Artifice - Man x Man - Book Six

Chapter 2

"Lipa?" I snap. I crawl closer to my warlord, my heart threatens to split listening to him struggle to breathe. "How do you know Lipa?" 

Watching us both, Helen sighs. "I'm from four hundred years in the future-"

"What?" He manages before breaking into another coughing fit. I carefully stroke his hair. 

"My husband is the last Solomonari. Our world is in great peril, the weather is... gone. In some places it rains all the time, flooding it. Others have become deserts. It's hard to grow food, it's hard to survive. The government is doing its best but Tonic and I suspect that the loss of the Solomonari has triggered this. 

There are no schools in my time, so he can't learn to control the weather. We've searched the globe and we've found no one.. but we were able to prove that you existed, through your laws and your deeds. The 'Good King'. Daddy didn't believe Tonic but I just knew that... we just knew that... if we could get to you, you would help us."

It's all so much to take in, I think of Fergus's words. You can never come back. 

"Why us?" I flinch, stopping. "Verando, Helen is your-"

"I know Legardo's progeny when I see one. She looks just like her father." His voice is hoarse as he carefully rolls to sit on his hip and holds onto his ribs. His torn shirt slides down his shoulders and I gasp at the burns that litter his chest. 

"Time travel is not that simple, we couldn't just take anyone, it could affect history. We had to take you when you would have naturally died. Thankfully, Tonic was here when that occurred." Verando's eyebrows pull down as he slowly comes up to a sitting position. My bubble shuddered, we needed to make a decision.

His eyes catch mine. "Mother spoke of this. She said that if I chose to accept her help, it would change history and it would be the last time we ever saw each other. The death of the mythical, the death of the world. It's just surprising that it came true. She's a touch mad, you know. In fact, Whitewind said something along these lines when I begged to bring you back. 

He said that he was looking forward to the events that were about to take place, and that they would be interesting. I figured he meant the war but maybe he was talking about this. Did you use the wolf to find me?" 

"Share with the class next time?" I spit.

"Our air pocket is getting smaller." Helen pleads with us, scooting closer as the edge recedes in. My magic must be draining, I allow a rush of water to come in to cover the floor of the harbor. My hand rests on the puddle but I hesitate, raising my eyes to meet his and search them for answers only to find that he is doing the same. 

"Do you want this? Do you want to go into the future?"

"It sounds like they need you. You don't have to take me-" 

"Yes, we do!" Helen snaps and covers her mouth, clearing her throat. "Yes. Yes, we do. Both of you. Or.. or no deal."

Rolling my eyes, I shake my head at her. "You need to learn to negotiate, there is no deal, you're not doing us a favor."

"I saved your life!" She reminds me quickly. I feel the weight on my hand and once more, I'm looking at my mangled warlord. 

"They need you." His hoarse voice makes me frown and I touch his cheek. Maybe this is a chance to get away, start new, a chance we never would have had here. There would be no Mafia, no church hunting us. Could we really leave our people behind? But... we were already dead, we were supposed to be dead. 

We had already left our people, as history foretold. The world carried on, but what awaited us beyond was scary and unknown, with few known factors such as the assurance that it was ugly and needed our help. I stroke his cheek with my thumb, how can I doom him too? But I can't leave him.

"I need you." I remind him. "Only if you come with me. Only if you do this with me. Actually with me, as my husband. No more Mafia. No more deals. We do this as a team."

The fear in his eyes makes me frown, it's all he knows, but he loves me. He loves me more than he loves the comfort of a world he's the master of. "Together."

I press my hand into the water and murmur the quick spell, whispering the dragon's name. Carefully, I lift my hand as her nose pressed into it and she fills the space. Her body is massive, sticking out of the bubble in all directions and letting in massive amounts of water that pour around us like waterfalls. She nuzzles me with her head and I stroke her nose. 

"Hold the portal open," Helen commands before taking the collar and fastening it around Lipa's neck. "Hi, girl." She scratches the scaley jaw of one of the heads and exhales. "We're going to get on and Lipa is going to take us back to my time."

"How?" Verando questions suspiciously. 

"The collar is a tracking beacon. When I turned it on, Tyler opened a portal on the other side. She knows where to go, she's been there before."

I have so many questions but it would seem we don't have the time for that now. I swallow hard, my mouth feels dry as I climb onto her back, Helen sits beside me and my warlord hesitates on the ground as if he's wondering if dying would be so much easier. 

"You're not escaping this time, you come with us or we don't go at all." I hold out my hand to him, willing him to trust me for once, willing him to join me and take the leap of faith that I have taken with him so many times. 

Finally, he grips my hand and climbs on behind Helen. 

"Take us home, Lipa." Helen pats the creature's side and I shut my eyes as she bows her body before diving into the portal.