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‘Not really,’ he said with a grin. ‘What brings you here, Wulfram? I hope you haven’t come to beg me to stop Romy from travelling with Blaise.’
‘No,’ I said reluctantly. ‘Although I wish you would. Aren’t you worried about her? I mean, it’s Blaise.’
‘Meaning?’ Emrick was busy measuring some pieces of wood and didn’t seem at all concerned.
‘I like Blaise, I really do,’ I said. ‘Don’t get me wrong. I’ve always got on with him, and he’s a likeable, bright, fun chap. But…’
‘Ah,’ Emrick said, nodding as he scribbled measurements on the wood in pencil. ‘But.’
‘Well, Celeste says fate has played such a big part in Blaise’s life,’ I said worriedly. ‘It seems to pull him along somehow, making him do things he doesn’t really want to do. We all thought fate, or destiny, or whatever, had finished with him, but Celeste memory-walked inside his mind, and she’s convinced it hasn’t. And the thing is, to go back in time, he has to regain his magic. What if that’s the trap?’
‘Trap?’ Emrick raised an eyebrow. ‘What do you mean, trap?’
‘I mean, what if all this going back in time stuff is just so that Hector will return his magic to him? Let him loose on the seventeenth century again and who knows what will happen. He could cause havoc.’ I shivered at the mention of that word. How appropriately named my uncle was.
‘Didn’t you just say you really liked him, and thought he was bright?’ Emrick picked up a mug of coffee and took a sip, watching me keenly.
‘I did. I do. He is.’
‘Well then, surely he’s not stupid enough to make the same mistake twice?’
‘But if fate pulls him along…’
‘Oh, you mean as if we have no choice in the matter? I see your dilemma,’ Emrick agreed.
I eyed him, rather indignantly. ‘I don’t know why you’re making fun of me,’ I said. ‘Ever since we met you’ve been telling me that we mustn’t do this, and we mustn’t do that because we can’t change fate.’
He shook his head slightly. ‘But that just proves my point, doesn’t it? Fatecanbe changed, and it really doesn’t take much. A careless conversation, a decision to turn left instead of right, anything really. Why do you think I’ve been so careful to tell you as little as I possibly can? I’ve had to tread such a difficult path, because I know what fate has in store—at least up until a certain point. But if I said the wrong thing, it might have led you to behave in a different way, and then fate would have changed. And for now, it’s imperative that it doesn’t.’
‘But it still could?’
‘Of course! You have no idea how scared I’ve been that I’d influence you all, ever since my informants told me what was in store.’
‘Whoareyour informants, Emrick?’ I asked curiously.
‘I could tell you,’ he said, winking at me, ‘but then I’d have to kill you.’
‘Did they tell you what happens when I go back in time?’ I asked.
‘Obviously, although that’s hardly a secret, given the O’Briens remember it.’
‘And what about Blaise?’ I ventured hopefully. ‘Did they mention him at all? Does he have a part to play in this story?’
He put down his mug and took the pencil from where he’d slotted it behind his ear.
‘I’m not going to influence you, but nice try.’
‘So should I take him back in time with me or not?’
‘Wulfram,’ he said patiently, ‘the decision has already been made. Romy is going with him. They’ve chosen their path.’
‘But how do I know if it’s the right one?’
‘You don’t,’ he said with a shrug. ‘What you do know is that it’s imperative that the Great Guardian can look the Seelie Court members in the eye and assure them, hand on heart, that the witch has returned to his rightful time without any keys, and that the time loop has closed. Now, you know that, because the O’Briens told you—as did legend—that your reassurance was what calmed talk of war down in that period. So what do you think is the right course of action?’
‘Put like that,’ I said glumly.
‘Excellent.’
