Out of Time 01 - Out of Time

say it flat out, but it was clear enough.”
    “I see.”
    “So, I go.”
    “Don’t be absurd. You’re not going to dinner with that man. My God. What if he really is a vampire? How can you even consider this?”
    “Maybe you missed the whole threatening part, but that sort of made it a lock for me.”
    Simon walked over to the armoire, took out their suitcase and set it on the bed. “We’ll leave immediately. If his threats are legitimate, and we have to assume they are, we can be miles away before he suspects.”
    “We can’t leave.”
    He ignored her and took their clothes from the hangers and tossed them into the case. “Perhaps Philadelphia,” he said to himself. “Or maybe a small town. We’ll see what tickets are available at the train station for the money we have.”
    “I can’t leave,” she said in a mixture of defeat and resoluteness.
    Simon crossed to the dresser and pulled open the drawers. “Of course you can. What choice is there?”
    “Staying.”
    “Don’t be ridiculous.”
    She bristled at his tone and moved into his path. “I’m not being ridiculous, and I’m not going anywhere.”
    “Elizabeth—”
    “How could we? What about Charlie? How can you turn your back on him?”
    Simon tossed the clothes he had in his hands onto the bed and sighed heavily. “With surprising ease. When it comes to a question of your safety or his.”
    “I’m not the one in danger.”
    He looked at her as if she were one of his more backward students.
    “If he wanted to hurt me, why would he save my life? Or have you forgotten that?”
    “No,” he said through clenched teeth. “Not when you keep throwing it in my face.”
    She refused to take the bait and closed her eyes for a moment. “I am not going to run away and leave others holding the bag. You think this is what I want? You think this is easy for me? If I don’t go to dinner with King, good people will be hurt and I can’t live with that and I’d expect you to know me well enough to know that. I won’t let that happen.”
    “And when the eclipse comes? And King finds you’re gone? What happens to Charlie then? One way or the other, we’re leaving town, Elizabeth. There’s no reason to wait. The outcome is the same either way.”
    She hadn’t thought of that. She’d been so caught up in the here and now, what happened after they went back to their time didn’t even cross her mind. “All I know is, right now, I can keep Charlie and you safe by going. So, I go.”
    “It’s insane.”
    Elizabeth let out a shuddering sigh. “I know.”
    He grunted and moved to the window. “How can you possibly be considering this after what I told you last night?”
    “Because this isn’t a dream. This is real. What King does to people is real. You think the men who mugged me were killed by some random murderer? It was King.”
    Simon whirled around. “You think I don’t know that? You think I haven’t considered that every waking moment? Even if he isn’t a demon, he’s a killer. Didn’t you listen to anything I said last night? How can you expect me to let you go when you know what I dreamt.” He crossed the room in three long strides and gripped her arms tightly. “You may think they’re just dreams, but I know what they are. They’re as real to me as you are right now.”
    His grip loosened and his hands slid up her arms, and then cupped her cheeks. “Losing you is real to me.”
    “And losing you is real to me.”
    He let go of her and shook his head. “You can’t do this, Elizabeth.”
    “I have to.”
    “No, you don’t. I won’t have you going off with that man to protect me. It’s madness.”
    “And if I don’t go and something happens to you, what then?”
    “We should run. Now, while we have a chance.”
    “I can’t,” she said. “But you can. You can leave. Maybe go upstate and when it’s time for the eclipse we can meet somewhere. King couldn’t find you and you’d be safe.”
    “Don’t be absurd.”
    “It makes sense. King hasn’t threatened me, he’s threatened you. If you went somewhere—”
    “No! Absolutely not. Impossible.”
    “Then I don’t have much choice, do I?”
    “You damn well know you do.”
    She clenched her fists. Why was he being so damn stubborn? “I’m not going over this again. You can deal with it or not. I hoped you might be supportive.”
    “Supportive? Of what? This idiocy?”
    She looked at him stonily. “Of me.” She turned and walked to the door. Her