Shadowghast
Page 21
She turns her wrinkled face to me, waiting for my answer.
And me? Well, I have to pick my jaw up off my plate, don’t I? Because, what?
And yet, isn’t this exactly what I’ve always wanted, deep down? Even though I love my Lost-and-Foundery, and my life here in Eerie-on-Sea. To find a real home? The chance to be part of a real family, however strange, and not just be a shipwrecked boy adopted by a town.
The chance to be someone’s son?
I look down at the scuffed brass buttons and royal porpoise blue of my uniform. Visions of two possible futures swirl around in my head—one of riches and fame and applause, the other of lost property and a hotel basement.
Is it really down to me to decide which one will become real?
I look at Violet.
She’s staring at me from inside her hair with eyes like headlamps. From her lap, Erwin is staring, too.
Then, quite suddenly, I find that the answer I’ve been looking for these last few days is already there, in a quiet corner of my mind, where it has waited all along for me to find it.
And that answer is quite simple: one of these futures is real already.
“Thank you,” I say, giving Caliastra’s hand a Herbie squeeze. “That is a truly, truly magical offer, and I will never forget it. But I can’t leave Eerie-on-Sea, not when I have people here who need me, and mysteries still to solve, and a best friend I’ve made promises to, and huge hotel breakfasts to eat, though what’s taking so long I don’t know. I’m sorry, but my future is here.”
Caliastra looks at me.
Then she smiles.
It’s a different, sadder smile than before, but a smile nonetheless.
“You don’t need to say sorry, Herbie,” she says. “Something tells me you will be amazing at whatever you do in life. Eerie-on-Sea is lucky to have you. And now, I think, it really is time for that breakfast.”
“Finally!” Lady Kraken declares. Then she turns to Mr. Mollusc. “Bring my egg, Godfrey. And kippers! Bring me kippers! This is a day to celebrate.”
Mr. Godfrey Mollusc, blinking in shocked disbelief, doesn’t seem to have heard the order.
“You’re not going?” he says to me. “But . . . the riches! . . . And the being famous!”
“Herbie’s already famous,” says Violet. “After all, he was the star of this year’s Ghastly Night show.”
“We both were,” I correct her. Then, winking at Mr. Mollusc, I add, “The only riches we need is the gold of freshly baked croissants, thank you very much. And lots of them.”
And I hold my and Violet’s plates out.
Somehow I manage to keep a straight face as Mr. Mollusc has no choice but to load up our plates with flaky, still-a-bit-warm, scrumptiously buttery pastries.
And that seems a good place to leave things for now. Because happy and ending are surely the two words that go together best of all.
THOMAS TAYLOR is an award-winning author-illustrator for children. His work includes picture books, graphic novels, and the previous novels in this series, Malamander and Gargantis. He lives with his family on the south coast of England, where he can often be found combing the beach for ancient or lost things.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or, if real, are used fictitiously.
Text and map copyright © 2021 by Thomas Taylor
Illustrations copyright © 2021 by Tom Booth
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in an information retrieval system in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, taping, and recording, without prior written permission from the publisher.
First US electronic edition 2021
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number pending
The illustrations in this book were created digitally.
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