Crucible Zero by Devon Monk Page A

remembered him preferring.
    There were other things here. Not knickknacks, exactly, but things he had collected. Several jars of bones that probably belonged to rodents and birds; a human skeleton the size of a doll, carved out of fine balsa wood; metal clamps of various sizes, many broken and laid out as if for parts; and the most delicate set of brass crochet hooks I’d ever seen, carved in the shape of birds and carefully wrapped in a velvet case.
    Quinten hadn’t said anything while I wandered. I finally looked away from the stack of books overflowing the chair and side table, all of them medical journals.
    â€œQuinten,” I said. “Did you find a cure for the plague?”
    He nodded.
    That was bad.
    â€œThat’s good, right?” I said. “Why are you worried? People need a cure, and you’ve found one.”
    â€œThis cure will change the world,” he said.
    â€œWell, we’re Cases. We apparently are all about changing the world.”
    A wan smile shadowed his lips as he paced over to his bed. He folded down, suddenly all the restless, angry energy gone, the letter still gripped in his hand.
    â€œYou don’t let insurmountable troubles worry you, do you, Matilda?” he asked.
    â€œOh, I don’t know,” I said, trying to sound upbeat. “When we have some, I’ll let you know.”
    I thought about telling him that I’d slipped into the other timeway, but he was picking at his fingers, staring at the floor.
    â€œDo you know . . . do you know what happened to Evelyn?” he asked, his eyes still on the floor. “Was she hurt? Afraid? You said you went back in time to change the Wings of Mercury experiment. Does that have something to do with Evelyn not being with us anymore?”
    I leaned against the chest of drawers, pressing my palms into the edge of it, my elbows out. He still wasn’t over the loss of her. I didn’t blame him for that, even though it meant I was probably on my own with the timeway thing.
    â€œFrom how I experienced it, I was back in 1910, trying to keep Slater from killing Abraham and all the other galvanized, and then the Wings of Mercury device was set off.
    â€œA . . . bell rang out, only it was a huge, world-smashing sound. Physical and alive. I felt it ringing in my bones and rushing over my body like I was caught in a wave and trampled to death. I thought I was dying. I didn’t feel Evelyn in pain. I didn’t feel her fear. There was just the dying. And then I was standing here, in our kitchen, washing dishes. I was so happy to see you and Neds alive. . . .” I stopped. I hadn’t meant to tell him that part.
    He tipped his head up, though he still leaned arms on his knees. “We died in your time?”
    I nodded. Maybe he did need to hear the truth. “Soldiers from the Houses overpowered us. They had weapons. Bombs. Everyone died. Neds, Grandma, Foster. You died too.” I held my breath against tears as the memory of my brother being ripped in two flashed behind my eyes. If that’s what existed in the other timeway, I didn’t want it to come true.
    â€œI thought I’d never see you again.” The words came out a little shaky, but I cleared my throat. “But here I am. And I don’t want to waste that. What day is today?”
    He lifted his hand and pulled at his hair again. “September thirteenth, 2210.”
    â€œThat’s the day I went back in time. That’s the day the Wings of Mercury experiment triggered. Evelyn leaving this body must have something to do with that moment. I am sorry, Quinten. I really am. I would have told her to stay if I knew what was happening.”
    â€œIt’s not . . . it’s not any of our faults,” he said. “Things happen. I was the one who tried to transfer your mind into Evelyn’s body. If I hadn’t done that, I would never have known her. If the