Page 75 of Search for the Lost

Leo couldn’t smile right now, but he was smiling inside.

Crispin tucked the pad and pencil into a pocket and turned to the WOLFs. “We are about to transport to another world, and then we’ll likely go to another after that. I don’t know when or if we’ll be able to return to the Black Forest. Do you still wish to accompany us?”

Leo wasn’t sure how much the WOLFs could comprehend. They seemed to understand enough, however, because they wagged their tails, howled, and bashed the sides of their massive heads into Leo. He scratched behind their ears in gratitude.

“Consensual enough for you, Leo?”

Leo nodded.

Crispin raised Thea to face height. “Please transport me, Leo, Aspin, Cypher, Minkis, and the WOLFs to Juzir’s apartment.” Dietrich wasn’t included, but he’d already skulked away to stand near the exit and was probably relieved. Good riddance. Too bad that stupid faun couldn’t stay as well.

Everything shimmered, Leo’s stomach turned inside out, and the mirror swallowed them all.

Although they fell through the mirror quickly, the actual arrival was more gradual, like watching an old-fashioned Polaroid photo develop. It was weird how mirror travel was different from each location.

At first, all of Leo’s senses were blurry, but focus came slowly. Eventually he could make out a dinosaur slumped in an easy chair with a bowl of something edible in his lap and, on the TV screen in front of him, a show with dinosaurs in scrubs running around a hospital emergency room. Leo recognized the wizard, with his purpley scales, bluish head crest, and Toronto Pyroraptors T-shirt.

Juzir.

Leo couldn’t say anything, but he could narrow his eyes angrily at the dinosaur who’d sold out both Leo and Crispin. Yes, Crispin had reconciled with him, and also yes, Leo had blown up Juzir’s toilet, a total accident and not in any way really his fault. But still.

It took Juzir a few moments to realize that lots of unexpected company was materializing in his living room. He glanced over, screeched, and scrambled out of the chair, sending the snack bowl flying. The treats looked like Doritos, only they were grape-colored and left powdery purple stains everywhere.

Except for the WOLFs, the members of Leo’s party were mostly accustomed to this form of transport. So, unlike Juzir, they all remained calm. The WOLFs and Minkis happily scurried around, gobbling up the chips. Although they got rid of them very quickly, they tracked purple dust everywhere.

“Aghhhhh!” Juzir cowered against a wall. He’d knocked one of his egg-shaped vases off a shelf and onto the floor, and while the carpet had kept it from breaking, water and red flowers spilled out. “What are you doing here? What is he doing here?” He pointed one very accusatory little arm at Leo.

Crispin strode briskly toward him, deftly avoiding WOLFs and Minkis, although he did grind chip debris into the carpet. Unavoidable. The room was crowded.

“Juzir, I⁠—”

“Nooooo! Go away!” Juzir looked as if he might burst into tears. Could dinosaurs cry?

Crispin was relentless. “We will. As soon as you help us out.”

Juzir sank down against the wall and tried to cover his head with his tiny arms. When that didn’t work, he settled for covering his eyes instead. “I don’t waaaant to.”

“But we are adults and sometimes must do things we do not wish to. This will take only a few minutes. The sooner you start, the sooner we’ll be gone.”

“Ahhh!” Juzir wailed. But he peeked at the assemblage, flinching only a little at the WOLFs. When his gaze fell on Leo, however, he whimpered loudly. “You brought it here again.”

“Him. I brought him here again, and he is my beloved. In fact, he’s consort to the King of the Fae, which means he’s owed some respect.”

Consort. Crispin had been speaking about him, about Leo. Not Oberon the consort. Even though that nasty guy was still muttering away in Leo’s head, Leo was doing a decent job of ignoring him. King of Chaos and Fae Consort. Pretty cool title for a guy who was recently unemployed and broke. He puffed out his chest slightly.

With clear reluctance, Juzir stood up again. “It—I mean he—makes me nervous.”

“I should be making you nervous,” said Crispin with an attempt to look terrifying. It helped that Aspin was waving his sword around in support. “And I am asking this small thing of you. Also, he won’t use your bathroom.”

Now that Crispin had said this, Leo kind of needed to pee.

Juzir looked at him again, this time more carefully. “What happened to his… beak?”

“His mouth. He was cursed by… well, it’s a long story. Suffice it to say that we need you to remove the curse.”

“Oh. But maybe…. Have you considered just keeping him this way? Apes should be seen and not heard.”

Crispin marched forward and used one finger to poke Juzir in the chest. “He makes constant references to things I don’t understand. He sings off-key. He tells awful jokes. And I love every moment of it. I want to hear all of those things again. So can you fix him?”