The Wicked Passage (A Blake Wyatt Adventure) by N.M. Singel Page A

a vent or the loudspeaker.
    “Hurry!” the voice commanded.
    “Chill out!” She opened the drawer. “So you say this watch thing is behind all these folders?”
    “Yes. Just don’t open the cover!”
    “I need to find it first,” she snapped. “Oh, wait, here it is. Wow! This thing looks really old.” She examined the strange markings etched on the gold cover.
    “It is very old. Hold the past gently, for the future will be born from each tick of the clock.”
    “Huh?”
    “How could I have missed the prophecy? You must have been written into the Chronicle of the Rellium long before I knew what it meant,” the voice continued.
    “What are you talking about?”
    “I’ll explain later. Place the watch on the floor and carefully open the cover.”
    “You just told me not to open it.”
    “I know what I told you. Just do as I say.”
    “All right, already.” She gently placed the watch on the gray tile floor.
    “Please, open the cover and step back.”
    Erica unloaded her pack on a desk and knelt next to the old watch. She picked it up again and studied the strange lion or bird or whatever that was etched on the cover. “Hey, I’ve seen this picture before.”
    “Of course you have. Now do as you’ve been told!”
    Erica quickly returned the watch to the floor. The voice sounded strangely familiar, but not one she had ever heard before. She slowly opened the cover and pushed herself back. Nothing happened.
    “So what’s this thing supposed to do, anyway?” The voice didn’t answer. “Hello? Are you still here, mister?”
    No answer.
    “I must be losing it,” she said to herself. “A voice with no body. Yeah, right.”
    She reached to pick up the watch and saw its hands spinning backwards faster and faster until she saw exactly what had happened to her brother. It was like she was surrounded by a movie in reverse. Howling sounds vibrated through her.
    “Blake!” She saw her brother dodge flames from a deranged giant in the middle of this room. “Blake!” He couldn’t hear her.
    Then she saw an old man cowering in the corner of the classroom. The same voice returned. “Close the cover!”
    The noise intensified. “What?”
    “Close the cover of the watch!”
    She snapped it closed. The movie vanished, and the howling stopped. She tried to touch the screen to see if the movie was real, but nothing was there, just the classroom as it had been when she walked in.
    The man inhaled, closed his eyes, then let it out. “Zounds! A bit too close for these old bones.” He extended his trembling hand. “Leopold Wyatt, your uncle.”
    Eyes wide, Erica didn’t take his hand. She couldn’t move. “How did you…?”   She stammered, trying to finish her thought.
    “Ah, yes, yes, yes.” The man dropped his hand. “This must be terribly confusing for you. I apologize for this impromptu meeting, but I had no choice.”
    “Uncle Leopold?” Erica asked, her thoughts in a jumble. “I never heard of you before.”
    “No time for formalities. We must get to your brother before it’s too late.” He snatched the pocket watch from her hand.
    Erica looked around. Could all this be real? Mom never mentioned any uncles. Besides her mom and brother, she had no family. “I don’t believe you’re my uncle.”
    “Yes, Miss Wyatt, I am. Now chop-chop. No time to spare. Young Blakemore needs our help.”
    “How do you know his real name?”
    The man continued to turn the dials on the old watch, staring at the timepiece with a concentration that made her feel invisible.
    She waved her hand in front of his face. “Like hellooo! I said, how--”
    “Please, you mustn’t dawdle. We must get ready.”
    “For what?”
    The old man looked at her. “For your place in history, Miss Wyatt.”
    Erica suddenly remembered where she had seen that strange bird-lion thing carved in the watch--in her mother’s closet. Several years before, she had been rummaging through dresses and hats, trying on stuff, when she