The Titan Drowns: Time Travel Romance by Nhys Glover (highly recommended books .txt) 📕

theory she may have been, but she had spoken truly concerning her virginity. He felt immeasurable pride to have been her first. And, if he had anything to say about it, he would also be her last.

 

 

Chapter Six

 

Eilish

 

She was drawn from deep, dreamless sleep by the light knock at the door. Her first impression was of warmth and the slight stickiness of damp skin surrounding her. Then she registered the late morning sunshine on her face. Easing her eyes open, she looked down at the man’s arm that wrapped around her. The sunshine was glistening on the fine hairs of his arm. His skin was so white.

‘Damn! Sorry,’ an American-accented, male voice said. A door clicked shut.

‘Damn!’ she echoed, instantly awake and aware of what had just happened. She drew herself out from under her lover and scrambled off the huge bed.

‘What?’ came the groggy query.

‘Luke is back and he just walked in on us. I am going to the bathroom.’

‘I will handle Luke.’ his voice was no longer groggy and there was steel in its tone.

‘Leave it, Max. It is late. He probably didn’t expect to find me still in bed. Certainly, he would not have expected to find you here with me.’

‘I will handle Luke,’ he repeated stonily, as he, too, made to rise.

Groaning, she limped toward the en suite and closed the door behind her. She dreaded what Luke would say. He was so moody and irritable lately, it was becoming a matter of major concern.

After using the toilet, she washed her face and threw on the dressing gown that hung on the hook behind the door. By the time she left the room, Max was dressed in trousers and shirt, but without collar, shoes or socks. He was heading out the door to confront her partner.

‘Max…’

‘It will be all right, Eilish. I will handle this.’

She groaned again and followed him slowly. Standing behind the open door, she watched the confrontation as it played out.

‘Sorry for intruding,’ Luke muttered, as he saw Max walking stiffly toward him, his black and white formal attire looking at odds with Luke’s daywear. Luke was leaning over the mantelpiece, staring down at the smouldering coals. ‘I assume Eilish has told you about us now.’

‘About us? I was not aware there was an ‘us’ where you and Eilish were concerned.’ Max was sounding as stuffy as a judge on the High Court Bench.

‘Us as in where we came from and why we’re here,’ Luke explained with pained patience.

‘If you mean that ridiculous story about the future, then yes she has told me. Am I to take it from what you are saying that you believe that nonsense too? Surely you are just humouring her.’

Her temper flared at the patronising tone and she almost entered the room to take issue with him, when Luke did it for her.

‘Don’t talk about her like she’s some brainless bimbo. You don’t humour Eilish, you either take her at her word or you leave her be. Do I make myself clear?’ Luke was dangerous, very dangerous in that moment, and his voice was hard, cold metal rasping on stone. He had turned to stare at his victim like a cat about to pounce.

‘You do not have to defend her honour.’

‘It ain’t her honour I’m defendin’! It’s her intelligence, experience and knowledge. She don’t deserve to be patronised by a limey, stuffed shirt like you.’

Max drew back and blinked rapidly. Eilish couldn’t help but feel the urge to defend him against Luke’s attack. It wasn’t his fault their story was so hard to believe. Luke had not believed it himself for a long time, even when presented with the reality of New Atlantis itself.

But Max was not rebuffed. Instead, he seemed thoughtful when next he spoke. ‘It is clear we are talking at cross purposes. I had no intention of demeaning Eilish in any capacity. I am simply unable to accept this outlandish story of hers. Are you telling me you are three hundred years old, and come from the future too?’

‘Jeezus H Christ, this is why I prefer Retrieving kids! If I have to deal with one more jerk who can’t see what’s as plain as the nose on his face! No, I ain’t three hundred years old. I’m thirty-five goin’ on sixty, because of the goddamn affect time travel has on my body! But yeah, I’m from the future. Not originally from the distant future like Eilish, but far enough to know what’s going to happen to you if you don’t get on board with what we’re tellin’ you. Buddy, you’re goin’ to die unless you let us help you!’

‘Luke!’ she cried, hurrying into the room and taking up a position just in front of Max, unconsciously trying to protect him with her body from Luke’s harsh home-truths. ‘I have not gone that far yet. You have the sensitivity of a bull in a china shop!’

‘So I’ve been told more than once. But diplomacy ain’t goin’ to fix this and all this tippy-toein’ around is driving me loony.’

‘Who are you? What is your part in all this?’ Max asked cautiously, as if approaching a live grenade.

‘Who am I? Good question. I can tell you who I was. I was First Sergeant Lukas Danielewski, Company A, First Ranger Battalion on reconnaissance in German occupied Poland in 1942 when I had the misfortune of encountering three Gestapo agents interrogating my angel. And, before I knew it, I was in wacky world and part of this crazy-arsed crusade to save goddamn humanity!’

He turned away with disgust and stared into the dying fire. For several minutes, there was silence in the room and Eilish could hear the cheery voices of the staff moving along the corridor outside their suite.

‘1942. You come from thirty years into the future when Germany occupies Poland? But Germany already occupies Poland, along with Russia and Austria.’

‘Poland gets its independence and then the Germans invade and start World War II.’

‘World War II? That implies that there is a World War I between now and then?’

‘1914,’ Eilish contributed reluctantly. ‘I told you a little about that the first night at dinner.’

‘How can you possibly know such things?’ Max said with a gasp, reaching out unsteadily to grip the edge of the chair closest to him.

Eilish wanted to go to his side and support him but she knew that in this moment he might reject her, just as he was trying so desperately to reject what they were telling him.

‘And the Reparations from that war will lead the German people to Hitler, a monster, if I remember that conversation rightly?’

Eilish smiled weakly and nodded. ‘Sit down Max, we have a lot to explain and from the look of you, you could do with a drink. Or I could order up breakfast?’

‘I am not hungry, but a stiff drink might help.’ Max took the smoking chair beside the fire and stared thoughtfully into the dark grate.

‘Either you are both escapees from a lunatic asylum, which from your luxurious accommodation does not seem likely, or you are telling me the truth.’

‘Damn the limey bastard is coming ‘round faster than most!’ Luke gave a hoot of laughter. Eilish could see deep circles under his eyes and she wondered when his last good night’s sleep had been.

‘Go home, Luke. You have to take some down-time with Faith to sort this out,’ she said, coming to his side and placing a hand on his shoulder.

‘I can’t. If I go back now the whole mission’ll have to be postponed.’

‘So? You know it doesn’t matter on that end. Whether they leave on schedule just after us, or in six weeks, or a year from then, it will all be the same at this end.’

‘People will be waitin’ around. Other missions will be…’

‘Luke, you are essential to this mission. If you cannot do your job properly, we are all at risk, Bart included. Go home, see Faith, do what you know you have to so we can get the results we need.’

Luke shook his head tiredly. ‘I ain’t never been this bad before. I’m scared… I’m scared of losing Faith and Bart, I’m scared of not being able to Integrate, I’m scared of what it’ll be like if I do Integrate with that lump of dead flesh. But most of all I’m scared I’ll fuck up this mission – and that’ll cost lives.’

‘You are an exceptionally brave man, Luke Bedford. How does a brave man handle fear?’

Luke turned to her and stared deeply into her eyes. ‘He does what he has to anyway.’

She smiled gently, cupping his cheek in her hand. ‘Go home Luke, face your fears, and then come back here to finish what you started. I will meet you at Southampton Dock. Did you get our tickets?’

‘Yes, I’ll take them back with me. I could come back here, if you need…’

‘And turn up looking like you are fifteen years younger, overnight? No, Max will take care of me. If there is a problem, I will come home too.’

Luke sighed heavily and then nodded. He looked over at Max and then back at Eilish. ‘Here?’

‘Yes, why not? It might further convince Max we are not escapees from Bedlam.’

Luke went to his coat, which was hanging on the back of a chair at the small table in the corner. He removed his palm-sized Portal Activator and pressed several buttons. While Max gasped in shock, a sheet of sparking lights eight feet high and six feet wide instantly formed in the centre of the room. The hum from it vibrated through the floor to where Eilish stood.

Without another word, Luke turned and stepped into the light. And as fast as it had appeared, the light disappeared.

‘God in Heaven! You are actually three hundred years old!’ Max said into the silence that followed.

Eilish turned to smile impudently at him. ‘That is your only concern in all this? My age?’ Then she gave a throaty little laugh. ‘It is Saturday morning, you do not have to be at work and we have the suite to ourselves. Come back to bed and I will show you how active an old lady can be!’

Max shook his head in stunned bemusement as he climbed slowly to his feet. ‘I cannot decide what I need more in this moment – more answers or more bed play.’

‘We can multitask. That is a term that became popular at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Women are better at it than men, as we are better than men at many important things.’

‘I will believe you. In this moment, if you told me Queen Victoria would rise from the grave and take back her throne, I would believe you.’

Eilish leaned up, wrapped her arms around his neck and placed a kiss on his mouth. ‘Oh, she does that in 1913.’

‘What?’ he jerked back from her in horror.

She grinned and giggled. ‘Just kidding! You should see your face!’

‘I am starting to see the justification behind some of the old ways. As your husband, I would feel totally within my rights to put you over my knee and paddle your backside.’ Instead, he scooped her into his arms and padded across the floor toward the bedroom.

‘Lucky we are not married then…’ she replied impudently.

‘That, my dear, is something I plan to remedy at my earliest opportunity.’

‘Do not worry about it. If you come with me, you will leave your marriage as well as your life behind.’

He