Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Aidan
Through time? Does he mean…?
Alistair yelps and yanks his hand away from mine, and I belatedly realize I’ve been squeezing. “Sorry, love,” I murmur, and his face lights up at the endearment.
“I’m sorry,” Elinor says, shaking her head. “Are you saying it’s possible to travel through time?”
“Possible, but not advisable unless you wish to end life,” Caolan says, and if I wasn’t already sitting, my knees would have given out.
David, frantically scribbling on his notepad, says, “Let’s save the questions for later. I have many. But we need to hear this.” He doesn’t look up from what he’s writing, so he misses the look of fond longing Caolan gives him. This is so weird… yet fascinating.
“We knew nothing then of the consequences of his actions,” Caolan continues.
“The wealthy flocked to him for his service.
They wished to visit times long past or once again visit with those now dead.
He guarded jealously the knowledge of how to create these portals, which caused much furor for millennia, but in retrospect was beneficial.
If there had been hundreds or thousands of others doing the same, the process would have been speeded up.
“It was only three thousand years ago that the anomalies began. Random blips in the fabric of time, and anything that had occurred in that blip ceased to exist. People who’d lived for tens of thousands of years would just vanish as the moment of their conception was erased.”
“Holy fuck.” I’m not sure who whispers it, but it’s imbued with all the horror I feel.
“As it continued, natural catastrophes became the norm. Millions—billions—of moments of sediment settling or of erosion or of rainfall were gradually wiped away, and so over time mountains collapsed, shorelines disappeared, and weather patterns changed drastically. By the time we identified the source, our population had dwindled from tens of millions to less than five million, and we lived in constant fear. His Majesty advised éibhear immediately that his temporal portals were the cause of the disasters and asked that he cease using them. The hope was that our universe would begin to heal if no further timeline anomalies were created. éibhear demanded compensation.”
“He did what ?” Sam shouts, leaping to his feet. “What an asshole!”
Caolan seems to consider that—the translator spell is clearly working overtime—then inclines his head in agreement.
“He very much is, but with our existence at stake, his majesty felt it prudent not to quibble. éibhear was compensated for giving up his business, and it was communicated far and wide that temporal portals were responsible for the ills that were befalling us, just in case anyone else should happen upon how to create one.”
“We can certainly understand why your king feels the need to intercede here, if éibhear is involved,” Percy says. “We thank you greatly for bringing this to our attention.”
A sad smile twists Caolan’s mouth. “I wish that was all, but my story is not yet over.”
I reach out and grab Alistair’s hand again.
He’ll just have to live with it if I squeeze too hard—I need something to hold on to.
I’ve been trying to calculate where the safest place would be to gather everyone if something similar was to happen here, and the answer is nowhere.
Where could we possibly be safe from the destruction of time ?
“Despite our hopes, the issues not only continued, but in fact became worse. It was several more centuries before the life force directed his majesty to the realization that éibhear was still opening temporal portals, doing further damage to the fabric of time. With the aid of the life force, his majesty was able to strip this ability from him, a most traumatizing and arduous feat.” A shiver runs down my spine.
I thought my magic-granted power to compel members of my species was grave, but to strip away an ability?
I can’t imagine the impact that would have on someone’s psyche.
“In light of the severity of the event, and with éibhear’s solemn oath to dedicate himself to researching ways to stabilize our dimension, his majesty allowed him to retain his life.
” Caolan’s tone indicates very clearly what he thinks of that.
“However, at the first opportunity, he fled and declared himself to be the true king of our people. He claims that he alone can save those remaining.”
“I mean no offense by this question,” I say slowly, “but is there any chance he can?”
Caolan shakes his head. “We wondered the same at first, but no. He doesn’t have any way of reversing the damage done or even preventing further damage.
The fabric of time in our dimension is too ravaged now, and there are only a few seasons remaining before it collapses entirely and the dimension is destroyed.
And to answer the question you are too polite to ask, no, he has no claim whatsoever on the throne.
Our king is selected by the life force—in much the same way your lucifer and you yourself are, Aidan.
” He inclines his head to Percy and smiles.
“I can sense it in you like I can in him. It is a great comfort while I’m so far from home. ”
So the life force he’s been speaking of is existential magic. It transcends dimensions… which means we know even less about it than we thought.
“I’m glad to be able to give you comfort,” Percy replies gently. “How many of your people remain? Is it possible to bring them all through portals to here before your dimension collapses?”
For the first time, Caolan looks uneasy.
“I am not here for that,” he says firmly.
“My king feels that he owes a duty to the life force to ensure éibhear cannot do harm to more people and places. éibhear has drawn a small group of like-minded followers, and the souls of our people, both those lost and those preparing for the end, will not rest until he and his followers have been dealt with.” He draws a deep breath.
“For his sins, éibhear has earned soul death.”
“Soul death?” David asks as Percy gasps. I squeeze Alistair’s hand harder. I’m not sure exactly what it is, but it makes the magic unbearably sad.
Caolan nods gravely. “It can only be carried out with the permission and assistance of the life force. The spell has been cast, and unless éibhear performs some deed of such merit that the life force grants him clemency, upon his death, his soul will end. There will be no rebirth.”
This time, I feel my hand clench around Alistair’s, but it’s okay, because his is squeezing back.
Our whole lives are built around the notion that we move to the spiritual plane upon our death and then can choose to be reborn.
Those of us who want to can undergo ceremonies to remember our past lives and our time in the spiritual plane.
When our loved ones die, the knowledge that they go on, that our souls can one day be reunited, helps to ease our pain at their passing.
No rebirth? There could be no punishment worse than that.
Of course, given what he’s done, he certainly deserves it.
“We will certainly do all we can to assist you in your mission,” Percy tells him, “especially given the vested interest we have ourselves. However, whether it was your aim or not, I offer your people sanctuary here on Earth.”
Caolan swallows hard. “I—” His voice cracks. “Thank you. There aren’t many of us left, and… thank you.”
The magic flares around me, happy and… filled with a sense of the inevitable? I have no doubt that Percy has made the right decision. The elves need to live on, and them doing so on Earth is what the magic wants.
“I imagine you’ll want to speak to your king as soon as possible,” David says, “but could I ask a few questions first? So we can begin planning.”
“Of course. Anything you wish to know.”
“How many of you are there, and what is your preferred climate? Do you live in family groups or larger clusters, and how many to each?”
“We are adaptable to climate. Our planet is not dissimilar to yours—or what our records of yours show. The polar ice caps are largely uninhabited, but there are several clans among our survivors who hail from a desert region and would be glad to return to that environment. His majesty has all survivors living within an energy shield on the plains, and some have found it a trial.”
“That’s fine,” David says, taking notes. “We can easily manage that. It might be best to set up several large settlements in different environments for the initial few years. I imagine once people become comfortable being here, they’ll travel a bit and find their own places.”
Caolan nods. “As a species, we enjoy discovering new things and places. I believe once everyone begins to feel safe again, they will return to normal behaviors.”
“And how many of you are there?”
“We are down to just under two hundred thousand.”
I bite down hard on my tongue to keep from making a sound.
“So few?” Elinor looks like she’s going to cry. Caolan nods sadly.
“It is only due to the energy shield that we have that many. Animal life has been all but wiped out—we have some few left for meat, but nothing lives outside the shield. The same for plants—only what we have cultivated remains.”
“Okay,” David says. “Okay. The animals are going to make things harder. I didn’t want to bring this up just yet, but does your spellcasting ability allow you to disguise yourselves? Since the species wars, our continued existence has depended on our ability to hide in plain sight.”
“Some of the smallest children may have difficulty, but their families will assist them,” Caolan says confidently. “Changing one’s appearance is a simple thing.”