Pursuit (Through Time 1)

“You will have to use all your wits … and take care that emotion doesn’t overwhelm you. He will use emotion against you …” Rysdale muttered as he collected an odd-shaped piece of metal and walked briskly towards a circle in the far wall of the dark chamber. The circle had been inlaid with stone.

He mumbled quietly to himself and then waved his wand, and a whirlwind of mist and fog swirled before their eyes.

Then followed another set of mumblings and a sharp movement of his wand across the piece of metal before he turned to Chance and said, “That should do it. I sent something before you … for it will take you some moments to find him in his dimension. He has hidden his castle well, and this portal will take you only inside the dimension … not precisely to his habitat.”

“Right then, Rysdale—do we just walk into that? It looks so thick we’ll have to carve a path …”

Rysdale barked a laugh. “No … you’ll be taken to the ‘time dimension’ you seek. However, there is a drawback.”

“Of course there is,” said Chance with an impatient movement of his head.

“I must spell you to return, and because of the ‘standing still’ situation in his time dimension, you will only have thirty or so minutes by our time. I am not sure how much time that will translate to in his dimension.”

“It is what it is,” said Trevor with a grimace.

Chance grinned at him. “You sounded almost human, my lad!”

Trevor grinned, shrugged, and said, “And yet, I am not.”

“I have to tell you that I get a sense of Pestale at the other end of my portal. It is why I sent a thunderbolt to precede you.”

“Damnation, Rysdale, he will know we are coming!” snapped Chance.

“It was necessary to distract him …”

“Distract him from what?” Then dawning filtered through Chance’s mind. “Royce, m’wee love, is in trouble.” He stepped forward. “Right then—we are off!”

“Remember, time is of the essence—get in, get to her, and get her out. Make sure she is with you when you feel your time is up.”

“Thank you, Wizard,” Chance said grimly.

“Yes, indeed,” said Trevor. “Well done.”

Rysdale shrugged. “No, there isn’t enough time to do this well, but it is a great deal better than nothing.” He walked with them to the portal’s swirling opening and added, “There is something I get a sense of … his weakness.”

“Weakness?” Chance urged.

“Indeed, he has a weakness,” offered the wizard hesitantly, “but do not think that this weakness will make him … less potent. He is both ruthless and determined.”

“What is this weakness?”

“He cannot control the formation of his time dimension and fight to the death at the same time. One or the other has to give—he can forego the fight or lose the dimension he has so carefully constructed.”

“So that … in the ‘time dimension’ he is less powerful?” Chance was surprised.

“Precisely, but, Chance my boy, do not think that makes him less dangerous,” the wizard gazed at him meaningfully.

Chance considered this and stepped into an atmosphere in which he suspected it would be difficult to breathe. He was surprised to find that was not the case as he was sucked through a wormhole and landed on his feet in a dimension of ‘nothing.’

Trevor was right behind him and asked, “Whoa … now where do we go?”

“Got your Orb, Trev?” Chance asked, one brow arched.

Trev grinned. “You think it will work in here, don’t you?”

“Aye, lad, I do …”

* * *