“What?” V’s smile collapsed into a frown and his whole body stiffened with tension.
I looked around, for once grateful for the crowds around us. The noise was loud enough that no one was paying any attention to us. “The door has to be built on a strict timeline and it has to be started on the first day of a season—though, luckily, it doesn’t matter which one.”
“The first day of summer is coming up, why not—”
I shook my head, cutting him off. “That’ll be too late. The door takes months to build and I need it done now.” I shrugged. “There’s no other way, V. Believe me, I’ve looked. If you want my help, then you have to do things my way.”
He leaned back against the chair and folded his arms across his chest.
“What’s the problem? I thought you did this traveling thing all the time now.”
“I do. But . . .”
I drew my eyebrows together in confusion. “But what?”
He sighed in obvious frustration. “Zero Hour first played at the Dungeon on January fifteenth, remember?”
“How could I forget?” I said dryly.
“That was the day our timelines intersected with yours.”
“So?”
V set the edge of his hands on the table, about a foot apart. “So, we can’t travel to any point between January fifteenth and the day when we went through the door the second time.”
“Why not?”
“Because you won’t let us.”
Now it was my turn to lean back and fold my arms across my chest. “Excuse me?”
V shook his head, struggling with his words. “Okay, look.” He moved his knife to the center of the table. “Here’s the river, right?” He grabbed the straw from his water glass and the one from mine. Laying a straw on either side of the knife, he said, “And here’s the bank.” He picked up his paper napkin and tore a small circle out of it, holding it up before me. “This is you.” He placed the paper circle on the knife. “And this is you on your little island that protects that portion of the river. We can move all around that island, but not right there. We can get close to you, to your specific timeline, but we can’t get to any point that you’re protecting.” He shrugged. “I can’t go back to March.”
I put my head in my hands. What V said made a sort of sense. The changes that had happened in my life had all happened before Zero Hour had entered my timeline. The events Zo had been changing had happened far back in my past, though they resulted in large changes downstream in my
present. Perhaps that’s what he meant when he said things would have been different if he had met me first. Perhaps if he had, he would have had access to my entire timeline, including the part of the river I was somehow protecting from his touch.
So how could I allow V access to that part of the river without opening the door to Zo as well?
I studied his makeshift diagram, trying to figure out a solution. It was hard to think. I knew from my dreaming trips that the bank was crumbling, that the river had twisted. It didn’t look like the same place anymore—
And then, all at once, I saw the answer. The way out.
V looked at me with sad eyes. “I’m sorry, Abby. I wish I could help—”
I pulled out my cell phone and punched in a number.
“Who are you calling?” V asked.
“Leo,” I said shortly. He picked up on the second ring.
“Abby?” he said.
“Hi, Leo.” I picked up the paper island from the blade of the knife and rubbed it between my fingers. “I need you to meet me at the Sugar Shoppe in”—I checked my watch—“one hour. Can you do that?”
“Of course. Is something wrong?”
“No, nothing’s wrong. I just need a favor.” I snapped the phone shut and pinned V with a hard stare. “You said you would do anything to make things right.”
V nodded. “If I can, I will.”
“Good.” I swept aside the knife and the straws with the flat of my hand. Then I pushed the binder across the table to him. “You have one hour to memorize these plans—every step. Everything.”
V wrapped his thick fingers around the binder. “Then what? I told you, I can’t go back to March—”
“Maybe not directly. But you can go to the bank. And you can take me with you.”
***
I paced in front of V, who leaned up against a tree trunk outside of the building, the binder propped open on his bent knees. He wasn’t happy about the idea of taking me to the bank, but since my answer to every one of his questions was to point to the binder and remind him that he had less than an hour left, he stopped asking questions and started studying.
Checking my watch, I scanned the parking lot. V had less than five minutes now, if Leo was on time, and he was always on time.
“This is amazing,” V said, turning a page. “And you say Dante designed this?”
“Da Vinci designed it. Dante just made the modifications.”
“Still.” V tapped the papers with his finger. “It’s incredible. It’s so complicated it’s a wonder it worked at all.”
I stopped my pacing and slanted a look down at him. “But it did, didn’t it?”
“Yeah,” he said quietly. “It did. And you want me to build one for you? Why?”
I sat down next to him. The binder was open to the last page—the drawing of the heart-shaped locket. “Long story short: Dante didn’t make it through the second door like you did. Building this will bring him home.” I felt V’s eyes on me and turned my head to meet his gaze. “You reunite me with Dante, and I’ll reunite you with Valerie.”
“But it’s dangerous—building another machine.”
“I know,” I said. “But it’s more dangerous not to.”
V was quiet for a moment. “How do you know I won’t run back to Zo and tell him what I’ve learned?”
I studied his dark eyes. “I don’t,” I said honestly. “But I trust you’ll do the right thing. For Valerie’s sake if not your own.”
V tilted his head. Then he reached out and touched my hand. “I’m sorry,” he said softly. “For everything. For bringing all this uncertainty into your life.”
I smiled at him, though it felt a little crooked on my face. “You’re sweet. I can see what Valerie liked about you.”
“Abby?” Leo stepped up to join us in the shade of the tree. “Are you all right?”
Standing up, I brushed at my pants and dusted my hands together. “I’m great. Thanks for coming.”
V closed the binder and stood by my side. “Leo.” He nodded his head respectfully in greeting.
“Vincenzio,” Leo replied, looking wary and confused.
“Okay, here’s the plan,” I said, clapping my hands together. “The three of us are going to the bank. I’ll help V drop back into the river in March so he can build the door for Dante, and then you, Leo, will help me back so I don’t get stuck in time. Everybody ready?”
V and Leo looked at me with alternating expressions of horror and incredulity.
Leo found his voice first. “No,” he said. “That’s insanity. I won’t let you do this—”
V chimed in. “I’ve never taken anyone to the bank. What if it doesn’t work?”
“Dante would never forgive me if I let you come to harm,” Leo continued.
I held up my hands and both men fell silent. “You both promised you’d help me. Well, this is how you can.” I lifted the binder from V’s unresisting hands and wrapped my arms around it. “Now, let’s stop standing around and get moving.” I looked from V to Leo. “Please.”
Leo sighed, frowning. “I’m not happy about this.”
“I know,” I said. “But it’ll be over before you know it. Trust me.”
“Do we have a choice?” V growled.
I smiled. “Nope.”
***
Leo drove the three of us to the ruins of the Dungeon. As another lodestone location, I knew it was a risk going there—V worried that Zo would take note of our prese
nce and figure out what we were doing—but the Dungeon was where I had done most of my traveling to the bank, and I hoped it would ease the transition if we at least started in a familiar place.
The yellow caution tape still roped off the area, and the twisted metal still jutted up from the ashes like teeth. I glanced at Leo, who surveyed the lot with obvious pain in his eyes. I touched his arm and smiled at him, hoping to offer some small measure of comfort.
I ducked under the tape and walked to where the bar had once been. V and Leo followed, their unhappiness as thick as the dust in the air.
“This will do,” I said.
“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” V asked, walking behind me.
“No,” I admitted, “but stranger things have happened.”
Leo folded his arms, scowling. “Why do you have to go? Let V and me do what needs to be done, and you stay here where it’s safe.”
“It’s not safe anywhere anymore,” I said. “Besides, you can’t do what I can. What I need to do there.” I touched Leo’s arm. “There’s no time to try anything else. I have to do whatever it takes to set Dante free.”
Leo held my gaze for a long time, and I saw a wealth of emotions run through his face. Finally, he uncrossed his arms and nodded. “For Dante,” he said low.
I slipped my hand into his and held out the binder to V. “Are you ready, V?”
He took the binder and nodded.
“What do I do?” he asked me under his breath, a note of nervousness in his voice. “Last time Zo did all the work . . .” He trailed off.
I smiled reassuringly at V. “Don’t worry. All you have to do is go to the bank like you always do. I’ll just be tagging along this time.”
I took V’s free hand with mine. Breathing deeply, I closed my eyes and thought about thinning the edges between here and there. I counted my heartbeats. I focused on the feel of my hands in Leo’s and V’s grip. I wanted to make it as easy for V as I could.
As I felt the pressure of V’s fingers tighten around mine, I turned to him. “Oh, and remember to kiss”—the world shifted—“me,” I finished.
I wondered how I had ever mistaken the dream-side of the bank for the actual bank. The pressure hit me like a rock, crushing me. My body felt tight like a knot and the vise pinched my lungs, stealing my breath. This was as bad as I remembered.
No, it was worse.
The midnight sky I’d seen in my dreams was an even darker black, oppressive and unrelenting. The crumbling bank sloughed under my feet like a shed skin.
The three of us stood on a small island in the center of the river. All around us the river bubbled and churned. I was used to seeing it flowing silver-white, filled with images and pictures, but now it was almost gray, and a murky film floated on the surface like sludge.
I freed my hands and turned V’s face toward me, frantic for relief. I pulled his head down and kissed him quickly. The pressure of the bank eased up and I relaxed as much as I ever could in that place.
“This was a bad idea,” Leo said next to me, a hard pain drawing a line across his forehead. His lips thinned into a tight frown.
“Maybe, but it worked,” I said with relief. “We’re here on my island.”
“What happened?” V asked, looking around and down at the chunk of bank beneath our feet. “The river’s not supposed to be here.” He pointed into the distance on his right. “It’s supposed to be over there.”
“Zo happened,” I said shortly. I wondered if the bridge would appear like it had the last time I had been on the bank, but there was nothing to disturb the flat expanse all the way to the horizon. Maybe since the original door had been destroyed, the bridge was gone too. I wondered if that was a good or a bad thing.
“Let’s hurry.” A muscle jumped in Leo’s jaw as he looked at the polluted river. “I don’t want you to be here any longer than you absolutely have to.”
I felt the same way.
“This is bad,” V said. “If Zo did this . . .”
Turning to V, I took a deep breath. “You said that you were blocked from entering the river at any point since January, right? You were denied direct access to my timeline.”
“Is that what this island is?” Leo asked me. “Are you protecting this part of the river?”
“I think so,” I said. “That’s why we had to come to the bank together.” I smiled at V. “You brought me to the bank, but I brought you to my island. And now that you’re here, you’re part of my timeline. Do you see? This island is the key that unlocks the door to my timeline. And when you step back into the river, you should be able to access last March without any problem.”
Leo placed his hand on my shoulder and turned me around. “Are you sure about this, Abby? I mean, are you sure you want to allow him access to your past like this?”
“Yes, Leo. I’m sure. I know it’s a risk, but no greater than the other risks I’ve taken. And if I have to make hard choices, I want to make the choice that will bring Dante back to me.”
Leo glanced over my shoulder at V. “What if he does something—?”
“I won’t,” V said, his back straight and steel in his eyes. “I promised Abby if she could get me to March, I would build her the door. We had a deal.”
“It’ll be okay, Leo,” I said quietly. “We can trust him.”
“When you go back,” Leo said to V, “you’ll be dealing with overlapping timelines. I don’t have any idea what will happen with two of you in the river at the same time, so make sure you stay out of everyone’s way—especially your own. Don’t talk to anyone. Don’t do anything except build the door, and don’t build it where anyone will find it.”
“Where do you suggest?” he asked. “It’s a pretty big machine. It’s not like I can work on it just anywhere.”
The three of us looked at each other for a moment.
And then I asked almost casually, “Leo, did the Dungeon have a basement?”
“Yes, but—” He stopped and shook his head. “No. Not there. We’ll think of somewhere else.”
“Why not, Leo? It’s perfect.” I counted the points off on my fingers. “It’d be secluded and private. No one from Zero Hour ever went down there, did they?” I turned to V for confirmation and he shook his head. “There’d be enough space for the structure, right? And when V’s done, we’ll know right where the door is.”
Leo frowned. “What about the noise? No matter how good you are, no one could build a machine like that without drawing some attention.”
“The Dungeon was a noisy place, especially on Friday nights,” I pointed out. “And what about all those days when the Dungeon was closed, or when you and Dante were on the bank? I bet there would be plenty of downtime when V could make as much noise as he wanted and no one would notice.”
“What about supplies?” Leo countered. “Not only will you have to gather all the equipment and supplies, but you’ll have to smuggle them into the basement without my knowledge.”
“Do you still have the keys to the Dungeon?” I asked Leo.
“Of course.” He reached into his pocket and withdrew a key ring, displaying the small silver keys on his palm.
“What if you gave V the key to the basement?” I asked, eyeing the keys thoughtfully. “Then he could come and go as he pleased.”
“It’s not a bad idea,” V said. “As long as I stay out of your way, I should be able to get it done.”
“But that’s just the thing,” Leo said, shoving the keys back into his pocket. “How can V build it in the basement if the version of me from March didn’t know anything about it? I was down in the basement at least once a week. If he goes back, if he does this, I would have known about it because I would have discovered him there. There’s no way around that fact.”
Once again the three of us looked at each other, searching for an answer.
“You’re right, Leo,” I said slowly, my brain churning through options and possibilities. “You would have known about it. You’d have to in ord
er to keep it a secret.”
The blood drained from Leo’s face. “No, Abby, please.” His voice was ragged. “Don’t ask this of me.”
“What?” V asked, looking between me and Leo.
Leo spoke to V, but his eyes never left mine. “She’s suggesting that when you go back, you tell me what you’re doing. She’s suggesting that I help you build the door. And that I keep it secret from everyone. Including Dante. Including her.”
“What’s wrong with that? I could use all the help I can get,” V said. “And you’re good at keeping secrets. What’s one more?”
“Please, Leo,” I said quietly, searching his face. “I know you were unhappy that Dante gave me the plans. I know you were glad to see the door destroyed and that you hate the idea of me building another one. But, don’t you see? There’s no other way. I’ll lose him otherwise. We both will.”
After a timeless moment, his shoulders curved in surrender. I saw a deep, unbearable pain cross his face as though he were aging before my eyes. But we were on the bank, and I knew such things were impossible.
“Bisogna chiudere il cerchio,” he said in Italian. “Faró quello che é necessario.”
“Was that a yes?” I asked softly.
He nodded once.
I exhaled as best I could with the pressure of the bank weighing me down. “Good. Thank you, Leo.” I leaned up and kissed him gently on the cheek. “I’m sorry.”
The pain I thought was gone from his face returned tenfold and my heart ached to see such anguish.
Leo fixed his gaze on V, who straightened to attention like a soldier. “When you go back, find the night of March fourth. Dante had gone to visit Abby and give her that locket. I closed the Dungeon early. Knock on the back door. I doubt I’ll be glad to see you, but when you see me, tell me . . .” He swallowed and a note of emotion trembled in his voice. “Tell me that the lady of light has sent you. Tell me that it is time to honor my vow.”
My mouth opened in surprise, but Leo deliberately didn’t look at me.
“That should be enough to get you inside. What you do after that is up to you.”