In the end, we sent Corbyn to find Bess, who arrived ten minutes later in her van. She pointed at the passenger door without a word. I hopped in.
“We found it,” I said.
“And?” Bess asked as she steered the van off the roof.
“What do we do with it?” I asked, hoping she’d have the answer.
“I think you already know,” Bess replied.
“If I don’t give them the real Pearls, they’ll make Misty Seer.”
“They can transfer the position, but not the mantle,” Bess said as we landed on the museum rooftop. “Like it or not, you were chosen for this. I won’t insult you by giving an answer you already know.”
“And if they wipe my memory?”
“They might. But they’d only hurt themselves. If you’re going to be rejected, let it be for doing the job right, not playing into Valentine’s hands.”
A knock on my window cut her off. James had dragged Hen over to us. “What’s this? Intermission?” he asked.
I opened the door. James grabbed her legs, I grabbed her arms, and we hefted her into the van. I’d never moved an unconscious body before, and it was a lot heavier than I expected.
We left the Sombras behind.
Bess sent James and Corbyn to get some leaves from her garden to wake Hen up. I stayed up front. It didn’t take long to fly to the tent near the Town Hall fountain.
A middle-aged, balding fairy with a clipboard approached us, scowling. “This is blasphemy! You can’t land a vehicle in the square. It’s against at least two dozen rules.”
“We need to see the mayor,” I said.
“The mayor is preparing for the ceremony and cannot be disturbed,” the fairy said. “And even if–”
Bess stepped out of the van, and the fairy fell silent.
“Seer, I didn’t realize—”
“I’m not Seer anymore,” Bess said.
“I am,” I added, blushing. “And I really need to talk to the mayor.”
The fairy pointed toward the tent. “She’s inside with the Council.”
“Thank you,” I said.
The fairy didn’t say anything, just flew off and began yelling at some kids who were running faster than event protocols permitted.
I headed for the tent, but Bess blocked my path with her cane.
“Santiago, you’re forgetting something.”
“I don’t think so,” I said, even though I knew what she wanted.
Bess glared at me.
“I feel like a fake when I wear it,” I admitted. “I don’t know enough to—”
“It won’t feel real until you start acting like it is,” Bess said firmly. “Being Seer is part of who you are, ready or not, comfortable with it or not, like it or not. There is no threshold at which point you prove yourself to take on the mantle. You are a Seer right now. You have nothing to prove to me or them or anyone. Be our Seer. Be you.”
I hesitated, but her words struck a chord. With a sigh, I clapped my hands twice. The mantle appeared, soft and warm on my skin. I stretched my arms, noticing how well it fit.
“Now that’s more like it,” Bess said. “Go. You have a job to do.”
She held the tent flap open. Inside, the council was milling around. Misty stood there too, wearing a coat like mine.
But also, not like mine. Looking more closely at Misty, I saw her a bit differently. Maybe it was the way she was standing with her shoulders hunched. Or heck, maybe it was some kind of Seerly insight. I don’t know. But I could tell she didn’t want to be there. Her face was almost as pale as it had been this morning when–
Faking.
And in that moment, I realized something important. Something that had been bugging me since the Pop Shop.
“Santiago, Bess, what a surprise,” Valentine said.
“We need to speak to the mayor,” I said, stepping forward.
The mayor looked up. “This isn’t the time, Bess.”
“I’m not the one you need to hear from,” Bess replied.
I swallowed. It was one thing to clap my hands a couple times and put on the coat but standing in front of the city council and saying what I needed to say was an entirely different thing.
I took a deep breath. “Mayor, I’m the Seer.”
Valentine interrupted, “You couldn’t even solve my riddle. What makes you–”
“I found the Pearls of Prescott,” I said. “But I have um, decided that they are too dangerous to bring out in the open.”
“What about the curse?” Jedediah, the older councilman, asked. At first I thought it was a challenge, but then I looked at him and saw what looked like sincerity in his eyes.
“The Pearls are the curse, not the cure. Wipe my memory if you have to, but I won’t let them fall into the wrong hands.”
“And whose are you implying are the wrong hands?” Councilwoman Claudia asked.
“I don’t believe they belong in anyone’s hands, Councilwoman,” I said, trying to keep my tone respectful.
“Very well,” the mayor said. “You leave me with little choice. It seems Misty has won–”
“Hold on!” Bess interrupted. “Being Seer isn’t just about answers. It’s about knowing when not to give them.”
“Bess, he failed the assignment,” Mayor Featherstone protested.
“No, he succeeded. This was never about a necklace or a curse. You’ve got an untrained, imperfect, flawed, even malodorous Seer.”
I scrunched up my face. Was that last part really necessary?
“But he has good instincts and a good heart. If you toss him back to the Underland, you’ll be depriving this city of what it needs.”
I swallowed again. “I don’t think that Misty is able to be Seer.”
What little color there was in Misty’s cheeks drained.
“I did a possession regression right in front of you, Underlander,” Misty snapped.
“You did?” I asked. “I was meaning to ask, what does your Aunt Trinnia do?”
Misty’s eyes darted downward, confirming what I had realized a few minutes ago: that Trinnia was a Seer.
“Aunt Trinnia? What does he mean–” Claudia started.
“The boy brings us excuses instead of a necklace,” Valentine interrupted. “Misty, on the other hand brought us a necklace. Expert fairies are working to prove their authenticity as we speak.”
“They’ll never be able to,” I said. “Because Arnold left more than one hundred decoy necklaces around Flamingo Springs. Give me a few hours and I can bring you a dozen more that will be just as convincing as that one. Arnold believed the necklace so dangerous that he spent his life trying to destroy it.”
“What could make the necklace that dangerous?” the green-haired councilwoman asked.
I considered telling them but decided I didn’t want the information spreading anymore. “That’s his business, but I agree with him.”
“You leave us in a difficult position,” Mayor Featherstone said.
I didn’t know what to say to that, so I said nothing.
Bess, however, seemed to have something to say. “He’s left you in the same position you were in before. You can either have a Seer for this city or not. But I wouldn’t count on that one over there being able to give you this afternoon’s weather forecast. Mayor, this is your Seer.”
I felt my ears turning red and didn’t seem to know what to do with my hands, so I put them in my pockets. When my right hand settled on the Pearls—the real Pearls—that I’d stashed there, I switched hurriedly to my back pockets.
“We will vote on it,” the mayor said. Bess huffed, but the mayor ignored her. “All in favor of Santiago continuing as Seer, raise your hand.”
The mayor and Matilda raised their hands. That wasn’t a majority though.
Just as they were putting their hands down, one last hand went up. I turned to look at Jedediah.
“Jedediah, you told me you were opposed to this Underlander becoming Seer,” Valentine said, his voice harsher than normal.
“That was before he found my grandson’s pet jackalope,” Jedediah said. “Seems like something a true Seer would do.”
That was his grandson?
Valentine tried to jump in. “I’m sure Misty would do the sa–”
“My vote is not up for debate,” Jedediah said.
Valentine scowled and for a moment I thought he might shout at the older man. Then his face stretched into a smile. “Of course not! Seer Santiago, welcome to Flamingo Springs.”
“Thanks,” I said, unsure of his sincerity, but too relieved to care.
“Santiago, I’d like to present you to the city as we were planning to do with Misty,” Mayor Featherstone said.
“I’d like that,” I said. “But now that this is over, I need to be getting back home. I’m um, grounded.” I felt my cheeks burn again.
Mayor Featherstone rolled her eyes but didn’t offer any additional protest. I hoped I hadn’t just made her regret her decision.
“Mayor, I’d like a word,” Bess said. “One last time.”
“Very well, Bess.” She turned to Misty. “Misty, thank you for participating. You may go now.”
Misty glowered at her, then turned toward the tent flap. I ran after her. “Misty,” I said.
“I don’t want to talk to you,” she snapped.
“Misty,” I insisted, then lowered my voice. “I don’t know how you got involved with the Sombras, but you’ve got to get out.”
“I said, I don’t want to talk to you, Seer! Leave me alone!”
She stormed through the tent flap. I followed her out just in time to see her disappear into the crowd, which had become much larger. As I oriented myself, I noticed a tall man staring at me through the throng. I squinted my eyes and saw that it was Misty’s father, Mr. Marshall. I nodded at him, still unsure why he’d let us escape but felt grateful anyway.
“Santiago!”
I turned around and saw James and Hen caught up to me. “Congrats!” James said. “Congratulations!”
“Thanks,” I said, still unable to believe it myself. I glanced back towards where Marshall had been watching me, but he, like his daughter, had disappeared.
“How did you figure out Trinnia was another Seer?” James asked.
“A couple things. Remember how she got hit by–”
“Seagull droppings,” Hen said. “How could I forget?”
“I thought that it had accidentally missed me, but I think it was really for her. Arnold told me something about how Seers, when they aren’t using their gift correctly have really bad luck.”
“And that was enough for you to work it out?” Hen asked, sounding impressed.
“Well, there were a couple other things. Remember how that Sombra mentioned they had a Seer working for them?”
“That’s right,” James said. “You think it’s her?”
“Yeah,” I said. “Plus, Misty suddenly couldn’t do the Possession Regression this morning when I suggested it.”
“You know what this means, don’t you?” James asked. He hushed his voice. “Valentine, Trinnia, Misty, and Corbyn—they were all working for the Sombras.”
“Corbyn was being coerced. Do you think the others were too?” I asked.
“No idea,” Hen said.
Bess emerged, her expression grim. “I told the mayor to watch Valentine closely.”
“We’d be happy to help her. We know where his office is,” Hen added. She turned and grinned at James, who grinned back. Given their relationship, something felt off.
“What’s going on?” I asked suspiciously.
Hen tossed me something, which I barely caught. It was my phone!
“Thought you might want your magic Underlander stone back,” she said.
“Thanks!” I said, slipping it into my pocket, feeling relieved. “How did you get it?”
The two exchanged smiles again. I noticed Bess roll her eyes.
“We decided to release the kranks,” James said.
“I guess that makes sense,” I said, pocketing my phone. “Where did you do it?”
More grins.
“Let’s just say, I think Valentine will start locking his office door after this,” Hen said.
For the first time ever, I heard Bess laugh.
