The Book of Revelations

By Shanna Lauffey

Tormented by ghosts from the past, Kallie struggles to find a way to make herself useful to the world and especially to the displaced half breeds engendered by her people.

The specters of both friend and foe return when a new nemesis arises in the most unlikely of places where Kallie thought she could be safe at last. In her attempts to bring the few people close to her together, everything she's built begins to fall apart, but the fate of a young, displaced Time Shifter relies on Kallie's ability to see past the pitfalls placed before her.

Can she bring herself to dedicate her life to helping others? Will Marcus play a part in her future?

Delve into the exciting conclusion of The Chronicles of the Harekaiian!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Golbin Publishing
• Release date: May 17, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463812921

Shanna Lauffey

Shanna Lauffey is a native Californian currently living in Europe. She spends her time between homes in Sweden, France and the UK. She writes Science Fiction, Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance in her spare time between attending university and travelling.Her first novel, She-Wȕlf, was released 1st January 2012. A Science Fiction series involving time travel is in progress.

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The Book of Revelations

Episode Ten of the Chronicles of the Harekaiian

by

Shanna Lauffey

First published in Great Britain in 2020

Copyright Shanna Lauffey May 2020

ISBN 978-046381292-1

Shanna Lauffey has asserted the right to be identified as the author of this work under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All Rights Reserved

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This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

The Book of Revelations

Episode Ten

Chapter One

It’s a strange thing, how one’s perspective on life changes as one grows older. Time and experience have a way of maturing the idealistic outlook of young people, though not necessarily dulling the edge of intrepid exploits.

Like most of my people, all I ever wanted from life was an existence of peaceful obscurity, flying under the radar and seeking out enjoyment wherever I chose to find it. The interest of a rich man and a somewhat unbalanced researcher changed all that. Having spent several years always watching my back, not to mention those of others of my kind, for possible traps had changed something in me. Darren Tate had moved on to other things. His mercenary niece, Julia, was locked up in a mental institution, presumably unable to trouble me again.

Mason, the man behind the murders of my people in the name of science, was gone, never to return, taking with him my friend and mentor, Harlan Edmundson. I still couldn’t take in that Harlan was gone forever. In my disassociation from that reality, I had begun to do some volunteer work for a pair of twin sisters in Alabama who had made a project of seeking out the forsaken children of irresponsible Harekai, who had left half-breed progeny adrift in a world where there was no one to explain their time shifting abilities to them.

I had been flippant and referred to myself as the Mother Teresa of the Harekaiian, not once, but twice in circumstances where the off-hand comment had seemed appropriate. In reality, I’m self-indulgent like most of my people. I go to concerts and theater productions in the past, either ones I’ve enjoyed before and want to experience again, or those I missed at the time. I visit amusement parks that have lost their magic over the years, giving way to the post-1980s yuppie teenager market. The ability to travel through time naturally lends itself to unrestrained pleasure-seeking.

Yet to my own confusion, I found myself strangely fascinated with the twins, Dominique and Jayla, and their operation in the Deep South, seeking out those half-breed Harekai to help them with their developing abilities within a world where even their own mothers could not understand what was happening to them or what it all meant.

I tried to tell myself that it was because I hoped to involve Connor in something that would bring him out of his self-imposed isolation. Connor refused to speak about his father’s death. He had already suffered years of what the Mems called Depression after the incident that nearly killed us both, when his too-frequent teenage jaunts to the future had resulted in spontaneous combustion, but how his mixed feelings about a father who had never earned his son’s affections might affect his mourning process, especially knowing the danger to our people that Mason had posed, was something I couldn’t begin to fathom.

Connor physically resembled his father in his youthful days. Unlike his dark-skinned mother, my friend Gaye, Connor’s green eyes and fair hair reminded me of the young man I had been introduced to as ‘Breeze’, though Mason’s eyes had been blue. I had first met him when he was young and avoiding the draft, long before the hard lines around his eyes had developed. Connor didn’t share his father’s mercenary attitudes and despite having long since reached maturity, he still kept his youthful appearance. All the more so for being Harekaiian.

Connor had inherited Harlan’s research, which gave him something of interest to draw him out of whatever dark thoughts tormented him. As much as solitude is normal among our people, I felt that encouraging him to assist me with a project that helped others would be good for him. I’m not one to interfere with other people’s life choices, but apart from feeling almost like a second mother to Connor, I felt as if his dejection was at least partly my fault. I don’t know what I could have done differently, but there was no question that I was involved in some way with everything that had transformed a cheeky, smiling teenager into a virtual hermit, avoiding all contact with anyone besides his natural mother.

I tried my best to convince myself that it was for his needs that I accepted the invitation to help the twins, yet on some level I knew that helping these young people somehow fulfilled something within me, perhaps an unfulfilled maternal instinct in a woman who had never made time to have children of my own.

Kallie shifted directly into Gaye’s familiar living room and was immediately tantalized by the smell of grilling onions.

I’m here! she called, directing her voice towards the kitchen.

Right on time, as usual! Gaye’s voice sang back from around the wall that divided the living room from the large, square workspace where Gaye practiced her favorite hobby. Gaye had always loved to cook. A heartbeat later, Gaye appeared, her dark curls bouncing on either side of a wide grin.

Actually, I’m a couple of minutes early, Kallie answered. I wanted to ask you before Connor got here, did he object much to me being here? He’s avoided me a lot in... recent years.

He’s missed you though. Gaye suddenly broke eye contact, as if there were something she stopped short of saying. He’s nothing like his father. He has a deep and caring soul.

Not to mention a penchant for honesty. Do you know, even when Mason told me it was Titor who moved him through time, he lied about what he was wearing and completely left out my own involvement in that fiasco. The irony is that the lie about his costuming gave me the clue I needed to end up at the right place, or the wrong one, depending on how you look at it.

Kallie took a deep breath and tried to think of another topic to veer the conversation away from Mason. However honest Gaye had learned to be with herself about the man, the fact remained that she had loved him, twice, and that he had been the father of her son. Kallie suspected that Gaye had her own confused feelings about Mason’s death, like Connor, though the relationship had been of a different nature.

Connor has never stopped caring about you, Gaye assured Kallie. He just couldn’t stop blaming himself... for many things. You know he loves you...

At that moment, Kallie sensed the shimmer of a temporal manifestation. Gaye felt it too and changed the subject before Connor could join them.

It’s great to be able to cook for family. It just seems like too much bother to do it just for myself.

You should know you can always summon me when food is involved. Connor had caught enough of the sentence to quip a reply typical of the teenager Kallie had once known, though he was in his fifties now. So what’s this get together all about, Kallie?

Connor turned to Kallie, his intense gaze piercing her usual reticence and demanding the whole truth. Gaye, sensing the potential tension to come, had poured a glass of red wine and handed it to Kallie now, giving her a chance to formulate her words. Kallie took a sip before she spoke.

Do you remember when we met with several of our kind, including a pair of sisters from Alabama? You seemed to get on very well with Dominique.

Kallie couldn’t help smirking at Connor’s immediate blush. He dropped his gaze and turned towards Gaye to accept the coffee cup she offered him. Connor had never been fond of wine.

She was an intelligent woman and she had some interesting ideas. Connor still didn’t resume eye contact. Gaye raised her eyebrows slightly at Kallie, surprised to see her son playing coy about his obvious interest in a woman.

Why did you discourage me from getting involved with their operation? Kallie hoped the direct question would elicit an equally straight answer.

Connor looked away for a moment, then back to Kallie.

"I had a really bad feeling about it. Call it an instinct. I’ve always trusted my feelings and any time I’ve gone ahead and done something anyway, it came out badly. I know it sounded good on paper, but my spidey sense smelt trouble, especially if you got involved."

Kallie took a step backwards. The vehemence in his words and her knowledge that Harekai often displayed a form of sixth sense grappled with her logic and the certainty that there could be no danger she couldn’t shift away from in a pinch. With Mason, Julia and even Tate out of the picture, could there be a new threat to her people? Or was Tate as dormant as she assumed?

You know how easy it is to shift out of tight situations, she reasoned after a moment. I can check on Julia and make sure she’s still... out of action. I can also check on Tate’s activities. Will you at least come with me to visit the plantation? I’m sure the twins would love to see you.

Kallie had