“It wasn’t something that I could easily explain,” she said. “It all happened so fast, and I didn’t know who he was. I mean, yes, Annie said he was my son, but that was after I almost shot him!”
She took a deep breath and looked back at Matt, flustered, bewildered. “I’m sorry, Mateo,” she said, her voice suddenly soft, almost a whisper. “That must have been very frightening for you, to be attacked by someone who should only ever protect you. But don’t you see? That is just one of the many dangers of time travel. You can’t just go wherever and whenever you like. Things must be planned and thought out very carefully, or you could do serious harm.” She shook a little, and Matt wondered if she was speaking from experience more than hypotheticals.
Matt wrapped his arms around himself and looked down at his shoes, unsure what to say. “So . . . did Captain Vincent discard Annie?” Matt asked. He was eager to change the focus.
“No,” said his mom. “I took Annie back to her home in Ohio before I left. She asked me to take her home that very day you met her, in fact. I was very surprised. She had such an unhappy childhood, but she insisted. She was convinced that Vincent was going to get the compass in the future. You had told her that, she said.” She spoke all this as though it had been buried deep in her memory and it was only now coming to the surface.
“Yeah,” said Matt. “I told her she should go home. Was that wrong? Did I mess anything up?” He was suddenly worried that anything he’d done or said at that time could have caused some major catastrophe.
“You saved her from much pain and suffering,” said Tui. “Vince hated Annie. He would not have been merciful, child or no.”
“She knew what he was then,” said Mrs. Hudson. “She knew he would get the compass. I should have listened to her. Trusted her more.”
“Our past is always clear,” said Tui. “Our future always clouded.” She patted Mrs. Hudson on the arm. “Now, can I have another of those hot dogs? Those things look disgusting, but they are quite delicious.”
Mrs. Hudson snorted and reached for the hot dogs and buns. “That is a true statement for many modern-made foods. There’s no getting around the stomachaches and headaches they cause, though.”
“There is no worse stomachache than hunger,” said Tui.
“Except a guilty conscience,” said Chuck. “That’s the worst.”
Tui nodded. “Very true, Chook.”
The evening continued with more hot dogs and marshmallows and stories. Chuck played a few songs on his harmonica, then dozed on one of the furs. Matt felt quite exhausted himself, but he didn’t want to miss anything. Tui and Mrs. Hudson were reliving old times, and it was a side of his mother he’d never seen before. She seemed . . . young, full of vibrant energy and life.
Unsurprisingly, she’d met Tui while she was on a mission to rob her father, Mansa Musa, who was apparently the richest man to have ever lived.
“He has so much gold we are practically drowning in it!” said Tui. “So when I catch your mama stealing from him, I think, what is the harm? There are more valuable things than gold, no? I help her steal more gold in exchange for her promise to let me come with her. She helped me escape on the eve of my wedding. I was not much older than you three.”
“We’re only eleven!” said Ruby. “Matt just turned twelve.”
“Yes, I was exactly your age when I was betrothed, and I was to marry at age thirteen.”
Ruby made a face like she’d just eaten a sour piece of fruit. “That’s horrible!”
Tui simply shrugged. “It was the way of things at that time. It is the way of things in many countries throughout the ages. Women are property to be sold off and bred like cattle.”
“Thank goodness I don’t live in those times and places,” said Ruby, her face still full of disgust.
“Yes, and I am glad your mother invited me to be a part of her crew,” said Tui. “I do not think I would have been happy marrying a strange man and having babies. But then what does your mother do? She abandons me, and what for? To get married and have babies!” She shook her head, laughing.
“Yes, but the difference is, you didn’t have a choice in the matter,” said Mrs. Hudson a little defensively. “You would have been made to marry a man you did not choose and have children whether you wanted to or not. There is great power in choice, wouldn’t you agree? When we have the freedom to choose, we live our lives with more purpose and passion. I wanted this life. I chose to marry. I chose my children.”
“Yes,” said Tui, a smile on her face that did not entirely reach her eyes. “Choice is powerful. So is love. In fact, I can only imagine the greatest of love could have enticed you to choose to abandon your ship and crew, leave us all behind like dust in the wind.”
Any warmth in the cave suddenly evaporated. A chill settled over them that made Matt shiver.
“Tui, I swear I never meant for any of this to happen,” said Mrs. Hudson. “I was trying to do what I thought was right for myself and my own future, but I wasn’t careful. I didn’t think. I harmed you—and all the crew.”
Tui waved her away. “I do not blame you. If there is anyone to blame, it is Vincent.” A shadow came over her face.
“How did Captain Vincent get the compass?” Ruby asked. “Did he steal it from you?”
Tui shook her head. “Not exactly, no. It is difficult to explain. That night is a blur in my mind. It all happened so fast. We were in California. Los Angeles, I think it was?”
“LA?” said Matt. “But you left in New York.”
Mrs. Hudson shook her head. “I decided it would be safer to disappear somewhere else, try to throw Vincent off my trail, just in case he did suspect something. Clearly it didn’t work.”
“Your plan worked as far as I was concerned,” said Tui, “though I knew something was wrong the minute you give me the compass. You told me if anything should happen to you, that the compass belonged to me. I could not understand it. You never took off the compass, never let anyone else touch it, except Vincent sometimes. We all thought if anything ever happened to you, the compass would go to him, but we never think anything will ever happen to you. And then you died right before my eyes. No one could have believed you survived such an explosion.”
“An explosion?” said Corey, now keenly interested. “What kind?”
“I was on a boat,” said Mrs. Hudson. “Your dad arranged it all.”
“It was a movie set for a film that was in production then,” said Mr. Hudson. “I had a connection with someone who was on the crew, an old friend from grad school. He’s a pyrotechnics specialist in Hollywood.”
“How come I haven’t met this friend?” said Corey.
“Anyway,” said Mr. Hudson, ignoring Corey’s question, “he helped us out. It was really quite simple. They had several boats that were rigged with explosives for multiple takes. The boats all had escape hatches in the bottom. The idea was your mom would go on board the boat as though she were trying to steal it, and thirty seconds later . . .” He made an exploding sound.
“And then you were gone,” Tui said, shivering.
“And the compass?” Ruby asked. “How did Vincent get it if my mom gave it to you?”
“I don’t know,” said Tui, shaking her head. “It all happened so fast. It was dark and raining. There was lightning and thunder. When the boat exploded, I must have dropped the compass. Must have, because the next thing I see, Vincent has the compass. He’s holding it in his hand like God himself come down and give it to him.”
Silence fell. Matt shivered. He did not like the idea that God would want Vincent to have the compass. Everyone else seemed to be feeling the same.
“But it is all in the past,” said Tui. “We can fix everything! Now that you are here, we will find Vincent, steal back the Obsidian Compass, and discard him at the top of the highest mountain in the world ten thousand years ago.”
“Tui . . . ,” started Mrs. Hudson, but Tui was clearly not finished.
“No, no, that is too
kind, I know. And too risky. You found me, didn’t you? Who’s to say someone else at some other time couldn’t go back and save Vince. I will kill him. I will kill him with my own two hands.”
“Tui, I’m sorry for what you’ve been through, truly, I am,” said Mrs. Hudson. “If there is anyone to blame it is me. Not Vincent. Chasing after him—killing him—that is not the answer.”
Tui looked at Mrs. Hudson like she’d just sprouted antlers. “Then what is the answer, Rubbana?”
“We leave him alone,” said Mrs. Hudson. “Leave the compass. All of it. We go home.”
Tui’s eyebrows arched so high they nearly disappeared into her hair. “Home? What home? To Mali? To my father? And to do what? Get married and have babies, like you?”
“If you want,” said Mrs. Hudson, keeping her voice even and calm. “Or don’t. I’ll take you wherever you want to go, and you can live your life as you choose. Or you can come with us to New York. You would be welcome. But leave Vincent out of it. Leave him in the past. You can’t change it.”
Tui’s face darkened. “Maybe I cannot change the past,” she said. “But you cannot stop Vince in the future. We must get the compass from him and keep him from doing more harm, to us, to your children!”
“I disagree,” said Mrs. Hudson. “The best thing we can do to keep Vincent from harming us, from harming anyone, is to stay away from him. To go back to our lives.”
“But what about Jia?” said Matt. “We still have to rescue her!”
“Yeah! We do!” Corey shouted. “If it hadn’t been for Jia we never would have gotten home. We can’t just leave her.”
“We owe her,” said Ruby.
Mrs. Hudson clasped her fingers together and pressed them against her forehead like she was praying. “Listen to me, all of you. I know how much your friend means to you. I know how responsible you feel. Believe me, I know. But there is no way to rescue her without crossing paths with Vincent or ourselves or both. It’s all equally dangerous.”
“Rubbana,” said Tui, her frown deepening to a scowl. “This man left me to die here. He kidnaps your children! And now an innocent child, a child who helped save your precious children, suffers because of Vincent, and you will do nothing?”
Mrs. Hudson shook her head, fighting back tears. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I don’t know how many times I can say it. I’m sorry. I know it is difficult to do nothing when those you care about are suffering, when you want revenge upon those who have made you suffer, but some things cannot be fixed. Sometimes doing nothing is the wisest course of action.”
Matt opened his mouth to argue, but Tui suddenly stood up, eyes blazing. She towered over them all. “No,” she said. She spoke quietly, but there was a rumbling in her voice that shook Matt’s very bones. “Doing nothing is the course for cowards. You want to leave your past, pretend it never happened. I see that now. But your past is catching up with you, Rubbana. It will not leave you in peace. Because I am here now, and I will not let you walk away! You say this is a game? It was your game first! You started this game. You pulled us all in. Are you such a fool to believe Vincent will allow you to stop just because you choose to stop? He will strike even if you don’t. He will rip your precious family to shreds to get what he wants. Yes, I know what he is after. I heard you two whispering in dark corners, thinking the rest of us do not hear. I was not your greatest spy for nothing. I know what you two used to search for day and night. You may have given it up, but he has not. And if he succeeds, there will be no time or place you can hide from him.”
Mrs. Hudson went pale. Matt thought she was trembling a little. She opened her mouth, but no words came out.
“What are you talking about?” Ruby asked, looking between her mother and Tui. “What exactly is Vincent after? Does this have something to do with the letter?”
Neither Tui nor Mrs. Hudson answered. They both just stared each other down.
“Are you talking about the Aeternum?” Matt asked. His voice was barely above a whisper, but Mrs. Hudson’s head whipped toward him so fast he flinched.
“Where did you hear that word?” she snapped, her voice suddenly a feral growl. “Did you travel to another place and not tell me?”
Matt winced and recoiled from his mom. For a moment she had transformed into another creature altogether, savage and fierce. “N-no,” he stammered. “I heard it from you. When I traveled to the Vermillion. I heard you and Cap . . . Vincent talking about it. You talked about when you get the Aeternum, how you would . . . live forever.”
Mrs. Hudson looked so tense, Matt thought the veins in her neck might burst. “You must tell them, Captain,” said Tui.
Mrs. Hudson looked at each of her children, and finally to her husband, a silent plea for help, but he just sighed and put his head in his hands. He ran his fingers through his hair. His face looked tired and worn. “Clearly they’re going to get certain information one way or another, Belamie,” he said. “They might as well get it from us.”
Mrs. Hudson’s shoulders fell in defeat. She took a deep breath, her eyes closed. “All right,” she said. “I will tell you what I can.”
12
The Aeternum
“The Aeternum,” said Mrs. Hudson, speaking slowly, “is supposedly another invention by the same inventor of the Obsidian Compass.”
“You mean Marius Quine?” Matt asked.
Mrs. Hudson nodded. “There were rumors, only vague rumors, mind you, that the compass was just the beginning of his genius, and the Aeternum was his crowning achievement. It’s his magnum opus.”
“Where did the rumors come from?” said Matt.
“From Quine himself,” said Mrs. Hudson. “Things he wrote down that I obtained at a significant cost.” Matt wondered what that cost might be, but he didn’t think now was the time to ask.
“You mean the letter inside your safe?” Ruby asked. “The one Captain Vincent stole?”
Mrs. Hudson nodded. “The compass was only a stepping-stone. It’s powerful but limited. The letter expressed intentions for something on a far grander scale. It’s called the Aeternum.”
“That’s the Latin word for forever,” said Matt. His mom nodded.
“So what does it do, this Atternoom-thing,” Corey asked, “make you immortal? Like Thanos?”
Ruby rolled her eyes, but Mrs. Hudson did not contradict him. “More than immortal,” she said. “Immortality only assumes you can’t die, but you still live within the confines and laws of this world, save the law of death. But avoiding death does not necessarily mean you’ll avoid pain and suffering, and it doesn’t necessarily equate to power or control. Some would argue immortality is more of a curse than a gift. But the Aeternum is different. Not only will it grant you immortality, but time itself becomes obsolete. Time is something that only comes with beginnings and endings. It’s a product of this world. Eternity is another realm altogether, and when you live in the realm of eternity you have no beginning, no end, no past, and no future. You simply are. With the Aeternum, time is not a reality, and if time is not real, then you have the power to make your own reality. You can change anything you want, shape the past or the future however you like. You could make certain people go away, or split people apart, or make it so certain people don’t exist at all.” Mrs. Hudson’s words got caught in her throat. Mr. Hudson reached for her hand, and she grasped it so tightly her knuckles turned white.
Matt felt his stomach drop. He didn’t have to imagine very far to think what Vincent would do to their family if he had such power. They wouldn’t be a family. He looked to Corey and Ruby and read the same thing in both of their eyes.
“We have to stop him,” said Matt. “We can’t let Vincent get the Aeternum. You know what he’ll do to us.”
Mrs. Hudson composed herself. She wiped away her tears and shook her head. “But that’s just it. Not interfering is the best way to stop him. Even if the Aeternum is real, Vincent cannot hope to succeed without my help. He wants us to find him.”
&nb
sp; “How?” said Matt. “How can you help? He already got the letter. Doesn’t it tell him how to find the Aeternum?”
“Instructions of sorts,” said Mrs. Hudson, “but it’s not enough. There are missing . . . pieces. Information he doesn’t have.”
“What about Quine,” Matt asked. “Where is he in all of this? If this Aeternum is real and Quine made it, doesn’t he have it? And so can’t he just make everything the way he wants, in the past and future?”
“And isn’t he on our side?” Ruby asked. “I mean, he did give you the compass, didn’t he?”
“I know very little about Marius Quine,” said Mrs. Hudson, “least of all his motives or intentions. What little dealings I have had with him have left me with more questions than answers. There have been times when I was sure he was on my side. Yes, he gave me the compass, but then that was probably after he’d already invented the Aeternum, so he had no use for it. It meant nothing to him to give it away, unless he had some ulterior motive for giving it to me.” She shook her head. “I can’t fathom the reasons. One thing is certain. Marius Quine is powerful, maybe mad, possibly dangerous . . . the problem is I don’t understand what it is that he wants. I can’t guess at what he’ll do. Vincent, on the other hand, is predictable. I know exactly what he wants, and can guess more easily what he’ll do, where he’ll go, who he’ll target. Believe me, the best thing we can do is to stay away from him.”
“Why?” Matt asked. “I understand Vincent wants the Aeternum, but what does that have to do with us? Do you have something else that he needs? Besides the letter?”
“No,” said Mrs. Hudson, quickly. Too quickly, Matt thought. “He thinks I have something that he needs, but I don’t.” His mom and dad shared a brief look, and he saw something exchanged there. There was something they weren’t telling them, he was certain, but he was equally certain that whatever it was, they weren’t going to share it with them. Not now anyway.
“Look,” said Mrs. Hudson. “I will not pretend we aren’t vulnerable in any way, but I promise staying away from Vincent is far safer than any other plan. With just the Obsidian Compass, Vincent can’t get to us past the date we came from, and if he can’t get to us, he has no hope of getting the Aeternum. And that is the only way we all stay together. Safe.”
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