“We’ve seen enough!” Jake called back, and continued without stopping.
“That’s for sure,” Kady added.
Edward checked his watch. “It’s only been five minutes.” He followed after them. “But we spent two hours getting here.”
Morgan sighed. “Kids.”
By the evening, Jake had settled back into his own room at Ravensgate. The comfort of the familiar made the events of the past several days seem like a dream; but if he ever doubted it had happened, he only had to pull out the flute hanging around his neck.
He crossed from his desk to his bed. His room had already looked like a Cabinet of Curiosity, with its fossils, excavation tools, charts, and maps; but now it had taken a distinctly Nordic turn. Across his bed were stacked his newest purchases: books and periodicals on Norse mythology, rune lore, and Viking history. He was ready to dig in, but Kady sat on his bed.
She tapped a knuckle on one of the piles. “Do you think all this brain food will help us find Mom and Dad?”
“We have to start somewhere. Mom said to go home.” He waved a hand around his room. “So here we are.”
Kady frowned. “But she also said to stay here.”
Jake shrugged. “Maybe I didn’t quite hear her correctly.”
Kady locked eyes with him—then smiled. “You know, sometimes you’re smarter than you look.”
She stood, mussed up his hair, and headed to the door. “Get reading, Brainiac … next time we go to Pangaea, I don’t want to be turned to stone.”
“Fine, but what’re you going to do?”
She pulled on the doorknob and headed out. “I saw the cutest snow parka online. I want to see if they have one in my size.”
With a firm goal in mind, she slammed the door behind her as she left.
Jake wanted to sigh, but Watson beat him to it. The old basset hound stretched from his doggy bed, gave a sorrowful shake of his head, and looked for another comfortable position to lie down—then his ears perked high.
His nose shot up, and he stared straight at Jake, as if he’d just caught the scent of a rabbit … a rabbit he didn’t like. His lips rippled into a low growl, showing the edge of his teeth.
Jake leaned away. “Watson, what’re you—”
Then something buzzed by his ear. A green blur shot in front of Jake’s face, curling angrily in midair, hissing down at Watson.
Oh, great … just great …
It seemed that Jake and Kady weren’t the only ones who’d done a little time traveling. He stared between the angry wisling and the growling dog and stood up. He’d had enough for one day.
“Quit it! Both of you!”
Dog and serpent turned toward him, looking sheepish.
He sank back to his bed, staring at the wisling.
How am I going to explain this?
As if sensing Jake’s mood, the wisling sailed closer, its head hanging low. Then Watson came up and put a paw on Jake’s knee.
Jake sighed, unable to stay mad at them. He patted Watson on the head and carefully lifted a finger toward the winged serpent. He expected to be bitten, but instead a small tongue flickered out and tickled his fingertip.
The wisling then slowly drifted and settled around his neck like a scarf. It folded its wings, tucking its warm head under his chin. In the quiet of his room, Jake heard a soft, contented trilling flowing from the creature, like the purr of a leopard cub.
Watson climbed up to his lap, sniffing at the dragon. The hound’s tail wagged as he slowly accepted this newcomer.
Jake remembered what he’d told Marika earlier.
I have a way with animals.
A small smile formed as he realized how true that was. For better or worse, he was stuck with the wisling. Recognizing that, he gave in and whispered to his new companion.
“Welcome to the family, little guy.”
As his two friends settled in with him, Jake turned and removed a book from his stack. Time to get to work.