Page 25 of Search for the Lost

“Yes, very good. Leopold and Crispin, put your hands on it.”

They did as they were told.

“Now do your Chaos/Order thing.” He leaned forward, a look of gleeful expectation on his face.

Crispin met Leo’s eyes. Leo nodded.

Together they channeled chaos/order into the Schrödinger’s cat.

It shimmered brightly/went black, bubbled and froze, and then emitted a sound that was as high pierced and as deeply rumbling as Crispin had ever heard.

Then it transformed into an envelope made of very expensive parchment and settled into the bottom of the box like a falling leaf.

Crispin picked it up and examined it. It bore the Queen’s red wax seal: a trio of dragons engaged in a most scandalous undragonlike behavior.

Curious, he opened it. A letter spilled out, written on matching parchment that smelled like jasmine. He looked it over. It was in her handwriting; he would recognize it anywhere.

“What does it say?” Leo leaned forward to look.

Crispin cleared his throat.

“My dearest sons and my soon to be son-in-law, I am sorry for the deception, but I had to know if you, Crispin, and you, Leopold were in fact meant for each other. So I devised this challenge, requiring you to walk a mile in each other’s souls. If you are reading this, you have succeeded. I know I’m a difficult mother-in-law, Leopold, and you are not the one I would have chosen for my favorite son.”

Aspin huffed a bit at the favorite son reference, and Leo frowned.

“Sorry.” Crispin patted his brother’s shoulder. “I’d give up that distinction in a second if I could.” He returned to the letter.

“But you two were meant for one another, and I will no longer stand in your way.”

Crispin wiped his eyes. He was not crying.

Leo’s face was wet too. “That’s almost sweet.”

Crispin took his lover’s hand. “It’s the kindest thing she has ever said to me.” He turned to Sourman. “So where is she?”

The little wizard wrung his hands. “So… funny story. She was supposed to be here when you read that. But I’m afraid that we… lost her. She was here one moment, and then gone the next.”

Crispin stared at the Wizard. “You lost her?”

“Yes. She was here one moment, and then… poof. She was just gone.” He giggled. “A couple of hours before you arrived.”

Crispin suspected the wizard was still a little drunk. “So… change us back. Surely you can do that much. And then we can go find her—” Something Cypher had said came back to him. You weren’t supposed to go after her.

“I’m afraid it’s not that simple. Your mother was the one who placed the curse on the two of you. Only she can lift it, unless there are other riders and codicils involved... but only she would know what those were.”

Crispin’s shoulders slumped. He’d been so sure they were about to get back to themselves. “So… what do we do?”

Aspin pulled up a chair and sank down into it, his shoulders slumping. “I don’t know, Elly.”

“Leo?” Crispin searched his own face for wisdom.

“Elf if I know.” Leo shrugged.

Minkis sat up, shaking out his tail. “Anthor.”

Crispin blinked. “Anthor. Of course!”

“What’s Anthor?” Leo sat up, one fine golden Crispin eyebrow raised.