The Crimson Skew (37 page)

“I don't know what you're talking about,” Calixta said indignantly. “I have a great tolerance for pain, and I did not even wince when you sewed my stitches.”

“Oh, naturally. You did not wince. But you complained something terrible about how crooked the stitches were, and how they were going to leave the wrong kind of scar instead of a scar you could boast about, and how your new raider dress
was stained with blood, and on and on.”

“Every one of those things is true!” Calixta cried, to general laughter. Even Datura had to smile.

“We,” Errol said, “were camped outside of Salt Lick. We had seen the wall of bittersweet, and Goldenrod assured us it meant that you, Sophia, were safe. Then we had confirmation of it from Seneca, who flew ahead.” Sophia thought of the sprig of goldenrod, pressed in the pages of her notebook. “It would have been impossible to catch up with you, because of our injuries. Several days went by, and we managed to avoid the troops only because Seneca warned us that they were coming.”

“And then
we
arrived!” Miles said, throwing out his arms.

Calixta picked up the thread. “Miles, Veressa, and Martin arrived in the boldevela, and not a moment too late, for I was running out of clean clothes.”

“Will Shadrack know that we are all safe?” asked Sophia.

“Iron pigeon,” Miles said matter-of-factly. “He will know.” He smiled at Sophia and put his arm around her, pulling her into a rough hug. “Of course, he will be much happier when he sees you in person, little explorer.”

Sophia pulled herself free of Miles with difficulty, laughing. “I will be happier when I see him, too,” she agreed.

T
HEY STAYED ANOTHER
whole day, and Sophia spent much of it within the grove, with memories of Minna and Bronson. As much as she longed to stay—with her friends, and with the remembered presence of her parents—she also longed to return to Boston and Shadrack.

And so on August 23 the boldevela, somewhat overstuffed with its occupants, traveled onward to Oakring. Sophia leaned over the railing, watching the hills rise and fall behind them. Even when the valley was long lost from sight, the sense of quiet from the grove remained with her, and she began to
wonder if that stillness would always be a part of her now, lodged there by the Red Woods.

Bittersweet and Datura rode Nosh, taking the narrow paths that cut through the woods more directly, and they stayed two miles from Oakring with an Eerie friend. The boldevela arrived in town in the afternoon, anchoring at the outskirts.

While Goldenrod, with Errol in tow, sought out an Elodean friend in the village, the pirates and Wren hastened to the tavern. Veressa and Martin remained with the boldevela, and Sophia, Theo, and Miles headed across the fields to Smokey's house. She was waiting for them in the doorway. Stepping out to meet them, she smiled broadly and threw her arms around Theo and Sophia at the same time. “I'm so glad to see you back safely,” she said.

“We felt so terrible that we could not get back sooner,” Sophia said. “I hope you did not send people to look for us.”

“I did not, as it happens,” the woman said, with amusement, “because on the eighteenth I was visited by some surprisingly communicative fireflies. They spelled out the word ‘safe,' and I made a guess as to where they came from.”

Sophia smiled at the thoughtfulness of the three sisters. “Oh! That was clever.”

“How's your arm?” Smokey asked Theo.

“Very well.” He grinned. “It held up. I slept through about three-quarters of the journey.”

Smokey laughed. “Good. Very good—I'm glad you did. Miles,” she said, reaching out a hand to be engulfed in Miles's massive palm. “Lovely to see you again.”

Miles pulled her into a bear hug. “Thank you for saving our
Theo,” he said gruffly. “Casanova told me how poorly he was. You brought him back.”

“I only gave him the final push,” Smokey said, extracting herself. “Casanova is the one who pulled him from the battle and brought him all the way here.” She glanced over her shoulder at Casanova, who was leaning in the doorway.

“Yes, well.” Miles scowled. “I already tried to thank him, and he said it was entirely due to you. It seems neither of you is willing to take the credit.”

With a smile of his own, Casanova came forward to usher the travelers into the house. “Is it wise to take credit for saving such a scoundrel?” he asked, putting his arm around Theo's shoulders.

“I'm certainly not giving you any credit,” Theo replied, looking up at him. “Way I see it, I was the one who got you out of Merret's company. You were just looking for a good excuse.”

“Speaking of which,” Casanova said, dropping his arm. He looked at Smokey. “Should we tell them now?”

Sophia had perched on a bench by the cold fireplace, and Theo sat beside her. Miles hovered, too restless to sit. “Tell us what?”

“It is official,” Smokey said, smiling. “We have a new prime minister.”

“Who?” Miles exclaimed.

“There was an emergency election within parliament,” Smokey explained, “where so many people defected from Broadgirdle's Western Party that the New States Party gained a majority. New States appointed Gamaliel Shore the interim
prime minister, until official elections can be held, but it is likely Shore will stay on.”

“Finally!” Miles shouted, raising his hands dramatically to the ceiling. “A man with sense in the State House.”

“Yes,” Smokey agreed. “His first act was to extend the emergency act of parliament and officially end the war. His second was to forgive all deserters.”

Theo gasped. Sophia threw her arms around him and squeezed him tightly. “Ow,” he whispered.

“Sorry.” She grinned. “But I am so, so,
so
relieved.”

“Me, too. Obviously.”

“And that's not all,” Casanova said. “The war was ended on terms that will allow the Indian Territories and New Akan to remain a part of New Occident. His third act was to overrule the border closure.”

There was stunned silence.

“I love that man,” declared Miles.

“We can all go back to Boston!” Sophia exclaimed.

“And we can leave it again. And go back again. And leave once more.” Miles sighed happily. “The Age of Exploration will be reborn.”

• • •

O
N THE
IR SECOND
evening in Oakring, Sophia and Theo gathered their fellow travelers at the round amphitheater by the giant oak. The good news from parliament, that New Occident was once again a peaceful place with open borders, was gladly received. Veressa and Martin were eager to visit Shadrack in a
city they had never seen, and the pirates planned to contact the
Swan
by paquebot from Boston Harbor. But with open borders came more choices, and not every road led to Boston.

Casanova had already broken the news to Theo, and now he announced his decision to the group. “I've made up my mind to stay on here with Smokey,” he said with a smile in her direction. He gestured at the great oak above them and then at the nearby town, its houses glowing with yellow lights. “Oakring could have no better medic, but if I train with her for a time, I might make myself useful somewhere else.”

There were sounds of approval. “Perhaps you could look at my leg sometime,” Calixta said. “The medic who cared for it was quite incompetent, and I am sure it would do better in your capable hands.” She gave him a radiant smile.

Casanova blushed.

“Offensive
and
shameless,” Burr said, shaking his head, appalled. “If it weren't for me, you would be limping around on a peg leg. No offense, Martin,” he added to the white-haired botanist.

“None taken, my boy. Peg legs among pirates are a very different matter.”

Smokey smiled back at Casanova, clearly happy with the plan, but Sophia looked at Theo, sitting beside her on one of the split-log benches, with concern. She knew how much he had grown to rely on Cas. “We'll just have to visit Oakring more often,” Sophia said to Casanova and Smokey.

“Of course we will,” Miles exclaimed. “Once a season, at least.”

“Bittersweet, Datura,” Goldenrod said. “Will you journey to Boston to join your mother and grandfather?”

Bittersweet shook his head. “We've already sent them word with the pigeons. We will wait for them here, near Oakring.”

“I've seen enough of Boston,” Datura said quietly. “Limited though my view was.”

Sophia looked at Datura with sympathy. Privately, Bittersweet had reassured Sophia that with time Datura would heal. She would have three Weatherers with her, and she would, he said with confidence, one day be herself again. Sophia was not so sure; she had seen the garnet map, and she imagined that Datura's eyes had most likely seen even worse.

“Once Mother and Grandfather join us,” Bittersweet told the other travelers, “we will retreat for a time. What we want most now is time together.”

“Of course,” Goldenrod said. “I regret that Errol and I will not be nearby, but you can always reach us through the old one.”

Errol put his hand over Goldenrod's green one. “My fairy here has kindly agreed to travel with me on my fool's errand.” He smiled at her.

“You are following the Ausentinian map to find your brother!” Sophia exclaimed.

“We are,” Errol said. “I was persuaded when I read the map two days ago and found that a good portion of it had already taken place. So the hunt is on.” Seneca screeched happily at this proclamation.

Sophia leaned forward. “What is the next part?”

Errol furrowed his brow. “I think our next puzzle to solve is this one:
Four islands spell h-o-m-e
.”

“Oh!” Burr exclaimed, with mock illumination. “Of course! So obvious!”

“Is it ‘spell' as in letters or ‘spell' as in magic?” Smokey asked.

Errol shook his head. “I have no idea.”

“What islands begin with those letters?” Wren asked, seizing eagerly on the riddle.

“Or perhaps the
shapes
of the islands themselves spell ‘home,'” suggested Veressa.

As the travelers debated the possible meanings of the map, Sophia considered what it would mean to part ways with Errol and Goldenrod. It pained her to think of traveling on without them, but she understood all too well the compulsion to search for lost family.

Wren, too, was taking his leave of them all. It was most likely that the League would conclude that Agent Richard Wren had met his end in Salt Lick, and Wren wished to do everything he could to maintain the illusion. Goldenrod had promised him safety with an Elodean recluse who would keep him hidden until the Australians forgot about him.

The prospect of parting from such dear friends was not easy. When the time arrived on the following day, Sophia found it most difficult to say good-bye to Goldenrod. But the Eerie promised that, with the new border policy, things would be different. Travel would be easier and more frequent, as it had been in the past. “I hope our quest for Errol's brother is quickly
concluded and that we will see you in Boston before too long,” she said reassuringly.

Sophia stood by the steps of the boldevela. Theo, Miles, the pirates, and the Metls were already aboard. Before she said her last good-byes, she wished aloud: “Could we all agree to meet sometime, somewhere?”

“I have an idea!” Miles cried from the deck. “Once a year, every year, in Oakring. We meet at Smokey's house.”

“I'll have some rooms added,” she said, smiling up at him.

“Let's meet on this day,” Casanova suggested, looking around at them all. “August twenty-fifth. To celebrate the finding of friendship, and the finding of peace.”

“Peace,” Burr qualified, leaning over the edge of the deck, “but perhaps not peace of mind, if Calixta is invited.”

Calixta cuffed him lightly. “An excellent suggestion. We will be here.”

“As will we,” Goldenrod assented, clasping Errol's hand, who gave a little bow of agreement. Seneca fluttered his wings in approval.

“As will I,” Wren agreed.

“We'll come, too, of course,” Bittersweet said. Nosh, standing beside him, snorted indignantly. “With Nosh.”

Sophia looked forward to the year ahead, now, knowing she would see her friends again at the end of it, and it made the sight of them, waving and diminishing and finally disappearing as the boldevela sailed away, easier to bear.