Oberi’s protests faded into the back of my mind while I focused on Kallie. She hadn’t heard him, so she kept talking.
“It’s three-forty-five right now,” Kallie said. “We ran into Thaddeus at two o’clock, so we should go back to just a few minutes before that. We want to change as little as possible. We need to stop Mad Dog from punching Thaddeus and causing that cut, so he can’t compel him.”
“Okay— Wait!” I cried. “We were out in the prison yard at two o’clock. If we time travel from here, we’ll run into ourselves.”
“You’re right,” Kallie said. “Come on.”
She grabbed my hand, and her wristwatch brushed against my skin. We ducked inside the building. Oberi followed, grumbling the whole way. The door clicked shut behind us.
“Three-forty-seven,” Kallie announced. “Ready?”
I nodded firmly. “Yes.”
The world spun for a brief second, before our feet landed on solid ground again. My stomach clenched, but I shook it off.
“It’s just before two o’clock,” Kallie told me.
The door creaked open a crack, and I heard the distant sound of Kallie’s voice. It was her past self, standing out in the prison yard. “Watch this…”
“I see ourselves in the prison yard,” Kallie said from beside me. “It doesn’t look like we’ve time traveled yet— wait! I just snapped my fingers.”
Barely a beat passed before I heard my own voice outside. “You okay?”
Our past selves had time traveled and returned as if no time had passed at all. Any moment now, we’d walk inside and run into Thaddeus.
“We’re barely a minute ahead of ourselves,” I stated. “We don’t have much time.”
“You’re right. We have to hurry.” Kallie grabbed my wrist, and she led me down the hall as fast as she could. Oberi followed. We passed the cafeteria, where people were shouting protests like earlier, then turned the corner to where we’d found Thaddeus before.
I expected him to be right there, surrounded by Esther, Naya, and Mad Dog, but instead, their voices came from further down the hall.
“You’re agood guy,Thaddeus,” Esther practically sang, her voice getting closer. “Iknowyou’ll do the right thing and join The Mission.”
Thaddeus sighed loudly, and it was like music to my ears. By the ancestors, he was alive! My knees shook with relief. We really did have the power to stop this.
“You can take your pitch elsewhere,” Thaddeus said. “I refuse to be a part of it.”
“Oh, you think so?” Mad Dog sneered. “One way or another, The Mission will have you.”
Several things happened at once. Their footsteps stopped, and athudsounded alongside a breathlessoof. Thaddeus’ hawk Familiar screeched.
Mad Dog’s pinned Thaddeus against the wall!Oberi shouted to me.
Fuck, this was it!
“Hey!” I yelled, the same time Oberi’s bark echoed down the hall. I threw my hands upward, and my Air magic swept Mad Dog’s feet out from under him. Thaddeus gulped a greedy breath. Kallie and I rushed forward and helped steady Thaddeus on his feet.
“Oh, great,you,” Naya sneered.
I was definitely getting an intense case of déjà vu.
“Yes,us,” Kallie seethed. “What were you going to do to him? Punch him? Make himbleed?”
I turned to Thaddeus and ran my fingers over his forehead. “You all right? Are you bleeding?”
“No,” Thaddeus said in a trembling tone. “Just shook up is all.”
Mad Dog got to his feet. “You’re going to pay for that, Bandit.”
