to keep us from seeing anyone. Imagine running into yourself.”
“That would be…” Clover couldn’t find the right word.
“Yeah. It was hard enough to get used to my trainees seeing me age two years in a few minutes.”
An hour later, Clover was in the first van again, in her own time with thirty-three-year-old Leanne and Bennett, who’d come to drive them back to the tower.
“What did you think, Clover?” Bennett asked.
“It’s pretty strange. But you already know that, right?”
“I’ll have to take your word for it.”
“You’ve never done it?”
Bennett didn’t look away from the road. “I rely on people like you to fill me in on what’s happening over there.”
“Well, you should try it,” she said. He didn’t say anything else about it, so she didn’t either.
The three of them rode in silence up the elevator in the tower next to the Waverly-Stead building. Clover was getting used to the hanging-box part, at least. On the seventh floor, Bennett got off with her. Leanne stayed on. Her room was on ten.
“My dad must live in this building,” Clover said as Bennett walked with her toward her room. He still stood too close to her. Not enough so that he was actually touching her, but just inside her personal zone. She fought down the same skin crawl she’d felt earlier.
“No. Executioners have their own barracks.”
He followed her into her room and closed the door behind him. For no reason that she could put her finger on, her throat closed up and she gripped Mango’s lead more tightly.
“Leanne has the disc,” she said.
“I know.” Bennett smiled at her. He sat on the edge of the mattress and patted a spot next to him. “We’re going to debrief now. It won’t take long.”
“Okay.” She sat on the chair, which wasn’t nearly far enough away. She wanted to go home.
Trust your instincts
, West had told her. Bennett gave her the creeps. She glanced at the door and decided she had a pretty clear route out of the room if she needed it.
“Who did you talk to on your trip, Clover?”
“Leanne,” she said. “And a Time Mariner who helped me figure out the lift.”
“Okay. What was the Mariner’s name?”
“I don’t know.”
Bennett frowned, his scarred face wrinkled, and he looked ten years older. “Always ask, Clover. Anytime someone talks to you on a trip, you take their name.”
Something else that would have been good to know ahead of time. She didn’t say it. Or ask what the big deal was, since they obviously knew who was traveling at the same time as her. She just wanted him to leave. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t forget again.”
“You have to be told something to forget it,” she said. And then apparently she did care, because she said, “He didn’t take my name, either.”
Bennett wrote something in a small notebook he took from his pocket. “Was Leanne with you the entire time you were on the other side of the portal?”
“Yes.”
“She was never outside your view?”
Clover bit at her thumbnail. She didn’t want to get Leanne in trouble by accidentally saying the wrong thing. “What’s this about?”
“Standard questions, that’s all.”
“She was with me the whole time.”
“Did you read your fortune?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have anything unusual to report?”
Seriously? “I went to orientation at the Academy and ended up time-traveling in a submarine.”
Bennett stood and stretched his back, which Clover was happy to see took him closer to the door and away from her. “Don’t worry, Clover. This will all be second nature before you know it. Someone will come with your suppressant soon, and a doctor will clear you to go home, after you’ve been quarantined for twenty-four hours.”
“Home to my house?”
“Yes. Home to your house. You travel only twice a week. As long as there is no threat of you not returning for your next mission, you can go home. There isn’t that threat, is there?”
She shook her head. She
“That would be…” Clover couldn’t find the right word.
“Yeah. It was hard enough to get used to my trainees seeing me age two years in a few minutes.”
An hour later, Clover was in the first van again, in her own time with thirty-three-year-old Leanne and Bennett, who’d come to drive them back to the tower.
“What did you think, Clover?” Bennett asked.
“It’s pretty strange. But you already know that, right?”
“I’ll have to take your word for it.”
“You’ve never done it?”
Bennett didn’t look away from the road. “I rely on people like you to fill me in on what’s happening over there.”
“Well, you should try it,” she said. He didn’t say anything else about it, so she didn’t either.
The three of them rode in silence up the elevator in the tower next to the Waverly-Stead building. Clover was getting used to the hanging-box part, at least. On the seventh floor, Bennett got off with her. Leanne stayed on. Her room was on ten.
“My dad must live in this building,” Clover said as Bennett walked with her toward her room. He still stood too close to her. Not enough so that he was actually touching her, but just inside her personal zone. She fought down the same skin crawl she’d felt earlier.
“No. Executioners have their own barracks.”
He followed her into her room and closed the door behind him. For no reason that she could put her finger on, her throat closed up and she gripped Mango’s lead more tightly.
“Leanne has the disc,” she said.
“I know.” Bennett smiled at her. He sat on the edge of the mattress and patted a spot next to him. “We’re going to debrief now. It won’t take long.”
“Okay.” She sat on the chair, which wasn’t nearly far enough away. She wanted to go home.
Trust your instincts
, West had told her. Bennett gave her the creeps. She glanced at the door and decided she had a pretty clear route out of the room if she needed it.
“Who did you talk to on your trip, Clover?”
“Leanne,” she said. “And a Time Mariner who helped me figure out the lift.”
“Okay. What was the Mariner’s name?”
“I don’t know.”
Bennett frowned, his scarred face wrinkled, and he looked ten years older. “Always ask, Clover. Anytime someone talks to you on a trip, you take their name.”
Something else that would have been good to know ahead of time. She didn’t say it. Or ask what the big deal was, since they obviously knew who was traveling at the same time as her. She just wanted him to leave. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t forget again.”
“You have to be told something to forget it,” she said. And then apparently she did care, because she said, “He didn’t take my name, either.”
Bennett wrote something in a small notebook he took from his pocket. “Was Leanne with you the entire time you were on the other side of the portal?”
“Yes.”
“She was never outside your view?”
Clover bit at her thumbnail. She didn’t want to get Leanne in trouble by accidentally saying the wrong thing. “What’s this about?”
“Standard questions, that’s all.”
“She was with me the whole time.”
“Did you read your fortune?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have anything unusual to report?”
Seriously? “I went to orientation at the Academy and ended up time-traveling in a submarine.”
Bennett stood and stretched his back, which Clover was happy to see took him closer to the door and away from her. “Don’t worry, Clover. This will all be second nature before you know it. Someone will come with your suppressant soon, and a doctor will clear you to go home, after you’ve been quarantined for twenty-four hours.”
“Home to my house?”
“Yes. Home to your house. You travel only twice a week. As long as there is no threat of you not returning for your next mission, you can go home. There isn’t that threat, is there?”
She shook her head. She
Similar Books
