Maybe she somehow knew what could have caused the pain and determination there. Maybe it was a little bit of all that mixed in with a mother’s sixth sense about things. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly for a moment and then nodded her head as she opened her eyes once again. Her eyes were brimming in unshed tears, and I saw an understanding there I couldn’t fathom.
“I understand. Don’t worry, you don’t need to say it, lass.” She removed a large hammered silver cuff bracelet from her wrist and took my arm in hers. She clasped the bracelet around my wrist and held my hand in hers, like we were going to clasp arms. Then while she held my gaze, she gently turned her arm over. She looked down at our arms and I followed her gaze to see her wrist now, bare and facing up. There, on the inside of her wrist, where her cuff bracelet had been, was an intricate white tattoo. The mark of Amerach.
My eyes flew wide and I shook my head. It was too much to take in. My mother had been a warper?
“Mommy? I’m hungry.” I glanced down at my younger self. I’d forgotten she was even there. I wanted to grab her and hug her and tell her no matter what that she, that we, would be okay.
“You don’t understand. You can’t know what is about to happen. I have to stop it. Surely, this is why I was sent here. What else can it be?” I stepped back from my mother’s hand and instantly felt the loss like a slap in the face. I clenched my fist and my hand twitched to grasp the hilt of my sgian dubh. My mother stepped forward and laid a hand on my cheek, and I couldn’t have stopped the tears from spilling out any more than I could have stopped myself from warping through time.
“You’ve been through much in your few years, lass. I’m sorry for that.” She spoke softly and her voice cracked. “I wish I could wipe away all the tears you must have shed alone at night and make you forget all the things you have had to endure by yourself. The good Lord knows I do.” She sniffled and then continued. “But, I can see your strength, your beauty, and your powers shining through all of your sorrows. They have made you who you are and believe me, lass, you are meant to do something great. Don’t ever doubt that.” She sighed and grabbed the small hand that was fidgeting with her the hem of her blouse. “Never, ever doubt that you are loved. Never think you are alone. Never forget who you are and where you come from. Your mom and dad are so very proud of the young woman you’ve become and have counted it a blessing to have been part of your life, no matter how long we have.” Tears were streaming down my face and my mother’s own tears alarmed my younger self.
Relativity (A Sage Hannigan Time Warper Novel #2) Page 7
