Ring around the starfire,
A pocket full of flame.
Ashes, ashes,
We’ll never be the same.
Wren walked through the makeshift camp in the glimmering moonlight. Despite her exhaustion, she felt a deep sense of rightness with the world. They had done it. They had destroyed Boggen’s corrupted stardust and liberated the captives. With Boggen’s demise, for his Magician-made body could not survive without a power source, the rest of his henchmen had quickly surrendered, handing over their now-useless starspears to stone-faced Outsiders. All Wren’s allies had agreed that it would be better to camp in the valley than make the journey back to Nod overnight, but everyone was too excited to sleep.
Groups of newly freed prisoners laughed and feasted around hastily built campfires. The Outsiders had procured food from somewhere, and the smell of roasting meat filled the air. In one corner of the camp, a rotating crew of animachines guarded Boggen’s henchmen. Wren recognized one face among them. William’s scowl turned into scientific interest as she passed. She could imagine what he was thinking—how he’d like to study the girl who once was Boggen’s apprentice, the girl who had wielded starfire. His thirst for forbidden knowledge had taken him to an evil place, and after all that had happened, it still drove him. Sometimes a person could be imprisoned by invisible bonds stronger than any made of iron. Wren passed by him filled with pity. Perhaps he, too, might choose freedom one day. Until then, he would receive justice for his crimes once the new Fiddler Council was elected.
“It’s too much to have power concentrated in one person,” Winter had said, and now she was hemmed in by Auspex and a mixed crowd of city dwellers and Outsiders who were arguing politics.
“What we need is someone who can be a voice for the different groups on Nod,” Auspex said, his face serious.
Winter nodded. “Perhaps it’s time for the Knave of Hearts to lead us. All of the city dwellers respect the Knave.”
Wren felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to find Mary and Cole behind her. Their faces looked worn and haggard but also full of joy. “Well done, Wren,” Cole said solemnly, but Mary enveloped her in a hug.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Wren said with feeling. “But it’s really the Crooked Man you should thank. Without him, I’d have betrayed you all, and Boggen would still reign here.” She told Mary and Cole what had happened to her, and Cole nodded thoughtfully.
“So the Ashes were right about the Crooked Man,” he said.
“How wonderful!” Mary had tears shining in her eyes. “Not just for Nod, but for the Crooked House as well! We must let Astrid know as soon as possible. Tell the others to look through the old archives for whatever they can find about starfire.” Mary was all business again, listing the things they needed to do, but her words brought Wren up short. Wren had been so caught up in events on Nod that she hadn’t thought about Earth in some time. Or how they were going to get back there.
“But will we be able to? Return to Earth, I mean?” Wren asked in a small voice.
Mary stopped mid-instruction to Cole about how he needed to contact the Ashes immediately, her mouth working as though she hadn’t even considered the possibility of anything else.
It was Cole who answered. “The taint on the stardust is cleansed,” he said. “And we live in a city of Magicians who kept excellent research logs. We should be able to create a new gateway in time. With the help of starfire.”
“Which is why you must get a message to the Ashes immediately . . .” Mary picked up right where she had left off.
Wren felt relief wash over her. However much she liked Nod, she didn’t want to live here forever. She would have to ask Cole later how he intended to communicate with the Ashes. She thought how nice it would be to see them and to sit by the river of starfire and find out what the Crooked Man might like for her to do next. He had been right. Belonging to the starfire wasn’t like belonging to Boggen had been. Wielding the starfire was when she most felt like who she was supposed to be.
Mary and Cole were deep into their plans now, and Wren left them to it. She hoped that their guidance would help further good relationships between Magicians and Alchemists. Wren wove her way past city dwellers caught up in merrymaking. They, too, had tasted the bitterness of treachery, if only for a short while, and seemed all the more determined to celebrate their freedom.
She headed deeper into the camp, where someone handed her a mug of something frothy and tried to get her to join them for a toast, but Wren shook her head with a sigh. The only reason she couldn’t fully celebrate was that despite all they had accomplished, she still hadn’t found Vulcan. She was worried about him. The other Scavengers hadn’t seen him since the battle, and there had been no sign of him among the Outsiders, the city dwellers, or even the prisoners. Wren should know; she had stood there while hundreds of prisoners poured out of the interior cells—some as young as five years old. She was glad to see them now with smiling faces and full bellies and a promising future.
Wren wondered if Cole might know something about using Dreamopathy to contact non-Dreamers. Perhaps with his help she could try to find Vulcan that way. Wren turned back toward them, but then she stopped. A lone figure was walking away from the camp, and Wren recognized the gaunt, upright silhouette.
“Maya!” Wren called, but the older woman didn’t slow. Either she didn’t hear Wren or she didn’t care. The fading light nearly hid her from view, but Wren hurried to catch up. She hadn’t yet thanked the woman for fulfilling her part of the bargain.
The night was still and somber farther away from the camp. Wren felt the quiet envelop her like a blanket, with only the occasional laugh carrying on the air. The smell of purplevines drifted toward her, and then Wren was among them, the fragrant plants the color of twilight itself.
“Maya!” she called again, but there was no answer. Far up ahead, where the plants grew thick, there was a flash of blue-green light that flickered and grew stronger.
A starlamp? Who was out here making a starlamp? Wren made her way toward the light, but some instinct inside her warned of danger. She crept quietly forward. Now that she was trying to remain unnoticed, every move sounded blaringly loud to her ears. The crackling undergrowth echoed in the silence, and Wren was sure she would be found out.
“Maya?” she whispered. If the woman was near, perhaps they could confront this new mystery together, but when Wren arrived at the source of the light, she found no sinister person, no escaped henchman. Instead, there was a pool of shimmering liquid the color of moonlight. Wren knew at once it was touched by magic, and Maya was crouched down in front of it.
“Maya?” Wren asked quietly. “Are you all right?”
Maya stood in the shadows, her arms folded across her chest, a hard look on her face. “You know who I am, child. You know what I’ve done.”
“I know about Robin. I know you sent the nightmares.” Wren met her gaze. “I know you’re Mother Goose.”
Maya nodded grimly. “There is nothing more I can do, I’m afraid. I’m sorry that I’ve failed—I’ve failed you all.”
“What do you mean?”
Maya steeled her face for condemnation. “Because of me, thousands died.” She looked at Wren pleadingly. “You see now why I had to stop it? Why I had to keep people from using the magic? That was the only reason I touched the stardust again. To scare others away from it. I thought that if the wells were empty and the city dwellers were afraid of another plague, then they’d start over, build a magic-free colony like the Outsiders have done.” She was nearly crying now. “You see what the magic has done, don’t you, Wren? You saw what Boggen did with his research?” It was almost as if Maya was looking to Wren for absolution, as though if she could convince Wren, then she could convince herself. Maya dropped to her knees and began shaking her head, as if she was battling with two internal voices. “Sometimes one has to compromise; you see that, don’t you?”
“Maya,” Wren said gently. “I know that running from the magic will never free you from it.” She knelt down by her friend. “Your magic is a gift. You are a gift. Someone very wise taught me that.”
Maya shrugged her hand off. “I killed thousands of people, Wren. That isn’t a gift; it’s a curse.”
“It doesn’t have to be,” Wren said. “Come with us. Back to the camp. Tell the others who you are. Ask for forgiveness.”
Maya laughed a brittle laugh. “You don’t know the Outsiders, Wren. Nor the city dwellers. Best for me if I stay on my own.”
“Here?” Wren looked around the empty cavern. “How will you survive?”
Maya tightened her jaw and looked out into the dark forest. “There are Upas trees three miles that way.”
“Maya, no!” Wren remembered what Auspex had said about the trees’ deadly poison. She wouldn’t let Maya throw her life away. “Come with me.”
Robin’s voice came from the shadows. “The Outsiders will follow you. We need everyone’s help if we are going to reform Nod.” Robin’s words were hard, like she was working to get them out.
Wren realized that Robin had been listening the entire time. “You see?” Wren said. “Others will forgive you, but you will have to forgive yourself.”
Maya didn’t say anything, but silent tears streamed down her weathered cheeks. She stared in the direction of the Upas trees and then swallowed down her tears as if coming to a decision.
“I will go with you, but not for forgiveness,” she said to Wren. “Running away is too easy a fate for one such as me.” She set her face like stone. “Courage and Honor.”
Wren looked at her sadly. Maya was choosing to punish herself, but there wasn’t much Wren could do about it. She clasped her friend’s arm and gave her a warm smile. “I’m glad.” She was relieved that Maya wasn’t going to give up. Perhaps with time, Maya, like Jack, would be able to find forgiveness.
Maya led them back to camp, and when they came in sight of it, the revelry was in full swing. Music filled the air. Wild couples dancing and children swinging each other in circles greeted their eyes. As they stepped into the firelight, a ripple of curious whispers came in their direction.
At first Wren was baffled. Surely no one else knew that Maya was Mother Goose. And then she saw that the freed prisoners weren’t whispering about Maya at all, but about Robin.
“The Knave!” shouted a little girl in front of them. “The Knave of Hearts is here!” Word spread fast, and as they walked deeper into the camp, they collected an entourage. Robin had apparently spent time with every faction on Nod. Prisoners had heard about her from Boggen’s people. Outsiders knelt and gave her the strange cross-like gesture of respect. Even the city dwellers cheered at her approach.
“The Knave!” The cry resounded until Winter and the others found them. Winter drew Robin over to their fire and set her up on a rough stool someone had found.
“Good people of Nod,” Robin said in a clear, strong voice. “You have been very courageous, very long-suffering, very compassionate.” She nodded at the Outsiders, newly freed captives, and city dwellers in turn. “We all have felt the oppression of Boggen and his twisted power, and that time is over.” There was a hearty cheer for this, and Robin quieted them with her hands. “Now, we have a task in front of us. A task that will require every ounce of courage and compassion you have yet shown. The Legend of Starfire has come upon us. The old Nod has been destroyed, and we must seek the counsel of the Crooked Man in order to build anew.” She paused, looking directly at Maya. “It does us no good to dwell tight-fisted and ruminating on the wrongs of the past. We have all made mistakes, and perhaps the most grievous ones are the ones we’ve tried to hide. But now we move forward together, working to create a better, more just world for us all.” There were more cheers and whoops, and then the crowd swarmed around her. Auspex clasped hands with Robin, and Mary and Cole wanted to talk to her. Winter hovered near her shoulders and children clamored around her legs.
Wren looked past them to Simon, who was over by his animachines. She moved toward him, stopping to scratch a hovercat behind the ear, causing it to send up a machine-gun purr.
“They’re amazing,” she said to Simon.
“Have you seen the kits?” Simon said, launching into a lecture about how the hovercats were very protective of their young, as though they hadn’t all just waged a battle to save the world.
Wren rolled her eyes and followed him over to where a bundle of shiny mini-hovercats lay curled up together in a pile.
“The adults are very brave,” Simon was saying. “And fierce, too.” His monologue trailed to a stop. “Like you, Wren. I’m glad we’re friends.”
Wren glanced up in surprise. Simon was studying the hovercats clinically and had moved on from compliments to a speech about what kind of diet the kits needed.
“Me, too, Simon,” Wren said. At first she wasn’t sure he heard, since he barely even paused, but the tips of his ears grew red, and he gave her a shy smile between explanations of grain types and water sources. Soon he had a new audience. Rocky and Silver came over to introduce Wren to a bedraggled couple that must be their parents, and Simon somehow roped them into helping feed the kits their evening meal.
From across the way Wren heard music, something that sounded like a fiddle, and then there was laughter and calls for more dancing. Maya was stoically approaching a cluster of Outsiders, and Wren hoped she would find the courage needed to forgive herself and escape her burden of condemnation. There was Jack, sitting up against a wagon with a plate piled high with food, laughing and making jokes with a handful of Scavengers. He looked up and caught Wren’s eye. For the first time in as long as she could remember, Jack’s face looked truly happy. The gauntness and cynical smile had been replaced with carefree laughter. Someday, she wanted to hear the full story, what exactly he had seen at the river of starfire and what the Crooked Man had said to him. A very pretty Scavenger girl sitting next to Jack was frowning suspiciously at Wren, especially when Jack raised his cup toward Wren with a happy wink. There would be time for stories with Jack later. For now, she was glad to see that he, too, was free.
Wren sighed contentedly and reached for a mug and plate from a jovial city dweller who was passing them out to anyone with empty hands. Now she could celebrate. All was well on Nod, and, even better, all might be made well between Nod and Earth. She wished the Crooked Man could be here to see this, to see how everything had worked out in the end. But perhaps, she thought, as she looked out on the twinkling stars in the heavens, he already was.
And then Vulcan was there, one hand extended toward her, an inviting smile on his handsome face. “Wren,” he said. “Would you like to dance?”
Wren set her plate and mug down with a grin, a warm feeling replacing the space where the tightly shut up box used to be. “I’d like that very much.” She took Vulcan’s hand, and together they danced out into the warmth and life of the music.