Shar watched patiently as Jeffrey slipped into a sleep for the first time in days. Shar suspected he wouldn't sleep long, and certainly not easily, but he had to leave. Slipping from the bed he made he way quietly from the room and down the stairs, pausing at the bottom of them.
Jeffrey hadn't slept since the night in the hospital, and Shar suspected he was only doing so now because he body was too exaughsted to do otherwise. He hadn't eaten much either. He'd drank, of course. Very rarely water, which troubled Shar as much as if he hadn't drank anything at all. Jeffrey was giddy when he drank, and terribly forgetful. It pained Shar to see him giggling, of all things, not because of happiness but because of a lack of angst. Shar had taken to leaving him alone, cleaning up after him, and making sure he ate.
And now it had been a week. Winquist was suposed to call.
Shar picked himself up off the steps and moved toward the living room, plucking the empty scotch and wine bottles from the floor and placing the nearly-gone bottle of vodka back in McKale's liquor cabinet.
Living room. Stupid place to keep alcohol.
Once everything was back in relative order, Shar moved into the kitchen. There wasn't much food left. Jeffrey and McKale had been in Star City for well over a month, and most of what they had left behind (a surprising amount, leading him to believe the trip was not an entirely planned one) had gone bad. Shar refused to leave Jeffrey alone in the house, though, and Jeffrey refused to leave, for any reason.
Shar didn't like depressed Jeffrey. He was infuriating.
They had a bit of cheese left, some juice, bread, biscuits, a couple vegatables. There wasn't much in the way of canned stuff, but there was pasta noodles. They'd get by, until...until...
A clock chimed, the deep ringing booms reverberating a total of twelve times before falling into silence.
Twelve o'clock.
A week, exactly. Finally.
The phone rang.
Shar jumped, wheeling around to face it. Frowning he trotted across the kitchen and plucked it off the wall and pressed it to his ear,"Hello?"
"Ah, good-evening...Shar, is it?"
"Mr. Tah." Winquist.
"Your watch is finished. Should I drop it off, or are you able to come pick it up?"
Shar stirred, switching the phone to his other ear. Jeffrey was drunk, couldn't really drive a car. But it would do him good to get outside again. That also meant waking him up from the first bit of sleep he'd gotten in a week.
"Drop it off."
"Very well, Mr. Tah. I'll be by shortly." There was a click, and the dial tone buzzed in his ear. Shar returned the phone to the wall and turned away. He trotted toward the hall and waiting, staring out the window at the darkness.
Winquist arrived at precisly 12:25.
.:.:.::.:.:.
Shar stared at the list for hours. Ten names in total, having eliminated one (and the forgotten Bishop, who would never again be overlooked).
Iavordar...present day. A necromancer, Shar knew, having looked him up earlier, and again that night. There was no information on his residence or how to contact him.
Kutoth...1888 The murdon, no other information given. Shar couldn't find anything about him, but the name was a dead give away. And the title.
Brennan...1307 A short-lived medieval prince...psuedo-prince. There wasn't much about him either, just that he was an eccentric, tyrannical leader who hadn't lasted very long
Prince Charming...2000, Venial A wolf of Venial. A rather obscure planet that had only been studied from the outside. How to get in? Shar didn't know.
Dr. Krum...2607, earth Another eccentric character, his connection to princely-ness being simply that he...
Dr. Krum.
Dr. Krum
Shar dropped the note and rose to his feet.
He knew...knew there was something familiar about that name. He knew it.
His hand curled around the watch, the paper crinkling in the other.
Would McKale have noticed? Would McKale have known his name? Shar's brow furrowed, and he flicked his gaze down to the watch. Could he...while Jeffrey was sleeping...
No. God no. What if he woke up to find Shar missing, as well as McKale and Cy (and the twins, of course, who Jeffrey had not gotten to know very well. Nor Shar, for that matter). No. He shook his head. He'd just have to wait for...
"Shar?"
Shar snapped his head upward to see Jeffrey stumbling into the living room, clutching his head in one hand, the wall with the other. Shar set the watch and the list on a cushion beside him and rose to his feet, crossing the room quickly. He slung an arm around Jeffrey's waist and led him to the armchair. Jeffrey sat down unsteadily, curling over himself. His elbows pressed into his knees and he rubbed at his eyes.
"Good morning, Jeffrey."
Jeffrey smiled sleepily,"Is it morning, Shar?"
Shar flicked his gaze toward the clock. 5:30. "Yes."
Jeffrey let out a long sigh and collapsed against the back of the chair, legs strewn outward. Ungainly. Shar resisted the urge to wrinkle his nose. Jeffrey twisted around and reached toward the liquor cabinet.
Shar's heart thumped rapidly against his chest,"It's here!"
Jeffrey's hand stilled against the cabinet latch. He stared over his shoulder at him,"What, precisly, Mr. Tah, is 'it'?"
Shar wet his lips and glanced back at the watch, only a moment, so he could turn his attention back to Jeffrey. Jeffrey's gaze followed his own and stopped, lingering on the little, round object.
This one was silver, rather than the soft gold of McKale's. The watch fob was long and thin, not a chain, but rather a long string of tiny segments, pressed so closely together that it seemed like it was one single piece of flexible metal. The hands were black, iron probably, and much simpler than those of the first watch. Oddest of all were the numbers. Roman numerals, as had been on the previous ones, that numbered from I to XIV. One to fourteen. Not one to twelve. Two of the numbers, rather than being stark black against a pale face, were faded silver.
Fourteen numbers. Twelve names in total. Two already caught. That left two names unwritten.
McKale and Kujo.
"The watch,"Jeffrey's voice was soft and breathy. Shar had to strain his ears to hear it.
"The watch,"Shar replied with a nod, striding back to the couch to pick it, and the note, up,"Take a shower, get dressed, eat something, and we'll start."
Jeffrey gazed dully at him, and a long moment of silence passed between them. Finally, he gave a short nod and lifted himself unsteadily from the chair, staggering down the hall. Minutes later the sound of rushing water reached Shar's ears and he let out a sigh, collapsing against the couch with just the barest hint of a smile curling his lips.
.:.:.::.:.:.
Jeffrey came down around an hour later, clad in a customary suit, iron pressed and crisp. His hair was combed and drawn back into a ponytail, and Shar could see the edges of his blad ribbon peeking out against the crook of his neck. He was shaved, clean, and he heartily accepted the sandwhich Shar offered him. Once all was finished they stopped and stared at the watch in silence.
Shar's hand crinkled the paper and he slid it across the table toward Jeffrey,"Your doctor's on the list."
Jeffrey's brow shot to his hairline and he unwrinkled the paper, leaning over it with a frown,"Dr. Krum?"
"Yes."
Indeed, the name was there. Jeffrey tapped a finger against the ink and pushed it away, shaking his head,"No, Mr. Tah, he's not. Although the name is certainly that of Dr. Krum's, the date is incorrect. Dr. Krum would have to be well over two hundred years old."
Shar frowned and drew the paper back to him. 2607. So he would. But..."We have to start somewhere."
"Why...Dr. Krum?"
He was curious. He wanted to know. Coincidence did not exist in such circumstances as these. "It would be logical to assume McKale would have gone into the past, and h- sh- McKale would not have chosen to go anywhere off planet."
"Which leaves...Dr. Krum, Brennan, Kutoth, Memoru, located in the same era and planet as Kutoth, and-"
"It leaves a fair amount, Mr. Tah. McKale has....they have..."
"They've been gone a week."
Jeffrey nodded,"And we must start somewhere."
"Dr. Krum."
Jeffrey paused, stirring in his chair,"McKale greatly prefers the nineteenth century."
"We can go there next, if they're not with Krum." Please, Dr. Krum. He wanted to know.
"And sh...he...they did attempt to visit thirteen-oh-seven upon first recieving the watch."
Shar stirred, frowning.
"Not Dr. Krum, Shar. Anyone but Dr. Krum. McKale would not visit the twenty-seventh century before the more...classic eras."
"Which one then?"
"...Brennan."
Shar ducked his head and nodded,"And then Krum?"
Jeffrey paused, wet his lips, and nodded,"Very well, Mr. Tah. Shall we be off?"
Shar nodded and they rose from their seats, watch, and note, in hand. They clambered up the stairs and stepped inside McKale's room. Shar drew the watch out, holding it between them, and turned the knob. Jeffrey grasped his shoulder, and they exchanged a nod before Shar pressed down on the button.
.:.:.::.:.:.
They dropped onto something hard and solid, causing pain to shoot up their ankles. With a oof and a couple yelps they tottered backward. Shar had no trouble in keeping his balance, with his many legs to dispute the shock, but Jeffrey lost his footing long enough tumbled backwards clumsily. He whinced as he hit the...floor, sucking in a breath of air between his teeth.
Shar's curled the watch fob around his hand and stretched the other one out to Jeffrey. He took it gladly, with a nod and sore smile, dusting his pants off when he regained his balance.
"We appear to be in...or rather, on, a castle tower."
"A short castle tower,"Shar noted, peering over the edge. Indeed, they weren't more than a couple stories off the ground. Highly unusual for a castle. In fact, taking a good look at the overall appearance of the castle, or what they could see from where they were, it was rather small. Certainly no more than a quarter of the size of a real castle.
"Shar?"
Shar turned his attention from the petty size of the castle to Jeffrey, cocking his head.
"I believe it might be best to take on a more discrete form,"Jeffrey lifted a hand and pointed across the way at a pair of armor-clad men. They hadn't seen them, but Jeffrey suspected that they wouldn't take the appearance of a purple dragon 'taur as a comforting one.
Shar smilled and nodded, and, in seconds, shivered his way into the form of a young human, complete with black hair, tanned skin, and his glowing blue eyes. Which he couldn't do anything about without his goggles.
Hopefully no one would notice.
.:.:.::.:.:.
Morning came, and Cy still had not found them. Where, by god's green earth, could they have gotten off to? There was no way they could have gone this far in such short time. She hadn't been gone that long.
But morning had come, and there was still no sign of McKale, the twins, or Prince Brennan anywhere.
They couldn't have left. There was no way any one of them new how to fix a watch, let alone one that doubled as a time machine. They had to be somewhere.
Perhaps, and it wasn't really that improbable of a possibility, Brennan had managed to get McKale to bring him back to the castle. She wasn't all that terribly bright after all, and Brennan could very well have had a few of his guards out looking for them while she was gone. Good god, what in god's name led her to believe leaving them on there own was a good idea.
There was only one thing for it then. She had to get back to the castle.
Maybe they had managed to keep themselves from being beheaded.