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Great. A sign of organization and training.
He felt Holly tremble. She spoke in a quiet voice. “Rez, we’ve got to get help. You can’t battle all these Invictus by yourself.”
“It’s not that simple, Holly.”
“What do you mean? Can’t we just call the Tannisford Communication Center? Call for a Guard patrol?”
“We’re too far out. By the time any of the troops got here, the Invictus would have ransacked this town and killed I don’t know how many of my neighbors. Unless …”
“Unless, what?”
“Can we enter the past say a half hour ago and make a phone call?”
The expression of despair on Holly’s face shot adrenaline through his system. Several thoughts charged through his head, pieces of a puzzle he started putting together.
Then he got it. “We can’t change the past.”
“It’s critical we do as little as possible to affect past events. The smallest shift is a pebble in a pond. The rippling effect could easily make things much worse. This is the biggest, hardest lesson of time-pathing.”
She kept her voice low as she continued. “Vojalie drilled it into our heads: Leave the past untouched. She kept saying that each of our lives was at risk every time we interacted with the past. Our goal is always discovery, nothing else.”
“You collect information?”
She nodded. “Only to alter the present, though.”
He got it. His own family came to mind. Right now, he had foreknowledge of their deaths. But to go back in time and stop the tragedy would have enormous ramifications. He might save their lives, but would others die instead?
For a moment, he felt like being selfish, like forcing Holly to take him back there so he could save them all. What did he care who might get hurt if he could prevent the deaths of those he’d cherished above everything? It was a fierce call on his soul.
She gripped his arm suddenly. “Let it go, Rez. Please. You’re not meant to save your family and we’re using up valuable time.”
He squeezed his eyes shut and forced the images of his family away. Instead, he focused on what was at hand and the lives he could protect in the here-and-now.
When he opened his eyes, the compassion he saw on Holly’s face tore at his heart. He had no doubt she understood his struggle. He’d made a vow on the lives of his family to save others in their stead and to honor their deaths. “All right. Let me think.”
He heard the Invictus pounding on the door and shouting at the family. “Can you take us in and out of the time-path at will, as you just did? Can we do that repeatedly?”
“Yes. But it will take a toll.”
“All right. Let me think.” His mind whirred. There were ten Invictus. “What if, as I take on these bastards one pair at a time, you pull us back into the time-path the moment I call for it.”
“I can do that.” He saw the tightening of her lips. He approved.
“This will be dangerous and I can’t guarantee the outcome. But I promise I’ll do everything I can to destroy these monsters.”
Her eyes filled with sudden tears. “I know. I also know there’s a chance we won’t make it.”
“You don’t have to do this, Holly. I can battle on my own.”
“Like hell.” She straightened her shoulders. “I’m here and this has been given to me to do. I’m in.”
Again, he marveled at her courage. He knew she was frightened and she should be. But she also insisted on joining him in battle.
Because it seemed the right thing to do, he drew close then planted a kiss on her lips. “Let’s go.”
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