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ing at all were in the neighborhood of fifty-fifty. The odds of returning
unscathed were even worse.
We d been following your he eyed Dev before meeting my gaze
again, Gilly during much of the nineteen-nineties. There had been
rumblings for a decade about him. After five years of constant surveil-
lance, we finally caught sight of him passing through a wormhole. We
took readings, did tests. It was endlessly fascinating, what we found.
Proof that time-travel was possible, but we needed more. We needed to
find out how he did it. So we hired a crack-shot jewel thief to break into
his home. He copied all of Green s notes and we began the process of re-
creating his research.
I bristled at the gall of Grubb and his cohorts but managed to keep my
mouth shut.
He was wily for an old man, and there were a lot of holes, incomplete
information, cryptic notes and the like. Enough that it took us ten years
to finally come up with a prototype. Once we had it completed, we
planned to recreate his journey to eighteen-thirty-six London where he
first found you, as that was the only wormhole he had ever noted the loc-
ation of. He looked down at his hands and scowled. I thought I d made
it, the night before I saw you in the shop. But once I began asking around
I realized I d stopped short. Apparently, the pin didn t hold enough mer-
cury for that length of a trip, and I hadn t brought a spare. Even so, the
time-travel had been something of a success. I would ve gone home a
hero, armed with new information about fueling the mechanism and so
much more. But I didn t have mercury to make the journey back.
So you made the rounds in town, trying to collect enough to return, I
finished for him.
He nodded. Right. And I had more than enough when you guys were
chasing me, so I figured I d better get out of town while I still could. You
know the rest.
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Why here, though?
Ha! He snorted. It was all cued up to take me home when your
numbskull brother started pawing at it and broke it. I have no idea how
we got here, but it seemed like it kept going as far as the mercury would
take us and then stopped. I need to get back to the twenty-first century
now.
Dev s voice was even and persuasive. Not until you do the right thing.
Retract your statement. Tell them you were drunk. Don t testify, or an in-
nocent man will pay the price. Not to mention the poor young woman
who jumped in to protect him.
That one, she s as dumb as a rock. Shouldn t have stuck her nose in it.
Regardless, it s taken on a life of its own. Even if I take it back, he s going
to have a hard time getting out of this. The girl saw us. Plus, he had that
stupid toy on him, for God s sake! Even I know better than to carry
around stuff like that, and this is my first travel.
What did you tell them when they picked you up? I asked.
They accused me of being a witch. He shook his head incredulously.
You should ve seen them they wanted a witch and they weren t going to
take no for an answer. So I gave them one. He shrugged. I needed to get
the TTM back, so I told them I was from Boston. I d been walking down
the street when this guy grabbed me and stole my watch. I tried to stop
him but he turned and spoke some devilry. The next thing I knew, we
were here, in Salem. Through magic. I d hoped they d give me my watch
back and call it a day. I d be out of it. But no go.
So, what now? You re going to stay here forever?
He shook his head. No way. If you guys won t send me back, my TTM
is in the hands of the magistrate. They re going to give it back to me after
the trial. When they do, I m going to fix whatever your brother did to it
and go.
And leave two innocent people to die.
He leveled me with a glare so full of hate and venom, I recoiled. Don t
talk to me about innocent. None of you are innocent. You re selfish, hor-
rible people. You have no right to keep this technology to yourself, and
neither did your benefactor. You have the power of the gods in your
hands, and what do you do with it? Take jaunts to the past, digging up
junk and selling it for charity? You re a joke.
And what would you do with that power, Phineas? Dev asked quietly.
His eyes blazed, suddenly unfocused as he stared into the fire. Change
the world. Control nations he paused then added, and bring my
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father back to life so the Great Phineas Grubb, Senior can see what an
amazing scientist I ve become. His voice was miserable as he slumped
forward, holding his head in his hands.
The room was silent but for the crackle of the fire as Dev and I ab-
sorbed that tidbit. I didn t want to feel even a pinch of sympathy for him.
It had been so much easier when I d relegated him to Snidely Whiplash, a
character without any real motivation at all other than to be bad. Now, in
the span of five seconds, he d become quasi-human.
I opened my mouth to speak, but Dev caught my gaze and shook his
head. He leaned forward in his chair and spoke in low tones. I imagine
that s a strong motivation. But surely there is something else that would
make your father proud, aside from world domination. Something that
might honor his memory in a positive way. But you can t bring him back.
Time-travel doesn t work like that. We re not gods. Hell, even the little
changes we make every time we jump have ramifications. This techno-
logy comes with an enormous responsibility. We have to make certain the
use of the TTM doesn t get out of hand enough to ruin the future of the
world, while still trying to do some good with it. It s a terrible balancing
act that never feels exactly right, but we try our damnedest. There are
things that can never& should never be done. Dev held up his hands.
Changes to major historical events, going back in time to save the dead,
those actions can only result in catastrophe.
Grubb lifted his head and looked at Dev, his narrow face breaking into
a slow and chilling smile. Really? Well, the proof will be in the pudding,
won t it? Let s see if you subscribe to that philosophy once your brother s
hanged and they toss his body into an unmarked grave. He picked up
the blanket lying on the back of his chair and slung it over his lap, giving
a dismissive wave. You two have nothing to offer me. Get out of here be-
fore I accuse you too and you both end up right next to him.
My sympathy was as fleeting as a Hollywood romance. I rose to my
feet, all riled up again. You have the next five days to change your mind.
Either you retract your statement to the magistrate at the hearing and
give my brother a fighting chance, or I kill you and find another way to
free him.
I turned and strode out of the room before I took the choice out of his
hands. No matter how much he deserved it, killing Grubb wasn t an op-
tion. We needed to have him around as a last resort in the event that our
other plans failed. Plus, while I could probably badger someone enough
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to make them wish they were dead, I d have a hard time living with blood
on my hands.
As I stared down at the blood on my hands, the fury that had been
holding my shit together suddenly abandoned me. All that was left in its
wake was the terrifying realization that my brother was in very real
danger.
Chapter Seven
The cold was relentless, and every frigid breath sent a bolt of pain
through my chest. I huddled into the corner, curling myself into a tight
ball. Only a few more hours until daylight. It would be warmer then.
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