by Erin Bowman
The floor seemed to shift beneath Piper. This was it. It was really happening—the moment she’d been dreading.
“I’ll pack my bag,” she said numbly.
“I can’t take you,” Sophia said in a bored tone.
“What? But Aunt Eva—”
“Gave a bunch of orders to the message machine,” Sophia finished. “She never actually spoke to me. It’s the middle of the night; I don’t pick up calls at this hour. But I’ve passed along her message, so that’s the end of it.” She turned away.
“Wait!” Piper bolted into the hall, blocking her mother’s path. “You don’t love me, I get that. You never wanted me or hated that I took you away from this estate or whatever dumb reason you have for ignoring me all these years. But I love my dad. And he’s dying, Mom. He’s dying.” Sophia wasn’t even looking at Piper, so she grabbed her mother’s arm. “You have to take me to him.”
Sophia flinched from the touch, and her gaze jerked to meet Piper’s. The gold flecks in her eyes seemed to wink out, a trick of the dimly lit halls.
“Piper,” she murmured, and she looked at her daughter sadly.
“Didn’t you ever love him, at least? Don’t you want to say good-bye?”
“I think … It’s late, but … Yes, I can probably drive you. If I can remember where the keys are.” She touched her forehead gingerly, cringing as if from a headache.
“I’ll help you search,” Piper said.
A meow sounded down the hall, and the Persian slunk into view. Sophia lowered her hand from her brow and stood straighter. “Actually, I have an even better idea.” Her eyes glinted brighter now, flashing gold. The corner of her mouth lifted into a smirk. “I’ll search for the car keys while you search for the elixir.”
“What?” Piper grabbed her mother’s arm again, but this time, Sophia merely shook her off. “Mom, he’s dying. We have to go to the hospital. Now! I don’t know how much longer he has.”
Sophia didn’t so much as blink. “It’s very simple: bring me the elixir and I’ll bring you to the hospital. That’s the deal.” Then she strode for the stairs, the Persian flicking its tail as it followed.
Chapter Twenty-Two Gold to Silver
This time, it was Piper’s turn to burst into someone else’s room unannounced. Julius was sleeping—or had been. His grumbles sounded a lot like Go away before he rolled over and buried his head beneath the pillow.
“Where’s Camilla?” Piper demanded.
“In her room, sleeping, probably. But not me. No, I love being woken up at …” Julius checked the clock on his nightstand. “Three in the morning.”
“Get dressed,” Piper said, grabbing the bedsheets and ripping them back. “We’re going into the garden. Now.”
Julius grappled for the sheets. “It’s the middle of the night.”
Piper threw open the closet. “Am I picking your clothes, or do you want to?”
“Okay, okay, I’m up.” Julius swung his feet out of the bed. “We’re going to get caught, though. You do realize that? There’s no way we’ll make it through the house, onto the patio, and into the garden without the Persian spotting us.”
“We can if I make us all invisible.”
Julius’s eyes widened. “Can you even do that?”
“I was able to keep an envelope I lifted from my grandma’s office invisible. So I think I can do it for you, too.”
Julius scrunched up his face. “People are more complex than envelopes.”
“I made Teddy invisible with me in the fear portal.”
“What the heck is a fear portal?”
“It was the first trial. We had to face our greatest fears.”
“So you were scared, and therefore acting on adrenaline, and that is so not the same as what you’re proposing.”
Piper let out a growl of annoyance. There wasn’t time for this. “Julius!” she snapped, flinging a hand at the closet. “Get. Dressed. Now!”
“Are you sure this can’t wait? Why can’t we go in the morning?” He was looking at her the way Camilla had earlier, suspicious and doubtful, and even still, Piper knew she couldn’t tell him the truth. If she did, after all this time lying, he’d never help her.
“Because I realized this is our best chance,” she said. “Tomorrow is Tuesday. Well, technically today is, since it’s after midnight. But the point is now is the best time. If we wait till morning and skip laundry duty, my mom will know we’re up to something. And if we disappear in the afternoon during garden duty, she’ll know we got in. But now, at three a.m. …”
“She won’t have a clue what we’ve been up to,” Julius said, finally following.
“Exactly!” Piper said. “Now please: get dressed!”
* * *
Twenty minutes later a very tired, very grumpy group of invisible children stepped onto the patio.
Camilla, much like Julius, was quite upset about being awake in the middle of the night, and Kenji was more confused than annoyed. They’d only been able to give him a quick rundown on what was happening, and while he understood the general plan, he still didn’t seem to grasp how Piper had found a way into the garden to begin with. He also didn’t seem to care. He was so excited that Teddy was alive and well, and that he’d soon be reunited with his best friend, that he shot from bed and dressed without complaint.
Piper still wasn’t sure how she’d ever manage to get the elixir to her father when the three of them intended to teleport off in search of Mrs. Mallory the second they found it, maybe even with Teddy in tow. But she wasn’t really in a position to give it much thought. Julius had been right: people were far more complex than envelopes.
Wrapping her invisibility around herself had become second nature. But to extend it to another being, one with limbs that bent and eyes that blinked and a head that turned and hair that swayed? It was nearly impossible. Piper had been tired when they reached Camilla’s room, winded at Kenji’s, and straight-out sweating by the time they were on the patio.
She wasn’t going to be able to keep this up. Not when they climbed the stag. Her legs felt like jelly. Her breath was coming in gasps. At least in the house, the children had been able to mirror Piper’s actions. Moving in step with her. But now they’d have to jump through the garden’s entrance one at a time, and Piper felt the weight of her invisibility tripling with each second. She was going to faint if she didn’t drop her affinity soon.
“So I just … dive forward?” Julius whispered. He was standing atop the headless stag, waggling his fingers at the air ahead. Piper could still see him, just as she could see her own limbs, trembling with exhaustion. In fact, anyone currently under her affinity’s blanket could see one another.
Piper nodded to answer Julius’s question. It was all she could manage.
“I’m going to break my neck.”
“Just go,” Camilla hissed, eyeing the sweat on Piper’s forehead. “Piper isn’t going to last much longer.”
Julius nodded and jumped. Even before he disappeared through the portal, Piper knew it wouldn’t end well. His body had been splayed out all wrong. There was no way he’d get his feet back under him properly.
Camilla was next, then Kenji, and when they vanished, the relief was so immense, Piper collapsed to her knees. As she hit the damp stones, she felt the cool evening press in around her. The warmth of her invisibility was gone.
She reached inward, searching for her affinity, but she was empty. Completely used up. So drained she couldn’t even sense it.
She’d never experienced this before. Was it gone forever? No: like Julius said, she was a well. Even though she felt bone dry, she just needed time to recharge. Trying not to dwell on the hollow feeling in her core, Piper shoved to her feet, wearily climbed the stag, and jumped through the entrance before her muscles could give out completely.
* * *
She landed sloppily, but without twisting an ankle, and then lay back in the grass, panting. Overhead, the stars winked.
“I think I
broke my wrist!” Julius was howling. “Don’t touch it, Camilla.”
“Stop being a baby.”
“Can’t you see how swollen it is? It’s amazing I didn’t break the other one after you landed on me!”
“Shut up! If you just hold still, I can try to heal the bone.”
“I’m a living organism, no thank you.”
“But bones are just—”
“Full of live cells and blood and marrow, and thank you for wanting to help but GET THAT AMPLIFIER AWAY FROM ME!”
“Fine, jeez.” Camilla pocketed her gold coin. “I’ll save it for the fountain.”
“Holy hallows,” a groggy voice said, and a flashlight cut through the darkness. “Julius? Camilla? What are you doing here?” Teddy staggered up the oak alley. Behind him, the garden was aglow, millions of tiny white lights strung up like Christmas, making every tree trunk and branch twinkle. Piper had forgotten how beautiful it was at night. She’d seen it like this only once—on the evening she’d looked through Julius’s spyglass from his balcony and seen the entrance portal above the stag.
“Teddy!” Kenji shouted.
Teddy’s eyes bulged. “Kenji!”
The boys sprinted to each other, colliding in a hug that nearly knocked them off their feet.
“You’re not dead! You’re really not dead!” Kenji exclaimed.
Teddy broke away from his friend. “What’s going on?” he asked, passing the flashlight over them. “Why are you all here at …” He froze when he saw Piper. “Oh my God. What happened? Do we need to get it for him right now?”
“Everything’s fine,” Piper said, forcing a smile.
“Get what for who?” Camilla asked, squinting between Piper and Teddy.
“We’re here,” Piper said to Teddy, “because you guys deserve to be adopted. Camilla will help us beat the second trial, and then we can all face the third trial and get the elixir together. It’s your ticket to a permanent home. Kenji’s gonna jump you guys—and the elixir—around until you find my grandma.”
“She’ll honor the adoption promise Mrs. Peavey made us,” Julius said. “I’m sure of it.”
“But we had to come for the elixir now,” Kenji explained, “when Mrs. Peavey and the Persian aren’t watching.”
Teddy frowned, unconvinced. Was the look on Piper’s face that obvious? She thought about her father, the smile that didn’t reach his eyes. Was that what had happened right now, when she’d forced a smile at Teddy? It was the only thing that could explain why the most trusting person she’d ever met was able to see through her so easily.
“We need to get to the fountain of Fates,” she said urgently. “The quicker we do this, the better.”
They set off, and Piper could hear audible gasps from Julius, Camilla, and Kenji. They’d never been in this version of the garden—alive and lush—and with the lights making every surface sparkle like crystallized snow, it was extra magical.
“It’s something at night, huh?” Teddy said. “Who knew the original members of the HOM moonlighted as Christmas elves?”
Piper shot him a look.
“Right,” he said, clearing his throat. “To the fountain.”
Teddy brought them to the pool where he and Piper had solved the riddles, and showed Camilla the sealed keyholes and how the Fates’ threads had turned from gold to silver. Then the group made their way east, Julius, Camilla, and Kenji taking in every detail of the live garden like wide-eyed children.
Teddy bumped Piper’s shoulder as they walked. “What’s really going on?” he whispered.
“We just have to get the elixir. Quickly.” Piper couldn’t say the truth out loud. If she did, she’d break down, and there was no time for that. Every second counted.
“You look … like you’re not telling me something.”
“This from the boy who trusts everyone.”
“I just …” Teddy bit his lip and searched her eyes. “If something’s wrong, you can tell me. You know that, right?”
Piper wasn’t sure what did it. Maybe it was the look on his face, pleading and sincere. Maybe it was the fact that she liked how there were no secrets between them, how it made her wonder if this was what it felt like to have a sibling—someone you could count on and confide in. Maybe, above all else, she was just tired of carrying the weight of her grief alone. He’d supported her in the fear portal. He’d support her again now.
She glanced toward the others. They’d pulled ahead of Piper and Teddy and were thoroughly distracted by the vibrant garden, so Piper whispered an update.
“My aunt Eva called. My dad doesn’t have much longer. She said I need to get to the hospital, but my mom refused to drive me—unless I brought her the elixir. So here we are.”
“I’m so sorry, Piper.” He reached out and squeezed her hand. It was quiet for a moment before he asked, “What about how you promised the others they could use the elixir to get adopted?”
Piper grimaced. “You guys do deserve a home—a real one—but I have to bring the elixir to my dad. He needs it so badly, and I can’t risk my mom getting her hands on it.” She explained what she’d found in Melena’s office and how there was now more proof than ever that Sophia Peavey was after the elixir for all the wrong reasons—and that she’d somehow gotten Melena out of the way to do it. “If I get the elixir, my mom promised she’d take me to the hospital. And then I’ll figure out how to give it to my dad and use it up. I won’t let her keep it.”
“I guess your mom really was the bad guy all this time, huh?” He glanced at his feet, embarrassed.
“Julius and Camilla will be furious at first. But if I give the elixir to my dad, it will be as good as concealed, just as the HOM wanted, and then my dad can see to getting you guys all into good homes. It will all work out. I’ll make sure it does. I just hope they’ll forgive me in the end. I’ve lied about so much.”
“Don’t worry about them. Everything will be great,” Teddy said, giving her shoulder a bump. “We’re getting that elixir to your dad. I promise.”
She glanced at him, heart swelling. “Thanks, Teddy. But I don’t even know if that’s possible at this point. Julius wants Kenji to teleport us away from Mallory Estate the second we have the elixir.”
“I’ll talk to Kenji while Camilla sees to the Fate statues. Maybe there’s a way he can bring—”
“We’re here,” Julius said from ahead, cutting their conversation short.
They waded into the water of the eastern fountain, and Camilla pulled out her amplifier. She saw to the keyholes first, squeezing her gold coin in her palm as she sealed them shut. Then she moved on to the statues. Piper watched in awe as a metallic sheen worked its way over the Fates’ threads, painting the gold silver. Camilla exhaled heavily as she pocketed her coin.
A stillness spread through the garden, so quiet Piper could make out nearby crickets. “The fountains stopped,” she realized aloud.
Teddy moved his flashlight over the pool, and sure enough, the spouts spread throughout were inactive. “Check them!” he said.
The group sloshed through the water. “Over here!” Julius called from the first Fate. “It’s … half a key?” He lifted something from the top of the spout and held it up for the rest of them to see. It was a dull metal and shaped like a regular house key, only sliced in half lengthwise.
“I know where the other piece will be,” Piper said, racing from the fountain and sprinting across the garden. On the same spout, in the western fountain of Fates, was the second half.
Julius handed the first piece over, and like two magnets joining, they sprang together.
Piper held the key between her thumb and forefinger, pulse pounding. This was it, the key to the final trial.
Chapter Twenty-Three The Infinity Pool
Teddy led the way. The sky was just beginning to lighten when they reached the infinity pool, and the water was the deepest shade of purple-black. Lights from the nearby trees glinted off the surface, making it impossible to see the stai
rs that curled around the central pedestal and descended into the water.
“So there’s just one problem,” Teddy said, and pointed his flashlight to where the infinity symbol twisted in the light breeze. The beam of light hit the sculpture’s base, where a keyhole waited. “I don’t think we can reach it.”
He was right. Even with a running jump, the pedestal was too far, an unreachable island in the center of a deadly pool of water.
“What are you talking about?” Camilla kicked off her flip-flops. “Gimme the key. I’ll swim to it.”
“No!” Piper and Teddy yelled together. They quickly explained why, and Teddy tossed a few blades of grass in to illustrate their point.
“Are you guys forgetting that I can teleport?” Kenji said, clearly offended. “Give me the key. I’ll do it.”
“You’ve never been to that exact spot before,” Piper said, pointing at the pedestal. “You can see it, sure, but what if you misjudge the distance? If you land in the water, you’ll drown.”
“Hang on!” Julius expanded his spyglass—awkwardly with his injured wrist—and examined the pool. “There’s something here—residue of the work of a magi. Everything’s … fuzzy.”
“Can I look?” Piper asked. “If there was any sort of invisibility spell performed, I have a feeling only I’ll be able to see it.”
Julius handed her the spyglass. She peered through the eyepiece. And there it was, a small stone bridge that extended from the edge of the pool where they were standing, across the water, and to the pedestal in the center. Piper’s amplifier warmed against her chest at the sight of the hidden walkway.
She clacked the spyglass shut and gave it back to Julius. Then she walked forward.
Without his amplifier, she could no longer see the bridge, but she could practically feel it—a warmth tugging her forward.
“Piper, wait!” Teddy yelled.
But her foot hit something solid, and the others gasped as she moved ahead, seemingly floating in air.
