A Time of Shadows (Out of Time #8) Read Online Free PDF Page A

doesn’t sound good.”
    Travers sighed. “It isn’t. Alistair was more than a fine director, he was a good friend.”
    “If the director was the only one with high enough clearance, how do you know about it?” Jack asked.
    Travers spread his hands out, palms up. “I’m the new director.”
    He didn’t look too excited about it, Elizabeth thought. “Congratulations?”  
    “Under different circumstances, but things are rather dire. Alistair’s death was quite a blow. I’m not convinced it was natural.”
    “Murder?” Simon asked.
    “The autopsy was inconclusive, but there are powers at work here behind the scenes that wanted him out of the way, I’m afraid.”
    Elizabeth had an inkling she knew where this was going. “The Shadow Council?”
    Travers nodded and her heart felt instantly heavier. The Shadow Council wanted the Council proper, the Good Guys, so to speak, to move in a far less beneficent direction. They’d been responsible for hiring Katherine Vale and, God only knew if they were behind Graham, too, although she had her suspicions.
    “I was Alistair’s second, promoted quickly because he feared everyone around him was a member of the Shadow Council. He trusted virtually no one near the end. And I find myself in the same, unenviable position.”
    “And so you need outsiders,” Jack said with a nod. “It happened at the OSS and MI5. Paranoia gets ahold of you…”
    Travers agreed. “Yes, exactly. As the new director, I’m privy to everything Alistair knew. I’m afraid he kept a personal journal. Which, unfortunately, has been stolen.”
    “And whoever has it knows all the secrets?” Elizabeth guessed.
    Travers nodded. “There’s one in particular that’s quite troubling.”
    “Just one?” Simon asked.
    Travers managed a small smile at that. It faded and he continued his explanation, sounding even more exhausted than he had a few moments ago. “I’d always believed there were twelve watches. But, it seems, there is a thirteenth. And it is not just any watch.”
    “Of course it’s not,” Simon said under his breath, as if he’d expected no less.
    Travers let out a breath and put his hands palm down on the desk and stared at his fingertips for a long moment before looking up. “If you’ll indulge me in a bit of Council history?”
    He wasn’t really asking permission, but Elizabeth gave it to him anyway with a nod.
    “The Shadow Council has its origins in World War II. Imagine having the power to save millions of lives and knowing you mustn’t, knowing the timeline must play out as its meant to be. For some, this was untenable. They tried to change the Council’s mission from one of study and protection to one of control.”
    “So, they wanted to change the timeline,” Elizabeth said. She knew first-hand how tempting it was, but she’d also found out first-hand how devastating giving into temptation could be. She sought out Simon’s gaze, but it was locked sternly on Travers.
    “For the better, in their eyes.”
    Simon pursed his lips. “So said every dictator in history.”
    “Precisely. They were rebuffed, but they did not give up hope. They simply went underground.” Travers leaned back in his chair. “And there they stayed, or so we thought. In 1995, Alistair, new to the post, discovered that not only had the Shadow Council not disbanded, they’d grown.”
    He stood and walked over to one of the large globes that flanked his desk and gave it a spin. They all watched, mesmerized, as the Earth rotated before them.  
    “The universe is remarkable,” Travers continued. “Despite some people’s best efforts to destroy it, to change the timeline, it seems to find a way to right itself. However…” He stopped the globe mid-spin and Elizabeth’s heart gave a small, unexpected start. “There are fragile moments in time.”
    “Nexus points,” Simon offered.
    “Yes, exactly. Specific points in time that are vulnerable. Some are small, the changes are