Time Thieves (25 page)

“And you believed him?” At his nod, she sank back, her mind working furiously. They’ve been indoctrinated into this mindset for generations. She could hardly blame them for fearing something she didn’t understand. Hell, she was afraid enough already from the little bit she did know. That one man could come to her world and do whatever he wanted with no repercussions and no one knowing it was him terrified her.

She said abruptly, “I want to bring my father home.”

“They might not let him go. He’s become very important to them.”

“They don’t need him. He’s spent fifteen years helping them. I need him now,” she cried out passionately. “I’m the one that grew up without a father.” She glared at him bitterly. “Did you leave children behind when you went over?”

He shook his head. “No. Neither did Madge. They always choose single people without families. In your father’s case, maybe there was no one else. Maybe he had no choice. I don’t know.”

“And I don’t care.” She stood up and walked over to the window. “It’s time for him to come home.”

“And who’d replace him? Madge and I are worn out. Old. Look at Madge. She shouldn’t have to go, but I have to bring her back. Leaving permanently isn’t an option.” He ran a tired hand over his face. “Madge was supposed to come home when I went over, but they wouldn’t let her.” He frowned. “It’s the master, Tron. He changed the rules when he came into power.”

“And if you don’t go back, what then?” She spun around. “Can’t we close the door? Stop them from coming back here?”

“No. I don’t know any way. They’ll just come and take who and what they want regardless.”

Sari didn’t want to hear that last part. She’d latched onto one thing. Her father was alive. She wanted him to come home. To return to the life he’d lived before he disappeared. And she was going to find a way to make that happen.

And stop those bastards from stealing her kin – forever.

Somehow.

She stiffened. She shouldn’t. The idea was crazy. Stupid, even. And yet…

She spun around to face him. “I want to go over there with you. Instead of Madge.”

*

Ward had parked
outside the hospital and almost ran inside. He was only just realizing Madge might still be sleeping – something she obviously needed. Then again, remembering his hospital stay and the number of times the nurses came in to check up on him, he realized he’d barely gotten any sleep. Hopefully he’d catch her awake and alert.

Remembering her fear last time, he slowed his pace as he approached her room. He needed her calm and cooperative and to go in like a madman…he’d get nowhere.

The main light was off when he walked in, but the small lamp at the head of the bed was on. The curtains around her bed were closed. He hesitated. “Madge? Are you awake?”

Behind the curtain, he could hear the rustle of sheets.

“Madge? I have to tell you that Mark arrived in the attic this morning.”

He heard a shocked gasp. He stepped forward. “Madge?” He reached over to pull the curtain back slightly. She stared at him, her eyes huge from above the covers. His heart ached. She was absolutely terrified. He took several steps closer but stayed at the end of her bed.

“I’m sorry. I know you want this to go away, but Sari is in danger now. Mark helped you come home.” He waited, trying to gauge her reaction, but she stared unblinking at him. “Correct?”

She shuddered, but there was a barely perceptible nod.

“Okay. Good. So that part of his story checks out. Now he’s been found out…and has been sent back to take you home again.”

She squealed in fear.

“Stop. You’re safe here.” He held up his hand. “We’re not letting him take you back. You can stay here.” He took a step closer, hating to see her frail shoulders quiver like this. Whatever was over there had been incredibly hard on her. She was safe, but she had no reason to believe him.

“I need to know what goes on over there so we can figure out how to close the door forever. I can’t let Sari be taken too.”

Madge’s wispy hair waved gently as she shook her head. “She won’t be.”

As much as he was delighted to hear her speak, he wished she’d explain.

“Greg took her place.”

Jesus
. “Greg is alive?”

Madge nodded. “It was him who figured out how to send me back.”

“Well, thank heavens for that. Wait until Sari hears.” Ward winced. As she was talking to Mark right now, chances were good she already knew.

“Why didn’t he come back with you?”

But of course he knew. Greg had adored Sari. That had never been in question. If he’d gone over to keep her safe, he’d never come home if he knew it would put his only child and beloved Sari in danger.

Ward understood.

S
he knew her
father would have done anything to save her. She could do no less. She had to find a way to save him and bring him home safely, then find a way to close that door forever.

“What about Madge?” He sipped his cup and looked at her over the rim. “I came for her.”

“And maybe you can get her.” She crossed her fingers in childish protection against her lie. “But I want to see my father.”

“I don’t want to go back, but I have to. I helped Madge escape and I was caught.” His shoulders sagged. “Although why they’d care, I don’t know. We’re both done.”

“So tell me, how is the one person per generation picked?”

He dropped his gaze.

Ahh
. Shooting in the dark, she probed further. “Does the rest of the family vote?”

He lifted his gaze, startled. “Now what made you say that?” he said, aggrieved, trying to appear affronted.

She leaned back and studied him. “A lucky guess.”

He glared at her. “You make it sound like my family didn’t want me.”

“If they voted you as the one to cross over, then maybe it was an honor.” The longer she studied him, the more his glare turned to real anger.

“So what if the family did vote? I was the only one not married. The only one without a family to support. I was the logical choice.”

She nodded. A tough decision on everyone’s part. “And Madge?”

He drew circles on the tabletop. “Same. She was unmarried – a spinster, and the only one in her generation not necessary to the rest of the family.”

“And my father?”

He looked up at her. This time honest puzzlement gleamed. “I really don’t know. Normally we aren’t approached one by one. It’s done ahead of time. We have warning. A chance to say goodbye. This system has been in place for a long time. It’s not a sudden event.”

“Is there no other way to stop one person from our generation going over there?” She was never going to have kids if that were the case. As both she and her father were the only one of their respective generations, had their agreement been thrown out the window?

“I think that’s what your father has been trying to do. Teach them to help themselves, to understand the portal. Then they wouldn’t need anyone from our family as a slave.”

Her heart stopped. “A slave? Just exactly what is your lifestyle like there? Is my father a prisoner?”

Mark looked around her kitchen. “It’s a very similar environment to here. Houses, people running around crazy like ants. Everyone works every day and the sun rises and sets every day as well.”

She nodded. “But…”

“But we are prisoners. We don’t have our families. We can’t have relationships. We are not allowed to go anywhere anytime. The family treats us as second class citizens.” He stared out the window. “We aren’t free. And that makes all the difference.”

“How did Madge escape?”

He sighed. “Your father, mostly. She wasn’t doing so well. She’s been over there a long time. It was well past time for her to come home, but they wouldn’t let her.”

“How could he help her and not help himself? If she’d been able to go over…”

“It’s not that easy.” Mark said, his voice rising. “Greg managed to fix the watch that had taken him to the other side and he’d tried several times with no luck, then he figured out the problem in time for me to sneak Madge across.”

“Then you all could have come home,” she cried. “At the same time.”

“And they’d have come after us and likely taken you as well.”

Shit
. She sat back, bitter and pissed. “Sounds like time for them to go forward on their own and leave us alone.”

“It’s time, but it won’t happen as long as they have access to us through this house.”

“Let’s burn the house down then,” she snapped.

He raised an eyebrow. “That’s been tried before. Many times.”

She laughed in disbelief. “Really? Is that when all those oddball wings were built?”

“The ones I know about, yes. The attic is the crossing point. Of course, that’s why it was never open to the rest of the house. To make sure they never came in the middle of the night and stole someone they weren’t supposed to take.”

“How hard is the crossing to make?” she asked, more determined than ever to rescue her father and wondering about the hidden passageway out of the attic. Someone tried to build an escape. It looked like it didn’t work. “Does it take days to recover?”

“No. As you can see, I’m sitting here just having a cup of tea like normal. You could go and come back as if you made a trip to the store, but only if you know how and if it’s the right time of the year – and you have the right watch with the correct settings. Otherwise, you can do anything you want and it won’t happen.”

She sighed. “That’s why all attempts to reach my father in the past fifteen years have failed. I wasn’t here in this house.” Damn her mother for leaving. She might have saved her father years of servitude.

“Exactly. Now Madge’s escape was a good example. Your father figured out roughly when to try it. But we didn’t know if it would work. You say she is sick and in bad shape. I don’t know how much of that might have been caused by the crossing. She was in a bad way before, but she was mentally sound and strong. But her spirit had failed her lately. She wanted to come home to die.”

“And that’s why you helped her?” At his nod, she added, “And if it is, then why are you insisting on returning her? You know she’s safe here. That she’ll get help here. So why take her home?”

His face darkened, his features aging before her. “Because they know I helped. Even now the clock is ticking. If I don’t go back, I’m not sure what they will do.”

“Well, I can tell you.” Ward’s voice interrupted. Hard and forceful, his tone of voice matched. “They would come and take back whoever and whatever they can. Like they have done every other time.”

“Ward.” Sari hopped up off her chair and threw herself into his arms. “Finally you’re back.”

He wrapped her up in a tight embrace. “I tried to make it as fast as possible.”

Setting her off to one side, he kept a tight grip on her hand. “I spoke to Madge.”

Mark’s face lit up. Turning her attention back to Ward, she asked quietly, “How is she?”

“Terrified of being forced to go back. She was a little unclear where ‘back’ was though.”

Mark nodded as if he’d been expecting that. Sari’s heart hardened against him. He’d still take her back even knowing this. Then again, how could she judge? She didn’t know what these people were capable of doing.

“According to Mark, they have both come from a parallel dimension. It’s similar in looks and actions to this one but where they – and my father – are slaves.”

Ward sent her a narrow-eyed look, but he didn’t look terribly surprised. He turned to face Mark, who shrugged.

“She’s right,” Mark said. “Apparently the only people that can cross over are those from my family. I was sent over decades ago, and Madge was sent over before me.”

“And yet they will come after you if you don’t return? That makes no sense.”

“They can travel here with the watches, too. I don’t have that knowledge. They kept that to themselves,” Mark said bitterly.

“That explains the clothes, the belongings sitting here waiting for the people to come back. Or in hopes of them coming back,” Sari amended. “And maybe just easiest to keep together, like a memorial of those gone but not forgotten.” And not being dead, she could understand the families not wanting to get rid of the personal belongings. She wondered if they’d been allowed to take anything with them or if they went with just the clothes on their back.