Redemption

Chapter 1-3

A burst of brilliant light blinded Phoebe, and she covered her eyes with her hand. The loud rush of wind overcame her senses, and she fell back away from the light. Swirling around her, the wind pushed her back up the time hole she had fallen into, and in an instant, she stood at the top of the steps. Her right foot balanced in the air, ready to go down the next step.

“Phoebe, we’re home.” Her mother’s voice came from the front of the house. “Come on down and get ready to see us before you head off to the Radleys.”

Phoebe grabbed the banister to stop herself from falling forward and took a moment to breathe.

Jeremiah stood at the bottom of the steps, and on seeing her face, he rushed up the stairs to her. “Are you well?”

He kept his voice low and balanced her so that she did not fall forward.

“She told me that she had seen you as well. Is it true?” Phoebe put her hand on his arm.

“Yes.” He shook his head. “Your older self told me not to tell your mother anything. Please, keep quiet until we can figure something out.”

“Okay, but you know Mother. She’ll sense something is wrong. She always knows when either of us lie.”

“And we won’t lie. You head off to the Radleys’, I’ll talk to her and we’ll see each other tomorrow.” Jeremiah waited for Phoebe to respond. “Please.”

Phoebe waited a moment and thought it through. “I don’t know what else I could do that wouldn’t worry her.” She headed down the stairs. “Okay, I’ll remain quiet for now. But what she asked me to do. It doesn’t make sense.”

Jeremiah frowned. “I know and I think that’s why it’s of the utmost importance that we do what we were asked. If we tell your mother, we might inadvertently change history or ruin the plans of your future self. For now, you spend the day with the Radleys, and I’ll talk with your mother.”

She slung her bag on her shoulder and hugged Jeremiah. “I don’t like keeping secrets from my mother. All of this could also be some sort of trick.” Phoebe released Jeremiah and rushed down the stairs.

“I know.” Speaking mostly to himself, Jeremiah watched Phoebe head into the room with her mother and did his best to hide his worry.

***

I broke off a tiny piece of bread and dipped it into some of the honey that Charley had brought over and then popped it into my mouth. The complex swirl of the savory flavors in the bread and the sweet of the honey mixed well together. “Oh, it’s delicious. I wasn’t expecting the bit of cloves.” I glanced around my kitchen and sighed. “I have nothing of value to return to Ginny.”

“That’s quite all right. I didn’t bring the bread and honey over expecting something in return.” Charley heard movement behind him and turned to see Phoebe bouncing into the room.

She wore a bright yellow dress with her leggings on. No longer a child and not quite an adult, she straddled the awkward years well. She kissed Charley on the cheek and then rushed over to the bread. “Is this some of Ginny’s freshly baked bread?”

“Yes, and it’s all mine.” I guarded it with my hands and held back. “But you are my favorite daughter…”

“I’m your only daughter.” Phoebe reached forward to break off a piece of the bread.

I relented and let her have some, pushing the jar of honey toward her. “Make sure you put some honey on it. That really does the trick, making it the most delicious bread I have ever had.”

“High praise!” Jeremiah walked into the room, carrying an armful of books. “I have to get me some of this delicious bread.”

I broke off a generous piece for him and dripped some honey on top. The bread was still warm in the middle, and I wanted to pop the bread right into my mouth. “Here, put those books down and have some.”

I watched him as he walked and could detect no sign of him acting strangely. He seemed to have recovered from having fallen while hunting.

“Charley, I want you to give these books to your girls. They can have them as long as they’d like. A proper education is important in today’s day.” Jeremiah put the books down and accepted the bread from me.

“Thank you. They’ll love them, but I expect they’ll be happier to see Phoebe.” A bark outside reminded Charley that Hunter waited for them. “Speaking of the girls, Phoebe, are you ready to head off? I’d like to get back by mid-morning. I have some work to do on the barn door. The wind from the storm broke it off one of its hinges.”

“Let me get my coat.” Phoebe finished her bread and licked her fingers. She then wiped her hands on her dress, and I tried to ignore her lack of manners. “Come here, Momma, let me give you a kiss.”

She threw her arms around me and held me tight. “Please, be good over there. Don’t try to be too much of a bother. I know you like to have the twins follow you around like you’re their mother duck and they’re the ducklings.” I kissed her on the cheek and lowered my voice so that only she could hear. “I’m serious. Be careful—with whatever scheme you have going on. I might be older but I’m not blind.”

Caught off guard, Phoebe gave a short laugh and replied, “I’ll tell Sarah and Teresa what you said so it doesn’t go to their heads when I’m strutting around the house and they follow me like quacking ducks.” She released me from her hug and said in a whisper, “I’ll be careful. I promise.”

Mr. Radley buttoned up his coat and said his goodbyes. He took the books that Jeremiah gave him, put them in a bag, and waved. “If things go as well as I expect today, would you mind if I bring her home in the morning? The girls will want her to sleep over and have breakfast with us in the morning.”

Jeremiah looked to me to see what I thought. “That’s fine.”

Phoebe clapped her hands together and grabbed her coat from the rack. “This is to be a party then. I haven’t seen your girls in so long. It’ll be fun!”

“Oh, yes, it’ll be fun.” Charley wrapped his scarf around him tight. “It’ll be so noisy that I’m glad that I have work to do in the barn.” He slung the bag of books onto his shoulder and waved. “I bet I’ll still be able to hear them from there.”

“You bet you will!” Phoebe headed out of the kitchen, but I could still hear her. “First, we’ll have to pretend that we’re having a big ball tonight. I think the girls will really like that. It isn’t often that the Sun King is coming to visit, so we’ll have to decorate, dress up, and put on the very best…”

Her voice faded away as she walked outside and Jeremiah saw Charley to the door. “Good luck today and tonight.”

“Looks like I’m going to need it.” Charley shook Jeremiah’s hand. “Have a good rest of the day, and I’ll bring her back tomorrow.”

“See you then.” Jeremiah walked Charley outside and hurried back inside from the cold.

I went over to the stove and put on a kettle. I needed a cup of tea. “Would you like some more bread?” I would keep the first bit of our conversation civil.

“If I say yes, would that help stave off what’s coming next?” Jeremiah scratched the back of his head.

I broke off another piece of bread for him and handed it to him. “You know me that well, do you?”

“Your tell is that you get to be too nice.” Jeremiah bit into the bread and talked with his mouth full. “You’re never that nice—even to Charley.”

I crossed my arms and took a deep breath. “So, tell me, what’s going on?”

“What do you mean?” Jeremiah shifted from his left foot to his right. He would rather be anywhere else than standing right now and talking with me.

“Jeremiah, we have known each other for years now, and even though I no longer have magic, I can see through you like a pane of glass.”

“I need to talk with you, and you’re not going to like what I have to say.” He came toward me and took my hand. “Please, sit down.”

I glanced over at the kettle and sat. “I’ll need to get up once the water’s ready. I have a feeling I’m really going to need that cup of tea to calm my nerves.”

He sat down next to me at our table and folded his rough hands together. Dirty from falling outside in the snow, he had calluses from the work he did on our farm. “You were right about what happened to me when we were hunting. I didn’t fall. I had a vision…”

“Of what?” I crossed my arms and prepared myself for the worst.

He reached out toward me and said, “We need to help Napoleon escape his exile and aid him in his quest to regain control of France.”

The words sunk in and I disbelieved it. There was no way Jeremiah could have spoken those words after what we had overcome together. The stone throne, Phoebe nearly killed, and how I had given everything of myself to defeat Napoleon. We had barely defeated him in Russia, and Jeremiah’s words stung deep.

I uncrossed my arms and leaned forward and replied, “No.”

Jeremiah measured my response and was unsure how to respond. “I’m not telling you this because I believe Napoleon is innocent. He’s a monster and doesn’t deserve to set foot off that island. I think his punishment wasn’t severe enough.” He paused and scratched his forehead. “We need to go free him. It’s the only thing that will save all of us.”

“And if we don’t free him. What will happen then? Will all life die? Seriously, how do you expect me to take this and be so forgiving?” I shook my head in disgust.

“You, forgiving?” Jeremiah retorted. “You hold a grudge for years and categorize people’s wrongs by their severity. I wouldn’t be surprised if you had a book that lists, in order of importance, all the wrongs I have ever done to you since we first met. You are impossible sometimes!”

His bluntness shocked me. I had not seen him so fired up in a long time. “I don’t hold grudges like that. I forgive and move on.”

“Do you? Truly?” Jeremiah laughed. “If I make a mistake, you’ll carry that to your grave.”

His forcefulness hit me, and I could see that I had wounded him dearly with my words. I lowered my voice and softened my tone. “That’s not true.”

“Really?” Jeremiah leaned onto the table. “I have come to you, asking you to trust me with a vision I had, and the first thing you do is to doubt me. I have fought by your side, given my strength and all that I am for you, but your first instinct is to distrust.”

His anger stoked my own. “When I first met you, you were a witch hunter. You had tracked me down to drag me back into Europe’s problems. For good old England’s king and queen.” I had lost the thread of my defense and changed tactics. “I have had many betray me over the years. My mother, father, the Silver Fox pretending to be my faerie godmother… All of those people betraying me have left a mark.”

“Exactly.” Jeremiah leaned back in his chair with a satisfying smirk on his face. “Now we get to the truth. You admit that maybe you are hard on people and refuse to forgive and forget.”

I shook my head and caught steam coming out of the kettle. “I will never forget. That’s one thing that I cannot do.”

“And that is why you will never regain your magic.” He released the words at me, and they stung like he had spit at my feet. After he spoke the words, a startled look crossed his face. “I’m sorry. I did not mean that.”

I went to the stove and poured myself a cup of tea. I needed time to think. The anger welled up within me, and he knew my deepest fear—that I would never regain the powers I once had. I had sacrificed much to save Phoebe and to defeat Napoleon.

“Would you like some tea?” The emotionless words came from my lips, but inside my head swirled with anger, frustration, and fear.

“No, thank you.” His consolatory tone would not sway me.

I came to the table and focused. “I need to know the truth from you. Tell me what your vision was. If you want me to change my mind and to forgive a monster who has invaded all of Europe, causing hundreds of thousands of people to die, then I need to know the full truth.”

Jeremiah squirmed in his seat. He took a deep breath and looked up at me as I sat down at the head of the table. I had moved one seat away from him, needing the space to contain my anger. He thought for a moment and then said, “I cannot.”

I leaned forward and asked, “Why?”

“I need you to trust me. Please, all depends on it.” Jeremiah folded his hands together and pleaded.

“You want me to simply leave our home and put the world at risk again by releasing Napoleon. Is that correct?” I had a difficult time containing the sarcasm in my tone.

“No, I am asking you to trust the man you love. The man who reached out to you on the stone throne and convinced you to get up and continue fighting. I have traveled from here to Russia and back with you, seeing the pain you have suffered and fully understanding why this choice will be so hard for you.” He stood up and knelt beside me, pleading. “I beg you, please, do not ask any more of me. If I could tell you, I would. I have shared with you what we need to do, and I need you to trust me like you’ve never trusted anyone before.”

I had never seen Jeremiah deface himself so. I put my cup of tea down and fought back tears. “Please, get up. You do not need to grovel to me. I am not a heartless monster.”

He got up and sat in the chair next to me. “And I never said that you were. I’m sorry for what I said earlier.”

I cut him off before he could say more. “But you think it’s true, don’t you?”

He did not flinch or look away from me but held my gaze. “Yes, I do. If you could learn to let go more, I believe your magic would return.”

“And this journey that you beg me to go on, what is meant to happen by freeing Napoleon.”

“We’re going to save the world.” He said the words with no emotion.

“From what?”

He took a deep breath and said, “From the future.”

He did not turn from me, and from his expression, I knew that he was never more serious in his life. I kept quiet a moment, holding my thoughts together so that the insanity of my next words could be contained and staved off—even if just for a moment. “I’ll go with you.”

Jeremiah put his hand on mine. “Thank you for trusting me.”

I nodded and took his hand in mine, squeezing it tight. “You have a point, and I’m not too proud to admit it. I do need to trust more. You have never given me any reason not to. Your word is good enough for me.”

“And the same goes for me. We are a team, you and I.” He leaned toward me and gave me an enduring kiss on the lips.

The spark from his kiss woke me and offered just enough energy that I needed to bury the tiny voice of doubt within. Today it would sleep, but I knew that in time that doubt would awake again. I knew myself well enough to know that—as did Jeremiah. For today, we would both pretend that all was well and we would be all right, but deep down both of us knew the real truth—I would bring up my distrust and doubt in the future—no matter how much I tried, we both knew I would.