I Need Your Help.

"Hang up and get some rest," Amelia gently answered the phone and heard a joyful laugh in return.

"Don't worry, I will have time to sleep during the flight. Although I'd rather teleport right now. You know, I'm sure I can do it," Marcus made a tempting offer.

"I don't doubt your ability, but teleporting across the ocean is somehow overwhelming, dear. I don't want your body to be under such stress. You better rest like a normal person. And I will wait for you fresh and full of strength."

"Oh, does my wife have any active plans for me on her birthday?" the man's voice was low and seductive; Amelia leaned her back against the wall, threw back her head and closed her eyes. Yes, she had very busy plans for him.

Marcus had only gone to America on a business trip two weeks ago, and it seemed like an eternity for her. From the feeling of missing him, she began to have headaches that intensified and then disappeared, but she did not devote her husband to these details, because she knew that even half a day would not pass - Marcus would be here.

"How is Elena? Sleeping?"

"Sure! She fell asleep in five minutes when I said that dad would come in the morning. She decided that the sooner she slept, the sooner the morning would come. You know, I think she loves you more than me."

Marcus on the other end of the line could clearly imagine his wife pouting her lips in resentment. "Don't worry, I'll make up for the lack of attention for Elena. I'm sure you will like my hugs better. Playing games with me is much more interesting, isn't it?"

"Are you provoking me into obscene comments, dear?"

"Why, I directly propose to discuss our plan for the coming night," shivers ran down the woman's spine from his velvet tone. Amelia slid down the wall and sat on the floor, in two weeks she realized that the best position to talk to Marcus is lying down. Whatever topic they discussed, in the end, the conversation boiled down to one single topic.

"Stop teasing me. I missed you as much as well. Okay, I'm hanging up. See you!"

"See you, my love. I'll bring you a couple of new things from Victoria's Secret," still teased the man at last.

"You are unbearable, Marcus!"

"And you love me for being what I am. Okay, I'm off. It's time to board."

"Stay safe. Love you." Marcus hang up, and Amelia stared at the phone for a couple of minutes with a smile on her face.

Having decided that she, too, should get a good rest before tomorrow's active day, she got up and went to the closet to get a fresh shower towel. But before the woman had time to take a few steps, a sharp pain pierced her head. Amelia staggered and sank to the floor, clutching her temples. Her eyes darkened, her ears ringed, as if she was in the center of a large bell, which was being desperately pounded with a hammer.

Multi-colored pictures rushed like a whirlwind in her mind; replacing each other with such speed that Amelia could hardly contain nausea that had rolled over her.

"No, I don't want to, no more! I don't want to see this!" the woman curled up on the floor, curling her legs up to her chest. For more than three years, the visions did not bother her, and it was as if they decided to return all at once, blowing up the brain with a deafening amount of information that had been accumulating all this time.

Amelia didn't know how long it took before her heart and mind had calmed down. She slowly got up from the floor and brought her hand to her face, feeling something dripping down her skin. Red liquid remained on the tips of the fingers.

The woman went into the bathroom, turned on the light, washed off the blood that had flowed from her nose, and looked in the mirror. "Well, girl? This is it, right?" she asked her pale reflection, "Now let's see where our decisions have led us to."

Amelia froze, as if listening to some sound, her body went numb. She jumped out of the bathroom and rushed to the door of the next room, swinging it open. The little crib where the baby was supposed to sleep was empty. Elena was gone.

The woman carefully checked every corner of the room, as the girl had a habit of climbing into various secluded spots, but everything was in vain. She went back to her bedroom and checked every inch of the room as well, calling her daughter's name, but the result remained the same.

There was only one room left - Marcus's former bedroom, located at the end of the corridor on the same floor.

Elena had a strange obsession with this room. The girl was constantly drawn there, but when they went inside, the baby would forget what she wanted and would lose interest. There were no children's toys or anything unusual in that room. It was the most ordinary bedroom - with furniture and a wardrobe for clothes. There was a small table near the bed, in the drawers of which some of Amelia's things were kept, those that she rarely used.

Awareness washed over the woman like a cold shower. Amelia jumped out into the corridor and felt the floor recede from under her feet. It seemed that the surrounding space was twisting into a tight spiral, depriving the sense of coordination.

Leaning her palm on the wall, Amelia headed to the desired room, but the usual corridor seemed to become three times longer. When she finally grabbed the doorknob and the lock on the door clicked, time stopped.

The room was filled with cold blue light. The girl was standing in the center of the room, and an open pendant with a sparkling gem, its bright light filled the space, hung in the air above her head.

"Elena," Amelia cautiously called out her daughter so as not to frighten the child, but the girl did not react.

Blue ribbons of light descended from the gem and began to envelop the child's body like a cocoon.

"Elena, give me your hand! Now!" Amelia cried out and rushed to the child, but the viscous air did not allow her to take a step. "Elena, look at me!"

The girl turned her head and looked at her mother. The child's eyes were black as an abyss. She froze for a couple of seconds, and then raised her hand and touched the gem.

A bright flash blinded Amelia for a moment, she looked around, but there was only a white void around.

"Elena! Elena, answer me! Where are you?"

"Nowhere..." the air rustled behind the woman as Amelia turned. "Everywhere...," again she heard the same whisper from nowhere and from all sides at the same time.

Amelia twisted her head to the sides, trying not to panic. If Elena accidentally opened the time corridor and both of them were sucked in, that was a big problem.

At one point in space, Amelia noticed a flickering light and walked towards it. With each step the light grew brighter, its hue was turning from white to blue, until the outline of a child appeared in the fog.

"My girl!" Amelia rushed to her daughter and immediately stopped.

Elena was standing still with her head bowed; her arms and legs covered the lines of symbols, like rings of snakes. It was they who were the source of light, and it seemed that these signs were burned on the girl's body.

Amelia covered her mouth with her hand to stifle a scream as Elena lifted her head to look at her mother. Instead of pupils, stars shone in the girl's eyes. Two blue abysses filled the white, and in the center, irises, similar to galaxies, slowly rotated in a stream.

"Who are you?" Amelia whispered as she watched the blurry silhouette of another creature appear in the air over Elena.

"Too... little... strength... still... little...," sounds intertwined in the white space, layering on top of each other.

Elena bent her head and opened her mouth, her lips did not move, "Do you want... an answer?" asked the voice, the child's eyes never blinked even a single time. She raised her hand and held out her palm to Amelia.

"What's the price?"

The corners of the child's lips twitched, she liked the question of this female human. "The future…"

"Whose future? Mine? Someone else's? Or everyone?" asked Amelia, but there was no answer to her question. "I myself can see the future. What will you give for my price?"

Elena, like a wooden doll on strings, straightened her head and tilted it on the other side, "The past..."

"What kind of past? Whose past?"

The air around quivered, blue flashes became uneven.

"The past of the... the first... guardian... We are running out of time... Do you want it or not?"

Amelia squeezed her cold fingers. The creature that was in Elena didn't look hostile. The woman reached out her hand and placed it in the girl's palm...

. . .

The first rays of dawn lit up the tree crowns. The forest was slowly awakening from a deep sleep.

The woman looked at the child, who was snuffling innocently on her bed, as if nothing had happened that night.

Amelia covered sleeping Elena with a blanket, tucked up the edges, and left her room, quietly closing the door. The woman went down to the floor below and walked into the adjacent wing of the building.

After passing several similar doors, she stopped opposite one of them and knocked softly.

Some time later, the door was opened by a man with tousled hair, he looked sleepy, his trousers were worn backwards as if he was still at the mercy of the Morpheus when he put them on.

"Amelia?" Simon asked in surprise, his voice was still hoarse from sleep, "Why aren't you sleeping? Something happened?" the man's drowsiness vanished when he saw the woman's serious face, "Something happened with Elena?" his confusion was replaced by anxiety.

"Brian," Amelia rarely addressed him by name, the last time was at her and Marcus's wedding a little over three years ago, "Remember when you said that I could turn to you if I needed help?"

"Yes," he replied, his back stiffened with apprehension.

Amelia smiled, but her eyes were filled with pain and grief, "I'm sorry in advance. Brian Richards, I need your help... Help me kill Marcus."