CHAPTER 41: ACROSS THE UNIVERSE
"…Stolen?" Jill repeated faintly.
Catherine took another breath, glancing down. "When you were sucked through that door," she explained, "the Skeleton Key went inside with you. Of course, we didn't notice that detail until much later, when we were going over your inheritance. And by the time we learned what that key really was, we couldn't do anything about it."
Jill thought back to when she was summoned to Night Raven College—she could dully remember a flicker of silver as something flew past her head. But that little piece of memory was overshadowed by the whole. Being thrown out of her home, landing in the Dark Carriage, running around Night Raven in a panic, thinking this entire thing was a bad dream…
"But I went through my coffin, and the Skeleton Key wasn't there," Jill said. "Wouldn't it be in Night Raven College?"
"We've swept through every inch of NRC, and we couldn't find it," Sam said apologetically.
"It took me some time to even learn about the Skeleton Key," Crowley mused. "I went through several records of your grandfather, only to find that some documents about him were redacted. These were hidden by my predecessor, Headmage Erin Falcone. I had to receive permission by the TWMC to reveal what happened… and as it turned out, Daniel came to Falcone decades ago with a 'Skeleton Key'. Your grandfather told you the rest of that encounter, I assume."
"Yes. So you weren't the headmage that Grandpa fought with?" Jill asked.
"Miss Bones, how old do you think I am?" Crowley asked irritably. Sam chuckled.
"Sorry, I just… I didn't know," Jill excused. "Grandpa didn't mention his headmage's name…" She looked back to her parents. "Let's go back to that word you said—the Key is 'stolen'? So someone took it?" Catherine and Christopher both nodded, looking bitter.
"Yes, and I've seen the thief in question," Crowley answered. "Your grandfather left behind notes of lucid dreaming. I copied his technique and found myself facing a doppelganger of his. He had a clock for an eye, blot-tipped claws… and the Skeleton Key around his neck. I tried to confront him over and over again, but he's eluded me every time."
"Minuet-Hand?" Jill asked. "So… maybe he was after the Skeleton Key all along!"
"And he used the Key to open another door, separating us from our home," Christopher said quietly. "I don't think he wants to kill us—he could've sent us to a much more dangerous area. But rather, it seems like he wants us to suffer while apart."
"I see," Jill muttered. Given how she had become depressed enough to overblot, she could imagine how a life with no closure would be. If her parents were never contacted, if she never learned the truth… there would always be unhappiness inside her.
"I may as well tell you, your overblot was no coincidence," Crowley said. "Minuet-Hand has been behind all of the overblots, save for Mr. Grim's, since he merely ate the blot crystals."
"Then why did you yell at me earlier?" Jill pouted. "It wasn't my fault."
"Jill, it wasn't a full brainwashing. You were still responsible for your actions," Christopher scolded. "Minuet-Hand simply pushed you in the wrong direction, like an intrusive thought."
Crowley nodded. "Yes, well put, Mr. Bones. Of course, I only became suspicious of these attacks after the fight with Mr. Kingscholar. Mr. Rosehearts was one thing, but another overblot so soon after that? And what's more, each blot attack has corresponded with the different dorms of Night Raven."
"Except for Ignihyde and Diasomnia," Sam corrected. "We think maybe Shroud and Draconia are future targets."
"Grandpa mentioned that he was bullied by all the main dorms, just because he was in Ramshackle," Jill said. "If Minuet-Hand comes from that resentment, maybe he's trying to ruin all the other dorms out of spite. But what I don't get is why I was targeted, and how." She touched the back of her hand, feeling the bones behind her pale skin. How the blot had melted nearly everything away…
"It's simple, impette. You got in his way," Sam said. "You helped save the victims from being consumed with blot. I imagine Minuet-Hand wanted to punish you for thwarting him so many times."
"Minuet-Hand operates within the subconscious, since he was made from blot," Crowley added. "He was initially connected to your grandfather, but now that he has the Skeleton Key, he can go into anyone's dreams and attack them where it really hurts."
"After I threw a house party, I heard a dripping sound," Jill confessed. "And that night, I dreamed that I was being buried alive. It haunted me and eventually drove me to… do what I did."
"I'm sorry, Miss Bones," Crowley said quietly. "Given all the work I was doing—keeping your parents in the know, trying to find Minuet-Hand, running Night Raven—I didn't think of your emotional needs. I believed that Minuet-Hand may have a soft spot for you, and thus would spare you. But in hindsight, perhaps sending you to Night Raven was intended to be an eventual death."
"Eventual death?" Jill asked.
"Right, because of the overblots," Catherine said grimly. "You were put in harm's way many times… it could've ended very badly for you."
Jill nodded once, shifting her eyes to the floor.
"I noticed a pattern with the overblotted mages," Crowley went on. "You once told me about the Disney corporation, how they interpret the Great Seven as villains… and the overblot victims acted just like those wicked versions of our heroes. Even you yourself acted like a twisted take on the Pumpkin King. Perhaps Minuet-Hand is trying to make a mockery of our school's history, all out of spite."
"Maybe…" Jill wiped her eyes, the tears finally leaking through.
"Jill? I know it's a lot to take in," Christopher said. "We know you've been through so much…"
"Th-That's not it," Jill confessed. "I know a lot of bad things have happened, we're all so far from home, and there's someone after me, but…" She sobbed and smiled widely. "I'm just so glad you're okay!"
The Boneses all put their hands on the glass of the Dark Mirror; even Una licked the glass.
"I know… we're more relieved than we can say," Catherine said quietly. "Just knowing you're alive is good enough for us."
And yes, Jill was alive. She could feel the beating of her heart and the moving of her lungs, spreading life through her body with every second. For the first time since her grandfather's passing, she felt truly human.
"Miss Bones," Crowley said. "I know now that you should be a part of this. The Skeleton Key is legally yours, and Minuet-Hand has harmed your friends and family. You must help us retrieve the Key from our adversary. I'm sorry for trying to keep you from the bigger picture, even if I thought it was for your own good." He tipped his hat. "I do hope you can forgive me."
"I…" Jill paused. "I will, if you can forgive me for the whole RSA thing."
"Very well." Crowley managed a faint smile. "Even if I did punish you, I would also have to penalize six other students alongside you, and it's already been a nightmare trying to keep news of the overblots from reaching the public…"
"Does the Committee know?" Jill asked.
"We've been keeping that on the downlow from the TWMC," Sam said. "If they knew about the overblots, then they might try to close the school due to safety violations… and that would really turn things from bad to worse." He glanced aside. "Speaking of, I already sold the ghosts a new broom for you awhile ago," he said. "They probably put it in Hallowgrim. Make sure you cut the old broom up for firewood—can't have it sticking out of the trashcan and having someone notice it."
"Right…" All this cloak-and-dagger talk made Jill wonder what her friends were up to. She should tell them about her revelation, but maybe not the full extent. Epel and Jack didn't know how many overblots there were, and Ortho only seemed to have a general knowledge of blot. She couldn't reopen old wounds for everyone and risk Night Raven being cancelled…
"Jill, we'll make sure to see you again soon," Catherine promised. "But we have a shift at the ice cream shop, and…"
"I will see you again," Jill promised. "I love you with all the blood in my heart." It was something that she and her family would sometimes tell one another.
"We love you with all the blood in our hearts," Christopher echoed. "Take care, Jill."
At last, the Boneses family disappeared from view, replaced with the stoic face of the Dark Mirror. Jill exhaled and rubbed the last of her tears. She wasn't even sad. Not while relief and life sang through every vein.
"You can mention this to your friends if they ask," Crowley said. "But please do not mention the Skeleton Key, Minuet-Hand, or the overblots. As you're now in the know, you need to help us contain the situation."
"Right," Jill vowed, drawing an X on her chest. She would work out the details soon enough. "Thank you for everything, both of you."
Sam was the one who led her out of the Mirror Chamber; since she was 'sick', it would look suspicious for Jill to be seen walking through campus. Sam took Jill by the shoulder and walked into a dark corner, and then the two of them were at Hallowgrim dorm again.
"…How?" Jill asked.
Sam simply chuckled and pressed a finger to his lips. Just like before. Jill wondered if Sam knew that things would work out all along, but of course she'd never get a straight answer out of him.
"Remember, you're sick, so don't come to the Mystery Shop," he warned. "I'll see you tomorrow, impette." And then he walked back into the dark corner and disappeared. Jill put her hand through where Sam left, but she only touched solid wall.
She looked around herself; she had appeared in the artroom. Sunlight was streaming through the window, and she could hear someone moving around downstairs.
Jill went through the hallway and took a peek into the master bedroom. Sure enough, there was a new broomstick sitting on her bed. If it wasn't for the green ribbon tied around it, she wouldn't be able to tell it was a different broom from her usual one. She'd have to destroy her old broom, just like Sam said… and she definitely owed the ghostly trio a thank you.
Humming a little, she descended the stairs and entered the guest room. "Hey, guys…"
But instead of any of the ghosts, Ace Trappola was sitting in the room, staring at a black flower that was set inside a thin vase of water.
"Ace?" Jill asked. "Wait, shouldn't you be in class?!"
"Classes are over," he said, not looking away from the flower.
Jill quickly checked the time—late afternoon. Her schoolwork and meeting with Crowley felt like a mere hour or two, but several hours had passed by. She was so overwhelmed that she didn't notice how much of the day had slipped away…
But where was Grim, or her other friends? Shouldn't they be here by now to check on her?
Ace read her worried expression. "Sorry, I kind of let myself in. I can leave," he said.
"No, don't," Jill blurted out. "I… I want to talk to you."
She sat on the couch beside him, staring at the black flower. The same one that Ace had given her only last night.
There was a lot for both of them to say.