Chapter 22

22

XAVIER

I slipped out of the Xavier of this time and into my current self, joining the others in the hallway.

The other me blanched. "What is this?"

"Can't you feel it? We're connected."

He cocked an eyebrow. "I feel something is wrong here."

"I think I need more brandy," June said.

"This is getting too freaky," Roman added.

I offered myself a quick explanation, suitable shock creeping across his/our face.

"Butterfly?" he said, frowning deeply. "Isn't he dead?"

"Did you miss the part about time being fucked up?" Roman jumped in.

June sighed. "I definitely want more brandy. Feel free to join me." She returned to the living room.

I would have loved to sit and talk this through again, to have another drink. But things had to move forward now. There had to be a plan.

I relayed this to the other me.

He licked his lips, glancing over his shoulder. "Someone's coming."

I moved closer to watch the night, a figure hurrying up the street toward the house.

"Who is it?" Roman asked.

I blinked several times to be sure of what I saw. "Darcy?"

"As in my future bestie?" Roman said.

"Who is Darcy?" the other me wondered, fully turning to see the human approach. "Another witch?"

Darcy paused at the end of the garden path, holding up a hand as he bent to catch his breath. He wore black jeans and a red T-shirt, his robe gone. Alive. Relief greeted me with a warm embrace, the human's face a much welcome sight.

I let out a huge sigh, brushing past myself to greet him on the garden path. "You're here too?"

Darcy straightened, his hands on his hips. "Christ. I shouldn't run like that."

I considered hugging him, but thought better of it. We weren't men who hugged at this stage of our relationship.

"Are you aware of what's happening?" I asked him.

After a few deep breaths he said, "Only that I've seen glimpses of my life as a teenage boy again. Confused the poor boy. And I know I'm alive and ready to kick the living crap out of Butterfly." He wrinkled his nose. "We are alive, aren't we?"

His voice tickled my senses, music to my ears.

The music of hope.

"Yes," I replied.

"I love a loophole." He grinned, then sagged again.

"This is Darcy?" Roman walked slowly down the path.

"Bloody hell!" Darcy cried.

I caught him as he wobbled on his feet.

"T-Thanks." He steadied himself. "You're so young."

Teenage Roman offered him bristly energy. "You're the rat?"

"Will be." He looked at me. "Can you believe this?"

"We're lucky to have been given this chance," I said. "Let's not waste it."

He nodded. "What happens next?"

"I—"

Propelled back into the future, I saw things through my other eyes there.

Roman. A dagger in his chest. My hearts thumped wildly, my hands reaching for him as if they possessed healing energy.

What happened to him?

I called his name, every eye on the street falling on me.

Humans with guns—ADU agents. Margarite and the lizard demon.

Ismael.

My skin became instantly clammy with fear. "What's going on?"

My ex smiled at me. "How many of you are in there?"

I shivered, his voice always so disarming. "What are you doing here?"

"Are you alone?" Roman aimed at Ismael.

He ignored him, his regal stature radiating power. My chest contracted, my legs filled with lead.

"I loved you so much, Xavier." The king spoke in soft tones. "The dreams I had for us were so special. I miss those carefree days how we used to be." His foreboding exterior melted away, showing the Ismael of old. A smile to break every heart that ever beat, an inner beauty to diminish all contenders of wonder.

Past Me pined for him, fighting to push me away.

"I love you," the other me said.

"But it's too late," I followed up quickly. "My love belongs to another now." I glanced at my witch, his own inner beauty a much stronger radiance, not tarnished by the corruption of power.

Roman smiled for a few seconds, then gnawed anxiously on his bottom lip.

Ismael watched me, his aura of sadness dragging the already chilly temperature down. I shuddered, feeling somewhat cruel. As terrible as he was, his father's death sent him spiraling into the darkness. Not an excuse, I know, but he always had my deepest sympathy. Even now.

More fool me, I suppose. And maybe my sympathies didn't help him move through his grief. Maybe I should have been a more supportive partner to him. Kept him on a better path, not stood back and allowed his rise to tyranny to last for so long.

"You love this witch?" Ismael inquired, unbothered by the guns pointed at him.

Do not try saying yes, Past Me warned.

But I do.

Please…

We both stayed quiet.

"You have nothing to say to me?" Silent black tears suddenly trickled down Ismael's cheeks. "You express your love for another and leave me empty? I see." More tears rolled free, streaks of ink against his bronze complexion. "And I am the one labeled cruel?"

I did speak then, pushing Past Me aside. "You should be sleeping. You'll always be a part of me, Ismael, but our love is in the past. It's time to accept your fate."

He cocked his head to the side. "As you are accepting yours?"

The more he spoke, the hotter my fury burned. Whatever I felt, he posed a threat to my new love. He was the thorn in hope's side, the weed in my front garden that refused to die.

"I will stop you," I asserted.

He pointed a slender finger at me. "I knew you were inside him ." Languidly, he stretched his arms above his head.

"I've had enough of this," the human woman said. "I'm taking you down."

Ismael moved before she did, quick on his feet. An agile, speedy warrior, he hurled something at her. It hit her with a thwack.

"Michelle?" the human man spoke. "What the?—"

She fell onto her back, dropping her gun. A throwing star jutted out of her forehead, one of the points buried deep into her skull. Unblinking, glassy eyes stared up at the sky.

The man went to her, checking her pulse. "She's dead. You killed her."

"Indeed," Ismael drawled, running a hand through his obsidian hair before hurling a second star.

The agent met the same fate, the star hitting him in the left temple.

"No!" Roman roared.

"Yes, Roman!" Ismael bellowed. "Oh, yes!" Slowly, he strode forward. "You are fools to think you can run and hide from us. We may not have magic, but our senses are clear."

"And we remain connected, Roman Gold." Butterfly stepped out of the shadows along with Tanith and two humanoid demons—big men serving in bodyguard roles, carrying guns.

Break his neck. All I had to do was break his neck. Their necks.

Tanith opened her mouth. "This is what you get for not aiding me willingly, Xavier."

"Why aren't you dead yet?" Roman snapped at her.

"You first, human." Her forked tongue flickered in his direction.

I tensed, ready to pull it from her mouth.

Roman ignored her.

Ismael stepped closer, an explosion rumbling somewhere in the distance. "Did you hear that? Do you smell it?" He sniffed the air, the faint trace of burning making its way to us. "It is the end, Xavier. Everything will fall to make way for the new." A breeze caught his hair, his silky tresses rippling in the breeze. "You can either follow me, this folly forgiven, or you can die. No matter what parts of you hide within your handsome shell, I will not allow you to draw breath if you side with the witch."

I love Ismael so much, Past Me said. I have to… I can't betray him.

He has to be stopped, I countered. You know this. You feel this. The last thing I ever wanted was to be apart from him. It hurts seeing his face. But our love died.

Then it can be resurrected, Past Me tried.

No. You feel what I feel.

Roman…

Yes. Roman. He is our future.

"Kill me," Past Me suddenly blurted. "Kill me, Ismael. Please. I can't stand this. I can't love you with this poison inside me."

Whatever emotions had brought Past Me here to help Roman, they were slipping away.

No! I cried. Fight this. You ? —

"Get out of me!" he bellowed, sending me hurtling back into my body.

I gasped, unsteady on my feet. "No…"

"What happened?" Teenage Roman asked.

I tried to get back, drowning out the voices around me, fighting to return. He couldn't give up like that. If he died, he might destroy everything. I wouldn't let this be the end.

Let me in. Let me in. Let me in.

I didn't move.

I tried a different tactic, asking my other self to reach out.

He failed to make a connection, too bemused to focus.

My frustration sent ice into my veins. I battled more of those doom-laden visions, desperate to tear through space and time to get to my witch.

"There's got to be a way to reconnect," Darcy said. "What if I try a spell?"

"What kind of spell?" Roman asked. "I can help." He cracked his knuckles.

"Let me think for a moment." Darcy stroked his chin like a fictional detective. "There isn't a lot at our disposal." He tapped his foot. "I'm going to need ten minutes."

I kept trying to reconnect to Past Me, hoping I would see reason.

Three cars with tinted windows sped down the street, breaking my concentration. Four human witch men exited the front and rear vehicles, each of them wearing black suits. A witch woman, also in a black suit, got out of the middle car, holding the door open for Queen Margarite.

What now?

With grace and extremely perfect posture, she slid out of the car in casual dress—jeans, a T-shirt, her brown graying hair scraped back into a ponytail. A different woman to the one we'd become accustomed to, still projecting a fierce strength but without the sorrow over losing her son and husband dragging her into madness. Certainly not the queen with a hateful rhetoric to ignite so many terrible fires across the world.

This was the Margarite I remembered seeing on the television when I first came here, always with King Lawrence by her side. He wasn't with her tonight, but very much alive at Buckingham Palace along with their son and daughter.

The queen approached, flanked by her bodyguards. They inspected the area, constantly speaking into comms devices on their wrists.

"Oh my goodness!" June cried from the house. "Her Majesty!"

The woman bodyguard opened the garden gate for her. Margarite stepped through, everyone offering respectful greetings.

I did the same in spite of my frustrations.

Why was she here?

"Hello, everyone," she spoke in smooth tones.

"Your Majesty," June said, a bundle of nerves. "Welcome to my home. Can I get you anything? This is so unexpected. What a pleasure. I…" She drew in a sharp breath.

"Easy, Grandma," Roman soothed. "Easy."

"Thank you for the kind offer," Margarite responded, "but there is no need. I'm here because I keep seeing myself dead."

No one answered, the only sound was June breathing heavily.

"Yet not as dead as I should be. And your faces, aside from yours, madam," she directed that at June, "are all part of these strange visions." She looked at each of us in turn, stopping on Roman. "You are much younger here. You drew me here. I saw you, connected to you. I think. I'm not sure."

Teenage Roman's mouth hung open as he stared at her.

"I do not have the ability to receive visions," the queen continued. "Something terrible is going on here." She touched her throat. "I'm afraid for my family. Please. I know this is sudden, but I need you to tell me what's happening. Why are you all in my life? Why am I seeing a dead me follow an older you?" She gestured at Roman.

June put a protective arm around him. "I'm not sure how much we can tell you, Your Majesty."

"Tell her," I said, continuing my attempts to connect to the other time.

The others shared key bits of information with the queen.

Margarite's cheeks bloomed crimson at the end of the tale.

"Brandy?" June offered.

The queen straightened her spine against her shock. "I heard something from that other time. Something about a jar opening at the right time."

"The piece of time?" Roman said. "What?—"

"I have an idea!" Darcy interjected. "If Roman is central to everything, maybe all parts of him have to be in the same spot at the same time to open the jar."

Interesting idea. "Do you really think that will work?"

"I have no idea, but it's worth a try."

Thunder rumbled somewhere in the distance. I didn't smell rain, and the night sky showed no signs of encroaching storm clouds.

Just like in the desert…

I listened intently for the next rumble. Was the sky about to fall again?

"Can you connect with present Roman?" Darcy asked, his eyes on the sky.

"I can try." Roman hopped from foot to foot, the air thick with tension. "Give me a second."

Margarite watched him, her stare hard and cold, hints of her future self already gestating beneath the surface.

I swallowed a surge of anger. She made me nervous being so close to Roman. Even though we were in relatively safer times, it didn't mean the younger version of him was safe. With the laws of nature and magic completely broken, who knew what would happen next.

The thunder hadn't sounded again.

As Darcy talked Roman through the spell, even suggesting a form of meditation to help him empty his mind, I did my own focusing.

"Your talking doesn't help!" Roman snapped at his future best friend.

"Sorry. Just empty your mind."

"Will you zip it?"

His grandmother admonished him for his rudeness.

"He's stroppy in the future," Darcy said.

"Nice to see nothing changes," June replied.

"Sorry," Roman said meekly, "but I do need a bit of quiet."

"You're right," Darcy agreed. "I'm sorry too. Now, focus."

I couldn't help but smile at their back and forth. Even in an upside-down reality, their bond remained in some form.

Rolling my shoulders, I reached out to the future.

Please let me in, I begged across the darkness. You don't have to die. We can make this right.

To my surprise, Past Me let me in.

"Is that what you really want?" Ismael said as my vision fell into focus.

"No!" Roman bellowed. "Dig deep! Don't you fucking dare let him win."

Ismael's gaze bore into mine, black tears still streaming down his face. "I lost you a long time ago."

I tried to speak, but this Xavier's mouth stayed firmly shut. He may have let me in, but he offered no further graces.

This is the end of us… he said.

No. It can't end like this.

This love for the human is poison…

"Xavier…" Roman tried. "Please. I?—"

Ismael moved with terrifying speed, snatching the gun from a bodyguard's hands.

"Goodbye, my love."

He pulled the trigger.