Time Junction (Not finishing anymore, sorry)

Chapter Six

     It didn't take long for the duo to approach the last market stall in the Heath. Its counter, as dirty and foul as it was, was filled with the most bizarre concoctions and ill-coloured potions Will had ever seen, and so transfixed by the items was the red-head that she did not take note of the giant man manning the stall.

     "Billy! How are you fairing?" Eloise greeted. Towering head and shoulders above the two ladies, Billy Roche was a mammoth of a man. His neck, as thick as a tree bark, gave way to a wide chest with chunky limbs, and his hair was tied in a tight knot-bun at the top of his head. He looked very much like a sumo-wrestler, only more frightening and intimidating in real life.

     "Hullo, Eloise," he said. "I am not too bad. An' yourself?" But before Eloise could produce a response Billy's eyes shifted over to Will. "Eh? Who is this lady that so accompanies you this fine morn'?"

     Eloise grinned and put an arm around Will as if they were old buddies "This is Will. She is a wielder."

     Will grimaced. "I am not a—"

     "A wielder, eh?" Billy asked. His eyes held a glint of curiosity and he raised his bushy eyebrows in amusement. "Pray tell, what do you wield?" When Will did not answer, he inched towards her face and looked up and down. "Hold that thought. Where do you come from, wretch? Not once have I seen your face in Huntingston before."

     "I'm not from around here." When his face did not waver, Will sighed and continued to explain. "What I mean is that I am from Huntingston, but not this Huntingston."

     "She is but a time wielder, Billy," Eloise said. "She speaks of a foreign land that is the future and that she was placed here by a—" She looked at Will and muttered, "What did you say? A wanch?"

     Will shook her head. "A watch. A pocket watch."

     "Aye, that was it. A focket watz," Eloise said.

     "A time wielder, you say?" Billy asked, scratching his chin as if he was in some kind of deep thought. "Such wielders are rare, but they do exist. Ay, if my memory does not play false the last time I encountered a time wielder was several years ago. Diego was his name and he was a rather strange fellow. But alas, that is a story that shall be told some other day." He leaned forward. "Now, what is the reason of your summons? What is the matter here?"

     "She does not believe she is a wielder."

     "That's because I'm not," said Will. "I'm telling you, I don't possess any magical abilities of some sort! Why can't you believe me?"

     "Because the scent of your wield is so strong I can hardly remove the stench of it off me bleedin' nose!" Eloise said.

     "Excuse me—"

     "Cease your prattling, ladies," Billy said. "Perhaps she tells of the truth"—he gestured to Will—"Perhaps not."

     "But can you not pathom this? If she is indeed a wielder," Eloise said, her eyes twinkling with some excitement that was building up as she went on, "the society will have sweet, sweet use of such time-shifting abilities!"

     Billy did not respond. Instead he folded his arms and looked from Will to Eloise then back to Will again. He snapped his fingers twice, to which a book from underneath the counter rose towards him in one swift move before it laid itself down on the table. Eloise, upon seeing the flying book, gasped and loosened her hold of Will.

     Will, on the other hand, took this as her chance to escape.

     Make no mistake—she was taken aback by the sight she had just seen, but the little opening Eloise had provided her with when she became distracted by the book seemed to conjure a suggestion in her brain that said: Run! Now's your time to escape!