72 The Door

Chapter 72 The Door Are you sure you don't want to do this, Peanut?' asked Leo nervously, as he did his best to draw a door with Little Tail. 'I'm sure,' she replied. 'You're Conté's heir. You should at least have a go. Remember to think of our house as you draw it. Get a really clear picture of it in your head and concentrate on the reasons why you want to go there. The pencil should pick up on all that stuff, and then the door will take us to the right place.' 'OK,' he replied, before repeating the phrase, There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home... several times. All right, Dorothy,' said Rockwell. 'Get a shift on, will you?

If we're quick, I can probably still make it home in time for dinner. Also, some of us have got physics revision to do!' 'Oh, well there's a surprise,' said Peanut, laughing. Rockwell's worrying about his homework!' When he had finally finished, Leo stepped back to look at his sketch. It's very good,' said Mum. It really is,' agreed Dad. 'We'll make an artist out of you yet, Leonardo. Little-Bit gently tugged at the bottom of Peanut's bandolier. 'We will come back one day, won't we?' she asked quietly. ' And will everyone here in Chroma be OK without us?' Of course we'll be back, LB!' said Peanut, putting an arm round her sister's shoulder. 'Listen, the Markmakers are in charge now, so there's nothing to worry about. And they've got Josephine, 72 and Jonathan Higginbottom to help them. You heard what Mrs M said. That she's dead set on rehabilitating Nerys in prison. She's confident that she can instil her with the true values of art. If anyone can do it, Mrs M can. And don't forget that Table Guy and his buddies are always on hand over in Superhero Heights should they ever need more help. So don't worry. And what happens if you grow up and don't ever want to go back to Chroma?' asked Little-Bit. ' Well, firstly, that won't happen,' said Peanut. ' But,

regardless of what I do, you can visit whenever you want. The twelve portals have already been reopened, so you don't need Little Tail or me to visit.' Little-Bit smiled. She seemed happy with the answer. 'Right,' said Peanut. 'Where were we?' She looked at Leo's drawing of the door.

'Ah, yes. Go on then, Leo. Open it. It's time for us to go home.' Leo grabbed the handle. It felt cold, as if it were made of brass rather than graphite. He rotated it a quarter-turn anti-clockwise. Something clicked. And then the door opened.