Time Salvager (Time Salvager #1)(67)
She shook her head and looked at the children huddling over their small bowls. “Look at these people. They’re starving. I’ve never gone hungry one day in my life. I don’t think they’ve ever gone a day when they weren’t.” She looked to him. “Is there anything you can do? You have all these fantastic powers.”
“I can’t just conjure up food, and I think breaking into a food bank might draw some unwanted attention. Let’s not forget we’re both wanted by probably every authority in this solar system.”
“Then go back in time to get it,” she said, and brightened. “Yeah, why don’t you? Head back to some point in time and bring back food for these people.”
James shook his head. “It’s more complicated than that. There are rules to follow and consequences to time travel. I can’t jump back for small benefits like food and basic supplies. It’s not worth the cost.”
“Not worth the…” Elise looked angry. “Look at them, James! Some of the children don’t look like they’ll live through the winter. How is that not worth the cost?”
James looked away from her, his teeth cutting on his lower lip. It wasn’t her fault. Elise didn’t know what she was asking for; she didn’t know the consequences. Yet, that earnest compassion on her face … There was this kindness and vibrancy to Elise that James found alluring. It moved him in a way that he had never felt before. He found himself unconsciously drawn to her.
An idea occurred to James. He could accomplish two tasks at once. This was the perfect opportunity to test Smitt, to see if his twenty-year-old friendship had survived this trying situation. If Smitt found a jump point for him, would he have an ambush waiting for James? James could arrive a day early and if ChronoCom forces moved into the region … It would be risky, but something he needed to find out. And Smitt, as a handler, would be a valuable resource for him to leverage.
There was more to it, though. James would never admit it, but he desperately wanted to believe that his only friend was still his friend. Finding out where Smitt stood was more important to him personally than getting the food for the tribe. This gave him the perfect cover to test his old friend’s loyalty.
“Excuse me,” he said, standing up. He walked to the edge of the camp and shot up into the air, bounding on top of several buildings until he could no longer see the spark of the campfire. He landed on the water’s edge and stayed still, listening for any signs of activity. With what he was about to do, he couldn’t be too cautious. Satisfied that he was far enough away from the Elfreth’s base, James sat down at the water’s edge, and looked up at the gray and brown clouds that covered the sky.
“Smitt, you there?” he thought. “Smitt, let me—”
“I’m here, James. Have you come to your senses? Are you ready to turn yourself in?”
“No, but listen, I need a favor. It’s an unusual request. I need you to dig around the chronostream and find a jump point that won’t cause any ripples.”
TWENTY-FIVE
AID
Salih should have listened to Kaela that morning when she told him about her bad dream and begged him not to go out to sea.
“The oceans are angry and a storm dances near,” his little sister pleaded, tugging on his tunic. “There might be pirates. A whale might swallow your ship whole.”
Salih had laughed at her overactive child’s mind, patted her on the head, and promised to bring something back once he returned from the short voyage to Carthage and dropped off the foodstuffs that the city so badly needed. The Romans were on the march toward the city again, and if history proved correct once more, it would be a very profitable summer for Salih and his two modest trade ships, laden with barley, salted fish, and smoked meats. He could charge three times more at a besieged city than anywhere else in the Mediterranean, and the Carthaginians would gladly pay. By the gods, Salih loved war.
Then Kaela’s cursed dream came true. Not just part of it, but all. His little sister must belong to the Oracles. First, a sea creature, large enough that Salih could only guess it was a whale, smashed into his lead ship—the one filled with the expensive salted fish—and crippled her. Salih had lost a day tethering his remaining good ship to the crippled one to move the crew and merchandise on board before it was lost. Then, over-encumbered, the remaining ship was too slow to outrun Sicilian pirates who had sensed an easy prey.
Salih, as a last desperate measure to escape, steered the ship into a storm. His risky plan worked, kind of. On one hand, Salih lost the pirates in the storm. On the other, he lost his mast and oars in doing so as well. Most of his men had perished in the storm, and now three days later, the rest were succumbing to the cruel sea one by one. Salih himself hadn’t eaten anything for days, except very salty fish.
His two surviving sailors, Adom and Geb, were dying belowdecks, complete invalids suffering from salt poisoning. Salih cursed the gods, his men, and his ill fortune. He cursed Kaela most of all. After all, she was the one who stood to inherit his wealth when he was gone. She must have profaned him to the gods. She was devious, that one, and far too clever by half for a seven-year-old.
Now, huddled under a tarp to protect himself from the ferocious sun, Salih grimaced at the half-eaten salted fish in the wooden bowl next to him. In disgust, he smacked it overboard and watched it disappear into the sea. Why did all his cargo have to be so heavily salted on this trip? The one time he didn’t bring fruits! Fruit spoiled in sieges and it was the wrong season; that was why. Still, the gods had played a cruel trick on him.