Redemption

Chapter 1-2

“Nah, I’m fine.” He glanced away toward the rising sun. “I just slipped.”

I pulled away from him and put my hand on his chest. “Jeremiah Johnson, are you lying to me?”

He took another deep breath but stared at the brightening horizon. “Of course not.” He turned back to face me and smiled. “I feel like an i***t because I fell. I’m embarrassed.”

“You did that thing that you do when you lie to me.” I leaned in close, looking deep in his brown-colored eyes. The morning light lit them up in a golden-brown hue.

“What did I do now?” He chuckled and rubbed the sides of his temple.

“You glanced away from me.” I watched him but he remained focused on me, smiling.

“Why would I lie?” He tried to stand up but needed my help. “You’d see right through me if I tried.”

I smiled and eased off him. Turning back toward the river, I searched for the deer we had chased, but he had disappeared up the embankment. Chunks of ice floated past us in the water, and steam came out of my mouth. The sun had fully risen and the snow looked pure and white—a blanket that covered the rocks and hung heavy on tree branches.

“Do you feel up for hunting, or do you want to head back?” I put my wool mittens on to keep my fingers warm.

“Let’s head back. I could use some coffee to clear my head and then rest up a bit. I really got banged up and need some time to recover.” He slung his rifle on his back and headed back home.

I’d known Jeremiah for years now and had only seen him sick once. He had a high fever and spoke deliriously in his sleep of Queen Mab and of his youth. For three days, I worried that the fever would take him, but it did break after midnight on that third night. He slept peacefully then like a child. I watched him walk and could see he had been rattled. His gait looked off, and I knew something bothered him, but I needed to give him time. Jeremiah did not keep secrets from me. But he often did need time to think of what he wanted to say.

We headed back home, and some light clouds came in from the west. The chill remained in the air, and we saw no other sign of people. I spotted a few small birds, but no animals that we could trap for food. We had plenty in our stores, but the buck I had let go would have helped us keep our supplies through any major snowstorm that might hit us later in the month.

January could be a hard month filled with bitter cold and snow that piled in drifts higher than me. I secretly liked the cold though. Growing up in England, we often had a dreary rain, and when we’d go to the city, the grayness would stretch out far and wide through the streets. Here in America, the land was vast and we had such a different climate.

I stopped when I saw Jeremiah hold up his hand for us to stop. He unslung his rifle from his back and held it at the ready.

I crept up close to him and spoke low. “Are there natives nearby?”

He shook his head. “I’m not that good of a tracker. If it were natives, they’d have us surrounded by now.”

I closed my eyes and stretched out my senses. I missed having magic, but that wouldn’t change anything. I listened and heard a snap of a twig in the trees in front of us and reached for my rifle.

Jeremiah aimed his rifle and took a defensive posture, and I did the same. The rustle of leaves and snapping of twigs continued until a man walked out from the dense forest, and immediately, I relaxed.

Wearing a heavy black coat with a bright red scarf, he waved at us. “Morning!”

“Charley!” I lowered my rifle and ran toward him.

Jeremiah put his weapon away and followed me.

Mr. Radley opened his arms, and I flung myself at him. He wore a great big grin and swung me around like a child. “I’ve missed you!” He squeezed me tight and kept me close in his left arm and reached out with his right. “But I have room for you, too, Jeremiah. Come on over!”

Embarrassed, Jeremiah come over and shook Mr. Radley’s hand. “How is Ginny and the kids?”

“They’re fine. That snowstorm from last night wasn’t as bad as we thought, but I hadn’t seen you two in quite some time. Winter is always so difficult around here, but I thought that Hunter and I would take a morning stroll and come check up on you.” He let me go and pointed back toward our homestead. “Ginny baked some breads, and I brought some honey over. I thought you might want some.”

“Thank you.” Jeremiah warmed a bit and seemed more himself. “You’ll have to tell Ginny how much I love her bread.”

“More than mine?” I put my fists at my side, feigning anger.

Jeremiah put his hands up in defense. “No, that’s not what I mean. I love yours so much more.”

“I see you lovebirds are still in your honeymoon phase.” Charley winked and then pointed back to the direction he had come. “I also want to see if you’d mind if I take Phoebe back with me. The girls haven’t seen her in a while, and we thought it might be nice for her to come over.”

At the mention of Phoebe, a worried look came over Jeremiah. I went to say something to him, but Mr. Radley faced me and said, “Of course, if you two are still arguing if my wife’s baking is better than yours, well, then maybe it’s better that Phoebe stay home to separate you two.”

I shook my head and laughed. “Truth be told, Jeremiah does all the baking in the house. I’m horrible at it. I can cook but for some reason, I never did get the hang of baking.”

Glancing over to Jeremiah, I expected him to smile or to chime in, but he appeared preoccupied in his thoughts.

Charley noticed his distraction as well and asked, “Do you hear something coming?

Snapping out of his reverie, Jeremiah scratched the back of his head. “I had a bad fall right before we met up with you, and I’m still a bit dizzy.”

“Do you need my help within anything?” Charley, always the knight in shining armor, stepped forward to stand next to Jeremiah. “I can help. Ginny’s not expecting me back for a bit.”

“No, no, I’m fine. Just a bit dazed, that’s all.” Jeremiah headed off back to our home and said, “Let’s get back to the house, and we’ll give Phoebe the good news.”

Charley followed Jeremiah and the two of them eased into a conversation about hunting and the latest news from the east. I trailed behind the two of them, watching Jeremiah in concern. Something had happened to him, and I wouldn’t stop until I found out what.

***

Phoebe stood before the floor-length mirror, braiding her hair. Outside the wind howled and she knew it would be cold and she needed to be ready to go or when Mr. Radley returned with her mother and stepfather.

She smiled at the thought.

The door opened downstairs, and she did not expect them to be back so soon. She would have to rush. She threw a brush into her bag and called downstairs. “I’ll be right there!”

When no one responded, she froze and turned away from the mirror. “Is anyone there?”

A creak from the steps announced that someone walked upstairs. She rushed across her room to slam the door shut but caught a glimpse of the person coming up the stairs and the darkness hit her. She fell forward into its depths. Struggling to break free, she glanced over her shoulder, and her stomach turned as she dropped as though from a great height. The light faded behind her, a glimmer of hope that was out of reach, and she came to a complete stop on her feet. The world had faded away, and she could only see the staircase in front of her.

In front of her, a person approached from the shadows step by step. Phoebe held out her left hand and lit it with her magic. The light emanated forth, lighting up a small sphere around her. Yet the protective spell did nothing to stop the person from approaching.

Her mind raced and she tried to think of a reason for what she saw, but none came to her. The figure stepped into the light and she saw—herself.

“Hello.” Her doppelganger appeared many years older, wearing her hair shorter. Yet she had a smile on her face. “I had almost forgotten how young I used to be.”

“But how are you…” Phoebe could not finish the question.

“I am from the future and need your help.” She kept smiling and reached out to take Phoebe’s hand. “You can trust me. I am not a trick.”

Cautious at first, Phoebe reached out and took her older self’s hand. A flash of blue energy passed between them, but the world did not change in any other way. “It is you.” Phoebe’s jaw opened and she smiled. “I mean it’s me. How did I get there?”

“I do not have much time to explain everything to you. In a few months, you will travel to the future to save our mother. But before you do that, you must help Jeremiah.” Phoebe knew herself well and could see that she wanted to say something more but held back on purpose.

“Help him how?” She let go of her older self’s hand and took a step back. “You wouldn’t come to see me unless there was something urgent happening. Right?”

The older woman glanced away for a second and then leaned to stare right into Phoebe’s eyes. “You must help Jeremiah convince your mother to help him rescue Napoleon from his exile.”

Phoebe paused a moment and laughed. “You’re kidding, right?”

“You must trust me.”

“Trust you? This must be some sort of trick. If I truly came from the future to come back and tell myself something, surely it wouldn’t be to let out a crazy man like Napoleon.” Phoebe huffed and turned on her older self. “Next you’re going to tell me that he’s had a change of heart and that we should forgive him for all he’s done.”

“No, that’s not what I’m saying.” Her older self hung back, searching for the right words to use.

Phoebe pointed at her older self. “I bear the scar from where he cut me with his knife and still have tortured nightmares of him.”

“I know that. I’ve been through all of that as well.” She took a tentative step forward and put her hand out to calm Phoebe. “I ‘m not asking you to forgive him but to free him so that we can use him. There’s a need for him to be a distraction again in Europe, and that will give you time to help right things.”

A loud flash of light came from behind the older Phoebe, and she glanced back in frustration.

“Right what things?” Phoebe sensed a more complicated motive behind all that she was being told. “I need to know more if you want me to do this insane thing.”

“I am being pulled back.” She grimaced in pain as though something pulled at her hair. She fought to keep her ground but started slipping back. “The automatons are coming. They make faeries look like playthings. You have to stop them. Jeremiah knows. You can trust him. He’ll do the right thing. Please, I wouldn’t have come back to see you unless…”