The Aeternum
Will mend what is broken.
Reclaim what is lost.
The world will be yours
But it comes at a co
A sacrifice must be
To win th
Bring Mateo t
We are on
—Marius Quine
Matt’s heart jolted inside his ribs as he read his name. “Bring Mateo t . . .” Bring Mateo to where? Or bring the what? And was it really talking about him? Of course Mateo wasn’t a completely original name. It could be talking about some other Mateo, but he knew deep down that wasn’t true. It was too much of a coincidence. And what did it mean when it mentioned a sacrifice? Filling in the words that had been ripped away, he was guessing it said “A sacrifice must be made.” It almost seemed to imply that he was the thing that needed to be sacrificed. Sacrificed how? Like pay-a-ransom kind of sacrifice? Blood sacrifice? Burned-over-an-altar-as-some-offering-to-the-gods kind of sacrifice? And that would somehow produce the Aeternum and give eternal life and ultimate power? Or was he just a piece of the puzzle?
All these questions swirled in Mateo’s brain, but the one that came out of his mouth first was “Where did my mom get this?”
“Did your mother tell you how her parents died? How they really died.”
Matt nodded. “She tried to save them and failed.”
“Miserably so,” said Captain Vincent. “I could not help but feel responsible. It had been me who suggested we attempt it. We were young and naïve then. We did not understand the repercussion of crossing certain timelines and meddling in our own lives. The failed mission did hold one silver lining, however. I found this bottle floating along the shore.”
“You found it?” said Matt.
“Indeed, I did,” said Captain Vincent. “And I shared it with your mother because we shared everything back then. That’s when we learned about the Aeternum. We searched for it together for years. Did she ever tell you that? It was our greatest wish to find the Aeternum and live together forever. We searched for you together, and then you appeared one day on the Vermillion. I did not know your name was Mateo at that time. It would be several years before I figured that out, but I’m guessing your mother did. She became strange after your brief visit. Secretive. She went on secret missions, visiting places and people for reasons I couldn’t understand. She hid the letter. The letter I had found. And then she left. And she adopted you. Mateo.”
Matt looked down at the paper again. “What does this mean?” Matt asked, pointing to a Chinese character at the top of the poem. It looked like a K with a slash at the top and a number seven to the left. Matt had studied a little of the writing system, but he didn’t know what the character meant.
“That’s the insignia of the Aeternum,” said Captain Vincent. “The Chinese character for eternal. For several years I believed the Aeternum was somewhere in China. It’s how I came to find Jia.”
Matt felt a strange sense of gratitude toward Captain Vincent all of a sudden, and then a flash of guilt for feeling any kind of positive feelings toward him. He may have done a good thing but not for the right reasons. Matt needed to keep that straight in his brain. He wouldn’t allow Captain Vincent to manipulate him so easily again. Matt wished he could keep the letter, but he knew that wasn’t possible, and he needed to appear cool and unaffected. He took one last look at the page, focusing mostly on the poem, particularly the unfinished lines. He committed every last letter to his memory, then casually handed the letter back to Captain Vincent.
“I don’t see what’s so significant about this,” said Matt, keeping his face and voice free of emotion. “So my mother named me after some fanciful person in a poem. Lots of people do that.”
“Ah, but there’s the catch,” said Captain Vincent. “Your mother didn’t name you.”
“What are you talking about?” said Matt, his heart beating a little faster now.
“Look at the rest of the contents of the box.”
Matt looked in the box and found another piece of paper. He hadn’t noticed it before because it was pressed flat against the bottom, underneath the bottle. It was thin and felt soft and worn. He opened it. It was some kind of legal document, and he quickly discerned that it was something to do with his adoption.
NAME OF CHILD (LAST, FIRST, MIDDLE): Mateo
SEX: Male
BIRTH DATE: Unknown (Approx. June 1, 2007, according to medical exam)
BIRTHPLACE: Unknown
BIRTH PARENTS: Unknown
NOTES: Liaison claims infant’s name is Mateo. Requested name to remain in adoption terms.
“So you see,” said Captain Vincent, “your mother is not the saintly person you imagine. She too has her secrets and her motives.”
Matt felt sick to his stomach. His mother always told him stories about adopting him, of how she had waited and waited for a child, how they had tried so hard to adopt in the States, and then they found him. She always said she knew he was her son the instant she met him, and Matt had always felt that it had been meant to be, like the universe had meant for them to be together. But now, with what he’d just seen and read, all his idyllic fancies began to crumble. Why did his mother really adopt him? Because his name was Mateo? Because she thought he was the key to her quest for immortality and unlimited power? Was she only protective of him because he was an important piece in her game?
He looked at Vincent, who gazed at him with the barest hint of a smile, more like a conceited smirk. Matt could barely hold in his rage. He wanted to punch him in the face. Maybe Vincent had thrown him off, raised a few questions about his mother and his origins, but that didn’t mean Matt suddenly wanted to help him. And his mom might have a perfectly reasonable explanation for all of this.
“So what?” said Matt. “What if I was already named Mateo and she had been searching for me all along? How could that help her get the Aeternum? She’d already given up the Obsidian Compass. You had it then. It was all over for her.”
“Of course it wasn’t over for her,” said Captain Vincent. “Nothing is over until it ends, don’t you see? And you were just the beginning. As soon as she saw you, she knew she didn’t need the compass, or the Vermillion, or her crew, or any of it. She knew you would lead her to the ultimate prize. All she had to do was wait patiently for you to make your own discoveries, forge your path to Quine and the Aeternum. She knew it would happen eventually. Why do you think she’s been so protective of you in particular? Because you’re her first child? Her favorite? Perhaps she feels some sort of affection for you, she’s not completely heartless, but make no mistake. In the end you are a means to an end.”
Matt was trembling so violently, he was sure he was about to have a seizure. Any moment he would black out, but he held himself together.
“So what’s your big plan, then?” said Matt. He wanted to sound threatening, but his voice came out high and whiny. “I can’t help you, even if I wanted to. I don’t know anything about the Aeternum, or where it is, or how it works, so whatever reason you brought me here, whatever you thought I could do to help you, you’re wrong.”
Captain Vincent seemed completely unfazed at this information. “That may be true for the moment,” he said. “But if I’ve learned anything it’s that time changes everything. It is not required that you know anything. And I don’t need you to be on my side. All things will be revealed in their proper time and place, including your own role.”
Matt felt a shiver run through him. His role. What was his role? He was starting to feel it wasn’t anything too wonderful. Was he just a pawn to be sacrificed in this game?
“You’re dismissed,” said Captain Vincent. “Get something to eat, talk with Jia. She has not had many friends since she helped you escape last time. I’m sure she’s very glad to have you back on board.”
Matt held out the birth document, but Captain Vincent refused. “Oh no, you keep it. Your mother would certainly be angry that I even showed it to you, but I believe it belongs t
o you.”
Matt folded the document back up and slipped it into his pocket.
Captain Vincent replaced the bottle inside the box and shut it. Santiago took the golden key in his tail, locked the box, then scurried down the desk and disappeared with the key still clutched in his tail.
19
Forged
As soon as Matt opened the door of Captain Vincent’s office, he came face-to-face with Albert, who had the startled, guilty look of someone who’s been eavesdropping.
“Spying are we?” growled Matt. Albert’s pale face flushed, but he quickly turned it into a scowl.
“You flatter yourself quite important, I’m sure,” said Albert, “but as one of the captain’s loyal crew, I am privy to much more information than the likes of you.”
“Good for you,” snarled Matt. He knocked Albert in the shoulder as he passed. He almost wished Albert would swing a punch at him. He felt like fighting, breaking things. He wanted to hurt someone, but Albert just pressed himself in to the wall and let Matt pass.
Brocco was now driving the Vermillion, with Wiley in the front passenger seat, smoking another pipe. They were still surrounded by trees and mountains, but the land below them had opened up, and Matt saw wide swaths of green fields, dotted here and there with what looked like cows, but as they got closer Matt realized they were buffalo. He felt a small recognition for this place, like he’d been here before, but he didn’t have a chance to dwell on it.
“Hey!” Jia called to him from the other end of the RV. She was waiting for him at the yellow Formica table with a plate of sandwiches and a pitcher of grape juice. Pike sat beside her, still working with some of her safety pins. She had hooked hundreds of them together into some kind of intricate metal net. Matt sank down across from both of them and stared at the plate of sandwiches.
“You okay?” Jia asked. “No, of course not. What a stupid question. I’m so sorry.” She bit her lip and looked down.
“I’m okay,” said Matt.
Jia glanced up at him. They had barely had a chance to say hello when they’d met in Chicago, and then everything had happened so fast, but now that things had calmed down some Matt realized there was something different about Jia. “You look . . . older,” he said, and though he couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud, he also thought she looked really pretty. Not that she wasn’t pretty before, but the last time he’d seen her she was more of a girl, and now she seemed more like a young woman. It made Matt feel a little awkward for some reason, like he didn’t know her anymore. Now that he thought about it, Albert had looked different too. He’d been about the same height as Matt the last time he’d seen him, but Matt had been looking up into Albert’s face just now, and his normally round face had seemed a little more defined. Matt glanced at Pike, trying to see if she had changed any, but she looked the same from what he could remember. Pale, thin, and silent. “How long has it been for you?” he asked Jia. “Since that day at the museum.”
“I’m not certain,” said Jia. “Several months? Maybe a year. You know I’ve never been one for keeping track of time.”
This surprised Matt. “I thought Captain Vincent would have discarded you right away,” he said.
“He tried to,” said Jia, “but he couldn’t.”
“Why not?”
“I’m not sure exactly, but I think it had something to do with this.” Jia reached in one of the many pockets of her vest and pulled something out.
“My bracelet!” Matt exclaimed, grabbing it. “Where did you find it?”
“On the Vermillion,” said Jia. “I found it just as Captain Vincent was about to discard me, like the Vermillion wanted me to have it.”
Jia recited all that had happened to her since Matt had last seen her, how Captain Vincent tried to discard her several times, but the Vermillion wouldn’t leave without her, and she believed it was Matt’s bracelet that kept her safe. Matt tied his bracelet securely back onto his wrist and felt a kind of comfort wash over him, like he’d been missing a piece of himself and now it was back. He rubbed his thumb over the stone, feeling the familiar lines etched into it. “Captain Vincent didn’t suspect at all?”
Jia shook her head. “Not the real reason,” she whispered. “He thought I was sabotaging the ship so he couldn’t discard me. He didn’t even know I had your bracelet. I kept it well hidden. He just said he changed his mind and he had other plans for me, and that’s when we went to Chicago. I’m so sorry, Matt. I knew Captain Vincent was after you. I was trying to warn you and your family, but I only led him right to you. You have to believe me. I never would have hurt you on purpose, even if he threatened to send me back to the orphanage in China!”
Matt knew this was quite possibly the worst fate anyone could bestow on Jia. “I know,” said Matt. “I never doubted you for a moment.”
“If there’s anything I can do, Matt. Anything at all, you know I will help you, right? I’m on your side.” Jia grasped his hand and squeezed it tight. Matt winced and pulled away.
“Oh, I’m sorry!” she said.
“It’s okay,” said Matt, shaking his hand a little. He’d forgotten about his burns, but now the dull throbbing had returned.
“You should let me put something on that. I have that salve from before. Let me see if I can find it. Sometimes the Vermillion gives you what you need, even in transformation.” She jumped up and started rifling through cupboards and drawers around the kitchen and finally found the little box with all the bottles and bandages. She pulled out one of the jars and brought it to the table. Matt reached for it, but she kept it. “Let me do it.”
She opened the jar, releasing the familiar floral, minty smell. It reminded Matt of one of the last times they’d been together, before he’d gone home. Jia took Matt’s hand, scooped out some of the salve and gently rubbed it into the rootlike burns on his hand and arm. He winced a little at first, but then it started to soothe the pain. He watched Jia’s face as she worked in the salve. She glanced at him and smiled, and his stomach did a little flip. He looked away, hoping she wouldn’t notice his face heat up. Why did he feel so awkward with Jia all of a sudden?
Jia cleared her throat. “What did Captain Vincent tell you just now?”
Matt had forgotten about his meeting with Captain Vincent for a brief moment, sitting here with Jia, but now it yanked him down like weighted chains around his ankles, and his face flushed for different reasons.
“You don’t have to tell me,” said Jia quickly. “I understand.”
“No, I want to,” said Matt. “It’s just . . .” He glanced at Pike. She was still working on her safety-pin web, seemingly not paying them any mind. But Matt now suspected Pike paid attention to a great deal more than perhaps anyone realized, and he wasn’t sure how much he wanted her to hear. She’d been helpful to Matt at one time, but she’d also been the one to break into his family’s apartment and steal the box that had now spurred everything else. . . . He didn’t hate her for it, didn’t even blame her. She was just a little kid and was only doing what Captain Vincent told her to do, but for that reason he certainly couldn’t trust her.
Pike looked up at Matt then, as if she could sense all the thoughts in his head. Without a word from anyone, she hopped down from the table and walked to the other end of the Vermillion. She tucked herself in a corner and continued with her safety-pin crafting.
Matt gazed around the Vermillion. Everyone seemed to be occupied and out of earshot, but Matt couldn’t be so sure Santiago wasn’t lurking somewhere, and that rat clearly had some creepy ability to communicate with Captain Vincent, so he leaned in close to Jia and whispered, “How much do you know about what Captain Vincent is after?”
Jia shrugged. “I knew he was looking for you for some reason, because you have something that he wants. Or your mother or father does, but I don’t know much beyond that.”
Jia had finished rubbing the salve into Matt’s burns and was now wrapping his hand and arm in gauze.
Matt tried t
o explain to Jia as much as he could about the Aeternum and his mysterious role in it. He told Jia about the piece of paper in the bottle, the incomplete poem mentioning him, and showed her the document from his adoption.
Jia listened carefully, her brow knit in concentration. “It’s all very odd, isn’t it?” she said. “I mean, it can’t be a coincidence that your mother adopted you, but do you really think she knew who you were before she adopted you?”
“And who am I?” Matt asked.
Jia made a final wrap around Matt’s hand with the gauze, cut it with some scissors, and tucked in the end. “You’re . . . someone important,” she said. “Clearly you have something to do with the Aeternum and Marius Quine.” Jia gasped like she’d suddenly come to a realization. “Matt, what if Quine is your father? I mean, your biological father?”
Matt couldn’t pretend he hadn’t wondered this very thing, though he’d been slow to let it rise to the forefront of his mind. There had to be some connection between him and Quine. His father, his grandfather . . . but then why would they have let him be adopted? Or had he? Maybe he had been kidnapped when he was a baby. Not by his mom, but by someone else. Now Quine wanted him back . . . but what did all that have to do with the Aeternum? What did Matt have to do with any of it?
The RV slowed and made a turn. Matt rose and looked out the window. The Vermillion pulled into a parking lot teeming with cars and people, all of them moving toward what looked like a large log cabin, and beyond it a patch of land that was brown and barren. Here and there puffs of steam and smoke rose from the ground, as though the earth were on fire.
“I know this place,” said Matt.
Jia rose from her seat. “Oh!” she exclaimed. “This is Yellowstone, isn’t it? We’ve traveled here before, haven’t we?”
The memory now came back to Matt. When he’d been on the Vermillion before, with Corey and Ruby, Captain Vincent had traveled to Yellowstone National Park, where they’d spent a few days exploring the geysers and hot springs, the mountains and wildlife. Matt thought it had been only a vacation back then, an adventure, but then why would they come back now?
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