The Valteran Ascension (A Paradox of Time Book 1) Read online

  The Valteran Ascension

  A Paradox of Time Book 1

  Mara Amberly

  Copyright © 2019 Mara Amberly. All rights reserved. This book, including its cover, features artwork under license.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  About the Author

  This book is dedicated to my parents: my mother in this world and my dad in the next. Thank you for all you've done for me and for inspiring me to become the person I am today. If it wasn't for you, this book wouldn't have come to be. So thank you, this is for you.

  Chapter 1

  October 1668 – Tintagel, Cornwall, England

  The ground was slippery beneath Eric’s boots and the saltwater ankle-deep, but he managed to keep his footing with relative ease. Eric would’ve waited for a time of low tide, but there were more dangers out here than the water or the darkness. He heard the nearby crashing of waves, but the water might’ve concealed other sounds too; those of potential trouble headed his way. He wasn’t entirely sure what to expect and that concerned him.

  They called it Merlin’s Cave because, according to myth or legend, it had once been the mysterious wizard’s lair. Eric was from another world and a different time, though he knew a great deal about Earth and Great Britain in particular. While some stories disappeared into obscurity, others only seemed to grow in the retelling. Sometimes they contained more than a shred of truth. Then there were those people who hoped so much for the truth of legends that in some way they brought them to life.

  There was no sign of wizards here, Merlin or otherwise. There was only the cave and outside it, a beautiful, rugged coastline. His people’s world, Valtera, held nothing remotely like it, and he knew his people were poorer for it. Eric couldn’t think of his people without experiencing turbulent emotions. As he grimaced, he knew the present required his focus. There were safer places and times to be drawn into the past or the future.

  He released a deep breath as he trudged through the water, climbing over small rocks and feeling the sand shift beneath his boots. The water had quickly found its way into them, but he ignored the fact as he searched the darkness for threats with the aid of his torch. The light was cast from a watch-like device on his wrist, and far more effective than its small size would suggest at tackling the darkness.

  The cave seemed deserted now, but half an hour before it hadn’t been. A group of men and women had seemingly claimed it as their own. He wasn’t sure who they were, but they seemed to share a belief system. On the wall, a triangular symbol with swirls at each point was apparent by torchlight. It was small – barely a handspan across, and was painted rather than carved. The symbol meant nothing to Eric, but it must’ve held meaning for the cave-dwellers. They hadn’t stayed once the tide began to rise, and the Tintagel weather had obliged with its regular sprinkling of rain.

  He knew he was close when the display on his wrist device – known as a TSAI 40 – lit up, informing him its target was close at hand. Temporal Space Artificial Intelligence – that’s what it stood for. The 40 was the model number; better than the 30, but not as recent as the 50, obviously. He was lucky to possess such a rare device, especially fully-enabled. It gave him capabilities normally limited to a select few.

  Eric brought the torch beam closer to the wall to study the rock surface for irregularities. The walls were a grey-brown stone that seemed normal. He didn’t notice anything, but there was an energy field present.

  He tapped the display of his TSAI, attempting to neutralise the energy field because he knew it was there to keep something from him. His TSAI wasn’t successful, but he knew the field emitted a low power level that shouldn’t be dangerous, so he decided to take a chance on it.

  Eric reached out to touch the stone with his fingertips.

  His hand passed right through the apparent surface of the wall, and then he felt a small dip in the stone. Something was hidden there, so he tried to retrieve it.

  It got as far as the energy field when he felt a sharp painful shock!

  He almost dropped the object, but he didn’t want to break it and he hadn’t come this far to give up so easily.

  “Son of a bitch-” he growled, as he was shocked again.

  The false wall didn’t contain the sparks, causing flashes of light that seemed almost eerie.

  Eric pulled the object through despite the resistance and several painful jolts intended to stop him. The back of his hand and fingers were singed by the time he succeeded.

  When Eric saw what rested in the palm of his hand, he jumped and grinned. It was his Projector, which took the form of a small circular device with a single lens. After a great deal of travelling, he’d finally got it back. With it, he could disguise himself perfectly and look as he needed to. It would help him blend in and evade the substantial number of enemies he’d made, as well as those native to the 17th Century.

  He didn’t have time to test it in the cave, though he wondered what it was doing there. The energy field and the false wall were so far beyond the current human technology level that they must’ve been alien in origin or come from the future.

  He tucked his Projector into the pocket of his trousers and made his way out of the cave. He wondered if there might be more hidden in Merlin’s Cave, but he wasn’t getting any more relevant readings on his TSAI 40. It was possible the owner of the security system might be aware of his presence; in which case they might be coming.

  Eric wondered if it was a bad thing if they did. It would answer some questions for him, but it could also attract more trouble than it was worth. He was one man alone, and for that reason, he was trying to be careful.

  It made him wonder if there might be someone else out there tinkering with events, but first things first – he would make his escape.

  He hurried through the water, which by now had risen several inches higher. He knew the light from his TSAI 40 would be visible to anyone watching but the cave appeared empty except for himself. The floor was covered in slippery rocks, and when it became clear one end of the cave would be quicker and easier to exit than the other, he retraced his steps. It seemed to take an inordinately long time, but he tried to be patient. Wanting to help disguise his presence, he turned off his light and let his eyes grow more accustomed to the darkness.

  Eric tried to silence his breathing as he approached the cave’s exit. The sand beneath his sodden boots gave them some traction, which was helpful given how slippery they were. As uncomfortable as he was in the freezing water, he knew the hillside was close now. Anyone could be out there waiting for him. They wouldn’t know that he was reclaiming his lost property, and he didn’t expect an explanation would go down well.

  That made him wonder why they’d leave his Projector in an empty, water-soaked cave in the first place. It made little sense to him unless it was part of an elaborate trap or these people didn’t realise it was there. If anything, that made him more cautious. Eric knew that if he died, no one from his own world or time would find him. That simply wasn’t acceptable.

  No one rushed in to capture him and he did
n’t see signs of a trap.

  Deciding not to stick around to give his probable enemies a chance, Eric hurried from the cave, his boots heavy on his feet as he waded through the water. It was brighter outside beneath a silvery moon only a couple of days shy of full. It felt strange to him that the moon should look so much the same over the centuries, despite its ever-changing cycles. Scientifically he understood, but it put the world in some kind of unique perspective for him. Despite the passage of time, life went on here.

  Eric had been called handsome by some and ordinary by others. He wasn’t sure which was true or if it was solely in the eye of the beholder. Either way, he’d always been a man who was fairly good at blending in when he needed to, and that skill had served him well.

  Not everyone had a spaceship or a timeship. A space-time ship, if you wanted to be precise about it, but at the moment neither did he. It would take some time to get it back and going again, but he knew it was within the realm of possibility.

  Eric generally opted for a down to earth look – or a down to wherever else he happened to be at the time look – over the alternative.

  It was cold and he wasn’t particularly comfortable, but that was to be expected. He wanted to put some distance between himself and the water to keep his options open; it wasn’t safe to open rifts in space-time when you were standing in the ocean. It wouldn’t be safe for anyone standing near the other end of that rift either.

  He’d thought about doing it once just to see what would happen, but he was immature back then and knew better now. His teacher had once told him ‘don’t be an imbecile’ and the lesson had hit home. It wasn’t worth risking people’s lives to settle a matter of curiosity.

  Eric still remembered saying ‘I thought any question was valid?’

  ‘They lied,’ Viktor had replied, and that too had been a lesson.

  Viktor was always one to speak his mind and he seldom sat still for long; he was always on the move. Now he was gone, or rather far ahead in an uncertain future. Eric wasn’t sure of his fate. For now, Eric could only look after his own and hope for the best.

  Eric’s boots seeped water as he hurried up the beach, almost like they’d sprung a leak. The sand was firm beneath his boots, and it was satisfying to make his way back on to more solid land. The silvery moon gave him just enough light to see by but not so much he was easily seen. Eric kept to the shadows as he climbed the hillside. He moved carefully, reaching out to grasp a nearby rock when he came close to slipping.

  He didn’t see anyone else and didn’t hear anything out of the ordinary. That changed with a firm thud as a crossbow bolt struck the ground beside him.

  There was a large rock further up the hill. Eric took cover behind it, turning his back to it as he carefully glanced around the side. He couldn’t see anyone. He knew if he stayed where he was, it might give them time to catch up with him. If he ran for it, he might run headlong into a trap or a group of guys bigger than he was.

  The question was whether he wanted to risk it. He knew he had an absolute, irrevocable way out, but it wouldn’t do him any good if he was dead.

  He’d spent time getting set up in a new house and acquired things; most of which he didn’t have with him. He could return there, but then he’d just need to leave again and that meant another rift this time frame didn’t need. He wanted to go back, but he wasn’t sure he could justify it when there was already so much damage to the timeline.

  He’d taken a chance on the Projector and that gave him an idea.

  Eric pulled it from his pocket and blew on it, making sure it was dry. It seemed that way, so he clipped it on to the top of his TSAI 40.

  “C’mon c’mon,” he urged in the quietest of whispers, but its light didn’t come on.

  It should’ve worked, which suggested it was broken or otherwise bogged up from being in a cave.

  “A lot of bloody help, you are,” he groaned.

  Eric knew it had an AI interface, but it didn’t seem to listen.

  There was a ping, as another crossbow bolt hit the side of the boulder sheltering him, sending small fragments of rock off into the darkness. Whoever they were, they were further up the hill toward the castle ruins.

  He listened out for the sound of movement, but all he heard was the ocean and a few birds in the distance. There wouldn’t be many out this time of the night.

  Moments later there was a loud thud from further up the hill, like a large piece of timber being thrown against a rock. He reached absently for his pistol, but he didn’t have it with him. It had been lost like so much else, though perhaps not forever.

  Eric glanced around for threats and then ran to a rocky outcropping further up the hill. That was when he noticed the silhouette of a woman; she became more visible as she crossed into a patch of moonlight. He couldn’t see her face well, but she wore a dress with a stiffened bodice and a loosely-pleated skirt. Her hair was covered by a cap. She had a fine figure, but there was no question she seemed out of place on that hillside. She obviously saw him because she spoke.

  “I’ve dealt with the crossbowman, but you need to leave quickly, Eric. You only have a few minutes to make a clean escape.”

  So, she knew his name. That was unexpected.

  In this time frame, most of her words would likely have been almost impossible for Eric to understand. It was lucky his TSAI 40 was translating for him.

  He eyed her cautiously, but as she moved he thought he saw the slumped figure of a man further up the hill. It might have been the crossbowman she’d mentioned.

  “Why are you helping me?” he asked her. “I don’t think we’ve met. I’m fairly sure I’d remember.”

  “Isn’t it enough to do a good deed?” she asked.

  Eric could hear the wry smile in her voice, as though she was enjoying this.

  “Even if you return home they’ll be coming for you. You’d best go,” she added.

  Eric wondered if this was some kind of trick. Did she want him to travel for some reason in particular or was she truly helping him? He couldn’t be sure.

  “If you know me really well, what’s the place I’m from?”

  “We don’t have time for this,” she said, then hesitated. “Your name’s Eric and you’re from… you’re from Valtera.”

  Eric was surprised, but perhaps he shouldn’t have been.

  “Do you need to come with me?” he asked uncertainly.

  It had to be a paradox of some kind. Oh, why did life have to get so complicated, but interesting?

  “I cannot. You need to go!” she insisted.

  Eric immediately followed the stranger’s advice, hoping that one day he’d know why. He was also interested in knowing her. More than likely he’d have to send her back here, wouldn’t he?

  The coordinates were already pre-loaded in his TSAI 40. He keyed in his code and pressed the button to activate it, grimacing as lightning crackled in the air around him. It never struck him, but the area beside him began to glow and as he pushed against what looked like thin air, he felt a firm resistance that finally fractured, sending cracks through space-time.

  It wasn’t the best way to travel through time – a ship was always better, but it was definitely the second-best way; far better than the slow way around.

  Eric pushed through the fractures, feeling a cold, numbing wind blow past him. Light shone from the cracks, illuminating the hillside by the sea, and lightning singed the grass. Eric shoved his way through to the other side, stumbling through the fractured rip at the other end and quickly whipping around to raise his TSAI 40 and seal the rift.

  The cracks in existence stretched around 10 feet high and almost as wide, but thankfully he didn’t have to get all the way to the top to reach them. He only gave the darkened street a cursory glance before he began to mend the fractures. That was a mistake.

  Chapter 2

  March 1724 – Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England

  Eric felt arms grab him and yank him back. If his TSAI 40 hadn’t been s
trapped to his wrist, he might’ve dropped it. He’d got the fractures down to less than half their size, but they were still oozing light and crackles of energy, and he could only imagine how it must look to the locals. He heard masculine gasps of ‘what are you?’ and ‘sorcerer’ as he was shoved to the ground. There were three men, two of them well-dressed, while the clothes of the third were untidier.

  Eric knew he only needed a few moments more to seal the rift.

  “Let me up,” he demanded. “I’m on an important mission for His Majesty. You need to let me go before – oh no.”

  The fractures in time began to widen and bulge, and then seemed to burst at the seams. He couldn’t see anything pass through. No one could, but Eric knew it was there. Oh yes. This was why you didn’t wait when you were sealing time rifts!

  There was an unholy wail that started nearby and seemed to quickly grow more distant.

  One of the men released his arm, taking a step back.

  Eric had little trouble shaking off the second one before he climbed to his feet.

  Was it too late? He rushed forward and directed his wrist device at the fractures, successfully closing them in a matter of seconds, while trying to mask the device’s presence with his other hand.

  He spun back around, his expression enraged. “You idiots! Do you know what you’ve done?”

  “Hey, that’s enough of that,” the nearest of the men exclaimed.

  He wore a loose, flowing shirt with a waistcoat and well-tailored trousers over buckled shoes; an important local man most likely. He was tall, and his hair was dark and slightly wavy.