Oliver caught a flash of butterscotch. Then suddenly, Hazel came into view beside him. Her gray eyes sparkled with joy.
“I’m so happy to see you,” she exclaimed.
“Hazel,” he replied, emotion making his voice crack. He’d really thought he’d never see her again.
She looked him in the eye.
“You did it!” she cried. “You saved the school!”
“I guess so,” Oliver replied, though his mind was spinning.
Everything had happened so quickly. The fight with Chris. The time vortex. His clothes were still soaked.
“Why so glum?” Hazel cried as she threw her arms around him. “You did it!”
“I guess so,” Oliver replied in a daze.
Then over her shoulder he caught sight of two more familiar faces. One was pale in complexion, the other dark.
“Simon! Walter!” Oliver called out.
The two boys hurried over and threw their arms around Hazel and Oliver. Then Ralph and Esther came over and joined the huddle.
It felt so great to be reunited again. Oliver would happily let this moment last forever.
“What’s that smell?” Walter said.
They drew out of the embrace.
“That would be the River Thames,” Ralph said, looking down at his soaked clothes. “It’s pretty smelly.”
Hazel was polite enough to ignore the smell. “So are you back for good?” she asked Oliver and Esther.
“If Professor Amethyst hasn’t expelled me for running off,” Esther replied, her cheeks growing pink.
Oliver pondered the question himself. He had no idea where he stood at the moment, whether he was a part of the school or not. “If he’ll let me back,” he added.
“Of course he will,” Walter said. “You’re one of us!”
Oliver smiled, feeling so welcome and included in the group.
Hazel linked arms with him. “Come on, there’s going to be a party in the hall. A celebration.”
“Food,” Simon said in his posh English accent. “Merriment. It will be most splendid.”
Walter slapped Oliver on the back. “Then maybe after you’ve eaten we could play a game of switchit?”
Oliver laughed. As much as he’d love to play switchit with Walter again, he was beyond exhausted.
“Maybe after a long night in the sleep pod,” he said. “We’ve been awake for… well, I think it’s been forty-eight hours now.”
His head spun just thinking of it. Two days, and yet at the same time, thousands of years. What a journey they’d been on!
The group headed into the hall. At once, the sound of applause sounded out. Oliver gasped, looking around at all the teachers and students cheering for them. He felt a swell of pride.
Music began to play. Oliver noticed then that there were tables covered in the School for Seers’ amazing spread of crazy foods. The party commenced.
Professor Amethyst came over to him and placed a firm hand on his shoulder.
“Oliver Blue, I knew you wouldn’t let me down.”
Oliver looked up into his wise eyes. There was a nagging feeling in his stomach. “What happened after we left though? To Sister Judith and the students from the London School for the Future-Sighted? Are they okay?”
Professor Amethyst smiled kindly. “The light prevails in that particular battle. You chose the correct portal and in doing so, closed it up. That allowed Sister Judith and the other celestial mothers to spread rumors amongst the dark army that you’d escaped through a portal. They found the decoy on the banks. It led them straight back to the depths from which they came. But tell me. How did you know which one to choose?”
“It was Newton, actually,” Oliver said. “He gave me a tincture of a liquid that would help me see the magic. Esther glowed yellow. So did the portal. I figured if she was good, then the yellow door must be good as well.”
Professor Amethyst smiled. “How very wise. And you helped him too of course. Showing him the Obsidian knife gave him the last piece of the puzzle. Thanks to you he and the Alchemists Guild discovered many amazing things we seers use today. Their published work is well over one million words!”
“I thought Newton’s alchemy work never saw the light of day,” Oliver replied.
“Not in the human world,” Professor Amethyst said with a chuckle. “But in the seer world, their books are bestsellers.”
Oliver allowed himself a small smile. He was relieved and somewhat placated to know everyone was okay. But there was one thought still worrying him. “Tell me. What about Chris? What happens to my brother?”
In spite of everything Chris had put him through, Oliver still wished no harm to him. If he allowed himself even an inch of hatred toward Chris then that would be letting in a bit of the dark side he needed to fight.
“That remains to be seen,” the headmaster replied. “He took the mark of the Obsidians. He swallowed dark matter. He belongs to them. His future is very uncertain.”
Oliver nodded gravely. “So those aren’t seer powers she gave him? It doesn’t work that way.”
Professor Amethyst gave a noncommittal bob of the head. “You’re only half right. The powers Chris took in are seer powers. The nuclear specialism. It is a type that was banished. It’s far too dangerous. Extremely volatile. They’re powers that belong in the dark world, not in a human boy.”
The tone of his voice was very somber. Oliver did not need to ask for clarification to know that whatever Chris had done to himself, it was very bad.
“And how was my friend Newton?” Professor Amethyst asked.
“He was a great help,” Oliver explained. “This alchemy recipe helped us to find where the Orb of Kandra was hidden. And his spyglass showed us the portal in the end. We’d never have succeeded without him.” He gestured to Ralph and Esther, including them in his comment. Then he pulled out the amulet, which was searing hot now in his palm. “And also this. It showed us the way out of a crisis at the last moment.”
A smile spread across Professor Amethyst’s lips. “I suppose you won’t have much need for that anymore?”
Oliver frowned. “Why not?”
“Because you’re coming back to the School for Seers, of course,” Professor Amethyst said.
Oliver’s mouth gaped open. “Really? I can come back for good?”
“Of course!” the professor said. “A seer like you must be trained. So, what do you say? Will you come back?”
Oliver nodded vigorously. “Of course. Of course.”
Then he suddenly remembered his quest to find his parents. He’d had to abandon it because of the Orb of Kandra. But he was still desperate to know where they were. To find Maggie and Teddy. To meet them face to face.
“There is one thing, though,” Oliver said to Professor Amethyst. “I want to find my parents.”
Professor Amethyst nodded. “I understand. We’ll help you with your search. When the time is right, you may of course leave to find them.”
Oliver felt a swell of excitement. The headmaster would help him in his quest to find his parents? It was like a dream!
He took off the amulet and handed it back to Professor Amethyst. “In which case, you’re right. I shan’t be needing this anymore.”
Professor Amethyst squeezed his shoulder. “It’s good to have you home, Oliver Blue.”
Oliver left the professor and went over to his group of friends, who were all dancing with abandon to the music. Hazel spun him, then Walter ruffled his hair. Simon grabbed his hand, raising it into the air like he was a boxer who’d just won in the ring, while Ralph clapped him on the back several times.
That’s when Oliver realized Esther was not among them. He glanced about, looking for her.
When he finally caught sight of her he realized she did not appear to be enjoying the party one bit. She was stood at the side of the hall holding a drink, taking just the smallest of sips. Oliver noticed her skin looked paler since they’d come back to the School for Seers.
Concern leapt into his chest.
“Excuse me one moment,” he said, leaving his group.
He approached Esther. She looked up as he drew closer.
“Oliver,” she said, smiling thinly. Her voice sounded weak, like she was exhausted and struggling to stay awake.
Oliver rested his back against the wall beside her.
“What’s up?” he asked. “You don’t seem to be in the celebrating mood.”
Esther shook her head. “Nothing. Just … processing everything.”
But Oliver could tell that wasn’t it. He knew Esther well enough by now. She was hiding something. In fact, she’d had something on her mind the second she’d arrived in Boston.
He nudged her with his shoulder. “Please, Esther. Whatever it is, you can tell me.”
She held his gaze for a long moment. Then finally she nodded, slowly.
“Okay. But not here. Let’s get some privacy.”
*
Esther and Oliver strolled slowly through the gardens of the School for Seers. It was the site of their first date. So much had happened since then. Oliver felt like a completely different person.
He glanced over at Esther. Her expression was drawn. She clearly had something on her mind.
“You didn’t ask me to come here for a date, did you?” Oliver asked.
His stomach swirled with anguish. The anticipation was unbearable.
“Let’s sit,” Esther said, gesturing to a collection of tree stumps.
They both sat down. Esther reached out and took Oliver’s hands. She looked into his eyes earnestly.
“When I first showed up in Boston, you asked me why I’d left the school.”
Oliver nodded. “Yes.”
“I lied to you about why.”
He felt his chest sink. It had been too good to be true, really, that Esther would have sacrificed her life at the School for Seers because she loved him.
“Oh…” he said sadly.
Esther squeezed his hand. “Not like that. Don’t be silly. I still followed you because I wanted to be with you. But that was because… because I wanted to spend my last months with you.”
Oliver’s head snapped up. “What do you mean, last months?”
The sudden change in course from what he’d been expecting her to say took him by surprise. What was Esther talking about?
“I’m dying, Oliver.”