“Yes,” George said, setting her fork down with absolute precision. “We can.”
Zed looked around at the quiet field spread with tables and blankets, bright squares against the green grass. “I hope so. I like my home. I don’t want to die. I mean, die again. I don’t want to die from here.”
George reached out and patted his hand. “We’re going to make it, Zed. It started out as just a trip to save my aunt Henrietta, but it’s more than that now.”
“A lot more,” Caleb said. “Now there’s the Council and George’s whole family.”
“And Thazel and Hector and the Tree Who Yawns Butterflies and all of you,” Mikal said. “This is the happiest place I’ve ever been. The children deserve this place. We can’t let the bad guys take it away from them.”
Zed smiled. “I believe you. So let me tell you what’s next. You’ve met the Hag, right? Well, she has a little sister named Lue who likes to come here.”
“We’ve heard of her,” George said.
“The Hag said she’d been very naughty lately,” Mikal said.
“How little of a sister?” Caleb asked. “The Hag’s gotta be a hundred years old, so her little sister has to be close to that. I thought you said there weren’t any adults here?”
“There aren’t. Adults aren’t allowed here. This little sister, Lue, is around your age right now, Caleb. Twelve or thirteen, I guess. And she’s naughty most of the time. She stays here often to play with the other children, and she causes me a lot of trouble when she does.”
“That’s a weird age difference,” George said.
“Is she the one who caused the emergency?” Mikal asked.
“Yep. She got here yesterday afternoon. She was making a pest of herself, as usual, and boasting to some kids that she had taken something that didn’t belong to her, something important. We’d already gotten the bulletin about the problem with Obsidia. One of the kids came to tell me what Lue had done, because we don’t tolerate that kind of stuff here. We share our things and never steal from others. The gnomes and fairies teach us that from the very beginning. Anyway, knowing what I know about Lue, I suspected that she might be responsible for the world of Obsidia getting broken.”
“Wait, wait.” George held up her hands. “You didn’t say anything about a world being broken. We just thought it was unavailable.”
“It’s unavailable because it’s broken,” Zed said.
“And how exactly does a world get broken?” Caleb asked. “And by a girl my age?”
“You haven’t met Lue,” Zed said, eyes wide and sincere.
“I’m starting to want to,” Cavendish said. “She sounds like my kind of human.”
“Well, I went to talk to Lue. I told her she had to give back whatever she’d taken, and she refused. I told her that if she didn’t give it back, she would have to leave. Oh boy, she really had a tantrum then. She screamed and yelled and told me I couldn’t make her leave, and that if I tried, she would find a way to break my world too!”
“Sounds like you were right about her being responsible for Obsidia,” Caleb said.
“Which I’m still not clear about,” George said.
“I’m getting there,” Zed said. “Then she locked me out of her garden, and I didn’t know what to do, so I sent a message to the Timekeeper, asking him for advice.”
George leaned forward so eagerly that her elbow landed right in a plate of maple syrup. “You spoke to Uncle Constantine? How? Where is he? Did he come here?”
Mikal handed George a napkin for her elbow.
“No, I didn’t speak to him. I sent a message to him, and he sent one back.”
“How did you get the message to him? Maybe the messenger knows,” Mikal said.
“Yorick carries our letters back and forth. You know Yorick, right?” Zed asked.
“The giant skeleton in my closet,” George said to Caleb and Mikal. “Yes, I’ve met him.”
“The Timekeeper can’t come here because he’s an adult. Yorick was an adult when he died, but now he’s kind of just a skeleton. It’s a loophole, so he’s able to come and go as we need him. He always knows where the Timekeeper is. He’s kind of the Timekeeper’s right hand … person? Is a skeleton a person?” Zed’s brow furrowed thoughtfully.
“I think anything that can think and feel and make decisions is probably a person on some level,” Caleb said.
“The message said to give Lue some time to cool off, and then have you three try to reason with her. You’re supposed to get her to tell you how to fix Obsidia and talk her into making up with her big sister while you’re at it. So I left her alone, and then you guys showed up. There was nothing you could have done last night. Lue was still in the middle of her hissy fit and wouldn’t listen to anyone. I think she’s calmed down now, though.”
“Which is where we come in,” Caleb said.
“She sounds awful. I don’t know how we’re going to do it,” George said. “But I suppose we did already deal with a monster and a dragon.”
“Thazel wasn’t a monster on the inside,” Mikal said. “And Hector was an honorable dragon.”
“Maybe she’s just misunderstood,” Caleb said.
“We can’t go forward without passing through Obsidia. We can’t pass through Obsidia without Lue’s cooperation,” Cavendish said. “We’re just wasting time discussing it.”
“Cavendish is right. And maybe Lue will be more helpful talking to a girl her own age,” George said.
“Do we know any girls Lue’s age?” Caleb teased.
George threw half a muffin at him.
Zed shrugged. “I don’t know if that will help or not. I don’t understand her. Sometimes she acts like a spoiled baby, and sometimes she acts like a grown-up lady. Then there are the times she acts like a cranky old woman.”
“She comes by that last part honestly if she spends much time with the Hag,” Caleb said. “Let’s get this over with.”
Mikal stuffed his pockets full of goodies and then raced after his friends.
By now the Children’s Republic had woken up. They passed a group of kids blowing rainbow soap bubbles.
George stopped for a moment to watch them. One of the shiny bubbles floated just in front of her face, so near her eyes crossed. With a pop, it burst on her nose. They all shrieked with laughter, and George had to be dragged away grinning.
“Sorry. I know we’re in a hurry. They just reminded me of Daniel.” She saw a group of older kids playing jump rope, and she sighed. “I wish I’d taken the time to have fun last night.”
“You can visit us again,” Zed said.
“Unless all of you die tonight,” Cavendish said cheerfully.
They ignored him and were soon standing before a familiar white gate with the words Chrone Cottage trained in honeysuckle in the trellis above. Behind the fence was the tiny garden shed surrounded by beautiful blooming flowers and green trees.
“I’ll wait for you here,” Zed said. “I doubt Lue will want to see me.”
Mikal swallowed hard and held Cavendish close. “I hope the Hag isn’t in today. She makes it hard to be brave.”
“Grown-ups aren’t allowed here, remember?” Caleb asked.
“Then what’s her home doing here?” Mikal asked.
“It’s Lue’s home too,” Zed said. “The sisters go where they want, and when they do, the cottage finds a way to be there too. Good luck.”
* * *
George led the way beneath the sticky pomegranate archway. They heard singing coming from the back of the garden.
Caleb crept up and peered around the side of the building. He gestured for George and Mikal to come closer.
They obeyed and saw a pretty girl sitting in a swing hanging from the branches of a tall tree. Her dress was white and gauzy, and her long hair was perfectly smooth. A flock of geese were squabbling around her feet as she tossed bread crumbs to them.
As they watched, she began another song.
“Now mummies meander as the
moon watches all.
Monsters they mangle, and mothers they call.
Witches they cackle, and warlocks throw curses,
Wizards all chant, and werewolves drive hearses.
Gypsies jingle, and the ghouls eat out,
Ghosts live to haunt, and the goons, they shout!”
“Do you think it’s Lue?” George asked quietly.
“Definitely,” Mikal said, making a face. “Can’t you tell by what she’s singing that she’s related to the Hag? I hope she doesn’t take us to the dungeon.”
Lue jumped to her feet at the sound of Mikal’s voice, and the geese scattered. “Who are you? This is my garden, and you’re not supposed to be here! I’m not accepting company.”
Caleb stepped from behind the shed and held up his hands. “Sorry, we didn’t mean to eavesdrop. We’re friends of your older sister, the Hag. You may have heard of us? The Snaffleharp Company?”
“Oh. Yes, I’ve heard of you.”
“Good,” Caleb said, lowering his hands. “Your geese are very pretty.”
“Oh, them.” She waved a hand. “They aren’t mine. They belong to my sister.”
George moved up beside Caleb. “Hi, Lue, it’s nice to meet you.”
“What are you doing here?” Lue asked Caleb, entirely ignoring George. “If you’ve come to see my sister, you won’t find her. She’s been up to no good lately, and it’s keeping her busy.”
“Funny. She said the same thing about you,” George said under her breath.
“She did not! Did she really? How typical of her! Oh, I’ll get her for telling tales about me.” She stamped her foot in the grass. Then she saw Mikal holding Cavendish. “Who’s that?”
“That’s Mikal. He’s with us,” George said.
Lue dismissed him immediately and focused a smile on Caleb. “You’re kind of cute. What’s your name?”
Caleb pushed his fingers through his hair. “I’m Caleb. It’s nice to meet you.”
“I know it is.”
George rolled her eyes so hard it hurt.
Lue glanced her way and curled her lip disdainfully. “You must be George. Those freckles are a dead giveaway. Goodness, would you look at your hair?”
George’s mouth dropped open in embarrassment, and she lifted her hands self-consciously to her head. She dropped them to her sides and gritted her teeth. “We know you broke a world, and we need you to tell us how to fix it.”
“And why would I do that?” Lue asked.
“Because if you don’t, we can’t access Obsidia, and we need to pass through there to save the worlds from being bashed in by the stars,” George said.
“Oh, Obsidia! Don’t even say that name. It makes me so angry!”
“Why does it make you angry?” Mikal asked.
“That’s where my sister’s beau lives. Obsidia is his world. He’s the master there.”
George raised her eyebrows. “The Hag has a beau? Like, a boyfriend?”
“But … how?” Mikal asked. “She’s so old.”
Lue rolled her eyes dramatically. “Not that sister. Lucy, our middle sister.”
“And how old is Lucy?” Caleb asked. “Your age, or the Hag’s age?”
“Silly Caleb,” Lue said, dimpling up at him. “I said she’s our middle sister, so naturally she’s in the center of us.”
“Oh yeah, of course. That makes sense,” Caleb said, slightly flustered.
“Did you break Obsidia because you’re mad at Lucy’s beau?” George asked.
Lue glared at George. “I told you not to say that name! But no, I broke it because I was mad at Lucy, not her beau. I like him. He’s kind of bossy to me, but he always gives Lucretia butterscotch candies when he sees her.”
“Okay, but how do you even break a world?” Caleb asked.
“Come closer, and I’ll tell you,” Lue said with an impish grin.
Caleb looked uncertain, but he stepped close to her, expecting her to whisper the answer in his ear. Instead, she leaned in and kissed his cheek before he could even blink, then skipped away, shrieking with laughter.
Caleb’s eyes grew wide, and then he stared hard at the ground, his face bright red.
“How do we fix it?” George said, ignoring this display.
“Oh, you can’t fix it,” Lue said. “I wanted to get back at Lucy, and I did. When I broke the world, I took a piece of it with me. Now it can’t ever be put back together. That’ll show her what happens when she breaks our necklace and tries to cut me out of her life so she can spend more time with her stupid beau.”
“If that’s how she talks about people she claims to like…,” Cavendish said.
“Zed said she took something that didn’t belong to her,” Mikal said to George. “That must be what she took.”
“Is there any way I can talk you into giving the piece of Obsidia to us?” George asked.
“You ask the most bizarre things, George!” Lue said merrily, returning to her swing.
“I guess that means no,” Mikal said.
“Any ideas, Caleb?” George asked, turning her back to Lue and speaking quietly.
Caleb didn’t seem to hear, as he was too busy watching Lue toss her perfect hair and swing her pretty feet.
George shook her head in exasperation. “Really, Caleb? Okay, Mikal. It’s just you and me. And maybe Cavendish if he has any ideas.”
“Don’t ask me to help you figure out the inner workings of an adolescent female’s mind. That is not what I was programmed for,” Cavendish said.
“She seems awfully mad at Lucy,” Mikal said, scratching the back of his head. “And the note Uncle Constantine sent to Zed said we’re supposed to try to reason with her and get her to make up with her big sister.”
George nodded, and then stood thinking for a moment. “That’s it! Uncle Constantine wanted us to get them to make up, because if Lue stops being mad at her sister, she won’t have any reason not to give us the piece. Maybe she’ll even want Obsidia to be fixed so her sister won’t be mad at her. You’re smart, Mikal!”
Mikal glowed at the compliment, and George turned once again to address Lue.
“Lue, are you sure trying to hurt your sister is the right thing to do?”
“I can do whatever I want. I’m important.”
“Why are you important?” Mikal asked.
Lue made a face at Mikal. “I’m the Youngest of the Els, nitwit.”
“Don’t talk to him like that,” George said angrily, then took a calming breath. “You’re the Youngest of the Els? What does that mean?”
“My sisters and I are the Els, and that makes us special.” Lue was twisting the swing around and around now.
“And you like to be special?” Mikal asked.
“Doesn’t everyone?”
“So being one of the Els sisters makes you superior to us common people,” George said.
“Oh, superior. I like that. Yes, it does.” She stopped turning the swing and released the tension, allowing it to spin her in circles.
“But if you keep being nasty and trying to hurt your sisters, you won’t have them much longer. They won’t want to be around you,” George said loudly. “And without sisters, you wouldn’t be the Youngest of the Els. You’d just be Lue.”
Lue stretched out a foot, dragging it in the dirt to slow herself. She looked at George, her face clouded with confusion. “Just Lue?”
“Just Lue,” Mikal said with a solemn nod. “You wouldn’t be part of anything special anymore.”
“Your family makes you special. The people you love and who love you make you special,” George said.
Lue’s face fell. “Do you have anybody who loves you?”
“Yes, I have parents and my aunt and uncle and even a little brother named Daniel. He used to drive me absolutely bonkers, always playing with my things and never picking them up, and following me around everywhere. Then one day he was gone, and those things didn’t matter anymore. I just missed him. I missed being his sister.”
Caleb must have heard this, as he became utterly fascinated with the bark on a nearby tree and mumbled something difficult to make out.
Lue studied the geese meandering about the garden.
“If you give us the piece of Obsidia and let us fix it, not only will you be closer to making up with Lucy, but you’ll also be doing the right thing. That makes you special too. We need to fix Obsidia so we can save the worlds and everyone in them, including you and your sisters,” George said.
“And all it takes to change the entire path of the future is one person making the right decision,” Mikal said. “Your oldest sister, the Hag, told us that.”
Caleb finally decided to speak up. “Changing the future for the better would make you a hero, Lue. That’s another kind of special.”
Lue sighed prettily and rose to her feet. “Very well, Caleb. If you think it would be best, I’ll make up with my sister. You made some very good points.”
“You have got to be kidding me,” George said.
Mikal elbowed her. “Shh, don’t make her change her mind.”
Lue reached into a pocket and withdrew a red velvet bag tied with a gold thread. “This is all you need to fix Obsidia.”
George held out her hand to take it, and Lue glared at her.
“I’m giving it to Caleb, not you.” She placed the item onto Caleb’s outstretched palm and then jumped back and giggled. “But maybe you’d rather give it to your friends and you stay with me?”
“No,” George said firmly. “He’s coming with us. He’s part of our team.”
Caleb nodded and stepped closer to George. “Thanks for your help, Lue, but I really do have to go.”
“You ruin everything, Georgina Snaffleharp!” Lue stomped her foot and gave George a particularly nasty look before smacking her hands together with a sharp crack. There was a faint glimmer in the air, and the girl and garden both vanished.
George and Company found themselves in the middle of an ice-skating rink.
“Well … that was interesting,” Caleb said, scratching behind one ear.
“Nice to have you back, Caleb,” Mikal said.
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