“Now we know where. We must do this in a way dear Walter will not see coming. The currents of the future can only be altered with extraordinary force. Arthur has opened my eyes to that very concept. When we arrive, no holding back. When we’re done and the Jewel is destroyed, perhaps even Walter will understand why we had to finish our mission in this extraordinary manner. We have the moral imperative, my friends, but we need to hurry. We have very limited time.”
Minutes later, as the cars sped south on Highway 39 in search of a house on a lake, Michael struggled with a new sensation. Not only was he going to die, but he handed a death sentence to the best friend he ever knew.
17
4:40 a.m.
W HEN JAMIE RACED from the cellar upstairs toward the kitchen of the lake house, he planned to give everyone a piece of his mind. They were lunatics, all of them. He’d laugh at them. Spit in their faces. Yet just before he stepped into the kitchen, reality smacked him upside the head like a two-by-four with well-positioned nails. He heard Walt.
“We need to extract answers from Arlene before she leaves us. Grace and Samantha are tending to her wounds. Once she’s conscious, we need to learn what the others are planning.”
“Good luck,” Ben said. “I don’t think she’s in a confessing mood. She made her choice. Either way, she has no future, and she knows it.”
Jamie felt a jolt as he heard Sammie.
“Daddy, it’s not good. Mom’s trying to slow the bleeding, but she’s not optimistic.”
“I know, Pumpkin. All we need is to stabilize her for a short spell. Long enough to talk. Wash those rags quickly.”
Jamie steeled himself and entered the kitchen. Ben turned away, and Jamie saw shame in his brother’s features. Jamie still wasn’t ready to accept the truth until he saw Sammie standing behind the sink, a bloody rag in her hand, the sweet innocence gone from her blue eyes, and a pistol behind her belt.
Ben grabbed him, pulled open the sliding door, and forced Jamie through. He stumbled onto the deck overlooking Lake Vernon. He paid no mind to the sweet mixture of gentle lake breeze and fragrance of cedar. Instead, he tried to level another fist at Ben. This time, Ben blocked him.
“Get a grip,” Ben said in a hushed tone. “I know this is too much to take, but you’ve got to hear me out.” Ben closed the sliding door. Inside, Walt wrapped an arm around Sammie, and they disappeared from the kitchen. “There’s more you have to know, but not in front of them. Trust is in very short supply.”
“I’m supposed to stand here and believe a dude who’s wearing booze like a Sunday suit?”
“No. You believe me because you know it in your heart. Nobody could make this up if they tried.”
Jamie supported himself against the railing. The world wasn’t spinning so much as punching him like an invisible boxer.
“You knew all along,” he told Ben. “You knew these whackos were coming for me, so you took off to get yourself plastered.”
“No. We did not expect it to happen tonight. If it did, I expected Ignatius to bring you here without any problems.”
Jamie laughed. “Great plan, bro. Worked to perfection. Why’s this happening to me, you bastard?”
“I’m sorry, J. I won’t bother with a history lesson; I think the Mentor has already explained how we got to this point. The bottom line is … I love you. I’ve done everything I could to keep this from happening.”
Jamie backed away for fear of unleashing his temper again.
“I ain’t seen love from you since Mom and Dad died. My life has been hell every day for two years, and all you’ve done is soak up the booze and sleep around with them damned whores. Only good thing you did was put me up in that sorry apartment without AC. I was leaving, Ben. On my way out of this shithole tonight. Broke into Ol’ Jack’s. Did you know that? Had the cash and a gun. I was ready. Then Iggy …” He held firm to the railing. “Why, Ben? Why do the others want me dead?” He pointed inside. “What about the Hugginses? Sammie was … who are these people?”
“Calm down. I think you already know the answer. We’re all Chancellors. We came here as an extra layer of protection for you. That’s why our families were always close, why …”
Jamie raced through the incomprehensible slew of back story Lydia provided in the cellar, and he reached a quick conclusion.
“Dude. Give me a break. We weren’t close. Walt and Grace wouldn’t say two words to me if they could avoid it. They put up with me because of Sammie. And you can’t stand them. I almost never saw them over at our house, even when Mom and Dad were alive.” He heard water lapping against the deck; he used to love that sound – it would carry him to sleep. “Look, let’s say I believe this story. Maybe everything about the other universe and these whacked Chancellors and this – thing – inside me … maybe it’s all true.” He trembled and held fast to the railing. “Just answer one question. Please, Ben. How do I get out of this?”
Water clustered in Ben’s eyes; his shoulders sagged. “You don’t, J. No matter what happens, you’ll die at 9:56. Sooner if we can’t protect you from the others. I’ve got a theory for a third option. It’s hope, but it’s a long shot and won’t stop the inevitable. All the Mentor told you is gospel. I only wish it hadn’t waited until tonight. You would’ve been ready.”
Jamie laughed even as tears streamed down his cheeks. “Ready? What? To die? When I’m 17? Who’s
