I didn’t actually end up puking or fainting, which was surprising to all of us. When I finally gathered my wits, it was to see Manda swinging the necklace in clockwise circles above Horace’s body. Jai limped over to me and slowly gathered me into his arms. After a quick examination of his neck, I relaxed into him, letting him take the weight off my broken leg. The black line on his skin was gone. Maybe it had died with Thanatos.

We watched Manda continue her ritual with the stone, and Jai said quietly. “You’re sure? We won’t be able to separate your memories.” He hesitated, looking down at me. “Horace will have them. He’ll be like a weird extension of you after this. I mean, he’ll have all your knowledge...”

“But he’ll be alive,” I said firmly. “That’s what matters.”

He looked down at me, studying my face. “The old you never would have done that, you know?”

“Screw the old me.”

Jai looked like he was fighting a smile. “Screw all the old rules?”

“Yes.” I nodded. “I want Horace and Manda to be together again. I want them to be happy. And I want…” I stopped short, feeling my cheeks grow hot. What the heck had I been about to say?

I want us to be together.

“Screw the rules,” Jai murmured, and suddenly his mouth was on mine. I could feel his hands on the small of my back, pressing me against him, crushing our bodies together like he was afraid I’d slip away somehow. He kissed me fiercely, as if his desire had been pent up for years. When we pulled apart, both flushed and dishevelled, it occurred to me that it probably had been.

Maybe my adrenaline was kicking in, or the rush of endorphins from the kiss. I was still dizzy and my leg still felt like it was being jabbed with splintered glass, but I wasn’t going to be sick anymore. And I felt…powerful.

Manda stood up suddenly. She stared at the stone in her palm for a moment before curling her fingers around it tightly. “Okay, lets go.” She started for the Kronos clock without a backwards look, and I couldn’t help looking over my shoulder at Horace’s body as we followed her.

“What happens now?” I whispered to Jai as we limped forward. “How do we get him a new body?”

He stooped to pick up the hourglass on the way, examining the tiny amount of sand still left in the upper glass. “There are other realms with other gods. We know one who will help us.”

Other realms. Other Gods.

I tried to force down the fear. Jai reached out and took my hand, squeezing it tightly. “You’ll have me and Manda, and soon we’ll have Horace. We’ll get him a new body right away, and fix your leg. We know what we’re doing.”

Manda stooped down and picked up the clock, holding it out towards me. “Touch it,” she said. Her eyes met mine, and her expression softened. “Kali…” she seemed  to run out of words, so I just shook my head.

“It’s okay.” My hand hovered over the clock. “Just…touch it?”

Jai nodded, and then he glanced down as the last of the sand trickled out of the top of the hourglass. “Better do it now.”
I took a deep breath, suppressed my terror, and let the tip of my finger rest on the Kronos clock.

There was nothing at first, and I had the terrible notion that it wasn’t going to work at all. But then the room around us seemed to shift and grow out of focus. Manda and Jai grew sharper, the lines on their faces were more clear, the colors of their clothing became vibrant. The blood on Manda’s cheek stood out in sharp relief. I could hear noise around me, footsteps on the marble floor. Soldier’s voices yelling. Then it all faded away into silence. Only the sound of the clock continued.

TOCK. TOCK. TOCK.

The room was melting around us. The soldiers form’s blurred and warped. On the floor beside the raised dais, Thanatos’ body moved. My heart seized in my chest for a moment. He’s alive! But he wasn’t getting up. His body had changed to something else. Something long and black. Serpentine in form. Oily black liquid dripped from its neck. His true form was closer to the suckers than human, and I winced and looked away. The room swayed again.

TOCK.TOCK.TOCK.

The walls disappeared as the thunderous sound of the clock shook the insides of my chest. I was gasping, trying to draw in air properly. I felt Jai’s hand tighten on mine. The room was gone, the people were gone. There was empty space around us. Flecks of light blurred past us, blinding me, dazzling me until I was completely breathless. There was no oxygen in my lungs. I was being squeezed by something. Whatever it was, it was crushing the life out of me. The pain was gone, and my body felt light. Formless.

Was this what if felt like to die? I squeezed my eyes shut in terror, not wanting to look down at myself, or over at my companions. Afraid of what I might see. Or what I might not see…

There was the thunderous clap of bells chiming, and the earth slammed into stillness around us.

The walls were gone. The castle was gone. Everything. Gone.

It had been replaced by endless golden sands. A desert stretched out before us, heat rising in waves before us, rippling up like invisible smoke. I staggered backwards, reeling with the shock of sudden pain. Reality slammed into place around me. I was breathing heavily and my leg hurt and my heart was beating again, wildly. Had it stopped before?

Disoriented and panicked I tried to move, and the pain that shot up my leg nearly made me fall backwards off the gentle slope we stood on.  Jai grasped my hand more firmly, steadying me as sand slid under my sneakers.

There was nothing here. Only desert. It stretched ahead of us for miles. Dry and hot. This was the kingdom of Time? My stomach sank. This had to be some kind of mistake. Had we appeared in the wrong place?

Manda touched my arm. I was surprised to find her smiling. She looked as relaxed as I’d ever seen her. The lines around her eyes had relaxed, and she didn’t look jumpy and ready to fight at any minute.“We’re home,” she said. “Turn around.”

I turned, and felt my mouth fall open.

There in the midst of the sands was an oasis. A forest of green trees and soft grey moss. In the distance a waterfall sprayed onto a series of round topped rocks, and spread out beyond that into a clear looking stream. But the best part was the building that presided over the oasis.

It was a palace.

 Rounded peaks and towers grazed the cloudless blue sky. The sun reflected off the golden domes, dazzling my eyes, and there were a number of triangular windows set in the tallest towers. A huge clock face was inlaid at the very top of the center tower, and a long, golden pendulum swung lazily back and forth across the arched doors. It was massive, even from a distance.

 A steep set of marble stairs led up to the pillars at the entrance. There was a lush garden surrounding the palace. Ivy climbed up the base of the building, and wide mouthed purple flowers bobbed their heads in the light breeze. Briefly I wondered if they were regular flowers, or if they were only native to this realm. What kind of strange creatures would be inside the palace?

“Do you like it?” Jai grinned.

“Do I…like…” I stammered. “This is…is this where we live?”

“This is your realm.” Manda beckoned us forward with a jerk of her head. “Come on, lets get you settled in, and then we can see about getting Horace a new body. This time, maybe I’ll make him brunette.”

Jai snorted. “I’m sure he doesn’t approve of you picking out his features like a custom made ken doll.”

“I might as well,” Manda protested.

I ignored their playful bickering, staring up at the palace in awe as we got closer. It took us nearly ten minutes to walk to the oasis, even though it had looked far closer than that. Jai carried my most of the way, so I didn’t put pressure on my leg, he said. I could feel his heart beat as he held me, feel his chest rise up and down with each breath.

We stopped at the curling steps that lead up to the palace, and I tilted my head back to take it in. My heart beat had picked up, and it wasn’t from the hike over here.

“Kali?” Jai paused, foot hovering over the third step. “You okay?”
I couldn’t take my eyes off of the palace looming over me. Did I sit on a throne? Were there strange creatures inside? What if they looked scary and I passed out or something. I’d probably insult them all and they’d kick me out. I felt close to panicking now.

“I don’t think…I can’t do this…”

“Hey.” Jai’s arms tightened around me. “You’re not doing this alone. You’ve got me.”

“You’ve got us.” Manda shot him a stern look, and then her expression softened when she looked at me. “Hey, kid, relax. We’re not gonna let anything happen to you. And don’t worry about ruling and everything. Horace will have all your old memories. He can whisper in your ear.” Manda reached out and touched my arm. Her fingers were rough with constant battle, but her touch was comforting.

“You won’t go this alone.”

“Okay.” I felt the hard knot in my chest unravel a little bit, and a warm spot began to spread in my stomach. I could breathe again. I could do it as long as they were with me, whatever happened to me next, it would be okay. I put one hand on his upper arm and felt the muscles, tense and hard underneath the sleeve of his t-shirt. He was there, he was real. Neither of the guardians were going to vanish and leave me on my own. It would be okay.

Jai’s bright eyes locked with mine, and he gave me a wide, white grin. “You’re not alone anymore.”

I took a deep breath, squeezed his arm more tightly, and we began the climb.

THE END

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