Secret Places and Hidden Things

Chapter Thirty

Jack watched the rain out the window. He'd been reading the old book Daerk had given him. He found himself reaching for it often, now that he was alone in the helm. Daerk was there—he knew Daerk would always be there—but he never felt less alone with Daerk. Wynne was there, too, but she was drifting off in her own way. It was becoming harder and harder to find her, and when he did, it never lasted long before her tower disappeared around him, dissolving into some empty room as her voice faded in echoes.

He was turning the book over in his hands as he thought. It had already taught him quite a lot. He felt his mind had become empty, and it was easy to sit for long periods doing nothing at all. He'd even started to surround himself with dreams the way Michael always had. Sometimes he wondered if he was lost halfway between waking and sleeping, wandering in some in-between place. It had never ceased to be twilight since Michael left. Everything was waiting.

He opened the book, planning to read more of the endless epic, but everything was upside down. He had opened it backwards. With a flash, a small object dropped into his lap. It was a silver key. It must have been stuck in the last pages all this time. He could see a slight imprint on the back cover of the book. He wondered why the key had never fallen out before, rubbing his finger along the edge of the teeth. There was something prickling at his memory—something he wanted to remember.

Suddenly, he sat bolt upright, his eyes wide. He stared at the key, his hands shaking, then he leapt to his feet and sprinted to the nearest door, pocketing the book. As he ran, bursting through doors, he began to recognize the way. First the aquarium, then the library, then a hallway full of distortions. It was just like when Daerk had led him.

He burst through a door and found himself in Elliot's old store room. He flew to the shelf where he'd last seen the box and...

It was gone.

He stared at the empty spot on the shelf, blinking rapidly, then began rummaging around. He looked all over the floor, under the shelf, under, behind, and inside of whatever other containers he could find. It wasn't there. He collapsed to the floor and sat there, his racing heart slowing down. It was gone. Maybe Elliot had taken with him, or moved it to some other place. A crease formed between his brows, and his vision became blurry. He set the little key on the tile in front of him, feeling stupid. It was just a box, after all. It didn't matter. It could be anywhere by now.

Unless...

He leapt to his feet once more. Jack had never run so fast. He stopped noticing doors and began to run right through them, the walls and windows tunneling around him in a smear of color and light. He was at the base of a tower now. He ran up the wall as he had before, his heart beating at high speed once again. He didn't know why he was in such a hurry, but he knew time had stopped. It was waiting for him to finally understand. It had been waiting for days. Weeks. Eons.

He burst through the trap door and he saw Wynne sitting out on the balcony. The lacquered box with the silver lock was sitting on a table next to her. There was an empty chair. She was waiting for him. "It's time, I think," she said, turning in her chair and looking at him over her shoulder. "Come sit, Jack. I felt it happen."

Jack went to the chair and sat, trying to understand. In front of him, there seemed to be nothing. The sky was endlessly empty—a dark black nothing. Somewhere far beyond the edges of his vision a fire was burning. The emptiness had empty clouds within in, boiling with rage and fury.

Wynne picked up the box and handed it to Jack. Her face was calm and smiling, as always. He could see no trace of fear. Jack held the box in trembling hands, feeling a weight far greater than he might have expected. There was the box, and the object within in, but also the entire universe set atop it, balanced on the moment. He took the silver key from his pocket and, with a final push of will, unlocked it. Inside, he found a clockwork.