Free Legend of the Timekeepers by Sharon Ledwith Page B

your father.”
    “Belial listens to no one, Ajax-ol, that is why your father had me take you here,” Etan added.
    “Yes, Lilith’s father had me take Lilith and her woman servant here too.” Tau puffed out his chest. “I even had to face a cobra to carry out my duty.”
    “Excuse me, bug-boy?” She-Aba blurted. “Who faced the cobra?”
    Lilith waved them off. “Why were you exiled, Ajax-ol?”
    Ajax-ol looked at Lilith warily. “Why were you exiled?”
    Lilith felt her heart skip a beat. “Oh, well, you see, it’s complicated really—”
    “She trusted the wrong person,” Tau replied, cutting in.
    Ajax-ol laughed. “You too?”
    Lilith’s shoulders sagged. “Yes. His name is Mica.”
    “Her name is Zurumu,” he said, shrugging. “I should have known better. She has bright red hair like your woman servant.”
    Tau guffawed.
    She-Aba’s face turned as red the setting sun.
    “Most of the high priestesses have red hair, Ajax-ol,” Etan added. “You happened to pick the wrong one to put your trust in.”
    “Really? Your high priestesses have red hair?” She-Aba asked, beaming.
    “He said most, not all, fire-head,” Tau said, smirking.
    She-Aba opened her mouth to say something, then stopped. She pointed at Etan’s leg. “Your injured leg needs attention.” Then she snapped her fingers and fished around in her satchel.
    Lilith glanced at Etan’s leg. The bloody, torn flesh was seeping yellow liquid. She-Aba was right. The wound was starting to fester already.
    “I got this at the market today. Normally, I make it into a salve to spread over my face to draw out the impurities—”
    “You wasted your coins. It’s not working,” Tau cut in, slapping his thigh.
    She-Aba rolled her eyes. “But it can also be used to heal and clean wounds if you’ll allow me.”
    Etan’s wide nostrils flared, as if testing its fragrance. “Very well, but hurry, we need to seek shelter soon. The razor-tooth cats will be on the prowl by dusk.”
    She-Aba shuddered. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but you don’t have to tell me twice.”
    Another tremor rumbled through Lilith, this time throwing her to the ground. Tau was knocked over too. Lilith sighed. She’d forgotten how unstable her homeland had been. Feeling Etan’s claws wrap around her small wrists, he gently pulled her up. “The quakes are getting frequent,” he said. “I fear it will get worse, before it gets better.”
    Lilith stared at her feet. “Trust me, it won’t get any better.”
    “Nonsense,” Ajax-ol said as he leaned on his staff and waved a hand frivolously. “Atlantis will always conquer whatever the gods will deliver. We are invincible.”
    Like the tremor that had just erupted through her, Lilith balled her fists, sidestepped Etan, and kicked Ajax-ol’s staff out from under him. Whump! He fell flat on his back. She placed a foot on his chest and glared at him. “How arrogant are you to think that way! Don’t you see what’s happening to our land? What Belial is doing to us by abusing the power of the crystals? We’re killing ourselves by killing this place!”
    During Lilith’s rant, her life seal attached to the thong Tau made popped out from under her gown. Etan’s eyes grew large. He roared, making Lilith jump away from Ajax-ol.
    Etan bent down on one knee, bowed his shaggy head, and said, “Welcome, Timekeeper. We have been waiting a long time for your arrival.”

7

    A Light in the Darkness
    E ven sitting in the brilliance of the secluded crystal cave Etan had led them to, Lilith was still in shock. Timekeeper? How did he know about her lifetime occupation? Better still, how did this hybrid, whom she’d never met, know what a Timekeeper was? Her father’s words streamed through her like rushing water. Time flows through us. Through you. Keep time safe. Find Mica. Bring him home. Her shoulders slumped, her eyes welled. So far, there had been no sign of Mica. Lilith sighed. She didn’t even know if