“Peanut butter?” said the kid. “On a bike?”
“Yes,” she said, still looking at Matt. “And bubble gum. It’s a magical combination, you know.” She knelt down and picked up the bike. “Oh, I can give this a good tune-up.” She brought out her wrench, tightened the brakes and the seat, then brought out a small jar of peanut butter–bubble gum mixture and greased up the chain and the gears. “There you go. Good as new!” She lifted the bike and spun the front wheel.
The boy clicked the button and the bike sputtered to life. It rose off the ground a little. “It works!” he said. “Thank you!” He hopped on his bike and sped away, jumping over trees and swerving around pedestrians.
Jia turned around to face Matt. He still could not speak. He was afraid if he did, he would wake up and find this was all a dream. Jia, after all these years, was there standing before him.
“Nĭ hăo, Mateo,” she said.
“Nĭ hăo, Jia.”
Jia smiled a smile that was pure light and joy. Matt felt that hole in his heart close up.
All was right with the world, in the past, present, and future.
Acknowledgments
The end already? It came too fast, and at the same time it’s been a long journey. I do feel that I’ve traveled through time and space with a crew of amazing people who supported me and helped me tell this story with all its quirky characters and adventures. I know it’s my name on the cover, but there are so many people who contributed to the Time Castaways trilogy. To Melissa Miller, thank you for believing in me, for sharing your brilliant ideas and allowing me to take them and run. It’s been a joy and an honor. Thank you to my editor, Mabel Hsu, for jumping in with enthusiasm and for your incredible patience. Thank you to Amy Ryan for the amazing design work, to Robby Imfeld and Lena Reilly for getting these books into the hands of readers. Thank you to Lindsay Wagner, Kimberly Stella, Tanu Srivastava, and all the team members at Katherine Tegen Books and HarperCollins for your efforts on this book and series overall.
Thank you to my agent, Claire Anderson-Wheeler, for having my back through this whole process, reading and commenting at the drop of a hat when I needed it, coaching me through the rough spots and talking me off the ledge. You’ve been a true champion of my work, and I’m so grateful.
Thank you to all the wonderful teachers and librarians who have championed my books. I know I wouldn’t be where I am today without you. And to the readers, thank you for sticking with the Hudsons’ adventures to the end. Or the beginning? It’s hard to tell . . .
So many friends have helped me through this series. Shout-outs to Katie Nydegger and Lisa Allen on this one. You saw me at my worst and haven’t discarded me, so I know it’s true friendship.
To my children, Whitney, Ty, Topher, and Freddy, thank you for being my biggest fans and the most wonderful children a mother could hope for. You inspire me every day and have brought so much joy and love into my life. Scott, where would I be without you? Lost. Sad. Totally bonkers. (I know I’m a little bit bonkers.) Thank you for keeping me laughing through my tears, for holding my hand and putting up with the many late nights and weekend work. Let’s all stick together forever.
About the Author
Photo by Erin Lake
LIESL SHURTLIFF is the New York Times bestselling author of Rump: The (Fairly) True Tale of Rumpelstiltskin, other books in the (Fairly) True Tales series, and the Time Castaways trilogy. She was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, the fifth of eight kids. She now lives with her husband and four kids in Chicago, where she writes full-time.
www.lieslshurtliff.com
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Books by Liesl Shurtliff
The Time Castaways Trilogy
The Mona Lisa Key
The Obsidian Compass
The Forbidden Lock
Copyright
Katherine Tegen Books is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
TIME CASTAWAYS #3: THE FORBIDDEN LOCK. Copyright © 2020 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
www.harpercollinschildrens.com
Cover art © 2020 by Alexandria Neonakis
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Shurtliff, Liesl, author.
Title: The forbidden lock / Liesl Shurtliff.
Description: First edition. | New York, NY : Katherine Tegen Books, [2020] | Series: Time castaways ; 3 | Summary: “The Hudson family prepares for a final showdown with Captain Vincent, who now has the power to change the past, present, and future”—Provided by publisher.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020028317 | ISBN 9780062568212 (hardcover)
Subjects: CYAC: Brothers and sisters—Fiction. | Time travel—Fiction. | Pirates—Fiction. | Adventure and adventurers—Fiction.
Classification: LCC PZ7.S559853 For 2020 | DDC [Fic]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020028317
Digital Edition OCTOBER 2020 ISBN: 978-0-06-256823-6
Print ISBN: 978-0-06-256821-2
2021222324CPIG10987654321
FIRST EDITION
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