Devon didn’t answer right away. “Perhaps we can use it only to find the portal. Do you have a lantern we can use once we’re through?”
“No. But we can hide the flashlight on the other side, in case we need to prove we’re from the future.”
“Why would we want to do that?” Devon rubbed his affected leg. She noticed he did that sometimes, probably absent-mindedly.
She set a couple of sandwiches on the table and poured them both a glass of water.
“I should pack some water for my grandma and sister, also some medicinal herbs. I’m sure they’re dehydrated. They didn’t look well when I saw them during my astral projection.”
“Let’s puzzle out anything else we might need while we eat.” He rose and proceeded to the coatrack beside the door, then withdrew a small notepad and pen from his coat pocket.
Sitting back down, he said, “I always make a packing list when I travel.” A smile let her know he was trying to lighten the mood. Unfortunately, it wasn’t working. Her mood was still dreadful.
At last, they were packed and ready to go. Freya had forced herself to change her mood from negatively stressed to nervously excited. Devon seemed to be in that frame of mind too. They locked the cottage and strolled to the narrow river out back.
“I don't think we should say we’re from the future, under any circumstances."
Freya giggled. "Not even if they're about to hang us?"
Devon reached over and took her hand as they strolled along the river. "I guess if they're about to hang us, telling the truth couldn’t do any more harm. They’d already be convinced we were in league with the devil."
"I was just joking,” Freya said.
They walked on in companionable silence for a few minutes. Freya turned on the flashlight and scanned the air in front of them, looking for some kind of rippling effect.
"Do you think we will really find the portal?" Devon asked.
Freya shrugged. “I think we have to try. Unless…" She looked over at Devon and stared at him intently.
"Unless?"
Freya shook her head. “You don't have to do this, you know. This is my family. I can't imagine why you would risk your own life for them. You don't even know them."
Devon glanced up at the stars in the night sky. She didn't know if he was planning to answer her at all.
"Before I met you, my life was boring,” he said. “I mean, facts and figures all day, soreallyboring. It's been anything but boring ever since." He squeezed her hand.
She smiled at him but muttered under her breath, "But risking your life? Nobody's that bored."
Devon dropped the satchel on the ground and turned her to face him. He held both of her arms and stared into her eyes. Instead of saying anything, he just pulled her close for a long, deep kiss. Freya never felt as treasured as she did in Devon's arms. He treated her like she was precious. Probably the way guys should have treated her all along but didn’t. She returned his kiss, dropping the flashlight and winding her arms around his shoulders. She cupped his head and pulled him closer, holding him while she explored his mouth with her tongue.
He returned her passionate kiss enthusiastically. When they broke apart, they were panting.
"If we do much more of that, we will never accomplish our goal," Devon said.
"Hey, you started it." Freya picked up the flashlight and bumped his arm playfully.
"You're quite right." Devon picked up the satchel carrying the battery-powered angle grinder, some rope, and two tasers. Freya bought one and Devon bought the other, but at least they were prepared for just about anything. Freya had remembered seeing old reruns of the show Star Trek and had laughed about setting their weapons on ‘stun’.
The only major thing they were not prepared for was speaking to someone in the dialect of seventeenth-century America.
9
"What if we get through to the other timeline, and then have to talk to someone?" Freya asked.
Devon looked at her sideways. "Do you mean, should we shoot first and ask questions later? I think that's how you Yanks put it."
She chuckled. "Yeah, that sounds like us. But I was also thinking maybe we could have a line prepared that sounds normal, maybe asking if the jailer is around?"
