The Time Breaker

THE TIME BREAKER

Copyright 2015 Kate Harre

Published by Kate Harre at Smashwords

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PROLOGUE

Time and tide wait for no man.

Geoffrey Chaucer

December, Ithaca

Standing in the corner of the room, he waited.

Discomfort was not something he was unfamiliar with, but even so, the hours of maintaining the illusion of invisibility were beginning to take their toll. The mental strain was intense, especially when he also needed to mask the sound of his movements each time he shifted his stance ever so slightly.

But it was vital he endured. Only the weak gave in to fatigue and he was not weak. At times, powerless to change his fate… but never weak.

This day could very well be one of the most important of his life. Because it was the day he would discover if his suspicions were right. If they were and he had anticipated correctly how the next few hours would play out, the ultimate triumph was finally within his reach.

So he continued to wait.

At the other end of the room, sitting at the cluttered desk in front of the mildewed window, was David Delcourt. He watched his prey, but this time felt no joy in the killing he would soon carry out. In fact, he had every intention of making it quick. Not because he didn’t have the stomach to do what needed to be done, but because he admired this particular man. It was simply unfortunate David didn’t know when to give up and as a result was too close to uncovering a secret that wasn’t his to share.

Which meant he had to die. But not quite yet.

The time to regain his birth right was so close he could taste the richness of it on his tongue and a sense of urgency slithered down his spine. Even he, with all his power, couldn’t stop the march of time… he needed to act, to finish what he’d started so many months before.

Yet he needed to see her first.

And so he stood, the sleeves of his thin shirt rolled back over his forearms despite the chill in the room. The winter cold seeped through the miniscule gaps in the old building, rendering the pathetic single bar heater obsolete, but he didn’t feel it. Anticipation and exhilaration raced through his blood, keeping him warmer than thick clothing ever could.

His thumb stroked over the steel barrel of the revolver in his hand. Looking down, he suppressed the urge to sniff disdainfully. It wasn’t his weapon of choice; he preferred the close proximity of the dagger, preferred invading the space of his victim. But he couldn’t allow any similarities to the Montana couple; there mustn’t be any dots to connect… not yet, not when there were still things he had to do.

His excitement grew… because any second now…

And then she was there, standing right in front of him. She looked a mess, but that didn’t matter to him. All that mattered was that he had been right – she was the one, the key to unlocking what rightfully belonged to him.

Her face was streaked with tears, but hope and determination filled her eyes.

He almost felt sorry for her. Because he’d already anticipated what she’d do – she couldn’t see it, but there was an impenetrable wall around her preventing her from being seen or heard, preventing her from stopping what he needed to do.

She spoke, mystification crossing her face when David didn’t respond. Walking across the room towards him, she kept talking. He couldn’t hear what she said but he imagined it was some kind of warning. David kept on working, his attention never wavering.

Reaching out in irritation to close his laptop, her hand passed right through the screen.

He smiled to himself. The barrier was holding. It was like she wasn’t there at all – he was the only one who could see her. And no matter what she did or said, David would never know she was standing right beside him.

Horror contorted her face as she realised something wasn’t right and the hope she’d felt on entering the room faded. But she didn’t give up. Frantically, she did everything she could think of, racing around the room like a desperate woman, trying to create some noise.

And then another version of her appeared in the room and there were two of them doing everything in their power to attract David’s attention, neither of them aware of the other.

None of it worked. But he watched in fascination, enjoying the spectacle as yet another one of her appeared, until finally there were four versions of her uselessly circling the room.

Boredom kicked in and he graciously decided it was time to put her out of her misery.

Lifting his arm, he aimed at David’s unsuspecting head and squeezed the trigger.

The bullet sailed smoothly through the air but as it hit its target perfectly, David’s body jerked in response to the impact and he released a small grunt of shock before falling like a rag doll to the floor… and just for a second, he felt a pang of loss for such a brilliant man.

It only lasted a moment. He’d learned a long time ago not to get emotionally attached to anyone or anything. Life was easier that way.

Wrenching his gaze away, he turned his head to watch her instead. As her shattered eyes flew to David’s lifeless body, her mouth formed in to a grief-stricken oval. She cried out and fresh tears coursed down her cheeks, soaking the collar of her jumper.

Leaning forward, so close he could almost touch her, he breathed in and relished her pain. Not because he particularly enjoyed seeing her grieve but because he had caused that depth of emotion in her.

It made him feel powerful.

She closed her eyes against the vision of David’s limp body on the floor, the fresh blood seeping from the perfectly round hole in his forehead.

Fumbling at her neck, she pulled out the pendant with a trembling hand and a hum of satisfaction raced through his body. This was what he’d been searching for, needing.

A smile spread across his face – the time was nigh.

Between one blink and the next, she disappeared and it was just him and the dead body in the room. Pleasure filled him – she had been unable to prevent the inevitable; unable to stop him from following the course he had set.

And then he too left, because they would meet again very soon… and at that time, she would finally see his face.

CHAPTER 1

It had been an oversight, the night before, to hastily yank together the curtains without paying attention to whether they were completely closed.

Now, glaringly bright sunlight beamed through the small gap he’d inadvertently left and straight into Seb’s closed eyelids, jarring him awake from a fitful sleep. Stubbornly, he refused to open his eyes. It might be morning, but that didn’t mean he wanted to be awake. Not even a little bit. In fact, if he could sleep the day through he would.

Awake, he had to think.

Asleep, he could pretend everything was still okay.

Unfortunately, that thought was enough to chase away the fleeting remnants of blessed unconsciousness.

Rolling to his back, he flung one bronzed arm over his eyes, shielding them from the unwelcome intrusion of daylight while he contemplated what to do with yet another empty day.

What he should do was get up and go for a run. Except his usual enthusiasm for exercise had waned lately… along with his enthusiasm for pretty much everything else in his life. Of course, at least if he put his body through a gruelling workout he would be too exhausted to think for a few precious hours. That idea was compelling.

Or, he could go and hang around outside Max’s school again and resume his self-imposed stake out, which for the past several months had kept Max safe from Nate’s boys.

The benefits of this had been two-fold. Most importantly, Max was protected. But it had also provided some much needed entertainment in Seb’s otherwise monotonously dull life. Usually a couple of times a week, four or five of Nate’s crew turned up to loiter outside the school around fifteen minutes prior to the final bell. Their intention was to harass and intimidate Max into returning to the fold.

Parked discreetly down the street but still with a clear view, Seb had become increasingly creative in finding ways to scatter the boys before Max emerged from the school grounds, all the while remaining unseen.

The first time, as they’d leaned casually against the wire mesh fence, he’d sent a powerful zap of electricity through it and watched as their cool front abruptly disintegrated. One of them had been so dazed he’d reeled haphazardly down the sidewalk until he’d smashed head first into a power pole. Still rubbing their tingling limbs, they’d all bundled into the car and left.

Another time, he’d focussed on the car. While slashing the tyres had been an attractive option, Seb had decided that would only look like retaliation for the time his own tyres had been slashed, hence pointing the finger back at him. He wasn’t afraid of them, but nor did he want to start an all-out war. So, while the boys, now wary of the electric fence, had been pacing the sidewalk waiting for the school bell to ring, he’d willed the handbrake to release and given their car a mental push on the rear bumper. It had rolled down the street and slammed into a fire hydrant, doing a sizable amount of damage to the front of the vehicle and sending a geyser of water into the air. Nate’s boys, too distracted arguing amongst themselves over whose fault it was, had missed Max unobtrusively slipping away from school.

Seb’s favourite though, was the illusion he’d created of two police officers strolling towards the school. He’d made sure a small bag of white powder had fallen out of one boy’s pocket, clearly visible to the approaching officers. There had been a hilarious moment of freaked out terror, before they bolted. He’d never seen four guys run so fast.

These days, he took his humour where he could find it.

Of course, it was only morning now and he had a whole day to fill before he could head to the school. So, exercise it was.

Seb swung his legs wearily over the side of the bed, sitting on the edge while he nudged his phone to life. It read 5:52am on the twenty-third of May.

Which meant Emilia had been gone for one hundred and fifty one endless days. Days in which she hadn’t once made contact. He’d tried calling her, but she hadn’t answered. He’d tried texting, but she hadn’t replied.

Her desire to be left alone was obvious, but it didn’t change how lost he felt without her.

He missed her smile.

He missed her teasing banter.

He missed talking to her about their respective days.

He missed her presence in the house, which felt empty and huge without her and David in it.

He missed her cooking (every meal revolving around toast in some way, shape or form was wearing thin!).

Basically, he missed everything about her.

When he’d first read her note, he’d understood. Sometimes running away from grief seemed like a good idea. But he’d expected her back months ago.

Tomorrow, it would be exactly five months since she’d left and suddenly that seemed more than long enough. Patience was all very well and good, but at some point he had to take action. Especially if Emilia had decided she wasn’t coming back at all… a possibility that had haunted him for weeks. He wasn’t going to let that happen without a fight.

Springing to his feet, Seb crossed the room with long decisive strides and all but flew down the stairs to the living room, where he’d left his laptop. Firing up Google, he searched for flights departing New York later that day.

The way he saw it, Stacey had to know where Emilia was and demanding that information was likely to be more effective in person. If he had to use magic to get it out of her, then so be it.

Perhaps that was unethical, but he was a desperate man.

If he was lucky, Emilia might actually be with Stacey in North Carolina, but he doubted it. It was far more likely she was licking her wounds – many of which he’d caused her – by herself. His only hope was that after all this time she might be ready to forgive him.

Finding a suitable flight, he booked it and headed back upstairs to shower and pack.

For the first time in months, he felt almost light-hearted. Because the next flight he booked was going to be to wherever the hell Emilia had taken herself off to. And even if it meant camping out on her doorstep, he had absolutely no intention of coming home without her.

*

There was something exciting about staying in a hotel – that feeling that upon waking up there was a whole new city to explore and new experiences to be had. Seb hadn’t often had the opportunity to stay in hotels; he’d been too busy for holidays. This particular morning, though, he was able to fully enjoy that feeling of anticipation. Not, like many travellers, because he was embarking on an exciting adventure, but because for the first time in months he’d woken up looking forward to the day… because this was the day he would find out where Emilia was.

Too jittery to eat, Seb bounded out of the hotel foyer and climbed into his rental car. It was too early yet to turn up on Stacey’s doorstep, so he cruised the streets until he found an open coffee shop.

He rolled into the Duke University car park and found a spot that gave him a good vantage point of the dorm buildings. Coffee in one hand, phone in the other, he played games until he ran out of lives, while sporadically checking for some signs of life around campus.

It was summer break, so there wouldn’t be the same crowds of students as during the main semesters. But since Kevin had to be back for the summer semester in order to retain his football scholarship, Stacey had decided to do a few extra courses as well. In the end it would pay off, allowing her to graduate early.

If Emilia had been back, she and Seb would have filled their summer with missions for The Society. If he’d known she’d be gone for so long, he too would have taken some summer classes to keep himself occupied. Because without her, he had absolutely nothing to do except exercise, fish and attempt to paint, until the Fall Semester began.

What it boiled down to was he’d go crazy if he didn’t get her back.

A good couple of hours passed before the University began to stir. But finally, a few other cars began pulling in to the parking area. Locking the car behind him, Seb consulted the campus map he’d downloaded to his phone and headed in the direction of Stacey’s dorm, a multi-storey stone building surrounded by lush grass and huge trees.

When he and Stacey had been organising David’s funeral arrangements on Emilia’s behalf, they’d exchanged numbers. Until now, he’d resisted the urge to make use of her contact details and pump her for information about Emilia’s whereabouts. Now, he was beyond that level of courtesy.

Once he was camped out on the wide concrete steps leading into the dorm building, he sent her a text: I need to talk to you about Em. I’m outside.

The response was almost instant: I’ll be right there.

It wasn’t long before the door opened and Stacey stepped out. She was dressed ready for classes, but her hair was still wet and her face was bare of makeup. Seb felt a little bit bad about that, but not enough to offer to wait until she’d finished her morning routine.

‘Hey,’ he said quietly. ‘Thanks for coming down so quickly.’

‘No problem.’ Stacey settled on the step next to Seb and studied him keenly, until he began to fidget uncomfortably. ‘I figured you’d turn up here eventually. How are you doing?’

‘I’ve lost my best friend. How do you think I’m doing?’ he retorted, more harshly than he’d intended. But the way Emilia had completely cut him off without a backward glance was a festering wound not even close to healing.

Stacey gave him an all too knowing look. ‘I’d say Em’s significantly more than just your best friend, don’t you think?’

Seb looked away and didn’t answer. His chest ached but he stubbornly blocked off those particular thoughts.

‘I thought so,’ Stacey murmured in satisfaction.

‘How is she?’ He looked back at her, because he needed to see her face when she gave him the answer.

‘All thing’s considered, okay, I guess.’ Her mouth twisted and Seb read the concern in her eyes she didn’t try to hide. ‘She’s obsessed with finding David’s killer and, honestly, I’m worried about her… worried this obsession is going to eat her up inside. I know what it’s like to lose someone you love, but she’s just not herself.’

Seb closed his eyes against the pain churning in his gut. He couldn’t stand that Emilia was hurting so badly and not letting anyone close enough to help her.

‘Where is she?’ he asked gruffly. If Stacey was this worried, he had good cause for concern. He needed to get to her.

Quickly plaiting her long, damp hair and tossing it over her shoulder, Stacey looked at him, assessing his seriousness. ‘When she’s ready, she’ll come home.’

Seb jumped to his feet and began pacing in front of the steps, agitation making his stride jerky. ‘It’s been five months, Stace. I’m beginning to think she’s never coming back.’

Stacey titled her head to the side, still watching him carefully. ‘She will. Soon, I hope.’ She hesitated. ‘Have you heard from her?’

‘No. I’ve tried to contact her, but I get nothing back.’ He shoved both hands through his hair in frustration and cupped the back of his neck, continuing his pacing