The cabinet slides open. My heart beats rapidly as I get ready to throw my blade, but I don’t get the chance. Both Pete and Pickpocket storm into the crematorium, knocking the intruder down to the floor. Lily bolts to Pete’s side, trying to pry him off the newcomer.
“Wait!” Lily shouts.
“Who are you?” Pete growls, his daggers aimed at the figure.
“The Pro … Professor!” a familiar female voice says, fright evident in her tone.
I peek through the opening, brushing a loose curl from my face. My breath catches when I see her eyes, eyes that are a mirror image of my little sister’s. For a fraction of a second, I wonder if I’m dreaming.
“Mum?” I ask in disbelief.
My mother stares at me and covers her mouth with a hand as she gasps. “Gwen?”
I drop my blades, sending them clattering onto the floor, and push my way through Pete and Pickpocket and into my mother’s arms. Joanna follows behind me. Hot tears rain down my face. I inhale, and her sweet lavender scent consumes me, lifting from me a heavy cloak of despair.
My mother kisses my cheek, and then Joanna’s. “My girls! Look at you!”
I brush a tear away with the back of my hand.
“Gwen, is it really you?” she asks, lifting my chin. My mother breathes a sigh of relief, brushing the loose strands of hair out of my face with her hand. “How did you get here?” The rough fabric of her lab-coat sleeve brushes against my cheek. I notice the emblem of the Marauders on the lapel. My relief gives way to anger as my heart pounds.
“I came to save Joanna.” My words spill sharply, a hundred questions piercing my thoughts. “You’re the Professor?” I ask.
“Why didn’t you come get us?” Joanna demands, her voice laced with venom.
I place my hand on Joanna’s shoulder and she stiffens.
Pain etches my mother’s face as she draws her hands back. “Ever since the war, I’ve been a prisoner. When the bombs destroyed the lab, everyone evacuated except my team and me. I was moving the refrigerated locker that held the Horologia virus to the fallout bunker when the ceiling collapsed. The Marauders found me pinned beneath a concrete slab. I was imprisoned with other survivors the soldiers captured. When the adults started dying off because of exposure to the virus, the Captain brought me from the holding cells, knowing my background in researching biological weapons. It became my job to try to find a cure for the virus. I couldn’t leave, not without knowing you kids were okay. I thought about you every single day,” my mother says.
“You knew about the virus,” I say, accusation thick in my voice. “All this time you knew it existed, and you never mentioned it? You were working with the government this whole time?”
My mother’s brows lift in surprise. “You were children. There was no reason to worry you with what my job entailed or who I worked for. I did it to protect you.”
She reaches for Joanna and me. Joanna jerks away and wraps her arms around my waist, burying her face in my chest. I hold her close, listening to her sniffle through tears. My heart cracks with each of Joanna’s sobs, hairline fissures growing into fractured hunks of tissue and sorrow. “We mourned your death every single day,” I say, fixing my gaze on my mother.
“It doesn’t explain why you stayed here,” my sister says angrily. “You abandoned us! Why didn’t you come for us?”
My mother closes her eyes and covers her mouth, holding back a sob. “At first, I tried everything I could do to escape,” she says. Another flash of pain erupts across her pale face. She shakes her head, taking in a breath, and her eyes meet mine. She is calm and composed now, setting aside her own emotions. Just like in the days before the war, she is the image of stability, strength, and fortitude. Everything I have tried to be.
“I only discovered the secret room and tunnels six months ago. By then I knew my best chance of finding you was to stay here. Hook was bringing a dozen children in every few days. I hoped it was only a matter of time before you would show up. If I had left to find you and Hook captured you, I would never have known.”
Unable to take my stare off the emblem on my mother’s lapel, a profound ache ensnares me. “What about Dad? He never came for us either,” I say in a soft voice.
My mother refuses to meet my gaze. “I haven’t heard from him since the day he was deployed. I can only assume that he’s … that he didn’t make it.”
My heart splinters into tiny, searing shards. Although I knew the truth, something, a fragment of hope inside me, willed for him to be alive. But if my mother believes he’s gone, what hope is there that he made it at all? Joanna turns her head into my shoulder and weeps.
“I think we should go now,” Pickpocket says, gently patting my sister on the back. “We’ve got the girls back and the Professor. Let’s get out of this hole.”
“Agreed,” Pete says. “We need to start back to the Lost City.”
Pete starts to turn toward the infirmary and we follow him, but my mother does not move.
“Mum?” I ask.
The blood drains from her face.
She covers her mouth. “Did you say the Lost City?”
“Yes, that’s where we’re from,” Pete says, gesturing to Pickpocket. Pete’s brow furrows as the alarm in her expression seems to register. “What do you know?” he asks urgently.
My mother closes her eyes tightly and shakes her head. “The Marauders have captured the Lost City.”
“No, that’s impossible,” Pete argues.
My mother’s hands tremble. “Hook has apprehended someone who knew the Lost City’s location. They took everyone they could find and now they’re burning down what’s left of Everland so that there is nowhere for anyone to hide. The Lost Boys are locked in the ballroom, and he’s gathering all of us in the courtyard to leave Everland tonight.”
The muscles in Pickpocket’s face harden, his cheeks flushing bright red. “No one knows where the Lost City is. Who could have told him?” he asks through clenched teeth.
“I don’t know,” my mother says. “They didn’t tell me anything else.”
“It doesn’t matter who told him,” Pete says. “We’re getting those kids back.”
An icy chill races up my spine. I feel like I’ve fallen into the Thames during the dead of winter. I place a hand on Pete’s arm. He turns to me, his gaze sizzling with anger.
“Mikey,” I say, his name catching in my throat. You look after my brother and I’ll keep my eye on yours. Dozer’s words come flooding back to me. I briefly hope that Dozer and Mikey escaped, but then where would I begin to search for him?
“Mikey’s here with the others,” my mother says.
“What are we going to do? How are we going to get him back?” Joanna asks, worry lining her doll-like face.
Pete sheathes his dagger. “We are not abandoning any of the Lost Boys. Pickpocket and Mole will come with me. Lily, you take everyone else north.” He faces me, his jaw rigid. “I’m rescuing all of the Lost Boys, Mikey included.”
“I’m coming with you,” I insist.
“As are we,” says Doc from behind us. He watches us, weariness mixed with steadfast determination masking his face. Behind him, Mole smiles next to an ashen but alert Bella. I feel my jaw drop, and I’m astonished by her sudden burst of energy. I wrap my arms around her, burying my nose in her hair.
“Bella?” I ask. “You’re okay!”
“I’m much better than a half hour ago,” she says, snaking her arms around my waist.
Lily steps toward Doc. She glances at Bella’s hands. Each finger is neatly wrapped in thin bandages, allowing Bella to slip her medicated gloves back onto her hands.
“Nice job, Doc,” Lily says, smiling shyly at him.
Another grin grows on Doc’s face. “Fortunately, Bella’s received great medical care. I merely followed up, although I haven’t ever seen her bounce back so quickly. I think this new formula with Gwen’s antibodies is the real deal, but we never would have been able to help her if you ha
dn’t kept her alive.”
Lily drops her stare to the floor and she blushes. “It was my pleasure.”
I see a flash of admiration in Doc’s eyes as he smiles timidly at Lily. My heart swells with hope for the brokenhearted Lost Boy. Since he has loved and lost once before, I wonder if another could mend his heart. Another like his first love, Gabrielle.
Pete, noticing the flirtatious exchange, glowers at Doc as he helps my mother to her feet. She looks resolved.
“With all those children here, I should stay,” my mother says. “Some of them may need medical attention.”
“No, Mum!” I say. My stomach grows sick at the thought of leaving her behind. “We’ve just found you. I am not losing you again. Besides, if they’ve captured Mikey, I should be here for him. He’s my responsibility!”
My words echo in the concrete room. My responsibility! My mother shakes her head. I realize that the obligation to care for him is no longer mine. Guilt tugs at my heart, and I look away. My mother tilts my chin up so that my eyes meet her.
“It’s not your fault, Gwen,” she says, as if reading my mind. She places a hand on either side of my face. “Joanna and Mikey are lucky to have you. You’ve gone beyond what any fifteen-year-old girl should have to do. You kept them safe in circumstances when I couldn’t.”
My eyes burn with unshed tears. I can’t bring myself to look at her. “I lost Joanna, and now Mikey. I’ve failed them both.”
“I failed you,” my mother says. “I should have found a way to come home. This is my fault, and I intend to make it right. We will get Mikey back, and we’ll be a complete family again.”
The image of my father’s military tags lying scattered among the debris in the café comes back to me. I finally meet my mother’s eyes. “We’ll never be complete.” A stray tear rolls down my cheek.
Joanna twirls her bracelet around her wrist, drawing my mother’s attention. She frowns, her stare set on the copper buttons. Tears pool in my mother’s eyes. “I miss him, too,” she says.
My mother reaches into the pocket of her lab coat and pulls out my father’s military tags. She slips them over my head and I feel the cold metal tickle my neck. “Where did you find these?” I ask, holding the tags between my fingers and half expecting them to disappear.
“He’ll always be with us. Always,” my mother says. She doesn’t answer my question, but it’s all I need to feel whole again.
Pete breaks the grief-stricken moment. “I am the leader of the Lost Boys. I can’t abandon them,” he says matter-of-factly.
My mother gives him a weary smile. “These boys have been under your care long enough. Lily will lead you to where the other children have taken refuge. I’ll get the Lost Boys and send them as soon as I can.”
“How are you going to get them out?” Pete asks, urgency lacing his voice.
“I’ll incapacitate the soldier who comes to retrieve me, and get into the ballroom.” She pulls a vial from her pocket and holds it up. “A liquid sedative should take care of him.”
“No,” I protest again, glancing around. No one speaks. “Pete, we can’t leave her to rescue all those kids alone.”
Pete stares at the ground, kicking a loose rock with his boot.
“Bella? Doc?” I say. Bella joins Pete and takes his hand. Doc frowns, shaking his head.
“Pickpocket? You can’t believe this is the right thing to do,” I say.
He shrugs. Next to him, Mole drops his chin to his chest.
“Gwen,” my mother says. “Go. I will be all right.” She kisses Joanna’s cheek and then mine. She turns to Lily. “Be sure they get to Northumberland safely.”
“I will, Professor,” Lily says with a nod.
My mother starts to shut the steel door, but hesitates. “I love you girls. I never stopped waiting for you.”
A noise outside the lab startles my mother.
“Go! Get out of here now!” she says, pushing us toward the opening.
Joanna shakes her head, her eyes wide with fear. “No, I’m not leaving without you!”
Bella, Lily, and the Lost Boys bolt through the opening, but I’m frozen as I watch Joanna back toward the staircase to the lab.
“I won’t lose you again!” she says.
The door to the lab swings open with a metallic clang and deep male voices call for the Professor.
“There’s no time! Get out of here!” My mother tries to push Joanna toward the opening, but she throws herself to the floor, reminding me of a tantruming child. Taking her by the hand, my mother tries to drag her to the door, but to no avail.
“I won’t go without you!” Joanna shouts.
My mother peers up at me with terror in her eyes. She nods. “Go, Gwen.”
I shake my head. “No!”
My mother leaves Joanna’s side and starts to push me toward the opening. My eyes lock on Joanna’s, imploring her to come with me, but her stare is resolute; she’s determined to stand her ground.
My mother shoves me through the opening. “I love you, Gwen.” With those final words, she hurriedly closes the door, and the only sound I hear, other than my rapid breath, is the cabinet rolling back into place.
The lab is empty. Professor Darling and the girl are nowhere to be found. There’s only one other place they could be. I storm down the flight of stairs to the crematorium. When I reach the bottom level, I find the Professor sitting against a cabinet. Her daughter sits in her lap while she reads from a book. Joanna’s face erupts in a bright smile as her mother tells the story with exaggerated hand motions. The dark leather spine reads The Clockmaker and the Midnight Elves in elegant script.
My knees nearly buckle beneath me as a long-forgotten memory consumes me, striking me speechless. Jack’s father, my stepfather, who once cared for me as if I were his own, read to us from his favorite collection of stories in the castle library. It has been boarded up and locked away since his death, and I hadn’t thought about it until just now.
The Professor, still unaware of my presence, reads about tiny elves that sneak into an old clockmaker’s workshop to restore a magical grandfather clock. I feel a flare of jealousy for all the times my mother didn’t read to me as a child.
I storm over to her, ready to wrench her from the floor. Just as I place my hand on her arm, her daughter dashes from her lap. I see the Professor reach for her pocket, and something silver glints in the lamplight. Swiftly I grip her other wrist with my free hand, just as she’s about to plunge a needle into my chest. My fingers squeeze, digging into her soft flesh. She cries in pain, sending the needle smashing to the floor.
“Story time is over!” I shout.
No! No! No!” I scream as Pete drags me from the closet and into the infirmary.
Lily carefully shuts the steel door and follows us into the room along with everyone else.
I rip myself from Pete’s grasp. “I’m not leaving them!”
“Stop it!” he yells, a finger pointed into my face. “You’re going to get us all killed carrying on like that.”
“Pete, you can’t possibly believe my mother can save all of those kids on her own,” I protest. “My entire family is locked in that palace. We have to save them.”
Pete returns to the closet and leans against the door, his ear pressed up against the steel. “You’re absolutely right, and no offense, but I trust your mother about as much as I trust Hook. Anyone who aligns themselves with a Marauder is a traitor.”
The hair on the back of my neck bristles. “My mother is not a traitor! You heard what she said. She’s willing to risk her life and stay here to rescue the entire group of Lost Boys.”
Pete says nothing.
“Are you listening to me?” I ask, tugging his arm and pulling him around to face me.
“Not really,” he says, annoyed. “I’m trying to figure out if the soldiers have left yet.”
I lean my cheek against the cold metal. Holding my breath, I listen for the deep, husky voices belonging to the Marauders. Their wo
rds are nothing but murmurs behind the steel door. I strain to make sense of their muted voices. My mother responds in loud protest. Finally, a heavy door slams shut and the adjacent room is silent.
“They must have taken them from the lab,” Pete says.
“Pete, what are we going to do?” I ask.
“We are not doing anything,” he says, waving a hand in a gesture that appears to indicate he is speaking of the entire group. “Doc, Pickpocket, Mole, and I will rescue the boys. You and Bella are going with Lily.”
“What about my mother? Joanna and Mikey?” I protest.
“I’ll do my best to get them out, along with the rest of the Lost Boys, but she’s been sending kids north for months. She’ll find a way to get herself and your siblings to the safe lands,” Pete says. “But there’s no way she can get all of those Lost Kids out on her own, even if she isn’t conspiring with Hook. I’m not leaving without those boys.”
“And I’m not leaving my family behind,” I say, clenching my teeth. “Besides, even if you manage to rescue the Lost Boys, who knows what Hook will do to my family?”
“Look, if I can, I will try to get your family out, too. But I’m not going to risk you being captured. You are the key to curing the virus. We need you!” Pete shouts, startling me. His expression softens as he takes in my surprise. He reaches for both of my hands. “I need you,” he says, stumbling through those three words in a quiet voice. His eyes meet mine. “I’ve lost almost everything important to me. My parents, my sister—and I nearly lost Bella.” He glances at Bella, and she gives him a shy smile. His eyes turn back to me. They are marked with worry. “I can’t lose you, too.”
I ignore the tingle in my chest at the words I need you echoing in my mind. “You’re not leaving me behind. Pickpocket, you have to be the voice of reason here,” I object.
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