He sat the bag and soda on the steps and pulled me into his arms. “I know, I know. We’ll eat fast—I’m going to make you share those onion rings. I even brought a mint, so if you eat neatly for a change”—he laughed as he blocked my punch to his arm—“and if you avoid breathing in their faces when you return, our secret is safe.”
It was a beautiful night and the romantic glow from the lights and the reflecting pool made me wish we could do ordinary things like this all the time. I was feeling more and more like someone under quarantine.
Trey was apparently on the same wavelength. “Too bad we can’t do this more often. Especially with your birthday this weekend…”
“And how did you know my birthday was this weekend?” I had purposefully avoided thinking about the day, knowing that it would only make me think of past birthdays, Mom, Dad, and everything else that was now missing.
He gave me a sly smile. “I have my ways. Think Katherine would give us a temporary furlough for a night out?”
I sighed. “I think we both know the answer to that. This will probably be our only night out for some time, unless you’d like to come with me to the World’s Fair?”
“Chicago I could probably do,” he said. “Eighteen ninety-three might be a problem, however.”
“True,” I admitted.
I hesitated for a moment, taking another onion ring from the bag. There was one thing I really wanted to know more about—and one person I felt I needed to see—before making the trip to Chicago.
“Maybe you could take me to church instead?”
“What?” Trey laughed for a moment and then stopped. “Oh. Charlayne?”
I nodded. “She’s not the entire reason, but yes, I want to see her.” I turned toward him. “I also want to see what they’re up to, Trey. The Cyrists. I mean, right now, my main motivations for changing this timeline are personal—getting my parents back and being able to leave the house without this damned medallion. But Katherine and Connor seem to think that the Cyrists are…”
“Evil?” he asked.
“Yeah. I guess that’s the right word. Granted, I’ve only been to one service at the Cyrist temple—and that was before the last time shift—but I just didn’t get that sense. And, on top of that, I can’t say I’m totally down with the idea of a future where many of the most important decisions you make in life are decided while you’re still an embryo.”
“I know,” he said. “I can understand why they do it, but it doesn’t leave much room for individual choice, does it?”
“No, it doesn’t. I don’t doubt that Saul’s methods are evil—I mean, he pretty clearly killed Katherine to set this up—but what about the larger movement? I feel like there’s so much that I don’t understand. And, if the Cyrists as a whole are as rotten as Connor and Katherine believe them to be, I guess I want to try and get a better idea of what I’m up against.”
Trey thought for a minute, and then nodded, giving my shoulders a squeeze. “When and where? They have something going on at the temples most days, but the main services are on Sunday mornings, right?”
“They are. Could you pick me up here around seven, before the guards arrive? If I get caught… sneaking out, I’ll just act like I’m practicing a short jump. I do that enough that Katherine shouldn’t think anything of it. And I’ve been to the temple on Sixteenth, so I’m at least somewhat familiar with the layout.”
“Why do you need to know the layout?” he asked, a suspicious look in his eye.
I shrugged. “Well… I mainly want to see Charlayne and I’m probably just going to ask some questions, but I might need to… look around a bit. I don’t know. I’m playing this by ear.”
Trey frowned slightly and then leaned his head down to nibble on my earlobe. “It’s a very pretty ear, too. Let’s just hope we can keep it attached to your head. Those Dobermans look hungry.”
I elbowed him. “They don’t keep guard dogs on the prowl during services, silly. But if you’re worried, we’ll bring a few of Daphne’s dog biscuits to bribe them.”
The onion rings were now reduced to a few tasty crumbs at the bottom of the bag. I gave Trey a good-bye kiss and popped the mint into my mouth as I walked back over to the spot near Lincoln’s chair. “I’ll see you again in just a sec,” I said, pulling up the library stable point with the medallion. “But you’ll next see me tomorrow night for dinner—so drive safe, okay?”