Plague of the Shattered

by E. E. Holmes

  “Right as rain,” Savvy replied with a cautious smile. “Or I will be, when the muscle pain subsides. Nice of you to come and look in on me. Cheers.”

  “No problem,” Frankie said, looking tremendously relieved at Savvy’s friendly tone. “I just wanted to apologize for before… it wasn’t really you, I just couldn’t handle all of this.” She gestured vaguely around her, but Savvy nodded knowingly.

  “I could tell you a story or two about how I rebelled when I first came here, if you like,” she said, grinning. “I had my teachers in a right state, I can tell you. Fancy a walk?”

  Frankie returned the grin, nodding. “That would be great. I started doing that log thing you told me to do—keeping track of the Visitations.” She held up the notebook.

  Savvy held her hand out for it, and Frankie gave it to her. “We’ll catch up with you all later, then?” Savvy said, turning to me.

  “Absolutely. Go be all responsible and stuff,” I said.

  Savvy winked and headed off down the hallway with Frankie, already beginning to thumb through the notebook.

  “Jess!”

  I turned to see Celeste walking toward us, a warm smile on her face. Carrick was hovering just behind her, following like a shadow.

  “Celeste, hi! We saw you’d already been released. How are you feeling?” I said.

  “I’m well, thank you,” she said. “Although every time I think about how much work there is to do salvaging this Airechtas, I have a strong urge to climb right back into one of those hospital beds and refuse to come out.”

  “Don’t try to do too much at once,” I told her, noting the lingering pallor in her complexion. “Take it easy, or you might land yourself right back in there.”

  Celeste reached out and squeezed my shoulder. Then she turned to Hannah. “Hannah, I owe you an apology. I would give it to you before the entire Council, but I think you’ve probably had enough of being called in there, haven’t you?”

  Hannah smiled. “Probably.”

  “I didn’t mean for you to feel attacked. I only wanted to be able to ask you some questions, so that we could ascertain the meaning of Eleanora’s message. We were all rushed and panicked and, I don’t mind admitting it, scared that we would be next. It was never my intention to—”

  Hannah raised a hand to silence Celeste. “It’s okay, Celeste. I understand. I know you trust us. I just wish the other Durupinen would do the same.”

  Celeste sighed. “They will, in time. As we learned from the tragic tale of Eleanora Larkin, our fear of Callers and Prophecies has been ruining lives for a very long time. It is going to take quite a while to repair it all. But repair it we will, I promise you that.”

  I managed a small smile, but didn’t reply. I didn’t feel that was a promise that Celeste could keep—at least not on her own.

  “Anyway, that’s not why I came to find you,” Celeste said. “I am under strict instructions to deliver this message to you.” And she handed a folded piece of paper to Hannah.

  Hannah took it, looking both puzzled and wary, but her expression cleared as soon as she read the words on the page. “It’s from Karen! She won her case!”

  “That’s excellent!” I cried. “I mean, of course she was always going to crush it, but now it’s official!”

  “And she’s going to be on the next plane out. She’ll be here tomorrow,” Hannah went on. “So, she says we can head home and she can represent the clan for the rest of the Airechtas.”

  “Oh,” I said blankly. “I… can she do that? Can a clan switch representatives once the Airechtas has already started?”

  “Yes, they can,” Celeste said. “It will mean a bit more paperwork for Bertie, but it is allowed. Several other clans will likely have to do the same, now that we are so far off from our original schedule.”

  Hannah handed the note to me. “That’s good news, isn’t it?” she asked.

  “Yeah. Yeah, really good news,” I replied automatically, looking down at the note.

  “Well, if you all will excuse me, I’ve got a frightening amount of work to do,” Celeste said with a little bow. “I’ve got a meeting with Finvarra upstairs that I mustn’t be late for.”

  “How is she?” I asked, looking straight past Celeste to Carrick, whose stony expression faltered.

  “She is… much the same. Failing,” he said brusquely, keeping his eyes trained on a spot somewhere over my shoulder. “But she is determined to see this Airechtas out to its conclusion, and I have never known her to falter in any task to which she sets her mind. She has stabilized in the last day or two. Gathering her strength, I assume, for the days ahead.”

  “Please send her our best,” Hannah said, when it became obvious that I didn’t know how to respond.

  Carrick jerked his head in acknowledgment. “I shall do so. Thank you.” And with one last gesture, somewhere between a wave and a salute, he followed Celeste down the hallway.

  Milo sighed. “Wow, you’d think that over time that relationship would get less awkward, but it just doesn’t, does it?”

  “Yeah, estranged ghost dad isn’t really a role that deepens with time,” I said, rolling my eyes.

  “At least he’s… trying? Kind of?” Hannah half-asked.

  “Trying is generous,” I said. “But he’s got a lot going on right now.”

  Hannah and Milo nodded. We all knew what the real implications of that sentence meant, but no one wanted to say it out loud. Suffice it to say, if we were ever going to have a chance to salvage any sort of real relationship with our father, we were quickly running out of time to do so.

  “Jess. There you are,” Finn’s voice rang across the entrance hall as we descended the stairs. The place was empty, except for the Caomhnóir guarding the front doors.

  Speaking of salvaging relationships…

  “Hey, Finn. Sorry, were you looking for us?” I asked, sounding as casual as I could manage. Hannah and Milo muttered cursory greetings to Finn, but immediately slunk away toward the couches near the fireplace. I glared at them. They had the subtlety of a jackhammer, those two.

  “Yes, I… I’ve just been informed that your Aunt Karen will be arriving on—”

  “Yeah, we know. Celeste just caught us upstairs and told us.”

  “Oh. Very good, then,” Finn said, looking almost disappointed.

  “We’ve hardly seen you,” I mumbled. “Seamus has had you all very busy over the past few days, huh?”

  Finn nodded, squaring his shoulders in a characteristic show of pride in his duty. It was kind of adorable, actually—like a little kid throwing out his chest to have a merit badge pinned on. “Security has been stepped up with Lucida here. We’ve been in shifts in the hospital ward and around the perimeter of the grounds. We don’t want to take the chance that the Necromancers might get wind of her whereabouts.”

  “What interest could they have in her now?” I asked, my eyebrows contracting in confusion.

  “She is a powerful Durupinen with a grudge and an unusual gift,” Finn said. “She could still be very useful to them, if they were ever able to break her out. As long as she lives, she is a threat to the Northern Clans.”

  I shivered involuntarily. “Well, she’ll be locked back up in the príosún soon, and hopefully none of us will ever have to hear her name again.”

  “Indeed,” Finn agreed. “And when she’s gone we will all return to our regular duties. We… that is to say, we will have a chance to—” he cut himself off, throwing a nervous glance over his shoulder at a knot of Caomhnóir gathered near the front doors. His eyes full of things he couldn’t say, he clicked his heels together, and marched away to join them.

  I turned back to see Hannah and Milo both looking at me with sympathetic frowns on their faces. I joined them on the sofa and pointedly avoided looking at either of them, choosing instead to watch the flames dancing in the grate.

  “It’ll be okay,” Hannah said quietly. “We’ll be heading home as soon as Karen arrives. You’ll have plenty
of time to talk then.”

  “I know it will be fine,” I lied. “But Finn and I will have to wait a little longer than that for a heart-to-heart.”

  “Why?” Milo asked.

  “Because we can’t leave when Karen gets here. We need to stay,” I said, still looking at the fire.

  “What for?” Hannah asked. “You heard Celeste: Karen can take over on the voting. There’s no reason to stay.”

  “Actually, there’s a very good reason. Finvarra is still going to offer us that Council seat.”

  Hannah laughed bitterly. “Jess, forget about it. I know I said we should consider it, but that was naïve. Just look at how the Council treated me this week. It was ridiculous to think we should run for that seat. No one wants us here.”

  “You’re right. But that’s exactly why we should run for it,” I said.

  Hannah’s mouth fell open. “Jess, you have got to be kidding me.”

  “Nope, not kidding. Completely serious.”

  Hannah laughed incredulously. “Jess, you’re not making any sense! You hate it here! Everyone turns on us at every possible opportunity. I just spent two days being interrogated and placed under house arrest. I think they would have thrown me into the dungeons if they thought they could get away with it. And now you want to stay here?”

  “I know it sounds crazy—” I began.

  “Because it is crazy,” Hannah pointed out.

  “But I realized something this week. Everything you’ve said is true. The Council hates me and is scared to death of you. I can’t imagine anyone voting for us even if we do decide to run. But I think we need to do it anyway. Well, actually, I think you need to do it anyway. I think you should be the one to run for the seat.”

  “Me?” Hannah asked weakly. “Jess, come on. You’re not making sense.”

  “Look, just hear me out, okay?” I said, taking both of Hannah’s hands in mine. Our connection zinged beneath my skin, invigorating me and filling me with a sense of rightness in the words I was speaking. “We both know it can’t be me. I’ve got a big attitude and an even bigger mouth. I don’t argue things rationally. I let my emotions run away with me, and it clouds my judgment. They would be sanctioning me or kicking me out of every other meeting.”

  “No lie there,” Milo said. I grinned at him.

  “But you! You’re incredible! You find a way to be rational and level-headed, even when you’re scared to death. You never let them get the better of you. You could be a real voice of reason in there!”

  “But Jess, it doesn’t matter how much sense I make if no one will listen to me! No one trusts me!” Hannah said.

  “But that’s why you need to do it! No listen!” I cried, because she showed every indication of interrupting me again. “The Council mistrusts you because they fear Callers. They’ve been fearing Callers for centuries. In fact, most of the major crises they’ve faced have sprung from their own fear. The Silent Child, Lucida, and now Eleanora—and who knows how many others? The Council has been letting their fear call the shots for far too long, and it’s caused nothing but catastrophe.”

  Hannah didn’t reply, although she was still looking at me like I’d started speaking in tongues. Milo nodded encouragingly. I pressed my advantage and went on.

  “You already made the rest of this argument yourself, when Finvarra first told us that she was planning to nominate us. We could make a quantifiable difference. We could change the perception of who we are and what we mean to the Northern Clans. We could propose new rules instead of just getting constantly screwed by the old ones. The Shattering might have changed your mind about all of that, but it’s changed mine, too. I’m sick of having to pick up the pieces for people like Eleanora, people whose only crime was existing. It’s time to start shaping things so that what happened to Eleanora—to us—never happens to anyone else ever again.”

  Hannah’s face became very serious. Then she leaned forward, put a hand on each of my shoulders and shook me violently.

  “Ouch! Hannah, what are you—stop!” I cried, pulling myself out of her grip.

  She sat back and smiled at me. “Sorry, but I had to check.”

  “Check what?”

  “That you weren’t a Host. The only way my sister would start talking like that was if an invading spirit took over her body.”

  “Very funny,” I said sarcastically as Milo rolled over in the air in a fit of cackling.

  Hannah’s grin faded quickly. She turned to Milo and waited for his laughter to subside. “What do you think, Mr. Spirit Guide?”

  Milo sobered up at once. “In a stunning plot twist, I agree with Jess. You would kick ass on that Council. Obviously, it would cause an uproar, but sometimes you have to shake things up to make a real difference.”

  “There will be pitchforks,” Hannah said with a wry laugh.

  “We stared into the jaws of the afterlife itself and won. I think we can handle a few pitchforks,” I said.

  “I hear pitchforks are the hottest new winter accessory,” Milo added brightly. “They’re basically the new oversized sunglasses.”

  Hannah looked from me to Milo and then shrugged helplessly. “Okay. I don’t know why I ever listen to either of you, but I’ll do it.” Then she pulled us into an awkward, three-way hug that I quickly had to squirm out of, because hugging Milo was like hugging an ice sculpture.

  “Okay, then,” I said. “That’s decided. Let’s throw this place into chaos again. It’s what we do best.”

  §

  As we sat in silence by the fire, I stared out the windows at the whirling snowstorm outside, my eyes fixed on the horizon for the sight of the car that would bring Karen to the castle. And as I waited, I cradled Eleanora’s little book in the crook of my arm, running my finger backward and forward over its spine like I could bring it—and her—some comfort from my touch. I had carried it with me ever since her Crossing, as though the weight of it was something that I ought to bear—like I owed it to her. It was she, more than anyone else, that had helped me reach the decision to stay at Fairhaven. And there was still a mystery to solve there, one that I hoped Fiona could help me with. I did not know how I had come to create the sketches of Eleanora. If she had not reached out to me, where had the images come from? It felt crucial to my understanding of my own gift as a Muse that I figure it out.

  Hannah had told me once that she thought I liked trouble. It was becoming clearer by the day that she was right. Though I felt we were making the right decision, there was no doubt that it was going to be a difficult road, with no guarantee that we would succeed. Karen and the other Council members would likely try to dissuade us from our course. Marion would certainly try to thwart us at every step. And Finn… there was no doubt that staying at Fairhaven would force us to a crossroads in our relationship. But wasn’t it better to make the choice to fight for us, to proudly stand together in the sunlight, hand in hand, rather than always hiding in the shadows?

  In my heart, I thought I knew the answer to that question, and so I’d chosen my path. Now all I could do was hope that Finn would choose to walk beside me.

  Did you enjoy Plague of the Shattered? I’d be very grateful if you’d take a moment to leave a review. Thank you!

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  Acknowledgments

  To my wonderful readers, I can never thank you enough for coming on this journey! It is still miraculous to me that there are people out there that I have never met, who know and love Jess, Hannah, Milo, and the rest of the gang nearly as much as I do
. I never take this for granted, I promise.

  A special shout-out to Melissa Derner, Andrew Costello, and Becca Flint for your eagle eyes and enthusiasm for these books. I so appreciate your help and support in the proofing process.

  Thank you to James T. Egan at Bookfly Design for yet another glorious cover design. Proud and delighted as ever to have my books judged by your covers.

  To Lily and Myles, my unruly offspring, thank you for the laughs, the constant interruptions, and for providing me with the best reason in the world to keep writing.

  And finally to my dearest husband Joe, for all of your love, support, and endless hard work to bring new readers every day to the World of the Gateway, thank you! We truly are a remarkable team, and I wouldn’t want to take this journey with anyone other than you.

  About the Author

  E.E. Holmes is a writer, teacher, and actor living in central Massachusetts with her husband, two children, and a small, but surprisingly loud dog. When not writing, she enjoys performing, watching unhealthy amounts of British television, and reading with her children.

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