The Calling of Time

End Times

I didn’t actually end up puking or fainting, which was surprising to all of us. When I finally gathered my wits, it was to see Manda swinging the necklace in clockwise circles above Horace’s body. Jai limped over to me and slowly gathered me into his arms. After a quick examination of his neck, I relaxed into him, letting him take the weight off my broken leg. The black line on his skin was gone. Maybe it had died with Thanatos.

We watched Manda continue her ritual with the stone, and Jai said quietly. “You’re sure? We won’t be able to separate your memories.” He hesitated, looking down at me. “Horace will have them. He’ll be like a weird extension of you after this. I mean, he’ll have all your knowledge...”

“But he’ll be alive,” I said firmly. “That’s what matters.”

He looked down at me, studying my face. “The old you never would have done that, you know?”

“Screw the old me.”

Jai looked like he was fighting a smile. “Screw all the old rules?”

“Yes.” I nodded. “I want Horace and Manda to be together again. I want them to be happy. And I want…” I stopped short, feeling my cheeks grow hot. What the heck had I been about to say?

I want us to be together.

“Screw the rules,” Jai murmured, and suddenly his mouth was on mine. I could feel his hands on the small of my back, pressing me against him, crushing our bodies together like he was afraid I’d slip away somehow. He kissed me fiercely, as if his desire had been pent up for years. When we pulled apart, both flushed and dishevelled, it occurred to me that it probably had been.

Maybe my adrenaline was kicking in, or the rush of endorphins from the kiss. I was still dizzy and my leg still felt like it was being jabbed with splintered glass, but I wasn’t going to be sick anymore. And I felt…powerful.

Manda stood up suddenly. She stared at the stone in her palm for a moment before curling her fingers around it tightly. “Okay, lets go.” She started for the Kronos clock without a backwards look, and I couldn’t help looking over my shoulder at Horace’s body as we followed her.

“What happens now?” I whispered to Jai as we limped forward. “How do we get him a new body?”

He stooped to pick up the hourglass on the way, examining the tiny amount of sand still left in the upper glass. “There are other realms with other gods. We know one who will help us.”

Other realms. Other Gods.

I tried to force down the fear. Jai reached out and took my hand, squeezing it tightly. “You’ll have me and Manda, and soon we’ll have Horace. We’ll get him a new body right away, and fix your leg. We know what we’re doing.”

Manda stooped down and picked up the clock, holding it out towards me. “Touch it,” she said. Her eyes met mine, and her expression softened. “Kali…” she seemed  to run out of words, so I just shook my head.

“It’s okay.” My hand hovered over the clock. “Just…touch it?”

Jai nodded, and then he glanced down as the last of the sand trickled out of the top of the hourglass. “Better do it now.”
I took a deep breath, suppressed my terror, and let the tip of my finger rest on the Kronos clock.

There was nothing at first, and I had the terrible notion that it wasn’t going to work at all. But then the room around us seemed to shift and grow out of focus. Manda and Jai grew sharper, the lines on their faces were more clear, the colors of their clothing became vibrant. The blood on Manda’s cheek stood out in sharp relief. I could hear noise around me, footsteps on the marble floor. Soldier’s voices yelling. Then it all faded away into silence. Only the sound of the clock continued.