"Seraphine is going to do what's best for herself." Lucy put her chin to her shoulder and gave him a stern look, not slowing her gait. She narrowed her eyes. "I had a moral obligation to tell her."
"It's none of your business, Lucy!" He threw up his hands in exasperation. "It's not your fight to fight. Seraphine's going to fix things like she always does. She doesn't want anyone to die."
Lucy rolled her eyes dramatically before turning towards the sitting room, the door lifting obediently before she wandered in. Ben followed her. He knew it was better to walk away, go back to his room and fume there until he was called in for something else from Seraphine. But he couldn't. He wasn't willing to let this go.
"Seraphine isn't interested in keeping people alive. She's interested in making sure the future plays out the way it's supposed to. Her way." Lucy picked out a canister from the refrigerator. "If killing them eliminates the mess they could make by leaving them here..." She shook her head. "Then that's what she'll do." She chose a silver lidded cup, turned to face him, and sipped from it slowly.
"Seraphine isn't a killer."
Lucy smiled, dropping her arms to her side. "You know nothing about her, yet you trust in her completely. You're a sheep. We all have been."
"Please," Ben said in frustration. "If there is anyone on this mission I shouldn't trust, it's you."
She smiled. "You've trusted me for years. Through countless missions, years of training. And now that I speak badly of Seraphine, suddenly that trust is gone?" She raised an eyebrow.
"You have no reason to speak badly of her."
"What if I told you I did?"
"Stop," Ben growled. "I'm not listening to your nonsense anymore."
"I know how you're feeling, Ben," Lucy said, softer this time, taking another sip from her canister. "I know you're feeling emotional. Probably much more than you ever had in your life. I know you're confused and angry and scared. I just don't want what happened to me, to happen to you."
"Losing the girls, you mean?"
Lucy looked down at her feet. "I could barely live with myself. It was the worst thing. Feeling responsible for someone's death. Not being able to do anything about it. Needing to suppress that emotion. I know we've lost people in the past, but it's never been a direct action I caused. This was different. Harder."
Ben paused, studying the woman, unable to find a response. She looked at her hands, turning them over, inspecting her skin. Her defenses that she usually put up weren't there anymore. She looked up again, narrowing her eyes. "You must convince Seraphine that there's a purpose for them, a value to their lives. Otherwise…" She shook her head delicately. "Their fate will be the same."
He walked to the control room. It was time to have a conversation with Seraphine about Amelia and Faye. He rolled over all of the possible outcomes in his mind. Seraphine could be unpredictable. Her Seer abilities only allowed her to handle so much.
A crisis like the one Ben had created wasn't something Seraphine needed. It was a rookie move, and he was afraid it would affect his relationship with her. She had always taken to him. She'd been kind and welcoming and solved the myriad of problems he'd had as a young boy. Seraphine had been his mentor, encouraging him to apply for the Migrator position. Giving him special attention during training. She had always been good to him. She was someone he could trust, Lucy and Seraphine's relationship, for a long time, was very similar. Lucy received the same training, the same mentoring, grew up to be the same Migrator as Ben. But as she grew, Lucy questioned the rules and processes that had been put in place to make life easier and safer for the Migrators. Everything became challenging. She asked too many questions. She was too curious for her own good.
Her words had rattled him. The reminder that the Affected Predecessor died was not something he needed. Ben tried to convince himself that this wouldn't be the same. Faye was stronger. This situation was different. Johan had already brought her through to the other side. There was nothing to worry about.
Right?
Seraphine had never been this disappointed with him. He hadn't seen this side of her directed at him in years. She had always been pleased with him. He didn't feel much better by the time he reached the control room. Seraphine stood at one of the desks, her hands swiping at a large glass screen, maneuvering all sorts of foggy images across it. Each one had a different running date at the bottom, with the month, the day, the year, the hours, minutes, and seconds.
They were perceptions of things that were yet to come.
Seraphine looked up and away from her screen, giving Ben a nod as he entered the room. She wore long black slacks that touched the floor. Soft black flats encompassed her feet, and a basic black tank rested on her shoulders. Her hair was down, perfectly straight, reaching her lower back. One look at her made him second-guess his decision to come here and have this conversation.
"Seraphine." He bowed hurriedly. "I'd like to speak with you."
"Yes," Seraphine agreed, pushing the screen away so that it disappeared inside of the desk she stood before. "We do need to talk. About the girls."
He cleared his throat, fingers massaging the inside of his wrist. His throat was dry, voice hoarse as he spoke. "Has any progress been made?"
Seraphine nodded. "Some."
"Have you come to a conclusion yet about their outcome?"
She looked at him knowingly, eyes twinkling with a fact he didn't yet know. "I have."
He took a breath, unable to swallow. "I need to know that they're not going to die," he said, afraid of the repercussions of the words.
With meticulous slowness, Seraphine came closer to him. "Ebenezer. Why would you ask me that question?"
"Please tell me."
Seraphine sighed, crossing her arms. "I'll guess that Lucy told you of something that was not meant to be public knowledge. All you need to know is what was done was necessary in that circumstance."
"But, my Predecessors?"
"They cannot stay in this time."
"But they're orphans." Ben was frantic to find a solution to this mess. "They have no families. Nobody looking for them. They could disappear. Forget this all ever happened. They could go back to a chance at a normal life."
"No." Seraphine shook her head adamantly. "I've looked at what's to come and it's just too risky, Ebenezer. Both know too much."
Ben shrunk, his shoulders falling, deep disappointment scratching at his gut. Seraphine had made up her mind before he'd even walked into the room.
"And bringing them to the future? Can you consider that as an option?"
"I could," Seraphine said, slowly uncrossing her arms and leaning against the table. "I've considered it."
"Two new bodies, workers, new blood to introduce into our gene pool. It could work." He did his best to not sound desperate.
Seraphine seemed to stare through him, digesting his words. "The sick one," she commented, turning away from him, back to the screen she'd put away. With a push of a button it was back, the videos on a continuous loop. "Is quite stubborn. She's a liability."
Ben gave an uncertain shrug. "She can be. But she'd do anything for Amelia."
Seraphine flinched, like the name had shocked her. Inwardly, he reeled. A name meant an attachment to the Predecessor, and getting attached was unacceptable. He tensed, trying to read her, but just as quickly, she looked poised again.
"That is true."
Silence hung in the air as Seraphine slid her finger across the monitor, ignoring Ben.
"Seraphine," he tried again. "Please."
She stepped away from the monitor and came around the desk towards him, only a few feet away from him. Her eyes bore into his, black like coal and unwavering. They were inexplicably intense, like embers burning at the end of a fire. "Ebenezer." She cocked her head as she spoke his name. "Do you care for these girls?"
The question threw him off so much that he struggled to find words to respond. The emotions, the suspicious nausea, the way his throat went dry. Amelia and he
r chocolate eyes, soft skin, and silky hair. He closed his eyes and there she was.
"Of course not," he answered methodically, opening his eyes once more, hoping that Seraphine hadn't recognized his momentary lapse in response. "Why would you think that?"
She looked away from him, around the room. "I want to make sure you're focused, Ebenezer. If these Predecessors come home with us, then you have your work cut out for you."
"How do you mean?"
"You'll need to prepare them for migration. Brief them on how we handle things in the future. Their bodies will need to be eased into the travel, especially the one who's been Affected. It may take her longer to recover on the other side." She nodded at him. "I think bringing them forward is the only solution."
Her voice was normal and level again, sweet as honey. The idea was new and bright. Seraphine seemed almost happy about it, for a fleeting moment, before she turned to go back to her screen.
"Yes." He tried not to sound too eager. "I believe it is." Something about her sudden decision felt strange, but Ben pushed the small nagging feeling away. After all, this was what he wanted. The girls couldn't return to their time, but at least they would be safe.
She returned to maneuvering videos on the screen. "You can tell Amelia to relax. I know she's worried about what's to come."
"I will." His stomach dropped slightly. Seraphine was gifted. She could see things, know things. Ben never quite understood it how he wanted to, but there were things she just knew.
"There's not much time left to get them ready. We need to leave soon. Do what you can before we're due to go home," she instructed him. "Johan will take care of the medically necessary procedures. But I expect you to be responsible for briefing them fully."
The thought of fitting a millennium into three-week's time was daunting, but the task was his and he would conquer it, regardless of what he thought his limitations were.
"Thank you. I promise you won't be disappointed."
"I know," she answered and, although she smiled, Ben felt an uneasy chill run through his body.
Amelia sat at the edge of Faye's bed, drinking something that tasted like tree bark. The Compound had nothing that constituted as real food. Amelia was sure to mix her own. Although she didn't trust Lucy, the concept of mood stabilizers wasn't too farfetched to believe.
"Just add water for liquid crap," Faye commented, clinking her own canister with Amelia's. She laughed, took a swig, and almost spat it right back out.
"No wonder Ben doesn't like to eat." Faye wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "This is the worst thing I've ever tasted."
"It is pretty awful." A voice came from the edge of the room. Lucy appeared around the privacy curtain. Behind her, again, was Cheyenne. Amelia still couldn't figure the woman out. She didn't speak, only followed Lucy around like her servant. Amelia almost wondered if she was here on her own free will or if something else was amiss.
Faye narrowed her eyes at them as they came into view. "Who are you?"
"Amelia," Lucy said, thoughtfully putting her head in one of her hands and staring Faye up and down. "This is your sister?"
"This is Lucy," Amelia told Faye. "What's going on?"
"Well..." Lucy turned her head to look at Cheyenne, who smiled at her. It was the slightest thing, but certainly the first time Amelia had seen any emotion from the girl. "We just wanted to see how you were doing. If you were feeling better."
"I'm fine, thanks." Faye's voice was standoffish.
Lucy stared at her, like she wasn't sure what to do with the answer. "Good," she said somberly. She looked at Amelia, eyes focused and unblinking. "Have you had time to think about what we talked about, Amelia?"
A flush rushed to Amelia's cheeks. "I don't—" she began to say, not knowing how to respond. "We haven't talked about it yet."
Lucy frowned. "There's not much time, Amelia. Your window is growing smaller every minute you put this off. Please." She seemed desperate and as much as Amelia wanted to dismiss her, she couldn't deny that it felt genuine.
Lucy turned on her heel, with Cheyenne at her side, and the two of them walked out of view. Amelia couldn't steady her breathing. She didn't want to look at her sister. She hadn't told her any of what Lucy and she had talked about, like Faye needed anything else to worry about.
"What was she talking about, Amelia?" Faye scraped her fingernail against the silver canister. "Something you need to tell me?"
Amelia put her chin to her shoulder and looked at her sister. "Faye," Amelia said, turning so that their bodies faced each other. "I couldn't … I didn't want to worry you. Ben said he'd figure it out and … I need to trust him."
"Figure what out?"
Amelia sighed. "Apparently this has happened before. This sort of disease." She pointed at Faye. "With Lucy."
"And?" Faye's eyes went wide.
"And I guess there were some problems."
"Amelia." Faye was stern, leaning forward, her eyes bulging. "What sort of problems?"
Amelia sighed, trying to steady her thoughts. "There was a family. The son was Affected. He died. Lucy said Seraphine said there was no way around dealing with the rest of the family."
"Dealing with?" Faye's voice rose in volume. "What the hell are you talking about, Amelia? What are we mixed up in?
Amelia looked down at the blanket, no longer able to keep Faye's gaze. "They wouldn't migrate, and they couldn't leave so…" she trailed off, wishing there was a different ending to the story.
"They died?"
"They were killed." Amelia looked back up at Faye, who now looked terrified, more so than she had in days prior, which Amelia didn't even think was possible. "At least, that's what Lucy said," she added quickly. "She told me we can't trust Ben and Seraphine and then that she could get me out of here, help me disappear, but..." Amelia shook her head. "I don't know if I trust Lucy. I want to trust Ben. He's done right by us so far."
Faye was silent.
"He's kind. Even though he's standoffish, he's still tried to help us. He's kept us alive this far, promised to get us home. I can't imagine in any way that he'd be out to kill us, Faye. Or that he'd let Seraphine do anything to hurt us."
"You should go, Amelia." Faye shifted herself so that she could sit up on the bed. "I know you want to trust that man, but if there's a way out, you need to take it. Figure out a way to get home, pack up, and hide. I'll distract them." She swung her legs off of the side of the bed. "Let's go."
"No." Amelia grasped her arm and pushed her back with force. Faye stopped at the touch on her elbow and looked at her sister. "No," she said again firmly. "I'm not leaving you."
"You can't stay here for me."
"Yes, I can. And I will. And I'm not worried about it." She forced a small smile for her sister. "I told you, I trust Ben," she said with sincerity. "He's a good man, even if he doesn't know it yet."
Faye looked furiously at her. "Amelia." Her voice broke slightly. "I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you."
"Well, the same goes for me. You think I could leave here with a clean conscious, always wondering what happened to you if you never got the hell out of here?"
Faye seemed to consider this for a minute.
"That's no life. I would be broken."
"Then what are we going to do?"
"We're going to wait for Ben," Amelia answered, looking towards the door.
Ben returned to the hospital with clenched fists, unable to stop pacing the room. Amelia felt his energy in the room—he was electric. She hoped this meant something good.
"What is it?" she asked.
"I talked to Seraphine." Ben slowed his gait and looked at the two of them. "She said returning back to this time period is too risky."
No.
Amelia's face fell. "Well, that's not good news. Is it?"
"I suppose it depends on the way you're looking at it," he said, fidgeting with his hands. For a moment, Amelia feared he was going to do something crazy, that Seraphine migh
t barge into the door and kill her on the spot. But instead he said, "She's allowing you both to return home with us."
Amelia's mouth opened and she stared at him in shock. He grinned at her like he's just told her the best thing in the world. Why was he so happy? That meant she'd have to leave everything she'd ever known behind.
"Allowing us?" Amelia repeated. "You mean, not giving us an option?"
"So, we're just supposed to leave our time period and go with you? Trust you? What are we going to do in the future?" Faye shot out, demanding answers. "What do you want from us? Why can't we just go back to our lives the way they were?"
"Ben," Amelia said warningly, shaking her head at him. "I don't know about this. I thought Faye would get better and…that would be that. We'd go home. Leave this all behind us."
He frowned at her, his eyes darting back and forth between her and Faye. "I know. I'm sorry but, this is the only option. You need to know that this is right. It feels right. Seraphine thinks so, too. You'll be part of something greater. A bigger cause. Rebuilding the world as we know it. You'll be part of our master timeline. It's heroic."
Amelia looked back at her sister, who seemed horrified. Their eyes met in equal concern. "A bigger cause?" she repeated him, swiveling her head so he was in her line of sight once more. "Ben, please, we just want to go home. We didn't sign up for this."
"Amelia." He came to the edge of the bed so that his chest was level with her head. He looked down at her. "This can be that place for you." His blue irises were pleading with her helplessly. "Please," he whispered. "Please trust me when I say that this is the only option."
She opened her eyes and looked down at his arm. The Omnis inside flickered, and she knew he was being watched.
She understood now what this meant.
"Okay." She met his eyes, smiled back at him, then reached back across the bed to grasp Faye's hand. "We understand."
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Amelia sat cross-legged on the end of Faye's bed, absentmindedly swiping at the skin on her arm that lit up from the Omnis.
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