Page 37 of Oracle Returns: Time will Stop

Julian brushed that off.

“We’ll do it. I feel better knowing that we have help that’s reliable.”

That they did.

When the screen went black, the TV shut off. Then, Julian took over.

“You came to us, and we’re going to do what we do best. Avalon, we’re taking you on as a client.”

Everyone stared at him, and he held up his hand.

“Listen, if I pretend that she’s another client, I might not lose my goddamn mind, and we’ll all get through this together.”

Well, that was pretty much a Julian thing to say, and no one blamed him.

For sure.

He focused on the woman.

“You know us so well, so I’ll say this. You could have just come to us. You could have told Lucian you needed our help. We would have listened, helped, and maybe avoided this mess.”

She didn’t mince words.

“While I respect your belief that would happen, let me tell you what happened if I did this any other way,” she offered, giving them an insight into her burden in this life.

Then, she dropped the bomb.

“Your wife would have been killed, and along with her, both your daughters that she carries.”

Julian gasped for a few reasons.

Only, she wasn’t done.

“In the process, I would have changed the timeline by interfering, and that would have cost more lives. I try not to do that. Beckett would have died. Claire with him. After them, Hart was going to go down.”

They all looked around.

“After he died, Julian, you took your own life. Now, it’s only us three at risk to die. While I love my life, I can’t allow others to die for me. That’s not right. So, by doing it this way, I bought us all time in hopes we could find this person, before Lucian dies in the static, and Genesis eats her gun. Well, not her gun. Her boyfriend’s. Yes, yours, Josh,” she said, not looking over at them.

Oh, Jesus.

That brought silence over the group, and for good reason.

That was horrific.

Finally, Tori went there.

“Legit?” Tori asked.

Avalon touched Lucian’s arm, and she pulled him into the static with her. It was her world. As he sat there, not moving, his eye blinked, but they were completely blank.

It was like the lights were on, but no one was home.

Nate explained.

“She’s showing him what could have happened had she showed up and asked for help without setting the scene for this battle.

Oh, and it didn’t take long.