13 GRIFFIN

THE FENN FAMILY had every intention of going straight to the lighthouse, but the boat stubbornly ferried them to the aerie where the Levitator waited, shifting his weight first to one foot, then the other, like a child who’s been scolded.

As the boat neared the platform, he called out, “I did what you asked.”

The Fenns looked from one to the other, perplexed. Griffin rubbed the backs of his hands against his eyes. Why did the Levitator have to be so mysterious all the time? Couldn’t he ever just come out and say anything?

Philip froze, half in, half out of the boat. “Wait—you mean the Keepers? You made contact?”

“Even better.” The Levitator swept his arm toward the aerie. “Follow me.”

Griffin hurried to catch up, only to slam into his dad’s back when he rounded the corner. He peered around Philip’s shoulder. An elderly woman with deep lines carved into the skin beside her mouth stood alone, gripping her own elbows as if she were struggling to hold herself together. Her braids were white as the mists that enveloped her, ending in tufts that curled up to tickle her earlobes. She was dressed in a pilled sweater and baggy corduroys tucked into a pair of worn boots.

“Beatrix?” Griffin cried.

“You!” She unfolded her arms and pointed right at him. More lines crisscrossed her forehead. “You nicked my stola. I got in big trouble for that.”

Griffin rushed forward to grasp Beatrix’s hand in both of his. “I’m sorry—I never meant for you to take the blame. You were so nice to me. But I had to get my dad back, and none of the Keepers would listen to me. Good thing I did go, otherwise maybe we never would have realized…”

Beatrix gasped, her mouth dropping open. Her eyes were fixed on something, or rather someone, behind Griffin.

“Katherine?” Beatrix breathed. “Am I dreaming?”

Griffin’s mom stepped forward and wrapped her arms around the older woman. “Thank you for taking care of my boy when he was all alone.”

The frustration Griffin had felt toward the Levitator fizzled and burned out completely. He probably had no idea which one of the Keepers he’d dragged through the portal, and yet Beatrix was exactly who the Fenns needed. It wasn’t only that the way her brain worked lined up with the sort of help they needed—it was more than that. When his dad disappeared and Griffin found himself thrust into the care of the Society of Lighthouse Keepers, it had seemed like he was surrounded by problems he couldn’t solve and people he couldn’t trust. Except for her.

And what they needed right now was someone they could trust.

“How did you get here?” Katherine asked.

“Talk to him.” Beatrix nodded emphatically in the Levitator’s direction.

“Yes, well…” Philip steered the tiny woman to a bench against the wall. “That may have been my doing. I didn’t expect that he would—ahem. I suppose it’s just as well. You see, Bea, we need your help.”

“Me?”

“Yes.” Katherine settled on Beatrix’s other side. “You.”

“Shall I have some refreshments sent along?” the Levitator asked as he backed toward the door.

Griffin scrunched his nose and tried to shake his head so Beatrix would catch his meaning without the Caligions seeing and taking offense, but she only nodded absently. The moment the Levitator was gone, she whispered, “Who is that? Really—being yanked between worlds without a please or thank you—and by a child, no less!”

Philip chuckled. “They’re a little pushy around here. We’ll fill you in later, I promise.”

“But we don’t have time now,” Katherine said.

“Right.” Beatrix rolled her neck, then blinked several times to gather her wits about her. “What can I do?”

“The priests have been to Earth—you must know this.”

“Of course. Not that the Keepers have done anything about it. With Dr. Hibbert locked inside her glass office, and guards watching her every move, we’re split down the middle. Half want to give up and hand everything over to the Coast Guard, while the other half are tripping over one another trying to figure out how to shut the portal down for good.”

“You’ve all got the malva vine protecting you, at least?”

“Oh, those priests won’t get inside my head. But none of us are trained to fight. Once we discovered the priests were after trained soldiers whom they could control, the Keepers had to retreat. We went to the Coast Guard in the end anyway. They set patrols at the portal day and night, but the damage is already done, I’m afraid.”

“But the patrols don’t have any malva vine—what’s stopping the priests from taking them, too?”

“If you can believe it, the Coasties stuff their ears full of cotton and wear helicopter headsets so they can’t hear a thing the priests say.”

Griffin blanched. That was it? Earplugs and some headphones? That was the best Earth could do?

Beatrix continued, “The rest of the armed forces are on alert now too. If the priests come back for more soldiers, it won’t be so easy.”

“But they will be back.” Katherine sat forward, propping her elbows on her knees. “Beatrix, we think the ocean’s song on Maris might be able to shield everyone on Earth from the priests’ magic.”

Beatrix tapped her fingers slowly in time with her thoughts. “Clever. You believe it will behave the same way in our ocean?”

“That’s the idea. But millions of people are landlocked, too far away to hear the ocean. We need somehow to disperse the song inland.”

“We’re leaving for Maris any minute. The Levitator, as you’ve discovered by now, can pull people from one world into another if they stand near enough to the portal. If we’re successful, and we collect the song from Maris—”

“When.”

“When we collect the song, he’ll pull us through, from Maris straight to Earth.”

“And if you stay in our cottage, the alarm will sound when we arrive,” Griffin added.

“We’ll get the song into the water somehow. But we need a way to spread it inland. Can you help?”

Beatrix’s eyes darted side to side as if she were scanning a newspaper. “I don’t know how yet, but yes, I’ll find a way.”

The Fenns reached out and drew her into a hug. “We have to go. With any luck, we’ll see you again very soon.”

Beatrix stepped away, shooing them toward the door. “I’ll be ready.”