She fell silent, tears rolling down her face.
“What happened?” Thaddeus asked in a quiet voice. The fog thickened around them, sealing them off from the rest of the world. He rubbed his injured palm through the plantain leaves held in place by the medical tape his father had applied.
“I went to the center and gathered the freshest, ripest mooshberries I could find. When I got back, I rinsed them all at the pump and brought them inside. I couldn’t find anyone about, so I dropped them into a bowl and picked the biggest, ripest one of the bunch and carried it into his room.
“My family was all in there, every single one of them gathered around my mother. She sat in the rocking chair I had left just a short time before. She was holding my father’s hand and crying. I saw his face, how still and pale and beautiful it was, and I knew he had sent me away on purpose so I wouldn’t witness his final moments.”
“That’s horrible,” Thaddeus said. “You must have felt so guilty.”
Thaddeus was surprised to see her tears had dried. “I did at first. But I came to find out Rudyard had been at the village center that day and had caught sight of me inspecting the mooshberries. I had been so intent on finding the best, most perfect berries, I didn’t notice. He said that first sighting was the moment he fell in love with me, and he had to know who I was because he wanted to marry me.”
Flames from the freshly started campfire gave a yellow tint to the fog around them, and then Teofil materialized out of the mist and smiled down at Thaddeus.
Miriam reached up to take Teofil’s hand and smiled, looking back at Thaddeus. “Your father is a brave, good man. He loves you so very much. He knows not only what he means to you, but what missing your mother has taken from you. He’s in a very tight predicament, Thaddeus, I hope you can see that. He’s unable to continue the quest we all set out on, but it must not end here. It can’t. The dragon, your mother, must be found before others get to her and use her for evil purposes. She knows your scent. We’ve already seen that when she was released from beneath Leopold’s yard. This journey, and the fate of all of us, depends on you seeing it through.”
Thaddeus hung his head. The fog left him damp and chilled as he listened to his father’s labored breathing. Teofil knelt beside him and placed a hand on his back, moving it slightly up and down his spine.
He knew Miriam was right, knew it in his head and deep inside his heart. But a spot halfway between didn’t want him to go on without his father. He was afraid of being on his own without his father’s guidance, without his leadership. All of the decisions his father would have made would fall to him, Thaddeus Cane, all of fifteen and just introduced to this magical world that existed within the “normal” one he knew best.
Or was that the other way around? Did the “normal” one exist within the magical one?
Whichever way it was, everything he thought he’d known about his life was a lie. He was a wizard, but he had no idea what that meant. These people he traveled with—gnomes, he had to remind himself—were practically strangers. He knew and trusted Teofil, and he was certain the rest of Teofil’s family was trustworthy as well. But he’d only recently met them. They didn’t know him like his father. They hadn’t protected him all his life, watched him grow up, uprooted their lives often to keep him safe. How was he supposed to hike with them for miles through dangerous places like the Lost Forest and somehow climb a mountain to find his mother, a cursed dragon. And once he found her—if he managed to find her—what would he do then?
But what choice did he have? They had to find his mother before Isadora or one of her supporters found her first. It was up to him to finish the mission.
“Thaddeus,” Miriam said in a soothing voice. “I will stay behind to care for your father. I’ll make sure he’s comfortable and fed, and receives the best remedies possible for his injuries.”
“What?” Astrid and Fetter exclaimed together as they stepped out of the fog. Thaddeus noticed it had started to thin a bit as now he could see the hearty stack of wood Miriam had gathered and the dancing flames of the fire the gnomes had built.
“The three of you must continue with Thaddeus,” Miriam said. “He’ll need help navigating the Lost Forest and the lands beyond as you head to the mountains. Wraith Mountain, the tallest of them all, is most likely where she’ll be. Dragons feel safe high up in craggy peaks. They like to hide in caves and sleep, but can be dangerous if improperly awakened. All of you will have to work together to make sure you arrive safely. Do you understand?”
“Mum, but…,” Astrid said, glancing between Teofil and Fetter before looking back at Miriam. “We’re going to be on our own?”
“Oh, love,” Miriam replied as she gathered Astrid into her arms. “You’ve got a wide, deep independent streak in you that rivals my own. All three of you are children of the Peony and Rhododendron tribes, and you are brave and smart and strong. Listen and talk with, not at, each other. I will be right here waiting for you to return.” She looked at Thaddeus. “We both will.”
A numbness stole over Thaddeus as Miriam talked to her children. He moved closer to his father’s side and took his hand, dismayed at how cold it felt. Nathan snorted and sighed. Then his eyes fluttered open, and he looked up at Thaddeus.
“Thaddeus?” His voice was dry and scratchy. “You should have left already.”
“Too much fog right now,” Thaddeus replied.
Nathan looked around, then back at Thaddeus as he smiled weakly. “Thank God for that. I thought I was going blind.”
Thaddeus chuckled and squeezed his hand. “I’m going to leave soon with Teofil, Astrid, and Fetter. Miriam will stay behind and care for you.”
“She should go with you.” He turned away again as a fit of coughing overwhelmed him.
“We’ll be fine on our own,” Thaddeus assured him. “You need someone to stay and care for you, and she has the best background for that.”
“You be careful,” his father said.
“I will. You get better.”
“I will.”
Thaddeus sat in silence and held his father’s hand as the fog slowly burned away. Miriam helped Teofil and his siblings pack for their journey, her constant stream of instructions a surprisingly soothing backdrop. His father had fallen asleep by the time the fog had cleared enough for them to move on, and Thaddeus kissed him on the forehead before gathering his backpack and facing Miriam.
“I know you’ll take care of him,” Thaddeus said. “Just….” Words failed him as his voice broke.
“We’ll be fine, dear,” Miriam said, tears in her eyes as she pulled him into a tight hug. “You be safe and alert. Teofil will protect you.”
“We’ll protect each other,” he promised her.
“Oh, you dear boy,” she said with a sniffle, and then she squeezed him once more before pushing him away. “I know you will. Go on now. I’ve packed some herbs and mooshberries for you all. Teofil, change that dressing on Thaddeus’s hand every other day. You’ve got the mixture in a pouch in your pack.”
“I will, Mum,” Teofil said.
Thaddeus watched the gnomes hug her tight, and wished his own mother was there to give him a hug. And to help him figure out if he was making the right decision by leaving his father. Not much was gained by wishing, as his father had said more than once, so he slid his arms through the straps of his backpack and settled it on his shoulders. He cast one more look at his father’s profile, so still and pale as he slept, and then turned away toward the dark, twisted trees of the Lost Forest.