Page 287 of Oracle Returns: Time will Stop

Something was coming.

Something bad.

From the way her husband was twitchy, to the fact that the two cops with her seemed jumpy, told her all she needed to know.

Something wicked was heading their way. It was as if they were standing at the mouth of Hell, just waiting for it to go nuclear all around them.

“I don’t like it.”

As they were sitting in the car, Julian lifted a brow.

“Just now you started not liking it? Victoria, I’m hating all of this,” he said. “I’m freaking the fuck out and thinking about how I can pick up this entire business and move it ANYWHERE but here. Salem isn’t feeling safe.”

She could say the same thing, but then again, this tended to be a recurring theme in their lives.

They ran from the West last time. Now, where would they run to?

“We have to make a stand.”

Yeah, he didn’t like that.

Not.

At.

All.

Julian didn’t mind fighting for his business, or for the people they employed, but a demonic entity? One that was elemental and couldn’t be stopped with normal means?

“We did this once before, Victoria. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome.”

She was aware.

“We ran last time, too, and we didn’t beat it. How do we know that this thing wasn’t the same thing last time? Avalon said it was hunting Genesis. It was looking for the people who tried to stop it hundreds of years ago. How do we know that it wasn’t the same thing we fought once before?”

That stole his breath.

Why?

He hadn’t considered that.

Only, Tori wasn’t done.

“Where Genesis was isn’t far from where we were outside of Damascus. What if this thing keeps finding not only Genesis, but us, because we’re supposed to deal with it?”

That hung there.

And he hated that she might be right.

“Victoria, I can’t lose anyone else. We lost two people we loved and had to deal with the ramifications of Nyx’s actions.”

Tori touched his leg.

“And we did, but it’s still here, and it’s back with a vengeance. We need to fight it, Jules. You heard Avalon. A Shaman could help, but we don’t have one. We do have some psychic Natives. I’m asking you to fight, not pick us up and run.”

He was trying to stay strong.

“If I lose you like Ridge lost Wynter, I’m not going to be okay,” he admitted. “I’m not going to survive that, Tor.”