Page 32 of High Noon

“You say that often, brother,” Asa goaded. “I would never do this. I would never do that… but you’ve done exactly that and worse in the past. What makes you think you can control yourself in the present?”

No answer came from the man on my right, which did not comfort me in the least.

“You almost killed your own sister. I wouldn’t put it past you to try to kill me… or even Eve, if the mood struck you.”

Asa’s tone, and the truth of the accusations he so nonchalantly blurted, made my hair stand on end. I kept quiet, wondering whether Enoch might do what Asa said. Could he kill his siblings? If he could, it would mean he was also perfectly capable and willing to kill Eve, Maru, and me.

Since seeing him again in this time, I noticed something was different. He had changed again. I saw the slip from thirteen forty-eight to seventeen-seventeen, and the further dark spiral in seventeen seventy-seven. He tried to keep it hidden from Eve, but in the end, couldn’t.

I hadn’t spent quality time with the guy in this time, so I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what I felt was different about him. I know he caught Eve, even though he must’ve been angry that she left the way she did – also partially my fault. But by catching her, Enoch helped keep the impact from killing her.

I know he caught Maru. He probably thought it was me or Abram, but even then, he did the right thing.

But there was something off about him in eighteen sixty-eight, even if I didn’t know what it was. There was a shrewdness in his eyes. The pain that was there had morphed into something uglier. More lethal. He was less the man we first met, and more the Enoch we knew from home. And the Enoch from home was capable of far worse than killing a sibling or someone he thought he might love. He was destruction embodied. In time, he would unleash himself on this world, and God help anyone in his path.

We ran past Asa’s cabin and arrived back at the meager trading post locals were trying to build into something more. At dawn, Falling Branch was as quiet as a ghost town. I was sure the little scene at the saloon earlier was part of the reason why. Even so, Terah was lurking somewhere within this tiny place.

Asa and Enoch hadn’t exactly mended fences, but they hadn’t come to blows. Terah, on the other hand, continued to be the wildcard. That hadn’t changed in any time we’d ever encountered her.

* * *

Eve

Hotah arrived, bringing four saddled horses with him, and our grim party quickly mounted and headed towards Falling Branch. Maru and I stayed together as we picked our way along the path, with Hotah ranging ahead and Kohana riding silently behind us. Both gave us space. I wasn’t sure if it was an intentional, protective measure, but I knew Kohana would never trust me after the vision he’d seen. I’d lived it from my perspective, but from his? He watched me kill him.

“How did Abram get turned?” Maru asked quietly.

I took a deep breath. “During our first jump, he tried to kill me. I managed to yell for Enoch, and he…” tore his throat out seemed a little harsh, but it was true.

“Enoch seems very protective of you,” Maru noted, his tone one I recognized well. One of caution.

I couldn’t help but feel defensive. “Is that a bad thing?”

“Not necessarily, but why are his feelings for you so strong, Eve? How long have you truly known him? How much time have you had together?”

The truth of my answer stung. “Not that much.” Especially considering how much time we spent apart in comparison.

“You wrote in your letter that you loved him.”

“I do.”

He nodded quietly, slowly. “How do you know?”

“I’m willing to die for him.” It felt right. I knew it down to my marrow.

“This is the first time you’ve had feelings for anyone other than the friendships you’ve had with me and Titus. I don’t want to discourage your feelings, but I do want to make sure you’re making wise choices. Love blinds even the wisest of people.”

I swallowed.

“Would you be willing to die for the Enoch you knew from home?”

I shook my head, wanting Maru to see Enoch as he was now. “He isn’t like we thought. Victor is a liar. And so is Kael.”

Maru’s hands tightened on the reins. “Believe me, I know that now, but that’s not what I’m asking. If he is the same now as he will be in the future, capable of bringing a country to its knees – even if it was all for you – would you want him then? Would you feel the same way as you do now, or would part of you loathe him? Because before you jumped, for whatever their reasons, Enoch and his siblings, with the help of their sires, did seize power. They created armies, Eve. The country laid in a state of ruin because of them.”

“Maybe we stopped it!” I argued feebly. “Maybe telling him about all this will be enough to stop him from doing it.”

Maru pinched his lips together. “And maybe it will fuel him. Maybe his love for you is a more powerful catalyst than the one that pushed him to seize power in the first place.”

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