Free Timekeeper by Alexandra Monir

on her own—exposed and defenseless.
    “She didn’t touch you,” Philip said gently, turning around to face Michele. “I was watching her the whole time.”
    “Who else would have taken it?” Michele whispered.
    At that moment, a crackling noise echoed throughout the room as the lights flickered back on. Philip awkwardly let go of her, his face a mix of emotions.
    “Students, we’ve just experienced a power outage,” came a crisp voice over the school PA system. “All of you in the halls, please return to class at once. Everything is back in order.”
    “I have to get out of here. Are you going to be okay?” Philip asked in a low voice.
    “Please just tell me—how come you can see her too?” Michele blurted out.
    Philip raked his hand through his hair, his expression desperate as he stammered, “I—I can’t talk anymore—I have to go. This is too much—too much.” And after one last look, he flew out the door.
    She watched him go, her mind returning to what he had said moments earlier—that Rebecca hadn’t taken the key. Was there any possible hope that, in her heightened state of fear, Michele might have imagined someone ripping the key off her neck? Could it have simply been the case of a loose chain falling off and lying somewhere on the floor? Deep down, Michele knew it was unlikely—but she had to check. Getting onto herhands and knees, she searched the floor and rummaged under the piano and chairs. But there was still no sign of the key, or the chain that had held it.
    Michele stood frozen in the middle of the choir room, her stomach churning. The key was everything . Besides being her only possible defense against Rebecca, it was her sole method of traveling through time. The key was her only connection to her father and it was the power that had brought her to Philip. What would she do without it?

T he Time Society offers a number of positions for members who seek careers within our world. One of the most important is that of the Detectors, whose purpose is to locate unregistered time travelers. It is a crucial task, for the time travelers who remain hidden are generally those who stay in the past or the future long enough to effect change—and cause considerable damage along the way. By seeking out undiscovered time travelers and introducing them to our Society, we gain valuable members who help us protect the natural Timeline. They in turn receive a wealth of knowledge, power, and membership to a Society that most can only dream of .
—THE HANDBOOK OF THE TIME SOCIETY

5
    Michele headed straight for her room after the disastrous day at school, still in a stupor over the loss of the key. Her mind spun as it replayed Rebecca’s terrifying appearance and the moments of hope and confusion with Philip; there was so much that she couldn’t seem to make sense of. She ached with the longing to return to twentieth-century Philip, to confide in him and hear his answers. The thought of never being able to find him again was too much to bear, and Michele had to force it away, along with the dread rising in her stomach.
    She curled up on the couch in her sitting room, glancing up at the portraits lining the walls. The subjects of each framed painting were different Windsor heiresses of the past, each painted on the occasion of the girl’s debut into society at age sixteen, from Clara Windsor in 1910 to Marion in 1991.
    Thankfully there was no portrait of Rebecca. Michele wondered if her grandparents had it removed.
    Michele was always comforted by the painting of her mother, by seeing her smile shine and her eyes sparkle through the canvas. Marion’s far-off voice echoed in Michele’s memory: “Count your blessings, not your worries.”
    “If only you were still here,” she whispered to her mother’s portrait. Michele felt a pang of grief thinking about the plan she had come up with the night before to defeat Rebecca. The first step had been to find out every detail of her and Irving’s