Split in Time Ch. 01

Author's note: All characters and companies mentioned in this story have no existence outside the imagination of the author, and have no relation whatsoever to anyone or anything bearing the same name or names. Events portrayed in this story are pure invention and have not been based on any events that have happen in real life. All the characters involved in any sexual acts if their ages are not mentioned before hand; are over 18 years of age. Enjoy.

Hi everyone,

Here is the first chapter of the new story in my Were saga. For those who are new to my stories I suggest you go back and read the stories in the sequence listed in my Bio as it will introduce you to the World and Characters I have created.

For those of you who follow me you'll be pleased, two chapters one month.

As always thanks goes first to my editor who has been battling a cold while editing this chapter and to you the reader who encourage me to keep writing. So don't forget to vote and comment, if you have any questions leave an email address and I'll do my best to answer them.

Have Fun

The empty computer screen stared back at her, the monitor blank with only the flashing cursor to indicate that the screen wasn't frozen, only her mind. Amy sighed and rubbed her tired blue eyes, the computer sat before her mocking her inability to write a speech, which was to address everything that had happened over the last two months. To calm the outrage people were feeling, which could well lead to a war. Outrage at the slave ring, which had been disbanded through her daughter's action, and more outrage as news of what had happened to Ghost and Katie became public knowledge.

It mattered not that Ghost was immortal and had recovered from his savage beating. What had them outraged was that, just as Ghost seemed to be coming out of his self imposed exile from both human and Were life and had found his soul mate again, she was snatched from him again, killed before him in a mindless act of violence. She had managed to talk him into joining her pack, to keep him from spiralling back into that cycle. However, it was Katie's last words before she died which had kept him from isolation; 'live for me, I will return,' which were keeping him from running away from his pain.

The outrage was high in the Were and other communities, even in the human community, the world needed to hear that everything was being done to ensure that justice would prevail. That those who had committed those crimes, the slave cartel, savage beating of Ghost and murder of his mate Katie, would be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Tomorrow she was to talk at a press conference about these events as she had been directly tied to them, she abhorred winging it but had still not managed to write a single thing down.

Her phone rang, she looked over the bank of phones on her desk, she had three - the black one was for normal use, the red one was a direct line to the president of the United States and the third, the white one was for the alphas and her family - she lifted the receiver on the white phone and tucked it beneath her left ear leaving her hands free if she needed them. "Amy speaking," she said as sometimes Joe answered this phone if she was busy.

"Why aren't you home yet?" Wolfgang asked slightly grumpy, he didn't like his pushy valet telling him to find out if Amy was coming home for dinner.

"I'll be home in a few minutes. I promise."

"Still having problems with that speech." He asked, as he knew how much trouble she was having trying to write it.

"Yeah." She admitted, "I'm packing up now, I'll say goodnight to Joe then go."

"Okay... I'll tell Bastion to hold dinner until you're home," he told her, "I love you."

Amy smiled, "I love you too." She answered before hanging up. She turned to her computer and its mocking blank page before hitting ctl, alt, del and locked it. She stood and grabbed her briefcase stuffing the files on her desk into it before locking it and willing it to her desk back home so that she could try to do some work on that stupid speech, if Wolfgang let her.

Amy walked around her desk and groaned as she remembered the crystal globe she kept a lot of information on, she turned and stuffed it into her pocket before walking out of her office switching off the lights as she left and walked into Joe's office. "Joe I'm off."

Joe glanced up from packing up as well, her brown hair was tied back in a ponytail to keep it out of her way, and her hazel eyes scanned her boss taking in the slight frustration in her body language. "I'm off too and I'll check to make sure Rachel is gone." She hesitated for a moment, "Still having problems with that speech?"

Amy nodded.

Joe smiled gently, "You know what you need, you need a nice long relaxing soak in a bath of foamy water if Wolfgang lets you."

Amy sighed, "That does sound good."

Joe stood, "I'll see you tomorrow." She said.

"Yes... I'm coming in early, about an hour before the conference." Amy informed her.

Joe nodded, she would be here to be of assistance. "Please, remind Wolfgang that if he is going to bite you not to do it in any place visible." She asked firmly as it took her a while to cover those marks and she never managed to completely erase them.

Amy chuckled, "I'll remind him... no promises he'll listen though." She replied with a smile, Wolfgang liked to bite as much as she did and in the heat of the moment, neither could control themselves.

Joe blushed; she had seen her boss and her mate in some very erotic positions around the office. "See you tomorrow." She said as she picked up her bag and grabbed her coat.

"Tomorrow." Amy agreed and focused her mind on her home, in particular the entrance hall and the part of it that had been cleared just for this purpose. The office started to fade as she willed her body home; she was mentally tired so she didn't feel the outside force working on her will, forcing it elsewhere.

She blinked and when she opened her eyes, she stood staring in surprise and shock. The sun was high in the sky, the air had a cold bite to it, and it was closer to noon than dusk, lunch rather than dinner. She checked her watch, which confirmed that she wasn't going mad, her watch still read six thirty pm, but her eyes were telling her it was noon. She then took note of her surrounds, it took her a moment to realise that she was indeed where she wanted to be only the place she had called home was no longer. Her home was little more than rubble which was being reclaimed by the forest and dead autumn leaves which had surrounded it.

It had been abandoned for a long time by the looks and smell of it. Her mind started to tick, trying to come up with a solution to what her eyes and senses were telling her. Three questions came to mind; what happened to her home, when was she, and what happened to her family?

She knew of only one force that was powerful enough to affect her will, only one being could uproot her so. It had her swearing in every single langue she knew before she settled on English to finish her rant, "Bloody, cursed, interfering, goddess of fate." She finished as she pulled her black hair from her ponytail in frustration as her body paced for several moments, out of all of the gods only one could directly interfere with an Ancient and that was because it was she who had granted them their powers and their immortality. It was their debt to the goddess to be her agents in universes, to instigate change among the people and alter the course of history if she so chose. She knew not to bother trying to will herself back to her time or universe, Fate would not allow it until she had completed whatever task the goddess wanted of her.

She took a deep breath wondering what the hell she should do, should she try to seek out Wolfgang... she quickly dismissed the thought, she didn't know what happened to this world and she was unwilling to walk into any situation until she did.

That left her one option, she would have to seek the other Ancients, they would know what happened, would be able to tell her what went wrong. She closed her eyes and focused on the temple, as it was the only constant in the Ancients lives. She pictured the arched doorway in her mind and vanished leaving the ruin that had been her home.

She appeared out side of the temple and stood still for several long moments with her eyes closed, afraid to open them and have her hopes crushed. Taking a deep breath she opened her eyes before sighing in relief as the temple stood before her and looked just as ageless as the last time she saw it. Her body moved before she could think, towards the arched doorway and reached out to grab the doorknob; there was an audidable click and was even more relieved that the magic of this place still recognised her as being Ancient. When she first came to the temple she had learnt some of its secrets, like the fact that the doors that led into the temple could only be opened by someone who was Ancient.

She turned the handle, opened the door and glanced into the dark hall for a moment but walked in confidently as this was also home to her. Turning she closed the door throwing the room into complete darkness, just as she was about to will the lights on she sensed movement and ducked instinctively as a sword sliced the air where her neck had been just moments before.

Amy spun away from her attacker and further into the hall. The sword came again but this time she was ready for it. She bent her knees and flung her body towards the floor, her hand supporting her body to avoid the blade. The blade cut the air above her, she pushed herself up and grabbed her attacker's wrist with her left hand. Amy pushed the sword away, straightened her body and spun into the attacker, elbowing them in the chest. While her attacker tried to recover Amy ripped the sword from their hand and spun pointing it at them.

Amy felt the power in the sword go to work against her; she tightened her grip and focused her will on it, it quickly submitted to her. She shifted her eyes so that she could see in the inky darkness. "Grandma," she said bewildered for a moment. Her eyes jerked to the blade she held, her eyes ran over the simple, even non-descript blade that she pointed at her grandmother. "Excalibur," she breathed, before she dropped it letting it clatter to the ground. She felt the insistent pull of the sword, to pick it up and hold it in her hands but she refused even knowing that it was probably too late. The King's Blade had submitted to her and in lore of old Excalibur only could be wielded by a king or by it's maker without turning on them.

"How did you know the sword's name?" Vivian asked with a slightly shaky voice. She hadn't changed, she was still tall and willowy with long wavy brown hair and deep honey coloured eyes. She was alarmed at the apparent ease this stranger had used to first avoid her blows and then disarm her, never had she been disarmed while wielding Excalibur.

Amy sighed, obviously, this Vivian had never met her before or she would know how Amy could know Excalibur's name, that she had shown the sword to Amy and warned her never to touch it or she would be destined to rule humankind for a very long time. "I just do," she answered evasively.

The hall slowly brightened and Amy shifted her eyes back to normal, as the room brightened others came from hallways or simply appeared, all carried some kind of weapon in their hands. Rhun stepped forward pressing his sword to Amy's throat, Guinevere also raised her sword and rested the tip of her blade against Amy's throat. Vivian reached down and scooped Excalibur up.

"How did you get in here?" Rhun demanded harshly.

Amy tried to keep the smile from her face as she turned to Rhun. "I opened the door." She answered with just a slight condescending note to her answer.

"Only Ancients can open the door..." He growled, pressing the razor sharp edge closer to her skin and just nicking it, not enough to make her bleed but enough of a cut to sting like a paper cut. "How did you get in?" He demanded again.

"You answered your own question Rhun... I opened the door... the door let me in... ergo... I... am... Ancient." She answered starting to feel the impatience and rage of her beast rise up making her more frustrated. Both Amy and her beast also didn't like to have swords pointed at them even if they could do no permanent harm.

"How do you know my name?" Rhun asked pulling his sword away, Guinevere followed his lead.

Amy glanced around to see who was here, "I know all of your names. Vivian the lady of the Lake, Rhun an early Britton king in the dark ages, Arthur another dark age Britton king, Guinevere a dark age Britton queen, Cleopatra queen of the Nile, Boadicea queen of Picts, Noah builder of the ark, Robin of Loxley or Robin Hood, Taliesin Pen Berd and finally Mryddin the last two being nicknamed the Merlins."

They watched her in surprise, not only did she know their names but the stories that were connected to those names.

"Although technically Noah never built an actual Ark." She corrected herself moments before Noah said anything to contradict her.

He looked at her surprised at how much she actually knew, "How did I do it then?"

Amy sighed in annoyance, she knew he was testing her, "you did what any Ancient would have done if tasked with the salvation of humanity and all that lived on land. You willed them to a point forward in time when the great deluge was no more. It took you two years." She crossed her arms and waited for him to ask more questions. When he didn't, she glanced around again, "But where is D'Artagnan the Musketeer and Rhiannon the goddess of war?" she asked the room.

Taliesin pushed forward, like all of the Ancients there was nothing different between this man and the man she had breakfast with this morning, his eyes were still a vivid shade of violet and his hair was white even though he looked no older than thirty. "D'Artagnan is off on an errand but there is no Rhiannon goddess of War in our ranks." He told her beginning to get an inkling of who this woman was, or more importantly, where this woman was from.

"Yes there is." Amy argued.

"No there isn't," Vivian threw back at Amy.

Amy thought for several moments then turned to Vivian, "No wonder you guys don't know me, I don't exist in this universe. No Rhiannon... means no Me."

Mryddin stepped forward; he still looked like a weird forty-ish man, with his weird beard with the V on his chin and wild eyes. "Obviously she is Ancient, the Temple would never have let her in had she not been, and she is obviously from some parallel universe brought here to do something." He told the room, "Why don't we sit down and hear her story before we go any further." He suggested.

Amy shrugged and walked away, she took the first left hallway with everyone following then took the second right walking them into the very sitting room she had met them in all those years ago. Everyone followed her bemused, if they hadn't been convinced before, her knowing the layout of the temple proved it. She sat and everyone joined her, they waited for her to start.

"First before we get onto my story what year is it?" She asked curious.

"2024." Mryddin answered, "What year did you come from?" He asked curious.

"2018." She answered.

Cleopatra frowned and tucked a curl of red hair behind her ear her green eyes thoughtful. "Fate rarely removes someone from their universe and time at the same time." She said to fill the void as everyone had thought what she had said.

"Is this your first foray into the duties of an Ancient?" Vivian asked.

Amy shook her head, "No but it is the first time I've been removed from the universe I was born in... I think..." She said as there was no guarantees that she had been born in the universe she lived in until they found out who her other mother was.

Amy shook her head to clear it and to stall any questions the tacked on comment might have raised. "My name is Amy Wildheart." She said using her true Ancient name and not the name she used in her day to day life. "Daughter of Rhiannon Wildheart and granddaughter of Vivian the lady of the Lake."

There was a minute of complete and utter silence, then suddenly there was an uproar as some jumped to their feet. One word came out of the loud noise, "Impossible."

Taliesin waved his hand and everyone went silent, "Amy... Ancients are made not born... it's why there are so few of us." He told her firmly.

Amy sat back in her chair, "Yeah... I was told that's what you all said when Vivian fell pregnant and gave birth to Rhiannon." She took a deep breath, "You thought Rhiannon was a fluke, an aberration to Fate's design. Noah even tried to kill her after her birth but Fate made him rethink his action."

"How?" Vivian asked.

"I asked that, Cleopatra said he just fell down and started writhing on the ground until he promised not to try to kill Rhiannon again." Amy answered, "He then vanished for a long time."

"They thought she was a one off, then I showed up and rocked your foundations further. A year later, I gave birth to triplets, all are Ancient and have Ancient abilities."

"Ancients... don't... breed." Noah stressed.

Amy rolled her eyes, "Yeah they do... if they manage to hook up with their soul mate." She told him firmly.

A woman walked into the room, Amy smiled as she recognised Rhun's mate Taylor as they had met several times. Her skin was dark chocolate brown and had dark wiry hair that was always kept braided tightly to her skull. She lifted her nose and sniffed the air to smell the stranger. She frowned in confusion, "What are you?" She asked Amy.

"I'm complicated." Amy answered with a smile.

Rhun turned to his mate, "What do you smell?" he asked curious.

She took another deep breath just to be sure before answering, "She smells Ancient... kind of... Were too... kind of and something... else." she finished as she couldn't quiet figure out the last part of her.

Amy held up her hands as everyone turned to her. "Wait... no questions... let me tell my story." She told them forestalling any questions Taylor's statement had churned up. She took a deep breath and launched into her story, explaining everything that had happened to her. No one interrupted, they listened in stunned silence as more of Amy's past was relayed to them. When she finished there was silence for several minutes.

Noah shook his head, "Impossible... Magical Law states..." He begun to say.

"I know what Magical and Natural Law states you moron." She snapped at the somewhat rigid thinking Ancient, they simply had not gotten along in her universe and she doubted that they would get along in this one. "I had you all telling me that what I did was impossible, that the beast within me was not a true beast just a manifestation of my own anger and doubts. You quickly changed your view when I introduced you to the beast in my mind. You then thought I was simply channelling a spirit of a long dead animal, that I was merely shape shifting which Ancients can do. Until Nathanael proved I could turn someone." She paused for a few moments, "I am for all intents and purposes Were, I've even physically turned someone."

They all stared in bewilderment. Mryddin sighed, "We must seem very uncouth to you, questioning what to you and to those around you is common knowledge. Please forgive us... we have no experience in this kind of situation."

Amy took a deep breath and shook her head, "it's not all your fault... I've been very stressed the last couple of months and my beast is all riled up because she can't hear Wolfgang's mind, we can sense him, I know where he is but we can't feel his mind and after so many years of having him constantly in the back of our minds it's unsettling not to have him there."