The Time Keeper (The Guardians of Time Book 1) (8 page)

He grabbed a pen and scrap of paper off the desk and quickly scrawled his mobile number.  He handed the paper to Rebecca and headed back out of the house, his stride long and slightly hurried.  He was halfway down the steps before Rebecca caught up with him.  She grabbed his arm to stop him and again he had to fight the urge to rip it away from her grasp. 

‘Thank you, Seb… for coming,’ she said with quiet dignity, her eyes shadowed.  He wondered if she’d guessed the reason behind his hasty departure and his face softened. 

‘That’s okay,’ he murmured and eased away from her.  ‘Catch you later.’

As he pulled away, he didn’t glance back at her or the empty lot. 

Chapter 8

On Friday morning, Emilia woke long before the first flicker of dawn light spread across the sky.  Lying in the middle of her bed, she moved her arms and legs up and down, pretending she was forming snow angels in her sheets.  It was juvenile, but she was literally fizzing with pent up energy and she needed an outlet, small though it was.  She was excited and a little apprehensive about her first time travelling adventure.

Yesterday had crawled by excruciatingly slowly and in the end she’d rung Stace, Jess and Maddie and invited them over for an afternoon of DVDs and junk food.  A terrible waste of a gloriously sunny day but the only restful thing she could think of to help the day pass more quickly.

Now she just had to get through the morning.  She bounded out of bed and went for a run, followed by a cardio and weights session at the gym, which helped burn off the excesses of the previous day.  With several hours still to kill, she wrapped an apron around her waist and started baking.  At some point mid-baking frenzy, David came home from work.  He took one look at the mess in the kitchen and wisely retreated to his study.

When Seb arrived the kitchen was spotless again and a batch of raspberry and white chocolate muffins rested on a baking rack cooling, beside a large tray of perfectly shaped passionfruit Melting Moments.

His lips quirked in amusement.  ‘Time dragging?’

She nodded, her cheeks flushing under his knowing gaze.

‘You could have just jumped time forward a little, you know.’  He reached over and brushed a smudge of flour off the end of her nose.  Then he ambled to the bench and helped himself to a still warm muffin.  ‘Then again, far be it for me to get in the way of a woman and a stove.  Man, this is good!’

Emilia’s mouth was hanging inelegantly open.  ‘I never thought of that!  I’m such a moron!’

Seb swallowed down another mouthful of muffin.  ‘Actually, I was just teasing.  While technically you
can
go forward in time as well as back, it’s best not to.’

‘Why?’  She plunked her hands on her hips.

‘Because,’ said David from behind her, ‘we know what the past was like but we have no idea what the future looks like.  You might stumble into something at the wrong moment with no concept of what’s going on and expose yourself for a time traveller, or worse, get yourself hurt or killed.’

‘Or you might end up missing half your life,’ Seb pointed out smugly.  ‘You can’t just skip chunks of your life or before you know it you’ll be old and grey.’

‘That’s hardly going to happen if I just skip a few unnecessary hours!’

‘A few here, a few there… where does it end?’  Seb picked up a Melting Moment and bit into the delectable soft biscuit.  A few crumbs stuck to his bottom lip and his tongue slipped out to collect them.  Emilia swallowed hard as a stab of unexpected attraction pierced her stomach.

Cross with her unwanted reaction, she marched across the kitchen and punched Seb in the arm – hard.

‘Ow!’ he yelped and rubbed the spot she’d hit.  ‘What was that for?’

‘For teasing me when I’m already nervous
and
for being such a know-it-all!’  She scowled mutinously.  ‘No more food for you!’

‘For how long?’ he asked, his tone plaintive.  Emilia’s cooking was one of the few pleasures in his life and she couldn’t have thought of a better punishment.  Of course, he had no intention of sticking with her embargo but sneaking food out of her kitchen would half the usual bounty, possibly worse.

‘Probably forever!’

He groaned.  ‘That’s harsh, Angel.’

David laughed and wandered over to the contraband.  ‘You don’t mind if I have a muffin, do you Emmy?’

‘Not at all, Dad.  You can have as many as you like,’ she replied sweetly.  She spun towards the door.  ‘Now if you don’t mind, I’d really like to get this show on the road.’

Seb swiped another Melting Moment while she wasn’t looking and followed her and David to the study.  He’d tried using his magic to reproduce some of his favourite things she cooked, but they just didn’t taste the same.

Seb pulled out the costume pictures he’d brought with him and ran his eyes over them again, making sure he had all the small details firmly in his mind.

‘You ready?’ he asked Emilia.

At her nod, he threw his will into the image and gestured slightly with his right hand.

Emilia stood before him in a peacock blue satin gown trimmed in lace, with a low cut bodice and capped sleeves.  Elegant white gloves reached just past her elbows and matching satin slippers adorned her feet.  Her hair was swept on top of her head, holding in place a delicate diamond and sapphire tiara, with a few curled tendrils around her face.  The ensemble was completed with a sapphire pendant surrounded by gleaming diamonds around her neck.

‘You look beautiful, honey,’ David proudly proclaimed, his eyes damp.  ‘Just beautiful.’

Seb didn’t say anything, not because he didn’t want to, but because he couldn’t get any words past the lump in his throat.  In a moment of weakness he’d tried to imagine what Emilia would look like in the dress she’d shown him, but he hadn’t come close to just how stunning the real thing looked.  She was breathtaking.

Emilia did a little turn so the gown flared out around her ankles.  ‘I love it!’  She glanced mischievously at Seb.  ‘Your turn.’

‘Right.’  He sighed heavily, his own horrendous costume thankfully distracting him from devouring Emilia with his eyes.  ‘Here goes.’

In the style of Beau Brummell, the icon of men’s fashion in the Regency period, Seb was decked out in a crisp white high collared linen shirt, perfectly tied cravat and tailored black coat and snug trousers with black boots.  Fortunately for Seb, Brummell had led the move away from breeches and wigs and Seb was able to keep his hair short, although he did have to add long sideburns – which were itchy and made him feel ridiculous, but were infinitely better than a powdered wig!

He lifted his eyes resignedly to Emilia and David, bracing himself for the laughter he was sure they were trying to contain.

‘Wow!’  Emilia breathed, her eyes wide with awe.  ‘Seb, you look so dignified and… handsome!’

He felt his face heat with embarrassment.  ‘You don’t need to make me feel better about this ridiculous outfit.  I said I’d go and I’m going,’ he muttered.

‘She’s not pretending, Seb,’ David said gently.  ‘You look every inch the gentleman.  It’s quite a transformation.’

Seb still looked doubtful, so Emilia grabbed his arm and pulled him to the downstairs bathroom.  ‘Look,’ she said quietly, and turned him towards the mirror.

He almost didn’t recognise himself.  David was right; he did look like a gentleman.  The clothes and the side burns somehow made him look more mature, like a man who knew his place in the world.  Which was a joke, but if he could pull off the illusion that he knew what he was doing, it was at least a start.

His gaze slid to Emilia, standing beside him.  She was achingly beautiful and as he examined the reflection of the two of them, she looked like she belonged with the man in the mirror.  He jerked his eyes away.  He was nothing like the man in the mirror.

‘Let’s get this over with,’ he said gruffly and led her back to the study.  He turned away from the look of gentle understanding in her eyes and was relieved when she seemed to sense his desperation to focus on something else.

‘Come on, Sparky.  Let’s see if I can operate this time travel device better than I can operate my car!’

‘Here’s hoping,’ he muttered, but then realised he had a golden negotiating opportunity.  ‘If I promise to withhold all snide remarks, sarcasm and teasing comments during your attempts to master the device, will you feed me again?’

She flashed him a smile.  ‘Deal.’

‘Are you two actually planning on going anywhere today?’ David was perched on the edge of his desk, impatiently tossing the device in question from hand to hand. 

Emilia caught it in between throws and hung the solid pendant around her neck.  She frowned.  ‘This dress doesn’t have a high enough neckline to hide it.’

‘Seb will put a glamour on it – no one will be able to see it.’

‘Cool.’  She took a deep breath and hoped Seb couldn’t hear the quaver in it.  She carefully set the dials as her father had shown her and then looked at David for confirmation. 

He checked what she’d done and nodded.  ‘Perfect.  Now this is where
your
little slice of magic comes in.  When you and Seb are ready, throw your will into the device.’

Her eyes full of worry, Emilia asked the question that had been bugging her for the last few days.  ‘What if I land us in the middle of a market place or worse, someone’s bedroom?’

David smiled gently.  ‘Seb will take care of all that, honey.  No one will see you until you’re ready to be seen.’

Emilia spun towards Seb.  ‘You can really make me invisible?’

He nodded.  ‘It’s not quite as simple as that, but yes.’

‘That could come in handy.’  Her eyes turned speculative.

Seb’s lips turned up in a knowing grin.  ‘Forget it.  I’m not helping you eavesdrop on other people’s conversations.’

‘I would never do such a thing,’ she responded loftily.  ‘Sneaking past Ian Somerhalder’s security though…’

Seb rolled his eyes.  ‘Shall we return to the serious stuff?’

Emilia cradled the device in her trembling right hand and glanced at David again.

‘You’re going to do fine, Emmy.’  He squeezed her shoulder and stepped a few paces away.

She lifted her left hand towards Seb, who engulfed it in his much larger one.  His grip was firm and reassuring.  ‘Ready?’ she whispered.

He lightly squeezed her fingers.  ‘Let’s go, Angel.’

She held her breath and threw everything she had into the device.  It pulsed in her hand and then David’s study seemed to disappear from around them.  For a moment she felt like she was in a tight, airless tunnel.  Everything was dark.  She tightened her hand around Seb’s and felt his palm compress against hers in response.  And then suddenly they were in a forest.

Chapter 9

July 1811, Derbyshire, England

Emilia let her breath out in a big whoosh and seriously considered kissing the wonderfully solid earth she was standing on.  But since she’d probably get her gorgeous gown dirty, she decided against it.

Seb pried his hand free from her death grip and flexed it a couple of times to return the feeling.  ‘What was with holding your breath?’

‘You promised no teasing!’

‘I did.  I’m sorry,’ he said contritely.  ‘You did a great job, by the way.  We appear to be in England, at least.’

‘How can you tell?’ she asked dubiously.

‘Even though it’s the middle of summer, it’s not very warm,’ he joked.  ‘I can kind of sense things about a place.  It’s kind of vague, but it gives me a feel of where we are.  You’ll be able to too if you concentrate.’

Emilia turned in a slow circle.  The forest they were in wasn’t very dense, nor did it seem very deep.  The sun, visible through the trees, was low in the sky so it must be close to dusk.

‘Can you tell how far away we are from the Manor House?’

‘Not far.’  He pointed in the direction the sun was descending.  ‘There’s a collection of buildings over there and a road just the other side of the clearing.’

‘Let’s get going then.’  She started in the direction Seb had indicated but was stopped mid-stride by his mocking chuckle.

‘Were you planning on
walking
up to their front door, Angel?  I don’t imagine that’s generally how the upper crust arrive for parties.’  His turquoise eyes danced wickedly and Emilia felt her face flush with embarrassment.

‘What do you suggest we do then?’ she asked quietly.  She felt like such a novice, which she supposed she was.

‘We wait.’  His hand moved slightly and a rug appeared on the ground, in front of a large tree.  Seb sat on one side of the rug, his back comfortably resting against the trunk and patted the space beside him.

Emilia looked longingly towards their destination.  She really wanted to see the mansion and all the Lords and Ladies dressed in their finery.  She glanced towards the sun again.  It wouldn’t be long now; maybe half an hour or so until it was dark enough for them to get started.

Turning towards the rug, she lowered herself gingerly beside Seb, careful not to crush her dress.  ‘I guess we’ll have to fill in the time by getting to know each other better.’

‘I’m quite comfortable with silence.’  He leaned his head back against the tree and closed his eyes.

‘Look I know we’ve been forced together against
both
our wills and I’m sorry about that.  I realise I’m not the kind of partner you were hoping for.  But can’t we try to make the best of it?’

Silence greeted her entreaty and Emilia wondered if Seb had fallen asleep.  Then he heaved a long-suffering sigh and his eyelids flicked open.  ‘What did you want to talk about?’

She hadn’t expected to win and was momentarily at a loss for a conversational topic.  But then she remembered something she’d wanted to ask him for a while.

‘What made you decide to join the Army?’

He looked surprised and disconcerted.  ‘Let’s just say it was the only viable option at the time.’  He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the tree again.

Emilia stared at him in outrage.  That was all he was going to give her?  She elbowed him sharply. 

‘Ow!’  Seb jerked upright and glared at her, rubbing the tender spot in his side.  ‘You’ve got to stop doing that.’

Emilia gazed innocently back at him.  ‘You didn’t really think that little teaser was enough to satisfy my curiosity, did you?’

He muttered a few choice swear words under his breath and shifted a couple of inches away from her.  ‘I was trying to spare you from hearing all my dirty laundry, but if you insist, be it on your head.  A lot of stuff had happened in my life, which I’m
not
going to tell you about, and as a result I’d been seeking an outlet for my anger with the wrong bunch of people.  I used to cut school a lot and I’d nearly been busted a couple of times for some minor stuff, but it all hit the fan when I got caught breaking and entering,’ he said matter-of-factly.  ‘I’d gone in first and when the others heard the sirens, they split – I was the only one who didn’t have priors, so I guess they figured I’d just get rapped over the knuckles and sent on my way.’

‘What happened?’  Emilia couldn’t believe he was telling her so much.  No wonder he’d been so reticent.

He shrugged and looked away.  ‘I was arrested.  I spent a night in the cooler contemplating the error of my ways.’  He turned back to her with a self-mocking smile.  ‘The next day the first good thing in my life happened.  One of my teachers went into bat for me.  Apparently he thought I had potential to turn my life around.  Anyway, I got offered a choice – Juvie or the Miliatary Academy.  I picked the Academy and the charges were dropped.  As soon as I turned eighteen I was straight into the Army.’

‘Did you like it?’

‘I didn’t so much like it as I was good at it.  I never missed a target.’  He paused, his face thoughtful.  ‘But now that I think about it, I was probably good at it because of the magic.’

‘But you didn’t know you could do magic then!’

He twisted around so he was facing Emilia straight on.  ‘No.  But when I do magic I’m throwing my will into making something happen.  When I was training for the Army I used to spend hours lying in the dirt shooting at targets.  That kind of thing requires a lot of concentration, so in effect I was probably unconsciously willing my bullets to hit the target.  With that advantage there was no way I could miss!’

Emilia studied his face.  He seemed both amazed and perturbed.  ‘What are you thinking?’ she probed.

‘That I don’t know how I feel about that!’  He smiled sheepishly.  ‘I thought I was really good.  They loved me in the Army because I was by far and away the best shot and I have to admit I kind of enjoyed the respect that got me.  And now I’ve realised it was the magic doing it, not any kind of talent of mine.  I feel like a bit of a fraud!’

She bit back a wayward smile.  She’d never seen Seb so uncertain.  ‘The magic is part of you, Seb, not a separate entity.  It was still
you
who hit those targets and
your
aim which was true, regardless of your added abilities.’

He looked away, embarrassed.  ‘Will you answer something for me?’

‘Sure.  It’s only fair.’

‘Why Stanford?  Why the other side of the country when there’s a perfectly good university in Ithaca?’

His all-too-knowing turquoise eyes bored into hers.  She looked down at her fingers, which were nervously pleating and re-pleating her skirt.  ‘I wish I could give you a good answer, but the truth is I just kind of drifted into the decision.’

‘You mean Justin decided for you,’ Seb opined flatly, his disappointment palpable.

‘It wasn’t like that.  Justin’s got his life all mapped out.  I don’t.  He started making plans, all of which included me, which was kind of sweet.  Justin’s not big on verbal affirmations, but factoring me into his plans made me feel wanted.  And, well, before I knew it I was going to Stanford with him.  I went along with it because I don’t have any particular plans of my own.’

‘You must have some idea what you want to do with your life?’

Emilia shook her head.  ‘I know I don’t want to be a Doctor, Accountant or Deep Sea Diver but I’ve got no idea what I actually
want
to be or do.’  She looked up at him helplessly, her gaze entreating.  ‘I don’t suppose you’ve got any suggestions?’

‘It’s not my decision to make, Angel,’ he said, surprisingly gently.  ‘Don’t stress about it, though.  You’ll figure it out when you’re supposed to.’

She brought her legs up against her chest and rested her chin on her knees.  ‘I guess.’  She darted an impish look up at Seb.  ‘Would you consider going with me to Stanford, so we can do this kind of stuff from there?’

He rose to his feet and dusted off his pants.  ‘Not a chance.’

She sighed, but she wasn’t surprised.  Nor was she disappointed, which was a bit disturbing.  ‘That takes care of half the decision then, now all I have to figure out is what I want to do with myself in Ithaca.’

Seb reached down for her hand and pulled her upright.  He stared at her solemnly for a moment, then tweaked her nose playfully.  ‘I didn’t say I wouldn’t move at all.  I might be open to somewhere in Australia or Egypt, maybe even Hawaii.  Basically anywhere where it doesn’t snow!’

Emilia carefully dusted off and straightened her dress.  ‘The weather’s practically perfect in Stanford!’

‘Let me amend my statement.  Anywhere it doesn’t snow
and
there’s no Justin.’

‘If you gave him a chance you might quite like him.’  As the words came out of her mouth, Emilia knew she shouldn’t have bothered.  Seb didn’t have the patience to put up with Justin’s drama.

‘That’s not likely.’

While they’d been talking darkness had finally descended and Emilia’s excitement rose again.  Seb encased them in a soft globe of light and they picked their way carefully to where the road intersected the forest.  She wasn’t sure why, but for some reason it seemed important to be quiet, so when a twig snapped under her foot she flinched and froze. 

Seb waved her forward.  ‘Don’t worry about it.  There’s no one around; we just need to be careful not to attract the attention of any passing carriages.  We might look a little weird stranded on the road without a carriage dressed in all this getup.’

At the edge of the clearing, standing in the shadow of a tree, they watched as several carriages passed by heading in the direction of Seeworth House.

‘There’s a reasonable amount of traffic, which means we’ll have to do this quickly,’ Seb whispered, leaning down so his lips were almost touching her ear.  An unexpected shiver of reaction raced down Emilia’s spine, which she hoped Seb didn’t notice.  ‘I think it’s best if we stand in the middle of the road and I’ll create it around us.’

‘Create what?’  She turned her head to whisper in
his
ear and found her lips mere millimetres away from his.  Fleetingly, she wondered what it would be like to kiss him and then shook her head hard to clear the unwelcome thought.

He regarded her quizzically.  ‘You okay?’

‘Yeah.  Look; that seems to be the last one for a bit.’  She nodded at the carriage just passing them, grateful for the darkness that hid her flushed cheeks.  What was the matter with her?

Seb stepped forward slightly and stared back down the road.  ‘I think you’re right.  Let’s go.’  Reaching back, he slid his arm around her and settled his palm in the small of her back, guiding her forward.  Again, a tingle of awareness threatened, but she forced it back and rushed out into the middle of the dirt road with him.  They stopped and Seb checked the road again.  There was no one about.

Without the glow of light around them, she could barely see him.  But she was so close to him she could feel the almost infinitesimal movements he made as he worked his magic.  She braced herself just in time, as she was suddenly hoisted into the air and unceremoniously deposited on a velvet covered bench seat.  Abruptly, she was jerked forward and would have fallen off the seat if not for Seb’s restraining arm.

She flattened her palm against the wall beside her and tried to adjust to the rolling motion of the moving carriage she was now in.  Only then did she realise her other hand was clamped on Seb’s leg, the knuckles white with the death grip her fingers had on his thigh.

‘Sorry,’ she muttered, as she hastily removed her hand.

He chuckled and gently squeezed her shoulder.  ‘Not your fault.  I wouldn’t usually do it that way, but speed was of an essence.  I didn’t want anyone to come upon us as I conjured a horse and carriage out of thin air.’

Emilia finally looked around the carriage.  The walls and ceiling were painted a rich, glossy black with silver trim around the doors, windows and cornices.  The velvet bench seats were also black, with silver domes. 

‘It’s exquisite, Seb,’ she said admiringly.

She opened the window beside her and leaned out enough so she could see the outside of the carriage, the cool breeze returning her body temperature to normal.  The colour combination was reflected on the outside and on the corners of the carriage swung black and silver lanterns shedding a golden glow over the paintwork.  Even the horses cantering at the front were uniformly black, right down to their thickly flowing manes.

Pulling her head back in, she turned to Seb with a puzzled frown.  ‘Who’s driving the carriage?’

Seb was lounging casually in the corner, his long legs stretched diagonally across the floor of the carriage.  ‘Anyone looking will see a driver, though he’s an illusion.  I’m controlling the reins.’  He tapped the side of his head.

Emilia sat back against the plush backrest.  ‘In that case I won’t distract you any further.  I’d hate to end up in a ditch.’

His lips twitched in amusement but he didn’t comment.

*