Ticking Time -Andrei

Introductions

December 2017

In a dark wave of purple light, the open sky appears above and suddenly a brisk wind cuts through my leather ensemble like knife in butter. Without much thought I drop the cute girls hand and tuck it under my pits for warmth.

Stonehenge is an amazing relic of the past. Constructed with nothing but raw human strength and determination, perfectly symmetrical and aligned with the stars. It was a wonder grander than any modern structure. That’s what I loved about the past, how people were able to do things without technology and machines.

The weathered stones pull at my being, I feel their magic in my veins, tugging on the urge to time jump to their past. I resist the summons, reluctantly. Looking around, I realize her orb thing brought us right to the centre of Stonehenge and by the looks of it, the tourists are wondering why we can pass the rope and they can't.

I grab Raven’s arm, maybe a little too hard as she yelps, and pull her behind the tall stone, out of sight. “Ok, new plan. Why the heck does your teleport thing not take into account it’s tourist season!? Couldn’t it have put us, I dunno, on the other side of the rope?”

She just shrugs, cradling her right arm, brown hair bobbing. Did I really grab her that hard? I don’t know my own strength sometimes. “It’s not like it’s intelligent. I gave it a location, it went.” She says matter of factly.

“You and your logic.” I groan sarcastically. This girl is so confusing to me. I look at her and my heart jumps a little. It takes effort not to flirt even though I’m furious with her reckless stunt. “That thing, that orb. Where’d you get it anyway? I know dark magic when I see it.” I hear a security guard asking questions by the rope.

She nervously looks towards the guard at the orbs mention, then whispers, “Uh.. I borrowed it.”

“You don’t even know what kind of dark magic you’re using?! Jeez! Thanks for experimenting on me.” Point proven. “ Anyway, compared to Italy, winter in London is freezing and damp. We need coats damn it, I’m cold as hell.” I hiss. Raven, however, seems to be unaffected, flashing me a content grin. I mockingly grin back.

She looks slightly offended and I regret being on edge. It’s this damn cold. “I never said I didn't know what it was. How do you think I got to Italy?” She says defensively.

“Ok, Sorry. Point taken. I just got this thing with dark magic, you know. The stuff can be unpredictable.”

“Hey, you there! You’re not supposed to pass the rope.” The security guard shouts.

“Got any ideas of how to get out of this one?” I ask.

“I can help you there.” A new voice comes from behind me, like a whisper in my ear, and I startle. A tall girl, green eyes and chocolate brown hair pulled back into a ponytail under her black hat is standing not two inches behind me. Her green felt coat looks so warm right now. That’s when I notice the black cat in her arms, staring at me.

“Do it now, or we’ll have to kill him.” Raven says bluntly.

“Whoa, we don’t have to jump to extremes!” I panic, because she looks so serious. “No one’s killing anyone.” Her face falls, and I can tell she’s disappointed by my disapproval of killing the guard.

I turn to the new girl and begin to ask “Are you..?”

“Yes,” She answers quickly. “Senior Mage of Stonehenge, Kerry Woodrow. And this is Finnigan, my companion.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Andrei, this is Raven and we’re bloody cold!” I growl, losing my composure.

“And I said I can help you. Follow me.”

She points to a small blanket on the ground next to her. There doesn’t appear to be anything special about the blanket. I look to Kerry with a raised eyebrow. The cat jumps from her arms and onto the blanket, disappearing.

“What the!” I startle. I look to Raven. She gestures to the blanket and smiles teasingly, “ladies first.”

I slump my shoulders and shake my head. “Unbelievable,” I whisper under my breath, stepping onto the blanket.

Suddenly a stone framed door appears on the other side. I spin around, but no one else appears to see it. I look back, clearly seeing a large door, open and Kerry stepping in. “Come on.” She’s grinning at my confusion.

“Hold on.” I step off the blanket and both Kerry and the door vanish. I step back on and I see her laughing, holding the door open. “If that gets you then the inside will too. It’s bigger on the inside.” She winks, slipping through the door and descending the stone steps. I hear her heels clacking on the stone.

“No friggen way! It’s just like Dr. Who!” I whistle, following her inside. I hear Raven groan behind me.

“I thought you were cold. Jeez, it’s like you’ve never seen magic before.” She smirks at me with her big, alluring silver-blue eyes. I watch her blink and time seems to slow.

I shake my head, trying to dispel her tempting charm. “I am cold, that hasn’t changed, but have you seen this kind of magic before?” I distract myself. “It’s like a new toy every time! Just gets me all excited.” I grin like a little boy at Christmas, shivering.

She looks at the door and sighs. She brushes past me, subtly pushing her ample chest against my arm as she slips by. “Even magic like this gets old after a while.” As a magician, I am slightly offended she could even think that, but I let it slide as I commit to memory the feeling of her bosom on my arm. Distracted again! God, what’s with me?

Kerry leads us down the steps, hidden from the view of the tourists and fuming guard. “Will he see that blanket?” I ask her, worried he might follow.

“No, it's got a ward for all non-affiliates of the Order.” She explains.

“You’re the witch from Canada, aren’t you?” I ask.

“I am. Saskatchewan. You must be Andrei Hanganu. Also from Canada?”

I nodd, “Yup! Toronto, Second generation, though, it’s been awhile since I’ve been on Canadian soil. Recently I was stationed in Italy.” I ramble.

“Wow, romantic Italy! I’ve always wanted to go.”

“It’s more historical than romantic in my opinion, but the weather's great!” I say.

“And you’re Raven? Are you Andrei’s assistant?”

Raven shots her a sideways glare. I can feel the heat from her eyes from behind. “Do I look like some lowly assistant?”

“Err… no, I’m sorry. I just wasn’t expecting you. You’ve arrived much earlier than expected. How did you get here?”

“Well we were eager to explore Stonehenge so we pulled some strings and - ”

“We used magic, obviously.” Raven interrupts, rolling her eyes. I jab a finger into her back from behind and give her a nasty look.

“ietquay on the ackblay agicmay,” I hiss in pig latin.

Raven spins on me, stopping suddenly and before I can stop moving, we’re nose to nose. Her eyes glare daggers at me. “Sorry” I whisper heavily through my teeth.

Kerry stops on the steps and turns around. “What kind of magic? Not all magic is compatible around Stonehenge.”

Raven glares at me for one more second before turning to answer Kerry. Her voice is thick with sarcasm and I wonder what's got this girl all tied in knots. “The kind that is compatible.” She emphasizes the ‘is’ so strongly, I wonder if Kerry will prod further. “Any more obvious questions?”

I see Kerry assessing the confrontation carefully. Suddenly we’re interrupted.

“How about we continue this lovely conversation downstairs.”

I look around for the person this voice belongs to and my eyes settle on the cat at Kerry's’ feet.

“Did he just -”

“Yes, he speaks. Just not everyone can hear him.”

I watch Raven eye the cat. “Oh good, a talking cat. This just keeps getting better.” she grumbles.

The cat, Finnigan, flicks his tail in what seems an annoying manner. “I’d be careful, beast. Not all cats are subservient.” His feline eyes seem to glow in the dimness of the staircase.

“Alright. Let’s just relax. As I am posted here as senior mage, I have to ask these sorts of things. Stonehenge can be… how would you put it Finn? Fickle?”

“Capracious, I’d say.”

“Yess.” She pauses as if thinking of what to say next. “Anyways, shall we continue?” Her sudden energy makes me jump and she takes the rest of the stairs nearly at a run. She shoes grow faint as the distance grows between us.

“Well, you heard the witch, let's get moving!” I say with a hint of nervousness in my throat. And I thought time jumping was dangerous. Raven’s temper seemed to be something worth avoiding.

Finally, we reach the main lobby. “You know, if any mage had a handicap, I wouldn’t be recommending this branch. It's got impossible access, you know that?”

Kerry stands in the lobby, a finger resting on her chin. “I’ll mention that to the branch head. Thanks.” I look around, not looking to impressed. Water drips from the ceiling and the torches flicker.

“This… is the Stonehenge branch?” I ask in disbelief. I feel the disappointment on my face, I’m doing nothing to hide it. “It’s ancient! Like a set of tombs!”

“This is just for show,” She says rather defensively, “Of course there are more renovated sections to this branch, as you’ll see with the tour.”

“I get a tour?! Sweet.” I grin.

“From the lobby, there are three sections you can access: the library, the dining hall and the lounge. There isn’t much space as we are a small branch. Beyond the lounge is the nursing station, training quarters and the living quarters. At the moment, there's really only me here. Occasionally another mage stops by for research or training, or a group will stop by for refuge. Until the new recruit arrives though, it’ll just be us. We’re fully staffed with a nurse, a cleaner, and a poltergeist.” She stops for dramatic effect, I can feel it.

“A poltergeist?”

“Yes.”

I scratch my cheek. “I see.”

“I wouldn’t worry too much. He doesn’t like Finn, so he’s been staying away lately. We also have a lab for brewing potions, charms or performing rituals. Is there anything else?”

“Umm, showers?”

“Oh yes, there's a universal bathroom passed the sleeping quarters. Four showers and a bath.”

“Universal, huh? Interesting. How big’s the tub?” Raven smirks at me. I feel a shiver.

“Cooool. I guess I’ll get settled, alone, then see you guys for dinner?” I try to dodge that loaded inquiry.

Kerry blinks, surprised. “Don’t you want the tour?”

“Nah, I’m good. It seems pretty small, I think I’ll find my way. You said the sleeping quarters and showers were this way right?” I point to the left passage with my thumb.

“Could I just have a new shirt? This one’s a little stained.” Raven interjects.

“Uhh, sure, my fashion sense might not be to your liking but though.”

“That’s fine.”

Kerry waves her hand and an invisible sort of energy shifts in the room. Suddenly a green ribbed turtleneck appears in her hand and she passes it to Raven who immediately begins pulling of her jacket, stripping her upper half bare.

I gape. Surely she’s aware of the three other living beings in the room with her. Does she have no decency? That’s when I see the marbled tone of her skin from the bruises. She finally gets to removing the sleeve of her right arm, peeling it away slowly with a grimace. The sleeve is caked in dried blood.

“Wait, when you - when you kissed me in the library you mean to say you took my injuries? Why would you do that?” I ask, a mixed level of anger and surprise laces my tone. I don’t even bother trying to hide my concern. This girl’s crazy. Kerry’s eyebrow raises at my remark.

Raven drops the bloody shirt on the floor and looks at me without concern for her lack of covering. “Did you seriously think that kind of power wouldn’t have a price?”

“But…” I stumble. “Why?”

She shrugs, and quite bluntly states, “I’m not as valuable as a chosen. You would have died from these injuries.”

Her demeaning attitude irks me. I stomp up to her and bare my teeth in her face. “You don’t know that.” I hiss through my teeth so only she can hear. “I’ve had worse than these and I never had you around to heal me then.” My fists ball at my sides and I have to suppress the sudden urge to induce a time jump. My anger is getting the better of me. “I can’t stand those with a misguided sense of duty to protect another without a just cause. I don’t need your pity.”

With that last hateful word I spin around and storm off down the left hallway.

“If you get lost… I’ll send Finn to get you.” Kerry shouts from down the hall.

“I am not a butler.” The cat replies.

#Andrei #Timejump #time #Stonehenge #England #Magic #Fantasy