Page 114 of Ink Blood Sister Scribe

At the sound of Esther’s voice, he jerked his head up and threw open the car door, and a second later Joanna found herself wrapped in a hug so tight she had to pound his back to get him to loosen his grip.

“Collins, let her breathe,” Esther said.

“Sorry, sorry,” Collins said, then shoved Joanna away so he could hold her at arm’s length and stare at her, grinning madly, before he reeled her back in. She was grinning, too, a smile she hid against the soft crinkle of his puffy black jacket. He had poured on a too-sweet cologne that made the back of her throat itch, but she didn’t mind one bit. By the time he let her go, her nerves were calmed, and excitement had taken their place.

He hugged Esther, too, who only came up to his armpit and was so swallowed by his embrace that only her legs were visible, then he led them to the car and flung open the doors for them to get in.

“No luggage, right?” he said, and they shook their heads. Joanna had put her suitcase through the mirror in Vermont rather than checking it, so she was unencumbered by luggage aside from a small leather backpack she’d gotten years ago at an estate sale.

She knew people drove on the other side of the road here but still it felt wrong to climb into what she thought of as the driver’s seat, Collins behind the wheel to her right. She palmed the dashboard nervously as he pulled out into the line of Heathrow traffic.

“Nice car,” Esther said from the back. She was sitting all the way on the edge of the middle seat, practically between Collins and Joanna.

“Buckle up,” said Collins. “We got about an hour and a half drive.” He was still grinning, and he slammed on his turn signal with far more force than necessary. “Welcome to Ye Olde Merry England. How was baby’s first plane ride?”

“I loved it,” said Joanna. “They kept giving us snacks. Here, I brought you a souvenir.” She dug around in her backpack and came up with a plastic-wrapped brownie, which she dropped into Collins’s waiting palm.

“First class is wild,” said Esther, as Collins ripped into the package with his teeth and spat a piece of plastic off his tongue. “The seats are—”

She broke off abruptly, and Joanna swiveled in her seat to find her sister staring down at her cell phone, her face completely still, her shoulders slightly hunched as if against a blow. Alarm clanged through Joanna’s body.

“What?” Collins said, eyes flicking from the highway to the rearview mirror and back.

“Pearl called,” Esther said.

Joanna let out her breath. “Isn’t that good?”

“I don’t know yet.”

“Did she leave a message?”

“No.” Esther put a hand to her throat and closed her eyes. “She must have read the book.”

Esther had agonized for days over which book to send to the research base, which book to send to give Pearl proof of magic. It had to be romantic, but not cheesy; amazing, but not disquieting; beautiful, but not frighteningly so. She’d had finally settled on a Library book Nicholas had offered, which made any nearby plant sprout clusters of golden berries that rang like bells, and mailed the book with specific instructions that Pearl should go to the greenhouse, prick her finger, and read without stopping until she believed.

Joanna knew it wasn’t only magic that Esther was asking Pearl to believe in.

Suddenly, the phone in Esther’s hand let out a long, low trill, and everyone in the car jumped.

“Oh my god,” Esther said, her voice quavery, her face ashen. “It’s Pearl. It’s a video call. What do I do?”

Collins punched on the car radio and tossed a cable from the console into the back seat. “Put her on speaker!”

“Fuck off,” Esther said, throwing the cable back, then she sat up straight, squared her shoulders and pulled her hair out of its ponytail. “How do I look?”

“Magical,” said Joanna.

Esther swiped her thumb across the phone screen and said, “Hello?”

There was no sound in the car but the swish of the tires on the highway, and Joanna’s heart began to plummet... until, audible even from the weak phone speaker, there came the round chime of fruiting bells. Estherheld a hand over her mouth, her eyes filling with tears, and a woman’s voice said, “This is absolutely mad. The tomatoes areringing,Esther.”

Collins said loudly, “She’sAustralian?”

Esther was wiping her eyes and beaming down at her phone. “They’ll stop eventually,” she said. “Oh my god, Pearl. I am so happy to see your face.”

“This doesn’t quite make up for ditching me in Antarctica with memory loss and a broken arm,” said Pearl, “but it’s an excellent step forward.”

“What’s the next step?” Esther said.

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