Time's Daughter (9 page)

He took a single step back as if he trusted me
enough not to bolt. “You don’t know how you got this power?”

“
No,” I lied.

Alex inhaled noisily. “You’re lying.”

My eyes rounded at the low declaration. “What?” I
croaked the question.

“
You may not know how it works, but
you do know how you got it.”

How had he known
? I added a kernel of truth
as a test. “I just woke up one day and I had it.”

His lips thinned but he didn’t instantly discount
what I’d said. “This is serious, Aeon. The more you tell me, the
safer you’ll be.”

“
Safer?” I exclaimed. “Safe from
what? The only thing that is dangerous right now is
you
. I
thought you were a mugger!”

“
There are others like me—others who
won’t be stopped by your magic. They don’t like it when people mess
with the status quo.”

“
Magic
,” I said in slow
disbelief. “What are you talking about?”

Alex shook his head and paced a few steps away.
“You’re not a Time witch?”

I felt the space between my eyes crinkle in serious
confusion. “What’s a ‘Time witch’?”

“
How can you halt time and not know
what a Time witch is?” Alex swore quietly but offered up a
definition. “A Time witch is a witch capable of manipulating Time,
just like the name sounds.”

“
I don’t believe in witches or
magic.”

“
Well, sweetheart,
this
is
magic.” He gestured to my friends.

His condescending tone rubbed me all wrong. Eyes
narrowing I snapped, “Don’t call me sweetheart. This isn’t magic,
this is just some weird fluke.”

“
A fluke you control at will? I
don’t think so.” He snorted. “Are you really as clueless as you’re
acting or is this just to confuse me?”

“
All right, that’s
it
.” I
stomped a foot like an angry toddler and waved him away with an
equally pettish gesture. “Get out of here now before I undo this
and scream like the girls in that movie we just
watched.”

Surprisingly he actually listened. Alex sprinted to
a car parked at the far end of the lot where there were no lights.
Once he was seated in the car I exhaled—a long intentional movement
that coincided with my wish for everything to return to normal.

My friends picked up precisely where they’d left
off.

“
You can borrow mine,” Melissa
said.

Ash sneezed, shook her head and then started for her
Jeep. “I want to concentrate on William. Not on taking photos.
You’ll have to live vicariously through someone else.”

Rocking onto the ball of her left foot, Melissa made
the usual post-movie suggestion. “Do you want to go for ice
cream?”

Jenny lifted her arm. “I’m in!”

“
Yeah, sure,” Jen said.

“
Ash?”

“
I guess.” She sighed
melodramatically. “But I can’t stay long. I want to be rested for
tomorrow.”

It was automatically assumed that I’d be going
probably because Melissa was my ride. I’d had enough money for the
movie thanks to a donation from Mom’s tip jar. There wasn’t enough
for a sundae. It was just as well. I was sick to my stomach after
the latest run-in with the new kid.

I slid into the passenger seat of Melissa’s
family-sized sedan while Guy took a seat in the back. She was mute
for much of the drive. I attributed it to a combination of the
camera on us and my anti-Ashley behavior.

Halfway to our destination she spoke. “Are you
working tomorrow?”

“
As always,” I grumbled.

“
That sucks,” she said in
distraction.

“
Yeah.”

It was the extent of our conversation until we got
to the restaurant. Ashley did most of the talking while the rest of
us laughed at the appropriate pauses. Everyone but me ordered
desert. I picked water.

“
Sugar this late will keep me up all
night. I have to work in the morning,” I said lamely. There was
little point in the explanation. They all knew what the real reason
was.

I tapped my finger against the table during one of
Ash’s William-related monologues and scanned the room in boredom.
Half the restaurant was filled with people from school who had
probably turned up from a football game or the movies. But there
was a figure in black with black hair seated in the far corner. I
stopped upon finding familiar eyes fixed on me.

Alex really
was
following me!

What did he want now? I’d have demanded an answer if
it wouldn’t have caused a scene. What did he think would happen?
What kind of mischief could I get into at a restaurant? Food
theft?

I dropped my gaze back to the table and sipped my
water while the others gorged themselves on whipped cream and hot
fudge. Several minutes passed before I realized an important note.
Alex was without his cameraman. How had he managed to get rid of
him?

Melissa and I were the first to leave. I couldn’t
help glancing behind us several times to see if I was being
followed. The only thing I could see was Guy lugging the
camera.

The ride back to the apartment was quiet. Melissa
wished me luck at work then left quickly. I had the sensation that
I was being watched but I couldn’t see anyone around us as we
walked into the building. Guy hovered near me while I unlocked the
door.

“
I won’t be leaving until nine
thirty so you can sleep in a little,” I told him.

“
See you tomorrow.”

My mom was readying for bed but lingered long enough
to hear about my day. I left out the part about being stalked by a
psycho and the fact that I’d stopped time.

She had enough on her mind. I didn’t want to worry
her by bringing up the topic of Chronos again. The one time I’d
mentioned my dream she’d nearly had a panic attack. What would she
do if I told her it hadn’t been a dream?

Minutes later I sat on my bed and contemplated what
I was going to do. While the cameras had been unable to detect my
power anomaly, Alex had. He now knew I was different. He’d said
others would want to know what I was and how I’d gotten my
power.

But what others were there? Were they like me? Was
Alex part of the bad thing that was going to happen in Junction
Hill? The thing I was supposed to stop?

If so, what hope did I have of stopping him when he
was able to ignore the only power I had?

None, that’s what.

CHAPTER SEVEN

“
Do you have this
in medium?”

I held out my hand for the t-shirt junior Jenna
Brand waved at me. “Let me check.”

Burning Idea was busy enough that Felix and Trey
were forced to work. I gestured to them that I was going to the
back.

I had no idea why the store was so busy.

Two girls chatting while looking at make-up near the
employees-only door soon gave me the explanation. There’d been a
parade downtown. Everyone had hit the stores afterward.

I grabbed three sets of medium t-shirts that matched
Jenna’s then returned to the front. Pleased with the garment, she
folded it over her arm and then moved into the quickly lengthening
line. I stayed and put the extra mediums I’d brought out away in
their spots near the window.

“
Hi, Aeon!” Jenny said boisterously
as soon as she stepped through the store’s glass entrance. She
bounced beside me with Jen and Melissa in tow. “I love this store.
I always forget it’s here.” She shook a hoodie at me. “Look, Gir
from
Invader Zim
. He makes me laugh.”

Jen attempted an impersonation of the cartoon
character, “I love this show.”

The others giggled. I forced a smile.

Melissa leaned in. “When do you finish?”

“
Five—” Felix’s frantic wave
diverted my attention.

“
Can you stay late, Aeon?” he called
out.

I rolled my eyes and sighed. “Scratch that.”

Melissa shook her head in mock dismay.
“Workaholic.”

“
As if.” I laughed. “Have fun guys.
Shop some for me.”

“
Call me if you get done early,”
Melissa said. “We’re going to Bogies.”

“
All right,” I fibbed. Even if I
finished at five I couldn’t afford miniature golf.

My friends got in the ever-increasing line. I
decided to shove Trey off his register so that we could efficiently
get the customers rung through. He muttered something
unintelligible as he shuffled off toward the back room. Within five
minutes the crowd was down to a manageable size.

Felix joined his brother for lunch shortly after. I
dutifully called my mom and warned her I’d be late. For the rest of
the afternoon I did my best to answer customer questions while
manning the register too. The work kept me occupied and made the
day go by quickly. Before I knew it the sun had set and my stomach
was growling voraciously.

I wanted to go home but Felix had never returned
from lunch.
How late did he expect me to stay?
An
eleven-hour shift was technically illegal for someone my age. At
least I thought it was.

My hunger made me sluggish. By eight thirty I was
energized with anger. Felix was abusing my good nature and need for
money. I had homework to do. He shouldn’t have left me alone with
his store when I was supposed to leave hours earlier.

The pair of reprobate brothers walked through the
front door at five minutes before closing time. Their bloodshot
eyes implied they’d been up to no good. Felix came around the
counter and slumped against it.

“
Thanks for helping out, doll,” he
crooned and shoved something in my hand.

I glanced down to find I was holding a wad of
twenties. “Felix—”

He held up a finger to his lips while nodding his
head toward Guy the camera guy. Then he turned, put his key in the
register and opened the drawer so he could close it out. The money
in my hand hadn’t come from Burning Idea’s daily profits.

I was too angry with him for making me work alone
when I wasn’t scheduled that I didn’t try to give the money back.
Instead I shoved it in my pocket for later.

“
I gotta get something to eat,” I
told Felix in an effort to excuse myself.

Trey sidled up to the counter. “How about that
dinner?”

“
I’d prefer to get food from someone
that isn’t going to expect I put out after. You know, like the
Colonel.”

My answer in reference to KFC made Felix laugh.
Trey’s frown wasn’t quite as amused. I headed into the back room
before he could ask me again. Within the camera-less bathroom I
pulled the cash out of my pocket and counted it. Felix had handed
me one hundred and twenty dollars!

I did the math. At seven dollars an hour that was
seventeen hours worth of pay before taxes were figured in. Felix
had never paid me in cash before.
What was this for and why did
it have to be a secret from the cameraman?

I struggled with the ethical implications of keeping
the money. Mom and I could really use it. But I didn’t know what it
was for, where it had come from and if Felix was going to sober up
and wonder where his withdrawal had gone. But he owed me for the
extra work. I’d consider it time and a half pay.

The money was stuffed into the bottom of my
backpack. I rejoined Guy in the storage room without a word and
headed through door into the store. I cringed, fearing Felix would
demand the hundred bucks back. He barely looked up from counting
the ones in the drawer.

Sniffles from beside the front door drew my
attention. Trey stood outside, rubbing his nose and smoking.

“
C’mon, just one little dinner and I
swear I’ll leave you alone,” he said in his nasally
voice.

“
My mom is waiting,” I told him
lamely. He settled into step beside me. I shuffled
faster.

“
Tell her you’re going on a date,”
he said. “You’re a big girl. You’re allowed to date, ain’t
ya?”

“
Trey, I really don’t want to date
anyone I work with.”

“
I barely work here. I just help out
my brother sometimes.”

He dropped a hand onto my shoulder. I gave a
startled scream because I hadn’t realized he was that close. A
snarl echoed in the air. There was a slamming noise followed by
Trey yelping. The grip on my shoulder abruptly released.

I twirled on my heel and found Trey holding a
bleeding arm aloft while another figure stood behind the fallen
cameraman. Steel blue eyes glared from beneath a black hooded
sweatshirt. The ferocious gleam was fixed on Trey.

Without warning, Alex shot into a run around the
building. I lost track of his sprint in the darkness. Guy got to
his feet and tried to get the camera back in working order.
Thankfully he’d been unhurt when he’d been knocked over. That was
more than I could say for Trey.

“
Jesus Christ,” Trey exclaimed in a
higher-pitched voice than usual. He lifted his arm, showing four
deep wounds on his forearm. Blood dripped far too rapidly for my
comfort.

“
We need to get you to a doctor,” I
blurted out.

“
Shit,” he screeched. “I’m high!
They’re gonna find it in my blood!”

“
It’s either that or risk bleeding
to death.”

Trey’s gaze zipped around the parking lot. “What the
hell
was
that? Did Wolverine just attack me or
something?”

I took hold of his good arm and led him back toward
the store. The door was locked. I banged against the glass several
times. Felix unlocked it for us, looking put out.