Tag Archives: Matthew

Escape

The temperature in the hallway rose abruptly just before the wall crumbled. Flames flicked through the hole and smoke billowed out of the room. Immediately, David extinguished the fire and used air currents to carry the smoke away. With his attention focused on getting the crisis under control, he was caught completely unaware by the bolt of electricity that struck him in the chest and knocked him out. A few seconds later, Matthew crawled through the wall.

He bent over David and began searching his pockets. After pulling out a badge, he paused to check David. His breathing was shallow and his pulse thready, but if he received attention soon, he should be okay.

“Sorry about this,” he muttered to the unconscious mage. “It isn’t personal.”

Matthew stood and began to hurry to the front door. Even with the badge, it was easy to get turned around in the House. The floor plan had almost entirely changed since he had lived here. Before Sarah finally locked him up, he had tried to familiarize himself with the layout, but it was still confusing.

Several wrong turns later he found the hallway leading to the front door. He hurried forward but stopped when he heard Sarah call out his name.

“Matthew!”

He turned around. “I’m sorry. I need to leave. I hope you understand.”

“I don’t. You should stay. Help put all this right.”

“Can’t do that. Thomas needs to be stopped, and you’re not going to let me do that.”

“We can . . .”

“You should check on the person you left outside my cell.”

“David?”

“Yes. He was alive when . . .”

“Julia!”

Matthew looked over his shoulder to see a person in between him and the front door.

“Stop him!”

The woman cocked her head to the right as though she were uncertain of what to do. Her eyes were dark, unfocused. She raised her left hand and pointed at Matthew, who immediately disintegrated where he stood. Without saying anything, Julia disappeared.

Horrified and too stunned to move, Sarah just stood there until Rebecca came down the stairs.

“Sarah? What’s going on?”

“I . . . I’m not sure. Julia . . . She did something . . .”

Rebecca walked over to her and began to lead her toward the living room. “Let’s sit down and you can tell me.”

At first, Sarah allowed herself to be pulled along, but she stopped suddenly. “David. He’s hurt.” She broke out of Rebecca’s grasp and ran back to the room where Matthew had been locked up. David was still on the floor.

“Okay. Let me get in and check him out.” Rebecca gently moved Sarah to one side and began to look him over.

Sarah stepped back to give Rebecca room to work. What had Julia done? That wasn’t spatial magic. And was something wrong with her eyes?

Her musings were interrupted when Aisha came around the corner out of breath. “Have you seen Julia?”

“Yes. A little bit ago, she . . .”

“Where?”

“The front hallway. What is going . . . ?”

“Later. I need to find her.”

Aisha turned and began running toward the front of the house.

“Rebecca . . .”

“Go. I’ve got this.”

Needing answers, Sarah followed Aisha.

A Comfortable Prison

A portal opened near a wall in the room, and Sarah walked through. Matthew was sitting on a couch in the living area.

“How are the rooms? Comfortable?” Sarah was genuinely curious.

“You didn’t even bother to disguise the portal as a doorway or something.”

“What do you mean?”

“The rooms are comfortable, but this is obviously a cell. A cage, no matter how pretty, is still a cage.” Considering the situation, she expected him to sound more upset. “So why am I in here?”

“Matthew, we’ve been friends for a long time. I won’t insult your intelligence by pretending you aren’t a captive. Please don’t insult mine by pretending you don’t know why.”

He studied her face for a few moments. “When did you know?”

“I had suspicions from the start, but I wanted to trust you.” She walked over to the table and picked up a decorative stone. She sat as she asked, “Do you remember when you made this for me?”

“Of course.”

“When those two mages escaped. You became lost in the Long Hallway. That wouldn’t have happened if you still had the badge I gave you. And those mages couldn’t have gotten out of the House without it. I couldn’t come up with any more excuses for you.”

“So now what?”

Sarah was surprised a little. “You aren’t going to deny it? Make up some excuse?”

“You asked me not to insult your intelligence.”

“I did.” She continued looking down at the stone in her hands. Matthew didn’t often work with earth, so this had always been special to her. Different minerals spiraled around the surface of the piece, and every time its position changed, the colors seemed to shift. If she looked at him, it might crush her spirit. “Why? Why did you side with people that want to destroy this House?”

“Why? You know why. He nearly killed you. Still, you stayed. Giving him chance after chance. How many people would have to get hurt before you give up on him?”

“And Solomon,” she shot back, “if that’s his real name, has actually killed someone. Nearly two people, if Thomas hadn’t taken precautions. A mana worm, really? His actions even put Rebecca in jeopardy. So far, your new ‘friends’ have done more actual damage than Thomas has.”

“I had nothing to do with the mana worm.”

“Really? That’s your response?” Anger rose in her throat and threatened to choke her. She forced herself to look up. “And when you found out about it, did you leave? Did you even hesitate?”

He was looking down at his hands, as though he was searching for an escape. “I wanted to protect you.” There was no remorse in his voice, only discomfort.

“I don’t need protecting. I need my friend to stop trying to kill other friends.”

“That’s not . . .”

“I don’t care.”

“So what are you going to do with me?” He still didn’t look at her.

This was the question Sarah had been wrestling with. Could she forgive him? Did he even want to be forgiven? And how would Julia react if she discovered his true role in all of this? “For now, nothing. You get to stay here so you can’t cause any more problems. Once we’ve dealt with Solomon, the House will decide.” She stood and walked back to the wall where the portal had been. “Please don’t do anything to make matters worse.” He didn’t respond.

“Julia? Portal.” A portal opened in front of her and she stepped through.

Back in the hallway, Sarah quietly closed the door behind her before dropping the portal illusion.

“Do you think he bought that?” David was waiting for her.

“I think so. My illusions seem to be holding well. So far he hasn’t really tested anything. Have we heard from Julia? Or even Aisha?”

David shook his head. “Still nothing. As far as Rebecca can tell, they aren’t even in the House.”

“Damn. I really wanted Julia to create a truly closed off room. No matter how good my illusions are, he knows my work. He’s bound to get suspicious eventually.”

“So far, he seems willing to stay put.”

“Yeah. But for how much longer. Now that I’ve openly admitted he’s a prisoner, he might start looking for ways out. I hate to impose, but can you keep watch a little longer?”

“Sure.”

“Thanks, David. I’m going to try to find Julia once more. Be back soon.”

Fire

‘Sarah! You need to come to Thomas’s rooms right away.’ The voice in her head was clearly Rebecca’s, but how? The urgency she felt forced her to put the question aside and hurry up the stairs.

Outside of Thomas’s rooms, Sarah found both Rebecca and Marie looking very worried. Marie’s presence explained how Rebecca could communicate directly to her mind, and the intense heat radiating through the door left little doubt as the source of their concern.

Before she could speak, Rebecca anticipated her question. “David is on his way.”

Indeed, at that moment, David came running up the stairs. “Fire?”

“Probably,” Rebecca agreed.

“David . . .” Sarah began, but he was already casting.

“You should back up a bit. I think I can get it under control, but just to be safe.”

Once they moved closer to the stairs, Sarah asked, “Do you know what happened?”

“I came up looking for Matthew . . .” Rebecca began.

“He’s not in the infirmary?”

“No. He’s been taking short walks, and I thought maybe he’d come here again. When I arrived, the door was closed, and it was impossible not to notice the heart. Luckily, Marie was with me and could help send messages.”

By then, David had opened the door. He cast another spell to clear out all the smoke. Much of the room was blackened, and there was ash everywhere. Sarah was relieved to see Thomas, still frozen in place, had been left untouched by the destruction.

“They’re gone.” David’s words drew her attention. The space where the other two mages had stood was now empty. There was no sign of them anywhere.

“How did they get unstuck?” Marie had been silent until now. “Did they start the fire?”

“I don’t know how they got unstuck,” David replied. “But the fire was definitely started by an elementalist.”

“Assuming Thomas is the one who froze them, maybe it wasn’t permanent,” Sarah offered. It was difficult to believe her own suggestion, however. Why would Thomas create a spell that lasted nearly two and a half months? It was such an arbitrary duration.

“More importantly, are they still in the house?” David asked.

“Julia would know. If we could find her,” Rebecca said.

Sarah flinched a little. Rebecca wasn’t criticizing her, she knew, but the feeling of guilt arose anyway. There had been no sign of Julia since she briefly appeared in Thomas’s room over a week ago. Sarah didn’t even know where to begin looking.

“We’ll just have to split up and search ourselves. Rebecca, would you and Marie go through the second floor? David, you can take the first. I’ll go through the Long Hallway. Let’s meet back here.”

Everyone nodded in agreement and left to search.

Using the escape door, Sarah made her way into the lone room of the Long Hallway. Her recording hadn’t been triggered recently, so if they were in the Hallway, they hadn’t made it this far yet.

Opening the door that usually was the entrance to this room, she was surprised to find Matthew standing there.

“Sarah! Thank goodness. I seem to have gotten lost.”

“That’s why I told you not to wander on your own. The House has changed.”

“Obviously.”

“Have you seen anyone else?”

“No. Nothing but an empty hallway. What is this place?”

“It’s part of our security. I’ll tell you about it later, but for now, let’s get you back to the infirmary.”

As she led them out of the Hallway, she said, “I wish we had a room for you to use, so that you wouldn’t be stuck in there.”

“What about my old room?”

“I don’t think it exists anymore. As I said, the House isn’t how you remember it.”

“-e fu-” Like an apparition, Julia appeared before them and then disappeared just as suddenly.

“Has the House become haunted?”

She assumed he was joking, but it didn’t bring her any closer to solving the mystery.

“Not a ghost. We’re still working on it.” They arrived back at the infirmary. “I have to go check on something. Promise not to leave until I get back?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll behave.”

Back at Thomas’s room, everyone else was waiting for her.

“No sign of them anywhere,” David said.

“Well, I found Matthew, but no one else. They must have escaped somehow.”

They all exchanged glances, but no one seemed to know what to do next.

Finally, Sarah broke the silence. “There’s nothing more to be done right now. Be careful. Let others know if something seems amiss.”

Left alone in Thomas’s room once more, Sarah went over everything she had learned in the last hour. There were tough decisions ahead, but she felt more confident than she had in awhile.

A Matter of Trust

Inside the room, the three statues were still in place, Thomas and the other two mages frozen in time. Coming to Thomas’s room felt increasingly futile; like many mages, Thomas didn’t keep many notes, and the ones Sarah could find were indecipherable. Still, he was a member of the house, and she was determined to free him. His rooms were the best chance to find a way to do that.

“What is going on?”

Sarah spun around to find Matthew standing in the doorway. “You should still be resting.”

“I’m feeling better. I have been for days. And you’ve been hiding things from me.” Matthew walked over to Thomas. “For instance, you said he was fine. I thought he wasn’t coming to see me out of anger.”

“I didn’t want you to worry. You need to focus on recovering.”

“Has he been like this since the attack?” He bent down to try to touch Thomas. “Frozen in time?”

“Yes, and yes. I assume Solomon did it, though not before he managed to stop those two.”

Matthew looked at the other two mages. “I recognize them, though I don’t know their names.”

“Too bad. That information would be useful.”

“Sarah, do you not trust me?”

“Why would you ask that?” In several other conversations, they had danced around this issue. It was unsettling for him to ask about it so bluntly.

“Not telling me about Thomas. Keeping me isolated and bed-ridden. I just can’t help but feel like you regard me with suspicion.”

“I didn’t want you to worry, that’s all. Too many pieces are in motion, and I’m trying to keep everyone safe.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I’m concerned for you. I don’t want you in harm’s way. That’s true for everyone in this house.” Deception was part of the illusionist’s training, but Sarah still felt a twinge of guilt for bending the truth.

“Sarah . . . Oh.” Rebecca, breathing heavy, stopped in the doorway upon seeing Matthew.

With a wry smile, Sarah admonished him, “Look, you’ve worried your caretaker.”

“Sorry, Rebecca. I just needed to get out of that room for a bit.”

“It’s fine. I just don’t want you over-exerting yourself.”

A loud cracking noise caused all three to turn and look. Further into the room, behind Sarah, Julia materialized.

“What th-”

As quickly as she had appeared, she vanished.

“Julia!” Rebecca yelled after her, but there was no response.

“What was that?” Matthew asked.

“I have no idea.” There was no need for Sarah to feign confusion. “But I think we should find out.”

Conversation between Old Friends

Matthew was sitting up in bed when Sarah entered the infirmary. “You look better,” she observed. “How do you feel?”

“Still tired, but definitely on the mend.” He gave her a weak smile.

“That’s good.” She took a deep breath. “So where the hell have you been for the last decade? You just leave without talking to me? You know I’ve been looking for you.” Sarah stopped herself before getting more upset.

“I’m sorry. I thought if I left, you might leave as well. I know I abandoned you, and I’m sorry.”

“Mmm hmm.”

“I notice you brought Rebecca into the House.” He seemed eager to change the subject.

“I had to rebuild. A House with only two mages isn’t much of a House.” She was trying to shove her resentment to the side, but she also wasn’t prepared to let it go completely.

“Yeah.” He did sound contrite. “Who else did you bring in?”

“You remember Thomas’s friend Jason? He joined about a year after you left.”

“Oh, right. I’m sorry about Jason.”

That caught her attention, but she continued. “He brought another mage with him, a spatial mage. And Thomas recruited David a few years ago. He’s another elementalist and also the one that found you.”

“The place sounds pretty lively. I’m a little surprised Thomas has included so many mages.”

“It was that or lose the House completely.”

“I suppose. So Thomas is okay?”

“More or less. Who are the people that attacked us? What do they want? You said you were working with them for a time?”

“They kept a lot of things from me, but I think there are two mages behind everything. One of them is a temporal mage who goes by Solomon. The other is an elementalist named Robert. They bring in others when necessary. They told me that they wanted to stop Thomas from messing with the timeline, but eventually I realized they wanted to kill him. I never did find out why.”

“Are they going to come after you?” Her concern was genuine.

Matthew shrugged. “I assume. If they think I’m in their way.”

“Do you know where they are?”

“I knew where they were. I’m guessing they’ve moved by now.”

Sarah thought for awhile, absorbing everything, before asking, “How long ago did you fall in with them?”

“About two years ago. Hey, would you ask Thomas to drop by. He and I should talk.”

“I’ll ask him, though I can’t make any promises.”

“I understand.”

“You should get some rest.” Sarah stood to leave.

“I will. Tell Rebecca, David, and Julia thank you. And hey, do you forgive me?” He gave her a look with puppy dog eyes.

“Yes. We’ll talk more later, okay?”

Matthew nodded and laid down.

Sarah wasn’t sure she actually did forgive him. Their conversation had bothered her for some reason, and she needed to work it out. Matthew had been a friend for a very long time, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.

Studying

Sitting backwards in a chair, Sarah studied the two men frozen in Thomas’s room. Because they were out of sync with the flow of time, neither they nor their clothing could be affected by anything. Everything she needed to know had to be determined by sight alone because it was impossible even to touch them directly. The texture of their hair, the shape of their cheekbones, all the details she needed to copy them would have to be discovered by observation. Luckily, they had been trapped in time with their eyes open so she could see their color. Not hearing their voices, not being able to witness how they moved, would create imperfections in her impersonations, so she wanted to get everything else as exact as possible.

She had spent over an hour practicing the appearances of her targets in front of a mirror. This was all overkill, but she hoped some clues as to their identity might be uncovered. Really, though, she was trying to keep herself distracted so that she wouldn’t worry.

“He’s awake.” Rebecca had walked in.

Without saying anything, Sarah followed her back to the infirmary. Matthew was sitting up a little in bed, some color having returned to his face.

“How are you feeling?” Sarah asked.

Matthew smiled weakly. “Feeling a little better. I remember when I brought Rebecca here to heal you all those years ago. I’m glad she hasn’t lost her touch.”

“I think I’ll go get some rest.” Rebecca sounded a little embarrassed. “Let me know if you need something.” She closed the door behind her on the way out.

“Are you really okay?”

“Yes, Sarah. They didn’t rough me up much. Just tied me up.”

“Those injuries weren’t just because you’d been tied up.”

Matthew tried to wave her concern aside. “So I’ve heard that this is your house now. Congratulations. You deserve it. And now you can kick Thomas out.”

“No, I can’t. And you know that.” She was a little annoyed that he was trying to change the subject. “We can talk about all of that later. How did you end up tied to a chair in a basement?”

Matthew sighed. “I had been trying to find some way to convince Thomas to give up his obsession. During the course of that search, I found a few people that seemed to share my concern about misusing temporal magic. I began working with them, but eventually I realized that they had darker plans. When it became clear that they were determined to kill Thomas, I tried to leave. Obviously, that didn’t go as I hoped.”

“That sounds pretty intense. Do you know why they were after him?”

“Unfortunately, no. They never took me fully into their confidence, so I don’t know as much about them as I would like.”

Sarah sat back and started working out some of the implications of Matthew’s story.

Soon, he sunk back down on the bed, his eyes starting to close. “I’m sorry, Sarah. I think I’m more tired than I realized. We’ll have to talk more later.”

At first, she was worried he had succumbed to some injury they had missed, but when she checked, his breathing was strong and steady. She hadn’t really learned anything new. Someone wanted Thomas dead, but she still didn’t know why. Nor did she know who they were. Perhaps Matthew knew, but she hadn’t had time to ask. She hoped he wouldn’t sleep too long.

After the Siege

“Matthew?! What happened?” Sarah’s surprise threatened to overwhelm her.

“If I could sit . . .” His voice was strained, and every movement caused his face to contort with pain.

“Of course.”

Sarah and David slowly led Matthew to one of the big armchairs where he collapsed into the soft cushions. While Matthew tried to find a comfortable position, David spoke.

“I found him tied up in a basement down the street. The men who entered the house earlier came from there. I think they were holding him.”

“Good guess, kid. They thought I could help them, give them information on the house. In the end, though, they just left me there. Did they get Thomas?”

Sarah wasn’t sure how much to tell him. Trust wasn’t an issue between them, but she wasn’t sure he was strong enough at the moment to deal with the whole situation. “He’s still upstairs. Not dead. My current priority, however, is your well-being. How badly are you hurt?”

“I’ve felt better, but I’m going to live.” He forced a smile.

The light-heartedness he was trying to project actually caused her to worry more. “Do you think they’ll come back?”

“Hard to say. If they didn’t get him, they’ll be back. I don’t know how soon.” The pain showing on his face had become constant.

“Rebecca? Can you help?”

“Of course.” Rebecca closed her eyes and stretched out her hand towards Mathew. After only a few seconds, his head dropped towards his chest, and his breathing steadied. “Julia, I need some help getting him to the infirmary.”

Julia opened a portal and helped Rebecca carry him through.

“So what happened in the house?”

Sarah was thinking about Matthew and didn’t hear David’s question.

“Sarah?”

“Sorry.” She shook her head a bit to try to bring her focus back to the moment. “What did you say?”

“I asked what happened.”

“As Matthew said, they were after Thomas.”

“But they failed?”

A wave of exhaustion swept over her once more, so she slumped into a chair. “Sort of. Thomas is in his room, frozen in time. Two of the attackers are up there, too. They didn’t kill or capture him, but he is currently incapacitated.”

“How do we save him?”

“That’s what we were discussing when you came in. We aren’t sure yet.”

“Why didn’t you tell Matthew.”

“He needs rest. Needs to recover. There’s nothing he can do right now in his condition. Was there anything else in the house where you found him? Any clue?”

“No. The place was empty. I doubt they had been there long.”

“Okay. You should get some rest, too. Oh, and would you mind not leaving the house for the next few days. If they do come back, I’d rather have you in here with us.”

“Sure. Whatever I can do.”

“And David? Thank you for finding Matthew.”

“Purely accidental. But you’re welcome.”

David left Sarah alone with her thoughts. Matthew being back in the house, even wounded, managed to give her a little comfort, but there were still a lot of unknowns to deal with. Her first task was studying the features of the men in Thomas’s room. She wanted to be able to reproduce them as exactly as possible.

Siege (part eight)

“So there are three people frozen in time in Thomas’s room, and we have no idea how to release them?” Rebecca’s voice betrayed the toll that stress had taken on her.

“Yes. That is the current situation.” Sarah felt exhausted.

“On a positive note, the barrier seems to be gone.” Julia tried to sound upbeat but failed.

The three women were sitting downstairs. They had tried to move the men without success. For now, at least, they were stuck in their current positions.

“Can you use your blue crystal?” Rebecca asked Julia.

“No. I haven’t figured out how to extend its use. I was lucky that it worked on Bailey. But mind control is a different sort of magic than temporal stasis.”

Rebecca slumped further into her chair, the hope she had harbored briefly fully extinguished.

“We need another temporal mage.” Julia said. “Do you know anyone, Sarah?”

“No. Thomas was . . .” She caught herself. “ . . . is the only one I’ve met. It’s clear they were after him, but we still don’t know why.”

Silence fell over them as each reflected on the matter. For her part, Sarah was not certain how to feel. She knew she couldn’t leave Thomas as he was, but it might mean the house was safe, at least for now. On the other hand, he might also have an idea as to who their attackers were, or even why they had attacked.

“We should restore our own defenses. Whoever it was that got away, he could come back. Can you put up a barrier of our own, Julia?” Sarah refused to sit still and wait for the next thing to happen.

“I can, but there is a reason I didn’t put one up before. With preparation, they can be taken down. It worked in this case because we didn’t have the time to break it. If I set one up, they could figure out how to deal with it before we notice. At best, it would slow them down.”

“That’s better than nothing.”

“Okay. I just wanted you to know the limits of it. I’ll put one up and reactivate the long hallway. Leaving one up for too long might also attract unwanted attention. Once I can figure out a way to remove barriers quickly, I think we should consider taking it down.”

“What about the men upstairs?” Rebecca asked.

“There’s nothing we can do about them, remember?” Sarah answered.

“No. I meant, what if the stasis is temporary. What if they can start moving. They’re still a threat.”

“That’s a good point. I’ll put up a barrier around them. Even if they manage to break out, at least we’ll know.”

“I’m sorry to put so much on you, Julia.” Sarah said.

Julia shrugged. “Defending the house is my job. It’s why you all let me stick around in spite of my anti-social attitude.”

“That’s not true,” Sarah protested.

“Relax. I’m joking. Mostly. Anyway, it’ll give me something to do.”

“Rebecca. Do you think you could contact Thomas’s soul? See if it’s frozen too? Maybe we can contact him through the spirit world?”

Rebecca appeared to think about the idea for a few moments. “I can try. I don’t know if it will work, but I will try.”

“That’s all I ask. I will see if I can track down the identities of our uninvited guests. Maybe that will provide us with some answers.”

They heard the front door open and then David’s voice.

“Barrier’s down. Is anybody here?”

“In here,” Sarah replied.

David came around the corner, but he wasn’t alone. He was supporting another person who seemed to be unconscious.

“David! Who . . .?” Sarah had rushed over to help.

At the sound of her voice, the figure raised its head and gave her a weak smile. “Sarah. It’s good to see you.”

Her surprise caused her to take a step back. “Matthew?!”

Leaving

There was a soft tapping on her door followed by Thomas’s voice. “Sarah? I’m sorry. Can we talk?”

She got out of her chair and opened the door. “Come in.”

After walking back to the center of the room, they sat down facing one another. Sarah waited for Thomas to speak.

“I did not mean for that to happen. I certainly never wanted to cause you harm. I had brought back a piece of the attacker’s clothes. The stasis field in which it was suspended collapsed unexpectedly.”

Sarah interrupted Thomas’s uncharacteristic wordy explanation. “And that caused the explosion?”

“Yes. Basically, additional matter suddenly appeared in the world. All the matter that had been in that spot was violently displaced.”

“This was all part of your investigation into the attack on your master’s house?”

“Yes.” His chattiness was gone; Thomas obviously believed he had explained himself fully.

“Did you at least learn anything?”

“No. I never had the opportunity to study it.”

“You realize Matthew is ready to leave. He wants me to go with him.” The Mistress would not approve of this tack. Even if Sarah didn’t intend to follow through with the threat, this interference with Thomas’s decisions went against her intent if not her explicit orders. But Sarah was more interested in stopping Matthew from leaving, and she hoped this would push Thomas away from the edge.

“Maybe it would be good for you leave.” Thomas avoided her gaze.

Hiding her surprise, Sarah responded immediately. “I don’t want to leave. I want you to let this obsession to go. If you are really sorry, then you need to stop before anyone gets harmed again.”

“You will stay if I stop investigating the attack?”

“I don’t expect you to stop looking into it. I want you to stop messing with time. You’ve proven it’s dangerous, and you need to quit doing it.”

“I am not sure I can do that,” Thomas said after a few moments.

“Really?”

“I merely want to be honest with you.”

“Well, honestly, the next time you might kill me. Or Matthew. Or even yourself. Is it worth it? Will you be sorry then? If you would be, just don’t do it in the first place.”

Thomas sat in silence for a bit. “You are right. I need to think about this.”

“You do that.” Sarah kept the exasperation out of her voice.

Thomas stood and left without saying anything else. Maybe she had gotten through to him. If she stayed, she was risking her life, but she couldn’t bring herself to leave just yet.

Walking down the hallway, Sarah wanted to talk to Matthew about her conversation with Thomas. As soon as she knocked, his door swung open. Inside, it was immediately obvious that the room had been vacated; nothing of Matthew’s remained. On the coffee table was a note addressed to her.

“Dear Sarah,

I hope you understand that I can’t stay. He has shown us that he cares only about himself, and that he will hurt anyone to accomplish his goals. I wish you would leave, but it’s your decision. If you ever do leave, come find me.

Yours,

Matthew”

After reading it, she crumpled the paper and threw it away. Even if Thomas did stop playing with time, it wasn’t enough to fix anything. And now they needed new members if the house was to survive.

Near Death Experience

Sarah’s head was pounding when she opened her eyes. The room was too bright, intensifying her headache and forcing her to shut her eyes tight to block out the light.

“Sarah!” The concern was evident in Matthew’s voice. Still, she couldn’t imagine why he was in her room.

“Sarah!” He repeated.

“Please, not so loud. Why are you in my room?” Slowly she began opening her eyes a little once more.

“This is my room. You don’t remember?”

She tried to think back. “The last thing I remember is a very loud noise just before everything went dark.”

“Your room exploded, burying you under a pile of rubble. It’s a miracle you survived. You’ve been unconscious for three days. I had to bring someone in to heal you.”

Matthew’s worry now made sense, but the explanation gave rise to new confusion. “My room exploded? I was working on illusions. How could that have caused an explosion?”

Matthew sighed and sat down on a chair next to the bed. “You didn’t cause the explosion. It happened in the room next to yours, but it caused your lab to collapse.”

“You mean . . .”

Matthew nodded. “Something happened in Thomas’s lab.”

“Is he okay?”

“Are you serious?”

“What?”

“Thomas nearly killed you, and you’re worried about him?”

“I’m sure he didn’t do it intentionally.” She understood how Matthew felt. She even felt a little anger herself but was determined to keep it in check, at least until she knew more. “Is he okay?”

“Yes. He’s fine. He wasn’t even here when it happened.”

“Has he explained the cause of the explosion?”

“Not to my satisfaction.”

“Then we need to talk to him.”

“Listen, Sarah, I know he’s our friend, but I think we should leave. Maybe find another house to join. Even start our own house. But I don’t think we ought to stay here. He promised to give us a heads up when he was engaged in dangerous magic, and he didn’t. It doesn’t matter if this happened on purpose or not; he is keeping things from us and putting us at risk.”

More than she could say, Sarah wanted to leave with Matthew, but she knew she couldn’t. “Matthew, I have to stay.”

“Why?”

“I made a promise to Thomas.” She hated herself a little for lying to Matthew. The Mistress had sent her with Thomas to keep an eye on him. She also had sworn Sarah to secrecy.

“Sarah, that’s absurd. He’s put us in danger. More than once. He’s shown no regard for us. Whatever commitments we’ve made, he cannot really expect us to keep them now.”

“Still. We need to talk to him.” Sarah began to feel tired. “Though maybe not today.”

“Is something wrong?”

“No. I’m just worn out.”

“Do you want me to get the healer?”

“It’s not necessary. Really. I just need more sleep. Who was this healer, anyway?”

“A friend of mine recommended her. Rebecca. Don’t worry, I stayed and watched over you the entire time she was here.”

“I should thank her.” After those words, unconsciousness overtook her once more.