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

and he could stop the Influunt Diaboli, though freezing time in hell had been a hundred times harder than freezing his current reality on Earth.

He heard whispered voices from the other room, murmurings, all feminine voices—not just one woman, but three.

Bailey’s brazen cursing. Gabby’s kind and soothing murmur. And then Annie’s dorky laugh. Jack wondered how he could’ve been brought back to his apartment, but then he knew. Gabby was strong enough to easily pick him up. She might look like a slim blonde, but she had enormous strength.

Jack stood, stretched, then checked this stat sheet for a second.

<<< SEPTUA SANCTUS >>>

Level: 3

Current Kairos: 256/300

Current Corpus: 288/300

Current Nefesh: 273/300

Current Ijjinaya: 201/300

Current Psyche: 297/300

Current Morpheum: 300/300

Current Decaysia: 219/300

Special abilities:

Potential Auxiliary Storage: 0/100

Septua Omnia Storage (Aeterna): 0/100

Unique Temporary Storage: 18,921,600 minutes

Aeterna Kalpa Olam

Hosted Synchronization

Septua Conversion and Transfer

<<< SEPTUA SANCTUS >>>

He’d leveled, which didn’t surprise him. That must’ve been what allowed him to stop time in hell. Also, his Decaysia levels were still really high, but compared to his new maximum value of 300 points, it wasn’t so bad. It was curious that his Ijjinaya levels were low, or maybe not, since he’d gone an entire day without sex.

Then he saw a new value under the special abilities setting. He had a new way to store energy, and that was through the Eternity Cannon, it seemed. The revolver was hanging in its holster, attached to his belt, from the headboard of his bed. He touched the wooden grip.

So he had another 100 points, but it seemed he could store other energies than Kairos. Yes, the word “omnia” meant all in Latin. That meant he could probably transfer any of the other seven energies into the gun’s storage.

As for those nearly nineteen million minutes? He knew what those were—those were Evelyn Mundi’s minutes. He’d have to swing by her house and give her back the minutes of her life.

He changed clothes, putting on fresh jeans and getting a new shirt. Something nice because Annie was out there. Actually, it wouldn’t matter what he looked like. She’d forget this day like everything else.

The front door slammed.

Jack hurried out, hoping that he hadn’t missed seeing the bank teller.

No, Annie sat on his couch, wrapped in a blanket, looking tired. Her hair was frizzy, but she’d showered. Even sitting there, without makeup, her hair back, she was beautiful.

Her eyes brightened when she saw him. “Good morning, sleepyhead. Bailey and Gabby promised you’d wake up soon. We were so worried.”

“No need to worry. Just glad we got you out of hell.” He paused, suddenly embarrassed by his little apartment. It wasn’t much decorated at all. And it wasn’t nice, not by any stretch of the imagination. He lived off one of the business streets in Plum Creek, traffic noise could be loud, and it just wasn’t that big of a place.

“How long was I out?” He asked.

“All night and most of the morning.”

Jack glanced around. “Where did Bailey and Gabby go?”

“Out to get a big breakfast,” Annie said softly. “I suggested we do DoorDash, but Bailey likes getting out of the house.”

There was an awkward beat of quiet. Then she looked him in the eyes. “Hey, thanks for saving me. I know it was all three of you, but in the end, it was you.”

He didn’t know what to say. He sat, and he felt the weight of the past days. He didn’t want to ask about Kerrata, or what she’d been through.

It was like she could see that on his face. “It was mostly nothing,” she said quickly. “From what Bailey and Gabby said, I guess Kerrata pulled me out of the timestream and spent most of seven days drinking my Kairos. I guess that’s time energy? I don’t know. It was because of you, though. Kerrata said that. Me, Evelyn Mundi, even Hugo—it’s our connection to you that makes us important. You’re a Time Knight, and you’ll be important in the Time War. Not that you aren’t already because you are. I guess.” She sighed. “I don’t know how you can fight a time war that hasn’t happened yet but has already happened. Maybe you started it by saving me. Or maybe you finished it. Who knows? It’s not like Bailey and Gabby will talk about it.”

That made Jack chuckle. “Yeah, they don’t say much about that stuff. You do know what they are, right?”

“You’re a Time Knight, Bailey is a demon, Gabby is an angel. Yeah. We covered that.” Annie cast her eyes down.

“I’m sorry you got pulled into this...because of me.” Jack could feel the truth of it. He’d become important, or maybe he’d always been important. If time was fractured by some kind of war, then maybe that explained why a lot of this felt like destiny, even the death of his brothers.

“Back when you worked security...did you know?” Annie asked.

Jack shook his head. “I didn’t know anything until those guys came to rob the branch...the night you were kidnapped.”

Annie drew a trembling hand over her hair. “That makes two of us. I called my dad, my roommate, to let them know I’m okay. They’re so relieved. I said I’d explain everything eventually. I just don’t know what I’m going to say. What do you say?”

“When you report in at the bank and with the police, you’ll have to say something because they’ll have to close out the investigation. It’s a problem.” Jack frowned. “But Annie, we have another option. Bailey could remove your memories. You could walk back into the bank, before noon today, and you could go on with your life like none of this happened. You’ll be as clueless as everyone else.”

Annie covered her eyes. “Would I not remember a thing? I’d want to know that you rescued me. Forgetting Bailey hitting on me constantly? I could probably let that go and be okay.” Her smile showed that she wasn’t that upset.

“I think it’s all or nothing. What do you say?” Jack waited for her response. Not