Time Creature: Vetumnus #2 (special preview)

Vetumnus takes in a deep breath, letting his shoulders lift, then they drop as he lets the breath out slow. “Ok,” he whispers. “I still intend to remain your husband until the day I die, Moneta. I never wanted to end it, I never wanted to leave you, but I was a coward and ran away. So there is a part of me that knows to expect nothing from this at all. But the part of me that wants to stay and fight is still strong. I have no claim to you, no reason to be forgiven, but so desperately do I want to love you and feel that love in return, I am willing to remain an idiot.”

“Is that what this is?” I ask. “Idiocy?”

Vetumnus smiles gently. “I deserve that.” He then glances back to me. “I want a life with you, a new life. The old one is gone and I know it always will be. I want to let go of the past. It isn’t like me to linger on it. I can’t stop, you know this. I can only go forward.”

“Time makes fools of us all, even you,” I murmur. “But I agree, I would like to let go of the past myself. I don’t want to be angry about it any longer, as much as I want to be. I need to move away from that and try to find some sort of new happiness.”

“Would you try with me then?” Vetumnus whispers. “Is there any way at all you could see me as part of your future?”

“I don’t know,” I murmur. “I haven’t been able to look at the future all my life. I stay in the present, making sure to keep my feet firmly planted. When I try and think about the future, I get so scared.”

Vetumnus reaches out to take hold of my hand. “Ever since I met you, I have always seen you ahead of me and beside me. I see us going through it all together, but of course,” he chuckles, “that is just me being hopeful.”

“I have enjoyed being alone,” I tell him gently, “but even still, I want a family, I want a child who will take over the Archive.” I squeeze onto his hand. “I have this fear that you will leave again any time I consider asking you to be part of my life.”

“You have to remember, I never wanted to leave in the first place. I left because of your horrible little grandmother and her fucking gun.” He then shakes his head. “If only she had given you that letter like she promised!”

I remember the trunk under my bed. “Can you break a lock?”

He stares at me funny. “What?”

I show him into my bedroom, kneeling down to pull the trunk out from under the bed. “This was my grandmother’s. She kept things in it. I’m sure her gun is in here, and maybe she kept the letter so I would never find it.”

“I highly doubt she would keep it,” Vetumnus grumbles. “She probably tossed it into the fire as soon as I was gone.” He kneels down with me, taking the lock in his hand, which rusts then turns to dust.

“That’s still so creepy. You were just holding my hand.” I say as I open the trunk.