Page 29 of Office of the Lost

Molly swooped after them, her form blotting out the sun as the clouds raced up toward them.

Crispin’s heart tried to pound its way out of his chest and he prepared to die.He squeezed Leo’s hand, strangely satisfied that they would leave the world together?—

And then, in a flash, they were somewhere else.

12

Leopold

“Pheromones,” said Leopold firmly.

Crispin just blinked at him, so Leopold elaborated.“Those Mothra things were emitting pheromones—and ew, that was way more moth lovin’ than I ever wanted to see—and the chemicals affected us too, and thus the kiss.”

“The ki— Oh.Yes, of course.”Crispin sat up.“But perhaps at the moment we have other, more important, matters to deal with?Such as how you managed to transport ushere.”

Leopold, who was already sitting, scratched his head.“Dunno.I just sorta had a feeling that jumping was the right thing to do, and anything seemed like a better option than getting eaten by those… things, so….Probably Thea zapped us.”He shrugged.

Crispin’s face scrunched up, in a way that Leopold was starting to find adorable.“But there was nothing reflective.”

“Maybe there was but we just couldn’t see it ‘cause it was night.Hey, do reflective things still reflect in the dark?That’s kinda like that thing about a tree falling in a forest, and?—”

“Did you deliberately get taken by Molly so you could rescue me?”There was an odd expression on Crispin’s face and Leopold couldn’t decipher it.

“I didn’t wanna be stuck in bugville all by myself, did I?You’re my ticket home.”Leopold looked away because he was very much afraid that Crispincouldinterpret his expression.

They were in a park, he finally noticed.A nice one, with carefully manicured lawns and a few stands of tall trees.Children’s happy shrieks came from behind one of those stands, hinting at the presence of a playground.A pair of squirrels scampered across the grass.Whereas it had been nighttime in the moth place, here the mellow rays of a summer evening bathed everything in golden light.Off to one side, a rose garden was in riotous bloom.On the other, a row of stately palm trees flanked a street, and ahead of them were expensive-looking houses.

Leopold leapt to his feet.“Sacramento!We’re back home!”He whooped and shot his fist into the air.

Crispin, who was considerably slower to stand up, looked around, frowning.“Um.I’m not so sure.Do those people look a bit, er, different to you?”He gestured toward a small group clustered near the roses.

“Well, itisSacramento.We may not be San Francisco, but we have more than our share of weirdness, and….”Leopold trailed off as his mind finally processed what he was seeing.Those people had tails.Long, shiny green tails with a ridge of soft spikes.And their faces….

Crispin grabbed Leopold’s wrist hard and spoke quietly but urgently.“A police officer is approaching.I beg you, if you value your freedom and safety, do not speak to them.Not.A single.Word.”

Still in Crispin’s grip, Leopold spun to see the uniformed police officer.He intended to protest Crispin’s orders but then got a good look at the cop’s face.“That’s a lizard!”

“Not a lizard,” Crispin hissed.“Archosaur.Now be quiet!”

Leopold clamped his mouth shut.As the cop sauntered toward them, Leopold noticed that he and Crispin were back in their original forms, in their original clothing.He kind of missed the wings, to be honest.It had taken a bit of effort, but once he’d gotten the hang of the whole flying thing?—

“Good evening, officer,” said Crispin.He was smiling, but his fingers were bruising Leopold’s wrist.

“Evening, sir.Are you enjoying the park?”The archosaur had a surprisingly light voice that Leopold thought might mean she was female, but he wasn’t sure.She wore a fairly standard cop uniform of navy slacks and lighter blue shirt, complete with badge, but the slacks were tailored to accommodate a thick tail that was long enough to drag behind her.Instead of a hat, she had a pinkish skin crest on her head and claws instead of fingernails.Her forearms were inset with patterns of tiny jewels.

Crispin’s smile broadened a little.“I am, thank you.It’s lovely.”

“I think maybe you’re a tourist—we don’t get many fae around here—so you might not be familiar with all the local laws, sir.You can’t have your pet ape in the park without a leash.It’s pretty cute in its little outfit, though.”She made a cooing noise at Leopold.“What breed is it?Ooh, is it one of the hairless breeds?I hear they’re good if you have allergies.”

Leopold didn’t know what part of her speech to object to first, which was probably just as well because it meant he didn’t say anything at all.He did have to stifle a yelp, though, when Crispin squeezed even more tightly.

“He’s just a mutt.A little stubborn, you know, but quite intelligent.And, er, loyal.And I do apologize about the leash.I was unaware.”

She nodded.“Well, I won’t ticket you then.Because our little snookums is just too darn adorable, isn’t he?Such a cutie pie!”This time she not only made kissy noises but also chucked him under the chin and scratched behind his ear with a scaled claw that was nonetheless quite smooth against his skin.With great difficulty, Leopold managed not to bite her.

“Thank you, officer.I do appreciate it.”Crispin reached into a trouser pocket with his free hand and pulled out an improbably long length of rope, which he quickly knotted around Leopold’s neck.It wasn’t tight enough to choke him, but it wasn’t exactly loose.Glaring at them both, Leopold rubbed at his sore wrist.

“Aw,” said the cop.“Him’s a wittle grouchy about the leash, isn’t him?”

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