Time's Tragedies- The Books Of Beginning [2]

68. Complete

Lili's knees buckled immediately after her body moved from present to past, her vision blurring as she crumpled like a rag doll. A pair of steady arms grabbed her, and Lili found her father's face swimming in front of her, looking down at her with concern. She smiled weakly up at him, though she didn't really feel like smiling at the moment. Still, she wanted to let him know that she wasn't harmed, merely burnt out from having to skip over a century in the blink of an eye. 

"You made good time this go 'round," Jake was telling Eternity, while Rafe picked Lili up to settle her in on the couch, "it only took you a minute and twenty one seconds to come back, from our perspective, of course."

"Jake, give her space," Abby urged the boy with a roll of her eyes, pulling her older brother away so he wasn't practically hanging onto Eternity's arm and jammering at her with his scientific excitement. 

"It's fine," Eternity said casually, "what's important is, we got the last piece. We can complete the scroll, preferably sooner rather than later."

Rafe smiled, "you were so brave, and did so good, both of you. I'm incredibly proud, and once Lili has rested and recovered her magic, we'll put the scroll's final pieces together and that hard work will pay off when we finally get some answers."

A sort of triumph filled the room. This felt like a turning point, like a switch in the balance of powers in the conflict with Robert Lloyd, because now they had greater sources of knowledge than him, sources that would hopefully help expose his weaknesses and the way to heal whatever sinister curse had kept Kate comatose for over a month now. It was heavy, and filled with relief, and tears of joy just waiting for their cue to be shed. 

"Here," Eternity pulled the worn scrap of ancient parchment from her pockets, "take this. My clothes are soaked from the snow, and I'd rather not lose the ancient scroll we literally traveled through time for while going to change."

Rafe chuckled, "go find dry clothes, Eternity. This is safe with me."

"While you do that, I'm gonna go find something fun to make for dessert tonight! A victory like this calls for a little bit of celebration," Jake announced. 

"Plus you've got a massive sweet tooth," Eternity chuckled, causing the boy to blush slightly, because it wasn't wrong. Jake definitely liked the sweet things in life, that was for sure. 

He dashed off to the kitchen, and Rafe went to place the final piece of the scroll in the safe which he had acquired from Michael shortly after they stole it from Robert in the first place, where it would remain until later. Abby, meanwhile, curled up on the couch alongside her absolutely worn down and limp older sister, snuggling into the blonde's side, sharing her warmth with the teenager. Lili's eyelids drooped shut, her insomniac tendencies inherited from both of her parents unable to combat the fatigue claiming her body. 

Eternity, meanwhile, made her way to her bedroom and stripped off her shoes, her damp dress, coat, and hat, letting her vibrant curls spring free before pulling on a pair of pink and purple checkered fuzzy pajama pants and a baggy gray t-shirt. Then she collapsed onto her bed with a heavy sigh as she sunk into the squishiness of the mattress. Yes, she thought, she was certainly lucky to be a product of this time period, that was for sure. 

Lili would likely be out for some time, Eternity knew, with how much energy had been flowing off of her, burning up in waves like the layers of a star, potent enough for Eternity to feel electric as the magic brushed against her. She curled into herself, so she was laying on her side. Lili's magic really was something else, and Lili herself, well, she was beyond comprehension, sometimes. Eternity didn't mind that, though. She had never been particularly scholarly, anyways, and she'd take the wild unpredictableness of her best friends' ever changing power over an ordinary life every time.