"You will see soon. Then you will understand I've done all of it for you, Allison."
The sound of a cell phone chiming, announcing a new text, emanates from his side of the desk. He pulls out the phone and checks it. His brows furrow, then his eyes light up. His entire expression becomes…excited.
"Please forgive me," he says as he backs away. "The moment is almost upon us. I will come to you when the event is nigh."
Before I can speak, he rushes out of the library.
Alchemy. Quantum entanglement. What do those two things have in common? Nothing that I can see. But clearly, Sefton believes those subjects hold the answers he needs to complete his insane quest to "remake" the world.
The day before the apocalypse, Sefton tracks me down deep in the bowels of the library where I've been shelf reading to make sure all the books are in their correct places. Sefton still dresses like a businessman as he had the last time I saw him. But his eyes are wild, and he seems incapable of standing still, instead bouncing on the balls of his feet.
"Sefton?" I say. "Are you okay?"
"The time is nigh," he announces, his tone and his expression full of excitement. "You must come with me, Allison. I can protect you, but only if we stay together."
"Protect me from what?"
"You will see." He grabs my hand and tugs. "Please. Hurry."
I yank my hand away. "You're scaring me, and I'm not going anywhere with you."
He throws his arms around me, dragging my body into his, and mashes his mouth to mine. I clamp my teeth shut to stop him from pushing his tongue inside and struggle against his hold. He keeps his lips glued to mine as a strange, almost electrical sensation zings into me through our joined mouths. The room spins around me, then settles down, leaving me dazed.
Sefton releases my lips but maintains his hold on my body. "I love you, Allison. And you love me too, I know it."
"No, I don't." I wriggle out of his arms. "I'm sorry, but I just don't feel that way. Please get out of here before I call the police."
He bows his head, knifing his fingers through his hair. "No, no, it wasn't meant to be this way."
"Leave, Sefton. Right now."
"Yes, yes, all right. I will go. You need more time to see, and tomorrow, all will become clear."
He hurries out of the library. I know he exits the building because I trail after him to make sure.
The next morning, I go to work as usual. After reshelving books for an hour, I return to the check-out counter to find someone has left me a note concealed inside an ivory envelope that feels like it's made from high-end paper. My name is scrawled on it in an elegant, sweeping hand.
I cautiously open the envelope and unfold the note.
"Stay in the library until I come for you," the note says. "To change the world, we must first dismantle it."
I stare at the note, at Sefton's elegant signature, and swallow against a tightness in my throat. Then I toss the paper into the trash can.
Chapter Five
Dax
"How can you claim to barely know Sefton Stainthorpe when you had a relationship with him?" I grip the belt that binds her wrists and pull her closer. "Stop lying to me. You were deeply involved with Sefton, which means you conspired with him to bring about the merging of worlds."
"I never conspired about anything. And I never really knew Sefton. I thought he was a nice guy—strange, but nice—until I found out he'd been hiding his true self until the day he couldn't hide it any longer." She curls her lip and hisses, "He's a whackjob, just like you."
Does she honestly know nothing? I refuse to believe that because Sefton spoke of her with deep emotion, as if she meant far more to him than a casual acquaintance. And I know she aided him.
"Perhaps he is insane," I say, "but you must have cared for Sefton. Stop lying and tell me how to find him."
"No idea." She yanks her wrists, tearing the belt out of my fingers, and slumps against the wall. "Go on and kill me or rip my fingers off or whatever you want to do. I don't care. The world has become a nightmare, and we'll both die sooner or later when monsters rip us apart."
"You can't escape me that way." I grasp her chin, forcing her to look at me. "Not yet, at least. I will keep you alive until you tell me where Sefton is."