Page 34 of Destined to Fight

She smiled genuinely at him and then turned to Virginia. “What should I call you?”

“My name is Virginia Jobe, but you may call me Ginna.”

The name felt classic and strong, and it fit her well.

“Ginna, will you honor me by being my mentor?”

Ginna stood with a smile and walked around to her. She grasped Kelly’s hands for a moment and then pulled her into a hug. Kelly wasn’t much of a hugger, but this felt different, like a mother’s hug.

Ginna looked up at her, eyes bright with excitement and kindness. “Yes, child, I will be your mentor!”

Kelly hugged her again, almost crying with joy. She had no explanation for it, but this just felt right. She felt like it was the beginning of something great.

As she straightened from the hug, another man walked into the hall. He was short, shorter than Ginna, and plump. He wore a brightly colored rainbow robe, reminding Kelly of a beach ball.

Thankfully, Ginna saved Kelly from any embarrassment and made introductions.

“Oh, Mr. Perkins, lovely to see you here.”

He seemed surprised to see her, but maintained his composure. “Virginia,” he said, in both a greeting and a statement.

“So sorry to waste your time, old friend, but Kelly has chosen me as her mentor, so you can go about your business.”

He looked at Kelly and Kade for clarification.

“Aye, Mr. Perkins, Ginna speaks the truth. Ye will be compensated for yer travel and yer time. Please do help yerself to breakfast, too.”

The man’s eyes lit up at the mention of food. “Well, don’t mind if I do,” he declared with a bright smile, unaffected by the fact that he’d not been chosen as a mentor.

Ginna stifled a laugh and made her way back to her seat. Kelly followed her lead, sitting between Kade and Fabian again. Her pancakes were cold, but she didn’t mind much. She’d eaten better in the past couple of days than she had since she’d left home at eighteen.

That reminded her. “Kade, I need to call my dad. I haven’t posted on my blog in a few days, and I usually call him from the coffee shop every couple days just to check in. Without the call or a blog post, he will worry.”

“No problem, he is about six hours behind us here. If ye call him after yer training with Fabian, you’ll catch him in the morning.”

“I usually call him late at night, but I guess that will work. I don’t want him to think something happened to me.” Homesickness struck her suddenly but passed as soon as she acknowledged it. “What do you mean by ‘training’?”

“Ginna will train ye in mage things, and Fabian and I will train ye in self-defense.”

“Oh…great,” she replied, trying and failing to produce any hint of enthusiasm.

Kelly turned to Ginna, who was enjoying her breakfast. “So what exactly is a timekeeper? Saying I have the power to rewrite history is a bit daunting.”

Mr. Perkins perked up from his plate, stuttering, “A-a-a timekeeper? She is a timekeeper?”

“Shit,” Fabian muttered as he got up and helped the man from his seat. “Asmund, will you please show our friend out? He’ll need an adjustment to his memory.”

Asmund appeared in the entrance to the hall. “Of course.” He smiled at Mr. Perkins and took the poor man’s arm.

“I swear I will not tell a soul; you can let me be, no need to take my memories.”

Asmund just grunted at him, and the two men disappeared.

“You’re going to take his memory just for knowing?”

“Aye, but not all of it, just since he arrived here,” Kade answered.

Ginna raised her eyebrows at Kelly in surprise, then looked between Fabian and Kade. “She really knows nothing.”

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