#time wartp trio

[thebookkeeperslibrary]

Lost Time: Ch. 10

Fandom: Time Warp Trio

Author: The_Bookkeeper_96

Rating: T

Summary: Another summer at Horae Manor begins, but before Joe and Tessa get the chance to train, they are sent out on a mission to explore the magic capital of the universe, Mancika. Rumors of illegal magic conversion spread throughout the city, and Joe and Tessa need to locate those responsible. But after the events of last summer, Joe isn't eager to work with his Aether partner, and the two are struggling more with each other than with their enemies.

Read on AO3

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Preview:

“The magics are like cliques, each representing a different stereotype to disturbing accuracy. The corpomancers are the jocks. The nerds and know-it-alls are the cephamancers. And then there’s those annoying space and time users. The popular ones. The perfect ones. Or at least, that’s what they think. If you ask anyone else, they might have a different opinion.” - Excerpt from a tourist’s travel blog entry titled “Mancika – City of Magic, Snobs, and Over-Priced Coffee”

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Any confidence I have about this mission being a success vanishes the minute I step foot into the Time District.

We are surrounded by tall buildings and people on all sides jostling us to and fro. The whole place is disorienting. One minute, I’m looking at medieval cobblestone houses, the next, everything is modern with large floor-to-ceiling windows and a mix of wood and tan brick siding. Even the outfits people wear are constantly altering. A girl next to us waves her arm down her body, changing her clothes from a bright yellow knee-length dress to a simple t-shirt and jeans. To top it all off, the entire district is filled with a green haze, and my body is practically singing in response. This place is filled with power. I’m dizzy from just standing here.

I almost lose sight of Tessa in the fray. I barely manage to grab onto the back of her jacket before she disappears into the crowd. This is exactly why I never want to live in Manhattan.

The jacket slips down her arm, revealing a pink scar on the back of her shoulder. Before I can look any closer, Tessa quickly grabs her jacket, tugs it back on, and zips it shut.

An apology starts to form on my lips.

“How do you want to go about this?” Tessa says first.

“I- Uh, what?” I stutter.

“The mission.” Tessa tilts her head, looking side to side at the people surrounding us as if they’re all potential subjects. Which, I guess they are. Then she whispers, “How do you think we should get information on the time decay?”

“I don’t know,” I say honestly. I haven’t thought this far ahead. “We should probably get off the main street though. We’re not going to get anywhere out here.”

She nods. “You’re right. We need someplace more private, and it wouldn’t hurt to find a map of the city. You think they have tourist brochures here?”

My backpack suddenly feels very heavy. “I might have something we can use. But we’ll definitely need to be somewhere more private before I take it out.”

Her eyes flick toward the sky. “I have an idea.”

Once again, she grabs me by the wrist and drags me away. This time into a slim alley just off the street. She better not make a habit of this. The last thing I want is for her to drag me all over this city against my will. Who knows what kind of trouble she’d get us into.

As soon as we’re off the main street, I yank my arm back to my side. Tessa either ignores my sudden separation or doesn’t notice it. Probably the latter.

No. I need to try to stop thinking like Tessa is out to get me. It won’t get me anywhere, but it would help if she opened up a bit more. Or at least talked me through her plans before executing them. Like right now.

Tessa eyes the wall of one of the alleyway buildings. I’m not sure what she’s looking for. A secret door?

“How good is your climbing?”

“Uh...” I stare at the wall. It’s brick with no windows on this side. I don’t see any ledges or ladders for me to grab onto. The only semi-climbable thing is a drainage pipe, and it doesn’t even look that sturdy. “Not that good.”

“Fair enough.” Tessa steps away from the wall, and her hands begin to glow violet.

“What are you doing?” My heart stops. I push her hands back down and whip my head around, hoping no one saw her. “Ro and Cas said no magic.”

“No,” she says, bringing her hands out again. “They said no grand displays of magic and to blend in. We’ll stick out more if we don’t use any magic.”

Chewing my lip, I move my arms back to my side. Part of me knows she’s right, but the other part is scared of accidentally causing a scene like last night.

Tessa’s hands flare to life with their signature purple sparks. She closes her eyes and keeps her palms facing down flat. While her right hand drifts up to her shoulder, her left drops down to her waist, fingers twitching momentarily before stilling. In one swift movement, she brings her hands to the same level at her chest.

And suddenly I’m looking at the roof of the building we were just standing under.

My foot slides across the ground until my toes brush the edge of the roofline. I hold my breath and stiffen my arms as I step over the ledge, convinced this is all one of Tessa’s illusions. When my feet find solid ground under them, I finally exhale and let the tension in my shoulders drop.

Tessa walks onto the roof with no such issues as the magic in her hands fades away. In a blink, the alley is gone. Back below us where it belongs.

I glance over the side of the building. Just how high up are we? At least three stories by the look of it.

“You know, you’re really good with Aether magic,” I say, the words slipping out before I realize what I’m doing.

Tessa beams. “Thank you. I think that’s the first nice thing you’ve said to me this summer.”

Not wanting to dwell on that fact, I quickly add, “Why do you hold back when you’re training with Ro?”

Her smile turns strained. “I don’t.”

“But Cas said-”

“I always perform at my best.” She brushes past me and looks over onto the street below. “You said you had something that could help us find our way around the city?”

Why is she lying? My eyes narrow. What is she hiding? The whole trip better not be like this. I need to get to the bottom of this.

With a sigh, I set down my backpack and pull out The Book. “This should have everything we need.”

“Your magic history book?” Tessa studies it with narrow eyes. “I thought that thing was like my sabre. It just helped you focus your magic.”

“Uh, no. The Book is kinda the embodiment of the entire space-time continuum.”

“And you’ve read the entire thing?”

“Well, not exactly.”

“Then how do you know it can help us? What can it do exactly?”

“I don’t know everything it can do, but it should have a map we can use.” I start flipping through the pages, waiting for a map to turn up. “It’s helped me and my friends out lots of time during warps.”

She crosses her arms and frowns at me. “You’re telling me, you have one of the most powerful objects in existence. And you’ve never read it to see what it can do? What if we can fix the time decay with it? Here, let me see it.”

She yanks The Book from my hands, and I nearly rip out the page I was holding.

“Be careful! Who knows what could happen if The Book is damaged.” I try grabbing it back, but her grip is too strong.

“How do you know anything will happen if you’ve never read it?” She pulls it back to her. My shoulders ache in response.

I tug it back. “Because I just do, okay? You have to trust me. Why is that so hard for you?”

“Trust you? You don’t even trust me. I barely even know you.”

“And who’s fault is that?”

“Stop blaming me for everything!”

We could have kept fighting forever. We probably would have, but The Book had other plans.

A shock wave shoots up my arms, nearly blinding me in pain. I distantly hear Tessa cry out and see a burst of green light before falling to the ground.

I struggle to regain my senses. A sharp ringing has started between my ears. The Book lies on the ground in front of me, and Tessa is sprawled out on the ground on the other side of it.

Forcing myself upright, I reach for The Book. Gently, my hand comes to rest on top of it. I flinch, expecting another shock, but nothing happens. A sigh I didn’t know I was holding escapes between my lips as I pull The Book into my lap.

That was weird. The Book has never attacked me like that before. It was probably just trying to get Tessa off of it and accidentally got me in the process. Oh well, at least I can get back to finding us a map now.

I turn The Book up on its spine, gently grasp the cover, and pull.

The pages don’t budge.

I pull harder, hoping to crack it open just a little, but it refuses.

“Great,” I grumble to myself.

“What the hell just happened?” Tessa asks, rubbing a spot on her knee where a bruise is already forming.

I glare at her. “The Book is very picky about who can use it. I guess it doesn’t like you very much. I wonder why.”

Her lips press together in a thin line. She glares at the ground as she says, “Why is everything always my fault?”

For a moment, it’s almost as if she’s referring to something else. Her face slackens for just a second before returning to a harsh sneer. I shake away the thought. Clearly, I’m seeing things.

“Well, now we’re screwed. The Book is sealed shut, and I have no way of finding a map for us.” I cross my arms in a huff. In the back of my mind, I’m aware of how futile fighting is. But somehow Tessa irritates me more than my sister does. I can’t help but think the two would be best friends if they ever met. Let’s pray that never happens.

At least when I fight with Anna, I still love her at the end of the day. It’s easy for us to make up.

“I’m sorry,” Tessa whispers.

I’m so deep in my thoughts, I almost don’t hear her. It takes a second for her words to click. Even then, I don’t believe that I heard her correctly. “What?”

“I’m sorry,” she says louder this time. Her fists clench at her sides, as she looks anywhere but at me. “I shouldn’t have grabbed your book. I’m sorry I broke it. I’m sorry about everything that happened last summer. And I’m sorry that you can’t bring yourself to trust me. I don’t blame you.”

I’m about to scoff at her apology and point out all the other things she has to be sorry for, but then I see her face. Her sullen expression makes me pause. A heavyweight settles in my chest.

I’m really not being fair to her. But I can’t bring myself to trust someone who is hiding so much. If she would open up just a little, maybe we could work towards something next to friendship.

I run a hand through my hair, debating with myself.

One more chance. She gets one more chance.

“It’s okay. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry too. I don’t think this is all your fault.” I offer her a small smile. “The Book acts up like this all the time. It even trapped Sam inside it for a couple of days.”

“It what?” Tessa jerks back, scrambling to her feet.

I wave away her concern. “It was a one-time thing. I think.”

Her gaze flicks back and forth between me and The Book. “Right.”

"Look, you want me to trust you? I need you to be honest with me. Actually open up a little and tell me about who you are and what you've gone through. I don’t even know your full name or where you lived before your parents sent you to Boston to live with Arwen." My arms fall to my lap and rest on top of The Book. "I want this to work between us. I really do. But after everything you pulled in Paris and Cealus, you make it seem like you would rather be doing this all by yourself. And you said it yourself, we're stuck with this for life. So we might as well try to make it work."

Tessa chews on her bottom lip. I can see the internal argument she's having with herself. I fully expect her to brush me off like normal, but then, "Has it ever occurred to you that the reason I don't talk about my past has nothing to do with you? Maybe it's because I don't want to relive it?"

I open my mouth to respond, but can't think of anything to say. "No," I manage. "I guess not."

Now it's my turn to look away. I feel my cheeks heat up. Why did I assume she's secretive because of me? The idea that she didn't want to talk because she didn't want to remember never crossed my mind.

"Is it really that bad?" I dare a glance at her. It feels rude to ask, but I can't imagine what could have happened that was so horrible that she can't talk about it.

She's shifted so that her back is to me. She pulls her leather jacket tighter around herself before answering. "It's just not something I'm ready to face yet. When I am, you'll be the first person I talk to." She finally gives me her full attention. If I look close enough at her contacts, I can almost see the purple glow from underneath. "I promise."

I nod. It's probably the best we can do for now. We're moving closer to where we need to be. Not quite friends, but no longer enemies.

“Therese Estela Morel.”

“Bless you.”

“No.” Tessa rolls her eyes and offers me her hand. “My name. It’s Therese Estela Morel.”

I gladly take her hand and get to my feet. “Oh, that’s a pretty name. French?

“Creole, actually. I’m from New Orleans. I spent most of my life on the road with the circus, but New Orleans is still my home in my heart.”

I nod and smile. “Thank you for that. Anything else you want to tell me?”

Tessa scoffs. “I think that’s enough for now. You have to earn the rest of my story.”

“Well, lucky for me our mission has just begun.”

“About that.” She twirls an errant strand of auburn hair around her finger. “How are we supposed to do this without a map?”

“Don’t worry. I’m sure The Book will start working again.” I hold it out in front of us. “It just needs some time.”

As if I’d said the magic words, The Book begins to glow a soft green. A tingle of warmth spreads up my arms and into my chest.

“See? What did I say?” I flip open the cover and let the pages float apart. Unsurprisingly, The Book’s magic opens to just the right page and a map of Mancika reveals itself before our very eyes.

“Impressive, but we need a map of the Time District, not the whole city.” Tessa furrows her brow. She hovers her hand above where the Time District is on the map but leans away as she does so. Her fingers delicately touch the map, and The Book instantly zooms in, revealing only the Time District. Tessa beams and leans back in. “That’s better. This book of yours is pretty darb.”

“Much better than some sabre,” I tease.

“Say that again when we get into a fight later.”

“You actually know how to fight with your sabre?” I’ve only ever seen her use it as an accessory or to help her tear. I never thought she could actually use it as a weapon.

“Obviously. It’s not just for show.” Tessa flips her hair over her shoulder. “Where did you get your book anyway?”

“My uncle. It’s kind of a family heirloom.” I smile before I remember that he’s still missing, lost somewhere in the universe. “It was a birthday gift.”

Tessa catches the change in my voice. “Is this the same uncle that’s been missing for a year?”

“Yeah,” I force down the lump in my throat. “It is.”

I don’t know if I can accurately describe the way my grief feels. We were so close. Everything was going so well with me and The Book. I’d successfully fought off Mad Jack and brought Anna, Jodie, and myself home safely. Then he just left, leaving only a short note behind. Maybe this is why I have trust issues.

I refuse to believe that Uncle Joe is gone forever. He’s been doing this whole magic and time travel thing a lot longer than me, and I’m still around. The worst part of it all is not knowing where he is. He could be trapped in the stone age, waiting for someone to help. I’ve checked The Book almost every day since he vanished, hoping for a sign. But there’s been nothing. I don’t even know where to begin looking for him. Everything feels hopeless.

“Have you brought it up with Ro and Cas?” Tessa asks, pulling me from my thoughts. “They might be able to use their Great Wizard powers to find him.”

“I haven’t… but if The Book can’t locate him, I don’t know how they could.” Not to mention they’re both busy trying to stop the world from ending, I add to myself. The last thing they need is trying to find a missing person somewhere in the entire space-time continuum.

“It’s worth a shot. And even if they can’t, they might have some advice for you. They are supposed to be our mentors. This is what they’re here for.” She puts a reassuring hand on my shoulder. “That and to make sure we don’t kill ourselves on accident with our magic.”

I can’t help but smile. “Okay. When this is all over, I’ll see if they can help.”

“Who knows? Maybe he’s hanging out in Mancika, and we’ll stumble across him by the end of the day.”

“Maybe,” I sigh, refusing to get my hopes up.

Shifting my focus back to the task at hand, I study the map laid out in The Book. Even when it’s zoomed in to just the Time District, this city feels too big for us to search in just one day.

“If you were an evil mastermind trying to destroy the universe for whatever reason, where would you set up your base?” Tessa purses her lips and taps a slender finger against them.

“How do you know it’s just one person?” I ask. “We could be going up against a whole evil organization.”

“Well I don’t know it. I just hope that’s the case. I do not want to have to take down an entire league of villains. A small council is about all I can handle.”

A short chuckle escapes my lips, but I don’t disagree with her. If this is all because of one person, that makes our jobs infinitely easier. But where do we start?

I frown at the map. “I just wish we had a starting location.”

The Book starts to glow. I flinch, fully expecting the mist to seep out and warp us away, but instead, the glow fades. It shrinks down to a single dot on the map. The spot of light pulses, like an ominous “do not press” button.

“Are you sure this is a book and not a genie?” Tessa says with a smile.

“Be careful what you wish for, you might just get it.” I grin to myself. Really, I should know by now to watch what I say around The Book, but sometimes it works out in my favor.

The spot continues to pulse on the map, inviting us in. I peer closely to find its exact location. It’s a building not too far from where we are now, only a couple of blocks away.

There’s a glint in Tessa’s eyes that should worry me, but I’m just as excited as she is. “Shall we?”

“Let’s.”