He nodded. So often a steady gaze was associated with confidence, but his eyes searched without wavering, and they were more disconcerting because of it. “It’s dangerous to enter the city, and it’s dangerous to move around, but as soon as this storm passes, March will continue going after her prize. Precogs and other thinkers are still having nosebleeds or hitting walls when trying to figure out a way to get ahead of her.”

Same as before. That meant this wasn’t an isolated incident. It was even possible that everyone who was released from time bubbles was going to trigger the instant they were released. Possible that everyone who was released was going to be a broken trigger.

There was a whole group of people caught in a time effect in the scar. Three at once?

I wasn’t going to rule out worst-case scenarios.

“Should we turn back?” Capricorn asked.

“If you do, you’ll find yourself waiting at the periphery of the effect with everyone else,” Harbinger One said. “There’s no guarantee you’ll be able to help.”

“No guarantee I won’t,” Capricorn answered.

Harbinger Two said, “The employer of my brother and myself is of the opinion that we’re best utilized to go after her co-conspirators. We should find out what they know and what they want. There are hints they know too much and we’re curious how.”

Harbinger One said, “Prime example: we have logs of exchanges between them referring to the broken triggers by a much more accurate label.”

“What?” I asked. “You know something about broken triggers?”

“They called it a structural issue, which isn’t our terminology, but it’s better terminology,” Harbinger One said.

“I hate to interrupt,” Rain interrupted.

I reached out, grabbing him by the front of his costume. “Don’t.”

“Victoria,” my mom said.

“And you—don’t do that,” I said, to my mom, still holding Rain by his front. “This is important. Harbingers, what’s going on with the broken triggers—the structurally flawed triggers?”

“Time’s short,” Rain said, behind me, before either Harbinger provided me an answer. “By my watch, it’s only going to be a few minutes before my cluster passes out. Me included.”

I turned to look at him. His head hung a little. He didn’t want to be in this position.

“There will be time for answers later,” Harbinger One said. “Make your arrangements for Precipice.”

No there won’t, I thought, incensed by the interruption and the derail. We always need more answers than there’s time to get them.

Pushing for the information now wouldn’t work, and there were too many other things to do. As if tacitly acknowledging this, Harbinger One was stepping over to the window to peer outside.

“You’ll want to give them very specific orders,” Swansong said. She was leaning against a wall, her hair in an atypical sort of disarray. “Don’t get distracted.”