Page 91 of No Place in Time

Julian remained in the doorway, a shadow in the torchlight. His hand was not on his sword. He just watched Benedict advance, his face a mask. A spectator. Or a coward. It didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was Benedict, and the blade he was raising.

“Wait,” Finn said.

Benedict kept coming, raising the blade.

“Kill us and you’ll destroy yourselves!” Finn said desperately.

Benedict stopped, looking back at Julian.

“What are you talking about?” Julian asked from the doorway.

“The machine!” Finn’s voice was strained. “You don’t understand it. You think it’s just for gold? It branches. It creates… others.” He glanced at Cecily, his mind racing. “Two Cecilys. There are two of her. Kill the wrong one, and you could wipe away everything you’ve built. You could wipe away yourselves.”

Benedict lowered the blade slightly. “Explain what you mean. Now.”

Julian moved forward and asked, “How are there two of her?” He gestured to Cecily, who hadn’t moved while Finn spoke.

“Different timelines,” Finn said. “When you change the past, you create a branch. Two versions of the same person, living different lives.”

Benedict and Julian exchanged looks.

“That’s not possible,” Benedict said.

“Yet here we are,” Finn said. He sounded more sure of himself than he was. “If you kill the wrong version—if you collapse the wrong timeline—you could erase yourselves. Your wealth. Your power. Everything.”

It was a bluff. But they didn’t know that. Finn said a silent prayer that his gambit would buy them some time.

In the torchlight, Cecily nodded slowly. “It’s true,” she said. “Believe him, or we could all die.”

“Bring me the machine,” Finn said. “I’ll show you.”

Benedict studied him for a long moment. Then he looked at Julian. “Let’s get it. We’ll bring it here.”

“Are you certain?” Julian asked.

“If there’s even a chance he’s right…” Benedict’s jaw tightened. “I’m not risking everything we’ve built.”

Benedict lowered the dagger. “We’ll be back before the sun is high.” His eyes locked on Finn. “And you’d better be able to prove this. Because if you’re lying, I’ll make sure you live long enough to regret every word of it.”

He said it with such coldness that Finn felt Cecily shiver beside him.

They turned and left. The door slammed. The bar fell into place. In the sudden dark, Finn could hear nothing but Cecily’s breathing and his own.

Cecily’s voice came in a whisper. “Were you telling the truth?”

“Yes, I think so,” Finn admitted. “Mostly, I wanted to gain some time.”

“You’re not sure?”

“It was all I could think of. But it sounded like something Anton told me once.”

“They’ll be back soon,” Cecily said. “With the machine. And when they realize you can’t prove anything…”

She didn’t finish. She didn’t have to. Finn stared into the darkness. They had a few hours at best.

In the dark, Cecily found his shoulder and rested her head there. Finn lowered his cheek against her hair. They had a few hours at best, and nothing else but this.

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