The Loop Shop

The Price of Freedom

The blue fire exploded across the glass floor, filling the dark hall with blinding light and a sharp, crackling roar.

Lord Vane threw his arm up to block the glare, his pale face twisting in sudden anger. The white blade of light in his hand flickered and died as thick blue smoke rolled across the ground, blocking him from view.

Maya did not hesitate. She grabbed Julian by the arm and pulled him hard toward the dark shadows near the massive iron throne.

Move! Maya said, her voice sharp and urgent.

Julian scrambled to his feet, running beside her as the blue fire began to clear. Behind them, Lord Vane let out a cold, angry shout that shook the floating clocks in the sky.

You cannot run from me, child, Lord Vane called out through the smoke. The prison belongs to the Vance family. Every stone, every gear, every second of time obeys my command!"

Commander Eleanor Vance and Old Man Marrow scrambled after them, dodging falling pieces of black glass as the floor began to crack open under the pressure of Lord Vane's magic.

Where are we going? Eleanor shouted over the noise, her silver coat flying behind her as she sprinted across the shaking hall. "There is no exit from the inner core!"

"There is one way out," Maya said, not slowing down for a single second. Her dark hair whipped around her face, and her eyes were fixed on a small, heavy iron door set into the back wall behind the black throne. The core control room. If we break the master clock, the loop breaks for good. For everyone.

Julian looked at his sister as they ran. His mind raced. Five years of bleeding in the dark, five years of believing she was sick and dying, all of it had led to this exact moment. He was angry, confused, and hurt, but as he watched her fight with everything she had against the family that stole their lives, he knew one thing for sure. He could not let Lord Vane touch her.

If the master clock breaks, what happens to New Oxford? Julian asked, his voice steady even as the ground shook beneath their boots.

The city returns to the real world, Maya said, glancing back at him with a fierce, confident smile. No more magical pawnshops, no more shadow hounds in the train tunnels, and no more Vance family running our lives from the shadows. But it means we give up our immortal power. We become normal humans. We age, and we die.

Julian did not even have to think about it. "Good. I am tired of living the same day over and over again.

Marrow let out a rough laugh, swinging his massive iron axe to smash a floating clock hand that tried to block their path. Count me in, boy. I am too old to play shopkeeper for another century.

They reached the heavy iron door at the back of the hall. Maya slammed her palm against the metal surface. The door flashed with a bright blue light and clicked open with a loud, heavy sound.

They all tumbled inside just as a beam of white light blasted against the outer wall, melting the stone where they had been standing a second before.

Maya slammed the heavy iron door shut and turned the massive locking wheel, sealing it tight.

Inside, the room was small and circular. In the absolute center stood a giant pillar of glowing glass, filled with hundreds of spinning gold and silver gears. It was the heart of the entire time loop. Every tick of the gears controlled a day in New Oxford, a memory in Julian's head, and a chain around their freedom.

This is it, Maya said, walking slowly toward the glass pillar. She reached out and placed her hand against the warm surface. The master clock. Before anyone else could take a step, the heavy iron door behind them began to melt.

Hot white light hissed against the metal. A deep, heavy pounding echoed through the room as Lord Vane beat against the door from the outside. The steel began to buckle inward under his immense power, groaning under the strain.

He is going to break through in ten seconds, Eleanor said, raising her broken sword with a grim expression on her face. She looked at Julian, her usual cold attitude entirely gone. "If we do this, there is no going back. Lord Vane will kill us the second the glass breaks.

Julian stepped up beside Maya, looking at the spinning gears inside the pillar. He reached out and placed his hand right next to hers on the glass.

Let him try, Julian said.

Maya looked up at him, her dark eyes softening for a brief second. A genuine smile touched her lips, not the sweet, fake smile she used to trick him in their apartment, but a real, honest smile between two people who had finally found the truth.

On three, Maya whispered.

One, Julian said, tightening his grip on the glass.

The iron door gave way with a deafening crash, flying inward in a shower of hot metal sparks. Lord Vane stepped through the smoke, his white eyes burning with cold rage, raising his hand to cast a deadly spell.

Two, Maya said.

Lord Vane unleashed a massive wave of white fire straight across the room.

Three! Julian shouted.

Together, they smashed their fists straight through the glowing glass pillar into the center of the master clock.