“We believe that the issues we’re seeing today, the fertility crisis, the ley lines fading, the increased natural disasters, webelieve they’re happening across all time,” explained Magistra Verin. “if you were to go back to the Second World War, or the Victorian age, or the time they built the pyramids, you’d find the people there having the same problems.”
“So, what are we supposed to do about it,” asked an elderly witch sat in the front row.
“We believe the source of magic is where the leylines branched out from originally before settling into the pattern we recognise today. Something has damaged it. The team’s theory is that if we direct enough power into the breach, we can fix it, but it will take a lot of power and therein lies the catch 22 - we don’t have any magical beings powerful enough to do this anymore. With the leylines fading, we would have to send back hundreds of magic casters and we don’t have the power to do this either. This is where you all come in.” She took a deep breath, her eyes scanning across the faces in front of her. “We require three carriers. Witches with strong enough wells to collect donated power from hundreds of witches across the world. These carriers will travel with a small team of magical scientists and take the collected magic back to the time of the breach and repair it."
My stomach dropped.
Three carriers. Of course. Ofcoursethis was why we'd been summoned. Not a spot check. Not some administrative formality. They needed us because we were the only ones who could hold that much magic without burning out.
I looked around the room with new eyes. Eight, maybe nine other witches. All carriers, then. All of us here because we had wells deep enough to contain power that would kill anyone else.
The irony wasn't lost on me. There weren't many of us to begin with. The magical community had always treated carriers with suspicion—we were the ones who could theoretically drain magic from anyone we touched, store it, use it. Dangerous.Untrustworthy. Most carriers learned early to keep their heads down and their hands to themselves.
I'd registered because it was the law. I'd submitted to the spot checks because refusing would have made things worse. But I'd never used my ability. Not since the first time as a small child, when it was spotted and I was identified. Most of us were weak—able to hold a trickle of power for a few minutes at most. The really strong ones, the ones who could actually wield borrowed magic, were vanishingly rare, and I didn’t even know if I could do that.
A woman with the grey bun spoke for the first time. Her voice was steady, but tight. "What happens to the carriers?"
Magistra Verin didn't look away. "You'll be physically transported to the past with a team of scientists and travel to the place we believe the source is located. Then you’ll fix the breach, and you will return to this time."
"And if something goes wrong?"
"Then you stay there. Forever."
The room went very still.
"We'll need three carriers," Magistra Verin continued. "We cannot transport more than six people. The council has pre-selected you based on magical capacity and... other factors. But we need volunteers. This is not compulsory. We cannot order you, only ask for your help"
She paused, and the weight of what she wasn't saying pressed down on all of us.
"Understand—if we fail, the world ends. Not in a century. In our lifetimes. Will you volunteer?"
I didn't think about it. Didn't weigh the consequences or consider the risks.
There was nothing tying me to the present. I was already living with loss. I was used to pain. What was one more sacrifice whenI'd already lost everything that mattered? At least this way I might actually do some good for once.
I raised my hand.
Outside, the rain had stopped. The sky was still grey. The city looked the same as it always did—tired, worn, struggling on despite everything.
I walked back to the tram stop. My phone buzzed. A message from the council with a schedule. Training times. Meeting locations. A list of things I needed to arrange before the mission.
I should call someone. Tell them I was leaving. Say goodbye.
But there was no one left to call.
Dad hadn't spoken to me since the Savoy. Mum was dead. I had colleagues, not friends. A job, not a life.
I was twenty-six years old, and I had nothing tying me to this world.
So maybe I'd go back twenty five thousand years and try to save it for everyone else.
CHAPTER 2
ELLIE
The 4x4 crunched to a stop on cobblestones dusted with snow.
I stayed in my seat for a moment after the engine cut, staring out at Zamosc through the window. The old town square almost looked staged for tourists though we seemed to be the only ones here. Renaissance facades in faded pastels, arcades neat under a heavy grey sky. Fresh snow softened every edge and muffled every sound. It was beautiful in that deliberate, preserved way, like someone had decided this place should stay frozen exactly as it was.
