tests. He's not out of the woods yet."
Link felt something wrap around his leg and squeeze tightly. The pain he experienced made lifting his head nearly impossible, but he didn't need his eyes to know who it was. With his good arm, he reached down and tousled his baby brother's hair. "Hey there, Bug. Didn't I tell you everything would be okay?"
The nurse repeated her instructions, more forcefully this time, and insisted that everyone leave the room. Link felt Ayden's arms squeeze even tighter in protest.
"Ma'am?" Link said.
The nurse looked down at Link, seeming to notice him for the first time. Despite her professionalism, Link could tell she was as excited as everyone else to see him finally wake up from his coma. "Yes, dear?"
"I know it might be against regulations, but would it be okay if my little brother stays? I could use a superhero to keep me company."
With a small grin, the nurse replied, "I suppose... If he's a superhero, we don't have much choice, do we?"
Three Months Later
Link's house smelled of roasted turkey and pumpkin pie. He inhaled deeply, allowing the heavenly aromas of Mrs. Greta's cooking to wash over him. He had always loved Thanksgiving, but he was especially fond of it this year. Surrounded by friends and family, Link savored the delectable scent of life.
Ever since the Harrington Complex, Link's worldview had been radically transformed. In one night, much of his anger had simply evaporated and been replaced by a humble gratitude to be alive. It was remarkable how life, no matter how unfortunate it was, became a wonderful blessing when compared it to eternal death.
It was ironic that his newly discovered appreciation of life had been the catalyst that had enabled him to finally surrender his mother. Though he would never forget her ? could never ? he finally felt as though he could begin to move forward. It felt like it was time to carve out a new path for himself; no more wallowing in the ditches of his past. Now that Raythuse was trapped in Neverworld, he could rest easy for a while.
Link passed the potatoes to Celia and then winked at his little brother. Ayden grinned and continued to greedily devour a sizeable piece of pumpkin pie. Link turned to Mrs. Greta and said, "Let me get this straight. You're telling me that you reversed the camera lens. So when Raythuse tried to take my picture to lock me inside Neverworld, he wound up trapping himself there instead? And how did Panch break free from Neverworld?"
"Think of the lens as a portal to Neverworld, Link. When Raythuse opened the gateway to his own prison, he simultaneously allowed other prisoners to be set free."
"You mean the ones we trapped were set loose?"
"Possibly. At this point, we can't be sure. But on the bright side, only the ones trapped by that camera could have escaped once the portal opened. Besides, we mustn't lose sight of the fact that we captured Raythuse, one of the most powerful Skias this world has ever seen. Who cares if one or two of his underlings escaped? They are nothing compared to the mighty Raythuse."
"But you predicted all this would happen. How did you know Raythuse would use the camera? Did you know that I would fail? Is that why you reversed the lens? And why could I see the Skias after Tom sprayed me?"
"Don't be silly," Mrs. Greta said. "You're being far too hard on yourself." She shoveled a bite of bean casserole onto her fork. "You didn't fail. Panch is here. The camera is safe. Raythuse is trapped. I'd call that a success, wouldn't you? As for your other question, we don't have the answer yet, but we're working on it. Whatever it was in that spray, it somehow stripped you of your ability to see people by granting you the power to see Skias. I know it is hard to believe, but Max and Roland never actually left your side. It only appeared that way, because you couldn't see them. But they could still see you. Once the Broken finally forced their way in, they were the ones who kept you alive long enough for the reinforcements to arrive."
"Reinforcements?"
Mrs. Greta nodded. "Yes, reinforcements. A full detachment of Ordeum soldiers. They not only suppressed the Broken, they cleaned up the entire floor before the hospital staff could discover any of the bodies. But none of that would have been possible without your heroics, Link."
Link wasn't sure how to describe his actions, but he certainly wouldn't call them heroic. It felt more like the group had succeeded despite his efforts than because of anything he'd done. "I still don't understand how you knew all this. Are you psychic?"
"Heavens no. Don't be ridiculous. There is no such thing. Besides, I am only a Revelare. Kaylee is the Ennustaja. She is the one who can see the possible paths that the future might take. I merely translate her pictures into words. Because of the curse placed on the Ennustajas long ago, she is unable to communicate what she sees to anyone but me. But now is not the time to worry about such things. What it amounts to is this: on the evening I gave you the camera, I told you everything I knew to help you achieve the best possible outcome."
"You mean there could have been other outcomes? We could have lost?" Celia said.
"Oh my, yes. Everything changes. The future is never static. The choices we make today, well...." Her voice trailed off. "We needn't think about such depressing things now. This is a celebration."
As this was the first time he'd been able to convince Mrs. Greta that he'd recovered enough to talk about that night, Link couldn't let the matter drop. He still had too many questions that he needed to be answered. "I still don't get how you knew I would wait to use the camera. What if I'd messed it all up before Raythuse even found the camera?"
Mrs. Greta finished her bite of beans and wiped the corner of her mouth with a lace napkin. She folded it neatly and rested it by her plate. Then she looked up at Link. "I didn't, love. But I had faith in you ? in your goodness, your willingness to do whatever was necessary to save this little guy." She placed a hand on Ayden's shoulder. "I knew from the moment I met you that you were the right choice for this task."
Kaylee grunted her disapproval but said nothing as she rose to leave. She glanced over at Mrs. Greta then walked into the other room to join Max.
"You must forgive her," Mrs. Greta said. "I believe her time as an Ennustaja has taken its toll on her disposition. She has seen far too much, I'm afraid. Some things a child her age should never be forced to see."
Link didn't fully comprehend what she meant, but after everything he'd witnessed over the last week, he could only imagine.
"Dude, Raythuse took the picture. He came in, I went out. It was all tag-team, boogie-man style. Seriously, just let it go. You're totally killin' the vibe in here. Hey, Max!" Panch called into the other room. "Can you get in here and knock some sense into this kid?"
When the phone rang, Link watched Roland walk into the other room to answer it.
"Dude, Max, you hearin' me in there or what?" Panch called again.
"Shut your piehole! I'm busy watching the game!" Max yelled back.
Panch laughed so hard he nearly spit the mashed potatoes he'd been enjoying into Celia's face. "That old geezer cracks me up. Piehole. That's classic."
When Roland returned, he handed the receiver to Link. "I think you will want to take this." He patted Link affectionately on the shoulder before returning to the living room to join his father.
Link looked over to his dad. "Do you mind if I answer this?"
Mr. Hartkins smiled then gave a quick nod before helping himself to another helping of squash casserole.
Link excused himself from the table and walked into the kitchen for a bit of privacy. "Hello...hello?" he said, straining to hear the voice on the other end.
Finally the reception cleared a bit, and he heard the unmistakable voice of Mrs. Kidacki. "Hello, Lincoln."
"Mrs. Kidacki!" Link exclaimed. "You're alive!"
"For the moment, yes. I need to speak with you. Are you alone?"
Link looked around. "Yeah, I'm in the kitchen. Everyone else is either in the other room eating or in the living room watching the game. What's going on? Where've you been? Are you safe?"
"You'
re sure nobody can hear us?"
"I'm sure. What's going on?"
"Listen, Lincoln..."
"Is this about Tom? Have you seen him?"
"No, I haven't. Please, just listen. I don't have time to explain. They may be listening to this call."
"Who?"
"I need to tell you about your mother before they find me. I promised her I would. I gave her my word."
"My mother?" Link struggled to maintain his calm.
"She's not dead, Lincoln. The Ordeum have her hidden. She wanted me to tell you this once you were ready to hear it ? when you were ready to listen, to understand. She never wanted it like this. She thought that leaving was the only way to keep all of you safe. She was wrong. We know that now."
"Alive? The Ordeum? Does that mean she's safe?"
"For now."
Emotions whirled around Link's insides like a hurricane. At first he was overjoyed, but soon this gave way to the realization that she had abandoned them, and he grew angry. Then again, did he have any right to be upset? Hadn't he done the same thing when he had left Ayden, Celia, and his dad back at the gas station? He was suddenly struck by another question that he had to know the answer to. "Did my mother start the fire?"
"We are all learning as we go, Lincoln. Things that seem right at the time do not always turn out that way in the end."
"You're not answering my question. Did my mother kill all those people in the bakery? Was that her fault?"
For a moment, Link thought they had been disconnected.