by Kekla Magoon
But … to trust Mallet?
The world is not black and white …
Robyn could trust her own instincts. Trust the glimmer she’d seen in Mallet’s eye. Trust that her moving aside for Key was only the first step. Trust that with Robyn’s pendant around her neck, the sheriff would be forced to see more clearly. Trust the words that were rising up in her now, a gift from Tucker’s dissertation:
The answers aren’t written in curtains or texts. It’s you, in the world, who finds the answers.
“Okay, let us in the car,” Crown ordered, reaching for the door handle. The driver poked at his PalmTab to unlatch the doors.
Sacrifice.
“Doors!” Robyn shouted. The worst that could happen, whether they were inside the car or out, was that Crown would shoot her. She looked up at the stage, to her parents. They had been willing to give up everything. So was she. Robyn would not let them, or Sherwood down.
Scarlet pounded the keyboard. “You sure?”
Crown tugged at the car door handle, but the metal didn’t budge. He tugged again. “What are you doing?” he demanded of Robyn. “You surrendered.”
“I take it back,” Robyn told him. “Neither of us is going anywhere.”
Crown’s grip around her shoulders tightened. “You just signed your death warrant,” he whispered.
“So be it. Release the MP guns,” Robyn ordered Scarlet. “Don’t let Crown back in the car.”
Crown smiled complacently. The MPs would protect him. He was as good as safe.
Maybe not, Robyn thought.
“Sheriff Marissa Mallet!” Robyn’s voice rang out across the square. “You wear the Pendant of Power, blessed by the moon and the sun. You are a child of Shadows and Light. The people of Sherwood place their trust in you.”
Mallet’s hand flitted to the pendant resting on her chest. A wave of hope flooded Robyn.
Around the square, the red lights on the MPs guns flipped to green.
“What are your orders?” Robyn shouted. “When you look upon the faces of this crowd, do you see any enemies?”
The hoodlum’s courage had captured the hearts of the crowd, and Mallet’s along with them. With a wave of her hand, she could make this fight much worse for Robyn and her friends.
And yet.
The pendant against her chest promised power. But it also commanded respect.
How was it that this scrawny rebel child and her haughty words could make the sheriff of Sherwood believe in something so deep?
The hoodlum Robyn had cast a spell on the people of Sherwood. To cut her down now, in front of this crowd, would mean full-scale, all-out rebellion. MPs would fall like dominoes. As if it was written.
Mallet punched her PalmTab. She ordered her tech guys to keep the MP guns turned off, leaving Crown exposed. The workers closed in on him.
The gun Crown held at Robyn meant nothing now, and he knew it. One bullet was not enough. The crowd of workers would ultimately destroy him.
“Let me in,” Crown screamed, pounding on the door of the car. “Let me in!”
Merryan Crown made no move to open the door for her uncle. Even if she could have.
Crown’s driver looked urgently at his PalmTab. The doors would not open. Still, he valiantly typed and pecked until—click.
“No!” Scarlet shouted from the rooftop.
The car door locks snapped open. Crown heard the click and scrambled for the door handle. He grasped it and tugged, but the door still failed to open.
He stared through the glass, shocked to see Merryan holding the lock button in place with her own hands. “Merryan!” he shouted. “Let me in.”
Tears streamed down Merryan’s pale cheeks. “I’m sorry, uncle. I’m sorry.” Through the window she met Robyn’s eye. The look they shared said everything.
Crown remained trapped against his car, while everyone stood and watched him slowly unravel. The MPs stood in a protective circle around his car, but made no moves to attack the workers.
The gun in Crown’s hand was still an object of concern, especially to Robyn, as it was still pointed at her neck.
“I will kill her,” Crown informed everyone. “Stay back.”
Mallet approached them. “Governor,” she said. “Let the girl go. Let me take her into custody.”
Robyn did not especially like the sound of that, either.
“Do not test me, Marissa. You have no idea what I’m capable of.” There was a sadness to his voice, buried within its chill.
He would kill her. Of this, Robyn had no doubt. But he hadn’t killed her yet.
The tip of the gun rested at the base of her neck. Her fingers, still resting behind her head, were almost close enough …
Robyn spun around and kneed Crown in the groin. She leaned hard to the side, in case he fired, then skidded out from under his arm as he bent forward in pain. She grasped the gun from his loosened grip and streaked away.
She clambered over the hood of the car, eager to put space between herself and Crown. She tugged open the driver’s side door. “Get out,” she said. The gun in her hand communicated her message loud and clear, although she hadn’t even pointed it at the driver. He scrambled out of the car and away.
Robyn jumped into the driver’s seat, and Scarlet locked her safely inside. She set the gun on the passenger seat, then turned and looked over the front seat divide. “Hi.”
“Hi,” Merryan answered. “Wanna get me outta here?”
Robyn laughed shakily. She stretched her hand through the opening and Merryan grasped it.
“I’m alive,” Robyn mused. “I wasn’t sure I was going to be.”
The girls held hands and watched through the glass as Mallet grasped the moaning Crown by the shoulders and stood him upright.
“Time was, you’d have taken that bullet for me,” Crown said to her.
“Time was,” Mallet agreed. She wrenched Crown’s hands behind his back and clasped cuffs on his wrists. “Ignomus Crown, you’re under arrest for treason and acts against the elected government.”
The moon lore pendant swung freely, tapping against her suit buttons. As she took Crown into custody, the whole crowd cheered.
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
Power to the People
Sheriff Mallet briskly took command of the situation. First she took Crown into her own car, detaining him behind her own set of electronic locks.
Next, Mallet ordered the Loxleys to be released from their chains. Robyn’s parents immediately embraced, supporting each other as they moved to the front of the stage. Meanwhile, Robyn was attempting a slow, awkward getaway.
Mallet came down and knocked on the car window. “Come out,” she said.
Robyn shook her head. “And get arrested? No, thanks.” She attempted to steer the car out of the motorcade, but the crowd made maneuvering difficult.
“It’s okay,” Mallet told her. “The crowd needs to see you back up here.”
“How do I know she won’t take me straight into custody?” Robyn muttered.
“How did you know she would order the MPs to stand down?” Merryan asked.
Point taken.
Robyn stepped out of the car. She accompanied Sheriff Mallet to the stage. The sheriff wore Robyn’s own pendant, which now hung in broad view for all to see.
“I will release the Loxleys as a show of good will toward the people of Sherwood,” Mallet announced. “Robyn and I have a lot of work to do.” She glanced at the girl. “Together.”
They shook on it. Their hands were a similar shade of brown, and yet it felt like worlds colliding. Morning and night. Shadows and Light.
Robyn let go of the sheriff’s hand and knelt beside her parents at the front of the stage. She hugged their weakened bodies, but their inner strength floated up and filled her.
“You’re alive,” she said. “I can’t believe it.”
“Oh, honey, you saved us,” her mother whispered, holding her close.
“And you are in so much trouble, young lady,” h
er father added. “Under no circumstances are you ever to deal with firearms ever again.”
“Not even to save the world?” Robyn quipped.
“You are the world, to us,” her mother told her.
“Nothing has changed about this workday,” Mallet announced to the workers, many of whom lingered to witness the family’s happy ending. “The showcase is over. Time to get on the job.”
The crowd began to disperse.
The MPs who had been holding Key released him. It would have been all too easy to slip away into the crowd and disappear. He couldn’t really explain why he didn’t. Instead, he eased his way toward Robyn.
“You”—she said, narrowing her eyes at him—“have some explaining to do.”
“I’m sorry,” Key said. He sat down on the edge of the stage and rested his face in his hands.
Scarlet and Laurel came rushing up. “Let’s get out of here, before Mallet changes her mind about arresting us,” Scarlet said. “We gotta boogie.”
“I think we’re okay,” Robyn said. “She was working for Crown all this time. She isn’t like him.”
Scarlet squinted over at Mallet. “You sure?”
Robyn also glanced toward the sheriff. The shrine key pendant caught her attention again. Funny, she didn’t care much at all about the pendant at the moment. Now that she had her actual parents back, she didn’t need a talisman to keep them close. Perhaps Mallet could use a little fire of her own.
Robyn shrugged. “I guess we’re taking this one on faith.”
The friends waited at the edge of the stage for their ride. Mr. and Mrs. Loxley had gone ahead in an ambulance to be checked out at Sherwood Health Clinic. It had been torture, watching her parents dragged away from her again, but this time Robyn knew they’d be reunited very soon.
Scarlet nudged Key. “Time to ’fess up, mister,” she said. “You almost blew it for all of us.”
Key hung his head. “I know. I’m sorry.”
Robyn said gently, “So, I take it Crown is … your dad?”
Key nodded. “I always knew I was adopted. I had to be. My whole family is dark, and then there’s me, looking like the marshmallow in a s’more.”
“But you didn’t know who your birth family was?”
Key shook his head. “My mom worked as a housekeeper in Crown’s house, back before he was even police commissioner.”
“He was police commissioner as long as I can remember,” Merryan said.
“Apparently it all happened around the same time,” Key said. His voice stayed very even, as if he was telling a story about someone else. “His wife—my birth mother—died giving birth to me. He—he didn’t want to keep me after that.”
“I’m sorry,” Robyn whispered.
“He tried to smother me.” Key’s voice remained flat. “But he didn’t finish the job. He handed the baby to his housekeeper to dispose of, thinking I was dead.”
“Oh, for the moon,” Laurel said. “He’s so horrible.”
“I didn’t die,” Key continued. “But no one knew except my mother. She ran, and never returned. She knew he’d kill me if she took me back, and she thought he might eventually kill her, too, for knowing what he’d done.”
“She was probably right about that,” Robyn said. “Crown would do anything to preserve his power.”
“I only found out a couple of years ago. By accident. Mom had saved some items from my birth mom, things Crown threw out of the house along with me. She meant to give them to me when I was older. But when I found the box, I put the pieces together for myself.”
“Sure,” Scarlet said.
“My mom said it would have been a terrible life, if he had raised me,” Key added. “She thought he would have resented me forever. He loved her so much, my mom said. Losing her was part of what turned him evil.” Key looked to Robyn, a question in his eyes.
“She was probably right about that, too,” Robyn agreed. He really wanted to believe it, she could tell.
They stood together in silence for a moment.
“So … that means … you’re the baby?” Merryan exclaimed. “My dead cousin?”
“Not so dead, as it turns out,” Key said dryly.
“But … so … you’re my cousin.” Merryan and Key looked at each other. Then she jumped up and tackled him in a giant hug. He surrendered with good-natured surprise.
“Well, that was predictable,” Robyn said.
Key tapped on Merryan’s back. “Let go,” he choked out. “I wasn’t smothered as a baby, and I don’t want to be now.”
Merryan let him go. She turned around to face Robyn, planting her hands on her hips. “Exactly what was predictable about that?”
Robyn smirked. “You like to hug people.”
Merryan pretended to be annoyed, but she couldn’t hold the expression. “That’s true, I do,” she declared, and leaped toward Robyn. Their arms went around each other, and while Merryan didn’t hug her too insanely tight, Robyn felt the contact all up and down her body. It was snug and comfortable, a surprising feeling of home.
She pulled away when she felt an insistent finger tapping at her back.
“I knew how to help,” Laurel chirped, still excited. “I told them how to do it.”
“How did you know?” Robyn asked her.
Laurel smiled coyly. “When I jumped on that windshield, a little bug told me.”
“You could’ve been squashed like a bug!” Robyn tousled her hair affectionately. “Crazy girl. You know you saved me, right? At least twice now.”
Laurel hugged her. “We all saved each other, you mean. That’s how it goes around Sherwood now.”
Robyn looked at her friends, knowing Laurel was right. They needed everyone in order to succeed at this effort. All the Elements. Scarlet’s hacking skills. Laurel’s tip about the car locks. Merryan’s betrayal of her uncle. Jeb’s earpieces and insider MP knowledge. Tucker’s dissertation writings. Even Key’s rash threat against Crown had made possible this outcome.
It wasn’t just Robyn—not just one person, one fire, one hero who saved the day. It was all of them together. And it felt wonderful.
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
Home at Last
The members of the Crescendo gathered at Nessa Croft’s home at the edge of Sherwood Heights. The place was a bit dusty, as she had been on the run and unable to return home in recent months. But everyone was enthusiastic about helping her get the place into shape. Now, they sat around the living room, discussing the events of the day.
“With Mallet in charge of security, things will stay tight for a while,” Nessa predicted.
“It’s not ideal,” Chazz agreed. “But those MPs sure leap when she says how high.”
“Yes, we need her,” Lucille Loxley said. “She’s turning out to be a reasonable woman, now that she’s not answering to that maniac Crown.”
“Officially, all the political prisoners have been released,” Robert Loxley reported. He hung up the phone. “We’re sending cars to pick them up and bring them here.”
“Everybody? Here?” Nessa said, glancing around. It was a decent-sized home for one person, but it was already cramped with Crescendo workers.
“We’d like to make sure everyone is doing all right before we send them on to their own homes.” Robert cringed. “That is, those that aren’t going straight to the hospital.”
“Send a car for Tucker!” Robyn cried. She was eager to see him. It would be a miracle, seeing all the Elements gathered together once again. In person.
It was amazing how far they’d come in the space of a couple of days.
Jeb no longer had to feel guilty for serving as an MP. With Crown out of power, Sherwood could be policed fairly again.
Scarlet would surely go on challenging the technological infrastructure of the whole city, hopefully making a stronger and safer Sherwood for them all. She sat on the floor even now, tapping away at her screens.
Laurel was ready to take the world by storm. She was practica
lly climbing the walls in her excitement. Nessa handed her a damp cloth and set her to dusting.
Merryan was seated next to Robyn on the couch. Merryan, who … well, she had given up one family. She deserved to find another. Robyn took her hand and held it. “You were the bravest of all of us,” she said.
Merryan ducked her head. Her bobbed hair curtained across her face. “I think it was the right thing.”
“It totally was.” Robyn was certain. But she also knew how hard it must have been. Merryan had achieved what even she, the so-called savior of Sherwood, had not been able to do: to give up her loved ones for the cause.
Sacrifice. That was the theme of the day, for certain. “I don’t know where I’m going to go,” Merryan said in a small voice.
Robyn squeezed her hand. “You’re going to stay right here with me.”
The girls embraced. Merryan rested her cheek on Robyn’s shoulder as they watched the rest of the room.
Key stood leaning against the wall. He was lucky Mallet had let him go along with the others, Robyn knew. And she knew something else, too: Key might be rash, but he was not a killer. When push came to shove he could not take the life of the father he hated. She could have told him that long before he stormed the stage, if he’d asked her.
“Tucker’s on his way,” Robert reported. “He’ll be here soon.”
Tucker, Robyn hoped, would finish his dissertation. His words would remind everyone that the moon lore was important history—one that could inspire or guide people—but that it was just that … history.
Robyn was sure she would still look up at the moon, seeking answers. She would smile every time a painted arrow crossed into her vision. She might even try to crack the curtain messages, for old times’ sake. But it wouldn’t be because she thought those ancient words would magically solve her problems.
It had never been magic, she understood now. It had always been clues. It urged her to rely on friends, when all she knew was how to be alone.
It urged her to look for the strength in herself, believing it was written. Could she have become Robyn Hoodlum without that special helping of faith? She doubted it.
Robyn knew now that the true power of the moon lore was hers, from someplace inside. A place too deep and too hidden to see in the light of a perfect day. A place that only showed itself under the shadow of struggle.