It didn't take very long at all to get Liri and himself back to San Francisco. A small hike to the nearest inn near Lizard Point and Jonas' parents took care of everything, right down to the cab that pulled up to take them to the airport. Aoide's mermaid blood seemed to take the edge off of Liri's urge to bite Jonas, though he was still concerned about what his parents would say when they met her.
"Who is Moonlight le Fay?" His dad had asked him on the phone. Jonas still didn't know her real name.
"She's the witch who helped me break the curse, dad. But she's gone." Jonas had told him.
"Gone where? Is there anyone we should call?"
"I didn't know her all too well dad, but we can try to look up her family when we get back."
"We? Who else is with you?"
"Liri's with me, Dad. Liriope. She's kind of new to the surface, if you catch my drift. But she's sick, she needs our help, she's got no one else."
He told his father everything, from how he met Morrigan, to how they came to Lizard's Point and the rest. His dad had a hard time believing the curse was actually broken. He thought they could still be in danger, but overall he was happy to hear his son was ok. He told Jonas not to worry and they would take care of everything.
"Remember, Jonas, whatever happens, trust that we'll do what is best. Can you promise me, buddy?"
"Sure dad, I promise. I'm just sorry I took off without telling you."
"Just promise me you'll follow any other instructions we send."
"Yeah, I will, we will. I promise."
About an hour later, a fancy cab pulled up in front of the inn where Jonas had made the call. "Ello, McMichael's the name," the driver greeted them with a thick Scottish accent. "You're Jonas and Liri?"
"Yes," the pair said together, sitting against the wall of the inn.
"Well, hop in, now, you've got a flight to catch."
Exhausted, both Liri and Jonas picked themselves up and shuffled into the cab and sunk into its cold leather seats. "I spoke to your father, Jonas. You'll both be catching a flight to Glasgow, but before that, your father says you'll have to meet up with a gentleman he's sending to meet you at the airport in Cornwall."
"A gentleman?"
"Ah! Well, yes, it's a nice way of saying a man who can get things done."
"Get things done?"
"Listen, Jonas, I realize you've been through a lot. You too, young lass. Heck, if you'd waited a day Jonas, we could have avoided all of this.." he motioned to Liriope, "and taken care of things back in San Fran. But, what's done is done. You're off the hook now. Your father, you see, your family, they're known quite well around these parts. There are a certain number of people from different societies that are willing to lend a helping hand and see to it you're returned home."
"Societies?"
"Sure, there are plenty of those, you must know."
"What kind of societies?"
"Well the secret kind, of course," McMichael said with a wink. "So no more questions, for me at least. I can only tell you that a man calling himself Girard will find you at the airport. You'll want to find a place to seat yourself near gate three. Wait for him, don't ask any airport staff for help."
"Why not?"
"No questions, Jonas, you have to trust that your family has taken care of everything. Here, let's have a listen to the radio." McMichael turned the knob on his dash and a soft voice sung along with a melodic guitar. He'd never heard the song but it wasn't all that bad.
"What is that, Jonas?" Liri whispered for the first time since getting in the vehicle. He could only imagine what she must think of being carried around by car. It was easy to forget that everything was new to her.
"It's music. People playing instruments and singing."
She smiled coyly, "I know music, but it's coming straight from the moving carriage."
"This is a car, and that is a radio. It's a recording. They play it through the airwaves."
"Airwaves?"
"Best leave all your questions until your home, you two. That's the last thing you want to do is look like you're not in the right mind to be flying by yourselves." McMichael said sternly, then happily declared, "here we are then!"
The driver got out quickly and whisked straight to the trunk. He grabbed two backpacks, the purple one he gave to Liri and the blue he gave to Jonas. "These are your carry-ons. Extra clothes, toiletries and such." He stood back and took the two of them in. "Alright, off you go. Remember, find a seat near gate three and don't look so glum and tired. Oh, there's a pair of sunglasses in there for you, my dear, best not take them off. " He smiled a big smile and waited for both of them to give him one in return. "Nice to meet you," was the last thing he said before getting in his cab and driving away.
Cornwall airport was busy, but not busy or big enough to give them a hard time finding gate three. Liri had to bite her tongue several times to stop herself from asking Jonas what everything was and why everyone was doing the things they were doing. She learned much about humans from her schooling under the sea but seeing things live and in person was very different than how she pictured the surface world in her head. She did manage to decipher from the pictures that an airport was a place people went to get on huge winged vehicles and fly through the air to another place. The thought of doing so made her anxious but also excited. She wasn't sure how long she had on the surface and she wanted to make sure she experienced as much as she could.
They found a whole row of empty seats near gate three and sat at the end of it and waited. They didn't have to wait long. Jonas noticed a man stand up as soon as they had sat down. He didn't walk over to them, he stood and looked around as if he was looking for someone else, but when he was satisfied, he made his way over to the two of them and sat next to Jonas.
"I'm Girard Delacroix," the man said with a heavy French accent. This shocked Liri who looked to Jonas for reassurance.
"Hi, Girard, I'm Jonas and this--"
"No, you're not. You are Evan, and this lovely young lady is Marie. Here are your documents." He handed them both new passports.
Liri opened her passport and giggled when she saw a picture of herself staring back at her. Jonas checked his out with the same results. "How?"
"It's better if you do not know. This is for you," he said, handing Liri a vial of red blood. "A drop is all you will need, once a day. Hide it now, but do not lose this or you will have to feed."
A woman's voice boomed over the static announcement. "Now boarding, Flight 2136 to Glasgow, Flight 2136, now boarding to Glasgow at gate three."
By the time they were done listening to the announcement, the Frenchman was gone. He'd slipped away as both Jonas and Liri had turned to see people getting up to board the plane.
"What's going on Jonas?"
"Shh, it's Evan, remember. And I'm not sure, Marie. I don't know what's going on, but I trust my parents. It must be their way of protecting us. It'll be fine." Jonas tried to believe with all his heart that it would indeed be fine. That they would get on the plane, layover in Glasgow, get on another plane and be headed home to California. It would be fine. Everything had changed and nothing would ever be the same, but it would all be fine. At least, he certainly hoped it would.