by Marissa Burt
“Maya?” she whispered. If the woman was near, perhaps they could confront this new mystery together, but when Wren arrived at the source of the light, she found no sinister person, no escaped henchman. Instead, there was a pool of shimmering liquid the color of moonlight. Wren knew at once it was touched by magic, and Maya was crouched down in front of it.
“Maya?” Wren asked quietly. “Are you all right?”
Maya stood in the shadows, her arms folded across her chest, a hard look on her face. “You know who I am, child. You know what I’ve done.”
“I know about Robin. I know you sent the nightmares.” Wren met her gaze. “I know you’re Mother Goose.”
Maya nodded grimly. “There is nothing more I can do, I’m afraid. I’m sorry that I’ve failed—I’ve failed you all.”
“What do you mean?”
Maya steeled her face for condemnation. “Because of me, thousands died.” She looked at Wren pleadingly. “You see now why I had to stop it? Why I had to keep people from using the magic? That was the only reason I touched the stardust again. To scare others away from it. I thought that if the wells were empty and the city dwellers were afraid of another plague, then they’d start over, build a magic-free colony like the Outsiders have done.” She was nearly crying now. “You see what the magic has done, don’t you, Wren? You saw what Boggen did with his research?” It was almost as if Maya was looking to Wren for absolution, as though if she could convince Wren, then she could convince herself. Maya dropped to her knees and began shaking her head, as if she was battling with two internal voices. “Sometimes one has to compromise; you see that, don’t you?”
“Maya,” Wren said gently. “I know that running from the magic will never free you from it.” She knelt down by her friend. “Your magic is a gift. You are a gift. Someone very wise taught me that.”
Maya shrugged her hand off. “I killed thousands of people, Wren. That isn’t a gift; it’s a curse.”
“It doesn’t have to be,” Wren said. “Come with us. Back to the camp. Tell the others who you are. Ask for forgiveness.”
Maya laughed a brittle laugh. “You don’t know the Outsiders, Wren. Nor the city dwellers. Best for me if I stay on my own.”
“Here?” Wren looked around the empty cavern. “How will you survive?”
Maya tightened her jaw and looked out into the dark forest. “There are Upas trees three miles that way.”
“Maya, no!” Wren remembered what Auspex had said about the trees’ deadly poison. She wouldn’t let Maya throw her life away. “Come with me.”
Robin’s voice came from the shadows. “The Outsiders will follow you. We need everyone’s help if we are going to reform Nod.” Robin’s words were hard, like she was working to get them out.
Wren realized that Robin had been listening the entire time. “You see?” Wren said. “Others will forgive you, but you will have to forgive yourself.”
Maya didn’t say anything, but silent tears streamed down her weathered cheeks. She stared in the direction of the Upas trees and then swallowed down her tears as if coming to a decision.
“I will go with you, but not for forgiveness,” she said to Wren. “Running away is too easy a fate for one such as me.” She set her face like stone. “Courage and Honor.”
Wren looked at her sadly. Maya was choosing to punish herself, but there wasn’t much Wren could do about it. She clasped her friend’s arm and gave her a warm smile. “I’m glad.” She was relieved that Maya wasn’t going to give up. Perhaps with time, Maya, like Jack, would be able to find forgiveness.
Maya led them back to camp, and when they came in sight of it, the revelry was in full swing. Music filled the air. Wild couples dancing and children swinging each other in circles greeted their eyes. As they stepped into the firelight, a ripple of curious whispers came in their direction.
At first Wren was baffled. Surely no one else knew that Maya was Mother Goose. And then she saw that the freed prisoners weren’t whispering about Maya at all, but about Robin.
“The Knave!” shouted a little girl in front of them. “The Knave of Hearts is here!” Word spread fast, and as they walked deeper into the camp, they collected an entourage. Robin had apparently spent time with every faction on Nod. Prisoners had heard about her from Boggen’s people. Outsiders knelt and gave her the strange cross-like gesture of respect. Even the city dwellers cheered at her approach.
“The Knave!” The cry resounded until Winter and the others found them. Winter drew Robin over to their fire and set her up on a rough stool someone had found.
“Good people of Nod,” Robin said in a clear, strong voice. “You have been very courageous, very long-suffering, very compassionate.” She nodded at the Outsiders, newly freed captives, and city dwellers in turn. “We all have felt the oppression of Boggen and his twisted power, and that time is over.” There was a hearty cheer for this, and Robin quieted them with her hands. “Now, we have a task in front of us. A task that will require every ounce of courage and compassion you have yet shown. The Legend of Starfire has come upon us. The old Nod has been destroyed, and we must seek the counsel of the Crooked Man in order to build anew.” She paused, looking directly at Maya. “It does us no good to dwell tight-fisted and ruminating on the wrongs of the past. We have all made mistakes, and perhaps the most grievous ones are the ones we’ve tried to hide. But now we move forward together, working to create a better, more just world for us all.” There were more cheers and whoops, and then the crowd swarmed around her. Auspex clasped hands with Robin, and Mary and Cole wanted to talk to her. Winter hovered near her shoulders and children clamored around her legs.
Wren looked past them to Simon, who was over by his animachines. She moved toward him, stopping to scratch a hovercat behind the ear, causing it to send up a machine-gun purr.
“They’re amazing,” she said to Simon.
“Have you seen the kits?” Simon said, launching into a lecture about how the hovercats were very protective of their young, as though they hadn’t all just waged a battle to save the world.
Wren rolled her eyes and followed him over to where a bundle of shiny mini-hovercats lay curled up together in a pile.
“The adults are very brave,” Simon was saying. “And fierce, too.” His monologue trailed to a stop. “Like you, Wren. I’m glad we’re friends.”
Wren glanced up in surprise. Simon was studying the hovercats clinically and had moved on from compliments to a speech about what kind of diet the kits needed.
“Me, too, Simon,” Wren said. At first she wasn’t sure he heard, since he barely even paused, but the tips of his ears grew red, and he gave her a shy smile between explanations of grain types and water sources. Soon he had a new audience. Rocky and Silver came over to introduce Wren to a bedraggled couple that must be their parents, and Simon somehow roped them into helping feed the kits their evening meal.
From across the way Wren heard music, something that sounded like a fiddle, and then there was laughter and calls for more dancing. Maya was stoically approaching a cluster of Outsiders, and Wren hoped she would find the courage needed to forgive herself and escape her burden of condemnation. There was Jack, sitting up against a wagon with a plate piled high with food, laughing and making jokes with a handful of Scavengers. He looked up and caught Wren’s eye. For the first time in as long as she could remember, Jack’s face looked truly happy. The gauntness and cynical smile had been replaced with carefree laughter. Someday, she wanted to hear the full story, what exactly he had seen at the river of starfire and what the Crooked Man had said to him. A very pretty Scavenger girl sitting next to Jack was frowning suspiciously at Wren, especially when Jack raised his cup toward Wren with a happy wink. There would be time for stories with Jack later. For now, she was glad to see that he, too, was free.
Wren sighed contentedly and reached for a mug and plate from a jovial city dweller who was passing them out to anyone with empty hands. Now she could celebrate. All was well on Nod, and,
even better, all might be made well between Nod and Earth. She wished the Crooked Man could be here to see this, to see how everything had worked out in the end. But perhaps, she thought, as she looked out on the twinkling stars in the heavens, he already was.
And then Vulcan was there, one hand extended toward her, an inviting smile on his handsome face. “Wren,” he said. “Would you like to dance?”
Wren set her plate and mug down with a grin, a warm feeling replacing the space where the tightly shut up box used to be. “I’d like that very much.” She took Vulcan’s hand, and together they danced out into the warmth and life of the music.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
My brief words of gratitude can never do justice to the appreciation I feel for all those who have made it possible for me to send yet another book out into the world. I count it a great gift to work with such wonderful people, and I am so thankful for each and every one of you.
Laura Langlie, I am beyond fortunate to call you my agent, and I am grateful for your partnership, insight, and the expertise you offer in every stage of the publishing process.
Erica Sussman and Stephanie Stein, it is such a privilege to have you invest in my books. Your editorial insights never fail to prove valuable, and I have learned a great deal from both of you in the revision process.
Jakob Eirich, once again you have created breathtaking artwork for the cover. I love it!
David Coulson and Michelle Taormina, your talents with lettering and jacket design are matchless! I so appreciate the contributions each of you has made to this project.
I imagine there are many others unknown to me whose hard work at HarperCollins Children’s has helped transform my manuscript into this lovely edition. Thank you!
I also want to thank my readers! I’m so glad to be able to share story-worlds with you, and am thrilled that you joined me for another adventure. Thank you for reading!
Finally, this small space seems impossibly inadequate to express how grateful I am for the dear ones who are God’s loveliest gifts to me. Griffin, Elijah, Ransom, and Beatrix, you are aflame with God’s grace, and each of you makes the world that much brighter. I take great delight in you and can hardly believe that I get to be your mom. Thank you for loving me, your dad, and each other so well. Aaron, you speak life to the core of who I am and live out your love in a thousand small moments. I am heartfelt glad we get to spend our lives together—thank you for choosing life with me.
And to the Lord, who knows all things, I am undone when I think of putting words to the depth of my gratitude. Ever and always, I happily belong to you.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
PHOTOGRAPHY BY: BARRY GREGG
MARISSA BURT was forever getting notes sent home from teachers about reading novels during class. She grew up in Oregon and now lives in the Seattle area with her husband and four children. Marissa is also the author of Storybound, Story’s End, and A Sliver of Stardust. You can visit her online at www.marissaburt.com.
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BOOKS BY MARISSA BURT
Storybound
Story’s End
A Sliver of Stardust
A Legend of Starfire
The 12 Dares of Christa
CREDITS
Cover art © 2016 by Jakob Eirich
Lettering by David Coulson
Cover design by Michelle Taormina
COPYRIGHT
A LEGEND OF STARFIRE. Copyright © 2016 by Marissa Burt. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
www.harpercollinschildrens.com
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2016939552
ISBN 978-0-06-229158-5
EPub Edition © September 2016 ISBN 9780062291608
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FIRST EDITION
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