When All is Null and Void

Chapter Forty-Three

She hugged him again, but then pulled back and said, "I might forgive you, but I really can't Hop with you." The gnawing at her gut told her this was a lie. She really should be Hopping, because it made her feel alive for some reason. But was a lie so bad when it came to being safe and smart as opposed to being dumb and reckless? Caleb hadn't asked her to go to Rhea James. And if he did, she would say no. Caleb had never given her a reason to think he would ever force her hand in something.

Over the course of the next few days, Caleb and Danielle spent more time together. Alexander had been ecstatic, and she'd even gone out to the truck to make fun of him for hiding. He'd given her a hug and asked for her forgiveness, which she'd granted with feigned grudgingness. If Lydia had actually locked them out of 1893, then it wasn't their fault at all, right?

Caleb and Danielle spent time at her house, and though her mom was slightly chilly toward Caleb—for she thought, rightly enough, he'd done something to hurt her—she still offered him a plate of Christmas cookies. If she wasn't a fan of Caleb, he wouldn't have even caught sight of the cookies.

Danielle's family didn't have any traditions for Christmas Eve. They might watch movie here or there, but Danielle found herself at Caleb's and Alexander's after church. She'd spent the evening with friends in the high schooler section. She'd even invited Caleb but he'd shrugged it off with a hasty no thanks.

"So what is this?" Danielle asked, as Alexander lay a plate in front of her. She could see white beans covered in honey and dried fruit.

"It's Kutia," Alexander replied. He took a bite of it, which prompted Danielle to. It wasn't bad, but it was definitely odd. "A traditional Ukranian dish served on Christmas Eve. I like to try new things every now and then."

Caleb was frowning at the dish. He took a bite and spit it secretly into his napkin. Danielle didn't out him.

"It's good," she said, and Caleb gave her a semi-disputed look. He ate the green beans on his plate, then used his fingers to pick up the bits of bacon left over.

"It's not my favorite," Caleb said. "But you made it well!" It was a kindness, Danielle thought. A bald face lie, but a kindness all the same.

Later, after they'd cleared up the kitchen, and the dishwasher was running with a quiet purr in the background—after they'd watch A Christmas Story, and Alexander had gone to bed—Caleb and Danielle were sitting in front of the fireplace talking in low voices.

His voice shifted slightly after a few minutes, and she could tell there was something he wanted to tell her. Her dad had taught her to be patient, though, and so she didn't outright ask him. But when he looked at her and said her name, his green eyes sparkling in the firelight, she immediately replied with, "What is it?"

Her shifted on the couch. "Well, there's something you should know."

"About?"

Her heart was pounding in such a silly, erratic way. He was going to ask her about Rhea, she knew it. He raised his hand. "About all this."

"Oh," she said, scooting away from him. She hadn't been close to begin with, but somehow he seemed far too close now.

"Remember how I talked about Rhea James?"

"The Queen of Time lady?" Danielle tilted her head ever-so-slightly, trying not to give away that she knew anything.

"Yeah. Well, uh, so." He spoke to himself. "How do I say this?"

"Just say it?" Danielle suggested.

"Right," Caleb smiled. He passed a hand through his hair. "Well, it turns out you're kind of able to help us, like, close the Void."

"How do you mean?"

"I don't really know. But the reason I got Ringlock was because of you. Not," he added, when she looked vaguely mutinous, "because you meant to. But because you're somehow connected to the Void."

"I'm not sure I follow." The fire was casting long shadows over the area outside of its illumination, and she tried not to focus on them. The word Voidwas enough to cause the panic to rise up in her. Even thinking about the way she'd felt in the moments before Caleb and Alexander had left her was enough to spike her anxiety.

"I don't think I understand, either. But, Rhea James expects me to bring you to her. And it sounds kind of ominous, when you say it like that. But she wants to meet you."

NO, her brain shouted, spelling it out to her. "What does she want with me?" she said.

"She just sort of wants to observe you, I guess. I was chosen to be a Timewalker because some beast in the Void said I was the one—which, now I think about it, seems like bad judgment. But then I met you, and you're connected to the Void. And I guess you and I are the ingredients she needs to close it."

"I don't really get why she needs me..." Danielle could still hear the voice in her head telling her no, and she didn't know why she hadn't said it yet.

"Yeah," Caleb said. "I don't either. Which is why you can say no. You don't have to say yes."

"I don't want to help," she said. "I know it could help, but I can'tdo it." What she didn't say, her brain finished for her: Some lady told me I'd cease to exist.

"And that's okay," Caleb said brightly. "I just needed to bring it up."

"Oh," she said.

"Yeah."

The fire continued to blaze, and they delved into quiet.

At ten o'clock, Danielle stood from the couch and told Caleb she'd see him later, and Caleb waved at her as she left.