My man’s fighting partner flipped a glowing dagger in her hand and stabbed her opponent in the middle of his chest. His body instantly caught fire and within seconds he was burned down until all that left of him was a pile of dark ashes on the pavement.
I let a cry out when I saw a female Black Sword Rider trying to backstab Arthur. With a quick move, he turned around and wrapped his arm around her jaw. Trying to defend herself, the woman attempted a thrust at Arthur’s chest right at the moment Arthur rammed his dagger into her.
“Don’t do that - it’s pointless,” a female voice whispered in my mind.
A few seconds passed before Arthur realized that I was staring at him. Having felt the weight of my gaze, he looked at me, making my pulse race. That was a mistake.
A black-clad woman, whose voice I had heard, came flying straight at him, and stabbed him in the chest.
ARTHUR LOST HIS BALANCE and collapsed. His dagger was still flashing in his hand. “Oh, my Gosh,” I cried and ran through ashes and dust to get to him.
“Go away! Hide!” The words came out of his mouth with a struggle.
I knelt down beside him and took his hand in my hands while Dindrane was literally kicking ashes. Under any other circumstances, I would have admired her immensely, I would have asked her autograph - honestly.
“I got stabbed in the chest.” He started coughing uncontrollably.
“I know. But it has happened before. And nothing happened to you. You’ll get through this time, too,” I said.
I brushed his messy hair with my fingers and swiped a bead of sweat that rolled down from his forehead. “You aren’t going to die,” I whispered. “This time I know what I need to do.”
His body shivered on my lap.
“This is not the end,” I said. “Give me your ring.”
I got Arthur’s ring and put it on my finger. The ring was a way to break Merlin’s spell on me. No one had told me what those rings were used for; I had to figure it out myself after hours of observation and stalking my wizard professors.
“Now, I need you to trust me,” I said as I placed his head carefully on the floor.
My heartbeat sped up and my hand trembled when I turned the white round stone of the ring two times right and one time left clockwise.
My lips parted as I watched the time getting frozen.
Arthur was still lying down, his eyes closed, and his face peaceful. Dindrane was having a hard time fighting against two Time Hoppers, one male and one female, in slow motion.
What if I was not able to save him? I bit my lip and continued staring at him.
Suddenly, Arthur opened his eyes and winked at me.
“Did it work?” I asked breathlessly.
“It worked,” he answered, and a broad smile appeared on his face.
With a quick move, he jumped up on his feet. The adrenaline rush was still at a high level in my body. I looked down at myself. My shirt was stretched, my hands were trembling hard.
“You feeling good?” I asked nervously.
A wheezing sound coming from the other side of the room made us turn our heads. Everything happened so fast and with such an amazing accuracy like it was well orchestrated by a supreme force.
“Now watch me!” I shouted and started turning the ring stone again.
Arthur used his dagger as a spear as I raised my fist with the Time Hopper rings in the air. A glowing white light erupted from the rings, passed through my body, and ended to the edge of the dagger. An enormous otherworldly power possessed my body. The cosmic vastness accommodated my tiny human body and little explosions of knowledge shook my soul. My long loud cry stopped when all our opponents evaporated. Their swords and their rings dropped down as the time sped up again in a haze of golden mist.
I let my arms fall exhausted and I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. I was tired that I did not sense Dindrane coming toward me. When I opened my eyes again, she was in front of me. She knelt and lowered her head.
“Well done, sis. Well done.”
CHAPTER 15
*
“Here we are.”
With my hand raised to block the sun, I looked at Arthur who stood in front of a vaulted limestone gate with a wide welcoming smile on his face.
Amazed by the beauty of the sand-colored structure, I followed him across the domed passageway, which led to a less impressive gateway decorated by a pointed wooden arch.
Arthur took my hand and I let him lead me through a maze made of narrow streets that gave her the sense that nothing had changed in the city since the Middle Ages. Plain limestone walls rose around us, dropping their shadows on the clinker brick alleys, creating a claustrophobic feel. All streets seemed to lead to nowhere; I felt as if we were trapped and there would be no escape in case of danger.
He stopped walking and turned towards me.
“I have a secret to share with you. Something no one else knows.” His eyes sparkled as he smiled broadly. “A few days ago, I found this sword. To be more precise, the Lady of the Lake gave it to me. She said she gave me the sword for exchange for a later boon. I do not know what that means. So, this is what I want now; to find out what this sword is about. What about you? What is it that you want?”
“I want to be a full fledge Time Hopper.” I frowned.
“It’s a dangerous job, and I don’t want you to get yourself exposed to any kind of danger again.”
“But it is not your decision to make.”
“Okay, being a full fledge Time Hopper requires
