Page 44 of Search for the Lost

“You said she was taken from you suddenly, when you were a kid.”

Leo shuddered. “Those awful camels.”

Crispin made a mental note to ask Thea what a camel looked like. He imagined a slinking beast with razor-sharp teeth and four-inch-long claws. “What if you had the chance to get some closure now?”

Seeing the comprehension dawn on Leo’s face brought back that snuggly warm feeling in Crispin’s chest.

Still, he was struggling. “But she’s not⁠—”

“Are you sure?” He looked from Leo to Mom II and back again. “Does it really matter?”

Leo looked over at his mother. She was definitely crying now. “No, I suppose it doesn’t.” He got up and stumbled into her arms, and she hugged him.

“Welcome home, Leo.” She smiled gratefully at Crispin over Leo’s shoulder, and mouthed thank you.

Crispin smiled. “You’re welcome. Say, is this place… real?”

Mom II shook her head. “Not in the way you mean. It’s a stage, like the ones my kind use for shows at the royal court. This one is between worlds… think of it like a green room.”

He frowned. “Green room? But it’s not green.” It was, in fact, almost the exact soft brown color of a cup of cocoa, another of Earth’s famous exports. Which went marvelously with the brown-plaid sofa.

Leo let go of his mother, retreating to the couch next to Crispin. “A green room is where the actors wait before they go on stage.”

“Ah.” That made no sense to him—why call it a green room?—but he chalked it up to being another weird Earth thing. “So if I might make a suggestion, and ask a favor?”

Leo’s mother nodded. “If it’s in my power to grant it, of course.” She ran her fingers through her hair and down her ponytail, a gesture similar to what he’d seen Leo do many times.

“The suggestion. I think you two should spend a little time together, while I talk things over with my brother.” It would do Leo a world of good to work through some of his childhood trauma with her.

She smiled broadly. “I’d like that.” She turned to Leo. “If you don’t mind?”

Leo nodded enthusiastically. “That would be awesome. I mean… yes, I’d like that too.”

His mother smiled, then turned back to Crispin. “And the request?”

“Send the others home. Not back to Anthor. They’ve been trapped there for too long.” He’d have to pay his aunt a visit when all of this was said and done. “Oh, except for Aspin and Minkis.”

She cocked her head, as if expecting more. “That’s all?”

“That’s all.”

She blinked twice. “It’s done.” Then she gestured toward the doorway at the back of the room. “Your brother is right through there, in the rumpus room. And Crispin?”

“What?” He half expected her to make a counter demand of her own.

“I’m so glad you and Leo found each other. I can see how good you are for him.”

He blushed again, and dipped his head. “Thank you.” He got up and started toward the doorway, then had a second thought. “Can I take the cookies?” He still had the munchies.

She laughed, seeming every inch the human mother. “Of course. Leo, want to help me make some more?”

“I’d like that.” He sidled up next to Crispin and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you. I don’t know how to… well, just thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Come find us when you’re done.” He squeezed Leo’s hand, picked up the plate of cookies, and went in search of the rumpus room and his brother.

Aspin was staring at the television screen, rapt, seemingly unaware that their aunt and Tad Firefur had vanished. Minkis was asleep on a cushion next to him, dreaming squirrel dreams, his tail twitching.

“We need to get one of these back home. It’s amazing! You can hardly tell… it’s like magick.”