A beat of silence, and then everyone in the crowd burst into laughter. “What are you, brand new?” J-Bone called. “Who would ever believe something like that?”
“Right?” Sal said. “What are you even talking about, Miss Marblemaw? David’s just a kid.”
“Yeah,” Phee said. “We told you that a thousand times.”
“Remember when I inked on you?” Chauncey called. “That was on purpose! Ha, ha. Okay, no, it wasn’t, but I didn’t know what else to say, so … uh. Ella Fitzgerald, scaddidily doo dippity bip.”
“Whoa,” Lucy whispered with stars in his eyes. “That was so righteous. Look at you, scat man!”
“Enough!” Rowder thundered, a vein throbbing in her forehead.
“Yes,” Arthur said. “I quite agree. Enough. Here it is, Rowder, at last. An offer that you should not refuse.”
“I will have the children,” she snapped. “You have nothing else to give.”
He nodded. “See, that’s where you’re wrong. The children will not be leaving my side, or the side of my husband-to-be. We are a family, you see. The Baker-Parnassuses.”
“Bit of a mouthful,” Merle said with a sniff. “Still, family discount and all that.”
“My offer is this: here, now, we can make a difference. All of us, together. It won’t be easy, but you have my word that I will do everything in my not so inconsiderable power to ensure we come together in the spirit of unity and the desire for change. To break that which is already broken counts for naught. It must be rebuilt from the ground up by all of us.” He looked at the people around them, the residents, the visitors, both magical and not. And to the reporters, all of whom watched breathlessly, cameras trained in their direction. “As you can see, the world is watching. What will you do, I wonder?”
“You planned this,” Rowder whispered. “All of it.”
“Did I?” he asked. “Here I was, thinking I was enjoying a day out with my family. Even if I had planned this very moment, it should come as no surprise to you. After all, I did warn you that a war against me was one you’re not prepared for. Will you except my offer?”
“Never,” Rowder spat. “You played your part, Parnassus, and you played it well. But this fanciful future that you dream of is just that: a dream. We live in the real world, where people—”
“Huh,” Arthur said, glancing at Linus. “Gave it my all.”
“So you did,” Linus said with a huff. “Quite impressive, if you ask me.”
“You flatter me, my dear. Though, I must admit I really thought I had her with the bit about breaking that which is already broken.”
“Delivered with a finesse even the greatest orators in history wouldn’t have found fault with. I myself was moved to—”
“Get them,” Rowder snarled, and the men started forward.…
… only to be met with the might of the crowd around them, people moving closer, eyes narrowed, arms folded across their chests. Mr. Swanson and J-Bone moved to either side of Arthur, Linus, and their family. Merle brought up the rear, backed by dozens of people, including Martin Smythe. His aunt, one Helen Webb, appeared at Arthur’s side as if by magic. “Say the word,” she whispered in his ear. “She’s ready.”
Arthur nodded as Mr. Swanson said, “You want them, you’ll have to go through us.”
“Damn right,” J-Bone said, people in the crowd nodding along. “You don’t get to come in here and break up a family.”
“You will all be arrested!” Rowder shouted. “If you do not stand aside now, I will make it my mission to ensure this village and its inhabitants will never again know a moment’s peace, especially when you’re harboring monsters—”
“If,” Arthur said, “you won’t take a proffered hand in good faith, then perhaps you’ll bow before royalty.”
Rowder gaped at him, and then began to laugh. Before long, her men started to chuckle, and even Marblemaw looked amused. “Royalty?” Rowder said, her mirth evident. “You? I know you’re a phoenix, Mr. Parnassus, but it would seem being the last of your kind has given you delusions of grandeur.”
“Nah, you got it all wrong,” Sal said, stepping forward to stand next to Arthur. He leaned his elbow on his father’s shoulder, resting comfortably as he crossed one shoe over the other, toe pointed against the ground. But he never looked away from Rowder. “Dad wasn’t talking about himself. See, that part’s over. You had your chance.” Sal grinned, wild and beautiful, and in it, Arthur saw the man he would become. “Now it’s her turn.”
She descended from above in a cascade of shimmering sparks, her wings buzzing ferociously. As her bare feet hit the ground, the pavement cracked, verdant grass shooting up. A tiny daisy sprouted between the toes of her left foot, little white petals resting against brown skin.
Zoe Chapelwhite was a vision: her dress appeared to be a living oil painting, the swirling blue and green and yellow crossing along the fabric, streaking like shooting stars. Her arms and legs—hands and feet still exposed—were covered in thin metal that looked as if it had been fashioned specifically for her. The metal itself was barely visible as dozens of multicolored seashells were stuck to it, each about the size of a button. It took Arthur a moment to see it for what it was: a suit of armor.
And atop her head, white Afro styled around it, a crown. Silver, with dangling chains that hung onto the sides of her head. The top of the crown was dramatic: ten pearl spikes rose across the front, five on either side of a large pink-and-white conch shell that rested in the center of the crown. In the opening of the conch shell lay a glittering cerulean-blue gemstone the size of Lucy’s fist.
“Holy freaking crap,” Phee breathed. “Look at her.”
Oh, did he. Arthur remembered the woman in the forest when he was a child, the island sprite who had hidden herself away. The woman who had come for him when he’d returned, unsure, her guilt weighing heavily upon her shoulders. The woman who had picked up a piece of sandpaper and gotten to work building a home out of the remains. The woman who had been with him every step of the way, seeing his plan come to life before his very eyes. His friend—no, his best friend, his sister, this extraordinary queen who had welcomed the children to her island with open arms. She’d laughed with them. She’d cried with them. She’d lifted them up, carried them when they could no longer walk, helped them feel alive for the first time since they could remember.
And now, here she was, standing tall and proud between her people and those who had deemed themselves superior. She took a step toward Rowder, leaving behind a perfect imprint of grass in the shape of her foot on the street. When she spoke, her voice was clear, crisp. “You are not welcome here.”
Rowder recovered first. Looking side to side to confirm her men hadn’t fled, she nodded and cleared her throat. “And who might you be?”
“Zoe Chapelwhite,” Marblemaw called, still standing away from them as if she knew something the others didn’t. “The unregistered island sprite.”
Rowder snorted. “Of course she is.” Then, “Miss Chapelwhite, as required by law put forth by the Department in Charge of Magical Adults, you are hereby ordered to register with—”
“No,” Zoe said.
“Ah!” Rowder said, clapping her hands. “I see where the mistake came from. You thought that was a request. Rest assured, it was not. Stand aside before you do something you’ll regret.”
“I have many regrets,” Zoe said, the colors on her dress swirling brighter and faster, the shells on her armor beginning to spin with a low whir. “But one rises above all the others.” She turned in a slow circle, looking at everyone standing around her. At least two hundred, with more coming every minute. “We were happy,” she said. “Here. All of us. My friends. My family. I was happy. For thousands of years. And then we were told we were dangerous.”
Silence, even from the reporters, all watching with bated breath.
“Lies!” Rowder cried. “Slander! If this were true, there would be documented evidence of—”
