“What the Hell happened?” Darius asked in bewilderment.

“I dunno. I grabbed you and the wind stopped. Pretty neat trick you have there” The girl had bright green eyes and she pulled down her face scarf revealing a sharp grin.  “I’m Anastasia. Who, errr what are you?”

“What you mean what am I? Where the Hell am I?”

Anastasia laughed and jumped before landing seated on a small dune of sand. “Here? Here’s nowhere strange man. You’re not from Dial are you?”

“Dial?” Darius puzzled at the name “Never heard of Dial”

“You’re a lost little sheep is what you are. Where you from?” Anastasia’s voice was kinda gruff for a girl but soft enough, somewhat rusty. “Erm, sorry I’ve just been really confused. I don’t know anything other than my name. I don’t know where I have been or where I am going.” Anastasia let out a little giggle “There ain’t nowhere to go!” She cackled. “Look, Dareee Huss, I weren’t telling you no lies when I said this is nowhere. There really is nothing ‘round here other than Dial. You ain’t from there I don’t think. There is no in between.”

Darius felt that burning sensation he had earlier protruding from his left side and up to into his shoulder. “Arrgh!” He yelped while falling to one knee writhing in pain.

“Huh? You okay?” Anastasia looked over her eyes barely open as if she had just woke up.

“No… Argh, it hurts” Darius felt the burning subside  again. In this relief he held his head down, both of his hands pressed into the dirt, sweat dripping from his face.

“You’ve done some strange things while you been here, y’know?” A small wisp of wind roll through between them, bending pieces of the dirty sand around.

“Why are you here, then?” Darius scolded still short of breath.

“This is where I belong. There is never anything here y’know. When I felt that wind, I’d never felt so alive, not for a long time, I think.” Darius looked across at her as she stood up and held out her hand to help him up. “Come on get up Darus or whatever you’re called”

“ Da-RIE-Us. Darius.” He shook his head and grabbed her hand as she helped pull him up

“So… you belong here? What you mean?”

“It’s home. Never left it. This is all I’ve seen for as long as I can remember. I think”

“You think?”

“Yeah all the time!” Anastasia gave out a big chuckle. Darius started to wonder about her. Then started to wonder just what was going on

“Hey! How did you get here?” Anastasia said almost threateningly  but she gave a wink at the end. “You’re eyes aren’t the same colour either”

“Yeah. I’ve only seen myself once. That I remember somehow” Darius looked confused has he finished the sentence with a small pause. “Dial. It’s a place?”

“The only other place I know”Anastasia fidgeted around in her furs “This here!” She held a small bronze looking sundial, rather bland in appearance up to the dimly lit sky. “This is a dial!”

“Yeah a sundial. You said it was a place, right? Dial you said it’s the only other place you know?”

“Yep”

“Do you mean that sundial…” Darius said condescendingly. He started to pace with his head looking at his feet. He let out a small sigh. Anastasia dropped the sundial on the floor and sat crossed legged behind it. “Come here, look at it.”

Darius plodded over and looked at it. He then sat down.

“Whoa.” Looking into it he saw it’s shape as large celestial bodies. Stars of different sizes and colours and numerous beyond count. Everything fell silent to him. He could see the stars moving slowly clockwise around the edge. The middle of the sundial pitch black, He felt like he was floating now and the dial grew to an immeasurable size. Flying through the rim he passed all the countless stars. The silence was now accompanied by a soft ticking of a second hand. Darius felt a warmth through his whole body. His mouth open, screaming in pain but no sound could be heard.

Darius opened his eyes laid on the floor gasping for air once again. Anastasia  was stood up seemingly shaking her face still and terrified.

“What’s… the matter?” Darius’s voice seemed deeper and still panting brought himself to his feet.

“What, what did you see?” Anastasia started timid and mousy but was yelling by the end of her question.Darius felt fully normal again though he had felt a cold shiver through him from his toes to his chest.

“I’m fine… I. I saw the stars. I felt them.”

“You said you wasn’t from Dial.” She had prepped her right hand like a claw and bent against her side. her other hand held outstretched and high in the shape of a fist. “You said you didn’t know who you were” Anastasia’s hands began to spark red lights.

“What, look I’m Darius that’s all I know. Please, what in the name of God is Dial?”

“Did you tell me there was a ‘time and place for everything’?”

“I just met you… right? Why are you being weird all of a sudden” It became immediately apparent to Darius she’d been weird throughout this meeting.

Anastasia’s hand bolted a huge flash of red leaving a bright silhouette of a huge elongation of her arm. It was shaped like an anchor at the end. The silhouette dulled until it was gray, the edges were glistening in the red light and seemed sharp. At the tip was a sharp point where the two huge blades belled out.

“Have you seen this before?”

“Hey, hey what’s going on, what are you doing?” Darius said with an increased pace, worry now filling his voice. Anastasia squatted a little so her legs were bent.

“You sent me here didn’t you!” She exclaimed wildly and charged forward  swinging this huge bladed appendage  right for Darius’s head all in one speedy leap. Darius somehow instinctively moved as if time suddenly slowed down and he just stepped to the side. He noticed as the blade cut the air a cut appeared letting in sharp white light then closing moments after the strikes.

Yelling and wailing Anastasia continued a volley of strikes. Each time the same happened again and Darius moved. Still seeing the cuts in seemingly the air, leaking this white light before closing again.

After a while Anastasia sat panting. “How are you doing this?” She laughed maniacally  

“Stop this!” Darius yelled calm and with reassurance “ I must learn of this Dial.” Darius did not know why but felt he must find it, feeling all his questions may be answered there.”These places I’ve been lately, I do not understand them, where I am right now, I have no idea. Dial is the only place I know too, You know more don’t you, tell me where it is, I beg of you” Darius felt that heat in his hand, it flashed white. His wrist now bore a silver chain bracelet with a solid block of circular silver hanging from the chain like a pendent. He held his hand out “You know what this is don’t you?” Anastasia saw the light and screamed as it burned her eyes. “You know where it is. Between space and time, you said this, didn't you?” She began to laugh a vicious cackle. “The meeting of the horizon and the now. You said this didn’t you?”

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“What are you talking about?” He shouted frustrated at her chirps.. Around his hands started a glowing corona, burning a soft white light. A tingle swam through his hands. He held his hand up, four finger held strong and together, his thumb bent inwards  “You must be insane, stop this and just help me please!” Darius pleaded towards her but Anastasia laughed again and charged forward swinging her blade towards him.

Suddenly, an implosion of the red light hanging through the sands, flashing white as it fabricated into existence a huge white light shaped like Darius’s hand. The structure moved just like his hand and grabbed the blade. Anastasia, amazed and immobilized, screamed. Darius instructed the hand to lift her into the air and throw her to the ground. “Stop this” he said with a calm, discomforting tone, his voice a little deeper. “Or it ends.” Anastasia’s hand glowed red has she lay on the floor and the light scattered, beautifully and dissipated from existence, her hand returned to normal.”I’m sorry “ She then paused, her voice quiet and quaky. “You wanna go to Dial.”

Darius, his hands still glowing felt the whipping wind around him accompanied by that familiar wail of before. “Yes, I must go” during that sentence his voice softened back to normal and the light faded from his hands and the wind and it's wail relinquished. “Please, Anastasia, right? It's the only thing I know that matters right now”

“Right now” she chuckled while still clumped on the floor she looked up at him. her face cut, small drops of blood slowly rolling down her cheek and her furs torn and covered in the red dust.

“That’s funny”

“Yeah… Dial is between space and time? I think I understand strangely”

“Oh yeah you do.”

“And what just happened.... You can answer that, can’t you?”

“Oh yeah I can”

Darius looked down at her seeing her laid looking up at the sky. Her cut weeping under her right eye and occasionally wincing. He noticed she seemed in pain. “ Are you hurt?”

“Bah, of course not.” She jumped up to her feet and continued “I have some things to set straight, then huh?”

“That on your hand you know what that is? I think I do!” She  said excitedly “Listen that is something truly unique. That’s your Henki. Certain life’s are owed them. Here is a place of neither life or death. Time and space behave erratically. To harbour the union of space and time a council was formed by ‘Those That Matter’. That council, Horis Imperficitur. Affectionately known has Clockface” She chuckled and in the pause after, cleared her throat. “Each of its members, The Hours were to govern the passage of time. Recently one of them is missing, completely gone and it has made them all behave to their own needs. Time is in disarray the land you may have known gone in an instance, left like this. Nowhere.” Darius looked around and stared into his Henki. Seeing his face reflected back from the solid silver circle. “So this is my ‘Henki’? What is that exactly?” She pointed to the wolf’s eyes on her hood, shining a thick black. “Those eyes are mine!” She said gleefully her cut now scabbing over. “It’s your link to the physical world. This is neither a physical or meta-physical world in which time truly exists. This is your anchor. To you, your key. In Dial we’ll see if we can find out who you are, and find your home.”

“Wait, what you know this?”

“I do. I’m the Gatekeeper. The bridge between. That’s my duty. I think” her confidence gliding downwards has she spoke.  “The key is certainly there. One problem. I don’t remember where it is…”

Darius groaned in disbelief. “ Are you serious? I know I must go there.Somehow... “Darius muttered the end of his words, looking into the distance briefly. “How do you leave here”

“You don’t”

“What you mean you don’t?”

“Well technically here, nothing really exists” Darius was left with a rather blank expression on his face. Then without further notice Anastasia grabbed his wrist and the whole world went black. No Sound, No Picture.

The next thing Darius knew was the sound of rain. Then the feeling of it against his hood. He saw Anastasia next to him smiling. A distant thump of thunder sounded through the heavy rain. Her hood was now a rain coat with a smiling cartoon wolf fashioned into a hood. It was white with blue pinstripes. Big black wellies, which extended until covered under the rain coat, were spotted with mud around the edges. There she was splashing in a puddle. The puddle itself dancing hectically as rain pelted it all across its surface.  Darius looked at his wrist the bracelet hanging, slack from the top of his wrist. He stared into the blank silver circle. He then looked forward to see a muddy road leading through a small, hilly woods.  

“Where are we now?”

“The road” She said bluntly.

“The road where?” he replied

“To, Dial, my sweet Darius. Come on it's raining, the least you can do is brighten up.”

Darius thought to himself I wish I knew what was going on

“Okay. I’m coming.” Anastasia started plodding hastily forwards into the uphill road leading to the woods.Darius was looking down again as he spaced out in his thoughts. “Oh, okay, I’m coming” and he set out into a small stride entering the dark woods, the rain sifting noisily through the trees, the occasional crack of thunder adding itself to the cacophony. Darius felt the blue light moving with the trees in the breeze. He noticed he’d caught up to Anastasia and she’d stopped.

“Come on slow poke, you wanted to go so bad”

“You know, Anastasia, right? I feel like I have been here before.”

“You have. I think” She said glumly. Darius looked at her puzzled.

“What do you mean?”

“It was you…” She began to cry.

Darius instinctively held her cheek in his hand and softly stroked his thumb over the few tears that had rolled down it.

“It’ll be okay this time, I promise.” Darius said softly. Not really sure of his words.

“You’re not him, are you?” Anastasia said between choking on her tears looking into his mismatched eyes.

“No, I’m not him.” Darius spoke softly again but knowing he has never seen this woman before today. Well what he thinks a today is…

“But you have the same eyes”

“Is he in Dial?” He asked firmly this time and letting his hand rest slowly to his side.

“I Don’t know.” She paused and gulped “You know what you have to do?”

Darius drew silent hearing yet another prominent crack in the sky. The trees still shaking, not violently but animated. The rain though heavy, sounded peaceful against the trees

“I think I do. I can feel it’s presence.”