Time Jacker by Aaron Crash (nonfiction book recommendations .TXT) 📕

“Nope.” Another lie. “Tell me where Annie is. And what is Kerrata planning to do?”

“Four o’clock, and I am not going to tell you anything until I have the Cannon.”

Jack tossed the gun to the Kairos lord.

A very quiet feminine voice tickled the inside of Jack’s skull, just a whisper, hardly audible. Don’t you love a little gun like me?

Jack didn’t respond, but he still felt connected to the gun.

The clock man grinned. “Five o’clock, my foolish friend. Kerrata has plans, but those plans are a mystery. Gossip, gossip, gossip abounds! Perhaps he plans to win a lordship by making a deal with Tanichron. Or perhaps he’ll invade a section of hell by killing him. Kerrata spent decades drinking from some human, someone important, though I don’t know the how or why of it. But then Kerrata took Annie, another key Kairos player, and Kerrata is going to drink from her, and take her to Tanichron, perhaps as a gift, and Tanichron will give Kerrata an eon palace of his own. Or perhaps Kerrata will drain the girl and kill the duke and become the first Interim to seize land in hell. It’s not clear, but if you want Annie, she will be at the duke’s gate a week from the time of her capture, an Influunt week, a week of your seven days.”

Bailey let out a laugh. “That ugly Fugger has some big brass balls to do that. Tanichron is a two-bit player, but he’s no one to mess with if you’re not hell spawn, and he’s ruled the region for a long time. With the Tempus Bellum doing its thing, this is the perfect time for such a power grab.”

“Bailey!” Gabby complained. “We can’t talk about the Tempus Bellum.”

That made the demon roll her eyes. She was still weak, though. She might have repaired her flesh, but her Ijjinaya core was weak. She needed to eat, and that meant sex for Jack. That was awesome. First, though, he wasn’t about to leave Aeterna with this Fug.

The Clockwatcher checked the cylinders and saw that it only had two shots left. He pointed the weapon at Jack’s face. “Six o’clock, you son of a bitch! Only two shots left, and you know, don’t you? Don’t you? Won’t you tell me the truth?”

“Know what?” Jack was leaking Kairos and he didn’t have a headache, but he wanted another shot of power, which he suspected would hit again when the Clockwatcher’s hands hit noon. All Jack had to do was keep this Fug lord talking. Besides, the fat clock man had his finger on the trigger, but he hadn’t pulled back the hammer. This thing was single action. Nothing would happen if the guy squeezed the trigger.

The Clockwatcher was apoplectic. “Seven o’clock, stupid. I mean the Cannon’s real name.”

A clock dog came forward, lunged and snapped at Gabby, who brandished her blinding sword and forced it back. They were hopelessly outnumbered. More vultures were in the air. Rats with clockwork mouths crept forward. Bears with ticking clocks in their sides rose up on two feet. And of course, the rotting elephants, with gears in their guts, trumpeted.

Jack was going to play stupid. “How does a gun have a name?”

“Eight o’clock, and you are trying to trick me!” The Clockwatcher screamed over the sound of his hands clicking forward.

“I’m not trying to trick anyone,” Jack said. “You’re the one pointing the gun at me. I wouldn’t shoot me, though. If Kerrata’s victim was powerful, you should see the son. Hugo Mundi is critical to the Time War, and he’s a good friend of mine.” Total bluff.

The Clockwatcher looked at him uncertainly. “Nine o’clock, who is this Hugo? And perhaps you are not the Jack of Clocks I think you are.”

“I’m the Jack of Clocks all right, a godling who can stop time, and I was able to get the Eternity Cannon. You don’t want to kill me. You don’t want to mess with Hugo.”

Gabby was keeping all the creatures back. Bailey held the bag instead of her war pick, which was currently in its dimensional sheath. Besides, the demon was too weak to help in a fight.

“Ten o’clock, and I can kill you if I want. Kill this Hugo child if I want.”

Jack had to stall. Just two more sentences. “You could, but wouldn’t it be better to give me to the Count of the Cast Away, Gone Astray? You could blame me for stealing the gun, say you never had it, and he wouldn’t look your way.”

“Eleven o’clock, and you might be right. Stand clear, Time Knight, stand clear.”

Jack liked the sound of that. “Time Knight is cool. What does it mean?”

The Clockwatcher kept the pistol aimed at him even as he waved a fat hand. His fingernails were miniature clocks. Jack hadn’t noticed that. This thing was strange, but very well connected. And of course, treacherous as fuck.

Well, so was Jack.

“Twelve o’clock noon!”

Instead of the crimson sky going black, there was a blinding flash of light as another flood of Kairos energy swept out of the Clockwatcher, striking his creatures and topping off Jack’s core.

Not just his core, but also his special storage.

Current Kairos: 200/200

Potential Auxiliary Storage: 36/100

Jack reached out a hand, and the Eternity Cannon sailed away from the Clockwatcher and found a home back in Jack’s fist.

Yay! Back with the guy! the revolver’s little voice squealed with glee.

Jack had the hammer back, and he shouted even as his eyes tried to adjust after the blinding flash of pure Kairos. “You stay back, Clocky. My friends and I are leaving, and if you try to stop us, I’ll end you.”

The Clockwatcher screamed. “One o’clock, no!”

But already his creatures were falling back. The vultures had landed on the ramparts of his cinderblock palace.

Gabby led the way, then Bailey, and finally Jack, backing up with the gun pointed at the fat clock man’s face.

“Two o’clock, and I will get you, Time Knight! I will not forget this!