Page 63 of Tomb of Ancients
Chapter Thirty-One
We buried Mother’s body at sunset, in a hollowed-out cave beneath the house. I hoped that when the mansion was torn down, her roots and branches would spread through the foundation and become something lovely on the site of so much pain.
I left Mr. Morningside the diary, placing it just outside the green door in the foyer, the one that marked the entrance to his subterranean domain. Inside the cover, I had inscribed Dalton’s final message for him.
Tell him I was wrong. He can be more than he is. There’s still time.
“What will you do now?”
Lee had finished packing his things, which fit neatly into the small case he had arrived with when he came to Coldthistle House with his uncle. We stood outside in the late autumn air, the day after the battle. Chijioke and Fathom worked to load Giles’s body, wrapped tightly in a sheet, into the wagon that would carry Niles back to Derridon. The undertaker had not survived the night, and a somber, still mood had fallen upon the house. Nobody spoke in tones above a whisper. No meals were served. We found our tea and sustenance on our own and ate in silence, for nobody knew quite what to say.
“I thought I might go home,” Lee said, sitting down on thegray stone stoop. The spoon necklace had been tucked under his shirt, and he wore a fine coat that he had saved from his initial travel to Yorkshire. “Things will feel much different there, now that I am, well, as I am. But more than that”—he looked into the middle distance and breathed deep—“now that I know that I was not the cause of my guardian’s death, it might be easier to be at peace. Oh, I don’t know. I’ve been in this strange, new form for so long now, it will be difficult to be only among normal humans again. I have no idea if I can inherit anymore, but I should like very much to see my family again.”
“It won’t be easy,” I told him. “I never really found my way in London. When you’ve seen all that we have seen, the mundane world begins to lose its shine. I hope you fare better than I did, and I hope your family accepts you just as you are.”
Family.The word did indeed have its draw. I gazed around at the assembled friends and former colleagues, who had all changed into shawls and cloaks for travel. Nobody fancied staying any longer at Coldthistle House, not when it was empty and even more dreary, the windows blown out, the turrets crooked and charred. No more Residents prowled the corridors. No more birdsong greeted one when dawn came.
“You know you are more than welcome to join us,” I told him. I had bathed and changed into a simple black frock, one of my old uniforms, but chose to keep the pack with the remade book close to me at all times. It felt like a talisman, or perhaps, a charge. “It will be a long ride north, but there are places tostop along the way. Might be a pleasant ride, you know, if taken with friends.”
Lee nodded, his blond curls bouncing, and he gave me a good-natured smirk. “Will the post reach you if I try to write? Perhaps when I have had my fill of family I can come and see what your world is like.”
“There will always be room for you,” I said, pressing his hand. “And about the post... Well, why don’t you put down your address, and I will see what can be done about it.”
Chuckling, Lee dug into his bag, bringing out a bit of parchment. Inside, I saw a flash of yellowed paper, rolled up. The page from the Black Elbion. He would need it with him always, but at least it would allow him some sense of freedom.
“There you are.” He stood, handing me the slip of parchment. “Now it looks like they are ready to depart. I thought I should go with Niles as far as Derridon, and from there I will find my way home.”
We clasped hands, and then he pulled me into an embrace, mindful of my arm. But I knew it would not be the last time we met. I longed for him to see home, as I had never imagined it might happen again, but he was now a creature of shadow and magic, and one day he would need a place where that was not shocking at all. Standing on the stoop, I watched as he said his goodbyes to the others, then climbed into the wagon with Niles. The two men turned in the driver’s box and waved, and my heart clenched a little in loss or regret as they rumbled out ofthe drive, making their way to different homes, both shrouded in sadness.
“And you?” I followed the rut of the wheel left in the gravel, tracing it to Fathom, who watched the wagon disappear with one hand tucked above her eyes, just under her dashing tricorn hat. “Will you be accompanying us or taking up the safe house in Deptford?” I asked.
“Neither.” Fathom shook her head, picking thoughtfully at a bandage on her hand. Of all of us, she seemed to have escaped the battle mostly unscathed, which was quite the feat for a human. “I’m off, I think. Somewhere far. Too many memories back in Deptford. Too raw. I have a friend in Massachusetts, Lucy, whom I should look in on. She’ll put up with me for a while, at least.” She chuckled and knocked me gently on the good shoulder. “Come see America, Louisa. Plenty of spooky nonsense there, and I don’t just mean the politics.”
She had procured a horse from the stables, and she jumped up onto it with practiced ease.
“I’m sorry for what happened to Dalton,” I told her, glancing away. “He spoke fondly of you at the end.”
Fathom gave another bawdy laugh and tipped her hat to me, wrangling the horse toward the road. “Of course he did. Crazy ginger always did have a thing for me. And he was one of the rare good ones. The good ones don’t last long in this world, and he lasted longer than most. Living in that safe house, I saw alot of folks come and go, but Dalton was always there, always dependable. It just wouldn’t be the same there now that he’s on his own adventure.”
With that, she was gone, dust covering her departure as she sped out of the drive and south, toward distant London.
And there was, of course, the looming question of where Poppy, Mary, and Chijioke would go. Bartholomew would follow wherever the little girl went, and they, along with Khent, waited expectantly by the final two carriages, one riddled with holes from the Tarasque, the other the light and fast phaeton Niles and Dalton had driven up from St. Albans.
“You’re packed,” I said, with some surprise, finding that while I’d said goodbye to Lee and Fathom, Mary had carried out a number of overstuffed bags, including one filled with silver and trinkets, no doubt to sell. I had considered that they might want to join me, but after so many broken families, I never allowed myself to truly believe it. “I thought...”
I had no idea how to even begin. “But in the spring, when I bargained for your contracts to be severed... Well, I thought you all wanted to stay.”
“We did.Then.” Chijioke took Mary’s hand and picked up one of the bags. “There isn’t anything left for us here, and Mr. Morningside... Well, he almost got us all killed, and I might not love the Upworlders, but it was ugly business. If he thought he could make us fight his battles for him and do his biddingforever, then he had things seriously twisted around. I don’t want to stay here another minute and watch him put you or Mary in danger again.”
“And you’re right,” Mary added with a sheepish smile. “With how hard it’s all been, we thought it best to stick together. Family-like, you see. We’re all eager to be away from here.”
Poppy nodded, but then seemed to change her mind, glancing back at the house. She frowned, and marched up to me, tugging hard on my skirts. “Bartholomew comes, too! He comes with, or I won’t go at all.”
The dog howled in agreement.
“Of course,” I said, tossing Khent a glance. “Canines are welcome in this family.”
Khent rolled his eyes, grabbing two of the packed cases and taking them toward the larger carriage. “I am much cleaner than that thing. And better behaved.”
