William paused before he opened the door. He could hear voices inside, two. Male and female. He knelt down and gently placed his ear to the wood.

“Jukman! You can’t keep skirting around this. I’ll not be treated like some supplicant.”

“Around what? This web is so complex, I wouldn’t even know where to skirt around.”

There was a weighted silence. William looked up and down the palace hall. The design of the place was of finely cut beige sandstone and intricate tapestries, only interrupted by supports that bulged from the walls every six steps or so. From each support was a torch, but at this time of night, few were lit. He could see no one.

Olan opened the door with a slightly raised eyebrow. I thought you were above eavesdropping, it said. “Come in. We’ve just started the meeting.” William bobbed his head inoffensively and went in.

Jukman was sitting cross-legged on a large cushion. He looked at William blankly. “You have missed quite a bit. You’re very late.”

“Sorry.” William sat on the floor next to Olan’s chair. “Could you catch me up?”

“Yes, yes. Of course.” Olan waved her hand at Jukman and plucked some olives from the platter beside her. The tray was gold and sat on a little stool.

“I was explaining the path that I have been taking these past months, in detail. But I will make it short. As you all know, I have the ability to travel through time and space. Like all of my kin, I expalin it only with reluctance and in service of a great need.

"To me, it is a web, all radiating from a single point. I can travel along different strands, from the start. A normal spiderweb consists of lines going outwards, with smaller strands connecting them. These smaller strands represent my ability to traverse to and from timelines at will. Although to be clear I am not exactly restricted. I can reach any strand at any point in that strand at any time. All of this inter-travelling can be fraught with issues that can… snap the thread, so I keep travel simple and to a minimum.”

“So, we are just a timeline? I single strand?”

“In a way yes, but also not quite. The timelines are linked in terms of space, of matter. Each timeline is not a new universe, simply this one manipulated in a different way. I could not take an item from one timeline to another for example.”

“Just yourself.”

“Exactly.”

“You say this web is radiating. From where? From the beginning of time?”

“No. No… that is where… I, um.” Jukman’s focus broke and his face paled slightly.

Olan put her hand on William’s shoulder. She looked worried, but not surprised. “William. You know why I was so angry with him? Why I was so insistent on leaving and teaching him a lesson?”

“Yes, because he destroyed-“

“Yes, that is what I thought.” She took her hand back and wrung it guiltily. “But we were- I was… mistaken.”

“What? How?”

Jukman took a sudden, deep breath and wiped his face. “I’m here again.” He looked at William and Olan. “Did I interrupt something?”

William looked up at Olan. She shook her head. William looked back at Jukman. “No, please continue.”

“My ‘web’ radiates from a more recent point. Around eight months ago.”

“And how many strands are there? It is my understanding that you are the spider in this scenario.”

Jukman grinned slightly. “Yes, you could say that.”

“So how large is the web?”

“It is quite extensive.”

“Jukman.”

He shook his head. “You must understand. I have been working on this web for a very long time. For so long that I know if I answer that question with a number, a true one at least, there will be undesirable consequences.”

“So this is all just an orchestrated play to you? We are-“

“Essential!” Jukman stood up with a sudden passion. “I need you! I cannot tell you why, and for what, but I do need you.”

William didn't flinch. “Well, that brings us to the essential question. Why have you done all this? What thing requires such an intricate dance to avoid?”

Jukman laughed, his eyes were wide and manic. “You don’t even know! You- you-“ Jukman screamed and grabbed Olan’s tray.

“Jukman!”

He threw it at the balcony, where it and all its delicacies disappeared over the edge. “Shut up! I’m sick and tired of-“ He stopped shouting and put his hands to his face. A wretched sob ripped from him and he sat back down. “Go. I'm done with explaining. Please go.” He looked at Olan through tears. "Perhaps tomorrow?

“Of course. But we should leave,” Olan said.

Olan closed the door behind her. The hallway was empty. “That was just dreadful.”

William nodded, but could not help adding. “What if that was an act?”

Olan hushed him and walked quickly to their rooms. Once their door was closed she turned on him. “How dare you?”

“But Olan you must see. How are we to trust him at all? Perhaps in his endless calculation, that scene was the only way to push us. The only way to influence us down a certain path.”

Olan shook her head. “He told me that his powers are fading. That he is getting these flashes from the past that he’s never gotten before. You saw it happen in there, when he went blank.”

“How are we to know what is truly happening in his head? Do you not think he has had time to learn to act?”

“William, your suspicion is warranted. I see why you think this, I do. But you did not know Jukman from before.”

“Explain then.”

“In the early days Jukman was… a reserved man, yes, but he was so kind. He would do anything for the people he loved. He was sometimes stubborn brute to be fair, always seeming to know what was best for you in spite of your protests, but he was genuine. He cared. And he was always cool, calm, collected. I bet every time he lost an argument, he would just replay it and win, or whenever he won an argument and regretted it afterwards, you know. He always seemed to say the right thing.”

Olan laid on the bed. The room was the same layout as Jukman’s, if a bit reduced. “Now, he’s changed. I barely recognize him.”

“And why do we trust him?”

Olan looked at William sadly. “He’s in pain, terrible pain. Why would he be going through all this if not to help us? Why destroy himself if not to prevent the destruction of the people he loves? I can’t see any other reason Jukman would do such a thing.”

William sat down next to Olan and looked out to their balcony. “Maybe we need to be manipulated, for the greater good.”

“Exactly. I trust Jukman enough to let him lead the way. I say we be his good little sheep and follow what he has set out.”

William shrugged. “We haven’t seen the future as he has, we can't. We would be blind in the ocean without him.” He laid next to Olan. “But if he is trying to save us, why does he have to hide the truth? What could be so terrible?”

Olan didn’t respond.

**********

Haritek blew a ring from his pipe smoke. It flew lazily into Nabhan’s face, who barely seemed to notice.

“I don’t like it Haritek. We’re being played like fiddles.”

“But what joyous songs we are making.” Haritek laid back on the lounge. The brothel room was dark and murky. They had been there for many hours.

Nabhan scoffed. “We were supposed to have killed him. Olan could have done it. Olan could have.”

“But alas, it was not meant to be. Our time is ended so that theirs can begin. I say good luck to them.”

“Oh, shut up with this pouting nonsense. I know you have something stirring. You are putting on a show.”

“Perhaps. Maybe.” Haritek made eye contact with Nabhan through the smoke. His eyes shone as brightly as the green gem sitting on his chest. They were as cold as the grave. “Do you think she can hear us? Through the air.” Haritek laughed, but his eyes didn’t change. “I wouldn’t put it past her.”

“No one is listening Haritek. I would bet she is sleeping at this hour, in any case.” Nabhan returned his stare.

“Maybe she is dreaming. Of cheese and wine, I'm sure.” Haritek breathed deeply from his pipe and let out a sputtering cough.

“Pft.” Nabhan waved him away. “Where is that whore? I’m ready for another go!”

**********

Jukman knocked on the apothecary’s door. It was a moonless night, and almost pitch black except for Jukman’s torch. When the door swung open at Jukman’s touch, he saw the man was dead.

He could only see a few steps into the room, but that was more than enough. Black blood was pooled everywhere. It had drained somewhat through the gaps in the floorboards, but the amount was so thick that the wood was barely visible under its dried and flaking coat.

Jukman stepped inside. The place was much the same as it was before, except for a few jars and books being missing. Jukman’s request had certainly consumed all of the man’s resources. He pulled a rag from his coat to mask the scent. It was overwhelming, but Jukman was used to it.

The chemist was a few steps from the door, crumpled against the reception desk. His body was withered and small, and terribly rotten. His clothes were soaked with his blood completely, every inch of him would have been pouring when the poison started to work.

“I’m sorry my poor fellow, but we all have our roles to play.” Jukman walked into the lab room, where his commission was waiting. A beaker filled with a pale, glowing, white liquid sat alone on the table. Tendrils of grey shifted around in the mixture, which was so cold that droplets of condensation were dripping from its container steadily. It almost looked alive.

Jukman approached the beaker, its pale light shining in his eyes. “And you have done a valiant job.”