Page 41 of Killing Time

“Is he…?”

“Oh, no,” she replied at once. “He’s Seth McAllister from Jerome. Jerome in 1926,” she added.

Adam Wilcox now wore the expression of a man who needed a stiff drink, and in that moment, Seth could only sympathize with him. His drinking career had only existed for the last couple of weeks, but even he knew that sometimes a good shot of brandy was exactly what the doctor ordered.

Rather than raid the liquor cabinet, Adam went over to the long table that separated the living space from the kitchen, pulled out one of the chairs, and sat down.

“How can this be true?”

“You know it is,” Devynn said, and the man ran a hand through his hair, clearly trying to settle himself enough to grasp everything he’d just heard.

“Yes…all right, damn it, you’re telling me the truth. But what are you two doing traveling together if you’re from such different times, and what the hell are you doing in Flagstaff in 1947?”

A question Seth had asked himself on more than one occasion.

Rather than answer right away, Devynn sat down across the table from her distant cousin, and Seth followed suit, thinking itwould look awkward for him to remain standing when the other two had already seated themselves.

“That’s a long story,” she said. “One we probably don’t have time for right now. But I have two talents — one for concealing my witch nature, and another for traveling in time. Unfortunately, the concealment power works a lot better than my time travel one. So I can’t tell you exactly why we ended up here, only that it seems to have set off a chain of events we need to fix as quickly as possible.” She clasped her hands together and met the increasingly astonished expression Adam wore with an almost amused gaze, as though she also wanted to admit to the absurdity of the situation. “You see, we need to find out where Jasper has taken Ruby. What he’s going to attempt is insane.”

Adam Wilcox blinked and his lips parted for a moment, as if he was going to tell her he didn’t know what she was talking about.

However, Devynn seemed to anticipate that maneuver and said, “I’m from the future, remember? I know much more than you could ever imagine. Maybe your talent doesn’t prevent you from lying, but I’ll still know if you do.”

Now the other warlock looked as if he was the one who desperately wanted to escape. “You’re a Wilcox,” he said flatly, and Devynn nodded. “Then you of all people should know how badly we need to break the curse.”

Her gaze became almost compassionate. “I understand that,” she replied. “But this isn’t the way to do it.”

“Then what is the way?”

For a moment, she seemed almost hesitant. She sent the slightest sideways glance in Seth’s direction, almost as if asking forgiveness for what she was about to do.

No…they shouldn’t be interfering any more than was strictly necessary. She’d told him that when they were in Flagstaff in1884, saying they needed to be careful not to disrupt any events that had already happened.

Clearly, Devynn didn’t have the same view of the situation. “The curse will be broken,” she said, again in that calm, level tone. “Decades from now, a son of a Wilcoxprimusand the McAllisterprima-in-waiting will fall in love and work together to undo the terrible magic that Nizhoni cast on Jeremiah Wilcox and all the sons of his line. The two clans are reconciled, and everything is so much better than you could possibly imagine.” A pause, and when she continued, she leaned forward slightly, as though to drive home the point she was making. “But if you allow Jasper to bind himself to Ruby McAllister, that possible future will be destroyed. Terrible things will happen.”

Although most Wilcoxes had the kind of complexion that didn’t seem to show much of a flush or pallor all that well, Adam Wilcox still seemed to pale visibly as he listened to all this.

However, he recovered himself enough to say, “You make it sound as if I can stop theprimus.Do you have any idea how powerful he is?”

“Not completely,” Devynn said. “But we met Jeremiah Wilcox in the past, so we have an inkling. Still, as strong a warlock as Jasper is, he’s just one man. Surely if all the Wilcoxes got together and told him this was a terrible idea, he’d back down.”

A small chuckle escaped Adam’s lips. “That shows you don’t know very much about myprimus.When he has an idea set in his head, he goes through with it, no matter what.” The warlock drummed his fingertips on the tabletop, adding, “Besides, my clan would never do anything to circumvent his wishes. If Jasper has decreed that the best solution to breaking the curse is joining with Ruby McAllister, then no one will gainsay him.”

Although those words were uttered firmly enough, Seth noted how Adam Wilcox didn’t meet either of their eyes ashe spoke, his gaze fixed on something outside the window. He might not have been psychic, but he could tell the Wilcox warlock wasn’t quite as on board with hisprimus’splan as he might have wanted them to believe.

Devynn must have noticed his evasion, too, because she fixed her gaze on the other man and said, “You don’t agree with what he’s doing.”

At once, the Wilcox warlock frowned. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Maybe not,” she allowed, and leaned back in her chair, no tension in her posture at all. “But even though your gift lets you see the lies of other people, you’re not very good at telling them yourself.”

Once again, he glanced out the window, more likely to stall having to give her a reply than because he cared whether a few more leaves had fallen from the oak trees that must give the cabin marvelous shade in the summer.

When Adam spoke, his voice was openly strained.

“Look,” he said, “I know you’re telling me the truth, so I suppose I have to believe you. And even if I came out and admitted that I don’t agree with what Jasper is doing, I’m just one warlock in a very large clan that has an entirely different view of the situation. My talent might assist me in matters like this, but it’s not going to allow me to help you free Ruby.”

“Do you know where she is?” Seth asked then, knowing how eager he sounded. But even though Adam Wilcox wasn’t exactly an ally, it seemed clear enough that he wasn’t an enemy, either, and that meant he was currently their best option when it came to getting some help from within the Wilcox clan.

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