Will’s uninjured hand came down to rest at his pocket. He felt the bump that protruded against his jacket. The strange little bottle of pills were in there. He knew they were important and he wanted to ask Bet about them, but there wasn’t even a way to bring it up. Besides, Bet knew he wasn’t being completely honest. But could he be? Will didn’t even know what they were. All he knew was Swoop had eaten one and since then she hadn’t left his side.

It reminded him. Swoop needed to eat.

Will leaned sideways in his best effort to catch sight of swoop. She looked far into the distance, only shifting her weight slightly to adjust to Will’s movements. She seemed intent on something.

“Swoop?” Will said. The bird turned to him and the several bright colored feathers atop her head bounced and gleamed. Beyond, Bet cocked her head to listen carefully to whatever he might say next. “You need to eat.”

Will remembered what Murden had said. He told him she’d find her own food. Hopefully he wasn’t lying.

“Go ahead,” Will tried to sound confident. “Just come back when you’re full.”

Swoop nuzzled against him several times, then opened her wings and began to flap. As she did so, she let out a muted blur of pink. It was good that it was daytime; it made it far harder for her to be seen. She leapt from Will’s shoulder and tucked her legs up into her feathers as she spiraled away into the rustic orange and browns of the trees wilted leaves.

“Bet,” Will said, once she had regained her normal pace for clearing the area to sleep. “What’s the Neptinox?”

“The festival of seasons,” she said. “The celebration when the two worlds are close enough for the portal to bump open. It never does it in the same place twice, but when it does, it stays that way for two weeks. After it closes… well, it’s the first day of Fall.”

Fall? In Alabama it had just turned into spring.

“So… When’s the last day it’s opened?”

“That would be today, she said. Midnight tonight and it’s gone,” her eyes shifted quickly to catch Will’s reaction. “After that, it won’t happen again for another year.”

Will’s gut sank. It felt as if he’d been punched in the stomach by a gorilla. He’d tried to mask his expression and hold his face still, but that was probably worse than if he’d just turned away or something. Bet saw his reaction and her eyebrows lifted.

He told himself not to cry. What if he was stranded here? Could he even survive a year until he could get back? His mind raced through any possible idea but he had none. Eventually he thought of his parents. What would they do when he hadn’t come home last night?

But they knew. A ray of hope lifted into his chest. They knew what the Neptinox was, maybe they also knew that was how he’d disappeared. He tried to picture his mother, worried and wandering through the strange tall grass as his father rocked along beside her telling stupid jokes and trying to keep her optimistic. What if they did come for him? They seemed so hopeless. That’s probably why they were back in Alabama in the first place. They had said that they wanted something different for their son.

“Alright, everything’s clear.” Ezra was back. “Bet, get Pexel close and settle in. We need as much rest as possible. The quicker we get to Bezda, the easier mend that arm will be.” He looked at Will and his face screwed up into a puzzled mess. “Where’s the bird?” he said.

“He sent it off to eat,” Bet decided to answer the question for him. “Told it to come back when it was full.”

“Well, you my friend,” he said to Will in a patronizing sort of tone, “have quite a lot of faith in that Cakrit.”

Will nodded as if to agree.

“Cakrit’s have been known to bolt if they haven’t properly connected with their Handler. Usually takes a while to do that. And I have to say. You don’t seem to be the type whose spent much time with your Link. Still kinda fresh.”

“She’ll be back,” Will said. Then he shuffled down to his back and said nothing again. The other two were eventually bedded down to sleep, and finally Will figured he should do his best to do the same. His mind burned with questions, and his arm ached in pain, but he was also exhausted. He needed the rest so he tried to push all thoughts away. He closed his eyes, steadied his breathing, and eventually—once the howls of the blethers were all completely gone—he slipped into an uncomfortable sleep.

When Will wakes up is Swoop back?

Yes

No

This Poll is Closed