“Yes,” Madelaine said. She took a closer look at Winslow, who wore what looked like a monk’s robe. He seemed to be half blind in one eye and the other didn’t seem to work at all. It wasjust a dead eye, the pupil wide and black with no color at all. She wondered what he knew about their journey.
His white hair came to his stooped shoulders, but was as neatly trimmed as the white beard covering the lower half of his face. He looked like a kindly old wizard.
Winslow sat on a bench along the curved wall of his cell. Beneath it, in the shadows, she could make out an oblong box the size of a small suitcase.
“I have the next package for you, right here.” He bent down, retrieved it and held it in her direction. It must not be heavy. She didn’t think Winslow would be able to lift even a pound, given his frail-looking body. “My father was the one who carved this special vessel for the Solution and I was entrusted with it. I told them before they locked me up in here that I had to be the one to give the Paladin Courier the special package. And now I have done my duty.”
“Thank you, Winslow,” Madelaine said. “For keeping it safe for me.”
Shockingly, it looked like an ordinary cardboard box, but the flaps on the lid were all folded in such a way that it semi-sealed the container.
Madelaine stepped closer and took it from him. “Thank you,” she said once more, lifting one of the flaps to peek inside, only to see yet another box within.
She would have to look at it later, as their five minutes was probably ticking by faster than she thought. The other problem was this item wouldn’t fit in her backpack. And unlike a small suitcase, the cardboard box did not have rollers on one end for easy transport.
Winslow straightened and said, “Inside this box is the housing for the three elements you’ve already collected, plus the next one you must retrieve.”
Madelaine and Jack exchanged a glance, both of them likely wondering how Winslow knew this. Jack lifted one shoulder as if to say, “Par for the course on this journey.” She agreed.
“Okay,” Madelaine said. “Are there any other instructions?”
“Yes. When the time comes for launch, you must first turn the silver nugget to the right one click. And then you must hold for three seconds. Then turn the silver nugget to the left two clicks and hold for three more seconds.” He stopped talking and stared at her with his sightless eyes.
“And then what?” Madelaine asked, trying not to sound impatient. She expected the warden to march his way down here and kick them out any second.
“And then you will have armed the Solution.” Winslow smiled in a way that made Madelaine glad he was on their side. It was a smile of pure joy, as if this solution would solve the problems in all the galaxies, known and unknown.
“Good. Okay. Any other information that you need to tell me?” she asked.
“When the wolf leaves his cage, you can trust both him and the man who laughs at danger,” Winslow said.
Madelaine narrowed her eyes. She looked at Jack, whose eyes were wide at Winslow’s declaration of escaped wolves and men who laugh at danger. Again, he lifted one shoulder in a shrug. Madelaine decided perhaps they had taxed Winslow too much during this visit.
“Excellent. Great tip. Thank you, Winslow.”What else could she say?
Madelaine peeked inside the box again and saw there wasn’t a parchment paper inside with instructions for the next location to retrieve a package.
“Do you happen to know where I am headed next?” Madelaine asked him.
Winslow’s eyelids narrowed as if the question confused him. “I’m not certain. Back to where you started, I’d imagine.Back to where it all began.” The second sentence came out a little bit like he was spouting a prophecy from some mystical source in the deepest recesses of his mind.
Unfortunately, she did not know what that meant. Was Alpha-Prime where it all began? Suspicion, Minnesota? She had no idea. Perhaps the Secret Keeper was about to get another phone call once they got back to their ship and were safely away from the prison planet. Or maybe the parchment paper was tucked inside the hand-carved box. She didn’t really have time to check. Should she make the time?
Madelaine shifted the box under one arm uncomfortably, realizing it wasn’t stable there. She was going to have to use both arms to carry it out in front of her like it was moving day.
“I can carry it,” Jack said, holding his hands out.
Madelaine handed the cardboard box to him and he easily tucked it under one arm more securely than she’d been able to even with two hands.
Madelaine slung her backpack over one shoulder and turned toward the cell door. Then she thought of Veyre’s cryptic words back on Crooked Halo and hesitated. Feeling foolish, she faced the old man. “Winslow, do you know anything about the Red Harp Nebula?” The man smiled sweetly but didn’t say anything.
Madelaine flinched as a blaring alarm sounded, seemingly coming from everywhere, and a red light above Winslow’s door started flashing like a psychotic strobe light bathing the room in a sporadic crimson glow.
Was the alarm signaling that their time with Winslow was up, or did it mean something much worse?
Jack startled the instant the alarm sounded. He tightened his grip on the package and turned to face the cell door.
