78. Random Song: Use the shuffle feature on your MP3 player or go to a site like 8tracks.com or Songza.com and pick a playlist. Write something inspired by the first song you hear.

Fly Like an Eagle (by Steve Miller Band)

"Time keeps slipping, slipping, slipping into the future."

Al Fresco grabbed the shadow by its throat and thrust his golden sword into its gut. With a sizzle it wisped away into nothingness. Its companions let loose their eerie, hollow cries, and started to close in on the boy.

He glanced around. His friends were all busy with their own squad of shadowy, evil enemies. He would have to face this alone.

Not for the first time, nor for the last, Al regretted he had ever gone into the forest that windy August morning and found the pocketwatch. Nikolai had told him that even if he hadn't discovered it in the forest, Al would still have found the accursed thing. He said that Al was the chosen King of Time, and that whatever path Alaric Fresco had chosen, it would always lead him to the watch.

If that was the case, this fate thing had a twisted judgment. There was no one less suited to be responsible for a tricky and important thing like Time than Al.

The shadows were reaching out their hands to Al -- if the black gas tendrils they used as hands could be counted as such. The boy backed away, glancing down at his sword.

Embedded within the golden hilt was a simple clockface. No matter what form the pocketwatch took, it always carried along this clockface. It made Al think it was the most important part of the watch.

The time read 2:51.

That was the current time. Nikolai had spouted some overly complicated explanation about the concept of "Real time." Something about that whatever Time Alaric was in was the true time, and everything else was but a vague impression. It had to do with the watch. Since he was the possessor of it, he was King of Time. He could control the minutes as he chose, but he knew there were consequences. He hadn't figured out what those consequences were yet, so he was willing to take the risk.

The nearest shadow reached out to touch him. Al yelped as his flesh began to burn. He chopped off its arm with his sword, but there were too many others. The glint of his golden blade twinkled with reflected light as he swung it to and fro, indiscriminately hacking at the shadows. The afternoon sun did nothing to hurt them -- it made them invisible.

Too many... Alaric thought hopelessly, as they pushed him steadily back against the brick wall.

Nikolai was across the street, his sword slicing through the air in wide arcs as he bellowed Russian insults at the shadows surrounding him. Nearby was his sister, Delaney, using her fencing moves to vaporize the creatures.

It was Delaney's almost-boyfriend Ashton who saw how close Alaric was to being overpowered. He was sprinting towards Alaric, but he wouldn't arrive in time. Al's thumb slid onto the clockface and with one small move, he pushed the hour hand forward. The world seemed to move in slow motion and then...

Alaric Fresco slipped into the future.

A/N: Yeah, another teaser. So many books I want to write...