The Last Timekeepers and the Arch of Atlantis (6 page)

Ravi inclined his head. “And what’s that?”

“Timekeepers,” Lilith answered. Her smile increased. “The Last Timekeepers.”

Was this lady ready for the loony bin? Amanda’s heart raced, trying to keep up with everything she’d downloaded so far. Atlantis—Lilith—time portal—cellular frequency—Belial—fear—Timekeepers—correction, the Last Timekeepers. She may be vibrating at a high velocity, but her brain certainly wasn’t.

Amanda sighed. It was time to bring things up to speed. “Okay, Lilith, suppose time travel is possible. What does a Timekeeper do and why is this Belial freak so afraid of them?”

“Timekeepers are the legendary guardians of history, Amanda Sault,” Lilith said, smiling at her. “All Timekeepers are handpicked by destiny and sent into the past to keep time flowing naturally and on its proper course. Belial knows this and can do nothing to stop it. So he tempts those who choose to take the easier path to their deepest wants and desires. Belial truly becomes their shadow, always there, always lurking.”

“So how come you called us the Last Timekeepers?” Amanda asked. “It sounds kind of final, like a death sentence.”

Ravi groaned. “And what happened to the First Timekeepers?”

“All in good time, Ravi Sharma,” Lilith replied. “And I assure you, Amanda Sault, it is anything but terminal. You are the Last Timekeepers because you are Earth’s last chance to restore the balance in the time period Belial chooses to invade. Like the spirals teach, everything is interconnected, including time. It is important to understand that you are all to be a part of the greater good in order to secure hope for a new tomorrow, a new Earth.”

“Great. No pressure there,” Treena said.

“Belial has an easier time seeping into the minds of adults than children.” Lilith swept her eyes over them. “He is the shadow side of humanity—the voice of knowledge, of suffering, of lies—yet it is the children who call his bluff. Although you are not completely immune to his evil whisperings, you are more aware, more awake.”

“This Belial loser sounds an awful lot like the devil,” Drake said.

“He is the darkest part of ourselves and knows it. Belial taps into people’s anger, hatred, and fears. This is what he did with Professor Crowley. Like Amanda, his cellular frequency was an exact match to the black crystal trident he found hidden in a secret compartment located in the top portion of the fifth arch.”

“Damn, I shouldn’t have trusted Crowley!” Professor Lucas yelled, smacking his thighs. “I knew that snake was asking too many questions and sniffing around my research material way too much. I should have paid more attention. I’m such a jackass!”

“You’ll get no argument from me, Professor Lucas,” Melody retorted. “And if any harm comes to the children, then so help me God, I’ll—”

“Look, lady, I’m sorry you and the kids were dragged here too. If it makes you feel any better, then I’ll be the Timekeeper and you and the kids can take that whirling rainbow bus back home.”

“I’m afraid that will not be possible, Professor Lucas,” Lilith replied. She swept a hand over Amanda and her classmates. “These children and Melody Spencer are as much Timekeepers as you are. Fate has brought you all here to work together as one. It was not your fault that Professor Marcus Crowley chose to explore the voice of evil—It was his. You can’t blame yourself for the choices other people make; it is part of their journey, not yours. You must remember to stay true to yourself, Professor Lucas, and be as authentic as possible.”

“But these are children you’re talking about, Lilith,” Melody said. “Surely you can’t expect them to fight against the mind of the devil? That’s crazy, and I forbid it!”

Lilith calmly met Melody’s fiery green eyes. “Trust in what has been presented to you, Melody Spencer. I know you have known pain and sadness in your life, but you must understand that it is from these trials that you have learned so much about yourself, and grown even more.”

Melody jerked sharply. “What the bloody hell are you talking about?”

“The loss of your own child has made you heartsick and over-protective.” Lilith sighed. “Yet it has also created a healer and nurturer who helps others adjust. It is a great gift.”

Melody’s mouth fell open. So did everyone else’s. Melody had never mentioned anything about ever having kids or being married. Even in the hallways and walls of Melody’s house, there weren’t any family photographs or portraits hanging to attest to her past. Only a few simple oil paintings of landscapes and fruit graced the walls. They were colorful, yet lifeless.

“How come you know so much about us, Lilith?” Drake asked. “Are you telepathic?”

Lilith ran a long, slender finger down the length of his nose. “Just as Belial seeks to take energy from your darkest thoughts, I search for your brilliance. This serves me best. I look for your strengths, dreams, and talents through your memories. It is a pity that most people do not do this because the world would be a happier and more balanced place to live.”

Amanda smiled. That was what Grandmother Sault would have said. Happiness and balance made for a better world. Her grandmother and Lilith would have been BFFs for sure. Suddenly, Amanda’s nose twitched. Crap, even in Atlantis she couldn’t escape the wrath of pollen. She sneezed, and sneezed again. The book of riddles flew out of her overalls bib and landed in front of Professor Lucas.

“
Gesundheit
,” Professor Lucas said. He grunted to pick it up. Amanda winced, hearing his knees crack. “What’s this?” he asked, looking over the cover.

“It’s a book of riddles Melody found with the crystal trident,” Amanda replied. “I was just keeping it safe for her. You can pass it back to Melody.”

“No, Professor Lucas. This book rightfully belongs to Amanda Sault,” Lilith said, procuring the book from him. The professor frowned, looked down at his empty hands, and grunted. Lilith looked at Amanda approvingly and handed it to her. “The Timekeepers’ log has chosen
you
to be the Scribe.”

Dumbfounded, Amanda stared at the book of riddles—now dubbed the Timekeepers’ log—in her hands. Before Amanda could ask what she had meant, Lilith bowed regally, turned around, and started walking toward the huge golden statue of Poseidon.

“What’s a Scribe?” Treena asked.

“Isn’t that like some kind of writer, only more disciplined?” Jordan guessed.

Ravi chuckled. “Well if it is, then Sault’s the wrong person to be a Scribe!”

Amanda didn’t hesitate. She poked Ravi in the ribs with the book.

“Amanda can write, Sharma!” Treena blurted. “FYI—she had a poem published in the
White Pines Weekly
last month.”

Amanda’s cheeks were blazing now. It was a good thing that her skin was bronze—it hid most of her blush. She had handed in her poem under a pseudonym. That was
their
secret. Amanda caught Jensen flashing an incisor like a shark.

He snickered. “Hey, guys, imagine that, a tomboy poet. Roses are red. Violets are blue. I get sore knees—when I tackle you!”

The boys broke out in laughter. The girls did not.

“This is ridiculous!” Melody burst out, pushing back tendrils of dark hair out of her face. “You children can barely get along with one another. How on earth are you possibly going to work together as Timekeepers when your lives may depend on it?”

Amanda stared at the Timekeepers’ log. Melody had a point. Even in class, their seats were far apart from each other. Maybe this Timekeeper thing wasn’t such a good idea. Amanda clutched the log to her chest and glanced down at the reflective marble tiles. How could she manage the job of Scribe when she had enough on her plate with an assignment on “The Chivalry of Knights” due on Monday? Amanda lifted her head. She jumped, shocked to find Lilith standing in front of her. In Lilith’s hands dangled seven strange-looking necklaces made of a metal that sparkled like embers in a campfire. Attached on the end of each necklace was a light blue stone, the size of a walnut.

Lilith smiled as she gently placed one of the necklaces around Amanda’s neck. “Here, you will have need of this, Amanda Sault.”

Amanda accepted it with a smile and looked it over as Lilith doled out the rest of the necklaces to the others. It wasn’t as heavy as she thought it would be; in fact it was about half the weight of a cell phone. The blue stone was set in place by thin pieces of flickering metal. She didn’t think it was gold; it appeared smooth and shiny, closer to the color of copper. Amanda felt her palm heat up before she reached for the clear, blue stone. It cooled her palm instantly, as if she had submerged her hand into a deep, glacier lake.

“Uh, don’t take this the wrong way, Lilith, but jewelry isn’t my style,” Drake said, as he tried to dodge Lilith. “But, if you’ve got any solid gold skateboards, I’ll take one of those!”

“Ditto!” Ravi added.

“You will need this if you are to be a Timekeeper, Drake Bailey. It is called a Babel necklace. It will break any language barriers that you may come across.”

“Language barriers?” Treena asked, rolling the blue stone between her palms. “What do you mean, Lilith?”

“Different cultures speak in different tongues, Treena Mui,” Lilith explained. “The Babel necklace is attuned to all languages here on Earth, extinct or existing. It will act as a receiver as well as a transmitter. In other words, you will be able to understand everyone you meet, and they in turn, will understand what you say to them.”

Drake looked doubtful, but he put the necklace on.

“Sweet! I can hardly wait to try this out in French class!” Jordan said.

Lilith pursed her full lips and shook her head firmly. “The Babel necklace only works when you are on a Timekeeper mission, Jordan Jensen.”

“What’s this necklace made of, Lilith?” Professor Lucas asked. “I’ve never quite seen a metal like this before. It’s shinier than gold.”

“It’s orichalcum, Professor Lucas. You can’t find it anywhere else but on Atlantis. The blue stone is a special crystal that has been energized by the sun for at least one hundred years.”

“Excuse me, Lilith,” Ravi cut in. “How long does a Timekeeper mission last?”

Lilith shrugged. “It takes as long as it takes, Ravi Sharma. Some Timekeeper missions take a few hours or a day to complete. Others may take weeks or even months to accomplish.”

Lilith said it like it was no big deal.
Weeks? Months? Won’t we be missed?
Amanda’s mind went to amber alert, and she shook her head. “Lilith, we can’t be gone for long. Our faces and names would be plastered all over police bulletin boards, milk cartons, and probably on television.”

Treena jumped. “OMG! Television? Really? I hope my parents use one of my head shots from my portfolio!”

“You’d be dangerous if you had a brain, Mui,” Jordan said. “Amanda’s being serious.”

“You don’t know what serious is, Jensen!” Ravi growled. “If I’m not back home by tonight, then the battery in my myoelectric hand won’t get recharged. And if it doesn’t get recharged, I can’t use it! And if I can’t use it, then I can’t punch your freaking brains out!”

Both Amanda and Jordan took a few steps back. But Lilith held her ground, grasped Ravi by the chin, and said, “Trust, Ravi Sharma. You must learn this. All will be provided for you and the others. You have what you need with you, as well as the
unseen power
inside of you, to face each obstacle you meet. Everyone does. Now here, Ravi Sharma, I have another gift.”

Ravi seemed on the verge of tears as Lilith rolled up his right arm’s sleeve. Amanda had never seen Ravi’s entire artificial hand, only the part he allowed the world to see. She had never touched it, but heard it thud against his desk enough times to know it was made of hard plastic. The color was a close match to Ravi’s light brown skin, and it appeared to end about four inches away from his pink-scarred elbow. Amanda and the others watched in silence as Lilith flipped over Ravi’s prosthesis and removed the attached battery. She then replaced it with a long, narrow purple crystal surrounded by tiny strips of that orichalcum stuff. It clicked in perfectly, as if it was made for that purpose.

“What did you give him, Lilith?” Melody asked, moving in for a closer look.

Lilith rolled down Ravi’s sleeve and let go of his arm. “A piece of Atlantean know-how. Go ahead and give it a try, Ravi Sharma.”

Ravi wiped away the glisten from his eyes and nodded. He opened and closed his prosthesis with ease, just as he could always do. His stony facial expression changing into one of awe. A light had clicked on for Ravi the moment his fingers began to move in unison, synchronizing with each other, going back and forth with a rhythm of their own. Amanda found herself mirroring Ravi’s movements with her hand. Finally, he moved his thumb down, then up, as tears flooded his eyes.

“I-I can
feel
my hand as…as if it were real again,” Ravi choked.

Then, Ravi wiped his face and flashed Lilith the thumbs up sign.

Lilith returned his gesture and said, “Like the Babel necklace, this crystal battery only operates when you’re on a Timekeeper mission, Ravi Sharma.”

“Well, you’ve solved Sharma’s problem, Lilith,” Drake said, “but
what if
a Timekeeper mission lasts more than a few hours?”

“Time is an illusion, Drake Bailey,” Lilith answered calmly. “You can never ‘measure’ it. Time exists simultaneously. Therefore you and the other Timekeepers will never be missed and will never age during the entire stay of each Timekeeper mission.”

“But, Lilith, how do we know what part of history we’re supposed to keep from changing?” Jordan asked.

“That is the Scribe’s job, Jordan Jensen,” Lilith replied. Then she held out her hand to Amanda. “Here, this is for you, Amanda Sault. Every Scribe needs one.”

A thin, long, clear crystal glittered in Lilith’s open hand. It was about the shape and size of a pen. A dark blue point glowed at one end. Amanda picked it up and let her thumb slide down the length of it.

“Thanks, Lilith. Um, what exactly is this thing?”

“It is your crystal chalkis, Amanda Sault. You use it to record each Timekeeper mission.”

“But how do I know what the mission will be?” Amanda asked.

“The crystal chalkis will tell you in the same way it told Frances Tarbush and later, Florence Whitney. Just trust the voice that comes into your head, and transcribe what you hear into the Timekeepers’ log.”