Keepers of Time

18. Shattering Past

Chapter 18-Shattering Past

Gabriel

We entered the Council Chambers where my father was standing in front of a looking glass.  Elder Montgomery was sitting in his chair along with the other council members. Their voices were in hushed tones as they shuffled papers and books to one another in frenzy.  Calder left my side and joined his father, asking him in a low voice, “Why have you summoned us?”

“We have a mission for you…”

My father’s hand clasped my shoulder, and I turned my attention to him, seeing the sympathy in his eyes.  A tight grimace was set on his mouth as he said, “There’s something you need to see. We just received a message of sorts.”

“A message of sorts? What kind of message?” My voice was underlined with confusion and an edge of hysteria.  Whatever the message was it couldn’t contain good news – not by the way that everyone was acting.  The Elders were speaking of a mission for Calder and most likely for me.  I stopped listening to their conversation when I turned to see my father’s solemn face.  Wherever Calder went, I went. We were a deadly duo and seldom were assigned to a mission without the other.

“We don’t know how this could have happened,” Dad said slowly.  “It’s unusual and we need your full cooperation with this matter.  Marrino will talk to you afterwards, understood?”

I nodded.  His voice was cautious as if he was talking to a small child.  What he was saying caused a quiver of fear to settle in the pit of my stomach.  This was something that would matter to me.  He was warning me to keep my emotions at bay because he knew me.  He knew how I would react.  But what could the matter be that he needed to warn me?

My question was answered when my father turned my attention to the looking glass as an image began to appear on its clear surface.  At first it was foggy like a mist rolling onto the Yorkshire moors.  Then it began to part as the image became clear, merging from gray fog to an amber glow sun setting on the horizon.  I felt my father stiffen besides me as I folded my arms before me.  I couldn’t help but notice that the room had also become deadly silent.  I glanced at Cal from the corner of my eye.  He was watching me closely as if I was some sort of freakishly new speciman that had been discovered.

I gulped, feeling the uneasiness of the situation sink deeper into my very core.  The image zoomed closer to a single car on the highway; it’s main focus.  There were other cars on the opposite end driving pass in normal speed.  My thoughts were in disarray as I questioned the Council’s motives for showing me a fragment of time.  It was forbidden for a Keeper who wasn’t of age to have a look at a different time; only the present was permissible to observe.  The reason for this law was because the past or future was a delicate matter that should be dealt with care.  If a time traveler went back to the past and changed an event – that event would have consequences.  For every action there was an equal and opposite reaction.  The same rule applied to the future. 

A person could upset the very fabric of time when they changed the past.  It was a concept we had been taught for years since we began our training; always treading with caution – it was dangerous ground.    

There had to be a reasonable motive for it to be acceptable now – in this very moment.   

When the image settled on the focal point – the person – I sucked in a sharp breath in surprise at seeing her paralyzed my body.  I moved closer to the looking glass and reached my hand to trace the side of her beautiful sun-kissed face.  It had been six years since I last saw her the day of my fourteenth birthday – the night I left her.