Page 89 of Search for the Lost

She brightened immediately. “Really?”

“Um… once we figure out how to get there.” The logistics were daunting, especially since he didn’t know how far her home was. He was probably the only one of the party who could drive a car, but he couldn’t rent one without a license and credit card, neither of which he had on him.

Dorothy, though, waved a hand. “Oh, that part’s easy, silly! I’ll call us a Luft.”

“A Lyft?” He’d generally avoided them in the past due to a severe lack of money.

She shook her head, pulled a phone from a pocket, and tapped at it for a moment. “It’ll be here in five minutes. Come on.”

They all traipsed out of the restaurant. Leo felt a little bad about Nonna Strega. Sure, she’d bespelled them, but the food had been delicious. He’d experienced much worse curses than that. Like the whole no-mouth thing, which, come to think of it, would have meant he’d have missed out on the whole delicious meal.

On the other hand, Nonna Strega had gone out laughing and begging for more, which wasn’t a bad way to go, all things considered.

The alley in front of the building was dark and entirely silent, without even distant nighttime city noises intruding.

Crispin had been confident that this was Leo’s original home, Earth One, but Leo wasn’t so sure. Maybe that didn’t particularly matter right now either, but the thought made him slightly wistful. He hadn’t had a true home since his parents died, after which he’d moved around a lot, first in foster care and later, as an adult, from one crappy apartment to another. He liked Crispin’s treehouse, but it didn’t really feel like home yet. It was still Crispin’s treehouse, even if Leo’s comfy old couch had taken up residence.

“Hey, Crispin? When we’re done with this quest, could we maybe, um, consider some renovations and redecorating at the treehouse?”

Crispin winced, no doubt imagining all sorts of disorder and untidiness introduced into his neat and organized home. But then he smiled. “Of course. Maybe we could even consider an addition and that, er, tub with bubbles you mentioned?”

“I’ve always wanted a Jacuzzi.” Leo felt a lot better now. He and Crispin truly were in this for the long haul.

“Here’s our Luft,” said Dorothy, gazing up into the sky.

A moment later, a hot air balloon appeared. Leo, who’d never been close to one in real life, had been under the impression that their burners made noises during takeoff and landing, but this one was almost eerily quiet. It might have been his imagination, but the alley seemed to widen to accommodate its smooth landing. The balloon remained aloft above the basket.

“There’s nobody in it,” said Leo doubtfully.

“It’s self-driving, silly. Now, climb on in.”

Although Leo had always liked the idea of flying in a balloon, he wasn’t too enthusiastic about this one. But since everyone else had piled in, he wasn’t in a position to balk, so he got in too. As soon as he closed the little door in the basket, the balloon rose straight up, again without making a sound.

Cypher remained carefully near the center of the basket, his eyes closed. But everyone else leaned out over the edges to see the view, which was magical. The lights of the city grew farther and farther away. It was very much like looking down at a map, only none of the details were visible due to the darkness. Leo could make out streets, though, and traffic, which grew sparser as they drifted west.

“Like a giant tree!” Minkis enthused. He looked as if he was considering climbing the ropes, but Crispin kept him in place with a gentle arm around his shoulders.

Crispin watched for a while too, then turned to Dorothy. “How did you end up in the witch’s clutches?”

She sighed. “I have this real nice little farm. Times used to be tough for us there, but then this big cyclone hit and our insurance paid out big. Auntie Em and Uncle Henry retired and have been having a grand time touring the country in their RV. I took my share of the payout, invested it, and got some good returns. I’ve been growing organic mushrooms and microgreens, and I have a sweet agritourism thing going with a few new cottages. City slickers pay me big bucks for a farmstay.”

“Good for you,” said Leo, although he hadn’t really pictured her as such a confident capitalist.

“Well, it was good until these brothers booked a stay.”

Crispin looked grim. “Brothers?”

“Well, they said they were. I don’t know if that was true, and honestly, I don’t care. They said they wanted a family reunion somewhere quiet. They prepaid. I got the bunkhouse all ready for them.” She shrugged. “It’s really too fancy to be a bunkhouse, but I call it that because guests like it.”

Leo was getting a little tired of hearing about Dorothy’s business plan. “What happened?”

“Well, they showed up, and at first they were nice as pie. They even flirted with me a little, which was a little icky because they’re too old for me, but whatever. Then a limo pulls up, and the windows were all blacked out so I couldn’t see inside. I went to make sure nobody was bringing pets onto my property—it’s not allowed—and that they weren’t trying to sneak in an unpaid guest. Before I knew it, though, someone grabbed me from behind, stuck a bag over my head, and tied me up.” She stomped her foot, which made the basket shake alarmingly. “Kidnapped from my own farm!”

Clutching the basket’s edge for dear life, Leo continued the interrogation. “Who kidnapped you? Why? Who was in the limo?”

Dorothy put her hands on her hips and glared. “How am I supposed to know? Nobody stopped to explain anything. They whisked me away—maybe in the limo; I’m not sure—and brought me to Nonna Strega’s. First she fed me so much food that thought I was going to burst, and then poof! She turned me into a pendant on her necklace!” She stomped again, harder, and Cypher collapsed onto his ass, whimpering loudly.

Leo and Crispin exchanged looks. Then Crispin spoke in the same tone he used when he thought that Leo was being unreasonable. “That must have been very distressing for you.”