Page 65 of Search for the Lost

Crispin grinned.

Aspin sheathed his sword. “Congratulations on subduing them, Leopold. But we do have a journey to make, and I’d prefer to not be stuck in the Black Forest at night. Not all the inhabitants are likely to be as swayed by your charms.”

That was a good point. Leo looked at the enormous animals lounging around him and gave a small sigh. It would be fun to have a WOLF or two as a pet…. But there wasn’t room for them in the treehouse, and besides, they were probably happiest in the wild. Plus there was Minkis to consider. He’d been watching the proceedings from a perch safely high in a tree, and he didn’t look at all trustful of the WOLFs. Not that Leo could blame him.

“All right,” said Leo. He gave a WOLF one last tummy rub. “Um, you guys be good now. Stay!”

Minkis jumped on Aspin’s shoulder, Dietrich finally put his sword away, and Leo waited for everyone to start walking again before he took up the rear of the party. A couple of the WOLFs whined, and they all gave him puppy-dog eyes, but they stayed put.

The party was silent for over an hour, although Crispin continued to deter any vines that became too obnoxious. Dietrich looked crestfallen enough that Leo almost felt sorry for him. Almost. A few small things scurried among the leaves and undergrowth, but none made an appearance, and for the time being at least, nothing seemed potentially fatal.

Leo eventually worked his way past Aspin and Dietrich so that he was walking alongside Crispin, who occasionally gave him a smile but seemed otherwise lost in thought. His brain wasn’t an old pickup; he had a European sports-car brain, which started up easily and then purred along at top speeds, but which could break down if not handled with care. Although Leo wanted to badger him into sharing, Leo managed—with some difficulty—to keep his mouth shut.

They came to a spot where palm-size plum-colored flowers grew among the undergrowth, each with a yellow spider spread across its center. Well, they were spiderish: they had a dozen legs, each of which had a tiny ballet shoe at the end. The air smelled like pickles. Leo took care not to step on any of the flowers, and he was going to urge Crispin to pick up his pace.

Instead, Crispin sat on a fallen log and straightened his pant seams. “I need a few minutes.”

“Sure. But maybe somewhere a little less….” Leo almost said infested, but stopped in case the spiders could understand him. He waved his arms as a substitute.

When that got no response, Aspin approached Crispin, walking weirdly to avoid the flowers. He spoke more softly than usual. “I understand that you’re exhausted. Frankly, we all are.” Aspin sent a glare before Dietrich could protest, then he turned back to Crispin. “But remember our mission: we’re here to find Mother. And we’re very close now.”

Crispin nodded and absentmindedly pushed away a vine that had ventured too near. “I’m thinking about Mother. Consider all that’s happened in recent days. She leaves me in charge and disappears. She causes me and Leo to switch bodies. We have these… I suppose we could charitably call them adventures, many of which seem to center on Leo’s childhood. It’s all connected somehow, I’m sure of it. It has meaning.”

“But what meaning?” Aspin scratched his handsome chin.

“Look, Mother is… many things. But stupid isn’t one of them. And she always has some purpose in what she does, no matter how outlandish it might seem.”

Aspin had scrunched his mouth pensively. “Such as the time she insisted that the entire court wear hip-waders. We thought it was just a folly, but then came an attack by those vicious wereslugs, and Mother released a flood of ale to combat them, and⁠—”

“And everyone in hip-waders avoided getting gooey slug beer all over their clothing.” Crispin shuddered. “We could probably come up with a hundred other examples. My point is that she has a goal here, with us. And I’d like to figure it out before we face her.”

Aspin opened his mouth, possibly to argue, so Leo cut in. “I think you’re right. Maybe for once instead of barging ahead we can, um, consider the situation.”

Crispin gave him such a sweet and sunny smile that Leo was almost overcome. He loved his office fae, deeply, with every fiber of his chaotic being. He wanted to spend forever with him, even if that meant living in a treehouse and getting periodically bounced around strange worlds. And right now, right this minute, Leo really needed to kiss him.

He took a step toward Crispin… and somewhere very nearby, something let out an unearthly shriek.

23

Crispin

Crispin stood stock still.

The noise wasn’t repeated.

This place is as creepy as the Haunted House of Marelle. He rubbed the back of his neck, shaking off the sweat that came away on his grimy fingers. Midday was stretching into afternoon, and they still hadn’t reached the cabin. The sky was speckled with fluffy clouds, at odds with the darkness under the twisted limbs of the forest.

He was beyond exhausted, inhabiting that space where limbs continue to move but the brain is as laggard as a Strogian megaslug in the dead of winter.

After the incident with the WOLFs, his little crew had taken a short lunch break, during which he had a brief chance to rest his weary feet. Dietrich had packed some bratwurst sandwiches, some kind of strange slaw, and a couple thermoses of a thick, sweet reddish mead. Leo had bemoaned the loss of his cookies, eaten by the now-docile beasts they’d left behind.

Only they hadn’t really left them behind, had they? Crispin could feel them over his shoulder, slinking around in the partial light although no longer howling. It had been beyond strange to see how puppylike they had become under Leo’s touch. For a few moments as they’d initially snarled and snapped all around them, he had truly thought he was going to die. How many times had he had that same thought?

But it wasn’t so much the physical activity that was tiring him. It was the mental exhaustion of the never-ending wood that spread out endlessly in every direction, the forest that they were trying to tame as they progressed.

“Are we there yet?” Leo yawned, stretching his long, beautiful arms into the air.

Crispin sighed, imagining being in bed with those lovely strong arms around him.