Hourglass (Hourglass 1)

“The point is,” Michael continued, “you’re the only one who can stop him. And Em and I aren’t breaking any rules by being here. The Novikov Principle applies.”

Liam frowned. “Are you saying … I’m assuming there were remains. How are you—”

“I thought of that. We have a cadaver in the car; I need to go get it.” Michael held out his hand, and I pulled the keys from my coat pocket and tossed them to him. “Can we talk after that?”

“Oh, I can quite assure you we’ll be talking after that.”

“What time is it?” Michael asked, in an attempt to defer Liam’s wrath, I was sure.

Liam held up his watch, shaking it. The crystal was cracked down the middle. He pointed to a clock hanging above the door. Both hands pointed at eleven. “Do you need help?”

“We can’t risk anyone seeing you. Em will stay here and get you briefed.”

I frowned at him. “How are you going to get John Doe across the—”

“I’ll drag him. There’s a blanket in my trunk. We need to hurry, and Liam needs the rest of the details.” I gasped when he grabbed my shoulders and kissed me hard on the mouth. “I’ll be fine. Be right back.”

The door slammed behind him and Liam looked at me. I was trying to figure out why Michael had left so quickly, and to interpret the kiss.

“Novikov Principle, hmm?”

I gave my head a shake so I could get with the program. “Right. All I know is that it works because it doesn’t allow us to change the past, just ‘affect it without producing any inconsistencies.’ We replace you with the cadaver, and then you go into hiding, and the continuum isn’t affected because everyone’s timeline remains the same. Except for yours, I guess. But you didn’t have one. Because you were dead.” I winced and looked at him apologetically. “Sorry. Cat and Michael gave me the Cliffs-Notes version.”

“How far back in time did you travel?” He lowered himself onto a stool beside a long worktable full of lab equipment. “How long have I been … gone?”

“Six months.”

“A lot can happen in six months.”

I rested my elbows on the table. “How much did Michael tell you?”

“Not enough. Too much. We spent most of our time talking about Grace.”

o;Birdcalls?”

He’d cracked from the pressure.

“In case you need me.”

“The only extracurricular activities in the mental hospital involved stringing macaroni, and your average girl’s boarding school is more interested in makeup application than hunting techniques,” I whispered back. “Sorry.”

“Okay, can you whistle?”

I nodded.

“Then if you need me, just whistle.” He started for the lab.

“Michael,” I whispered. He looked back at me. “Good luck.”

Keeping my mind occupied took some creativity. After reciting the states and capitals, the Twenty-third Psalm, and all the teams in the American League, I’d started on the National League when I heard voices. Neither of them belonged to Michael.

I pressed my body up against the tree trunk. A man and a woman spoke softly, not quite in a whisper. I couldn’t distinguish if I’d ever heard either of the voices.

“You said you wanted to be with me.” The man’s tone was suggestive, silky. “That you’d do whatever it took.”

“I’ll do anything … but this …” The woman’s voice smacked of desperation. “I’m just not sure—”

She broke off. I couldn’t see anything, but it sounded like some massive making out was going on. When the heavy breathing started, I began to get uncomfortable, but I was saved when the man started laughing. “Soon. Don’t waste your energy.”