Prologue
Realm of Nature
Lightning filled the skies that hung over the realm that was home to Natura herself. Rain poured down over the flooding grassy green hills. High winds carried the rain spreading it across the fields. The heavy breeze carried the tall grass, pulling on it. A light splash could be heard, as an old man planted his wood colored sandals firmly down into the puddle. Water ran between his wrinkled toes, making it harder for him to hold his footing. He leaned on his golden staff for support, planting it firmly into the flooding hills of Nature’s Realm. His legs shook, brittle and unsteady, beneath his silken white robes. Water trickled down his cheek framing his cheek bones and dripping from the tips of his long beard.
He took another step up the steep incline barely reaching the top of the hill. His knees trembled and his toes slipped in his sandals, causing him to stumble. Before his brittle body fell forward a hand reached out and grabbed him. He planted his staff one more time, leaning on this delicately figured palm. “Are you okay Kronos?” came the soft nurturing voice of Natura. Warm smile decorated her beautiful light skinned face. Her crimson red smile and deep blue eyes pierced his God like soul. Silky platinum blonde hair covered her head and draped down over her shoulders. Her features are shown through the heavily down pouring rain as if not affected by it in the least. Lush green vines strewn with small leaves wrapped around each of her ears. She hoisted his brittle arm around her shoulder in her attempts to hold him up with her petite frame. Kronos grabbed lightly onto the lavender colored dress; whose hems hung down over her feet. “Thank you, Natura,” he chuckled, finally planting his feet again and straightening up. He smiled at her and fixed his robes looking out of the landscape. “Of all the times to water the grass, why must you choose this one?” Kronos jested, extending his legs to let the water drip out of his shoes. Natura giggled and opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by another voice.
“He has a point, you know?” Came the all too familiar voice of Lachesis, ”Clotho almost slipped and caused Atropos and I to tumble down the hill. You knew this meeting was taking place today. Why of all times would you choose to do your garden care? Hmm? You have all of the of time to take care of nature.” Three old women poked their noses out from beneath the growing fog. All three of them were covered in black hooded cloaks. Lachesis, the shortest of the three women. All three with stringy silvery white hair. Rain trickling down between the crevices of their wrinkled skin. “Time is irrelevant here sisters. Leave Natura Alone, it’s her world after all.” Kronos said in a dried tone. ”She can do with her world what she pleases, just as you three can do with yours.” All three sisters flashed him an empty look.
“Thank you, father,” Natura replied with a warm smile. “Nature itself is starting to thin out more and more each day. Is it really so wrong to take care of what I have left? Humanity has already chosen to tear down their patch of nature and soon their buildings and technology will become irrelevant due to their own lust for power. I can take care of my land how I see fit.”
“Do you mean to tell us you plan on letting my world exhaust its own resources?” A bright light shown through the thick fog. Natura’s expression changed. Her eyes widened instantly recognizing the man’s voice. The man chuckled, “you can relax my child. I only Jest.” The light that followed him was angelic in nature. His voice was deep, yet calming. The Feeling the Kronos got in his divine presence was that of comfort and nourishment. At that moment feelings that plagued Kronos’s ancient heart were set at ease. The sister’s flashed Natura a serious look, before turning their attention to the man garbed in holy linens. “We shouldn’t joke about the fate of the world creator,” Lachesis spoke up. “In Humanity's current condition their fate is on a slippery slope. People only wanting, careers until they have them. The concept of love is lost to humanity. A human puts their faith into a few relationships and when they fail, they give up entirely. Committing themselves to some wild life of just sleeping around and having fun. Those few that do believe in it, get discouraged or doubtful. Then they divorce and let themselves become just as jaded as the rest of them. A lot more people are getting the idea in their head that reproduction is a terrible consequence, when in fact it’s essential to the continuation of a species.” They’re faces were blank as they finished their speech.
The Creator’s expression remained lightened. “I should only expect you girls to take the fate of humanity seriously. Regardless though, I have faith in what I've created. They will prove you wrong, just watch.” He said with a hopeful tone.
The Sisters all laughed for the first time since the meeting began. “You are funny creator,” Atropos interjected.” The day you find us a mortal that can show the rest of the world such a rare thing as true love in this world. That’s the day we’ll have found another truly divine being. Humans these days only seem to believe in temporary satisfaction.” All three sister’s nodded in agreement.
Kronos rolled his eyes. He should be used to this. It happened whenever the World Keepers got together. He fixed his posture and violently stomped his time staff on the Ground. A Shockwave emanated from the staff, causing some of the Keepers to struggle with their footing on the dampened grassy hills. The Keepers all took a step back then turned their attention to Kronos. And heavy silence fell over the Sisters and the creator himself. Kronos cleared his throat and finally spoke, “Speaking of Divine beings. That is why I’ve called you all here.” Everyone gave him a bewildered look. He gestured to Natura. “My dear, if you would please provide us all a means to make ourselves comfortable? I’d like to get down to business.” Natura nodded and waved her hands. Several small wooden tree stumps began to rise up out of the ground atop the hill. Kronos nodded toward Natura with a warm smile. “Now Then. I’d like to discuss finding a replacement as the Keeper of time. I can’t keep this up forever. My spirit has grown weary. My mind has grown tired. I’m afraid my time as a keeper is coming to its end.”
Chapter 1
Realm of Earth-Brent Moore 34 years old
Brent set his drink down on the table and sank back into the couch. He wiped his mouth and looked up at his friend Jeff. “So tell me again why Katie couldn’t come out tonight with us?” Jeff asked, taking a sip of Champagne from his glass.
Brent took a deep breath projecting his voice of the deafening roar of the DJ’s speakers that filled the Loft. “She had to work tonight.” he let out a sigh and continued. “life of a nurse, I guess.”
Jeff glanced over at him with a concerned look. “You don’t seem to be thrilled about that.”
Brent shrugged. “I love spending time with her. What can I say? But I am the one that got her the job at the hospital. I don’t like that she’s working so much but, in a way. . . I feel sort of responsible for it.”
Jeff smiled briefly. “Yeah I know what you mean man. I kinda miss her too. She’s always so good at helping me land hookups.”
Brent laughed and nudged his shoulder. “Dude I don’t want to know what crazy things you and my fiancé act out just to get you laid.”
“Oh come on Bro!” He laughed and leaned back into the couch. “The Jealous ex, the unassuming depressed girl, The Business man’s assistant. . . “
“Ok Ok! Stop right there! You’re going to make me squirt alcohol through my nose.” Brent laughed hysterically and leaned over taking a sip of his drink and set it back down. His eyes glanced out over the crowd. Hundreds of bodies out on the dance floor. Brent’s mind began to race and his expression shifted to something more serious. All these beautiful women. What if he was wrong? What if one of these girls was meant to be the next chapter in his life. Girls in mini dresses, short skirts with blonde hair and beautiful white blouses that brought out beautiful blue eyes. Some in metallic pink skirts and matching crop tops. Brent had his doubts; it wasn’t something that he denied. At the same time though, the more he thought about it, the more it brought a smile to his face. Katie was beautiful herself. From her long Ginger like hair to her beautiful green eyes.
“So dude?” Jeff’s voice interrupted Brent’s train of thought. “Tell me, How does it feel to be engaged? Just one week away from your wedding. Are you nervous at all?”
“Psh! No!” Brent shook his head, lying through his teeth. “I mean we’ve got everything sorted out. We’ve got caterers, my old landlord as a photographer, We even convinced the Bishop to perform the ceremony. This morning I even sent out the invitations. Everything is going to be just fine. And it’s not like I have any doubt that she loves me. She lets me know like every day. And we go out on dates once a week. And when we’re together. . .” Brent paused a bit as the thoughts ran through his head. Something about it calmed his nerves and washed away his thoughts. “It’s like there’s no one else I'd rather be with. It’s like I can’t even picture myself with anyone else.”
Jeff nodded his head with a half-smile. “You know, man?” He said hold his drink up as the waitress walked by to refill it. “You’re lucky! There aren’t a lot of men that get to experience that feeling.” He said before gesturing to the waitress to stop. Brent was a little shocked to hear that. In the time Brent and jeff had been friends, Brent never knew Jeff to be even a little bit touchy feelie.
Brent stifled a chuckle. “Don’t tell me you’re going to get all emotional on me now, Bro. The night is only just beginning and you’re starting to sound like you’ve had too much to drink.”
Jeff laughed a little and set his drink down, gesturing to his friend to stop. “I promise. I’m not already drunk. Just hear me out here.I realize that probably sounds ridiculous coming from someone who actively tries to coerce different drunken women into bed with him on a weekly basis, but listen. Women like Katie are a rare find. Most women would tell me I'm sick or twisted for treating women like that. Katie doesn’t even argue with it. She just goes with it. Any other woman I’ve asked to help out either gets uncomfortable or I end up getting drinks thrown in my face. You gotta hold onto a woman like that. And don’t think I haven’t seen you looking around. You gotta stop that shit bro. That’s how bad things start.”
Brent set his drink down. “What are you now? My mother?” He asked, tilting his head slightly and flashing his friend a smirk.
Jeff’s expression changed. “No. I’m not, but I am your friend.And as your friend I just want to see you happy.”
A frustrated sigh escaped Brent’s lips.”That’s just it. I’m Happy with Katie, but what if something happened? What if there’s someone out there that can make me happier? What if that person is in this building?” Brent pointed to a random woman in the middle of the dance floor. “What if it’s her? “ he moved his finger pointing out another woman sitting at the bar. “Or her? Or what if I've already met her?”
“Dude! You have met her! You’re with her right now! You’re engaged to be married to her a week from now. None of those girls are even checking you out.” Jeff paused and took a sip of his drink.”Except that one.” Jeff flashed a disapproving look. “She’s not that attractive anyways.” Brent perked up and began looking around for the girl Jeff was referring to. “She’s over there.” Jeff said again pointing to a woman with short mousey looking chocolate brown colored hair. The woman fixed her glasses and smiled at Jeff for a second then turned her attention back to her friends that share the couch with her.
Brent finally caught sight of who his friend was pointing to. “Her? She’s Beautiful! And she’s giving me the look.” Brent flashed a smile at the woman.”You mean the curvy redhead? The one with the red lipstick? How can that not be attractive to you?” Jeff was confused. Brent’s description didn’t sound anything like what he was seeing.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
He scratched his head. “Ummmmm no. . . I’m talking about the stubby brunette with the glasses,” Jeff said looking down at his glass then back up at his friend.
“What? You’re clearly pointing at the Ginger haired girl.” Brent was confused as well. “Maybe they switched your drink for something stronger. Look, just take me over there and help me out would you?” Jeff flashed his friend a cold, disapproving stare and rolled his eyes.
“Fine but if you get in trouble, don’t cry to me.” Jeff rose from his seat and dragged his friend with him. The sound of the music that reververberated off the walls of the club rang through both of their ears. Brent grew nervous. A guilty feeling started to wash over him. A voice in his head telling him what he was about to do wasn’t right. His grew more foggy the closer they got to the other couch. “Mind if we join you?” came Jeff’s voice, leaving Brent somewhat startled. There she was up close. Brent’s confusion faded as his nerves grew more tense.
“Not at all!” the woman shouted over the loud roar of the speakers. She scooted over and let Brent sit down next to her. “I was just about to go grab drinks. What do you boys like?” Both men were startled by the offer. Usually Jeff was the one to offer to buy the alcohol. Brent opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. He couldn’t do it, as much as he thought about it. He couldn’t bring himself to strike up the conversation. The woman stared at Brent then turned her attention to his friend. “Is something wrong with him?” she asked curiously.
Jeff shook his head and chuckled. “He’s just getting cold feet. You’ll have to forgive him.He’s not usually like this. He’s been drinking Sangria all night and I’ve been springing for Champagne.”
“Got it!” she nodded and turned around heading toward the bar.
Jeff shook his head and let out a sigh. “You are never living this down, man. For as long as we both live. I will never let you forget this.”
Brent gave his friend a blank stare. “Shut up. I got cold feet okay.”
Jeff laughed. “Cold feet my ass,dude. Here you are begging me to take you over here and break the ice, and you tanked.”
Brent nudged his friend next to him. “I didn’t tank. I just got nervous . . I mean. . . what if. . “
Jeff gave his friend a smirk before interrupting him. “What if Katie walked in? What if she got pissed off at you and left? Face it dude. I was right. You don’t want to give her up. You’re afraid to lose her and therefore can’t force yourself to get comfortable with a complete stranger. No matter how “attractive.” You think she is. HA!” Jeff said poking his friend’s shoulder and giving him a playful nudge.
The two men looked up right as the lady set two drinks down beside them. “One glass of Champagne and one glass of Sangria,” she said as she took a seat next to Brent and made herself comfortable. “There you go.” She said, setting the drinks down on the round glass table. “I’m Nat, by the way.” she said, offering her hand for a handshake. Brent shook her hand and spoke up. “Brent and this is my friend Jeff.” Brent said, trying to push back the nervous foreboding feeling that lingered over his mind. Nat shook his hand and smiled at him. A voice Startled the two men. “Who are our guests?” came the voice of a man in a black formal suit with a red tie. He made himself comfortable next to Jeff. “This is Brent and Jeff.” Nat replied. “This is my friend Luci whom I finally got out of his little hell hole to come out tonight.” Pam said, sneering at him playfully.
“What can I say? I prefer to stay in the dark. Why do you think I’ve been working as a Coal miner for the last several years?” Luci replied with a sly grin.
“Oh just shut up and enjoy the daylight for a change. Who knows? You might accidentally stumble on something fun.” she chuckled leaning back against the couch.
Luci turned his gaze to Jeff, who seemed to be distracted with his eyes fixed on a Blonde who had wandered out into the middle of the crowd. “Ahhhhh that one looks tempting doesn’t it?” Luci said with a grin leaning back against the couch and keeping his attention focused on Jeff. Jeff replied with a nod leaning back against the couch, glancing over at Luci then over at the blonde. “I don’t know if you’ll be able to land that one. Might have to get a few drinks with her first.”
Jeff looked down at his glass then reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet.”I think I’m up to the challenge. Do you want to make it a bet?”
“Oh I like you, boy.” Luci replied, taking a sip from his glass. “It wouldn’t be fair to challenge me,though. You see? I invented this game.”
Jeff burst out laughing and shook his head. “You know? That’s a pretty big claim for a guy named Luci.”
Luci stifled a chuckle.”I think you’d be surprised how charming I can be. You got me in a good mood, so I’ll tell you what. I won’t set the same stipulation I usually set. If you can catch her attention before I do, I’ll buy the last drink, you’ll need to get her into the cab. Do we have a deal?” Luci said with a sly grin painted across his cheeks.
“We have a deal.” Jeff replied raising a glass to tap against Luci’s
Brent’s gaze shifted between the two men. His look, growing more and more amused by the minute.To Brent it seemed his best friend had found a match for his gifts. He watched carefully as both men rose to their feet casually making their way to different sides of the room. He turned his attention to Pam. “Does Luci do this often? This is like a weekly thing for Jeff. He pays more attention to this, than he pays to his actual dreams and aspirations.”
Nat giggled. “Oh Luci can be quite the charming devil. I’m afraid your friend has met his match.”
Brent flashed her a smirk. A familiar voice from off in the distance startled Brent and almost made him spill his drink. “Brent? Who is this?” It was Katie, pointing her thumb over at Pam. Brent grew nervous at first. He took a quiet breath and looked up at the woman who had just arrived at their spot on the couch. Brent opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by Jeff. “Katie? You finally showed. This is Pam and that over there.” Jeff said, pointing at Luci in the distance talking to the single lonely blonde in the middle of the dance floor. “That is the biggest cock block i’ve ever come in contact with. It’s only been 2 minutes and she’s already flirting with him, like a lost school girl.” Katie laughed and made herself comfortable on the couch next to Brent. “Oh So you’ve finally met someone who's better at picking up one night stands than you are? Do you want me to go provide a distraction?” She said, giving him a smirk.
“Oh Sweetheart! I wouldn’t recommend that. Especially if you’re in a relationship with my new friend over here.” Pam interjected, gesturing to Brent who smiled briefly at the woman’s attempt to keep his head above water.
“Oh? So he did tell you about me?” Katie said glaring playfully over at Brent.
“Oh but of course darling. I’m rather gifted at seeing the true nature of others. It’s a gift i’ve acquired over the course of a Very long Career. And Luci over there has a gift for being incredibly charming.” She replied, taking a sip of her drink.
“If he’s so Charming then why aren’t you two together?” Katie asked, tilting her head a little.
“Like I said dear. I’ve a gift for seeing the true nature of a person. And I’ve known Luci for what feels like a Century.
Chapter 2
Katie Benson- 38 years old
Katie kicked her feet up on the desk of the nurse’s station. She only had a few hours left of her shift and she would be off for the night. She hated covering shifts, but her and Brent needed the extra money to pay off the electric bill before they could move into their new place. Opened the doors of the cupboard and grabbed a small treat. Leaning back and opening it up. It was late, with the exception of a few patients most of the floor she was working on seemed to be pretty fast asleep. Not a lot of people were going to wake up and call her over the next few hours for a snack that would probably make it harder for them to sleep.She brushed the long ginger locks from her face. Peeling back the wrapper, she took a small bite of a rice crispy treat and scanned the hallways. A Quiet had started to settle over the hospital. Most of her fellow nurses were off. Or seeing their last patient of the night while introducing their replacement for the night shift.
Katie drew a deep sigh and grabbed her phone from the pocket of her Green scrubs. Holding it up against her curvy chest, she tucked her head in to see the screen. She pulled up the text from Brent about going to the club in Downtown Salt Lake with Jeff. Her fingers quickly went to work on the keys. “I’m off at 12am. I’ll meet you guys there at 12:30. After I change out of my scrubs lol.” were the words she typed out. She waited a few minutes for a response, but nothing came. Brent had been doing a lot lately. He seemed to be ignoring her texts a little more often the last little while. It concerned her, but both her experience and intuition convinced her to think nothing of it. Still, she couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking at the moment. Part of her wished her shift was over already so she could be on her way to see him. Another part of her knew that even she needed a little time away from him. Katie let out a deep sigh“You can’t miss someone if they’re always there I guess,” muttered to herself quietly. She couldn’t help but wonder if that philosophy was part of a bigger picture. She couldn’t help but wonder if maybe her brain was just trying to tell her heart that He just wasn’t as important to her as he was when she originally agreed to marry him.
Katie stuffed her phone in her pocket and fiddled around in her pockets until she felt something. Her Engagement ring. She pulled it out and looked it over for a minute. It had a beautiful diamond studded band. The diamond wasn’t huge, but it was okay. Katie wasn’t the type of girl to get hung up over the size of a simple diamond. All she cared about was the person that did it. “Sorry I’m late.” came a familiar voice.Katie almost fell backwards in her chair. She hadn’t realized just how much time had passed. She pulled her phone out and looked down at the time. It was already 11:30pm.
“Oh Dani? You’re working tonight?” Katie said with a smile. Relief washed over the redhead as the thought occurred to her that her shift was almost done with. “Are you ready to go learn how to get a blood sample from Mr. Martinez?” Katie asked, tucking her phone back into her scrubs and rising to her feet. Dani followed her to the supply closet to gather a few things before the two set off down the hall.
“As ready as I’ll ever be. Katie?” Dani asked sheepishly. “Thanks again for helping me get this job. Kolby took everything in the divorce.” She said, her gaze dropping to the floor beneath her.
“Of course sweetie. Anything I can do to help.” She said pushing the door open to the patient’s room. “Mr. Martinez! You know what time it is?
He rolled his eyes sitting up in the hospital bed. “Do you have to call me Mr.Martinez? How about just calling me Paul for a change will you?” He said blinking a few times and rubbed his eyes. He propped himself up in the bed offering his arm for the two nurses. “It was just a car accident, you know? Plus all the pain has been centered mostly around my wounded leg. What do you ladies need my blood for anyways?” He asked with a hint of nervousness as Dani searched for the vein on his arm.
Katie laughed a bit as she scrambled around for a syringe. “The wound seems to have gathered some infection, Paul. We just need to figure out how to get the swelling to go down.”
“By poking my arm?” He protested, watching as she rubbed a slightly dampened cotton ball over his arm.
“They just want to run another test.” she said gently piercing his skin with the needle. “The sooner they figure out what to do the sooner we can get you out of here.”
He withdrew his gaze for a few seconds. The television in the corner of the room seemed to only serve as background noise. He Quickly gathered his thoughts. Katie turned around and began cleaning the edge of the needle, then handed it over to Dani. He could hear the brief sounds of whispering. Dani took the needle and left the room in a rush. “What if I don’t wanna get out of here?” he said shyly. “You know? I come from a family that’s very well off. It’s not like I couldn’t afford to stay here for a few days.”
“Oh come on Mr. Martinez. Why would you want to stay here for any longer than you need to.” Katie laughed, slipping off her latex gloves and putting on another pair.
“Well. . . “ He paused for a second looking for the words. “What if I wanted to take the time and get to know you more? You seem like a nice lady. I barely even felt that prick, so You have to have some kind of a gentle soul.”
Katie blushed a little. “What if I’m not though? What if I’m really just a cold heartless, controlling bitch, that’s just really good at taking blood samples?” Katie jested taking a step closer to the bed.
“It’d still be worth it.” He smiled gazing up into her eyes. “A date with the most beautiful redhead in the city.”
Katie’s cheeks flushed a rosy hue. It wasn’t often that men flirted with her. The closer she got to her wedding, the more she started to question her decision. Here it was, the chance for something different. She pondered for a second the idea of giving him her number but quickly changed her mind as soon as the gloves came off her hands. She held up her ring finger. “Sorry.” she dropped her gaze for a second. As intriguing as it was to think about, the reality was there. She was engaged to Brent and she loved him so, but she couldn’t help but wonder if the man she had agreed to start the rest of her life with, was really the man that she was meant to be with.
The man let out a sigh, dropping his gaze for a second. “Does he treat you well?” He asked, forging a smile and returning his gaze to her.
“He’s a perfect gentleman.” she replied, slipping off her latex gloves and picking up the nicely bagged blood sample. “Goodnight Mr.Martinez.”
“I can take over from here.” Dani interrupted while slipping on her gloves. “You need to clock out. You know how HR is about overtime.”
“Yeah you’re right.” Katie nodded, turning on the faucet and washing her hands under the running. “I’m going to surprise Brent at the club.” she said with an excited grin. She dried off her hands and pushed the door open. The hospital was quiet at this time of night. Most of the patients were starting to drift off to sleep. The sound of Katie’s footsteps echoed softly through the corridors. She stopped at the nurse’s station and placed her hand on the chair, supporting herself as she bent over to grab her bag. She slid the strap over her shoulders and pushed herself up. Her fingers curled slowly, then stopped suddenly. A white card had appeared in the palm of her hand. She opened her hand and read the inscription on the card, making her way toward the elevator.
A dinging sound told Katie that the Elevator had arrived. She stepped inside the open door and leaned back against the wall of the elevator, reading the card once more. “Aeryn Love M.D. Specialist in human affairs.” she muttered quietly to herself. The door opened and Katie made her way down the hallway carefully. Along the walls of the main floor, were pictures of all the practicing attendings in the hospital. Katie slowed her pace just enough to read through each one. “Dr. Love. . Dr. Love. . .” She muttered to herself, searching the walls and pictures carefully. Much to her surprise, she couldn’t find the name anywhere. She glanced down at the card once more, making her way through the automatic doors. In all her time in healthcare, she’d never heard of anyone that specialized in “Human Affairs.” The whole concept made her think. She stuffed the card into the pocket of her scrubs and opened her car door. She turned on the radio and jabbed her keys into the ignition. Her mind raced, pondering the events in the final hours of her work shift. Did Human affairs mean he was some sort of relationship counselor? Who could possibly know about this though? She’d never shared any of her fears or concerns with any of her coworkers. How could anyone possibly know something wasn’t right in her mind? Questions filled her mind the entire drive down the road.