Chapter 12

In his lab, Kip whistled for his familiar. The bird flew in and lit on the desk.

“Do you know where General Takka is?”

“Which one?” Willum said in his usual confounding way.

Kip rolled his eyes. “If there’s more than one, just tell me where all of them are.”

Willum gave him a one-eyed stare. That look usually meant information came at a price. He pulled a dime from his pocket and tossed it into the air.

Willum caught it in his beak. He dropped the coin on the desk as if for a closer appraisal. “Not as big as the other ones.”

“Sorry, mate, I’ve run out of quarters. So where are all these multitudes of Takkas?”

Willum gave the dime an indignant peck and flew across the room to the chair arm where Kip sat by the fire. “There are no multitudes. Only two shells and one essence.”

Kip hadn’t a clue what that meant. He nodded anyway. “Go on.”

The black bird waddled up and down the chair arm as he spoke. “Takka’s original shell is stored in one of the oracle’s ice rooms, far from the castle to keep it safe. That would be shell number one. Shell number two—and attend to me here, young wizard—there are only two, which hardly counts as a multitude.”

“Sarcasm doesn’t become you.”

“Shell number two,” Willum continued, “is where Takka’s essence currently resides. And that would be in the adjoining world.”

“His essence. As in…”

“As in the part that can speak and think. The one in the ice room is simply a shell.”

“Then Mikey could be Takka.” And if Winnie could speak with him, maybe Kip could as well. For his own peace of mind, he had to confirm that Mikey/Takka indeed had invited him to Frama-12. He could peruse the titles on the bookshelves, but that could take ages. “I’ve another bauble for you if you can tell me how to contact Takka’s essence in that other world.”

Willum flew to his shoulder. “You won’t find that in a book.”

“Where will I find it?”

Willum nipped at the gold hoop dangling from Kip’s earlobe.

“Oh, all right.” He removed the earring and held it up. “Now will you tell?”

The bird flew out the window with his shiny prize clasped in his beak.

Kip added a log to the fire and waited. Once the bird hid his latest bauble, he’d return. He always did.

A quarter of an hour later, as expected, Willum swooped through the window. He lit on an upper shelf and waddled beside a row of vials. He paused occasionally to eye one or two. “Yes. Here it is. ‘Trance enhancement.’ ” He tipped over a vial.

Kip sprang forward and stretched his arm, just in time to catch it. “You really should warn me before you do that.”

Willum cackled. “All wizards need quick reflexes.” He fluttered down to Kip’s worktable.

“Obviously, with you around,” Kip mumbled. He held the brown glass container to the light for a look at the liquid within. It looked a little like water, but it was hard to tell without uncapping it and pouring some out. “Right. What’s the procedure? Do I drink a bit of it? Rub it behind me ears? Use it in a potion?”

“Try reading the bit of paper attached to the back. It starts with the words, ‘Directions for use.’ ”

Kip turned the bottle over. “ ‘Add two droplets to one cup rainwater,’ ” he read aloud. “ ‘Stir twice to the left and once to the right. Drink whilst lying down. Immediately conjure within the mind the image of the one you wish to contact.’ ” He turned to Willum. “That would be Takka, right?”

“Is that one of those rhetorical whatzits? Because I’ve only seen the Takka shell that has nothing inside.”

Since most potions required rainwater, Kip had placed a barrel on the balcony just below his lab to catch it. He scurried down the stone stairs with cup in hand. Back in his lab, he dropped onto the cot he kept for nights when he worked late.

He swallowed the concoction, careful not to choke. Who drank while lying down anyway? He imagined Mikey at the beach.

He never felt the transition but soon found himself sitting on a beach towel, building a sandcastle with Mikey. “So here we are, then, wot?”

The little boy grinned, revealing his missing front teeth. “See? I knew you were a wizard first time I met you.”

“That’s me, Kip the Amazing. But you never told me you were a general.”

Mikey lowered his gaze to the mound of sand between them. He added another handful to the top and patted it into place. “I used to be a general. Now I’m an anchor.”

Kip gave him a gentle nudge. “No need calling yourself names, mate. You’re fine just as you are.”

Mikey laughed. “No, an anchor is a good thing. It helps travelers find their way back home. Did you see Windy yet? She can tell you all about it. We used to play a game called Frama-hopping and took turns being the anchor.”

“We didn’t get that deep into it, but she said you sent her to Frama-12.”

“Actually, she volunteered to save our worlds from the lurkin.”

Kip poked at their mound of sand. “She doesn’t believe you invited me to come. You did invite me, didn’t you?”

“I showed you where the time tear was going to rise. Why would I do that if I didn’t want you to go there?”

Kip’s mood brightened. “Brill. And if there’s anything else needs doing, I’m your bloke.”

“Help Windy, please. She might be too proud to ask.”

“I’ve been working on making the enemy disappear. I could surprise her with that. I don’t suppose you know the proper pronunciation to make the vanishing spell work, do you?”

Mikey shook his head. “Sorry. We didn’t have wizards when I lived there.”

Kip’s shoulders drooped.

“You’ll figure it out. Just be careful how you use your magic. Wizards were banned before. Queen Bogen could forbid them again.”

“Not a problem. The queen and I get on quite well.”

The air around them began to shimmer.

“Ooh, I think me potion is wearing off. Any other advice before I go?”

“Don’t let Windy forget she’s a warrior.”

Kip nodded even though he didn’t see Winnie as the warrior type. Bossy, maybe, but a soldier? Never. Maybe she needed his help after all.

He returned to his lab, brimming with images of saving the world on her behalf. Once he perfected that vanishing spell, she’d have to believe in his magic. He leaped off his cot, eager to resume his practice.