“You should see it when it’s whole and unmarred,” Jia said. “It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
“These are pieces of a greater whole, then?” the emperor said.
Matt nodded. “I think this is how Captain Vincent is changing things. I always imagined he would have to travel around the world all over time and change things, but it seems it’s simpler than that. He just pulls out a person’s time tapestry and changes whatever he wants.”
“But not without help,” Jia said. “We think someone is assisting him in the destruction of the time tapestries. Remember the man we saw on the Vermillion with the captain?”
Matt nodded. He’d almost forgotten that too. He was forgetting too much, too quickly. “He had some kind of explosive. We think that’s what the captain is using to change certain things. We don’t know who he is, though.”
“Albert knows,” Jia said.
“But he won’t tell us,” Matt said bitterly.
“I think he’ll come around if we treat him with respect. Albert’s not all bad, you know.”
Matt scoffed. “He doesn’t deserve respect. Maybe we should beat it out of him. I’ll bet he’d talk faster then.”
“Violence is always a weak solution, if it is any kind of solution at all,” the emperor said. “You’d do better to follow the advice of my daughter.”
Jia beamed with obvious pleasure at her father’s praise, and for some reason it made Matt feel even more irritable. Maybe he was feeling jealous. Jia had her father. He was the orphan now.
“Even if Albert does come around at some point,” Matt said, “there’s no guarantee that man will help us or even know how. And by then it might be too late. I’m starting to forget them. My family. I can’t see their faces in my mind. I can’t remember what they sound like, and there are things about them that I don’t know, but I feel like I should, like their birthdays. Shouldn’t I know my own brother and sister’s birthday? How long before I forget their names? That they’re my brother and sister? That I care? That they exist at all?” Jia took Matt’s hand. It was only then that he realized he was shaking.
“Your brother and sister are twins you said?” the emperor asked.
Matt nodded, wiping at his tears. “Is that important?”
“I don’t know,” the emperor said. “Maybe. Maybe not. In China, twins are a symbol of luck, boy and girl twins are especially powerful, they are yin and yang, symbolizing balance in the universe. But your brother and sister are not alone. They have you. You are also significant, I think. You are the inventor of the compass! You are an orphan but somehow came to this particular family. Why? It is not coincidence, I do not think.”
The emperor took the cylinder he had been carrying. He opened the top and retrieved a large scroll. He unraveled it and placed it on the table, using some stones to hold down the corners.
Matt almost forgot his anger and grief at the sight of it. He was instantly mesmerized. It was a star chart, very complex. Three layers of circles, one inside of the other, very much like his compass (he couldn’t help but notice the similarity), and inside of each were hundreds of constellations. Lines had been drawn, the constellations were labeled. Matt didn’t recognize most of them as they’d been labeled in Chinese characters, but he recognized a few—Hercules, Virgo, Cassiopeia.
“Now,” the emperor said. “I have been studying astronomy for many years and keeping a careful record. The stars and planets can tell us a great deal about our universe, and lately my priest friends and I have noted certain disruptions. Many constellations have dimmed or disappeared completely, and new ones have begun to appear, but one has remained constant through it all.” He pointed to a place on the chart where three points formed a triangle. “The Summer Triangle. Astrologers have interpreted it in many ways over the centuries. There are stories and legends, and of course, the number three is significant in many cultures and religions. It is a holy number, a number of luck. But in more scholarly circles, the Summer Triangle symbolizes the three pillars of the universe—matter, space, and time. Together they bind or lock our universe, create order and symmetry. Suŏ. Now you say this Captain Vincent has found a way to break the lock by means of a compass you built and a stone that you gave to him.”
“Yes, but—”
“Even if it was your future self, it was you, and you did it for a reason.”
Matt had no response. What reason could there be other than to destroy his own family?
“Come,” the emperor said. “I want you to see this in the real stars.”
They left the star chart and walked to the other end of the observatory that overlooked the Forbidden City. There were more buildings than even Matt realized. There had to be thousands of them. There were a few glowing lanterns, but mostly the city was dark, and his gaze was naturally drawn upward. The sky was scattered with so many stars.
“They never stop making me feel both small and large all at once,” the emperor said. “That I am both nothing and everything, both the center of the universe and an insignificant insect.”
Matt had nothing to say to this, only it felt true. There were times when he felt like everything revolved around him, that he was important and powerful, and others when the universe seemed completely indifferent toward his existence. At this moment he felt like nothing more than a speck.
The emperor approached one of the instruments. One of the priests was making adjustments. He stepped aside as they approached and told the emperor that it was ready and in position. The emperor looked through the telescope and then motioned for Matt and Jia to come.
“Look!” he said.
Matt looked through the telescope.
“The Summer Triangle,” the emperor said. At first Matt just saw a jumbled mass of stars, but slowly they started to organize themselves and he drew lines between the stars in his mind. He saw the three points, equilateral, though two were dimmer than the third.
“In all my years observing the skies,” the emperor said, “the three stars of the Summer Triangle have always been equally bright, until recently we noticed two of them beginning to dim.”
“You think it’s because of what Captain Vincent did? Because he broke the lock on the universe?”
The emperor nodded. “I cannot help but think there is something in your relationship with your brother and sister that is significant in all that has happened. The three of you together, in some way, represent the three pillars of the universe. The balance needed. You must bring them back. Only the three of you together can mend the lock, I believe, restore order to the universe.”
“But how? And how am I supposed to bring them back? I told you, they’re gone! I don’t even know what’s happened to them. They just unraveled right before my eyes! All I have are these scraps of fabric and they’re unraveling too!” He held out the pieces of fabric. One of them fell, and when it hit the ground the threads started to unravel and disintegrate. Matt felt an invisible thread inside of himself simultaneously doing the same. He bent down and quickly snatched it up. He pressed it to his chest.
“You are an intelligent boy,” the emperor said. “You built this compass not even knowing exactly what you were doing. You have power and intelligence inside of you that even you are not aware of, but more importantly you have a good heart.”
Matt nearly rolled his eyes. A good heart. What did that matter in this situation?
“You think the heart does not matter,” the emperor said, seeming to read his mind. “But it matters more than anything, more than the forbidden lock, more than your compass. Your heart is your true compass. Let it guide you, and you’ll never be truly lost.”
Matt and Jia were escorted back to their quarters by two palace guards. They walked in silence most of the way. Matt’s mind was turning in circles. His dad, Corey, and Ruby had disappeared because the order of the universe had been disrupted, its lock broken, and in order to fix it, he needed to get Corey and Ruby back. But he had no idea how to get them back! It made no sense.
Jia also seemed lost in thought, but he didn’t think she was thinking about the same things. She seemed peaceful, happy. After the emperor had told Matt to “follow his heart,” he’d turned his attention to Jia. He asked her to tell him about her travels, what she had seen and done, the things she had learned. They talked for nearly an hour, barely acknowledging Matt unless he happened to be part of the story, which he often wasn’t since Jia had been on the Vermillion for years before he arrived. Matt watched as Jia spoke to her father, the way she lit up, the way the emperor listened so attentively, clearly admiring his daughter. Matt couldn’t blame him, but it was hard not to feel jealous, like he’d suddenly been replaced.
Matt was exhausted. He was hoping he could just walk into the house and disappear into his room. He just wanted to lie down and sleep, but he knew that wasn’t going to happen the moment he entered the house. As soon as the guards left them, they heard a crash in the next room.
“Hold him! Hold him!” Matt heard his mom shout. He looked to Jia. They both ran into the main room and stopped short at the scene before them.
At first Matt thought his mom and Albert were fighting with his grandparents and uncle. Belamie had Gaga by the upper arm and Haha by the hair, while Albert had wrapped himself around Uncle Chuck’s leg. Uncle Chuck was stumbling around the room, bumping into furniture and walls, knocking things over. When he turned around, Jia gasped. His face. It was blurry. They were all blurry. They were fading, unraveling. Vincent had struck again. He was erasing the rest of his family.
“No!” Matt shouted. He ran to Gaga.
“Oh!” Gaga said. “I feel so strange!” Her arm blurred so Belamie lost her grip. Gaga faded and disappeared.
“I guess this is really it this time,” Haha said as he disappeared too. Belamie pitched forward.
“Uncle Chuck!” Matt called. “Don’t go!”
Uncle Chuck was still stumbling around with Albert attached to his leg. “It’s okay, Matty,” he said calmly. “I’m just going to the next adventure. You gotta stay and finish this one.” And he disappeared. Albert fell in a heap on the floor.
Matt gasped and clutched at his head. He started to shake.
Gone. All of his family was gone now.
“What happened?” Jia asked.
“I don’t know,” Belamie said. “One moment they were all sitting there, normal as can be, and the next they were . . . fading. We tried to help them, but there was nothing we could do. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Matt had. “It’s Vincent,” he growled. “He erased their existence.”
“Erased their existence?” Belamie said. “That’s impossible. Not without . . .” She trailed off, glanced at Albert.
“I told you,” Albert said. “I told you all along. They’re lying to you. They brought you here under false pretenses.”
“Albert . . . ,” Jia said, her voice full of disappointment.
Albert said nothing, only stuck his nose in the air.
Belamie looked at Matt. “It’s true then. Vincent really does have the Aeternum, doesn’t he?”
Matt looked at his mom. He could see there was no hiding it now. The cat was out of the bag. “You have to understand,” he said, “that’s not what you wanted. Before all this happened, you were fighting against Vincent. He’s the enemy!”
Belamie shook her head. “Vincent would never hurt me. He loves me. And I love him.”
Matt felt like he was going to vomit. “No, you don’t!” he shouted. “You chose someone else! Vincent went back in time and destroyed your family and made it so you can’t even remember them. You can’t even remember that I’m your son! That’s the truth.”
Belamie’s gaze drew inward, like she was searching for the truth. Matt thought he might have convinced her, but then Albert had to open his big mouth.
“If you didn’t want any of this to happen,” Albert said, “then how come you gave Captain Vincent the Aeternum?”
“What?” Belamie snapped.
“Albert,” Jia said in a warning voice. “Stop.”
“He did!” Albert said. “I saw it with my own eyes. So did Jia.”
Matt shook his head. “It wasn’t supposed to be that way. None of this was supposed to happen.”
“It seems that it was supposed to happen,” Belamie said. “It looks as though this is exactly how you wanted things to be.”
Matt shook his head. “No. I didn’t. And it isn’t how you wanted things to be. Can’t you understand? You left Vincent. But he changed everything. He erased your husband, and the twins . . . my brother and sister”—he tried to remember their names—“Corbin and Rita? Casey and Judy? No. those weren’t right. It was all shrouded in fog. “He erased them! He’s changed your entire life when you didn’t want him to!”
Belamie pressed her fingers to her temple. “But it isn’t my life. Maybe it’s your life, but it isn’t mine, whatever you say. I didn’t choose this.”
“But you did choose it!” Matt shouted. “Maybe not now, but in the future you choose it. You chose my dad. You chose me. And my brother and sister.” Why couldn’t he remember their names?! “You loved your family more than anything in the world, and you would have done anything to protect them. You did. You gave up everything—the Vermillion, the Obsidian Compass, your quest for the Aeternum, saving your parents. All of it. For us. Because you love us. But I guess you don’t anymore. You don’t care about me or my dad or . . . or . . .” He slammed his own fist into his head. What were their names?! “All you care about is power and immortality.”
“And what’s so wrong with that?” Albert said. “What is a ‘family’ but just a group of people guaranteed to let you down? It’s better this way, you know. You should be grateful.”
“Albert, how can you say such a thing?” Jia said, frowning. “You saw the Hudson family before this. You know how close they were, how much they loved each other. You can’t possibly think what Captain Vincent has done is right.”
Albert seemed to hesitate just a little, but he held his head high. “It doesn’t matter what I think. I am not a traitor.”
“No,” Matt growled. “You’re just a pathetic loser.” He lunged at Albert, tackled him to the ground. Matt was not a fighter, but he felt something crack open inside of him and the rage poured out like the fiery breath of a dragon.
“Stop!” Jia shouted. “Matt, stop it!”
Matt didn’t hear her. He punched and slapped and clawed with everything he had. Albert mostly tried to protect himself. Only once did he retaliate, weakly swatting at Matt’s neck and head and then curling up into a ball as Matt pummeled him.
“I got it! I got it!” Albert shouted.
“No, you don’t,” Matt said. “Not yet.” He continued to hit Albert until his mom pulled him off. Matt twisted free but lost his balance. He stumbled sideways into a table holding a porcelain vase. The vase fell and shattered.
“I got it!” Albert shouted. “Let’s go!”
Matt pushed himself off the ground. Porcelain shards bit into his hands, but he hardly felt it when he saw the scene before him. He felt at his chest. The compass. Albert had gotten the compass! He must have pulled it off him while they were fighting.
“Hurry! Let’s get out of here!” Albert handed the compass to Belamie who immediately started turning the dials.
“Mom! Don’t!” Matt shouted.
Belamie looked at Matt, and a shadow of regret flickered over her face. “I’m sorry, but I’m not your mother!”
She made the final turn of the dial. She reached out for Albert, took him by the hand. Albert looked at Matt and smiled triumphantly.
“Mom! Mom!” Matt ran to her, tried to grab on to her, but too late. She and Albert disappeared.
Matt fell on the spot where they had just been. “Come back! Please come back!” he shouted into the air as though she might be able to hear him.
Matt began to tremble violently. Someone knelt down in front of Matt, but he couldn’t see
them clearly. He felt his body convulse, spasming out of control. Spots appeared in the corners of his eyes. He heard a rushing in his ears, like the sound of waves crashing, getting louder and louder, and then he blacked out.
21
Asleep
Jia sat by Matt’s bedside, watching his chest move up and down. He had been asleep for an entire day. She had tried everything to rouse him, even slapped and pinched his face to near bruising. The servants had administered tonics and powders, but nothing worked. Every now and then Matt twitched, and Jia thought maybe he was waking, but he was just seizing again. She had witnessed one of Matt’s seizures only once before, and never had she witnessed anyone else seize, but she still thought it was strange. It was almost like he was flickering in and out like a lightbulb.
Jia stayed with Matt every minute. She barely took her eyes off him. She had this increasingly dark feeling that she and Matt wouldn’t be able to stay together for much longer, that he would disappear right before her eyes, or she would. Things were changing. She could feel it, and see it too. While Matt slept, China began to experience time rifts. At first, they were slight. The servants brought in stories of people mysteriously showing up in the midst of the Forbidden City, foreigners who couldn’t speak Chinese and wore very odd clothes. The guards thought they were spies that had infiltrated the city somehow, but then things happened that were less easily explained. Buildings in the Forbidden City started to disappear, and new ones started to take their place. That evening Jia looked out the window and could see the tall spire of a building she knew belonged in Paris. The Eiffel Tower.
Jia wrote a note to her father. He had asked her to keep him informed of any new developments or unusual happenings. Belamie’s abandonment, the disappearance of Gloria, Henry, and Chuck, and Matt falling into a coma were certainly new and unusual developments, not to mention the time rifts that were clearly happening, which surely the emperor knew about. Jia didn’t really expect the emperor to respond. Perhaps he would send one of his advisers. But within the hour of her message being sent, the emperor himself came.
The Forbidden Lock Page 22