Chrysoprase (The Chalcedony Chronicles) (14 page)

Ty moved to crawl away again, probably to follow young Ty in his saying goodbye to his mother, but I didn’t join him. The general and Ty’s father were talking again. Ty’s father moved back over to General Paramessu. They were still within hearing distance for us. Ty waited for me.

“Will that be enough to make the Pharaoh happy?” Ty’s father asked. He was concerned about his village, and rightfully so. Seth had told me that there wasn’t a battle in the south that General
Paramessu didn’t win.

“Yes,” the General replied and turned to leave Ty’s father alone in the large room.

“Just please don’t tell my son he can’t come home,” Ty’s father added in a quieter voice. He was king, yet somehow seemed like a defeated man. He had just given away his oldest child and the son he probably dreamed about raising in his own image.

General
Paramessu nodded. “I have a son the same age back home. I understand.” It was the only hint of emotion I ever saw from him. “I’ll take him home, and he will be my son’s slave. Don’t worry. In time he will forget about you and coming home.”

I turned to Ty in the shadows. He was sitting beneath the window on the ground. His face was set in stone. He had truly believed he was coming home when he was a man. That wasn’t the case. He was now finding out the truth. He didn’t have a home to go back to. They were not waiting for him. He was to be a slave for the rest of his life. I grabbed Ty’s hand and held on tight as he closed off his emotions, yet he was still feeling them. His world was crumbling down. I knew the feeling all too well. He squeezed my hand back, strongly, but not enough to hurt me. No matter what was in store for us, I had his back as he had mine. He was my best friend and partner in all of this time travel business.

We sat there for quite a while as Ty forced his emotions off. When the men had finally left the building, it safe enough to speak.

“I’m sorry,” I said quietly to him.

I was still afraid of being caught. Not only would I stand out by not fitting in ethnically, but our language would be a dead giveaway that we were not from this time. It was nice the stones allowed us to understand and speak the languages where we traveled, but I still found myself conversing in English. I really was worried that if we got caught right now, with the village invaded by Egyptians, they would add Ty to the roster of grown male slaves they were taking back. Ty needed me to get back to the future. We couldn’t be separated now, or who knows where he would end up.

“So am I,” Ty replied, standing up. His self-pity party was done. He had just heard devastating news, yet he was back to being my best friend Ty. He was one of the strongest people I knew, both physically and mentally. I don’t know how much crying it would have taken me to get over a blow like that.

Ty was back to business and planning our next steps. He led me back between the houses. We had to pause often and let people pass. The village was full, but not many people were out. Most were probably hiding from the Egyptians who marched around freely, and they were our main challenge to avoid. After over an hour of playing go, stop, and hide, we made it to the edge of the village. Ty didn’t even pause at his house this time to see his mother and little brother. I had no doubt the truth stung too much, no matter how strong he seemed to be. When we got to the last house on the edge, we sat down in the shadows and waited for nightfall. There was nothing but open grassland and trees beyond the wall. I trusted Ty to know where we were going, and just sat and waited with him. Once it was night and complete darkness, Ty led me into the area outside his home. I was slightly worried about wild animals, but he didn’t seem too concerned.

He led me further into the darkness and my eyes adjusted. There was enough moonlight to see by, and we made our way up a hill away from the sounds of the people below. He found a specific grouping of trees and sat down. I sat beside him. When we were finally far enough away to still see the village, but not be seen by them, he talked.

“I never knew,” he said quietly, watching over the town he had been longing to go back to for over a decade.

I looked up at his lost eyes. His world had changed with this one trip. The goddess’ warning had played in my mind again. Every trip has a price. Traveling through time changes things. Even without directly interacting with his past, it still changed things. Ty was changed. His world wasn’t the world he thought it
was. He was never coming back to this place a free man. He could never go home. In one little trip, he lost his family and his hope.

“We need to get back to my time,” I told him. I looked down at my arm. In the moonlight I could make out that the lines were not filled enough to travel. Ty nodded, but saw the truth. We were going to have to stay a while longer.

“Get some sleep,” Ty told me, wrapping an arm around me and pulling me close to lean against him. “I’ll keep watch.”

For once I didn’t ask, but I did as he told me. I was exhausted from the travel more than I ever expected to be, but it was going to be hard to sleep as my mind was still thinking of what to do. Everything we had planned thus far wasn’t going to work. I couldn’t bring Ty back to the past to live if he was just going to stay a slave. I wasn’t sure how he felt, but I just couldn’t do it. Now we had to go back and
replan everything. Our original thought of saving my mother, and then going back to be with Seth and Dee wasn’t in the cards now. I had to protect Ty. Even though we could travel into the past, we needed a new plan. I closed my eyes and tried to think of options. Nothing came to me but the haze of sleep.

Birds were chirping when I finally opened my eyes to find it was morning. I had no clue when I drifted off in my thoughts, but the sun had risen, and Ty was still sitting there watching the town. I couldn’t tell if he had slept or not.

We were seated in an area a little up from the village to the northwest. It gave us a clear view of the entire town and the activity below us. I watched as the Egyptian men, with their lighter skin and swath of white fabric around their waists, ushered darker-skinned men away from the town. I could barely make out the men walking as they were lost from our view. Ty was watching. We sat in silence as the last of the Egyptians left the village. Right here was when Ty’s life changed forever, both in the past and watching it now.

“I want to stay in the future,” Ty told me as he helped me stand.

I looked down at my arm. The lines were full. We could go home. And it was home now for Ty. His heart, that had longed to be in the village below, had changed. I took his hand and held on tight. We were heading home.

Chapter 6

Changing Plans

I looked across my desk to Ty. Papers were scattered around everywhere. His small, distinct writing was on some of the pages and my more girly handwriting was on most. Small papers and large papers were intertwined. It was one large mess. We had spent hours making the notes and knew exactly where my mother was, what time period, and what country, we even knew which city she would be located in. There were notes on everything from food to clothing to political systems, yet we couldn’t agree what to do.

“I can’t take you with me,” I told Ty for the twentieth time. “If we get separated, you won’t be able to come back. I can’t do that to you. You already told me you want to stay here, and we know what your fate will be if you stay there.”

“I do want to stay here, but I have to help. I know that time better than you. You’ll need me,” Ty replied. “And I promised
Seti,” he added quietly.

I sighed and shook my head. He wanted to be free of his past, yet he was still just as loyal to Seth as he was when he lived there. He wasn’t free, and wouldn’t let himself be. Ty made a great protective older brother, but at this point I wanted to smack him over the head and run off. It was time he let me protect him.

“If I take Dee’s stone and go back, you don’t have to worry. I won’t have to wait to recharge my carnelian if I get in trouble. I can just use Dee’s chrysoprase. And if everything goes according to plan, then I use the chrysoprase to bring my mother back,” I explained for what seemed like the umpteenth time. My plan had logic and a back-up plan. I would be safe.

“I don’t like you going off alone to a time you don’t understand yet,” Ty argued with my solution. He wasn’t debating how it would work. There was too much logic behind my plan. Instead, he used
the
I don’t like it
response. “And you’re female. You don’t understand what it’s like to be female back then.”

I pointed to all the papers on the desk. “What is there left to know? I’m not going to go there to live. I’m just going there to get my mother and bring her home. I don’t need to know anything beyond how to grab her and time travel back.”

“You could get trapped there. You could end up no where near your mother, and have to get to her in a city you don’t understand. You could end up hurt, kidnapped, or even taken by traders to sell,” Ty replied. “I still don’t like it.”

“And neither do I,” Logan said as he shimmered into the room.

“You were right,” he said to Ty. “Your mother was returned to her people by the Egyptians, yet her cousin, who is in charge, still thinks it’s a ploy. If you go in and take your mother away, they will think the Egyptians took her again. They will attack the Egyptian men in the city, and your precious Seth happens to be right there.”

My mouth must have been hanging open as he chuckled at me. I really didn’t want to see Logan again. He was too confusing, and didn’t seem to take the hint that I wasn’t interested in him anymore. Logan was convinced that Seth had moved on, and that I should be with him, but even if that was true I still couldn’t turn to Logan. I didn’t trust him, and I didn’t feel the same for him as I felt for Seth.

“Ty asked me to head back and see what the situation was,” Logan explained his presence.

I turned my back to Logan and gave Ty a look to say w
hat the heck are you doing bringing Logan into this?
He got my message and shrugged.

“Have you told her your plan?” Logan asked Ty.

“Yes, Ty, have you told me your plan?” I mocked Logan with a bit of anger.

Ty smiled meekly at me. He had told Logan more than I was willing to at this point, and he knew how I felt about Logan. Guys were annoying. I hated that guys could move on so fast from arguments. It was only weeks ago that Ty punched Logan and likely broke his nose. Now they seemed to be buddies again. Dumb boys.

“Logan and I thought that it might be best to go in and bring everyone back at once,” Ty replied, begging my forgiveness with his eyes. I turned from him and glared at Logan. I still wasn’t happy with him, and I really didn’t want him in on the planning with us. I didn’t need to owe Logan any favors.

“You know I can only travel with one person, and we only have one extra stone,” I replied, shooting down their plan immediately. That meant we could only take home two people, not the three we left behind.

“With Logan’s help we can get more than one because Logan can travel back twice to get two people,” Ty replied. My eyes had to bug open at that. We were just fighting not even two minutes ago about how he wouldn’t let me go alone. If Logan was going back and forth, I would be left alone at some point.

“I can take one person at a time and come back immediately for the other person,” Logan replied, like he was making completely logical sense.

I looked between them. They were both nodding together. They had already agreed on what to do, and were just waiting for me to jump on board with their plans. Was Ty really suggesting I go off alone with Logan again? It didn’t end too well the last time. I really didn’t want a second round.

“Can we talk alone?” I asked Ty. Logan smiled and nodded before fading away.

Ty waited on my bed for me to say something. I marched over to him and realized that I stood only a little taller than him when he was sitting. I just stared at him, looking for the reason he was suggesting such an idea.

“Did you forget my last travels with Logan?” I asked Ty finally.

“I talked to him about it. He said it was a
one time lapse in judgment
,” Ty replied, trying to mimic Logan’s voice, which was higher than his own bass voice. “It won’t happen again. He promised that he is trying to help you get to Seti. This is his way to make it up to you.”

“And I’m to just trust him?” I asked.
And trust myself alone with him
, I wanted to add.

“Mari. I can’t have you going off alone on this. Logan can help, and get everyone home. If he is with you then you won’t be alone, and all the danger I’m imagining can’t happen. Anything bad happens, and he’ll whisk you away back here. Your protection had always been his priority,” Ty replied. “Why don’t we just let him help?”

“Because I still don’t know
why
he’s helping. What does he get out of it?” I tapped my fingers on my desk as I sat there.

“He just wants to help. And we need help. You don’t want to let me go, and I don’t want to let you go alone. We need to do something,” Ty replied. “This is a compromise because we can’t agree.”

It was true that we couldn’t agree. He was right. We were at a standstill, but I wasn’t sure that Logan was the solution. There had to be another way. I had hesitations about Logan helping. I already knew that there was another Logan, who wasn’t the one I knew two years ago. This new Logan would take people and leave them in other times. Now that I knew how Logan felt about me, I doubted he would take me to Seth or help Seth come back here. That didn’t seem like the new Logan’s style.