Martha’s mouthturned into a sly grin and she sauntered back around the fire.“Aye, I can.”
Henry’s bodyrelaxed. “That’s excellent news. What do you–”
“I saidI can. I didnae say Iwill,” the woman replied. “Why should I help ye thistime?”
Henry narrowedhis gaze. “Why bring us here, then?” he asked angrily. “Just tellus what you want.”
Martha’s eyesshot to me and she tilted her head. “Her.”
My chesttightened with panic. “Me?”
“Yes, yedon’t belong here,” she replied. “Ye need to go back, put things in place. Just likeI told yer mother.” She shook her head. “Ye Cobhams, always causingtrouble.”
Panic turnedto shock, and my heart squeezed in my chest. “W-what did yousay?”
“Oh, yedidnae know?” Martha amused. “Yer mum was a Time Traveller, too.She found herself stuck in the future when she didnae listen to me. I could feelConstance tugging at the strings of time, tryin’ to find a wayback. Then, one day, she stopped. I ‘magine it was the day she hadthe likes of ye.”
I shookmy head, tears forcing their way from my eyes and stealing myvoice. How could her words be true? Everything I ever knew replayedin my mind through a different lens. Mom. Her obsession with thepast, her never-ending search for… something. She was trying to find a way back. Myknees gave way and I fell to the ground where I wretched air frommy gut.
“No, itcan’t be true,” I cried.
“Aye,‘tis,” the witchreplied with certainty. Of course it was, she had no reason to lieand no way to have even known about my mom. Accepting it made moresense than denying it.
I felt Henry’shands grasp my arms and pull me back up to my feet. “Are youalright?” he whispered.
Mystomach threatened to betray me, but I managed to nod. “Yes, I justcan’t believe it, but someh–” I stole a quick glance to the witch whoswayed back and forth across the firepit, impatient, “It doesn’tmatter anyway, she’s gone.”
I didn’tbelieve my own words and they made my throat tight to even saythem. It did matter. It meant everything to me. But we had moreimportant things to worry about. I’d process the news about my momwhen this was all over when Henry and I were safe in my home inRocky Harbour.
Martha wavedher arms in an upward motion and the fire before us grew. I watchedclosely as she pulled a glass bottle from a green velvet bag thathung from her side.
“We musthurry. I need somethin’ to lure them to us.”
“Likewhat?” asked Henry.
“Somethin’ belongin’ to Maria or Eric,” the witch replied andthen muttered some strange words as she smoothed her hands over thebottle.
I was at aloss, but Henry turned and pinched my jacket sleeve between hisfingers. It was perfect. Maria’s red jacket brought me this far, itwould be the thing to end it all. I nodded to him in approval.
“We haveher coat,” he informed the witch.
“Verywell,” she replied, “come and stand here.” She pointed next to thefire and I followed. The three of us then formed a triangle aroundthe blaze and the Gaelic witch continued to chant in anotherlanguage. I assumed it to be Gaelic, the foreign sounds rolling offher tongue and dancing in the air around us.
“Wait,”I cried out, and the two of them turned their gaze to me. “I needsomething first.”
Marthaexamined my face and then nodded. “Ah, a way home.”
Was she a mindreader, too? “Yes, please. Can you tell me how or give me somethingto send us back?”
“Us?”she asked curiously.
“ForHenry and I.”
“A relicI can make for ye,” she answered, “but fer ye alone. Henrybelongs here, in this time.Did ye not understand that?”
Thepirate stepped closer, fists clenched at his side. “I go whereDianna goes,” he insisted, “and you will make that happen.”
“Oh,will I, now?” she challenged, eyebrows raised.
“Yes,”he continued to break the triangle as he moved closer to her, “Ireckon you still want to protect the boy. And you can’t do thatwith his murderous mother burning the Earth searching for him.Dianna’s jacket is the only way to locate them.” He paused to lethis words register with the reluctant witch. “Let us do this now,and swift. Give us a way to get to the future and we’ll help youtrap The Cobhams once more.”
Hertense gaze shifted back and forth between Henry and I as she mulledover the deal. Finally, she responded, “Very well. But ye can’t bemucking with things. Going to the future has less of aneffect, but still aneffect, nonetheless.” Sheawaited our responses, but I only nodded. Martha sighed. “I’ll needsomethin’ of yers,somethin’ brought here with ye.”
“Youmean… from the future?” I asked and fished around in my jacketpockets for my key chain. Relief washed over me when my fingersfound it. “Here, this should work.” I walked around the fire andplaced the snow globe in her hand.
She held it upand examined it curiously before cupping her hands around it. Iwatched intently as Martha closed her eyes and mumbled a Gaelicchant. She bent down to pinch some earth between her fingers andsprinkled it over the trinket. A red light began to seep from thecracks between her fingers and the fire grew next to me.
Henry took themoment to reach out and hold my hand. He brought it up to his lipsand placed a gentle kiss across my fingers. “Are you trulyalright?”
I managed adeep and shaky breath. “Yes, I’ll be fine.”
“Butyour mother–”
“I’ll befine,” I said again and then added, “eventually.” Henry respondedwith a light squeeze of my hand and I stepped closer to kiss hisface. “I’ll have you to get me through it.”
Finally,she stopped, and her eyes flew open. “There,” she handed the keychain, now warm to the touch, back to me, “when yer ready, simplybreak the relic and ye will find yerself back home.” She stole a sly glance towardHenry and then quickly darted back to me. “Be sure yer touching himwhen ye do, or he won’t be travelin’ anywhere.”
I beamed andclutched the snow globe tightly before returning it to my pocket.“Thank you.” Her only response was a defiant harrumph and I took myplace in the triangle once again.
“Thebottle is prepared,” she called out to us as the fire crackledloudly in the center. “We
