She started to cry.
“That’s exactly right,” said Jasper. “We need to be proud of our scars. They show us how strong we are.”
“Will my heart ever stop working again?” asked Nora.
“Not for a very, very long time,” said Jasper. “It happens to all of us. We are born, we live as well as we can, and then we cross over when it’s our time. That’s just the cycle of all lives. And when that happens, we cross over into whatever is next for us, but only after we’ve lived long, happy, and healthy lives.”
“But was Billy right?” asked Nora. “Are we broken?”
“We’re all a little broken,” said Jasper. “And that’s okay. Rumi the great poet once wrote that the wound is where the light enters us. That light lives in you and me and Cassandra and all people everywhere. Through our scars, through the broken places, that’s how the light gets in and how we show our light to others.”
“So it’s okay that I choked Billy?” asked Cassandra.
Jasper smiled, amused by her boldness and honesty and fully aware that now was a moment of great teaching. “It’s okay that you defended yourself and your sister, but you went too far when you physically hurt him after you knew you and your sister were out of danger. You should have stopped there.”
Cassandra began to shake with anger. “But he deserved to be hurt,” she blurted. “Even more than he hurt us.”
The amusement left Jasper’s face and was replaced with grave concern. Even Nora looked alarmed by Cassandra’s outburst.
“It’s easy to fight,” Jasper said sternly. And then his tone softened again. “What’s not easy, and what’s necessary, is to love. If you can love in times of anger and hate, then nothing can ever really hurt you. Love, not violence, takes courage. And you have that in you. You both do. You have very courageous hearts.”
Jasper hugged both girls. Nora gladly accepted the hug, but Cassandra’s body remained rigid with anger.
“But Billy’s rotten,” said Cassandra.
“Now, Cassandra—” Jasper began, but she cut him off.
“He’s horrible to everyone,” she continued, “especially to Nora, and I’m sick of it. He shouldn’t be able to treat people like that.”
Jasper took Cassandra’s hands in his.
“No one’s all good or all bad,” he said.
“But—” she began.
“You must listen to me now. Please.” With a sigh, she finally looked him in the eye.
“I know that’s tough to believe sometimes,” he said. “But it’s true. Within each of us live all the seeds, good and bad.”
“Billy only has bad seeds!” she said as her eyes filled with tears again.
“We become the seeds that we nurture,” said Jasper. “And you’ll live a much happier life if you nurture kindness more than you nurture hate. Protect the people you love, but don’t seek revenge. Revenge is a road to nowhere.”
Cassandra looked at Jasper with a resolved expression. Nora took Cassandra’s hand and led her toward the children’s section of Stargrass. Emerson followed them.
“Thank you for saving me,” Nora whispered as they settled into a spot on the floor, surrounded by books. Emerson looked back at Jasper, and his concern was obvious. She turned to Alice.
“I’ve got more questions now than when I started,” she said.
“Maybe the questions are the answers,” said Alice.
“Do you always talk in riddles?” asked Emerson.
“You told me that you wanted to see what your mother saw in Cassandra,” said Alice. “And now you have. That seed is still in her.”
Emerson smiled. “I think I need to go see someone.”
Alice nodded. “Good luck, Emerson,” she said, and then she was gone.
Emerson looked back to her mother and aunt. Cassandra was helping Nora read Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
“I can’t go back to yesterday,” read Cassandra, “because I was a different person then. There is a place, like no place on earth. A land full of wonder, mystery, and danger. Some say, to survive it, you need to be as mad as a hatter. Which, luckily, I am.”
CHAPTER 48
THE POWER OF CHOICE
Emerson climbed onto the shore of the Lake of Possibility and caught her breath. She had to get to Jasper and her dad. She had to explain what she’d done and get them to help her. After one more deep breath, she darted up the stairs and into the Atrium.
“Where were you?” Oliver yelled as Emerson raced toward him. “We’ve been looking all over for you!”
“I went to see Cassandra,” she said.
“You what?” Oliver shouted.
“I met her in Central Park,” said Emerson.
“We’re leaving,” he said. “Now.”
“I can’t. Not yet.”
“This isn’t up for discussion,” her father said.
“I told Cassandra I’d meet her again,” said Emerson.
“What?”
“Tomorrow night at nine, in front of the museum. I told her I have the book.”
“Why would you do that?” he said so loudly that Jasper, Skylar, and Truman ran toward them with Friday at their heels.
“I’m going to stop her forever,” started Emerson.
“What’s going on?” asked Jasper.
“Emerson saw Cassandra in the park and told her she has the book,” Oliver said.
“I want to put an end to all this,” said Emerson. “She took my mom from me. So I lured her to the steps of the museum with the promise of the book.”
Jasper’s eyes widened. “And what are you going to do when she shows up and realizes you don’t have it?” he asked.
“I’m going to do what my mom wanted to do,” said Emerson. “And not let go until it’s done.”
The group stared at her in open-mouthed surprise.
“What are you talking about, Em?” asked Skylar.
Then she turned to Jasper.
“I just went into the lake, and I saw the day when Cassandra and my mom were kids and they told you that Cassandra had beaten up a boy named Billy because he made fun of their scars.”
Jasper’s face softened.
“I know Cassandra went too far,” said Emerson. “But I also know that she did it because she was protecting my mother. She loved my mother. And my mother loved her.”
“Your mother saw how dark Cassandra’s heart became as they got older,” said Jasper. “She tried to convince her to go another way, but Cassandra was convinced that the gift of true creativity and inspiration belonged to only a few people and that she and your mother should be able to decide who could have it and who couldn’t. Your mother wanted creativity to belong to anyone who wished to have it and cultivate it. Your mother let her light consume her to protect all of creativity and drive away the darkness in her sister.”
Irene, Samuel, and Raymond joined the group, and looks of disbelief and fear flashed between them.
“Now I understand,” said Emerson. “Cassandra isn’t a terrible person, not at her core.”
“Emerson,” said Oliver.
“Dad, she’s lost and hurting, and I can talk to her,” said Emerson. “I can make her stop everything that’s happening in the In-Between. I know I can.”
“Emerson, listen to me,” said Jasper. “Sometimes people go so far in one direction that they’re lost forever and there’s nothing more we can do for them. She’s chosen her life. And now we must choose ours.”
“But I can turn her around. I can save her from herself.”
“We can only save ourselves and the people who want our help,” Jasper said. “She’d sooner destroy us all, you included, rather than change course now.”
“But you said it yourself,” said Emerson. “What takes real courage is not to fight but to love, especially in the d
arkest times. You told Cassandra that. Don’t you believe it anymore?”
“Of course I do,” said Jasper. “But this is different.”
“I have to meet her tomorrow,” said Emerson. “Even though I don’t have the book she wants. I have to talk to her. You have to let me try.”
Everyone stared at Emerson for a long time in silence until Jasper finally spoke. In her, he saw the heart of a hero.
“All right,” he said. “You can try. But you must listen to me: You can lead someone to the crossroads, but you can’t make her choose which way to go. That choice is hers. And once she makes hers, you must make yours. And make it swiftly. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes,” said Emerson. She grabbed Friday’s leash and ran back to her room.
Oliver stared at Jasper in disbelief. “We can’t let her do this,” he said. “I won’t let her.”
“Cassandra is powerful,” said Jasper, “but she’s powered by hate. Emerson is powered by something much more potent.”
“Love is not going to save her from a madwoman,” said Oliver.
“No, but it will put Cassandra exactly where we need her. We’ll be able to position the Fresnel perfectly to destroy the Heart Mantle.”
“You’re asking me to give up my daughter to a monster,” said Oliver.
“If we don’t stop Cassandra, it’s over,” Jasper said. “For all of us. We are not going to let Emerson do this alone. We will all be there with her, and if anything goes wrong, we will protect her. Nothing will happen to Emerson. You have my word.”
CHAPTER 49
IN REFLECTION
Emerson stood in front of the mirror for a long time. She took deep breaths to stay calm and keep her head clear and focused, just as Skylar and Truman had taught her to do.
She looked different now. Her chin was sharper, and her eyes conveyed a steely determination. She couldn’t smile.
Friday sat next to her, keeping his eyes fixed on the closed door. Emerson knelt in front of him, looked into his honey-colored eyes, and pressed her forehead against his forehead. Then she broke. Two large tears ran into his fur, but his support didn’t waver.
“This might all go wrong, buddy. And if it does, I—” She hugged Friday, and her tears seeped into his fur.
“Mom would want me to do this,” she said. “She’d want me to try, the way she tried.”
Friday put his forehead to hers, and after a long minute, he laid down. He had kept her safe all these years so that she could reach this moment. Emerson left the room and closed the door behind her. Friday didn’t move.
Jasper and Oliver were waiting for her in the Atrium. Fear hung heavy on their shoulders. She could see it. She hugged Jasper first.
“I’d wish you luck,” he said, “but you can rely on skill.”
“I hope that’s enough,” said Emerson.
“You are enough. You’ve always been enough.”
Then she hugged her dad. His embrace almost crushed her.
“Dad, I can’t breathe.”
He loosened his grip slightly.
“Thank you for letting me try,” she said.
Oliver nodded.
She looked at them one last time, smiled, and headed for the door to Raymond’s library office that would lead her up into the museum and onto the steps where she would meet Cassandra. When she reached the exterior door, she took one more deep breath before stepping out into the frigid night air. It was 8:55 p.m.
CHAPTER 50
THE WEAPONS OF WAR
Truman and Raymond positioned themselves on the roof directly above the museum’s main entrance. The Fresnel was on a tripod, and Truman had one end perfectly positioned on Nora’s star and locked in place. Now they needed to position the other end where Cassandra would be.
They had tested the Heart Mantle shards Kash had collected, and the Fresnel worked exactly as it should. Truman had to make sure he got a direct hit. If he was off even one degree, it wouldn’t work.
“There she is,” said Raymond pointing at Emerson as she emerged from the museum and stopped on the top step.
“She hit her mark,” said Truman.
She was standing exactly where Jasper had told her to stand. If she could get Cassandra to face her, then Truman would have a clean shot.
“And now we wait,” said Truman.
He kept his eye on Emerson through the Fresnel, monitoring her every movement without her knowing he was there, his finger ready on the trigger.
CHAPTER 51
THE TIES THAT BIND
Skylar, Irene, and Samuel hovered across the street at the north end of the museum plaza, concealed in the shadows of a darkened Fifth Avenue. Their exhalations created heavy clouds in the chilly air. Their muscles were tense, ready to spring into action at the first sign of trouble. With her otoextender, Irene could hear Emerson’s every breath.
“How does she sound?” whispered Samuel.
“Terrified, just like the rest of us,” said Irene. “Skylar, are you ready?”
“Ready,” said Skylar with her fingers pointed directly at the streetlights. When she received the signal from Irene, Skylar would take out the streetlights to give Truman an even greater chance at a clear shot to Cassandra’s illuminated Heart Mantle.
“Truman,” said Skylar as she spoke into the microphone connected to her earpiece, “can you hear me?”
“Clear as day,” said Truman.
Across the street, a dark, graceful figure emerged from the shadows and made its way toward the museum.
“She’s here,” said Skylar.
Suddenly, she, Irene, and Samuel were seized from behind by what felt like a thousand ropes. In the blink of an eye, they lay gagged and bound on the ground.
CHAPTER 52
A TRAITOR TAKES AIM
Raymond’s lips twisted into a slight smile. He loved when people underestimated him. With a simple, crushing pinch to the shoulder, he knocked Truman out cold. 8:59 p.m. His timing was perfect.
Stepping over Truman’s body, he positioned the Fresnel at the exact spot where Emerson and Cassandra would be standing in one minute. He felt a twinge of regret at making Emerson a casualty, but he had to have control of the secrets contained in Calliope’s book once he found it, and that meant both Emerson and Cassandra had to be out of the way. He had tried his best to keep any harm from coming to Emerson, but Jasper had insisted on letting her develop her Starlighter gifts so Raymond had no choice.
Jasper and Oliver would be so grief-stricken that they’d stop looking for the book. The path would be clear for Raymond to have what he had been working for all these years. He licked his lips in anticipation. Victory was about to be his, and it would be so sweet.
CHAPTER 53
BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
Just inside the museum’s main door, there was a tiny vestibule with its own small entrance. From here, Jasper and Oliver could see and hear everything that happened on the top step without being detected by Emerson. If need be, Jasper was prepared to use the power in his hands to blast through the wall so that they could grab Emerson and get her out of harm’s way. He would be able to save her just as he’d saved Oliver in the IRT station.
“Oliver, you’re fidgeting,” said Jasper.
“You’re lucky that’s all I’m doing,” said Oliver. “I’m regretting this plan more every second. We should have told Emerson. She thinks she’s out there all alone.”
“We couldn’t risk it—you know that,” said Jasper. “One glance, one gesture, and everyone’s cover would be blown. Emerson had to believe that we all believe in her ability to do this on her own.”
“Even though none of us do,” said Oliver.
Just then, the doors in the vestibule sealed themselves shut.
“What’s happening?” said Oliver.
Jasper ran his hand along the edges of the
doors. Panic crossed his face.
“They’re sealed shut.”
“Well, get us out of here,” said Oliver. “Blast through them!”
Jasper raised both hands to the doors. Nothing happened.
“I can’t get through them,” he said. “We’re trapped.”
Oliver looked at his watch. 9:00 exactly.
CHAPTER 54
THE MOMENT OF TRUTH
Emerson looked up at the stars and felt her mother watching over her, just as she said she always would. The church bell tolled nine. As if on cue, Cassandra stepped into the light at the bottom of the steps.
“I was afraid you wouldn’t come,” said Emerson.
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“I thought you’d change your mind.”
“I’m here, Emerson, and I have so much to share with you,” said Cassandra. “And in time, I will. Let’s go. You’ve got the book?”
“Go where?”
“Home,” said Cassandra. “You’re done here, with these people. You don’t need them anymore. You never needed them. They don’t love you for who you really are. They don’t understand you. Not like I do. I’ve built a place where we can be together with other people who share our beliefs.”
“I’m not going to the In-Between,” said Emerson.
“How do you know about the In-Between? Did Jasper and that wretched father of yours—”
“Don’t talk about my father that way.” The heat in Emerson’s belly began to rise.
“Emerson,” said Cassandra, “you must know your father can’t possibly appreciate your gifts. He never appreciated your mother’s gifts either.”
“He loved my mother. And he loves me. More than anyone. And I know there’s love in you. There has to be.”
“You don’t know anything about me,” said Cassandra. “You don’t know what I survived. How our family abandoned me and left me for dead.”
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