September (5 page)
Authors: Gabrielle Lord
‘Off you go, now, Gab,’ I said, after releasing her from a tight hug in the back of Sharkey’s car. Sharkey had driven us all to a secluded spot a safe distance from the police station. ‘I’ll see you again soon, I promise.’
Gabbi took Winter’s hand and they both slid out of the car. Winter softly closed the door behind them, and silently mouthed, ‘Won’t be long.’ Gab reluctantly looked back at Boges and me through the car window with her bravest face on. We both waved as the pair walked away from us.
They were only a few metres away when Gab dropped Winter’s hand and came running back to me, Winter following closely behind.
‘How come I’m wearing this?’ she said,
holding
up her hands to me. ‘I thought I gave it to you!’ She pointed to the little Celtic ring on her finger. ‘I did, didn’t I? I remember! It was after you nearly drowned in the bay. Back in the
holiday
house?’
‘You did,’ I agreed. ‘You did give it to me, but then I visited you once—in the hospital—and I
put it back on your finger to show you I’d been there.’
‘Even though everyone was after you?’
‘I snuck in. And I’ll visit you again, I promise.’
‘But it will be too dangerous!’ she protested.
‘I’ll find a safe way. OK? Now quickly, you’d better get going.’
‘Come on, Gabbi,’ Winter said, taking my
sister’s
hand again.
But Gabbi stood firm and twisted the Celtic ring right off her finger.
‘You have to take this back,’ she said, ‘It’s kept me safe so far. You need it more than me now.’
She passed the silver ring through the window, and I slipped it back onto my pinkie-finger. I looked down at the two interconnecting strands that reminded me of the symbol for eternity.
‘When I come home for good, I’ll give it back. See you soon, Gab,’ I whispered, turning the ring on my finger.
I watched again as the pair walked away. I still couldn’t believe Gab was OK, and that Winter—this girl I’d doubted, countless times, risked her own life by jumping into Spindrift River to save mine.
We’d been back on the road for an hour and a half after collecting Winter. Sharkey decided it
was safe enough for us to pull over for a quick bathroom break near a picnic spot in the bush.
‘Be back here in under ten,’ he called out, as the three of us—Winter, Boges and I—wandered off through the bush in different directions.
In the distance, I spotted a family with little kids playing under shady paperbark trees beside the curving lagoon. The trees along the banks reminded me of how Dad used to make toy boats for us when Gab and I were little, playing around the ponds at Richmond Park. He’d use some of the long strips of papery bark that hung down from the massive trees to craft a little hull, then fasten some wafer-thin paperbark on a pointy willow stick to make a sail.
I thought about Gabbi and imagined how shocked the cops back at the station would have been to find her at their door. And, far more exciting than that, I imagined Mum’s joy on receiving the news that not only was her
daughter
found alive, she was out of the coma.
It was almost unbelievable.
I’d lost the Riddle and the Jewel, but Gabbi was safe and well.
It was September. I had less than four months left to sort out the Ormond Singularity before it expired. Or, as the crazy guy warned me, before
I
expired. By December 31st, I told myself, I must
find the Riddle and the Jewel, get them back and then somehow get myself over to Ireland … All while escaping the clutches of the law, Vulkan Sligo and Oriana de la Force. It seemed
impossible
, but I was starting to feel convinced that going to Ireland was my only hope of tracking down the missing pieces.
I stared sightlessly ahead as the hugeness of the job in front of me loomed in my mind.
From one of the nearby trees, a magpie warbled.
What should I do next?
The magpie warbled louder. I turned my head, shielding my eyes from harsh sunlight that streamed through a gap in the leaves of the tree I was under.
Within seconds, I was forced to duck as a
fast-moving
, black and white dive-bomber narrowly missed my face. Sunlight must have reflected from the silver Celtic ring on my finger.
The black and white flurry whooshed past me, then settled on a willow branch growing from a half-submerged tree in the lagoon.
Could it be?
It couldn’t. Not a chance.
I squinted.
‘Maggers, is that you?’ I asked, examining him.
He squawked and ruffled his feathers.
I was sure it was him! He was getting ready for another dive.
‘Maggers! It’s me! Enough with the dive-
bombing
, OK?’
At the sound of my voice, Maggers stopped his attack and flew to a lower branch to check me out. I took a step backwards. I wanted to keep my eyeballs in their sockets.
I noticed distinctive black flecks around his white collar, and the small white patch over his right eye. I was almost one hundred per cent sure it was Maggers—Great-uncle Bartholomew’s attack bird.
‘You’re a long way from home, Maggers. What is it?’
‘Argle bargle,’ he said.
‘And the same to you.’
He gave himself a little shake, then flew to the ground, not far from where I was,
scratching
around contentedly and checking things out with his beak, taking his surroundings in with his intelligent eyes.
It was so good to see him again. As I watched him, I thought of the bug he’d swallowed, and how he’d taken Oriana de la Force’s thugs on a wild magpie chase through the bush after
Bartholomew
figured out they’d been tracking me.
An idea started forming in my mind. An idea
that I hoped would give us the information we so desperately needed—the whereabouts of the Riddle and the Jewel.
‘Time to get going,’ I said to the magpie. ‘See you again some time.’
‘Argle bargle,’ he said.
I ran back to the car and Maggers stayed close by, flying from tree to tree. I swear that bird was following me.
‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry,’ I said to Sharkey,
Winter
and Boges, who were all waiting for me inside the car. ‘You won’t believe it,’ I said as I climbed in the back. ‘I saw Maggers!’
‘Maggers?’ Winter repeated, confused.
‘Not the attack bird?’ Boges asked, with a dubious chuckle. ‘Your great-uncle’s magpie?’
‘It was him, I swear!’
Sharkey sighed and started the car.
‘Look, there he is!’ I said, pointing out the window to Maggers, flying above the car.
‘You think that bird is Maggers?’ said Boges, while exchanging disbelieving looks with Winter. ‘As if!’
I ignored him. I sat back and pulled the
seat-belt
across my chest and clicked it into place. I silently stared out of the window, carefully
watching the black and white bird as we began pulling away from the kerb. Eventually, Maggers disappeared into the trees lining the side of the road.
Boges had given me the all-clear to stay in the beachside mansion again, until further notice, so I was enjoying it while it lasted. I couldn’t believe there were people in the world who were so rich that they could have a house as amazing as this one without even needing to live in it.
Winter and Boges had both had one too many mysterious absences recently to explain to one person or another, so they decided to lie low for a little while to subdue any suspicions. That meant, for now, my life was back to just me, myself and I.
Knowing Gabbi was recovering at her new home—Rafe’s place—alive, awake and well, was a massive weight off my shoulders. I almost felt like I could relax a bit. At least until Boges and Winter could get back on the DMO case with me.
I’d been working on my plan to get
information
from Oriana’s, but I needed to wait until Boges was free to see whether he thought we could pull it off.
I didn’t want to waste the down time, so I headed for the home theatre room—to get back to working my way through the mansion’s
extensive
movie collection …
boges, any chance we can meet up soon? i’m halfway thru the movie collection, but going a bit stir-crazy now …
cabin fever, hey? i don’t blame u. i have heaps of work 2 do, but me and winter r both free on the 12th. meet u @ hers?
sure. what time?
after 4pm?
perfect. do u remember that air rifle u had years ago? the one u adjusted so we could fire those little plastic parachute soldiers out of it?
sure do. it’s here somewhere, buried
underneath
all my stuff. what about it? where is this leading?
i’ll explain @ winter’s. can u pls bring it?
ok … i’ll start digging around for it now. ur not planning a shooting rampage, r u?
nothing like that. there’s something else i need too.
let me guess … bullets?
haha. no bullets. i need the smallest listening device u can get ur hands on.