The Clockmaker and the Pirate - EVERMORE BOOK 1

Chapter 25 -- Venice, Italy; 6 August 1650

"What?" Mitch calls, shouting after the owl. "What do you mean, us?"

The owl just flies away, not bothering to explain further. I move to the window that overlooks the dock quickly and my eyes catch on a ship that's grown familiar to me; it's La Rosa Morti. But it can't be. We docked on the other side of the city.

I squint to see more clearly in the night, when something startling makes me gasp.

It's me.

Not only me, but also Mitch, Lindsey, and Avi...and K.O. and Kirstin. I swallow hard.

"Oh," Mitch says softly.

I'm stupid for not seeing it coming. I'd thought that maybe we'd be able to get in and out of Venice without having to deal with paradoxes and seeing ourselves from the past, but apparently, we weren't so lucky.

I feel someone nudge me slightly and instinctively get out of the way to allow them a look, which I quickly regret. Lindsey stands next to me and looks down at the dock. When her eyes settle on a certain someone, she gasps loudly, and then whimpers. "Kevy?"

"Lindsey, c'mon, we have to get in the wardrobe and hide," Mitch says, taking her by the arm and beginning to lead her. "They can't see us."

Lindsey begins to cry, silent tears turning into sobs as Mitch drags her into the wardrobe. "No! That's n-not fair!" she wails, trying to get the attention of the people below. "Kevin!"

"Hush! You're going to get us all killed," Avi hisses from inside the wardrobe. "Now get inside."

Mitch holds his hand over Lindsey's mouth and puts her inside the wardrobe as she throws a tantrum, screaming and sobbing.

Mitch steps in the wardrobe next, and then helps me inside as I close the door behind me, leaving the four of us in the dark.

It's pretty roomy for a wardrobe; there's enough room for each of us to stand comfortably, but we're pressed together at the shoulder. I'm between Mitch and Avi, with Lindsey on the end next to Mitch.

"Lindsey, listen to me," Mitch begins, trying to calm the poor girl down. "That's not Kevin. I know it looks like him and acts like him, but it's not him. He's just an echo of the past."

"Thanks, that helps a lot," Lindsey retorts sarcastically, wiping tears on Mitch's shirt sleeve.

"But this is important, Linds. If your past self sees your future self, that's when things get wild. The whole of space and time could implode," Mitch explains. "So you just need to stay in here, can you do that for me?"

Lindsey nods slowly and reluctantly, but is eventually able to stop the crying noises that keep escaping her throat.

The four of us just stand in silence, the sound of our own breathing bouncing off of the wood from the wardrobe. Mitch slips his hand into mine, and I give him a quick kiss on the head. I can't tell, but I think he's smiling. I hope he is.

We wait for a few more minutes in the silence, barely daring to breathe. After a while, I notice Mitch is trembling. I squeeze his hand tighter and he leans into me as if for protection.

"Are you scared of the dark, love?" I ask in a whisper.

"Just a little," he replies, matching my voice volume. "Mostly just tight spaces, though."

Visions of Mitch being held in a tight box with shards of glass and nails sticking out of the sides flash before my eyes. Screaming until his voice was raw and apologizing over and over for something he didn't do, so scared he could barely breathe, and even if he did breathe it would puncture his chest. The scars on his chest, legs, and arms that refuse to fade even after centuries. How he would forgive and pretend to forget after one half-assed apology. I swallow hard. No wonder he's afraid. I hug him even tighter.