Hello. Tempus coming your way! Yay for me finally getting to season 4! Yes, I promise some singing.
Chapter 29: Tempus – A Daunting Prospect
The impact jarred my body, but at least I didn't go splat. Luckily, this street was deserted. I waited a bit while my bones healed. Once I was whole again, I gingerly got up. Why in the world would the time portal plop me out in the air above London. I hoped Magnus wasn't dropped from that height as well. I wandered around the city a little bit, trying to remain undetected. Eventually I saw the London Sanctuary, although it bore little resemblance to the future one. I glanced around furtively and then knocked on the door. It opened. A man peered out, looking me up and down with an expression of consternation. He had black hair and eyed me oddly.
"I need to see Dr. Helen Magnus," I told the man standing in the doorway in my best imitation of Magnus's accent. He frowned at my statement.
"You're not from England, are you?" he asked and gestured for me to come inside. Magnus stood facing the opposite way in a complete Victorian dress. I have to say, she looked beautiful.
"How did you know?" I asked.
"Wherever did you get that accent?" he asked and then made a point of looking me up and down. "A young lady in this day and age would ruin her life being seen dressed like that in public!"
Magnus looked up. "Tayla, oh…damn it!"
"The cat pushed me," I replied apologetically.
"James, this is Tayla," she introduced me. "Tayla, James Watson, detective." I inclined my head respectfully. "Tayla," her voice was sharp, "You are not to tell anything to James about our time, or you risk interrupting the timeline."
"I know," I said quietly. Her anger subsided into acceptance. I was here, so she'd better make the best of it.
"James, where would we find a young lady's outfit for her?"
"Don't bother," I said, "I'll stay inside anyway. I don't know how to act in this era, not like you two do."
"I think that's best," Magnus agreed, "Actually…" She looked thoughtful. "I just might have some of my dresses from when I was your age in a closet somewhere…now, if I just knew where to…" She crossed the room and went a short way down the hallway. "Aha! Here they are!" she held one up.
"It's beautiful," I said, admiring it. She handed it to me.
"Put it somewhere you can get to quickly," she said. I raised my eyebrow. "Yeah…never mind on that. Hide it." I took the dress and headed back to the main entrance hall.
"What do you have from the future?" she asked.
"A dagger, by the looks of it," James said. I looked at him, checking that my titanium knife was still concealed in its hiding place.
"How did you know?" I asked.
"Detective, Tayla," Magnus said.
"Right," I smiled. I pulled out my cell phone and offered it to her. No way she was going to let me keep that. She took it.
"Anything else?" she asked.
"No," I shook my head.
"All right then. Change and then I'll do your hair in case you meet someone by chance." I nodded and slipped into an empty room down the hallway to the right. Unraveling the secrets of the dress—that is, how to put it on—took a lot of struggling on my part, but eventually I think I figured it out. Wearing it was an odd feeling, it was like no other dress I had ever worn at home, plus the corset was the most painful thing I'd ever worn. It constricted my breathing and movements. I fought for every breath, feeling like a mouse feels when it's being squeezed to death by a snake. After a few moments of practice, I exited the room, hoping that the dress would cover the plain black shoes from "the future." Magnus looked me over with a critical eye, adjusted a few things, and then reached down and yanked the corset tighter. I winced, muttering, "I never knew you could be so cruel!" She ignored my comment (stolen from Nikola especially to annoy her) and proceeded to do my hair. I think it was a Chignon, but I'm not sure. When she was finished, James looked at me and nodded his approval. Magnus, James, and I moved to another room. She pulled open a drawer and took out two old fashioned guns to arm herself with.
"I must warn you, James, things are a bit different in the future. Tayla hasn't grown up with the phrase 'children must be seen, not heard,' so forgive her tongue." She paused. "All right," she said, "Let's get a move on. He'll still be in the city but not for long."
"The Adam Worth from your time," James said, "He's coming here for what reason?"
"Open the door. Open it now. I'll throttle ya," someone said, and we all jumped. We stared at the door, Magnus cocking the gun behind her back. There was a bang on it, like someone hit it with their fist.
"Sir—" the butler outside began.
"Look, I'm not joking," the man outside said, "You'll end up in the garden. Open the door—" Was that who I thought it was? "Open the..."
"I can't..." the butler muttered.
"Open it," Adam Worth said. It swung inward, admitting him into the study as he pushed past the butler. We all faced him, surprised. It was a younger version of Adam, but only by a little. He came in.
"Adam," Magnus breathed.
"Adam," James said, just as surprised.
"Helen," he said, "James. Sorry to intrude." He swept in, fingering his hat. He looked agitated and worried. After a glance at me, he gave his complete attention to them.
"Burnt down any laboratories lately?" James asked.
"That was ten years ago and it was an accident," Adam said.
"Ten years," Magnus said, looking down, doing the math. We all looked at her.
"Listen," Adam continued, "It's me daughter, Imogene. She's gravely ill. It's a rare blood disease, and I've tried every treatment possible. Every method."
"And you want my help?" Magnus asked, looking concerned for him. She had done this before, she knew what was coming. He looked at her.
"Thank you, Helen," he said, "But actually, I've, uh, come for his help." He gestured at James. I hid my confusion behind a blank mask. Was James in this era better in medicine than Victorian-era Magnus? "You see, she's missing. Someone's taken her." Magnus, James, and exchanged a glance. Adam had disrupted the timeline. Imogene was missing. James took charge.
"Take us to the scene," he said. Adam nodded, looking grateful. Apparently I was going outside after all. We rode in a horse-drawn carriage to the hospital, Adam explaining the whole while.
"I just left to go to the apothecary," he said, "I was only gone a few minutes. She wasn't even awake when I left…"
"Was there anyone unusual in the building?" James asked as we pulled up. We stepped out and entered a large building, trying not to get wet in the rain. Adam led us up to an empty bed. Magnus knelt down by the bed and James looked around. Eventually he went over to the bed with his magnifying glass.
"I just don't understand who would do this. I haven't much money. She's just a child," Adam said, running his hand through his hair.
"Worth, be a good chap and ask the night ward for the visitor manifest, will you?" James asked. Adam left, still fingering his cap worriedly.
"There's no sign of a struggle. She went without resistance," James said once he was out of earshot.
"Of course she did. She thought he was her father. In the past I remember, Adam came to us for help finding a cure for Imogene—two months from now. This moment never happened," Magnus said.
"And now this future Adam has his daughter. And a cure?"
"Which means he's already altered the future, forever!" Adam came back.
"No one visited her," he said, looking scared.
"Adam, could you wait outside for us?" Magnus requested.
"Of course," he left again. Magnus looked extremely worried.
"Now what?" she asked.
"Do you know of anywhere he might have hidden her?" James asked.
"No," Magnus said, moving toward the door, "but I suspect he does!" We followed her out into the rain again.
"Please, are there any clues? Suspects?" Adam asked as soon as we'd stepped back into the rain.
"We'd know more if you told us what you were working on, Adam," Magnus told him.
"Well, I told you, I'm trying to find a cure for her disease."
"Which is an expensive proposition. You'd need money, resources, which means some sort of extortion plot or larcenous act."
"What?" Adam objected, "No, I'd never resort to that—"
"Those lab fires were hardly an accident, and the toxins you were formulating at Oxford, I know you've created prototypes—"
"My daughter is missing!"
"And if you want to find her, you will give us names, places, safe houses, everything you are secretly planning to unleash on this city!" Magnus said, advancing.
"You're mad," Adam said.
"Helen, that's enough," James said.
"I thought you understood my situation. I guess I know better now. I'll find her myself." Adam, whirled his cloak and stepped angrily away, his figure becoming obscured by the pouring rain.
"Has society gone back to the Dark Ages? He's done nothing wrong!" James said.
"Not yet! But he will, believe me!" Magnus said angrily. I nodded.
"And if you interrogate him in this manner," James stepped closer, "it will be you who has altered the natural order of things. Helen, you have far too much knowledge about this time and place. Use that carefully."
"We need to find Adam, future Adam, before too much damage is done," Magnus said.
"Finding people is what I do, if you recall…" James said, "But I will ask you to curb your temper as we go forward."
"Of course," Magnus said contritely. "James, I'm—I'm sorry."
"You can see yourself home," he said flatly, leaving a shocked Magnus standing on the streets of London in the rain. She crossed her arms, cold, and then glanced at me. We walked home in the rain. Not many people were about, and when we arrived, we dried ourselves off with a towel and went looking for a James. Voices emanated from the parlor, angry voices. John Druitt.
"Don't lie to me!" he yelled. Magnus drew her weapon and hid behind the wall. Victorian-era Helen was backing up as Druitt (with hair) advanced holding a knife.
"Five murders, their throats cut, their bodies desecrated in a manner that few beings can achieve. Instant escape from the crime scene?" Helen asked, moving backward slowly.
"And so it must be me?"
"You seem flattered."
"Oh, I am," Druitt said, still advancing.
"Deft manner of proving your innocence, threatening my life," she said, backing up into the drawer from which Magnus had taken the guns earlier.
"Call it self-preservation. Why on earth should I let you frame me for crimes I haven't committed?" Helen pulled open the drawer a little and felt around for the guns. She found nothing. Magnus had taken them. We had changed the timeline.
"Well, if you're innocent, then you have nothing to fear." Magnus seemed to realize what she'd done and quietly cocked the gun.
"You sound just like James. How much time have you been spending together?"
"And now jealousy. For whom?" He placed the knife against her throat.
"How dare you question my motives? My…feelings? You…you hunt me like an animal. After all we've been through. My heart…is yours." His hand crept up her arm and she shied away from it. He yelled and pulled her to the side the moment before he stuck the knife into the wall. Helen was frightened, and as much as it was breaking my heart to watch, I knew it was hurting Magnus more. Helen was nearly crying, her entire body shaking as she looked down. "Look…in my face. Look at my face." She slowly lifted her head to look in his eyes. He looked at her searchingly before his face contorted with rage. He released her and teleported away. Helen leaned up against the sideboard, visibly broken. She lifted her hand to her face, holding in tears. Magnus gently let the gun go back to its original position. Crying softly, Helen walked past us without noticing. Magnus walked past the curtain and into the room. She looked at the knife stabbed in the wall, and then back at me.
"I'm sorry," I told her. She only nodded and looked distant.
**~~o0o~~**
Magnus and I entered the laboratory basement just as James was coming in from the other side. "Helen?" he called.
"Over here," she answered, coming into the light.
"Any word on Adam's whereabouts? What's wrong?" he asked, looking at her. She looked down at the—was it a nightstick?
"Druitt was here."
"John? Are you—is she—"
"We're both fine, thank you. He's not happy that you like him for the latest Ripper killings, made sure I knew it."
"Not happy because I'm right?" Magnus only looked down at her weapon. "Oh, all right, no questions, I understand. But you did make a point of letting me know that he paid you a visit, which I will take to mean that I must keep focused on the case."
"Adam Worth?"
"He is expected at the Reformer Club in Pall Mall this evening. Whether it's the future or the present Adam, I—I don't know.
"Good. If we hurry, we'll beat him there."
"James, is that you?" Helen called. Magnus and I took off out of sight as Victorian-era Helen came into the lab. She seemed more stable than before and eager to bury herself in her work.
"Darling! Hello," James said, leading her over to the table.
"There you are. Are you ready to work?" she asked.
"Yes, if you are," James said, knowing of Druitt's recent visit.
"Absolutely. Now, I've been re-thinking your last theory, and I found a few holes, I'm afraid."
"Ah."
"I'm going to the club," Magnus said to me, before slipping away past some crates. Great. Now I had to find some place to hang out until they left. I decided the unused bedroom would be a good place to wait for her. Suddenly, loud, agitated sounds came up from below.
"There's been another murder," James was saying. "The alley behind the old chapel."
"Let's go," Helen agreed. They came up to my floor and exited through the front door, which closed with a bang. I was alone. Magnus didn't know about the murder. I stepped out of the room and quickly scribbled Another murder. Helen and James gone to investigate in the alley behind the chapel. –Tayla I stepped outside and spotted some children walking by. A passerby stopped them, handed a small boy a few coins and a note. The boy ran off to go deliver it. So that's how it was done. I looked around for some spare change and eventually found a few runaway coins under a cabinet. I went out into the street again and called out the the biggest girl in the group of children. She came over.
"Would you deliver a message for me?" I asked, handing her the coins.
"Yes ma'am!" she said, clutching the coins tightly.
"Okay," I handed her the note, "This is for Dr. Helen Magnus. She'll be near the gentlemen's club—the Reformer Club in Pall Mall. Brown hair, black dress, late thirties?"
"Yes, ma'am," the little girl ran off. She couldn't be more than…nine, ten years old? Her little brothers that followed her were more like six and four. I went back inside.
**~~o0o~~**
Magnus came back about a half hour later.
"Did you get him?" I asked.
"No," she answered shortly, "If I had wanted to draw attention to myself, I could've, but that would most likely change the future even more than letting him go until I can find him again. But, seeing as he was there and not dancing off into the sunset with Imogene, I'd wager he hasn't cured her yet."
"Well, that's good news. Now what?" I asked.
"Ah. I had an idea about that," she said, putting away her umbrella. I waited for her to change out of her rain-soaked clothes and then followed her down to the lab. She pulled out bottles from the store room and set them on the table. I lifted one up to read the label.
"Arsenic?" I asked.
"A last resort. We cannot let Adam Worth disrupt the timeline by healing his daughter."
"So you want to make a toxin that will mimic the effects of the leukemia-type disease," I caught on.
"I'm not sure I can even make one with these supplies, much less finish it in the paltry time we have," Magnus said, dripping some solution from an eye dropper into a beaker. James came in, slamming the door behind him.
"You could've stopped this! You knew what he was going to do!" he almost yelled at us.
"James, please," Magnus said.
"But you have been through all this before. For God's sake, you could save lives!"
"We both know I can't interfere. And neither can Tayla."
"Then there will be blood on your hands."
"Not if you do your job and stop looking for a shortcut!"
"And if your very presence here has changed the course of events, interfered with the investigation, what then? Can you live with that? No, please, spare me. I don't want to know the answer. Because in the future, emotions, empathy, humanity, ceases to exist—"
"You should have caught him by now!" Magnus said. "Yes, my presence here may have altered things, possibly for the worst. That woman who died tonight should be the last victim."
"But she won't be."
"Remember the purpose of the Sanctuary. To find and help unfortunate creatures, to protect them. To keep the public safe. Do that, and this case will be solved without any further bloodshed."
"And if I can't?" James asked.
"That's an expression I've rarely heard you use." He glanced down at the cluttered table, littered with bottles.
"What are you making?" He picked up a bottle and peered at the label. "Arsenic. Strychnine? A toxin," he said accusingly.
"A last resort."
"To mimic the blood disease that kills Imogene. A fail-safe in case Adam cures her. Dear God…"
"I'm not even sure I can finish making it, let alone give it to her! If there was any other way to stop Adam Worth from completely disrupting the timeline…" she stopped, growing angry. "Humanity isn't completely dead in the future, just so you know." She grabbed her black coat and headed for the door, with me following.
"You're going out? Where?"
"Hunting," Magnus said.
Now, wandering the streets of Victorian-era London during the downpour of a thunderstorm is bad. Wandering the streets of Victorian-era London during the downpour of a thunderstorm with an angry Helen Magnus is, well, if faced with the choice, don't ever do it. We walked back to the street across from the club where Adam was supposedly borrowing more money to cure his daughter. All of a sudden, Adam came out the door with another man. Children, not the ones who had delivered my message earlier, went up to him but he shooed them away and walked away into the rain. They followed him anyway, probably looking for handouts. Magnus and I, each holding an umbrella, followed them. To move faster, we discarded our umbrellas, which only slowed us down in the wind. All of a sudden, there was a flash of red light and Druitt stood in front of us.
"I'll deal with him," Magnus said sharply, in a tone that not even the bravest person would argue with. Quickly, I slipped into the shadows, melting into them. I was glad my dress was black.
"Your hair," Druitt said wonderingly. "I like it," he said with a small, gracious bow.
"I don't have time for this, John," Magnus said.
"Perhaps I didn't make myself clear earlier." He took out his knife and the blade flicked out with a metallic ring. "Hunting me will only make things more difficult for you."
"Let me pass."
"There's only one way to make you pay attention," Druitt said, his face hardening. He slashed at her, but to his surprise she knocked it to the side and hit him across the face. He came at her again but she hit him once more. His third and fourth tries fared no better than the first and second. He staggered backwards. She turned away from him, an odd expression coming over her face, something I'd never seen before. Wait, maybe I had. When she had been accused of killing the Big Guy in order to protect Big Bertha, I had helped her escape through the catacombs. She had been in a similar mind-set then, I had had the feeling she hurt a few people along the way. And then when she had brained Will with a board in the old warehouse. It was the same look on her face; I'd know it anywhere. Brutality and having joy in inflicting fear and pain were not usually part of her nature, but after being assaulted both physically and emotionally for a hundred fifty years by John Druitt—or having an ozone beetle stuck in her head—there was no stopping her.
"You're insane," Druitt said, coming toward her again.
"Oh, very much so," Magnus replied, still facing away, her voice filled with malice. "Fancy some more?" He raised his knife and slashed it, but she whirled around and kicked him in the chest, sending him reeling backwards from the force of the blow. She approached him and he swung at her again, but she hit him over the head with a nightstick and twisted his arm around. His other arm flew downward to strike the back of her neck but she twisted her weapon under his leg and he staggered away.
"How on earth did you—?" he asked, breathing hard, but she was already mid-attack. He flipped onto the ground and lay there for a second. Magnus removed the knife from his hand and readjusted her nightstick. He got to his feet. Through a series of kicks and blows, she pinned him against the wall, knife against his throat.
"How does it feel? Cold steel against your jugular? In the hands of someone who knows how to kill you slowly and has the will to do it?" she almost yelled at him.
"H—Helen?" he asked disbelievingly.
"Are you paying attention?" She spoke in a soft, low voice, power radiating from every word. "Stay. Away. From me." She released him and he teleported away. She was breathing hard, but her anger was fading. I knew part of her had liked what she'd done, and one part was aching for who Druitt used to be. Only one question filled my thoughts: would telling Druitt off disrupt the timeline? I wasn't going to ask.
"All right, you go that way, I'll go this way," she said. I headed right while she headed left. I saw no sign of Adam. Soft voices lured me into an alleyway and I saw the girl that had delivered my message earlier. She and her brothers noticed me at the same time and made their way, trying not to slosh through the puddles, toward.
"Have you seen Adam Worth come by here?" I asked.
"Yes, ma'am," the girl replied, "He was followed by some other children." She looked down. "The children were begging after him, bothering him. He was in an awful hurry."
"What's your name?" I asked her.
"Claire. Claire Eldridge, ma'am. And me mum, taught us not to go after strangers like that. We're reduced to the streets, but not to begging like them."
"Claire," I said, "That's a nice name. Now, where did Adam Worth go?"
"He went that way," Claire pointed off down a side alley.
"Thank you," I said, placing a small handful of coins in her hand. She stared at them in wonder.
"Thank you ma'am!" the girl said, closing her fist around the coins. I smiled and she and her brothers took off, presumably to tell their mother of their good fortune.I walked carefully down the alley until I came to a staircase leading up to a door. I pushed it open to reveal Adam and a girl reading a book, sitting on a bed. She must be Imogene. She looked awfully healthy…
"Oh, Tayla, how nice of you to stop by," Adam said. Imogene looked up from her book. Seeing me, she set it down and stood up. "Imogene," he addressed his daughter, "This is the daughter of one of my colleagues who might be coming by to see you soon. This is Tayla."
"Tayla," Imogene said, "It's nice to meet you."
"It's…nice to meet you too, Imogene," I said. I looked around at all the equipment. Most of it was Praxian, and one of the healing shots Will had described was sitting on the table. I picked it up and clicked it. Nothing. I looked back at Imogene.
"You're feeling better?" I asked.
"Oh yes," came the girl's reply, "Much better, thanks to Papa."
"Why don't you show Tayla the book you were reading?" suggested Adam. Imogene went back over to the bed and sat down on it again. After a glance at Adam, I sat down next to her. She had just opened the book when Magnus interrupted us.
"Dear God, Adam," she said, coming into the room, pointing a gun at him. He started and grabbed a Praxian weapon. They pointed them at each other.
"Before you start threatening me, or shooting me, for that matter, we still have that nagging problem of the witnesses," he said, gesturing to Imogene.
"Hello," Imogene said innocently, setting the book down once more.
Magnus lowered the gun and said almost wonderingly, "Imogene."
"Dr. Helen Magnus, this is my daughter, Imogene."
"You must be one of my dad's colleagues. He said some friends might drop by. How lovely to meet you, Doctor," Imogene said.
"Dr. Helen here is a ground-breaker, just like you," Adam told his daughter. Magnus reached down and picked up the healing shot from the table. She clicked it and then stared at them. "What have you done, Adam?
"How are you feeling, Imogene?" Adam asked.
"Better than I have in years. Thanks to Papa here," Imogene answered.
"No…!"
"Oh yes. Healthy as a horse, I'm afraid. Welcome to the future, Helen. So, now that the game is over, what say we put away our guns, yes? Starting with yours."
"Unlikely," Magnus answered, raising and cocking it again.
"Papa?" Imogene asked, scared.
"Are you going to shoot me in front of my own flesh and blood? That's cold, Helen, even for you."
"What's the meaning of this?" Imogene asked.
"I'm sorry, Imogene, but this man is not your father," Magnus said.
"Please, leave him alone!" Imogene was pulled back by her father.
"I know it looks like him, but this man has ended millions of innocent lives, caused unimaginable destruction."
"Don't listen to her, darling. All of it lies," advised Adam.
"Destroying Praxis?" Magnus said sincerely, "Altering the timeline? You have to be stopped, Adam."
"Please, leave him alone!" Suddenly, Adam pulled something from underneath the desk and swept it through the air. An arc of electricity crackled as Magnus ducked. He shot at her as she exited the room.
"Papa? What is that?" Imogene asked fearfully, looking down at the weapon Adam was pulling out of a case.
"Just some insurance. Stay here. I won't be long." He turned to me. "Keep her safe, Tayla. Any kind of future you want. And," he paused, "she is your great-cousin after all." He left me there with her and swept out of the room, intent on killing Magnus. I looked at Imogene, who was staring fearfully after her father. "It's going to be okay, Imogene," I said.
"Is Dr. Magnus your mother?" she asked.
After a moment's pause, I answered, "Yes."
"What does she want with Papa?" I knew what I had to do. It was wrong, it was awful, but I had to do it to set right the timeline. I had to. My lips seemed to move of their own accord.
"I don't know, Imogene, but I think we should go make sure he's okay," I said.
"He said to stay here," Imogene said.
"After a hard day's work, doesn't he want to see your smile?" I asked her, "You can go find him right now and it'll be all over and he'll be so happy to see you."
"Okay," Imogene agreed. We left the room and Imogene ran ahead. The sounds of shots made Imogene worried again, but she didn't slow down. Magnus was running up the alley and Adam was shooting at her, breaking eaves and sending loads of rubble crashing to the ground. "Papa?" Imogene called, "Papa?" Magnus stopped and stared at Imogene as Adam raised his weapon. He had a knife—Druitt's knife, the one Magnus had took—in his leg and he was shooting at her from the ground. He lifted the weapon as Magnus shouted, "Adam, no!"
Everything happened in slow motion. The shot was fired, and it flew toward Magnus but missed her, heading up above her head. It crashed into the eaves above Imogene, sending bricks and other various pieces of rubble crashing to the ground. Adam stared, horrified at what had happened. He hobbled to his feet, half walking and half dragging his injured leg in his frenzy to get to his daughter. Magnus and I just stood there in shock.
"Imogene! No! Imogene! Imogene! Stay back," he warned Magnus. For reasons I have never been able to explain, my instincts told me to flee. And I did. I disappeared into the shadows of the alley, heading back to the Sanctuary. All my senses were in overdrive and my heart pounded in my chest. I had killed an innocent. My great-cousin. Her blood would forever be on my hands. I had become what the Cabal created me to be. And I hated myself for it. Never before had I killed when it wasn't to protect myself or someone else. Now I had. Images of Imogene invaded my mind, asking me why. "I didn't want to kill you!" I shouted, gathering the looks of passerby, but I didn't care. I sat alone with my tumultuous thoughts until Magnus came back.
"You did what you had to do," she said calmly.
"There must have been another way, anything that would have not included her death—"
She shook her head and sat down next to me. "There was no other way. You did the right thing. You made the future back the way it should be." She lifted my chin, forcing me to look in her beautiful eyes, filled with concern. "If Imogene and Adam lived, Adam would have killed us both, plus this era's me. The Sanctuary Network would have fallen apart. What would have happened to Henry?"
"He would have been stuck on the moors, without you to take him in," I answered dully.
"And Will?"
"Ridiculed and scorned by all. And he never would have got together with Abby. He would have been miserable," I answered, my spirits beginning to lift.
"Kate?" Magnus asked softly.
"The Cabal would have killed her or she would have been a con artist forever," I said.
"By taking one life tonight, we saved millions of abnormals and kept the future as it was meant to be," Magnus said softly, "But it doesn't mean we have to like it." She pulled me to my feet. "Are you ready?"
"Ready for what?"
"To return to the present."
"Adam had another time device?" I asked, shocked.
"No," Magnus said with a slight smile. "We're going a different way. It just…might take a while."
"A hundred thirteen years of seclusion? With you?"
"Is that a problem?" she asked.
Okay, what did you think?
