Time of the Dragons: The Indigo King; The Shadow Dragons by James A. Owen

Author:James A. Owen [Owen, James A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Fantasy, Historical, Fairy Tales; Folk Tales; Legends & Mythology
ISBN: 9781481429979
Google: 9bKZBgAAQBAJ
Amazon: 1481429973
Barnesnoble: 1481429973
Goodreads: 24885768
Publisher: Saga Press
Published: 2015-10-20T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THREE

PURSUIT OF THE UN-MEN

ONCE THEY HAD settled in with their drinks, John brought the conversation back to the point. “What’s so significant about 1936?” he asked. “Since you were aiming for 1943, why would it matter what year you landed in, as long as it was prior to your target?”

“It’s significant,” came the reply, “because it’s the first time the two of you”—he indicated John and Jack—“formally met him,” he finished, pointing at Charles.

John bristled, and his eyes narrowed. That didn’t sound valid. “If Verne did send you, then you both should have been aware that we’ve known Charles for many years now.”

“Sure,” said Ransom, “in this dimension. But not in others. In most of them, the two of you never met him until the spring of 1936. So there were things that could not be shared with you until the natural greater course of events had occurred. Even you three have realized this at some level,” he continued, gesturing at the trio of men, “else you would not have gone to such pains to keep the relationship a secret for all this time.”

“Bert said we must, not for temporal or dimensional reasons,” said John, “but rather to protect the knowledge of the Imaginarium Geographica and the Archipel—”

The quick, curt shake of Ransom’s head told John to stop speaking. It was a secret that needed protecting, and even here, in a small, out-of-the way tavern, sitting with an agent of Jules Verne, it was too great a risk to say some things aloud.

“Timelines must be protected as much as possible,” Ransom went on, “and even when changes are made, they must be done with an eye toward the ebb and flow of events that have already occurred—past, present, and future.

“You were brought together by the murder of Professor Sigurdsson, but you were already marked as potential Caretakers.” Ransom’s voice dropped to a whisper with the last word. “The, ah, problem was that you weren’t actually supposed to meet for a number of years. You two”—he indicated John and Jack—“in or around 1926, and you”—he pointed at Charles—“in 1936. The Winter King changed all of that. So the fact that some things have been kept from you is no commentary on your worthiness, but rather an effort by Verne to keep the fidelity of this timeline as pure as possible.”

“So the me who met them isn’t the me who was originally, ah, me?” said Charles. “Does that mean we changed time, or switched dimensions? I’d hate to think there’s another me running around somewhere.”

“There already is,” Rose said. “He’s you, but not the same you. I did like him quite a bit, though.”

“She’s right,” Jack declared, his face ashen with realization. “There is another Charles—or was, anyway.”

John nodded. “Chaz. We took him back in history, where he became the first of the Green Knights. He was from another dimension, but he’s still in our recorded Histories in this dimension. So there have been, in fact, two of you, Charles.”

“But not at the same time,” Charles retorted.

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