It took me a couple seconds to process this, and I was left mutely shaking my head, denial making me speechless. “That can’t be…why would she…why would I…”
Jai shrugged. “You said it would interfere with the guardian’s duty. It’s always been that way. That’s the way it has to be. Horace and Manda didn’t exactly break the rules, but they were indulging in feelings, and it’s part of what made them sloppy as well. I think Horace thinks it’s his fault. He pursued Manda for awhile, back when everything was good. It was their secret, and it distracted them. Without all three of us on our finest…at our best at all times…” he slumped in his chair. “Well…you know what happened…”
“That can’t be it though,” I stammered. “I mean…he can’t blame himself for what happened. I’ll tell him…”
“No,” Jai darted a look over at the sleeping Horace, his voice a sharp whisper. “Please don’t. Don’t say anything to him. He’d be angry with me.”
I nodded reluctantly. “I think those are stupid rules. I’m sorry she…I…made them. Can’t I revoke them? I can change my mind, right?”
“When you get your memories back you may feel differently.” Jai steepled his fingers together, sighing. He gave me a long look and his intense gaze made me fidget in the wooden chair.“This isn’t going to be easy, Kali, we won’t be just walking in and grabbing the Kronos portal. This might get messy.”
“I know.” My voice dropped to a whisper, and on the table top my fingers curled into fists. “Jai? I’m scared…I mean, really terrified. What if the guards know it’s me? Or what if the instruments don’t come at all?”
“They’ll come.” He smiled. “Don’t worry, you’ve tested them many times. I can remember once, years ago, you experimented by casting them into the sea of eternity. We thought they were gone, but a week later they were back again, didn’t even rust or smell of salt.”
“What’s the sea of eternity?” I was pretty sure I’d never heard of it before. “I’m guessing it’s not one you can go swimming in.”
“You wouldn’t want to.” Jai grimaced. “It’s beautiful, but deadly. Things go missing in the deep waters, usually forever.”
I shivered, thinking it all sounded terrifying. And we were going to storm some kind of castle and fight this demon guy or whatever, just so we could go back there. To a place that sounded every bit as alien and terrifying as the soul suckers. I wasn’t sure if it would be an improvement.
Jai hesitated, and then to my surprise he reached across the table and placed his hands over mine. His hands were big, covering both of mine completely, and his touch was warm. It gave me a pleasant shiver, sitting there with his fingers locked around mine. I found myself staring into his dark eyes and wondering if Lady Time had forbid herself from relationships with her guardians. It seemed likely.
Apparently I’d been a killjoy.
“Tomorrow,” he whispered, “will be fine. I’ll be there with you. I’ll make sure you’re okay.” He smiled, and it made his eyes crinkle at the edges. “Besides, a perk to being time personified is that you can’t die.”
I mused this over, grateful that he was still gripping my hands. “But what about you? Can guardians die?”
“Yes, but we won’t. It will all be fine.”
I chewed on my lower lip, anxiety rippling through me. “You sound so confident.”
He grinned. “We’ve been doing this for a long time.”
“I keep forgetting that. I keep forgetting that you remember, even if I don’t.”
His grin faded a little. “We’ll get your memories back, don’t worry.”
YOU ARE READING
The Calling of Time
FantasyKali's life is in ruins, and she has no one left to turn to. But her family isn't dead....it's much worse than that. The world isn't the way it used to be. Buildings crumble, cars sit under layers of dust and the only people that walk the streets a...
