Time's Up: Midia Books

By Kimber Grey

Damon, a lowly young novice at the Temple of Time, isn't surprised when Death comes to claim him. It's the god's personal interest in him that is truly amazing, and the life that begins where one ends.

Time's Up takes place on the southern continent of Midia more than eighty years after the Rise of Faiden.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kimber Grey
• Release date: Aug 16, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386441762

Kimber Grey

Kimber was born in the arid and alien land known as southern California. She began consuming fiction from an early age, and has ever been eager to emulate the works that dramatically shaped her heart and mind as a child. She began creating short fiction and poetry in grade school, and wrote her first (laughably bad) novel in jr. high. Luckily, devouring the written word at an alarming rate tends to improve one's ability to produce it. With a grandmother who is a writer and an editor, English teachers who supported her budding potential, and a husband with a clever wit and an even greater appreciation of the written word, Kimber has never lacked support in the pursuit of her bliss. She published her first fantasy novel Quietus in 2009, and her second Seeking Destiny in 2012. The first three books of Faiden Reborn, Kingdoms Lost, Fallen Heroes, and History Forgotten were published in 2017. Her work has appeared in anthologies such as: "Ponderous Paradox", Missing Pieces IV; "Pushing the Envelope" and "A Dash of Salt & A Can of Whoop-Ass", Missing Pieces V; "Deathbringer's Apprentice", Missing Pieces VI; and "Solace Moon", The Hapless Cenloryan-The Troubadour's Inn Book I (2017 Ed.).

Book preview

Time's Up

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It was not altogether a bad death. In his last few moments, Damon wasn’t in pain, just the discomfort of the cold ground and the awkward position in which he'd come to rest. His mind was alert, and his heart fluttered wildly. His shallow, gasping breaths overpowered the early morning sounds of birds and insects. Though he felt his connection with the world slipping away, his body was completely relaxed; no flailing, no sobbing, no last minute panic or lamenting that he was only fifteen, too young. In a strange way, he was proud of himself for not being afraid, for taking in the small details of his surroundings to carry with him wherever he was going.

Damon realized he should have been reflecting on his life, perhaps reliving the greatest and most terrible moments memory could summon. Why then was he so concerned about who would finish his morning chores? Why was he more irritated by the melting frost seeping into his robes than he was with the event of death? Perhaps he was in shock. He longed for numbness that he might not feel the icy dampness that was making his teeth chatter and his hair lift uncomfortably along his limbs, but quickly regretted not wanting to suffer those mild irritations. After all, they could be the last things he ever felt. Besides, cold was nothing new to him. Autumn was long at the Temple of Time, and Damon had become accustomed to the aching chill that never seemed to ebb until summer arrived.

He wondered how long he would lay there behind the main chapel before someone discovered his body. It would be a few hours yet until the Morning Prayer Bell rang, and he often did not see another novice or elder priest until then. His early duties were long and solitary. Often, the bell that roused the temple wouldn't sound before he’d finished his rounds.

Damon shifted his gaze to the east, where the dawn had yet to announce its arrival. He wondered if he would have met this end had he stayed in his hometown of Leaswood to worship at the tiny temple there. To study at the Temple of Time in Atis, he had surrendered his rank, been forbidden belongings, was assigned a cell much smaller than he'd ever occupied before, and had duties and responsibilities far more demanding. Still, he had read every tome in his home temple no less than twice, and had never been satisfied with their explanations of temporal paradox or their historical accounts of Father Time. All of their books revolved around belief rather than facts and were rampant with conclusions that lacked any real support. It was for this reason that he never once regretted leaving his home.

In spite of his lack of advancement and perpetually increasing load of chores, Damon still managed to find his way into the impressive library of Atis daily. Every spare moment had been spent curled in the corner with a lamp and a dusty tome spread across his lap, as he studied ancient diagrams, instruments, and experimentations that explored the nature and manipulation of the linear anomaly known as time. Because of those moments alone with the great knowledge of a dozen generations, he could have spent a lifetime in Atis. He had always felt he was looking for answers that only the mysteries hidden in the tomes of Time could