Page 34 of Office of the Lost

Leo was nodding now, his eyes back to their normal proportions.“It does kind of make sense.My whole life has been organized chaos.”He was staring at his hands in wonder and maybe a little fear.“But what does it mean?I’m… not going to hurt you, am I?”

No “dude” in that sentence, so Crispin deduced he must be truly afraid.

Juzir pulled up a couple more chairs.“The ward will keep you… contained.For now.I don’t know if Crispin has told you this, but all of our magic is based on harnessed Chaos.The world needs some Chaos—without it, there would be no magic, no music, no creativity.The world would be flat and boring.In small doses, Chaos is what keeps life interesting.”

“But in larger ones?”Leo held his index fingers a few inches apart; an arc of electricity sparked between them.

Juzir frowned.“If raw Chaos were ever to break free from its prison… it could mean the end of everything.”

Silence fell over the room as the three men stared at one another, each contemplating what that result might mean.

Crispin closed his eyes.His perfecality score was already shot, but it wasn’t really his fault, was it?Bidulla had left quite a lot of important information out of the packet when she’d sent him on what was supposed to be a simple collection mission.Or had she not known?And what about the Oracle?Wasn’t it supposed to be all-knowing?

His score no longer mattered.He had to find a way to stuff this Chaos genie back in the bottle.And he had a sneaking suspicion just which bottle—or door—it had come out of in the first place.

He wanted to hug Leo, to tell him everything would be all right, but he wasn’t sure it was true.

“We need to go see my mother.”When he pulled Thea out of his pocket, she began to hum.

“Is that your transport device?”Juzir held out his green-scaled hand.

“Yes.Thea went a little crazy when I first met Leo and the Chaos Cloud arrived.I’m not sure how to get home.”He handed over the phone.

Juzir looked it over.“Yes, a little of the Chaos got inside.Not much I can do about that, I’m afraid.I may be able to help with the trip back to your mother’s Estate, though.”He handed Thea back.She was now singing something about walking a dinosaur.

“That would be great.Thanks, Juzi.”For the first time since this whole sordid adventure had begun, he felt a little peace.Order was being restored, one step at a time.“You okay, Leo?”

For once, Leo didn’t correct him.“Just fucking fantastic.Why wouldn’t I be?Your friend basically just told me that my whole life is a lie, that I’m Chaos Incarnate, and that I might be a danger to everyone and everything around me.But sure.I’m justfine.”

Crispin sighed.Leo might not have been born human, but he sure played the part well.

Juzir didn’t seem to notice.“I’ll help you get home, like I promised.But first you need to tell meeverything.Then get a little rest while I figure things out.The ward should hold for a while.”He got up and put his spell book back up on the shelf.“Anyone fancy a triceratops sandwich?”

14

Leopold

Leopold was exhausted.

Which made sense—he’d been hopping between worlds and running from death for what felt like years but was really just one super eternal day.He’d hitched a ride on a giant, was nearly eaten by Mothra, and had become Crispy’s theoretical pet.Um, and there was a kiss in there too.But more than that, Leopold was exhausted in part because he’d just found out he wasn’t human.

He slumped in the chair while Crispy and Juzir had an animated conversation.It was about him, so he really should have paid attention, but he was too preoccupied.

Not human.

Chaos.

It was insane.But also… it fit.And it explained so very much about the way his life had gone.

“Oh my God!”he shouted as a new revelation hit him.

Crispy turned to look at him, worry clear on his face.“What?What’s happening?”

“I think I killed my parents.”The realization shook him to his foggy core.

“Pardon me?”

Leopold wrapped his arms around himself and moaned.“My parents.The people who adopted me.I think I killed them.”

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