because I’ve been useful to him.
Anything that was enjoyable about that moment is swallowed up by my embarrassment.
Win doesn’t seem to have noticed. He drums the top of the satchel, and then draws in a breath. His gaze slides back to meet mine.
“Skylar,” he says. “I want you to come with me.”
10.
I ’m still a little off-balance, or I’d probably realize what Win means right away. “With you—to the hotel?” I say, and he laughs.
“To France ,” he says.
To France. To Paris, July 27, 1830.
I flash back to my first trip through time: the lurching, dizzying fall, the barrage of light and sound, sand and blood. My fingers drop to my pocket, pressing the bracelet’s beads against my hip.
“I have to find the trail Jeanant left for us,” Win is saying. “If we get there quickly enough, maybe you’ll be able to sense what else he’s done.”
I’m already shaking my head. “I don’t know if I can do that again.”
“Of course you can,” Win says. “It’s really not so bad after the first time.”
“But—there’s going to be a revolution going on.” Not just spears and arrows, but guns. Bullets flying. Bayonets stabbing.
“We won’t jump right into the middle of it,” Win says. “I’m not careless. We’ll start at the beginning, before the fighting gets going, and keep away from the most dangerous areas. The cloth has all the information I’ll need for that.”
And what if Jeanant’s trail leads us right into those dangerous areas?
“You don’t really need me now, do you?” I point out. “You know where to go, you have his clues or whatever. You’re trained for all this time-traveling stuff. I’ll have no idea what I’m doing.”
Win lets out a huff of a breath. “I know,” he says. “But I’ll be there to make sure you’re okay. And I might still need you. If the others have spent the last few weeks searching and not even gotten this far—as far as you got me in just an afternoon—the rest of his trail might not be any easier to follow. I won’t know until I get there. If we get there, and the clues are obvious, I can bring you right back.”
He pauses, and points to the sky. “ They wouldn’t think any Earthling could do half as much against them as you’ve already done. They think they have everyone here completely under their control. But you’ve proven them wrong. Doesn’t it feel good to . . . to know this time you’re changing things for yourself instead of letting them shove you around?”
Remembering what he said this morning about getting them to take him seriously, I wonder how much he’s talking for himself as well as me. But the thought of slipping away from those watchful eyes up there, of staging a goldfish rebellion, does give me a little thrill.
If it’s really that easy for him to take me there and back . . . I guess from his perspective, it is. Step into the cloth, one second here, one second gone without a trace.
Like Noam.
My breath catches in my throat. If I go with Win, whisk away through time, it’ll be just like Noam. Tonight would be that night all over again. Like Win just said, his companions have been searching for Jeanant’s weapon for weeks. How long would it take us, even if my sensitivity helps? While my parents worry, and then panic, and maybe even start to mourn . . .
It’ll kill them.
“It doesn’t matter,” I say. “I can’t. I can’t just take off and leave everyone wondering what’s happened to me.”
“They won’t even know you’ve left,” Win says, sounding amused now. “It’s time traveling. No matter how long we’re gone for, I can bring you back just a few seconds after we left when we’re done.”
Of course. I rub my temples. I’m in the habit of thinking time means something. For Win’s people, it’s nothing at all.
“It’s not just for me, and for you,” Win says. “It’s for your whole world . As soon as we find that weapon, as soon as we can destroy the
Anything that was enjoyable about that moment is swallowed up by my embarrassment.
Win doesn’t seem to have noticed. He drums the top of the satchel, and then draws in a breath. His gaze slides back to meet mine.
“Skylar,” he says. “I want you to come with me.”
10.
I ’m still a little off-balance, or I’d probably realize what Win means right away. “With you—to the hotel?” I say, and he laughs.
“To France ,” he says.
To France. To Paris, July 27, 1830.
I flash back to my first trip through time: the lurching, dizzying fall, the barrage of light and sound, sand and blood. My fingers drop to my pocket, pressing the bracelet’s beads against my hip.
“I have to find the trail Jeanant left for us,” Win is saying. “If we get there quickly enough, maybe you’ll be able to sense what else he’s done.”
I’m already shaking my head. “I don’t know if I can do that again.”
“Of course you can,” Win says. “It’s really not so bad after the first time.”
“But—there’s going to be a revolution going on.” Not just spears and arrows, but guns. Bullets flying. Bayonets stabbing.
“We won’t jump right into the middle of it,” Win says. “I’m not careless. We’ll start at the beginning, before the fighting gets going, and keep away from the most dangerous areas. The cloth has all the information I’ll need for that.”
And what if Jeanant’s trail leads us right into those dangerous areas?
“You don’t really need me now, do you?” I point out. “You know where to go, you have his clues or whatever. You’re trained for all this time-traveling stuff. I’ll have no idea what I’m doing.”
Win lets out a huff of a breath. “I know,” he says. “But I’ll be there to make sure you’re okay. And I might still need you. If the others have spent the last few weeks searching and not even gotten this far—as far as you got me in just an afternoon—the rest of his trail might not be any easier to follow. I won’t know until I get there. If we get there, and the clues are obvious, I can bring you right back.”
He pauses, and points to the sky. “ They wouldn’t think any Earthling could do half as much against them as you’ve already done. They think they have everyone here completely under their control. But you’ve proven them wrong. Doesn’t it feel good to . . . to know this time you’re changing things for yourself instead of letting them shove you around?”
Remembering what he said this morning about getting them to take him seriously, I wonder how much he’s talking for himself as well as me. But the thought of slipping away from those watchful eyes up there, of staging a goldfish rebellion, does give me a little thrill.
If it’s really that easy for him to take me there and back . . . I guess from his perspective, it is. Step into the cloth, one second here, one second gone without a trace.
Like Noam.
My breath catches in my throat. If I go with Win, whisk away through time, it’ll be just like Noam. Tonight would be that night all over again. Like Win just said, his companions have been searching for Jeanant’s weapon for weeks. How long would it take us, even if my sensitivity helps? While my parents worry, and then panic, and maybe even start to mourn . . .
It’ll kill them.
“It doesn’t matter,” I say. “I can’t. I can’t just take off and leave everyone wondering what’s happened to me.”
“They won’t even know you’ve left,” Win says, sounding amused now. “It’s time traveling. No matter how long we’re gone for, I can bring you back just a few seconds after we left when we’re done.”
Of course. I rub my temples. I’m in the habit of thinking time means something. For Win’s people, it’s nothing at all.
“It’s not just for me, and for you,” Win says. “It’s for your whole world . As soon as we find that weapon, as soon as we can destroy the
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