The Time King Read online

  Helena rested against the seat and told herself, This too shall pass. Alcohol worked differently on her than most people. Instead of making her sleepy, it woke her up. The reverse was true for caffeine. Coffee worked like Nyquil on her.

  So, she would have a beer or two and go shopping online. Because just about nothing excited her more than the thought of something good coming for her in the mail. It was a horrible habit, and one that saw her return to debt over and over again. But it kept her awake, which kept her alive.

  She would play some video games and watch a thrilling movie. She would do everything she could think of to keep herself awake until the effects of her time bubble passed. And if all else failed and she fell asleep, then she would damn well deal with it before it slaughtered any innocents. Again.

  This too shall pass.

  “I’m waiting,” she hinted at the silence.

  Beside her, Will cleared his throat. It was cute. Adorable, really. She was beginning to realize that although he was the taller of the cousins, he was the temperate one between them, the one who wanted to be reasonable. He was the gentleman. He had a grace about him that normally only accompanied the refinement of vast amounts of time. Yet he was young. Another anomaly was that he displayed empathy, yet there was a hint of something darker behind his eyes. Almost as if he also possessed the ability for greater cruelty between the two cousins. Or perhaps he had simply experienced it.

  He was most certainly an enigma.

  And there was a part of Helena that liked that. A small smile curled the corner of her lips.

  “It’s like Will said,” Liam spoke from the driver’s seat. “We’re here to help you.”

  “Protect you,” said Will. He said it like he meant it.

  In the front seat, Darryl the zombie sighed. “The short of it is luv, a very big baddy-bad is coming for you and none of us want him to succeed, because if he does, we all stand to lose something.”

  Helena opened her eyes, sat up in the seat and met Darryl’s blue-eyed gaze over the back of the front seat. He was smiling a charming, well-practiced smile.

  “You have something to gain by helping me, don’t you?” she asked flatly.

  He studied her in silence for a moment, and she recognized the look of someone who was impressed. But he cocked his head slightly to the side. “Good instincts. But I’m curious. Why would you assume so?”

  “Because I know you,” she told him. She recognized the power coming from him and she’d heard enough about Darryl Maelstrom. She knew he never did anything, least of all help someone, without very good, very selfish reason. “It’s not much of an assumption, believe me. You were killed for a reason,” she added with a small smile. “And brought back for the same.”

  Liam chuckled behind the wheel. “She’s got you pegged.”

  Darryl shot him a quick look, but then returned his attention to her. “Powerful, astute and beautiful. They weren’t joking when they said you were the whole package.”

  Helena’s gaze narrowed. She had just been fed an unwitting piece of information, and she grabbed hold of it with sharpened claws. “They who?” she asked.

  “Not really a they so much as an it. A sentinel,” said Liam Slate. Helena glanced up at him, but she couldn’t see his eyes. They were on the road, and the rearview mirror was turned to the back window.

  “You mean like Ashrim?” Helena asked.

  The boys were quiet a moment. But they did glance at each other. Helena turned to Will. “What?”

  “You know Ash?” he asked, clearly surprised.

  Helena looked from him to his cousin and then to Darryl. Yes, she knew Ash, but the fact that they knew him was unsettling to her. Because the ancient sentinel had always promised to keep her and her powers a secret.

  Sentinels were the protectors of wardens. They had been assigned to watch over them long ago. They could hear the call of a warden in need from across the planet. Ashrim was her sentinel. What were the chances that these guys would know the same sentinel and he wasn’t the sentinel who’d spilled her beans? Ash had always looked after her. Would he really betray her?

  Helena checked herself and looked way from Will; he was distracting. When she did, she realized that she was becoming paranoid. It was the second unpleasant thing that always hit her after drowsiness when the Night Terrors were coming. She leaned forward to speak in Liam’s ear.

  “Put a little lead in it, handsome. There’s no fuzz on this road.”

  Liam Slate went completely still. She knew he was caught off guard, and probably a little turned on by the intimacy of the request; she’d called him “handsome,” and she was so close he could no doubt feel her breath on his neck. But it just came out that way. She couldn’t help it; she was losing her ability to self-moderate. The Night Terrors were coming.

  Plus it was true; there weren’t any cops stationed on this road, not ever. She’d teleported to this stretch a hundred times. It was a go-to. There was a pub about fifteen miles from the entry point. Left-hand side, Lucky’s.

  The car immediately sped up, and Helena sat back, closing her eyes again.

  “You’re not okay, are you?” Will’s voice, now closer, softer. She could tell he had turned toward her, and damn it all if he wasn’t pulling the very same thing on her that she’d just unwittingly pulled on Liam. Helena opened her eyes to find exactly what she feared she would find – Will Slate’s eyes, greener than ever, closer than ever, cutting into her soul. They pinned her to the spot, so gentle and kind – but also not. His lips were slightly curled, sweet but also mean. And his impossibly tall, perfectly strong body now caged her in, protective but… rough, she thought. I bet in bed, he’s just a touch rough….

  Helena blinked, absolutely surprised at herself. Oh crap, she thought. Something really was wrong with her. And it wasn’t just the Night Terrors.

  “I’m… I’m fine,” she lied, her voice choked. She swallowed because her throat had gone dry. “Using that ability just takes a toll on me. I just need -”

  “A drink?” Will filled in for her with a wry smile and an arched brow. He didn’t believe her for a second.

  “Mind if I ask exactly what you did back there?” Liam cut in from the front seat. “How the hell you got us out of that mess of monsters?”

  “Yes, I’m rather curious about that myself,” added Darryl. He was still turned to face her in his seat, and now he draped both of his arms over the back of it, lacing his fingers together. She had his full and undivided attention. Not something she particularly wanted.

  “Okay,” she acquiesced. “But tit for tat. First, what was the name of the sentinel who told you about me?” Helena demanded softly. Her voice was weakening. Dreams were calling. Distinctly unpleasant dreams.

  “His name is Fortescu,” said Will. “He’s our sentinel. And he was chosen to come to us with this job because….” He shrugged a little self-consciously and looked down as if searching for the right words.

  “Because we’re badasses,” said Liam. She could tell from the sound of his voice that he was trying not to grin. She had a feeling he did that a lot.

  “I see,” said Helena. At least it wasn’t Ash she thought. “How do you know Ashrim?”

  Will’s brows lifted. “Ashrim is the most famous sentinel in the realms. He’s supposedly saved for special wardens.” He paused, glancing down the length of her discreetly, quickly, before capturing her eyes once more. “Clearly you qualify.”

  “He’s also a friend,” added Liam from the driver’s seat. “Has been for years.”

  Helena watched the cousins for a moment, looking from one to the other. “Okay,” she said, storing the information away. Ashrim had a lot of friends, it seemed. Or maybe he only had a few – and Will, Liam, and Helena just had something in common.

  Finally, she took a deep breath. “What I did back there was stop time, more or less.” She licked her lips and stared out the window. “I can’t do it for long, and it isn’t easy. That’s why the teleport ba
ck through the portal was so rough. I was using two abilities at once and….”

  “It’s okay,” said Will softly. “We get it.”

  Helena glanced at him. It was a mistake. Every time she did, he reached a little further inside her.

  “What I do is form a kind of field around whatever I want frozen. Time moves around them like normal, but ignores what I freeze. Like I said, at least for a little while.”

  No one said anything. She looked out the window again and wondered what they were thinking. They were wardens… did they think she was a monster? Dangerous? Were they thinking about killing her?

  She’d been down that road with wardens before.

  Double crap, she thought as she closed her eyes. Paranoid, remember? Then, recognizing the familiar change in the sound of the road beneath her tires, she opened her eyes and leaned forward again. “This is it. Up here on the left. The bar is called Lucky’s.”

  Liam nodded, and a few seconds later, they were pulling into the gravel parking lot of a lone road-side tavern with a single flashing sign touting the good fortune of the owner, and several neon signs in the windows advertising types of beer. The establishment was constructed out of sturdy wood logs, and the shutters and frames were painted shamrock green.

  Liam parked the car directly beneath the marquis sign, in the well-lit part of the lot. She’d been feeling rather doomed, so as Liam opened the door and let her out from behind him, Helena told herself, If all else fails and this goes pear-shaped, I did just meet someone who will probably take good care of the car.

  At least there was that.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Will and his cousin flanked Helena as they approached the building. At this point, it was natural for them. He knew it certainly felt natural for him.

  He studied the edifice as Liam grabbed the door and pulled it open. There was something off about the bar, though he couldn’t quite put his finger on what. He had this vague impression that he was walking into a piece of a dream or onto a movie set. It was too isolated, quaint, and too quiet. But when they stepped inside, that impression was diluted like ink in water.

  It’s the Tardis, he thought distractedly. That was the first thing that ran through his head, though it wasn’t technically true. The inside wasn’t really any bigger than the outside, but the amount of life in the tavern was so chaotically in opposition to the calm of the Louisiana night outside, it was disorienting. Like stepping through a time warp or portal or, yeah, the Tardis.

  There were video game arcades all along one wall – and gambling one-armed bandit machines all along another. The floor had everything from neon-lit craps tables to pool tables to ping pong tables, and a third wall was covered in dart boards. Booths occupied the fourth wall, and the bar was in the middle back of the room, an open sort of deal with a counter that circled the bartender’s area so he could serve people from all sides.

  Helena seemed to be well familiar with the joint; she made a bee line for the bar. When the bartender, a small man with a green baseball cap sporting a shamrock, saw her approaching he nodded pointedly at one of the patrons. The patron hastily stood up to vacate his stool, taking his drink with him.

  Will’s brow arched. Interesting.

  When Helena was a good yard or two away, Liam put his hand on Will’s chest, stopping him. “We need to talk,” he said, his eyes merciless.

  Will’s forehead furrowed.

  “About the vampire in your cantaloupe,” Liam followed up, lowering his voice and tapping his own temple with his forefinger. He arched his brow meaningfully and gestured with his head to an empty booth at the back of the bar.

  Will’s gut clenched and his heart sank. This was not a conversation he wanted to have with his cousin at this juncture. He glanced over at Helena, who was gracefully sliding onto the stool at the bar. The bartender smiled warmly and they struck up a conversation, as familiar as if she’d been here a hundred times. She ordered a drink, a simple beer in the bottle, and Will unconsciously slipped his hand into the pocket of his leather jacket to touch the small glass vial he’d tucked away there.

  Suddenly the bartender looked over, singling Will out with a hard look from clear across the room. Helena didn’t notice; she was taking her first drink of the beer. But Will felt that gaze like something pointy.

  An immediate notion raced through his head: He can read my thoughts and he knows what I’m planning to do.

  But the bartender looked away, returning his attention to Helena, and then the other patrons. Will swallowed hard. He looked around the bar as Liam slid into the metal flake green vinyl bench seat across from him. Darryl had veered off and was now joining a group of people at the dart boards.

  “Hey Liam, does that bartender seem a little –”

  “Well hi, boys,” interrupted a sultry voice. “What can I get for you two?”

  Will cut off mid-speech and looked up to find Liam utterly entranced. At the end of their table stood the waitress – a drop dead gorgeous redhead with a small waist and a chest more than ample enough for Victoria’s Secret. She was wearing a pendant chain with a silver Dodge Deluxe Hemi hanging from it. The two-door version of the very same car Liam drove.

  A name tag on her tight white shirt, just above one of her generous gifts, labeled her as “Destiny.” She smiled a coy smile at Liam as she pulled a pad from her apron front pocket, and the pencil from behind her ear.

  Liam opened his mouth to say something, stuttered a phrase or two of nonsensical bullshit, and then closed his mouth again. He was obviously as shocked by Destiny as Will was.

  “He’ll have a beer,” Will filled in for him quickly. He was honestly grateful for the interruption, and that gratitude put him at ease. When the waitress softly laughed and ducked her head a little to look at Liam through her long, lowered eyelashes, it only helped matters.

  Liam blushed furiously, which never failed to endear women to him, and cleared his throat. “Yes, that – that sounds good. I’ll have that.”

  “Gotcha,” she said with a big grin, and Will had to wonder if it wasn’t a double entendre. Liam clearly thought it was, or maybe he just hoped it was; his blush deepened. “And for you, big guy?” she asked, turning to Will. She didn’t grace him with nearly the depth of attention she’d been dishing on Liam, and for the second time since they’d walked into Lucky’s bar, Will found himself grateful. She dug Liam. This was perfect.

  “I’ll have the same,” he said easily.

  She nodded, slipped the pad back into her front pocket, and said, “Be right back.” Then as she turned away, seemingly to Liam alone she added, “Don’t go anywhere.”

  When she was out of ear shot, Liam whistled low. Will chuckled again. He’d seen enough of Liam’s “Ginger Jugs” porn magazines to know full well his tastes leaned toward heavy-chested redheads. “She’s just your type,” he said, grinning at his older cousin. “What are the chances?”

  “Who the hell cares?” Liam replied. He had yet to take his eyes off the waitress, who was now at the bar, leaning over slightly to place drinks on her tray.

  Will’s eyes, however, slipped from the waitress back to the bartender she was talking to. And once again, the man looked up and over, pinning Will to the spot with an un-giving, knowing look. Will blinked, his brow furrowing with real concern. Then he turned to Liam.

  “Hey, uh, I’m gonna go keep our new warden friend company,” he said, angling his head toward Helena meaningfully.

  Liam didn’t respond.

  “Liam.”

  No response. Liam smiled, and Will noticed the waitress was smiling back at him over her shoulder as she placed drinks on another person’s table.

  “Liam!” Will said, adding a bit more volume and leaning over the table to get his cousin’s attention.

  “What?” Liam jumped a little and whipped his head around. Will just stared at him a moment. Almost at once, Liam realized what had happened and he shifted nervously in his seat. “Sorry. What were you saying?”
>
  “I’m getting up now. Have fun with Destiny.”

  Liam watched him rise. Still somewhat uncomfortably abashed, he shifted a bit more and said, “Right. Go for it. Job to do.”

  Will left his big cousin at the booth just as Destiny was returning. They passed right by one another, so Will stopped beside her. “That one mine?”

  “Sure is,” she said, handing him one of the just-opened bottles of beer. He took it from her with a grateful nod, then continued on his way to the bar.

  He was a few yards away when he heard his cousin’s voice back at the table, raised in friendly flirtation. “You know… I drive a hemi.”

  “Do you, now?” Destiny asked, either genuinely interested in Liam’s car, or just genuinely interested in Liam himself. Either way, Will felt a smile on his lips. Things couldn’t get any better. Helena had an open drink he could dump the potion into, he didn’t have to explain away Cain’s presence in his head to Liam, Liam was probably going to hook up with the girl of his dreams – and the stool right beside Helena at the bar had just opened up.

  Will shook his head in wonder and thought, Lucky’s indeed.

  Chapter Twenty

  Lucky’s indeed, his thoughts echoed.

  Wait. Hold up.

  Will stopped in the center of the tavern and turned in place, really giving the bar a hard look this time. When he did, he noticed several things that had escaped him before. There were a lot of beautiful people in the bar. None could hold a candle to Helena, but they were beautiful nonetheless. And you didn’t normally find beautiful people in roadside bars in the middle of the night in the bayous of Louisiana.

  There was no smoke in the bar. No one was lighting up. There was no one arguing. Everyone was happy. Even Darryl had made several bull's-eyes with his darts, and the zombie warlock was actually grinning good naturedly as he toasted drinks with a complete stranger.