Homeward

Back away slowly, Leura thought to herself. Don’t scream. Don’t run.

But before Leura could take even a single step, the creature moved into the light of the torches, and she let out an ear splitting scream.

It was a bear as tall as a bus, even while walking on all fours. It had a short snout, and thick, dark fur. Its eyes were black and staring directly at Leura.

When it heard her scream it stood up on its hind legs, towering over her like a monster straight out of a nightmare. It roared and Leura felt her entire body vibrate with the sheer force of it. Then it dropped back to all fours, and charged at her.

The world seemed to move in slow motion. Leura’s body and mind were frozen. All she could see was the fierce face of the bear, its jagged teeth and empty eyes, crossing the distance between them with horrifying speed.

She flung her hand inside her robes and grabbed the zero point blade, but in her panic she pulled it out so fast she lost her grip and it went tumbling out of her hand. It landed with a loud crack onto the metal grating above her mother’s cell, and disappeared through one of the narrow gaps.

Seeing her greatest weapon fall out of reach right as she needed it most pushed her over the edge of panic and she ran from the bear faster than she’d ever run from anything in her entire life.

The bear was much faster, but she was much closer to the tunnel. As Leura took a running jump out of the hall, she felt the warm breath of the bear on her neck, and heard the back of her robes tear as it swiped at her with claws the size of kitchen knives. She went sprawling onto the icy floor and scrambled forward as the bear lodged its upper body into the tunnel behind her. It reached out its giant arms to pull her back, but the bear was far too big to follow her inside, and Leura was already running along the tunnel as fast as her shaking legs could carry her.

It wasn’t until she was back at the ice bridge that she was calm enough to start thinking clearly again. Her mum, the blade, the bear… it all crashed violently around in her head, until she forced herself to take a few slow breaths. Her mind began to settle, and she was left with a sinking realisation that, for a fleeting moment, made her want to jump from the bridge and disappear beneath the mammoth’s stomping feet. It was over. She’d failed. There was nothing she could do now, not with that bear guarding the cells. She would never talk to her mum, never hear the explanation she craved so deeply. She would live in doubt for the rest of her life, forever tormented by the slim hope that Bowen had been wrong. That her mother had never chosen to abandon her.

While she stood there grappling with despair, an odd sense of satisfaction managed to creep its way inside her. Knowing that the zero point blade had made its way back to her mother, even if it was by accident, was the only kind thought in an ocean of grief. Maybe it could help her, though Leura couldn’t see how.

With another deep, slow breath, Leura made her way back over the ice bridge, to where Wentworth and Sol were huddling in the dark waiting for her.

“What took you so long!” said Wentworth, his eyes wide with fear. “The hour is nearly up!”

“I know,” hissed Leura, “we need to leave, right now.” She grabbed Wentworth by the arm and pulled him along, with Sol close behind them.

The dice of serendipity guided them at every turn. Although it often felt like it was leading them the long way around, it kept them away from the patrolling guards, at least, as far away from them as it could. They still had to spend a few painstaking minutes crouched in shadows as the fur-laden tribesmen moved across their path, but they eventually made it safely to the outer courtyard.

“No sign of that mammoth,” said Sol, peering out into the snow covered grounds. “Better ask the dice if we can make a run for it.”

They all stared grimly down as the dice came to a halt showing a flaming golden 39.

“Not the best odds,” muttered Sol.

“You think?” said Wentworth with exasperation.

“Maybe if we give it a minute the odds will improve?”

“We don’t have a minute,” said Leura tensely. She could hear the sound of voices drifting up the tunnel behind them. She rolled the dice again, and this time it was a lighter gold with the number 44.

“See! The mammoth must be moving away from us, let’s just give it a tiny bit longer.”

But the voices were growing louder, and their time was dangerously close to running out. Leura counted to five as slowly as her nerves would allow, then rolled the dice again. A pure yellow 51 appeared, and Leura snatched up the dice and said “good enough,” before sprinting out into the courtyard.

This time they made it a little over half way before the thundering sound of the mammoth reached them. But they were expecting it, and kept their focus on the tunnel entrance ahead of them. They made it inside with a second or so to spare, and Leura looked back as they disappeared into the tunnel to see the large brown eyes of the mammoth staring straight at her, one pearly tusk and its thick brown trunk sticking through the entrance after them. For a brief moment, she thought it looked rather cute, although that may just be because she was comparing it to the monstrous bear inside the tower.

The dice led them out of Jotunheim without any other delays, and though they were beyond exhausted and frozen to the bone, they kept up a running pace in the direction of the rock outcrop. Twice they had to stop and check with the dice if they were heading in the right direction, but then Wentworth gave an excited cry and pointed towards a dark mass amongst the white landscape.

“You’re late,” said Harlow, as they scrambled up onto the rock a short while later. “I was just about to give up on you.”

“Thanks,” gasped Leura, “for waiting.” Then she collapsed onto the rock at Harlow’s feet, Wentworth and Sol beside her, all of them struggling to catch their breath.

Harlow gave an irritable grunt in response, then the frozen landscape collapsed and was replaced by a warm breeze and the smell of grass and maple trees.

It took them a long time to recover enough to make the journey back to Alexandria, much to Harlow’s frustration. They picked up some grupple at the skyport, which helped immensely, and by the time they were back at the Great Library they were feeling much better.

Which is more than could be said for Cron.

Harlow had brought Cron and Jhon back ahead of them, and they were having a heated argument down in the tomb when the twins and Sol arrived. From the look of shock on both their faces, it was clear to Leura they weren’t expecting to see them tonight, or ever again.

“You made it!” said Jhon, giving them all a warm smile.

“So after all that you didn’t even get inside,” accused Cron, his face more sour than they’d ever seen it.

“Of course we did,” snapped Sol, “and thanks for the heads up about the mammoths by the way - would’ve been terrible to run into them with no warning.”

“And the bear,” said Leura in a low voice.

The colour drained from Cron’s face. “You made it into the tower? How did you… that’s impossible.”

“When are you going to learn to stop underestimating us?” asked Sol smugly.

Cron opened his mouth to reply but Jhon cut him off. “I don’t care how you got in, I’m just glad you got yourselves back here and we can put this whole thing behind us, no harm done.” He glared at Cron. “And don’t you dare get caught in a stupid bet like that again cousin, or I swear I’ll tell both our fathers about it.” He gave the twins and Sol a final nod and left them alone in the tomb with Cron.

No one spoke for a few moments as they glared at each other. The experience had done nothing to improve the way they felt about one another. Leura was certain she’d never hated another person more than she hated Cron in that moment.

“Get in then,” Cron barked at them, climbing into the sarcophagus. Without a word they followed, and working together, they travelled six years into the future, back to the morning of New Dawn Day, shortly after they’d left in the first place.

Cron leapt out of the sarcophagus and marched towards the door, but Leura couldn’t stop herself from yelling after him, “Is it really worth all this sneaking around Cron? Why are you risking getting caught by the CI just to see Jhon?”

Cron stood rigid at the door. He didn’t turn around, but his voice sounded nothing like she’d ever heard before. It was vacant, emotionless. “Because that’s the only time I can. Jhon died while he was still a white robe.” The silence that followed carried enough weight to make all three of them stop breathing. Cron turned back towards them, and Leura had to look away from the conflict plastered across his face. It was clear he hated telling them this, but felt he had no other choice. “The tenets protect us from chaos, I won’t break them, I’m no traitor like Volkova, but just because I can’t save him sure as hell doesn’t mean I can’t go see him. None of you can say a word about this place, you hear me, or I’ll lose my way back there…” he stopped again, and seemed to lose much of the wolf within him, appearing to Leura for the first time like just another kid, who knows far too much about loss. “Please.”

Leura didn’t trust herself to speak, so instead she forced herself to look Cron directly in the eyes and gave him a slow, solemn nod.

Cron disappeared through the door without another sound. The three of them stood there in shock for a few moments, before making their way out of the sarcophagus, and back towards their living quarters.

They washed and changed, then found a quiet corner where Leura could finally tell them everything that had happened after she’d crossed the ice bridge. None of them spoke about Cron. Leura wasn’t sure she’d ever want to again.

“You saw her… you actually saw her,” said Wentworth, staring vacantly at the wall beside them.

“And you dropped the blade in her cell, with the part of Stardust still on it?” asked Sol.

Leura felt a stab of guilt. Stardust was currently in the shape of a small golden cat and Sol was holding it in her lap as they spoke. Leura knew Sol cared deeply about Stardust, and wouldn’t like the idea of a part of it being trapped in Jotunheim.

“Yes, I’m sorry Sol, it was an accident, I panicked. That thing wasn’t a normal bear, it was a monster.”

“It sounds like an Arctodus,” said Wentworth quietly. When he saw the confused looks on their faces, he added, “a giant short-faced bear. They went extinct around the same time as the mammoths.”

“Well whatever it was, it made the mammoths seem cute and cuddly,” said Leura, crossing her arms tightly.

“It’s okay Leura, I’m sure your mum will keep that part of Stardust safe,” said Sol reassuringly. “Although, it doesn’t seem like we’ll ever get the chance to see her again.”

Leura felt like her heart was being slowly torn to shreds. She hadn’t told the others just how small and bare the cells in Jotunheim were. The thought of her mother trapped in there was devouring her from the inside out. But she knew that even with the dice, breaking her out would be impossible.

“We’ll come up with something, find some other way to help her, I know we will,” said Wentworth, and Leura was so surprised to hear him say it that her eyes welled with tears.

“That’s right, Wenny. We will.” She spoke with a practised certainty. She’d been telling Wentworth what he needed to hear instead of what she really felt for as long as she could remember, so lying to him now came naturally. She did not believe a word of it though.

She knew her one and only chance to free her mother had just slipped through her fingers. She would die in that frozen pit, hoping for someone to come and save her. Leura wondered if Raya would think of her in the end, when she finally realised no one was coming, and needed to imagine someone’s face in the darkness. Someone she could blame for abandoning her. Someone she could hate.

After New Dawn Day, the twins were kept busier than ever with their lessons.

Leura felt like she was on auto-pilot. She could function perfectly, and act just as she normally would, but inside she felt nothing. Sometimes she would wonder if this meant she was broken beyond repair, but when that also failed to change the numbness her internal world had become, she slipped back into auto-pilot without complaint.

Many weeks passed this way, though to Leura it felt like hardly any. And then one day Callimachus surprised the white robe students by announcing they would be given the first chance to complete their first grading in a little over a month’s time.

“Earning your blue robes isn’t easy,” he warned them in his gruffest voice. “The blue rank is where the real training begins. Which is why the gradings are so difficult. Not all of you will pass, and those that don’t will have to wait until next year’s grading.”

Leura could feel the mounting tension in the room, though none in herself. The rest of the class were giving Callimachus their full attention, clearly desperate not to get left behind.

“Each Librarian will have their own task for you to complete, and you’ll have to pass every one of them to earn your blue robes. So work hard over these coming weeks, and do us proud.”

With all the extra work being given to them by the Librarians, Leura found it easier than ever to just go through the motions, keeping all thoughts of Raya buried deep in the back of their mind.

The gradings were held over three days, and it was a big affair at Alexandria. All of the students took part, and regular classes were put on hold.

“Relax Wenny, you’ve gotten much better these last few weeks,” said Leura over breakfast on the morning before their first trial, which was for Istros’ class, Space Age Weapons and Combat Training.

“I’m the worst fighter in the whole class, everyone knows it,” said Wentworth miserably. “I’m going to fail for sure.”

“You were the worst fighter,” Sol corrected him cheerfully, “but we fixed that, now you’re better than at least half of them, you’ll do just fine.”

Leura wasn’t quite sure she believed Sol, but they had been doing lots of extra training with Wentworth to improve his jiu jitsu and he was definitely much better, though considering how terrible he’d been at the start that wasn’t saying much.

“Just relax Wenny, you’ll pass, and after this one all of the others will be a piece of cake.” She had no trouble believing that. Wentworth was the top student in almost every other class.

Their first trial started with questions about common weapons and warships used during the Expansionist era, then it was straight on to challenge matches. Istros watched and scored their performance as they fought each other in one-on-one fights in the Sandbox, which was simulating a space station in the middle of a warzone, with flashing lights, small explosions, and artificial gravity switching on and off, so the fighters would have to adapt between fighting on the ground, and fighting in mid air.

Leura squared off against her first opponent with the cool, calculating mind of someone who hadn’t felt emotions in weeks. But as the fight progressed, something began to change. She was matched with a larger boy, one of Cron’s outer circle. He wasn’t particularly good, but he was stronger and fought dirty, pinching, poking, and even going for the occasional bite. Leura wasn’t sure whether it was the intensity of being watched so closely by Istros, or the constant foul-play from her opponent, but suddenly a wall came crumbling down inside her mind, and she felt herself being swept away by an overwhelmingly strong emotion. Pure, blinding, rage.

She crash-tackled her opponent to the ground, pinning his chest down with her body and grabbing him by the throat, choking him with every ounce of strength she had. The boy began to panic, sensing the change in her. He managed to roll over onto his stomach but Leura sunk her arms around his neck and began choking him again. He tapped her on the shoulder, surrendering the fight, but Leura did not let go. A few seconds later, she felt his body go limp as he fell unconscious, and then the vice-like grip of Istros pulling her off him.

Her blinding rage turned into shock. Istros crouched over the boy as he woke up, his body jerking erratically as the blood flow returned to his brain. Istros escorted them both to the sidelines. She didn’t say a word to Leura, but she didn’t have to. There was a disappointment on her face Leura had never seen before. And something else too. Perhaps it was concern, though she found it too hard to read Istros to know for sure.

Leura was not given another fight. She stood on the sidelines while everyone else continued to compete, wondering what had happened and trying not to think about the fact that she’d probably just failed her grading.

Sol won all three of her challenge matches easily, though her tiny size put her at a disadvantage. Istros even gave her a rare nod of approval when she’d finished her last fight, stirring more emotions in Leura as her jealousy flared at the sight.

When it was Wentworth’s turn, Leura knew her emotions were back for good as she felt sick with nerves as he walked out into the middle of the Sandbox with a green tinge on his pale face. Istros had paired him with a student called Albert, who Leura knew wasn’t a very good fighter, and she felt a sudden rush of gratitude towards the Librarian, which only added to the shame she felt for letting her down.

The fight began, and Wentworth was taken to the ground immediately, fighting desperately to keep Albert from getting in too strong a position on top of him. For a moment it looked like Wentworth would lose the fight straight away, but then the artificial gravity switched off, and both boys floated up into the air, giving Wentworth the space to free himself from Albert’s grip. They tumbled through the air, trying desperately to catch the other with a joint lock or stranglehold. The gravity switched back on, and they came crashing back to the ground, but the fall worked in Wentworth’s favour, who now found himself in the top position and pressed the attack, catching Albert in an armbar and winning the match.

It was hard to say who looked more relieved, Wentworth or Leura, but the confidence boost from his first win carried Wentworth through another victory in his second match, and to only a narrow defeat in his third, though Leura felt confident he’d scored high enough to pass the trial.

As they left the Sandbox, Leura tried to catch Istros’ eye, hoping to find any reassurance that she was not going to fail her for losing control. But the stoic Librarian did not spare her another look, and Leura left with a knot in the pit of her stomach, fearing she’d just ruined her chances of grading on the very first trial. It was almost enough to make her wish the numbness would return, but it seemed the fight had finally brought her back to the world of the living. If anything, her emotions felt more raw and powerful than before, after spending so many weeks without them. She tested herself by thinking of Raya in her cell and instantly regretted it as waves of nauseating guilt coursed through her. She felt weak. More fragile than she’d ever been. The very last thing she wanted was to complete more gruelling tests for the other Librarians.

Fortunately, what she’d told Wentworth that morning turned out to be true. The rest of the trials were easier.

They spent a fun few hours with Mika riding hoverboards, training Nex Pets, solving puzzles with nanobots, and answering trivia about the various gadgets and tools he’d been showing them from all over time.

For Callimachus’s trial they had to travel ten years into the future all on their own, pick up a token from a Librarian who was waiting for them there, and bring it back to Callimachus. This was the trial with the most failures. Many of the white robes couldn’t travel that far without help. Leura, Wentworth and Sol however, didn’t have any trouble with it. In fact, Leura felt a little disappointed that they weren’t allowed to travel further. She knew she was already capable of travelling much greater distances than a mere ten years.

Their other trials were all theory tests, and though Leura found the History of Humanity, and Artificial Intelligence, Awareness and Safety trials to be easy enough, she struggled greatly with The Fundamentals of Quantum Relativity, and spent the rest of the day deeply afraid that even if she hadn’t failed Istros’ test, she’d definitely failed this one.

“Everyone struggled,” Sol said reassuringly, “I’m sure you did better than most of the class, they’re not going to hold you back from your blue robes, you’re top of the class in Mika’s and Callimachus’s!”

Despite Sol’s efforts, Leura had a restless night, dreading the next day when the results would be released and all passing students would be going into the town of Alexandria to get their new robes. It was made even worse by the frequent thoughts of Raya, that were taking advantage of her weakened state to make her relive her failure at Jotunheim over and over again. Leura thought about running away so many times that night she lost count. She would go back to her father and never leave his shadow again. She finally understood why a person would spend their life in hiding, never taking any risks or trying anything new. Once you’ve failed so completely, anything seems better than failing like that again.

The grading ceremony was held in the atrium at noon. All the students of Alexandria gathered nervously around a raised podium where Aristar announced the names of those who had successfully graded. She began with the black robed students who’d now earned their red robes, the rank of master. There were very few of them, as most students left Alexandria after their first year as a black robe. Only the dedicated few with high aspirations for themselves remained behind for the long and difficult training for the red robe rank. Leura applauded with the rest as each name was called, and felt a longing to hear her own name announced for achieving her red robes. She glanced over at Wentworth, whose face had the same hungry look as her own, and she knew that her twin would also not be satisfied leaving this place without reaching the rank of master. She had little faith she’d ever make it that far now, not when it seemed she couldn’t even get her blue robes, but she knew Wentworth could do it. It shocked her to realise this was the first time in her life she considered her twin more capable than herself.

Aristar moved on to the black robes who had successfully graduated and were now leaving Alexandria. There was a great deal of cheering and hugging amongst the graduating class, and Leura wondered where they would all be heading to, and what sort of life was waiting for them outside of Alexandria.

Next came the brown robes who had now reached black, and the successful students made their way out of the atrium and off towards the town market to pick up a new set of robes. Slowly Aristar moved through the purple robes, then blue robes, and finally on to the white robes.

Leura’s palms began to sweat as Aristar began calling out the names of her classmates. She was not surprised to hear Cron’s name called, although she was still disappointed. Aristar made her way through them in alphabetical order, and Leura felt the air leave her lungs and a high pitched ringing in her ears as they reached the names starting with L. She was so distracted by her anxiety that she missed her name altogether, only realising it must have been called when Sol started bouncing up and down beside her and squeezing her arm so hard it ached, while Wentworth proudly patted her on the shoulder. In a daze she started making her way out of the atrium, moving slowly, like she thought Aristar would announce there’d been a mistake, and tell her to go back.

Leura looked up at the podium as she walked, and spotted Istros standing near the back wall. The fierce Librarian was looking straight at her, and she thought she saw her give the faintest of nods before turning her attention back to Aristar. Leura felt tears of gratitude swell in her eyes and fought desperately to stop them from spilling over.

Before she’d covered even half the distance to the main entrance, she heard “Solarius Helenor” called out and felt a strong rush of relief. Then, just as she was reaching the entrance, she felt a burst of happiness as Aristar called out “Wentworth Fall.”

All three of them united outside the library, and after a great deal of hugging and laughing they made their way together down towards the town marketplace, to pick up their new blue robes. But with each step Leura took, she felt the elation leaving her. She knew she had only passed because Istros had decided to take pity on her, rather than punish her. And now that the grading was over, it was painfully clear how little it changed anything. Wearing blue robes would not erase the torment she suffered whenever she thought about her mother. She was just as helpless now as she was before.

Leura did not let Wentworth and Sol see the darkness that had enveloped her once again. It wasn’t hard to hide it. She’d had plenty of practice.

With grading over for the year, Alexandria was entering a brief holiday period, where there were no classes, and many of the students and Librarians went home to their own times.

The twins had no particular desire to go home, but Sol came up with an idea that made it seem more bearable. “Why don’t I come with you to your home, and then I’ll take you to mine! You can meet my family, and I’ll show you the EcoDomes I grew up in, it’ll be fun!”

They eagerly agreed, and signed up for assistance making the journey, along with all the other younger students that couldn’t travel that far on their own. Their scheduled departure was late in the evening, and they spent the afternoon playing games in the Rec room while they waited. With the stress of the grading gone, Leura’s thoughts dwelt constantly on her mother, trapped in her icy cell. The idea of going on a holiday while she was still trapped in Jotunheim made her want to throw up. But she had stopped trying to redirect her thoughts away from Raya. They were her punishment for giving up. If she couldn’t save her, the very least she could do was suffer alongside her.

As they made their way to the Lighthouse later that day, they were surprised to see Mika and Aristar waiting for them, along with a stranger. They were facing away from them, but as they turned, Leura felt adrenaline flood her body and her muscles tense, like they were preparing her to either run from here as fast as she could, or stand her ground and fight.

“Why are you here?” Leura asked aggressively before she could stop herself.

Mika and Aristar looked shocked at her rudeness, but Leura wasn’t paying attention to them. She had eyes only for the woman they were with. Her shiny black hair was pulled taut, her sharp and long features were distorted with anger, making her look even more like a crow than Leura remembered. Seeing her again brought back all the hate she had nurtured over countless hours thinking about the night Raya was taken. She had become the face of the enemy, the person Leura blamed most for all that she’d lost.

Valkyr Thorisdottir glared at her. “Perhaps, you’d like to try that again. You’re speaking to a Continuum Intelligence officer, not some other snot-nosed little white robe.”

Leura’s eyes flashed dangerously and she opened her mouth to retaliate but stopped when she saw the look on Aristar’s face. The Head Librarian was not angry. Instead she looked at Leura with wide, anxious eyes, and subtly shook her head. The message was clear. Do not provoke this woman. Leura had never seen Aristar show even the slightest trace of fear before, but she was afraid now. And that fear quickly spread into Leura.

“I… I’m sorry, I was just surprised to see you here… All of you,” said Leura, not meeting Valkyr’s gaze.

“Better,” sneered Valkyr. “We were just arranging your trip home. You’ll be travelling with me.”

“What?” said Leura loudly, before quickly adding, “it’s just, I didn’t think the CI did that sort of thing?”

“And what makes you think you have the slightest idea what the CI does or doesn’t do?” asked Valkyr sharply.

Leura fell silent. She could feel the tension in Wentworth and Sol beside her. She knew they were thinking the same thing she was. The CI must know they broke into Jotunheim. Was that why Valkyr was here? To arrest them and lock them up just like their mother? Leura pictured herself in one of the icy cells in Jotunheim and felt her legs start to tremble. At least I’d be close to mum though.

“Mika will be travelling with you,” said Aristar with a finality that made it seem like she’d been making this demand repeatedly.

Valkyr turned slowly towards her. “As I’ve said, the CI does not need assistance from the Librarians. I will take the children alone.”

Aristar surveyed her with her usual cold expression, all trace of the fear she’d let Leura see before was entirely hidden. “The Head Librarian is responsible for the wellbeing of each and every student. The fact that the CI is inclined to intervene on a routine transport does not make me exempt from my duties. Librarian Mika will ensure our students arrive safely in their own times. Any grievance you have can be taken up with the Board, I’m sure Frey would love to hear it.”

Valkyr looked ready to scream at Aristar, but Mika took a confident step towards her. “Stop wasting time, Val, we both know you’d rather let me come than have to ask that old crone for help. We go together or not at all. Let’s just get this done.” The way he spoke to her, and the way she looked at him, made it clear as day. They knew each other. Not as Librarian and CI officer. Not even as competitors at the Temporal Tournament. It was deeper than that. They’d been friends… There was once a time when they cared about each other, the way Leura cared about Wentworth and Sol now.

Just thinking about it made Leura want to cry. It was like Mika had been contaminated by something foul and rotten. Something that could never be wiped clean.

Valkyr let them all sit uncomfortably in silence for a moment, then she turned without a word towards the time capsule. Mika nodded to Aristar then waved for the twins and Sol to follow him in Valkyr’s wake.

The journey home was an awkward one. Leura couldn’t help but remember the way Mika had made these trips feel exciting and spoke to them non-stop all the way. But with Valkyr here, everyone was silent and brooding. Valkyr seemed to be paying more attention to the people and things around them, almost as if she was looking for something.

When they arrived at Dials, Springs & Pendulums, Leura felt a rush of relief that they weren’t being taken to Jotunheim after all. But anxiety quickly consumed her once more as she tried to figure out what other reason Valkyr could have for being here.

They’d deliberately arrived late in the evening, right at the time Tony would be finishing work at the museum, not too far away. They used the phone to call him and asked him to come and pick them up. They waited for him in the store, and he came bursting through the doors a short while later.

“Leura! Wentworth!” he beamed from ear to ear as he pulled the twins into a tight hug. “You’ve been gone too long this time! I was starting to get worried.”

“We’re taking good care of them, and you’ll be pleased to know they successfully graded and are now blue robe students,” said Mika with a wide smile.

“Hi, I’m Solarius Helenor,” said Sol loudly, holding out one of her tiny hands for Tony to shake.

“Ah yes, the twins have told me all about you Sol, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” said Tony, shaking her hand firmly.

“I wonder,” interrupted Valkyr, “if we could have a word in private, Mr Fall.”

There was a sudden tension in the room. Tony looked over at Valkyr for the first time, stumbling on his words as he answered. “Of course,” sputtered Tony, glancing at Mika as if looking for reassurance. “Shall we just… duck outside then.” He tilted his head towards the door.

“Yes, that will do fine,” answered Valkyr, and they left the store with Mika, closing the door behind them.

Immediately, the twins and Sol erupted into quiet conversation.

“What does she want to talk to dad about?”

“Do you think we’re in trouble?”

“Do you think she knows…”

“She can’t,” said Leura sternly, “the only people that know we went to Jotunheim are us, Cron, Jhon and Harlow, and none of them can say anything without getting in trouble as well. She must be here for something else.”

“But what else could it be?” asked Wentworth nervously.

They waited with bated breath until the door to the shop creaked open once more and Valkyr, Mika, and Tony returned.

“Alright then, shall we head home?” said Tony, his voice a little unsteady. “Valkyr and Mika will be joining us for dinner, I’m ordering sushi.” He gave the twins a broad smile but they could see the alarm in his eyes.

With little choice in the matter, they left Dials, Springs & Pendulums and piled into Tony’s car. Sol was the only one that seemed happy to talk on the drive home. Crammed uncomfortably into a seat with Leura, she peered out the window, making all sorts of comments about their time. “I can’t believe you still use cars instead of drones - you really should be using more solar panels you know - aren’t there supposed to be more trees than this?”

Leura let Wentworth answer Sol’s relentless questions while she stared warily at the back of Valkyr’s head in the front seat. Valkyr was watching the world outside just as keenly as Sol, though asking nothing about it. Again Leura got the impression that she was looking for something, but what could Valkyr be searching for in their time? The only thing Leura could think of didn’t make any sense. It wasn’t possible. It couldn’t be…

They arrived home, and Tony busied himself setting the table for dinner while the twins gave Sol a tour of the house. Valkyr followed along, taking in every last detail, and Mika stayed close behind her.

“It’s a lot more space than we got in the EcoDomes, that’s for sure,” said Sol, walking around the twins’ spacious bedroom.

The doorbell rang, and Valkyr moved like lightning back down the hall to the front door, but it was only the delivery driver dropping off a giant bag of sushi. Leura was now certain that Valkyr wasn’t searching for something, but someone.

As they ate, Tony made them tell him all about their grading, and once again Leura let Wentworth do most of the talking. When they’d finished, Tony offered Valkyr and Mika a drink, but Mika suddenly jumped to his feet.

“I think we’ve trespassed on your hospitality long enough. I’ll be back in a few days to bring the children to Sol’s home.” He turned to Valkyr. “It’s time to leave.”

Valkyr didn’t respond. She was still looking at everything around them, searching for even the slightest trace of evidence that someone other than Tony had been in here.

“Val, there’s nothing to find. She wouldn’t come here,” said Mika, a rumbling threat in his voice that made him seem frightening to Leura for the first time. Suddenly she was aware just how big and powerful he was. Valkyr seemed to pick up on the same thing.

“You don’t know her like I do, Mika, she’s not the little girl we knew at Alexandria anymore. She’s dangerous… and this is exactly where she’d come.” It was clear Valkyr’s words hurt Mika, but not as much as they hurt Leura. She knew who they were talking about, and it sounded like they had all once been friends. White robes at Alexandria. Had they played in the Rec room together, just like she did with Wentworth and Sol? Did they sleep in the same living quarters as they did now? Why had Mika never told her?

“Maybe you’re right, but she’s still not here.” Mika took a step towards Valkyr, and Leura saw her hand flinch towards her coat, like she was preparing to pull out a weapon. “We’re leaving. Now.”

Valkyr looked at the towering form of Mika, and seemed to decide it was not worth the fight. She stood up, turning to Tony. “Think well on what we spoke about, Mr Fall. If you need to reach me, for any reason, you can do it with this.” She pulled out an earphone made from a pearly white material and handed it to Tony. Leura recognised it at once. It was exactly the same as the one Bowen Aeros had given them at the Temporal Tournament. A device that uses tachyons to send signals faster than light.

“Just turn it on with this button, place it in your ear and call my name clearly,” instructed Valkyr. Then she gave Tony a small nod and left the room. Mika looked at them all apologetically. It was clear he wanted to stay and explain, but there was nothing Leura wanted to hear from him now. She was relieved when he turned and followed Valkyr out. They heard the front door open and close behind them, then silence.

Every moment she’d ever had with Mika now felt tainted by the things he’d never told them. Every kind memory, every moment he’d made her feel safe and cared for, was now twisted and warped. It all felt like a betrayal, because Mika hadn’t done any of it for them. He’d done it for the friend he’d lost, and never tried to save.

“Dad,” Leura spoke carefully, not wanting to frighten him. “What did she talk to you about?”

“What?” Tony was staring vacantly down at the earphone in his hand, and hadn’t been listening.

“I said, what did Valkyr say to you? Outside the store.”

“Oh that,” said Tony, seeming to rouse himself out of deep and dark thoughts. “That was nothing, just wanted to check things out… make sure it was safe.”

“Safe from what?”

Tony looked at her with eyes swimming in confusion and fear. Then all four of them jumped out of their chairs in fright as the doorbell rang.

“Perhaps she forgot something,” whispered Tony, slowly making his way towards the front door. The twins and Sol followed. Tony’s hand hesitated on the door handle, and Leura could see it trembling. Then with a sudden burst of speed he grabbed the handle and pulled the door open.

“Thought they’d never leave,” said a gruff voice.