Page 11 of Absolved In Death

Bash’s indigo horns popped out from the crown of his head, curling slightly. “Yes, and she’s claimed five times over. We aren’t adding a sixth.”

I pushed his hand off my waist, stepping away from him. “Obviously. Be nice to my PA and stop posturing.”

Stop being an asshole and come back here. You’re going to make her nervous,Mal linked us both, rolling his eyes at Bash’s jealous nonsense.

“Fine. But I’m watching you, Fae,” Bash threatened before walking back to the others.

“I’m sure he will. Meanwhile, I’ll keep one eye on rockstar-vampire over there and another on that woman from your psyche with the big curly hair,” Quelier said.

I made a note to fill him in on the many romantic dynamics going on at the compound if we got back. No,when. I had to have confidence in myself. This had to work, for all of our sakes.

“I can do this.”

“Yes you can. Get it done,” he said, clapping his hands together once. “Okay everyone, let’s gather in a circle and join hands. Please refrain from singing any hippie dippy shit.”

Lucifer sat on my left, with Zaz on my right.

You got this, honey.

I felt Zaz send warmth through our soulbond. It smothered my frayed nerves and helped me center my focus. When I closed my eyes, I thought of the lilac field he took me to shortly after we met. The sweet scent of the flowers and the memory of his amber eyes assault my senses, and I suddenly felt less afraid of failure.

Zaz wasn’t a guardian angel anymore, but he always knew how to guide me right where I needed to be.

After everyone joined hands, I felt power rise over us all like an ocean wave. It crested, crashing down on me so hard I almost broke the circle. I had never felt power so all consuming. It had to be the added Fae power.

I thought back to my history classes.What time period comes before Medieval? Not the middle ages…Oh! The classical time period. Ancient Greece. Ares’ time.I envisioned the Parthenon, but tried to see it as it would have looked in its glory.

Ancient Greece, Parthenon,I thought to myself, chanting it in my head like a mantra. Tempus told me staying true to my process was the best way to time hop.

I felt the room shake and heard time crumble around me like an avalanche of fallen rocks. The magic intensified, coursing through me so hard I felt myself burning from the inside out. Pain ricocheted down my spine, as if I were splitting in half. It was too much, but I held strong, keeping my mind on the prize.

Ancient Greece, Parthenon. Ancient Greece, Parthenon. Ancient Greece, Parthenon.

I opened my eyes, and we were plunged into momentary darkness. When light came into the space, I saw that we were outside at night at the base of a cliff. The moon was huge, andcloser than normal. I could see every crater. I examined the sky more closely, and realized that the stars seemed out of place. I couldn’t find the Big Dipper like Ares had taught me to when we lived in the New York house. Actually, none of my favorite constellations were present.

Weird.

“Have you guys noticed the stars–” I started.

“Are in different constellations? Yes, I have,” Bash whispered as his head whipped around, examining our surroundings. “The moon is closer than it should be.”

“Something feels off…” Bain trailed off.

“This grass is amazingly plush. You can run barefoot in this stuff,” Judas remarked, crouching down to run his fingers through it. “This would cost a fortune to install in the gardens of Fortuna when we complete the rebuild.”

A moth flew by, its iridescent wings glowing in the moonlight. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from its remarkable opalescent coloring. It was larger than the moths I usually saw, but then again…I had never seen a moth like this before.

“Um, guys…” Mal whisper-shouted in a fearful tone. “I think–”

The ground shook beneath us, in steadythump, thump, thumps. We all looked at each other, as if someone would be able to stop what felt like short, sharp earthquakes. I lost my balance and fell onto my ass.

“HOLY SHIT!” Oisín screamed, pointing to somewhere behind me. “T-Rex!”

I looked over my shoulder, at a giant, tiny-armed dinosaur straight out of a documentary. Sharp white teeth gleamed from its gaping mouth. It was running straight for us and roaring so loudly, I felt my eardrums burst. My whole body seized. I couldn’t move…couldn’t breathe…could barely think anything aside from ‘What the fuck’!

Bash threw me over his shoulder, taking off into a super speed run. My body bumped against his back with every step he took.

“Birdie, you landed us in the Cretaceous period!” he screamed.

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