Chapter Ten

The Cursed Children of Crispin

 

 

M

ira stood quietly at the doorway, peering between the small group of people huddled around Peter’s bed, desperate to catch a glimpse of her friend. Mrs. Waylor was sitting on the edge of the bed while the doctor spoke to Mr. Waylor near the door.

“I gave him something for the pain,” the doctor murmured. “A few weeks in that splint, and his arm should heal up well.”

Mr. Waylor nodded and wiped his forehead, which was beaded with sweat.

“Put this on his wound twice a day…” the doctor continued as he led Mr. Waylor to the nightstand, giving Mira her first clear view of Peter since they had carried him into the house. She was desperate to see that he was, indeed, all right after that giant sign had fallen straight onto him.

He was fast asleep, but Mira could only see one eye, for the other one was hidden under a bandage wrapped around his head. His right forearm was tightly bound against two pieces of wood and rested against his chest in a sling.

Her eyes met Mrs. Waylor’s, who gave her a small smile.

“Don’t worry, sweet,” Mrs. Waylor whispered. “He’s got a cut on his head, but the sign missed his eye, thank the stars. He’ll be just fine.”

Mira gulped and bit her nail, hoping Mrs. Waylor was right. Her head had been pulsing with a headache since the commotion at the puppet show, but she barely noticed it as she watched her best friend. It took her by surprise when Kay tugged at the back of her shirt.

“Come on,” he whispered. “Appoline’s still waiting for us outside.”

They descended the stairs, and Mira squinted in the afternoon sunlight as she stepped outside after her brother. The ordeal that had happened only an hour before seemed like a nightmare now that the street was all but deserted, the townsfolk having left to continue their Day of Dreams celebrations somewhere less dangerous. The large wooden sign that had fallen rested against the side of the puppet theater. A town watchman was holding up the end of the rope to show Appoline.

“Looks like it’s been chewed on by a rodent,” the watchman said.

“A rodent?” Appoline repeated. “Helen said she and her husband only fastened it in front of their shop this morning. Surely the bustle of the festival would have kept any rats at bay today?”

“I don’t know what to tell you, Miss Byron,” the watchman said. “It’s a strange accident, to be sure.”

“A strange accident, indeed,” Appoline said slowly.

“It’s a miracle that poor Waylor boy was the only one who was hurt. If you ask me, it looked like that sign would’ve fallen right onto whoever was sitting on that stool over there.”

“Thank you, Mr. Rust. I’ll tell the Waylors what you found once they’ve taken care of their son.”

Mr. Rust tipped his cap and left. Appoline turned to Mira and Kay, who were waiting silently at the front door.

“Are you all right, my dears?” Appoline said gently.

Mira nodded.

“The doctor said Peter’ll be fine,” Kay said.

“Thank the stars for that.” Appoline sighed and gave them a tired smile.

“What happened to the Fabler?” Mira asked. “It looked like she fell pretty hard…”

“She’s a strong woman,” Appoline said, stepping forward and resting a hand on her shoulder. “She only needed a little help to walk back home.”

“Can’t believe a wretched rat chewed through that rope.” Kay kicked the end of the rope. “It’s lucky you noticed it, Mira.”

“That’s right,” Appoline said and squeezed Mira’s shoulder gently. “If you hadn’t brought it to everyone’s attention, more people could have been hurt.”

Mira shook her head, bracing herself to say what had been nagging at her thoughts.

“Well—” she took a deep breath, “I don’t think it was an accident.”

 

Mira paced back and forth in the living room of their home as she told Kay and her mother about the strange vision she had had right before the sign fell.

“You’re making me dizzy,” Kay said after she’d finished.

Mira groaned and dropped into a chair. “I can’t just stand still when I’m certain that this wasn’t an accident.”

“This is very serious,” Appoline said after a moment. “You heard a voice clearly say ‘It is done’ before it happened?”

“Yes. I saw the rope, too. In my mind—before seeing it snap in real life.”

“And you don’t think this is the Shadowveils giving you a dream again?”

“I didn’t get it,” Kay said. “Why Mira and not me?”

Mira wrung her hands together.

“I felt someone bump into me the moment I saw the vision.” She looked from Kay to her mother, knowing that what she was about to say would sound ridiculous. “I think it was a Shadowveil, and that his thoughts…sort of…spilled into me.”

She cringed, waiting to hear laughter.

But Appoline leaned forward on the couch with a frown. “You’re saying you heard the Shadowveil’s thoughts without him meaning to share them?”

“I thought merrows couldn’t take anyone’s thoughts,” Kay said. “Thoughts can only be given by another merrow.”

“I didn’t take those thoughts,” Mira said quickly. “They just came to me—I don’t know how—”

“Don’t worry, dear,” Appoline said. “I believe your vision was a stroke of luck, even if it was accidental.” She clasped her hands together in her lap. “It is now clear that we have a Shadowveil in Crispin. Now, is there a reason you can think of that the Shadowveils would want to hurt someone as innocent as the Fabler?”

Mira stared at her mother. She glanced at Kay, who looked as stunned as her.

“W-why do you think they’re trying to hurt the Fabler?” Mira asked.

“Why, the watchman pointed it out. He said the sign would have fallen right onto the Fabler, who was sitting on that stool below it.”

Mira blinked, not knowing what to say. She turned to Kay, who shrugged and said, “Who’d want to hurt an old woman?”

Appoline sighed. “I was hoping you would know something I didn’t. You two seemed to be spending some time with her, being kind enough as to help her around the town and all.”

Mira shrugged, too, but her heart rate quickened. Could it be that the Shadowveils were after the Fabler for telling them the story behind the Grimmir?

“Will you tell the mayor about it? To protect the Fabler?” she asked Appoline.

“I’m not sure he will believe me,” Appoline said. “The only proof we have that a Shadowveil dropped the sign is a vision that only you saw.” She gave Mira a small smile and added, “But I will try to convince him. Let me see if I can find a councilor who will listen.”

Appoline tried to convince Mira and Kay to return to the festivities while it was still light out, but they refused. It could never be the same knowing that Peter was hurt.

As soon as Appoline left to find a councilor, Mira turned to Kay, who was sprawled out on the couch.

“I think we should’ve said something about the story the Fabler’s told us.”

“Why?”

“Because that’s why the Shadowveils are after her! It’s what they do—if they think anyone’s helping us, they do anything to stop them! First Alexandra gets…you know,” Mira still couldn’t bring herself to say it. “Then that antique shopkeeper goes missing, then Appoline gets caught in that awful fire, and now they’ve gone after the Fabler and Peter got hurt!”

Kay sat up. “You remember what Appoline told us after the fire? She’ll go berserk if we tell her we’ve been all the way to Nesston—twice—to search for an ancient sorcerer!”

“Well, we could at least prove that the Shadowveils are after us to stop us from finding out a way to save the sorcerer. Then the mayor will have to protect the Fabler properly!”

“How’re we going to prove it? By telling them that the centuries-old tower in Nesston really used to be standing? That it toppled down because we saw a Shadowveil do it on purpose?”

“The conch!” Mira said, grasping at straws. “We can show them the conch.”

“What’s the use if there’s no message in it anymore?”

“Then it’s hopeless, isn’t it?” Mira said, leaning back against the chair. “How do those monsters even know that the Fabler’s told us the story about the Grimmir?”

Kay shook his head. “Maybe the next time that Shadowveil bumps into you, you’ll get another look into his thoughts and you can find out yourself.”

Mira shuddered. “I’m not sure I’d like that.”

 

Mira was distracted throughout the entirety of school the next day. It didn’t help that every once in a while her classmates would whisper something to each other and turn to look at her and Kay. Lynette and Red tried to boost their moods at lunchtime by playing a game of hopscotch outside, but Mira couldn’t get Peter out of her head. The thought of her best friend bandaged up at home bothered her more than the thought of a Shadowveil lurking about in town.

It was strange, the way the other children still whispered until the very end of class. Mira wondered what they could possibly be saying. She began making faces whenever someone looked her way, which made them turn away quickly enough.

What’s their problem? said Kay.

I can’t imagine.

Mr. Favian quickly grew tired of having to demand silence and resorted to giving them a surprise arithmetic quiz at the end of the day. When he called for their parchments, Mira was utterly relieved: it was finally time to leave.

They were all packing away their things when Thomas passed by and whispered something to Lynette and Red. Mira couldn’t hear what he said, but when he straightened up, he gave her and Kay a timid glance and hurried out of class, muttering, “See you, Mira…Kay.”

“What did he say to you?” Mira asked, turning to her friends.

“Yeah, what’s everyone whispering about?” Kay said.

Lynette pursed her lips and glanced at Mr. Favian, who was watching his students file out of class.

“Better talk outside,” she said.

Once they were out on the library steps, under cloudy skies that promised rain, Lynette turned to Mira and said, “I can’t believe you didn’t tell us.”

“Tell you what?” Mira said.

“That you think a-a…Shadowveil,” she lowered her voice, “cut down that sign.”

“Who told you that?” Kay said, crossing his arms.

“Everyone’s talking about it,” Red jumped in. “The whole town must know by now.”

“The council must’ve believed Appoline, then,” Mira said under her breath. Lynette raised her eyebrows. “Well, we didn’t think anyone would actually believe us!”

“We’re your friends,” Lynette cut in. “We would have believed you.”

“It’s not that simple.” Mira shook her head. “Everyone we talk to seems to end up in danger—”

“So you’re protecting us?”

“Oh, would you like a Shadowveil to drop something on your head, too?” Kay said.

“Is that what happened with the Fabler?” Red asked. “Thomas said she was the one they were trying to hurt, not Peter. Did Shadowveils see you walking her across town and decide to hurt her?”

“Don’t be silly,” Lynette said, her hands on her hips. “There’s much more to the story, and you know it. They just don’t trust us enough to share.”

“That’s not true—!” Mira began.

“Come on,” Lynette said, walking the rest of the way down the library steps. “Better leave them with their secrets.”

Red gave Mira a conflicted look but followed Lynette.

Mira began the walk home in a daze, wishing more than ever that she could visit Peter. Appoline had told them that the doctor gave strict orders to let him rest for the entire day and that they weren’t to see him until tomorrow.

She clenched her jaw in frustration, not quite hearing Kay’s rant about Lynette’s unfair meddling. What did break through her thoughts as they turned the corner was the most unwelcome voice she could imagine.

“Looking for more ways to cause trouble?”

They froze. Cassandra giggled as they turned to see her, her brother, and their usual pack of cronies striding up to them from behind a building.

“Everyone knows the Shadowveils are here because of you two,” Collin sneered. “Wonder how many more fires and broken arms it’s going to take before the mayor has enough.”

“Shut up, Collin,” Mira muttered.

“Oh, we’ve got a snappy spotted toad today!” Cassandra said with delight.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kay said through gritted teeth.

“Don’t we? We know that Crispin was perfectly fine until you two started messing things up. Or rather—” she stopped, her finger on her chin as she turned to Kay and took a step closer to him. “Things started going wrong when you stepped into our town.”

Mira stepped forward before Kay could say anything, her cheeks heating.

“The Shadowveils were here all along, you just didn’t know—”

“Stop that!” Collin exclaimed, reaching up to wipe the back of his neck.

Mira blinked in surprise. He was acting insane, staring from her to Kay with wide eyes. A moment later, a little drop of water landed on her nose, and Mira understood.

“It’s raining, Collin,” Mira said and held out her hand as a few more drops fell from the cloudy sky.

He clenched his jaw. “I’m warning you—”

Kay laughed and raised his hands, wiggling his fingers at him. “Think we control the rain, now?”

“He’s cursed!” Wilbur said angrily from behind Collin.

“He’s my brother,” Mira hissed.

“Then you’re both cursed,” Collin said simply. “No wonder your parents tossed you out of the ocean.” He laughed, giving Kay’s shoulder a push.

Might not want to touch me, then, came Kay’s voice. You might get cursed, too.

“I told you not to do that,” Collin said, his face turning red. Wilbur and Garth clapped their hands on their ears as Cassandra and her friend gasped.

Kay smiled. At least I’m not scared of a few raindrops.

In the blink of an eye, Collin punched Kay right in the face. As her brother stumbled backward, Mira yelled, “Stop!” and held out her arms. Without realizing she was doing it, she summoned a rippling sheet of water right in front of her and Kay. It separated them from the others, who gasped and took a step back, staring at the water in fear.

“Let’s go,” Cassandra said, grabbing her brother’s arm, “before they curse us, too.”

Mira gave Cassandra one more dirty look through the water before she let it drop in front of their feet. Cassandra looked down at the dripping hem on her skirt before muttering, “Freaks,” and turning away with the others at her heels.

Mira fought angry tears as she watched them walk away. Kay touched his eye gingerly; it was already swelling over his eyelid.

“Stars, I can’t believe he punched you.” Mira leaned in to take a closer look.

“Let’s just get home,” Kay said through gritted teeth.

They hurried to the townhouse in tense silence, the rain slowly picking up. Once inside, Mira rushed to get Kay a wet cloth to put over his eye. It was like this that Appoline found them in the living room when she arrived home.

“What happened?” she breathed, dropping her bag behind the door and rushing over to Kay on the couch.

“The Strecks and their friends,” Kay said as he stared at the ground.

“They told us we were cursed and that we brought trouble to the town,” Mira explained. “Then Collin Streck punched Kay.”

“Everyone knows a Shadowveil’s up to something in Crispin,” Kay said. “They say he’s here because of us.”

They’re not wrong, Mira thought gloomily but didn’t share it with the others.

Appoline shook her head. “I thought the town deserved to know when I told the council.” She gently cupped Kay’s cheek in her hand and looked him closely in the eye. “I never dreamed you would be treated this way. Either of you. I am so sorry, my dears.”

“It’s not your fault,” Mira said.

“More like our fault, according to the Strecks,” Kay said, wincing as Appoline adjusted the cloth over his eye.

“That isn’t true,” Appoline said firmly. “The Strecks don’t see much past the invisible bubble they live in. People like that always find reasons to distrust those who are different from them. The best thing to do is to help them see your point of view without resorting to violence.”

Mira and Kay glanced at each other. Appoline froze.

“You didn’t resort to violence, did you?” she pressed.

“No! But I did sort of…egg them on,” Kay admitted. “I threw my thoughts when I knew they hated it.”

“And what did you do after Collin punched you?”

“Mira summoned a barrier of sorts between us, and they were frightened enough to leave.”

Appoline smiled, her dark eyes gleaming. “Then I’m very proud of you both. I hope they’ll see that their violence is a disgraceful way to make someone else feel like they are nothing. Sometimes it may be best not to provoke people like them, though.”

“Well, I hate people like them,” Kay muttered. “They remind me of Mr. and Mrs. Winters back in Rook. Always blaming me for things I had nothing to do with. I never got why they did, but now I think I do. It’s because they could tell I was different.”

“You’re not all that different, you know,” Appoline said gently. She smiled at Mira, too. “Even with your powers. When I look at each of you, I see brilliant curiosity and wonder, just like many other children around us.”

Kay nodded slowly. “Demetrius thought so, too. He called me his ‘inquisitive little brother’ since I was always asking him about fishing.” He shrugged. “I liked to learn about fishing because I got to be around Demetrius. I suppose he was the only one I really thought of as family before I came here. The others at the docks were nice when I wasn’t in the way. Only Mr. and Mrs. Winters seemed to really hate me, even when I didn’t do anything. I tried to get away to the docks anytime I could. And now I’m here and it’s all the same again.”

“It’s not all the same,” Mira said softly. “You’ve got a twin, now.”

“You have a true family in addition to Demetrius and many friends who stand by you,” Appoline added.

Mira felt a pang at the mention of her friends, as she hadn’t even seen her best friend since the Day of Dreams, and her closest classmates were now angry with her.

Appoline continued, “People can often be frightened of things they are not familiar with. Many of our townsfolk think all merrows are dangerous, I’m sad to say, but not all of them think so. Keep your friends close, and I can only hope that, with time, the others will learn there is a world of difference between you and the Shadowveils.”

“And the wretched empress,” Mira said.

“Ah, the empress.” Appoline nodded. “The invisible hand behind all this mess.”

“Anything new about her?” Kay asked gloomily. “Can’t wait until everyone starts blaming her for all this trouble instead of us.”

“I haven’t had any luck in finding out how she could possibly still be alive, but I did find a few passages about Amara in some history books.” Mira and Kay straightened in their seats as they pricked up their ears. “She was the last in line to her father’s throne, but shortly after her father and uncle were killed in the Five Years’ War with the landdwellers, the rest of her family died of illness. She became merqueen when she was only eighteen years old. There isn’t much written about her after that since she rarely ventured on land to resume her astrology studies once she became the merqueen. A few books say that she was beloved by her people from the start of her reign. Then the illness took over the merrows, and there was no more news from the ocean after that.”

“Beloved by her people,” Kay repeated with a scoff. “Yeah, right.”

“Perhaps she really was,” Appoline said. “Though there is much that we still don’t know. These history books can only help us so much when there is a whole century’s worth of secrets that are missing from their pages. It is going to be difficult to find out exactly what she is up to.”

 

Kay’s black eye earned him quite a few stares at school, but no one mentioned it—not even Collin, who only gave him a disdainful glance before taking his usual seat at the front of the class. Mira thought she quite preferred the silence to the nightmarish swarm of rumors they’d found themselves in the day before, but she was still rather hurt that Lynette and Red were just as quiet as the rest of the class. It seemed everyone in Crispin was either afraid of them or angry with them.

Mira and Kay headed straight to the bakery for some chocolate muffins to take to Peter after school. They couldn’t wait to see him, but before they reached his street, they saw a familiar figure limping towards them from far up the lane near the stables.

“The Fabler!” Mira said, grabbing Kay’s arm. After a quick exchange of bewildered looks, they hurried over to see her.

The Fabler was panting as she walked up a small hill. She stopped and leaned on her cane when she saw Mira and Kay running towards her.

“Ah, just who I was hoping to see.” She gave them a smile that seemed a bit strained. She rested a hand against her back, and then her gaze landed on Kay’s black eye. “Oh! And what sort of trouble have you gotten yourself into, young rascal?”

Kay gave her a sheepish grin and said, “Trouble just follows me around, I guess.”

The Fabler narrowed her eyes and leaned in on her cane. “Trouble only follows interesting people around. Just look at me.” She raised an eyebrow. “I can’t even go to a puppet show without getting into trouble. But I’d much rather be my own interesting self than change just to keep trouble at bay. It makes life much more enjoyable. Take the Day of Dreams, for example.” She cackled.

Mira smiled but fiddled with the ribbon on her box of muffins.

“Were you hurt?” she asked tentatively, watching the way the Fabler leaned on her cane.

“Don’t you worry about me,” the Fabler said with a wave of her hand. She winked and muttered, “Not even the Shadowveils can get the Old Fabler!” Noticing the exchange of uncertain glances between them, she continued, “Oh, don’t look so worried. There are more watchmen patrolling the streets now, thanks to your warning. You can see one right down there.” She pointed her thumb over her shoulder to a man eyeing them as he paced around the bend in the lane. “As if the horses weren’t enough to keep me up at night—now I’ve got to hear ‘All is well!’ yelled outside my window every hour.”

She shook her head.

“Anyway, I haven’t come this way only to complain. Now that I’ve got my very own saviors standing before me, I—”

“Peter’s the one who saved you,” Mira rushed to say. “He got your attention before that sign could…well, crush you.”

The Fabler let out a chuckle. “He sure did. He lived up to his costume, that boy—a true, valiant prince!” Her smile vanished as she asked, “How is the boy?”

“All right,” Kay said. “We were just going to visit him now.”

“Good. Then I caught you two just in time. I have something to help you with your search for the Grimmir.”

Mira gasped. She said it so bluntly…

“We—we’re not—” Kay stammered.

“Never mind. A lady of my age has no time for lies nor patience for them.” The Fabler waved her hand again. A glimmer of something shiny caught Mira’s attention, and she noticed that one of the Fabler’s many rings was studded with what looked eerily like a jewel bat’s eye. Mira shuddered as the Fabler reached into the drawstring bag at her waist and pulled out a small notebook. It looked quite beaten-up and had a few pages sticking out the sides. “It has been my family’s tradition to pass our stories on through the spoken word, but I think it helps to jot down a few notes, here and there. I think there might be something in here that could help you. Take it to your friend. He can use the rest as inspiration for his next puppet shows. Tell him I say, ‘thank you.’”

She held out the notebook.

Mira muttered thanks and took it quickly, tucking it into the back pocket of her pants. She couldn’t help worrying that the Shadowveil who had already tried to hurt the Fabler once would notice them and try to do something horrible again.

“I see in your eyes that you are troubled, little ones,” the Fabler said. “Peculiar things are happening in Crispin. There’s no doubt about it. Only the stars know what the future holds, but I feel it in my heart that you will play a big part in it. Just remember that the villains in every fairy story have one thing in common.” She held up a crooked finger. “Their true evil is that they will go to any lengths to get what they want, even if it means hurting others.”

Mira gulped. Kay crossed his arms uncomfortably.

“Keep your friends close, for you will need each other if you are to stand a chance against the evil that lurks in the shadows. Now, run along to see Peter. I’ve had quite enough exercise for one day, and my bed is calling to me.”

With that, she hobbled back down the lane, leaving Mira and Kay to stare after her.