A Circuit of Time: Book Two of Spark (A MPHFPC Fanfiction)

Chapter Two

John woke up to a loud bang.

"Can't you be more careful? Don't you see they are sleeping!" A familiar voice was shouting in low voice. As low as shouting can be, anyway.

John and Blanche opened their eyes and quickly broke apart.

"So you two are awake." Emma said, "Well, Jackson here brought our stuff from Mandrake's motel." The little boy behind her, surrounded by bags and suitcases, waved at them.

Emma gave him a gentle smile, "Thank you. You are dismissed."

The boy grinned at Emma and ran away hymning to himself.

"What time is it?" Blanche asked.

Emma looked at her watch, "Half past nine."

"Where were you?" John asked Emma.

"Just catching up with an old friend. And she said Francesca wants you to have this." Emma picked up a book on the table and handed it to him.

"Miss Peregrine's Museum of Wonders: An Indispensable Guide to the Dangers and Delights of the Peculiar World for the Instruction of New Arrivals." John read the title.

"Whoever wrote this has a hidden agenda against book titles." Blanche commented.

"My ymbryne wrote it." Emma said. "Alma Lefay Peregrine."

"What happened to her?" A question John immediately regretted asking. The look on Emma's face told him the answer.

"Caul killed her." Emma said painfully, and quickly looked away. "You should read that book, it will prepare you to navigate our world."

Then she went into her room and they didn't see her again that night.

*

The former owner annotated every page of this book.

At the beginning, in graceful spidery handwriting, someone wrote:

To Jacob,

I hop you find this volume illuminating.

With admiration,

Miss P.

John wondered if this Miss P is the Alma Peregrine Emma mentioned, and who this Jacob is.

Maybe another ward of hers, John thought. Maybe there were another person who only recently got introduced to Peculiardom under her care, ten or twenty years ago.

John pushed away that thought. Whoever this Miss P was had probably been dead for decades. This Jacob person could be from a completely different century, too.

John flipped through the pages. He wondered how many of what's in this book was still out there, somehow miraculously survived the war that tore this world apart.

Maybe he wasn't the only one who's still clinging onto shadows of the past.

*

The door to Francesca's office was pushed open gently.

"Sharon said you want to meet me?" Olive said.

"Yes, there's some things I want to discuss with you." The ymbryne replied, "Please take a seat."

"You are worried about about Emma on my mission." Olive sat opposite Francesca. "You don't trust her."

Francesca ignored her accusing tone, "You don't trust people who just show up after missing for a decade. That's common sense. But I'm not going to question her loyalty, that's your job."