64. Detour in Paris

Ava breathed a sigh of relief when they were finally back on the streets of Paris again -- the ones above ground. She hadn’t realized how completely crushed she’d felt inside those catacombs. She tried not to think about what had happened--she couldn’t think about that now. She wasn’t sure if it had even -- well, the timepiece was gone, wasn’t it? It had worked. She’d killed Lisette. Or...maimed her?

Ava felt sick to her stomach. “Are my friends hungry?” Cece asked in her deceptively sweet Parisian accent. “There is a lovely bistro along the way.” The sun was setting, and Ava noticed with irritation how Abe stared at Cece’s deep red hair in the golden light.

Abe turned to Ava eyebrows raised, but she just glared back. “We’re not going anywhere until you take us to Allie.” Cece rolled her eyes, but continued on their walk. “Abe, grab her arm, will you?” The last thing they needed was Cece deciding she didn’t need the watch after all and taking off on her own.

An older man stepped in front of them to block their path. He smoked a pipe, which somehow had a menacing effect, and smiled at them in a way that made Ava nervous. “I think a bistro sounds lovely, Celine,” he said, and offered her his elbow.

63. Caught In A Loop.

Right -- left -- left -- left -- right...or was it left? Abe was getting dizzy as they followed Cece, the red-headed pickpocket, up through the catacombs back towards the light of Paris. He didn’t remember it being this complicated as they came down, but they hadn’t been paying much attention. Ava had only wanted to catch her.

Well, they'd accomplished that, but only after Ava had disappeared into a timepiece and fought off a sociopathic serial killer from the 1500’s. Abe wondered how long Ava had been in there. It had only been one hour to him, but to her, it could have been...well, he didn’t like to think about that.

Would she age? The thought had never struck him before. But if she spent too long in these timepieces, would she age faster? He knew she could be injured in the timepiece, he remembered with a wince. That surgery had been tricky. If she could be injured, she could age.

“Almost there,” Cece whispered over her shoulder, and Abe wondered why it wasn’t getting any lighter.

62. The Deal.

“At least, she answers to Coulise,” Cece explained with a chuckle. “She’s not quite well enough to clarify.”

“Is her name Alice?” Ava demanded into the dark. “Alice Coulise?”

“You want her, do you?” Cece asked. “For your own uses?”

Ava grabbed the woman by the collar and pulled her out of Abe’s grip. She slammed her against the wall of skulls behind her, and Cece cried out in pain. “She is my family,” Ava hissed. “And you are taking me to her. Now.”

Cece’s expression reminded Ava of a cat being scolded: her lips were curled as if mid-snarl, as if she was considering whether or not to scratch her captor. But Abe was still there, and Ava had a good grip. “Look,” Cece finally spat, “I need to use that watch. If I take you to this woman, at least let me do that. Just once.”

Ava glanced back at Abe and saw in his eyes they were both thinking the same thing: Cece didn’t know the watch was broken.

Ava smiled. “Deal.” 

61. The Pickpocket's Confession.

“What did you think you were going to do with it?” Ava asked. She could barely breath while she waited for the answer, but didn’t dare to actually hope. Not yet. 

Still...her sister had gone missing here. In Paris. 

The woman's arrogant voice interrupted her thoughts. “More than you fools could do, I think!”

Ava started to lose feeling in her legs. She started to feel dizzy. There was no way. It couldn't be happening. It just couldn't.

But Allie had gone missing here. In Paris.

“Only a Coulise can use it,” Abe insisted obliviously. He held the woman's arms firmly behind her back, but she wasn’t struggling any more. She seemed to realize she'd struck a nerve, and stared at Ava triumphantly.

All Ava could think about was the last angry yell she'd thrown at her retreating sister. The last time she saw her. Two years ago. Here. In Paris.

“Exactly,” the woman finally purred. “And I, Monseiur, have a Coulise.” 

60. Spread Like Frost.

It wasn’t too difficult for Ava to find the watch, not while Abe held the red-haired woman still. It was tucked into an inner pocket of her woolen coat, but she struggled ravenously and nearly knocked them both over when Ava finally got her hands on it. “What do you think you’re going to do with it, anyway?” Abe yelled. “If you know what it is, then you know you won’t be able to use it!” 

The woman hesitated and eyed the two of them suspiciously. “Where did you come from?” she asked, but Ava ignored her--and Abe, for once, followed her lead. The less this woman knew, the better. Ava checked the watch; it was intact. She tentatively touched her cheek, where a long but thankfully shallow slash still oozed blood. No matter; Abe could patch it up once they got outside into some proper light. How they were going to lose this pickpocket, on the other hand, who clearly seemed to want this watch more than her own life-- 

And then the cold realization spread like frost inside her chest.