Emerson could feel the heat rising in her body. For a split second, she thought about controlling it, but then she decided for the first time to let it flow and show Cassandra what she was made of. Jasper was right. People make their own choices, and if Cassandra couldn’t be convinced to change, then Emerson had no choice.
“I thought we could reconcile,” said Emerson. “I thought we could find a way to honor my mother together. But you just want to take me away.”
“I thought you wanted what I wanted,” said Cassandra, “to claim our heritage and open up a new chapter of this world. To have what’s ours.”
“I do care about our heritage, and I do want to open a new chapter of this world. But I won’t do it this way.”
“Any other way is a lie. My way is the only way. There’s a divinity that you and I share that no one else on Earth has. If you don’t want to claim it, then that’s your choice. But I intend to get what’s mine. Where’s the book?”
“I don’t have it,” Emerson said.
Cassandra’s face turned hard. “You told me you had it.”
“I lied so you’d meet me,” said Emerson. “I wanted you to join us and stop fighting with the Council.”
Cassandra took off, and Emerson ran after her. Just as she reached Cassandra, a beam of light from above hit Emerson right in the chest. The light was so strong that it lifted her off the ground. Her whole body glowed. Cassandra backed away, transfixed by the light that surrounded Emerson. Cassandra looked toward the source of the light. Something on top of the museum was channeling the light of a star. Truman had done it; he had figured out how to build the Fresnel.
The words that ran through Emerson’s head were the ones her mother had written in The Starlighter: “Keep looking up.” And so she did.
“Help me,” Emerson whispered as she looked toward the sky. “Help me.”
She saw her mother’s face and felt her mother drawing her toward her. Emerson wasn’t afraid; she felt, finally, like she was going home.
“No! No!” Cassandra screamed. “Don’t look up.”
She grabbed Emerson and pulled her close. Shielding Emerson from the light beam of the Fresnel, Cassandra felt it begin consuming her as she forced Emerson’s gaze away from the stars and down toward the ground.
Emerson tried to fight Cassandra’s grasp but couldn’t.
“I can’t lose you, too,” said Cassandra as she looked up at the stars.
The Fresnel shot light through her body, and from her eyes, it connected with millions of stars above. Her knees buckled, but she continued to shield Emerson and wouldn’t allow her to look up. Cassandra knew that the continuous stream of light from the Fresnel was so intense it would catapult her into the stars.
“You have to let me go,” yelled Emerson as she watched Cassandra’s own light emerge in response to the beam of light hitting her. “It’s consuming you.”
“I know,” said Cassandra.
“Then let me go to my mother,” pleaded Emerson.
“It’s not your time to cross over yet. You have so much ahead of you.”
The light was doing its work. Each of Cassandra’s hearts began to shut down. Her body was transformed. Her scars repaired. Her muscles relaxed. She looked unburdened. And from her shot up a light brighter than the world had ever seen. Every color was twisted and turned and curled straight from the ground into an infinite sky. All the stars shone brighter than ever before, and some of them began to rain down all around Emerson and Cassandra, encircling them.
Finally, Emerson was drained of any energy to fight Cassandra’s grip, and she surrendered to being saved by the person she had intended to destroy.
The light from Cassandra converged with Nora’s star, and the two lights spiraled together into a double helix that could be seen in every corner of the globe. The beam of light from the Fresnel stopped.
Emerson felt protected and drained of all the sadness that had lived in her for so long. She slumped to the ground. She and Cassandra lay side by side, Emerson’s hand on Cassandra’s heart and Cassandra’s hand on top of Emerson’s. Finally all the light dissipated upward, illuminating an infinite number of stars in the midnight sky.
Through the slits of her eyes, Emerson could no longer distinguish between her mother’s star and all the others. Combined, Nora and Cassandra made every one glitter and gleam. They were both watching over her now, protecting her, and guiding her toward a future she didn’t yet know or understand but that she was certain was meant for her.
CHAPTER 55
UNLEASHED
Truman came to with a violent shake. He looked around, confused and terrified. Raymond was gone. And so was the Fresnel. Truman looked down at the street and saw Cassandra and Emerson lying on the ground. He ran inside and flew down the many flights of stairs to the street.
The doors to the museum’s vestibule unsealed. Jasper and Oliver shot through them and ran down the steps to the street, where Emerson and Cassandra lay in a lifeless heap. Oliver moved Cassandra aside and clutched Emerson’s limp body tightly to his chest. He felt like he might disintegrate into ash.
The ropes that restricted Skylar, Irene, and Samuel melted into the ground. They sprinted across Fifth Avenue to the others. Irene put her fingers to Cassandra’s neck to feel for her pulse.
“She’s gone,” she said.
They looked at one another with blank stares.
“Emerson! Emerson!” Oliver sobbed as he held her. His cries echoed in the empty street. “No! Not again. Not again!”
Emerson moved her head so slightly that it was barely noticeable. In the faintest whisper, she said, “I’m still here, Dad. Cassandra saved me.”
A small smile found its way onto Emerson’s lips. Jasper was right. Her mother was right. It was hard to love in a time of darkness, but love was the only thing that could restore the light.
CHAPTER 56
A DOOR CLOSES AND A WINDOW OPENS
Emerson stood at the front window of Stargrass Paper. She had a huge map stretched between her hands. Truman and Skylar looked at it over her shoulder. Friday stood in front of them while Jasper sat at his desk.
“The book has traveled to all these places?” Emerson asked.
“It’s all the places we know about,” Jasper said. “The routes it’s taken around the world, the places we know it’s landed.”
“Do you think it still exists, Grandpa?” asked Skylar.
“I know it does,” said Jasper. “Something that precious and powerful always finds a way to survive.”
“You make it sound like a person,” said Truman.
“It lives in its own way,” said Jasper. “It reflects that first moment when a human mind realized it could create something from nothing other than the imagination. The recognition of that power—the greatest power this world has ever known—changed the world forever. There’s magic at the start of every beginning, and this book gave way to the beginning of everything we know today.”
“You’re a true believer, Grandpa,” said Skylar.
“We’re all born believing,” said Jasper. “The trick of life is to keep believing, even when we’re faced with disappointment. That’s why books are such precious things. They help us believe in our own magic.”
Jasper went back to his desk. Emerson handed the map to Skylar and Truman and walked over to Jasper. Something had been bothering her, and she needed to talk to him about it.
“Jasper?” she asked. “We never talked about Raymond.”
Jasper sat back in his chair and looked out the window, letting the sunlight stream across his face. He took a deep breath. His sadness was apparent.
“No, we didn’t,” he said after a long pause.
“Why did he try to destroy me and Cassandra, and why did he take Mrs. Morgan’s Fresnel?”
“Power is a double-edged sword,” said Jas
per. “It can be intoxicating. It can cause people to do things they wouldn’t otherwise do.”
“Are you worried about how he’ll use the Fresnel?” asked Emerson.
“The important thing is to find Raymond, and the book, before any more harm comes to anyone.”
“I’ll find them both,” said Emerson. “I won’t disappoint you. I won’t let you down.”
Jasper leaned forward and folded his hands on his desk.
“You, Emerson, could never disappoint me,” said Jasper.
He looked over at Skylar and Truman. “I know you think it’s just the three of you heading out on this search,” he said.
Friday barked.
“Excuse me,” said Jasper as he winked at Friday. “The four of you. But you’ll have plenty of help along the way. You aren’t in this alone. There are many others all over the world who are on our side, ready to help. They’ve been helping us all along.”
“How will we know where to find them?” asked Emerson.
“You won’t have to find them,” said Jasper with that famous twinkle in his eye. “Follow your path, and they’ll find you. When you commit to doing something, the stars commit to helping you in ways you never imagined were possible.”
Emerson put The Starlighter book in her bag and thought about everything it had taught her. With Skylar, Truman, and Friday, she walked out of Stargrass and looked up at the sky. Even though she couldn’t see the stars during the day, she knew they were there. She knew they’d always be there to light her way.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Though there’s only one author of this book, many hands, minds, and hearts created it. It is impossible to list every person who contributed in some way to this book. My many friends and family members have been constant encouragers of my work, and I am immensely grateful to all of them. There are people who went above and beyond to bring this specific book to life in countless different ways and I will never be able to fully repay them for everything they’ve given me. This acknowledgement is a start:
Meredith Maslich and her team at Possibilities Publishing Co. True to your name, you saw the possibilities in this story and in me as a writer. You brought my dream to the world. I’m also indebted to the team at Story District whose live storytelling class introduced me to Meredith and helped me on my journey to find my voice and banish my stage fright.
To Terri Huck and Hillary Godwin for your expert editing that made this story stronger and more powerful that it was in its original form.
To Tim Ford and Bonnie Liu for the stunning cover art that wraps this story in color and light.
To Alex Drohobyczer and Kelly Greenauer Tellinghuisen. You were my first readers and the constant champions for this book, as well as my path as a writer for the past decade. Thank you for joining me on the journey.
To my family in Florida—Sandy Avampato, Joe Nucci, Maria Waldrep, and Kyle Waldrep—for providing the homes in which I wrote the vast majority of the first draft of this book as part of National Novel Writing Month. That start made this book possible. To the team at National Novel Writing Month that helps hundreds of thousands of people every year begin the road to becoming an author, I’m grateful for all of the supports you offer to get stories out of minds and into the world.
To Joshua Johnson for the Oscar Dominguez image that helps Emerson find her center. Art for the win!
To F.J. and Olivia Lennon, two of my earliest readers and champions, for their constructive feedback and interest in the muses that led to the creation of the book’s prologue.
To Amy Marsico, Colleen Shannon, Michael Vito, Sara Alvarez Kleinsmith, Jennifer Estaris, Stephen Sweeney, Lon Tibbitts, Marita La Monica, Ria Cooper, Dan Fortune, Moya Connelly, and Mauricio Benitez and Vivian Martinez-Benitez for their encouragement in so many of my creative works.
To Alice Ganier Rolli, Ed Freeman, and Tunde Wackman for the opportunities they opened for me to hone my writing skills over the years.
And to my constant companion, Phineas, who never lets me write alone.
I am humbled and honored by your presence in my life. I will do my very best to pay it forward.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Christa Avampato was born on a retired apple farm in the Hudson Valley of upstate New York. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and pursued her passion for theater by managing Broadway shows and national theater tours.
After getting her MBA at the Darden School at the University of Virginia, she spent five years in corporate America and then started her own boutique consulting practice to work with education-based nonprofits and startups. During that time, she grew her writing career as a freelancer for magazines including The Washington Post, HuffPost, and Royal Media Partners magazines.
She has been an invited speaker on the power of the imagination at SXSW, Games for Change, New York University, and Columbia University. She has also been a volunteer middle school and high school teacher for New York City public schools through Junior Achievement and a creative writing workshop facilitator for 826DC.org.
Through it all, yoga has kept her focused, her rescue pup, Phineas, has kept her company, and her home in New York City has kept her inspired. This is her first novel.
Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters Page 20