The Peregrines

Chapter 20

Timone shot me a quick glance, suggesting that if I genuinely desired my brother to be a part of my life again, I needed to ensure his safety as well. It's not an ideal environment for him here currently, and I believe Timone would agree with me that Bryce is incredibly fortunate he didn't join us on the train to assist in locating Miss Wren.

"You have a Map of Days?" said Millard.

"We have two. The peculiar archives are downstairs, you know."

"That is good news indeed," Millard said, his voice charged with excitement.

"Catching a wight is easier said than done," said Emma. "And they lie, of course. Lying is what they do best."

"Then we'll catch two and compare their lies," the clown said. "They come sniffing around here pretty often, so next time we see one—bam! We'll grab him."

"There's no need to wait," said Enoch. "Didn't Miss Wren say there are wights in this very building?"

"Sure," said the clown, "But they're frozen. Dead as doornails."

"That doesn't mean they can't be interrogated," Enoch said, a grin spreading across his face.

The clown turned to the tall man. "I'm really starting to like these weirdos."

"Then you are with us?" said the tall man. "You stay and fight?"

"I didn't say that," said Emma. "Give us a minute to talk this over."

"What is there to talk over?" said the clown.

"Of course, take all time you need," said the tall man, and he pulled the clown down the hall with him. "Come, I will make coffee."

"All right," the clown said reluctantly.

We gathered in a circle like we've done countless times during our challenges, but instead of talking all at once, we took turns speaking in an organized manner. The seriousness of the situation had us feeling sombre.

"I think we should fight," said Hugh. "Now that we know what the wights are doing to us, I couldn't live with myself if we just went back to the way things were, and tried to pretend none of this was happening. To fight is the only honourable thing."

"There's honour in survival, too," said Millard. "Our kind survived the twentieth century by hiding, not fighting—so perhaps all we need is a better way to hide."

Then Bronwyn turned to Emma and said, "I want to know what you think."

"Yeah, I want to know what Emma thinks," said Olive.

"Me too," said Enoch, which took me by surprise.

Emma drew a long breath, then said, "I feel terrible for the other ymbrynes. It's a crime what's happened to them, and the future of our kind may depend on their rescue. But when all is said and done, my allegiance doesn't belong to those other ymbrynes, or to other peculiar children. It belongs to the woman to whom I owe my life—Miss Peregrine, and Miss Peregrine alone."

Emma continued after a brief pause, nodding her head as if she wanted to ensure the validity of her own words. "And when, bird willing, she becomes herself again, I'll do whatever she needs me to do. If she says fight, I'll fight. If she wants to hide us away in a loop somewhere, I'll go along with that, too. Either way, my creed has never changed: Miss Peregrine knows best."

The others considered this. Finally, Millard said, "Very wisely put, Emma."

"Miss Peregrine knows best!" said Olive.

"Miss Peregrine knows best!" echoed Hugh.

"I don't care what Miss Peregrine says," said Horace. "I'll fight."

Enoch choked back a laugh. "You?"

"Everyone thinks I'm a coward. This is my chance to prove them wrong."

"Don't throw your life away because of a few jokes made at your expense," said Hugh. "Who gives a whit what anyone else thinks?"

"It isn't just that," said Horace. "Remember the vision I had back on Cairnholm? I caught a glimpse of where the ymbrynes are being kept. I couldn't show you on a map, but I'm sure of this—I'll know it when I see it." He tapped his forehead with his index finger. "What I've got up here might just save those chaps a heap of trouble. And save those other ymbrynes, too."

"If some fight and some stay behind," said Bronwyn, "I'll protect whoever stays. Protecting's always been my vocation."

Hugh then faced Jake, who had been unusually silent, and said, "What about you, Jake?"

"Yeah," said Enoch. "What about you?"

"Well," Jake said, "I . . ."

"Let's take a walk," Emma said, hooking her arm around his. "You and I need to have a chat."

* * *

After everyone went their separate ways, I silently made my way through the corridors. I lingered outside the ymbryne meeting room, eavesdropping on the muted conversations behind the closed door, yet I refrained from entering. I glanced into the nurse's room and spotted her napping on a stool amidst the peculiar children. I cautiously opened the door to Miss Wren's room and observed her soothing Miss Peregrine in her arms, delicately stroking the bird's feathers.

As I roamed the deserted corridors and rummaged through the vandalized rooms, I pondered what it would be like to return home. To live freely instead of being trapped in a cycle, away from my brother and mother. How could I possibly explain my decision to them, or to my peculiar companions and the ymbrynes? I probably wouldn't say anything at all. They would never allow me to leave, to escape their grasp once more.

I roamed around until I stumbled upon a spot where the rooms were partially frozen, with the ice creeping up halfway to the ceiling like a ship taking on water. It halted there, revealing the tops of desks and the heads of lamps peeking out like struggling swimmers. Outside the frozen windows, the sun was setting. Shadows danced on the walls and crept up the staircases, casting a bluish hue as the light faded, enveloping everything in a deep-sea cobalt.

As I walked back into the meeting hall, the sun had almost set and the room was pitch black. People were huddled around a couple of candles on the large oval table, some sitting in chairs while others sat cross-legged on the table, chatting quietly and looking down at something.

"It's pointless to argue," said Millard. "Some places have as many names as they have occupants to name them. Now please ask your serpent to back away, lest he crinkles the pages."