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k_a_webbJarek was right. The battle did soon come to an end and Lucille followed the surviving guards, knowing she could go back later to see what happened to the counterfeiters who were left behind. Jarek went with the guards, as he’d been there at that point, so she was alone for the first time since it had all started, which was strange. She kept looking over her shoulder to make sure none of the counterfeiters were following her, because she had no idea who actually knew she was there. With Jarek by her side she felt protected. Alone… she put her hand in her pocket to make certain that she had Kaito’s charms, doing her best to calm down, as she doubted that any of the other side could know she was there. When they were finally off she ship she felt a little more comfortable.
That was when it all started again. Lucille stood on the gang plank watching as the guards came towards her and her eyes met with Jarek’s for a moment. He smiled at her, gesturing that she should join them, so she did, keeping close to him the whole time. After going through the same maze they been through before they found themselves at the door to the room that they’d be battling in. She felt his hand take hold of hers as they stepped into the room, the action stopping before it had even started, and they went around the room together, moving charms from one pocket to another. Fear that they might have made a huge mistake had them both shaking – she knew he was because she could feel it more than she could feel her own.
“Are we going to do this?” Jarek’s voice shook as well. “If we’ve messed this up we can’t change it back.”
“I know, but we made the decision after talking it through and it is our only option if we want to save the lives of some of these guards.”
Nodding, Jarek squeezed her hand. “I understand why I was taught that changing time isn’t easy. This is… I know it’s the right thing to do, but that doesn’t stop me from worrying we might have made mistakes.”
“We haven’t. We have to believe that, Jarek. Every charm is now in the right pocket. Those who need one have one and those who were never going to use them in the first place don’t have them pointless weighing down their jackets.” Lucille breathed out deeply in an attempt to calm herself. “If we’ve screwed up I can’t see where.”
“Okay.” He started time with a gesture and they stood together, watching. “We just changed time.”
“Yes, we have, and we are going to save lives, lives of people that you care about.” She brushed a hand through her hair, feeling eyes on her, but she ignored them. “I just can’t watch it.” Everything stopped. “Did I do that?”
“No, I did.” The voice came from the counterfeiters side of the ship and the person Jarek had told her he was certain was a tiger stepped forward. “I don’t have any fae blood, but I do have certain fae magics. When I realised what was happening I knew I needed to ask for your help, Moonjumper.”
Lucille bit her lip, studying him, wondering how she’d got herself into such a mess, before remembering it was Durai’s clever idea for her to see what happened. “What do you need?”
“Get me off this ship alive. I’m fighting for him because I have no other option.” He sighed. “The one thing they’re good at is finding a weakness and exploiting it. Being a tiger means I’m already in a difficult position and I was found exploring Fasach in a form other than my own. I could have been exeuted as a spy, but instead they told me they would protect me from that as long as I can to Larnach to fight at the side of the leader of this part of the ring. Apparently keeping control of this city is very important to them.”
“It’s one of the hubs of Larnach. We have carts of goods leaving the city every day, so they would want to keep control of it.” Jarek shook his head. “They’re not going to, though, because we will do everything we can to get rid of them.”
“They know that.” The tiger laughed. “You’ve infuriated the big boss. I don’t know who he is, but I know he wants to do everything he can to own the Moonjumper who’s been screwing with all of his plans.”
“Own?”
“Having you means that he could have control of the entire Web.”
“He should know that’s not going to happen. All Moonjumpers are taught to withstand torture.” Lucille tried not to think of her own classes in that very skill, because it wasn’t an easy thing to go through and they hadn’t let her even start until she was thirteen. When she did look back she was glad they’d made that decision. “Nothing he can do to me will make me do what he wants me to.”
“Both of us know that, but he thinks it’s going to be simple, the same way it has been with so many of his followers.” Their eyes met. “Fight him, Lucille, and show him that he cannot have Quiar.”
“I know you.”
The tiger smiled. “You do and you will know me again, my love. Now is not the time for this conversation, however, because we need to work out how I’m going to get off this ship alive, otherwise I won’t be able to help you in the future.”
Brushing a hand through her hair Lucille pushed aside all of the questions she had, as she knew she wasn’t going to get any answers. “You died.”
“I didn’t die then. I would have died later for not doing a good enough job and there is no reason to take me off until the last memory.”
“From the feel of it we’ve got another six after this one.” Jarek nibbled his bottom lip. “Yeah, definitely six, so we need to get you off then, which should be simple enough if Lucille stays behind and watches what happens after we leave.”
“No one else knows you’re here.”
“Good.” She shook her head. “When I stepped into this memory I had no idea anyone would know I was here at all, because I’ve never had to deal with this before, but obviously there are still magics the Moonjumpers know nothing about.”
Jarek and the tiger laughed. “There will always be magics the Moonjumpers know nothing about.” Jarek shrugged. “Unfortunately that’s the way things are, so you should be grateful that you’re much more than a Moonjumper.”
“You always have been, Lucille, right from the very first time you decided this was the path you wanted to take, so it comes as no surprise to me that you’re the youngest Moonjumper to have passed all the exams.”
“How do you know so much about me?”
“Even here we’re lucky enough to hear stories about people like you if you happen to know the right people. I know the right people, because I made certain I did, so I’d know when you were on Quiar. My job has always been to watch over you, although I haven’t always been very good at it.”
“Really?” Lucille sighed. “Why do I know you?”
“Ask me when you’re getting me off this ship and I’ll tell you everything you need to know.”
He went back to his position then, gesturing to start time, so she knew she had no other option. “Why me?” Lucille couldn’t help laughing. “Why do these things always happen to me?”
“I’ve told you before that you’re special, Lucille.” Jarek squeezed her hand. “Moonjumpers always are if they’re in the sort of position you’ve found yourself in, so you need to accept that.”
“Accept it?” She shook her head. “As though it’s that simple?” Sighing, she watched as one of the guards who died saved his own life when he found a charm in his pocket. “I don’t want to be special, Jarek. I just want to be a Moonjumper.”
“Unfortunately things are never that simple.”
“No, they aren’t, but that doesn’t stop me wishing they were.”
“We all wish they were. Do you think we wanted to have to deal with the counterfeiters, especially when we realised how many we were sending out to the other towns and villages? There were some people who wanted to shut it all down and that might have been the best option, but instead we kept everything open, hoping that they’d end up making a mistake, because we wanted to bring an end to it all.”
“Instead you had us turn up and…” She shook her head. “We changed things in ways we never could have imagined when we first arrived and sometimes I can’t help wondering what would have happened if we’d chosen to leave instead of staying.”
Mirrored from K. A. Webb Writing.