"You what." Darian stared at Sam as if she'd sprouted a rainbow Afro.
But Sam didn't back down. Lifting her chin, she said, "I said I'm staying. I'm not gonna go home after all."
Darian's eyebrow twitched. Sighing like she was letting out all the air in her body, she ran a hand over her face. "You...you do know what this means, right? There's no guarantee when you'll be able to see your family again."
"I know." Sam swallowed hard, then straightened her back. "I know! But I couldn't live with myself if I went back to Earth while you guys are all still fighting. This is my fight too!"
"Yeah, Sam! You're so cool!" Jin cheered, hopping up and down behind her.
For his part, Theo could only stare in wonder at his best friend. He had no idea where this determination had come from, but it suited Sam so well. Once again, yet again, his heart flooded with a gratitude he couldn't even begin to express.
Moment-killer Ryan took that as his cue. "You tell 'em! That's settled, if she's staying I ain't going anywhere!"
"You…." Darian buried her face behind both hands.
"Have a care how you address the prince, young man!" Guntar squawked, puffing out his feathers.
"Get stuffed, chicken!" Ryan flashed Guntar double birds.
"Why you insolent little – " Theo could practically see the steam shooting out of Guntar's head.
"So should I turn this thing around or what?" Amaro called from the wheel.
Early in the morning, the crew had gathered out on the deck. Mist shrouded the air, clinging to Theo's eyelashes, but even through it he still saw the glow from the Traps on the horizon. It was much larger and closer than when he'd tucked into bed last night.
While Ryan and Guntar raged at each other – only avoiding coming to blows thanks to Avia and Kress holding them back, respectively – Meg spoke up. "Actually, couldn't we still go there? If there's a portal, then even if we're not going through it, we can still send messages to Earth."
"You can do that?" Theo blurted.
"Hm." Darian rubbed her chin. "I don't see why not. It's a good idea. We can use this as a supply stop too."
With that, she nodded at Amaro. "Keep us on our course."
"Aye, aye." Amaro flashed a lazy salute and gave the wheel a spin.
As the group began dispersing, Meg strode over to Theo and Sam. "Well, I'm not sure I entirely agree with your decision to stay," she said, shaking her head, "but I suppose I'd be a hypocrite if I complained. The least I can do is support you as best I can."
"You got it!" Sam pumped her fists.
Theo couldn't help the smile that spread across his face. It really was a relief to see Sam back in high spirits.
Meanwhile Ryan strutted around with his chest puffed out. "Ha-ha, suck on that, you can't make me go anywhere!"
"My liege!" Flapping indignant wings, Guntar rounded on Darian. "Must we really accept allies such as...as this? Surely we can't be that desperate!"
"Bawk all you like! You oughtta be throwing yourself to my feet in gratitude! Not everyone's lucky enough to get a Crowley on their side!" Grinning savagely, Ryan jabbed his thumb at his chest.
A vein twitched in Theo's temple. He clenched his hands into fists, ready to stomp over there and punch some well-deserved holes into Ryan's oversized ego, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.
Surprised, he looked up at Lodo. The werecat smiled, lines crinkling around his eyes. "Young master Theo, might I suggest you send a message to your father as well?"
Theo's heart thudded. For a moment, he couldn't even think of a reply. Unlike Sam, he'd already made the choice to stay here, and it hadn't been half as hard. As long as he told himself he was doing what Mom wanted….
But Dad was still there, alone on Earth. And while Theo couldn't say if he loved Dad or not, he was still family. The only family he'd had these past five years.
As far as Dad knew, he'd lost his second son as well as his first. Even if he tried to carry on as if nothing had changed, there was no way he'd take it well. For some reason, Theo found himself thinking about the carefully covered paintings in the attic studio.
He swallowed a painful lump in his throat, then nodded. The least he could do was let Dad know he was still alive.
~*~
Theo stared as the giant slug...caterpillar...thing squelched its merry way by. It was translucent green, like it was made of lime jelly, with dozens of bumpy knobs protruding from its body. And it was about the size of a horse with a man riding in a saddle on its back.
"That's a leema," Fia chirped. "They're actually a lot faster than they look!"
The leema and its rider rounded a corner, but Kurno still had plenty of sights to offer. The town was built in the caldera of an extinct volcano at the edge of the Traps, with buildings carved into the walls and streets spiraling down to the bottom, at the center of which lay a small pool filled with rippling rainbow light.
So that was the portal. And here Theo had been picturing something more like a giant door or gate.
All sorts of people bustled about while skycraft constantly took off and landed, the bells of their medusids rimming the caldera like colorful bubbles. It was a lot livelier than Theo had expected; he almost felt like it'd be a nice place to live, if you could get used to the constant smell of rotten eggs anyway.
But of course, he wasn't here to stay, or even to sightsee.
"Well, here we are." At the sound of Meg's voice, Theo turned around to see her emerging from the little shop they were waiting outside. Due to its size, only she had gone in. "Eat your heart out, kids."
Sam bounced over. "Ooh, what're those bottles for?"
Along with the scrolls of paper in Meg's arms, she held empty glass bottles with ceramic stoppers. "You put your message in them," Meg explained. "Seems like that's how it's done. You can either chuck them into the portal and hope they wash up on the beach, or give them to people coming through and hope they'll deliver them for you."
Theo wondered which of those options he'd prefer. On the one hand, if he left it up to chance Dad would probably never receive the message; he just wasn't the beach-combing type. On the other hand, he couldn't even begin to imagine how Dad would react to some stranger from another world showing up at his door with a message from his son.
Well, it wasn't like Theo had any better choices.
"Let's go back to the craft to write. Not exactly the best lighting out here." Meg glanced at the setting sun. "Shall we?"
~*~
By the time the Blue Sky departed Kurno, the sun had completely slipped beneath the horizon. Thanks to the lava flowing from the Traps and the portal glowing in the center of town, Theo could still see plenty. And thanks to his new fur-lined jacket, he still felt nice and toasty.
As the portal grew smaller, he pictured the message in the bottle drifting through the Liminal's shifting colors. Okay, it actually wasn't going to happen that way; they'd been lucky enough to find a group of travelers heading for Earth that night, and had entrusted the messages to them. Still, would the message successfully make its way to Dad? Had he said everything he'd needed to say?
With no idea how else to put it, he'd decided to tell Dad the truth. As much of it as possible, anyway. About his dreams, about the mission Mom had entrusted him with. He didn't know if it would even begin to be enough, but it was out of his hands now.
Once again, he thought of the paintings in the attic. The photo of his parents together, the only time he'd ever seen Dad smile. Even if Dad might not have known the truth about Mom, Theo had to trust that he'd genuinely loved her.
Next to him, Sam rested her elbows on the railing and leaned forward. She couldn't seem to take her eyes off the portal.
Sam had filled out a half dozen scrolls, barely managing to stuff them all into one bottle. Knowing her, she'd probably given a blow-by-blow of everything that had happened since Mirage had first made her a thrall.
"Sam…," he began, though he had no idea what he intended to say.
"Hm?" Sam turned toward him, blinking.
"Um…." Feeling awkward, Theo rubbed the back of his head. "I guess...uh…."
A few more blinks. Then Sam smiled – not her usual bright grin, but a smile with a strange sad edge. Yet it was so warm it made Theo's heart ache. Somehow, he thought Sam seemed more mature than ever.
"Let's do this together, Theo," she said, flashing him a thumbs up.
Gratitude flooded Theo, warm and choking. He had to clear his throat a few times before words would come out. "Yeah. Thanks so much, Sam."
He smiled too, then by wordless agreement the two friends gazed back at the portal, watching as their last connection to Earth shrank out of sight.