Authors: Jennifer Ellis

A Quill Ladder (20 page)

“
Well, isn
’
t this cozy?
”
Dulcet tones punctured Abbey
’
s thoughts. Mark emitted a yelp and snatched away the map file, closing it as he did. Abbey jerked her head up to see an extremely attractive woman with raven hair and a brilliant red scarf around her neck standing behind Caleb
’
s seat. She wore shiny black leggings and a tight black denim jacket. Mark had said the woman from Dr. Ford
’
s office had had a red scarf. She glanced sideways at Mark, but he stared straight ahead, his face rigid with dismay.

The woman slid into the empty seat next to Caleb and offered Abbey and Mark a wide smile. The train began its ascent, and Abbey
’
s seatbelt locked and held her against her seat. A floral perfume invaded her senses, and she tried not to recoil from the heavy scent.

“
You, I know from the night when we came back from Nowhere,
”
she said, looking at Mark, whose mouth had dropped open. Then she shifted her gaze to Abbey and Caleb.
“
And you two, unless I
’
m terribly mistaken, are the children of Peter Sinclair.
”
She extended a hand with candy-apple red fingernails filed into perfect ovals.
“
Selena Darby. I
’
m an old friend of your dad
’
s.
”

Abbey took the hand carefully, expecting to be jolted with electricity or poisoned. The woman
’
s hand was fine-boned and her grip surprisingly limp.

The woman turned and shook hands with Caleb. Mark closed his arms around the green file folder and pressed his fingertips into his armpits.

“
So, just out for a little adventure tonight?
”
she said.

“
You could say that,
”
Caleb replied.

Selena gave a merry little laugh that seemed overly enthusiastic and intimate for the situation.
“
I used to just love using the stones when I was a teenager. It seemed like you could do a lot on this side, the future side, with way fewer consequences, as long as you didn
’
t push it too far. We used to play all sorts of glorious games, like
‘
Change the Future
’—
you know, doing silly things in the present and then coming back through to see if we
’
d changed anything. We didn
’
t usually, of course. It takes a lot to change the timeline. But occasionally we were successful.
”
The woman waved her enameled fingers in an expressive manner as she spoke.
“
We also played
‘
Disrupt the Flow.
’
I
’
m sure your parents have told you all about it. Your dad was the best at Change the Future. Nobody could top his stunts. It was always the most fun when we had an Alty with us. That opened up a whole new range of games.
”

“
What
’
s an Alty?
”
Caleb said.

The skin on the left side of the woman
’
s mouth twitched faintly.
“
I
’
m surprised your dad hasn
’
t told you. He used to be a great storyteller.
”
She paused, and there was something in her eyes, some look Abbey didn
’
t altogether like.
“
An Alty is someone who can jump between parallel universes. They
’
re very rare. Even rarer than camels.
”

The train slowed as it started to enter the small terminal station just below the causeway.
“
I see,
”
Abbey said.
“
And how many parallel universes are there?
”

Another wave of the red-tipped hand.
“
Oh, nobody knows.
”
She rose.
“
This is my stop. Lovely to have met you. Take care now.
”

“
This is everyone
’
s stop,
”
Abbey muttered under her breath.

“
We
’
ll say hi to our dad for you,
”
Caleb called after her.

Her expression seemed pinched for a second when she glanced back over her shoulder, but it was quickly replaced by a beaming smile.
“
Oh, no need. Your father and I have already had a lovely time catching up.
”

Selena exited the train gracefully, and after a second of stunned silence, Abbey, Caleb, and Mark made their way after her. By the time they gathered together on the small terminal platform, the woman was gone, and only the faint scent of lilies lingered in the air.

“
That one, we need to watch,
”
Caleb said.

“
You think?
”
Abbey shot back. She was relieved that Caleb hadn
’
t been taken in by the woman
’
s beauty. She wondered if her mother knew about Selena.
“
Mark, is that her
—
the woman that was with Damian and Nathaniel in Dr. Ford
’
s office?
”

Mark nodded, and Abbey tried to shake off the twitch of fear that had suddenly skated down her back.

They arrived home two minutes before their parents
’
van pulled into the drive. Mark scuttled down to his room, and Abbey, after quickly changing out of the jumpsuit, was overseeing Farley
’
s rather abundant calls of nature out in the yard. As her parents climbed out of the van, her mother
’
s face was swollen and red, and Abbey
’
s father clutched her under the armpit, almost carrying her into the house. Abbey ran after them, the damp grass licking at her ankles.

“
How
’
s Simon?
”
she called out as they crossed the stoop.

Her father turned, his face weathered and weary. Her mother continued on through the living room to the couch, and sank into its depths, her eyes closed.

“
He
’
s okay, Abs. Nobody
’
s happy about the situation, of course. But Simon
’
s handling it okay.
”

“
How long is he going to be in there?
”
The cold air washed over her from the open door just behind her. She could hear Farley frolicking about in the juniper that lined their drive. Caleb emerged from the kitchen, clutching a sandwich with one bite taken out of it, his green eyes flicking from one parent to the other.

“
We don
’
t know. They
’
re holding him right now because
…
well, because your mother is the mayor and there
’
s some question as to whether she benefited from the files he hacked. They say they can
’
t release him into our custody until she resigns.
”
Abbey
’
s father glanced over his shoulder at her mother.
“
Your mother is going to resign tomorrow. Then Simon can come home for a bit until his hearing.
”

Caleb eased himself into the armchair next to their mother and nibbled on his sandwich. Her mother reached out and patted his knee.

“
For a bit? What do you mean?
”
Abbey heard the sharpness in her own voice.

Her father sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
“
The evidence against him is pretty damning. I don
’
t think we
’
re going to win in court. We can only hope that the sentence is short.
”

“
It isn
’
t his fault,
”
Abbey said.

Her father
’
s eyes were intent as they bore down on her.
“
Did you know about this?
”

“
No. Yes. No. I knew a bit about it after the fact. But not before.
”

Farley started barking into the dark woods above their house, swerving back and forth in the glow of the single porch light, the fur on his back standing up in stiff tufts.

Peter Sinclair crossed the hall, pushed Abbey inside, and craned his neck out the door and up into the darkened forest.

“
Where
’
s Sylvain?
”
he said.

“
He had to go. He said he had a meeting. He just left a few minutes ago,
”
Abbey said.
“
We were fine. We don
’
t need a babysitter.
”

“
Farley! Come!
”
her father snapped. Farley continued to growl over his shoulder while he skittered to the door, lunging at imaginary things in the dark. Her father caught him by the collar, hauled him inside, and closed the door.

“
Right now, you
do
need a babysitter,
”
he said.
“
It
’
s time for bed.
”
He walked across the living room and went to sit on the couch with Abbey
’
s mother. Farley remained stationed by the door, a low growl emanating from his belly.

“
Wait. When are you going to tell us what
’
s going on?
”
Abbey said.

Her mother
’
s eyelids fluttered.
“
We
’
ll talk tomorrow, honey. Go to bed. We all need some sleep. Please.
”

Abbey sulked in her room. She could hear the hushed voices of her parents arguing in their room. She felt bad for abandoning Sylvain in the future, and for not telling her parents that they had been there and that he might be in trouble. But Ian and the two Franks wouldn
’
t hurt Sylvain, would they? And why was she worried about Sylvain anyway?

She thumbed listlessly through her Physics 12 textbook, as if basic Newtonian physics could give her any answers right now. She worried about Simon spending the night alone in a cell surrounded by hardened criminals, drunks, and drug dealers with too many tattoos, although her parents reassured her that he was in was a nice enough juvenile detainment center.

She almost didn
’
t hear the faint rap on her wall. Caleb. The knock system that they hadn
’
t employed for years. Three knocks.
Are you up?

Abbey answered with three knocks of her own, and within seconds Caleb had crossed the threshold into her room, his red hair rakishly askew. He withdrew the envelope Ian had given them from his pocket and laid it on Abbey
’
s desk.

“
You haven
’
t opened it yet?
”
she said in a whisper.

“
I wanted you to.
”

“
What? Why? It probably won
’
t work for me anyway.
”
She narrowed her eyes at her twin.
“
You
’
re lying. You
did
open it. What does it say?
”
They were both keeping their voices as low as possible, shooting frequent glances at the door.