last push through cool glass and they stepped into Ned’s old bedroom at Number 222 Oak Tree Lane. On Ned’s request it had still not been touched.
“I can’t believe you were ever this messy, Ned.”
“Yeah, it’s pretty bad. I think it’s going to be a project for when I get back.”
Outside they heard the flapping of Terry and Olivia Armstrong.
“Livvy! Livvy, I can’t find my shoes – we’re going to be late for work.”
“Well, where were they the last time you saw them?”
“On my blasted feet!”
Ned and Lucy stepped out on to the upstairs landing. It was hard to believe that the world owed Ned’s parents such a great debt; that they, along with Ned and Lucy, had played such a key role in saving it. What Ned and Lucy saw now was chaos, and the black fumes of burning toast coming up from the kitchen.
“Ned? Lucy!” said Terry Armstrong. “Good Lord, I’d almost forgotten. Have you seen my shoes?”
Lucy blinked her eyes shut and smiled. “Bathroom, under a pink towel.”
“Thank you, dear. Livvy, they’re here!”
Ned’s mum came out of the master bedroom wearing a smart grey suit. She had rarely looked more elegant in her life.
“Darlings, how were George and the Tinker?”
“Great, thanks. George calmed down once we got there. And look what Faisal made us!”
Ned’s mum looked at Lucy’s shoulder, where Whiskers sat, wagging its tail like a dog about to play fetch.
“Whiskers, welcome back! I must say, I’m very happy to see you out of that machine and back to your old self. Ned, Lucy, are you sure about this?”
“Yes, Olivia.”
“Quite sure, Mum. Do you have it?”
“Terry, go and get them the jacket, would you?”
Ned’s dad walked to his bedroom and began rifling through the closet.
“Are you two going to be OK, Mum?”
“Well, it won’t feel quite right without you, but at least we’ll be busy. It really was very kind of Mr Fox to give us both jobs.”
“You and the rest of the troupe. Poor man needs all the help he can get. What was the title the UN gave him again?”
“Chief liaison and president of josser–Hidden affairs. It’s going to take years to integrate them properly, but if anyone can speak for them both and fairly, it’s Fox. Besides which, no one else would step forward to deal with what was left of Barba’s Demons or their Darklings.”
“Self-imposed exile … do you really think they’ll stick to it?”
“If they know what’s good for them. Fox explained the effects of thermonuclear weaponry in detail to them and how he stopped the bomb from being dropped. They’ve agreed to stick to their side of the Veil permanently in return for being left alone.”
Ned’s dad returned with the jacket Ned had asked for. Of the many gifts he and Lucy had been given, it was without doubt the best. The Glimmerman’s jacket had countless rectangular mirrors all over it and would open just about every mirror-portal in the world.
Ned put it on, and he and Lucy walked back into his room. His parents hugged them both, his mum looking slightly teary as she did so.
“Take as many weeks as you need. We’ll be right here when you’re ready, and Gummy and Arch could do with a couple more friends.”
“Are you ready, Ned?” grinned Lucy.
“No, not even a bit.”
“Don’t worry – you’ve got me. How about you, Whiskers?”
“Scree.”
Finally Lucy looked to a spot just by Ned’s neck and shoulder. “Gorrn?”
There came a tiny “Arr” and what was left of his old familiar peered nervously from behind Ned’s neck. Gorrn’s surviving shadow was barely the size of a finger and would be little use for fighting or biting. It didn’t matter – the Engineer and Medic weren’t really planning on either.
“Son?”
“Yes, Dad?”
“Where will you go?”
“Everywhere, Dad. I think we’re going to go everywhere.”
And with that, Ned Armstrong and Lucy Beaumont, with their mouse and shadow, stepped through the mirror and were gone.
THE END