A Quill Ladder (38 page)

Abbey and the others made their way back to the stones. Abbey looked over her shoulder every few seconds, but Caleb
’
s people didn
’
t try to follow. She tried to hurry everyone along. Sam would be completely frantic by now: she was reaching the end of the two-hour time limit that her parents had set for her to hang out with Sam, and soon Sam, if hadn
’
t gone immediately to do so, might go and report her missing. All because she couldn
’
t stay away from a set of stones.

Of course Caleb would think she would be the twin who stayed home.

Abbey rolled over in bed for the third time, trying to get comfortable. It was Christmas morning, a morning they should all be leaping out of bed at six a.m. to open gifts, eat chocolate, and keep Farley out of the Christmas cake. At least that was what they had always done in the past. But that had all been overshadowed this year by Simon
’
s upcoming hearing and their mother
’
s mysterious illness and continued trips to the stones.

Sam had been a bit wild-eyed when she had returned from the stones with Ian, Mark, and the two Franks a week ago. He had seen Sylvain and Russell come through, and had seemed bemused by the fact that Sylvain had indicated that Abbey was fine and then just sauntered off down the hill. When Abbey finally reappeared, Sam had grasped her fingers as if to confirm that she was, in fact, real. But then he
’
d seemed embarrassed by his concern and backed away, strangely rattled.

Then Ian had intervened and, in exchange for Sam
’
s promised secrecy regarding the stones, indicated in soothing tones that he would fill Sam in over beers at the pub in the village. Then Sam, obviously anxious to get to the pub, had walked Abbey back to his car and driven her home. It was almost as if Ian had cast a spell on him. She hadn
’
t seen Ian since, or received any communication from Sam. She half wondered if Ian had murdered Sam and cast his body in the Moon River.

Abbey had been hoping for another chance to use the stones and look for the older Caleb, but her parents hadn
’
t let up on their round-the-clock watch. Caleb hadn
’
t been much help, telling Abbey he thought maybe they shouldn
’
t take any risks until after Simon
’
s hearing
—
that their mom didn
’
t need any more stress. He had been spending a lot of time on the phone with a new girl, and suddenly seemed content to not ask any questions of their parents. Perhaps he was just being responsible, or perhaps he was under the influence of the Imperius curse.

And now she knew for sure that Russell Andrews was involved in all of this somehow. But she hadn
’
t been able to track him down, because school was out for Christmas holidays and she hadn
’
t worked up the nerve to call him.

To make matters worse, Farley had barked like a lunatic in the middle of the night almost every night for the past week.

A late winter dawn was peeking from beneath Abbey
’
s blinds by the time she finally decided she was done waiting for someone else to get up first. She rose, put on a fuzzy fleece, and went to the living room, determined to make some Christmas cheer.

Abbey
’
s dad stood by the picture window holding a cup of coffee and staring out over Coventry City. Farley bounded over to her wearing his reindeer antlers, wagging and lurching, his brown body a quivering mass of energy and love. Abbey gave him a Christmas hug and pat, kissed him between the eyes, replaced the askew antlers, and went over to stand with her father. The Christmas tree lights were on at least, and their stockings bore the look of having been stuffed with an assortment of shapes. Her father reached over with one arm and pulled her against his side.

“
Merry Christmas, Ab. Sorry it
’
s been such a wonky fall.
”

“
It
’
s okay,
”
she said. Then she looked out the window. Instead of the snow she had hoped for, the valley hung thick with a strange fog
…
or smoke.

“
Salisbury Swamp is on fire,
”
her dad said by way of explanation.
“
They figure maybe a lightning strike or a stray cigarette. With all the peat in the swamp, it could burn for months. It
’
s a shame. It
’
s a critical ecosystem for this area, and your mom did so much work to get it protected. Hopefully the firefighters will be able to put out the blaze soon. But I
’
m afraid swamp fires burn deep.
”

“
Oh.
”
Abbey experienced a wave of worry about her mother.

“
Just so you know,
”
her dad continued,
“
Mom
’
s going to be okay. She found some treatment in the future. Simon helped her
—
the older Simon. They have far more advanced treatments than we have now
—
some sort of nanotechnology. She only needs a few more sessions and then she
’
s going to be cured. I don
’
t like her using the stones this much, but it was necessary, and it
’
s a good gift. A Christmas gift. We
’
re very lucky. I guess that
’
s the other good news: we know Simon is going to be okay, no matter what happens in a few weeks. Thank you for being patient with us.
”

Abbey nodded, blinking back the tears. It
was
a good gift. But why weren
’
t her parents telling them what her mother had? Unless it was a genetic disorder. A surge of sick certainty washed over her. That was probably why. Clearly there would be treatment in one of the futures. But maybe not all of the futures.

Farley nudged against them both, holding a stinky bone wrapped in candy-cane paper in his mouth.

Abbey dropped her hand to Farley
’
s warm, furry head.
“
Oh, go ahead Farley. It
’
s Christmas,
”
she said.

Despite her mother
’
s suspiciously glittery eyes
—
she was trying not to be too upset about the swamp fire
—
and the heavy scent of smoke that seeped into every corner of the house, it was a festive Christmas. Simon spent a record amount of time outside of his room. Mark very nearly exploded with joy over his new ocean atlas and cartography pens. Caleb finally seemed to have forgiven her for not telling him everything about what happened in his future with the docks, and Sam emailed to wish her a merry Christmas, and to say that he was working on something exciting with Ian.
“
Great. The two of you can just go off and be buddies now,
”
Abbey said to her computer before closing the lid and going back out to have turkey dinner with her family, feeling like, parallel universes or not, everything might just be okay.

But as they moved into the new year, everything wasn
’
t okay. As her father had predicted, the swamp continued to burn, filling the valley with clouds of black smoke whenever the wind blew eastward. The rezoning of Coventry Hill passed the council vote with an easy majority, and the wooded area around the stones was open for potential development. (
“
But the economy is down,
”
her dad kept saying cheerfully.
“
Nobody will want to develop it in this climate. Not many people can afford monster houses these days. It could sit undeveloped for years.
”
) And then came the announcement that several GIS map files of Coventry Hill were missing, wiped clean from the City databases. Until then it had been believed that
“
the City Hall Hacker
”—
as Simon had become known
—
hadn
’
t taken anything, but Gretchen Leer, the new mayor, made speeches about tightening security, and the charges against Simon were ramped up, despite his repeated claims that he
’
d had nothing to do with taking the map files.

The day of Simon
’
s hearing dawned crystal clear. The swamp fire had gone underground, but the earth beneath the swamp still smoldered. Simon was sheet white when they drove down to the hearing, and her mother and father didn
’
t speak at all. Her mother
’
s final treatment was in a few days, and her face was creased and heavy. She leaned against the window while they drove, and Abbey wondered if she was strong enough to keep going to the future alone.

Abbey and Caleb weren
’
t going into the courtroom, but rather had come along for moral support. Abbey tried to give Simon a positive sort of hopeful look as he filed into the ornate room, but his expression was long and dour, and she dropped her eyes to the marble floor almost immediately. Now she and Caleb sat outside on opposite sides of a wooden bench in the vaulted foyer of the courthouse, waiting for what eve
ryone expected would likely be bad news.

Abbey stared morosely at the golden grain of the wood. Caleb played
Clash of Clans
,
with his earbuds in, on the new iPhone he had received for Christmas.

Abbey was so busy tracing the patterns of lines and knots in the wood that she almost didn
’
t hear Ian arrive until he sat down next to her. He wore a navy and burgundy paisley number with his customary beret.

“
What are
you
doing here?
”
she said.

“
Just seeing the sights. I love old buildings,
”
Ian replied.

“
You do a lot of sightseeing.
”

“
Guilty as charged,
”
he said, and then made a face.
“
Sorry. Probably inappropriate word choice for today.
”

Abbey offered him a small, grim smile in return.
“
I can
’
t figure out the stupid cards you gave me. Caleb can. But he says he
’
s not supposed to tell me. Why can he get it and I can
’
t?
”

“
Look at him,
”
Ian said. Caleb had switched to music and was now swaying to
“
Feel So Close.
”

“
He likes music?
”

“
He lets himself go.
”

“
Great. Well, I guess I
’
ll never do witchcraft then.
”

“
Don
’
t sell yourself short. There are basically three types of witches, if you want to call us that. I personally don
’
t care for the term. But it is what we
’
ve historically been called, so we
’
ll go with it for now. There are intuits, extuits, and pattern finders. Most of us are strong in one, moderate in the other, and weaker in the third. There are sub-specialties of course, but those aren
’
t important right now.
”

Ian seemed very serious, but Abbey almost had an inclination to scoff.
“
Which one are you best at?
”

“
I
’
m an extuit.
”

“
And that means?
”

“
I can influence people and situations.
”

Abbey experienced a flash of exasperation at his apparent earnestness, but tried to quell it and remain open to possibilities.
“
Then why don
’
t you just make everyone do what you want? Like Selena, Nate, and Damian. And Sylvain?
”

“
Well, my abilities are less effective against other people with the same abilities. Sylvain and Selena are both extuits too.
”

“
That
’
s why you were talking so funny to the folks with the animal skins and spears,
”
Abbey said.
“
And that night when you carried Sylvain off, and Max was there
…
you were influencing him
—
and me.
”