“It’s recent, but it’s odd. I lost it several times on the way. I believe Barney, but I can’t smell anything in this room.”
Barney had run into the bathroom. He was barking at the sink.
“There’s nothing here, buddy,” said Tomasar, “but good effort.” He gave him a treat. “And a little bit of cheese for you too,” he said to Willow.
They checked in the bathtub, under the beds, and in the wardrobe. Leo wasn’t small enough to hide anywhere else.
Nothing. And nothing in the journal.
“It was a good idea, though,” said Ceri. “Thanks for trying.”
“Anytime, your highness,” said Tomasar, tipping his cap to Ceri. “C’mon, Barn. We’ll come back if you find anything else.”
“I think I’m going to get changed while I’m here,” said Ceri. “It’s getting cold out there, and I’ve still got to make a few flights this afternoon.”
“We’ll be in the library,” said Rinka. “Did you want me to keep an eye on the journal for you while you’re flying?”
“Please,” said Ceri. She hated to hand it over, but she couldn’t bear the thought of missing him while she was in the air.
Ceri closed the door to the bathroom and leaned over the sink to collect her thoughts.
Where could Leo have gone? Ceri thought through all the stories from last night: the whispers, the fire, the blood, the hands that choked Idris. Could the hands have gotten to him? Or the fire? There was no one where he was to save him.
Could he have died in some other world with no one around and no way of them ever knowing?
Ceri wiped the tears from her eyes and splashed water on her face. If something had happened to him, there was nothing she could do, but she wouldn’t give up hope yet.
When Ceri looked into the looking glass, she screamed.
It was Leo.
He was there behind her in the looking glass.
She turned to look, but he was gone. And when she turned back around to check the looking glass again, she saw only her own reflection.
“What’s wrong?” asked Ana. “Are you okay in there?”
“I saw him,” said Ceri. “He was there in the glass. Just behind me.”
Ana looked skeptical. “Are you sure? I don’t see how anyone could have gotten in here. We checked, remember?” She started checking again, just in case.
“I don’t think he’s here, not in this world. But I think he’s here in his. Maybe Barney could smell him somehow.”
Ceri looked away from the looking glass and looked back.
Nothing.
She ran to her bed and checked the journal again.
Nothing.
She grabbed the clothes she’d planned to change into and brought them into the bathroom.
Ana shut the bathroom door to give Ceri some privacy.
Ceri slowly undressed in front of the looking glass. If he was here, surely he’d have to respond to this particular action.
She stripped down to her undergarments. “They’re Gallic,” she said, teasing the strap of her brassiere.
