Time Masters Book One; The Call (An Urban Fantasy, Time Travel Romance) by Geralyn Beauchamp Read Free Book Online

were the elite table of individuals who controlled every governmental function of Sutter’s Province, t he largest human settlement of the Known Lands.  John knew all of them well. W ell enough to be able to judge whether or not a decision being made was in the best interest of the people or simply a way of one of them getting what they wanted. Thankfully, it was almost always the former. Otherwise, another revolt migh t very well take place, like fi fty years ago, when a few Elders decided they didn’t want Muiraran involvement anymore, thinking M an was better off on his own. After all, couldn’t Man come up with his own forms of power t o help him dominate t he planet? And with any luck, they’d dominate the Muirarans as well.  Not the brightest i dea, there had been casualties on both sides. The severe breach in relations with the Muirarans was now thankfully mended, but took a good fi fty years to do the mending. As far as John was concerned, not enough time had passed since then.
    “Give me an idea of what you’re doing with h im. Maybe I can help.” Lany off ered as he leaned forward in his chair.
    John sighed again. “I’m trying to get him to talk about what happened concerning his brother.”
    “Alasdair? ”
    John nodded.  “Dallan must have a horrible sense of loss and frustration at not knowing what h appened after Kwaku took him." He looked right at Lany. “And Dallan will ask me, demand to know . Blazing Bells, what am I suppose to tell him?”
    “How about the truth?” Lany off ered simply.
      John let go a nervous laugh . “Yes. B ut what is the truth?  Guess what Dallan ,” he began sarcastically, " As the new Time Master you get to step in and k eep the race of Man from annihilating themselves and oh!  D id I mention y ou have to get married to something with enough power to possibly tear the planet apart?"
    Lany gave John a blank stare before he readjusted himsel f in his chair and dug into the knapsack. “I’d say tha t about covers it .” H e pulled out a tiny bundle of white linen and began to unwrap it.
    John leaned forward, intent on Lany’s bundle. “Is that what I think it is?” he asked, awaiting the fi nal piece of cloth to be thrown back to expose the contents.
      Lany smiled. “Yep. Sunfl ower cookies. My dear wife thought she’d try her hand at my recipe. Turned out pretty good too, for Cari that is. She made them for me just before Vyn and I left for Mishna.” He held the bundle out to John. “Want one?”
    John took three. “Vyn is here with you? Is that wise?”
    “Yeah, Genis Lee should survive. He wanted to come along as his birthday present. " Lany took a generous bite of cookie. “All his little class mates don’t expect him to return from this trip. The Muirarans will probably eat him, they say.”
    John laughed, reaching for another cookie. Lany’s eyes widened, realizing the man had already gulped down the three he’d taken earlier. “Hey, take it easy with these. There aren’t that many.”
    John simply nodded as he chewed and eyed the rest of the pile. “How old is Vyn now? Nine?”
    Lany covered the cookies protectively with the cloth. “Seven, yesterday. And looking forward to a long and prospe rous year of torturing the popu lace no doubt.”
    John suddenly st opped chewing, his face somber.
    Lany knew this routine. “You’ve got an idea. Admit it.”
    John bega n chewing again and wagged a fi nger at his assistant. “I need Vyn.”
    “Vyn?” Lany began a hint of concern in his usually apathetic voice. “Whatever for?”
    “I think all Dallan needs is a little prompting. Perhaps if he let himself be around a child like Alasdair for a day or two, he might want to get it off his chest. He’s got to let go. He can’t hold onto the pain forever and besides that…”
    “Are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?” Lany suddenly interjected, his voice a whisper.
    “I’d like Vyn to spend some time with Dallan. Padric was