Kyra put the stack of papers down and rubbed her eyes. All those pages were dossiers of people Benny had identified as potential recruits. By and large it was a collection of individuals who, in some other timeline, had become prominent hunters.

  Hunters. That's what Benny called the people who learned supernatural abilities and hunted monsters and cleared dungeons.

  It was his suggestion that she put together a team. It was also nothing more than a suggestion because apparently he wasn't going to help with any of it. That part she couldn't quite make sense of. Wasn't saving the human race his goal? She was beginning to understand how he managed to fail a million times.

  Not that it really bothered her. In fact she preferred it this way. Since it was her life on the line, she'd rather be the one in charge. There's nothing worse than being the one to suffer the consequences for someone else's mistakes.

  She already had a strategy in mind. The day would come when the entire world became aware of magic. Then the human race was going to do what it did best.

  Bureaucracy.

  Where there were hunters, there must be hunters associations to bind them with rules. She needed to be the one setting those rules.

  With that in mind, the direction she needed to go with her team was clear. Combat prowess took a back seat to other useful other skills. It was through this lens that she evaluated the candidates and, from a pile of hundreds, narrowed down a shortlist of a dozen.

  That was still too many. The problem wasn't one of recruitment. It was what came after. Training. And most of all, instilling loyalty.

  To narrow the list down further, she was going to need to know more about them. As it happened, she was going to meet Benny tonight.

  That evening Kyra caught a bus to the outskirts of the city. From there she walked to a little-used side road and waited.

  Lacris-Cheree was one of the safest cities on the continent. Even the hoodlums left you alone if you looked the other way. That wasn't to say there was no crime. It was just as well that you were safe walking home at night, as it was a rite of passage for every resident to find that their ride wasn't where they left it. Cars, bikes, and umbrellas followed a flexible rule of ownership in the city with a silent s.

  A familiar offroader came into view and stopped beside her.

  She hopped into the passenger seat. "You couldn't just pick me up from my place?"

  Benny shifted the vehicle into gear and pulled into the road.

  "One day your face is going to be known across the globe," he said. "Everyone who so much as crossed your path is going to be hounded by reporters and biographers."

  "You're really serious about taking a back seat in all this, aren't you?"

  "It's your timeline to save. The sooner you take over the reins, the happier I'll be." The weariness was showing in his eyes.

  It was time to get to business. "I'd like more information on a few of the candidates."

  "Check the glove compartment."

  There was a folder. The earlier dossiers had described the candidates' family background, abilities, and combat achievements. This new set of profiles went deeper into their personalities and interests. It was exactly what she'd wanted to ask from him.

  At the end of each profile was a list of upcoming dates and locations.

  "You already knew who I was considering," she said, flicking through to find twelve profiles precisely matching the names on her shortlist.

  "These are the ones you asked me about last time."

  A sense of uneasiness was building up in her stomach. She was treading the same path as the other timeline.

  "You said that the last time went really well," she said. "How did it go wrong?"

  "That question isn't as useful as you think it is," he replied.

  "I don't want to repeat the mistakes of the past."

  The answer he gave sounded rehearsed, like it was a script he'd read a thousand times.

  "This isn't a problem that can be solved by going back and correcting each mistake incrementally until we get the perfect timeline. Averting one catastrophe somehow leads to another. Everyone thinks that the details matter, but what I've found is that it just leads my disciples into focusing on the wrong things, and they do worse than when they go in blind. You simply have to trust me on this one."

  Kyra turned and told him firmly, "This isn't your call to make."

  Benny's eyes remained fixed on the road, and the silence between them seemed to stretch on forever. This wasn't something she could relent on.

  She added quietly, "This is my timeline, and you're just a visitor. I have the right to decide how I succeed or fail."

  His reply sounded almost forlorn. "At the end of our journey together, before I turn back time, I will answer all your questions, and you can tell me honestly if you really could have done better."

  He sounded so sincere, she was inclined to believe him. "And if I really could do better?"

  "Then you'll get another chance."

  This was clearly the best she was going to get out of him.

  But that wasn't going to stop her from speculating. Anyone in his shoes, the first thing they would do is seek out the world leaders. With time travel and magical powers, getting them on board would be easy. Those should naturally be the most promising timelines, and the ones you would put the most effort into. You would try them again and again from every conceivable angle. You wouldn't abandon them easily.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  To move on from the leaders, the next natural candidates were the scientists, the generals, the intellectuals. The smartest people in the world, the richest, the well-connected.

  To have to resort to ordinary people, that was a move of desperation. How many of those had he tried?

  And only then had it come to her.

  Put it like that, anyone would feel the pull into the pits of despair. But not Kyra. What she felt was . . . gratitude.

  It was only because everyone else failed that she got to live a little bit more.

  That sort of thinking wasn't something anyone would readily admit, but if there's someone Kyra was honest with, it was herself.

  "Can we make a detour?" she asked.

  "The Streetlight Cinema?"

  "I'm too predictable," she mumbled.

  Benny was smiling. "That's where I've been taking us."

  Kyra shook the self-doubt out of her head. Treading the same path as last time didn't mean that all her decisions weren't her own.

  Benny dropped her off a block away. "I have to see to some other business. Give me a call when you're ready for pick-up."

  "You don't want to stay and help?" she asked.

  "You didn't need my help last time."

  The drive-in cinema was a popular meeting ground for the local youth gangs. One of her candidates was going to be there tonight.

  There was an action movie being projected onto the big screen. Not a very popular one, judging by how few cars were parked in the lot. When she got closer, it turned out that none of them were there for the film at all. Instead everyone was gathered at the base of the screen.

  The oldest boys there were in their early twenties. Others looked like they were still in school. All the attention was focused on the three older boys in the center, with everyone surrounding them in two groups like a broken donut.

  Kyra slipped in close enough to listen while staying within the shadows. It was unlikely any of them could see her, since they were all under a spotlight produced by the crossing beams of several cars arranged just for this purpose.

  There weren't any photos in Benny's files, but she could pick out her candidate right away. Tristis Montgomery. At twenty-two and in his final year of prelaw, the boy was the only one who looked like he didn't belong. It appeared that he'd been brought in as a mediator between the two gangs and was holding court with the leaders.

  Tristis spoke to a tall boy in a yellow bandana. "You've accepted that your cousin is responsible for Adam's injuries. Then some sort of compensation is fair."

  "Sure. We can say that," yellow bandana said slowly, clearly not too happy about it.

  Tristis turned to the other gang leader, who sported a studded leather jacket. "What do you say?"

  Leather jacket replied, "His cousin should sign his ride over to Adam."

  Kyra scanned the audience in search of Adam. It was a simple matter with appraisal. He was a late-teens boy with slicked hair hiding in the circle behind leather jacket.

  "Hold up," yellow bandana protested. "We ain't saying Adam didn't deserve to get beat. We saying the beating oughtn't have been so he ended up in hospital like that."

  "What are you saying?" Leather jacket stepped toward yellow bandana and Tristis was forced to put his arm out to stop him.

  The tension between the two groups was palpable. The lads all seemed to be itching for a brawl.

  Leather jacket pointed at someone in the circle behind yellow bandana. "My boy ain't done nothing to deserve that beating!"

  Yellow bandana stepped in the way of the finger. "Your boy stole my boy's girl. You saying he shoulda let that go?"

  "Maybe your boy shoulda pleased her better," leather jacket shot back.

  The insulted lad behind yellow bandana surged forward but was quickly pulled back by his own gang. He had to settle for shouting. "I'll do it again! That louse has been eyeing Tracy for weeks! Why don't you tell your boy to stick to his own turf!"

  "Can you control your man?" Tristis said to the gang leader.

  Yellow bandana turned his head and glared at Tracy's ex, who fell quiet and stepped back into line.

  Tristis said, "Noah, don't you have a sister?"

  Yellow bandana tilted his head up. "I do. What about her?"

  "Do you decide who she gets to date?"

  "She makes her own decisions."

  "Then if she decides that she doesn't like her boyfriend and wants to see someone new, and her ex tries to stop her—"

  "That ain't the same," yellow bandana snapped.

  But behind him, his gang started sharing uncomfortable glances. The same or not, the point was hitting too close to home.

  Tracy's ex was having none of it. "He takes my girl and now he gets to take my ride? How is that fair?"

  Yellow bandana shot him another glare.

  But this time the boy wasn't backing down. "You know how much work I put into my ride? You just going to let them take it from me?"

  Tristis turned to leather jacket. "I've seen his ride. I've never seen more sweat put into a car. It must be worth twenty thousand cords."

  That was about the price of a brand-new budget car. For one of these boys' tinkerboxes to be worth that much, it must have been an all-consuming obsession.

  Leather jacket wasn't moved. "It ain't just about what they did to Adam. They hit him in his grandpa's shop. Entire place got smashed up."

  Tristis turned to yellow bandana. "Do you have a counteroffer?"

  "I saw what happened to that shop," yellow bandana muttered before glancing back over at Tracy's ex. "You got twenty thousand cords?"

  The boy looked aghast. "Noah, this ain't fair. They the ones that stole my girl!"

  Yellow bandana repeated slowly, "I asked if you got twenty thousand cords."

  "Don't let them take my ride, Noah. Please don't."

  Yellow bandana turned to leather jacket. "It's a hell of a thing to take a man's ride."

  "It's a hell of a thing to beat a man into hospital," the other leader replied.

  Yellow bandana nodded in acknowledgment. "We'll cover the hospital bills and the damage to the shop. My boy there also has a dirt bike. Spends a lot of time on the tracks. Your boy do that too?"

  "That can do," leather jacket agreed.

  The two gang leaders shook hands.

  With the resolution decided, the gathering dispersed and returned to their cars. Kyra noticed with amusement that Tracy's ex and another boy hopped into the same car as yellow bandana. Her only regret was not getting to see what a sweaty twenty-thousand-cord tinkerbox looked like.

  Kyra intercepted Tristis on his way back to his car. "Good job guiding everyone to an agreement."

  He regarded her warily. "Can I help you?"

  "I'm here to prevent a tragedy," she replied.

  "I wish you luck with that." He rushed past her.

  "It's about your brother!"

  He spun around, face dripping with suspicion. "What do you know about my brother?"

  "His name is Sam, right? He's in trouble. Or he will be. Soon. We still have time to save him."

  "How do you know Sam? Are you his teacher?"

  The truthful answer was that Sam's name came up in Tristis's profile, but she couldn't tell him that. The recruits weren't to know about Benny at all. Luckily she'd already come up with a plan.

  "I'm from the future. I've come back to avert a crisis, and I need your help. In return I will save your brother's life." The lies rolled smoothly off her tongue.

  "You're kidding me, right?"

  She was prepared for his reaction. In reply she held out her hand and conjured a flame in the cradle of her palm.

  "Magic exists in this world," she said. "It's capable of more than you can imagine."

  His eyes followed the flame as it swirled around her palm, danced up to her fingertips, and rolled along the back of her hand. She hoped it would be enough to capture his interest.

  "That's a neat trick," he said, "but you're taking it a tad too far with all this weird talk of magic and time travel. Did Sam put you up to this?"

  There was a reason Tristis's profile included his whereabouts today. Since Benny must have compiled his notes from memory, everything was linked to something notable. In Tristis's case, today marked a big turning point in his life. Not because of where he was, but where he wasn't.

  "There's a rave being held in a warehouse behind the wrecking yard," she explained. "That's where your brother is now. Sometime tonight that warehouse is going to catch on fire and a lot of people are going to lose their lives. If we go there now, we can bring him home before that happens."

  "Behind the wrecking yard, you say?"

  "You know the one?"

  "I know the one. A lot of illegal raves take place there. You say Sam is there right now?"

  Abruptly he hopped into the car and locked all the doors. The window was lowered just a crack.

  "Did you think I was just going to let a stranger in my car with such a a crazy story?"

  Watching her prime candidate drive away, Kyra wondered if this timeline was getting off to a bad start.