“Incredible,” Mr. Nobel said. “And Marta, she helped?”
They all turned to Marta. Both she and the rabbit were now asleep on the bed.
“I couldn’t have done it without her,” Matt said. “Somehow she knew exactly what to do, how to weave the time tapestries back together so Corey and Ruby could come back.”
“I always thought she was maybe a ghost,” Corey said.
Matt nodded. “Maybe she sort of is. Not a ghost, exactly, but not really part of this world.”
Nobel frowned at his sleeping niece. “I’m afraid she won’t be in this world much longer,” he said, his voice a bit raspy.
“What do you mean?” Jia asked.
Nobel didn’t seem to be able to speak.
“She was born to Emil after he was brought back to life by Captain Vincent,” Matt said gently. “If he hadn’t done that, she never would have been born, and if we are somehow able to fix the lock . . . I don’t know what that will mean for Marta.”
Jia’s eyes widened as she understood what he meant. She shook her head, eyes gleaming.
Mr. Nobel went to the sleeping Marta and gently picked her up in his arms, the rabbit too. He carried her out of the room, leaving Matt, Ruby, Corey, and Jia in tired silence.
“We can’t just let her . . . die, can we?” Ruby said in a small voice.
“It’s not exactly death, is it?” Corey said. “I mean, technically she wasn’t even supposed to be born.”
“Is anyone technically supposed to be born?” Jia said. “Does Marta have less right to live just because she was born in a different reality than ours?”
“No, that’s not what I’m saying,” Corey said, “I just . . . sheesh, this is complicated. It’s like math. I hate math.”
Yes, it was complicated, but Jia was right. Marta had just as much right to live as any of them, and yet Matt didn’t know how to solve for that. It was just one more riddle to add to the steadily growing pile.
“I think she maybe has a role to play in fixing the lock,” Matt said. “All her weaving and knot tying, the way she helped bring you two back, I think she’ll be able to help us fix the rest, somehow.”
“How are we supposed to fix the forbidden lock, anyway?” Ruby asked. “We don’t even know where it is or what it looks like, do we?”
“We don’t know much,” Matt agreed. “But I think it’s very likely that it’s in Colombia, or that the place has something to do with it, anyway.”
“Why Colombia?” Corey said.
“Obviously because that’s where Matt was born, duh,” Ruby said.
“And it would make sense that his birth would have something to do with the forbidden lock,” Jia said. “Everything seems to be connected to Matt. Your family, time travel, the compass, all that has happened, begins and ends with Matt’s birth.”
“Not my birth,” Matt said. “My adoption.”
“What do you mean?” Ruby asked.
“In our reality Mom and Dad were the ones to adopt me, but that could change, theoretically, couldn’t it? With the Aeternum, Captain Vincent could make it so he’s the one to adopt me, make me his child instead. And then I really will become Marius Quine and you two won’t exist at all.”
Corey let out a long sigh. “To think this world could exist without me. It would just be so dark and . . . boring.”
“This isn’t a joke, Corey,” Ruby said.
“I’m not joking! I’m, like, essential to the earth’s well-being.”
Ruby rolled her eyes.
“You’re essential to me,” Matt said. “You both are. I don’t want to be Marius Quine. I don’t want you two to go away. I don’t want any other family. I want our family. I want Mom and Dad and Gaga and Haha and Uncle Chuck.”
“Maybe you don’t have a choice,” Corey said. “Maybe it’s not up to you. Our fates are out of our hands.”
Matt felt an ache begin in his chest. The thought of being torn from his family, of truly not knowing or remembering them . . . it really would be a world of darkness.
“What if it is your choice?” Jia said.
“What do you mean?” Matt asked.
Jia had a pensive look on her face. “I’m not sure. I’m just thinking about the things my father said about you three being the key to repairing the forbidden lock. What if it’s up to you three what happens? Maybe it’s simpler than you think.”
Corey snorted. “None of this is simple.”
“The problems are not simple, but that doesn’t mean the solutions can’t be. Think of it in terms of mechanics. This door, for example.” Jia stood and went to the bedroom door. She swung it open and closed and open again. “Look. A large, heavy slab of wood. If it were just that it would be very difficult to open it, but it’s the small hinges that make it work so easily. Small mechanisms can have huge effects. Matt, you of all people should know this.”
He did. So many things that seemed big and overwhelming originated from the smallest thing. Even his ability to atomically disassemble himself came from such a small space in his brain. You just had to know where it was and how to activate it, make it light up.
“Maybe you need to think of yourselves as the hinges in all the larger stuff that’s happening,” Jia said. “Don’t overthink it.”
Easier said than done, Matt thought. He could barely think at all right now. Blowing himself up and bringing Corey and Ruby back into existence was just a tad tiring. Corey and Ruby looked exhausted as well. But Matt didn’t think there was any way they could sleep now. He feared that if he closed his eyes he would wake and Corey and Ruby would be gone again, and he’d forget them completely. And their parents . . . his dad was still hovering in a state of nonexistence, and their mom was in the clutches of Captain Vincent, totally unaware of what he’d done to her and her family. And there was Gaga and Haha and Uncle Chuck. And
