“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone so stunned,” Karl was saying. He held Anthony’s hand, sitting next to him in the hospital bed. “Lieutenant Zolastroya looked like she expected a talking rabbit to dash by babbling about being late for a very important date.”
“So, just like you on your first visit,” he said. “And besides, there are plenty of talking rabbits in NeverEarth.”
Karl flicked Anthony’s forehead with a finger. “Be nice,” he said. “It’s not everyday you get sucked into world of magic and enchantment.”
Anthony had been in the hospital for two days. He’d lost a lot of blood but with transfusions and care was going to be discharged either that evening or the next morning. Karl had showed up to fill him in on what had happened and gone back and forth between worlds to keep Anthony appraised.
“Three cops died,” Anthony said. “One down at the mall and two more during the shoot-out with the Hoods.”
Karl nodded. “You think Castori—?”
“Probably. When he gets mad, Castori is an engine of destruction. The news reports didn’t mention how they died.”
“Zolastroya isn’t going to like that,” Karl admitted. “She’s still getting used to the idea of overseeing the legal rights of four gang members in another world.”
“Well, it better happen fast,” Anthony observed. “I’ve seen her name on the news; she’s listed as ‘missing’.”
“She’ll be back soon,” Karl said. “The queen’s handling this pretty well.”
Anthony frowned.
Karl moved his hand to lace his fingers with Anthony’s. “You disagree?”
Anthony was silent for a long while. He shook his head. “Not entirely. What she did, well, I guess it was to be expected. She didn’t ask to be kidnapped—to get attacked and dragged off by the Hoods—but, well, she’s different. She’s very different than when I knew her.”
“Well, she grew up. She could hardly have stayed—”
“It’s not that. She’s just so … regal, now. The last time I saw her, she was sixteen and I was twelve. At her heart she longed for adventure and excitement. She was never so … proper. She was one of my best friends. Even her father, the king, couldn’t keep us apart. She snuck out a couple times to join me on my adventures. King Alimonde would get furious but always forgave her. I just never thought I’d see her so … dispassionately royal.”
“People change,” Karl said. “And at three times the rate of speed between there and here, they can change a lot in very little time.”
Anthony sighed and shook his head.
Karl smiled and fished something out of his pocket. It was small and shiny and shaped like a hummingbird.
“What’s that?”
“A gift,” Karl said, simply. “From the Queen.” He placed it in Anthony’s hand for him to look at it. It had a small loop of metal that looked like it could be used to stitch it to a piece of clothing like a bauble or button. “She called it a memory bird. It holds memories.”
Anthony looked curious. “Seriously?”
Karl nodded. “She said she was using it to collect images of our world to take back into hers. She believes that maybe Kellen and Earth could reach out to one another someday and establish formal ties.”
Anthony turned it over in his hands, silent.
“She said it might help us remember,” Karl said. “If you’ve not noticed, our memories of the things we did and saw here on Earth aren’t fading. Those memories were made, here, and I don’t think will disappear. While the memories we forge and create while in NeverEarth have a life expectancy, this little thing may be able to preserve them.” He shrugged. “For whoever’s holding it, I guess.”
Anthony nodded. “I guess this means that a lot of people here on Earth just got a look at life in another world,” he said. “I can only imagine how many cell phone cameras, news crews—”
“The umbral mastiffs are all gone, just vanished from their cages thanks to some friends of Castori’s. But, yeah, the number of viral videos showing that troll wading into the shadows, fighting the cops, and scaling the building are on YouTube. People are wondering if Peter Jackson’s working on a viral marketing campaign for his next fantasy epic but not seriously. Everyone’s pretty freaked.”
“They’ll find out it’s real.”
“I’m sure some weirdos already think it is,” Karl assured him. “But that’s not a problem for today.” He took the hummingbird back from Anthony and slipped it into his pocket. “Today: you rest and recuperate. It’s not everyone who can say they were gunned-down in a shootout between the cops and a gang.”
Anthony smiled. “No, I guess not.”
Karl leaned in and kissed him on the forehead. “You rest up, okay? As soon as you’re out of here you can worry about what this means for relations between Kellen and Earth.”
He smiled and sank back into his shallow pillows with a sigh. “I guess so. I just wish things could have gone better.”
“Hey, we always do.”
The End
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