18 Bridges

'Damn, it's good to hear from you!' My father's husky voice sounded a little too much like the bird he was using as a mouthpiece.

'Dad, where are you? And how are you doing this?' I was rambling, and I almost shoved my head into the bird's beak, as if that would somehow make him hear me better. The stench of rotten meat made me rethink the tactic, though; no one should willingly do what I'd just done, ever.

'Didn't your mother tell you? I travelled with the GreenWood Pack survivors. After everything they'd done for us, I felt like I needed to help find them a new home. I'm sorry for abandoning you both, Jake; you must hate me.'

I couldn't believe he'd say such a thing. 'Of course, I don't hate you, Dad; I'm proud of you.'

I could hear my father crying, although his sobbing wasn't translating correctly. He sounded more like a duck quacking underwater; now wasn't the time to laugh about it, though.

'Are you coming back soon?'

He cleared his throat. 'I'm honouring my promise to them. I won't be long, though. When I-'

The bird's beak snapped shut as it regained control of its body, and suddenly, I found myself trying to unhook its curly talons from Violet's matted hair.

'Get it off me!' She yelped, attempting to punch the thing. The furious bird wouldn't stop divebombing her.

I chuckled. 'Well, that was exciting.' Learning that my father was safe had left me in high spirits; my mother would no doubt be just as thrilled when I got to tell her.

Violet was not impressed, though, and if looks could kill, I'd have been long gone by now. 'We need to decide what to do next... When you're finished picking on me at me, that is.'

I set off walking. 'How about we start by getting everybody else up to the castle?'

'Fine.' Violet replied, storming ahead of me.

It was still dark when we made it back, but that didn't seem to matter to those who were restless. The castle courtyard was lit up with orange lanterns and people carrying more torches like the one my mother had. There were hundreds of refugees; some were from this world, but many others weren't. I was awestricken; never could I have imagined an interspecies gathering on such a grand scale.

Violet had been right earlier. It looked like my mother was too busy worrying about everybody else as she handed out blankets and food to the masses, and as I walked over, I couldn't stop talking to them all. Sure, my arm was itching more with every hand that I shook, but I had no room for complaints. Violet had once again come to my rescue with her magical prowess.

The more I saw what my mother had built in such a short space of time, the more I realised how incredible she was. Converting the castle courtyard into a triage camp was no small feat. It wasn't anything fancy; mere waterproof tarp fastened to long sticks, with our antique tables and chairs scattered around for those in need. Still, it was better than nothing.

I grimaced as I saw her face. Even though we hadn't been here that long, my mother looked like she hadn't slept in days, and the bags under her eyes were bulging and black. Of course, I would never have told her that. 'How are you?'

She almost fell into my arms, seemingly as exhausted as she looked. After a few minutes, she finally pulled away, bleary-eyed and smiling wistfully. 'I'm better now that you're here.'

Her smile was growing wider still as I told her all about Dad and the mysterious raven-like bird. 'Everyone knew of magic back on Earth, but the marine corps would never have allowed it. How could he have performed a spell as complex as that?'

My mother snorted. 'Oh, believe me, he's hopeless when it comes to practising it, just like most people in the old world were, I guess. The werewolves we met were masters with the workings of magic, though. The survivors would have helped him, no doubt.'

'Have you seen Asher?'

I'd startled my mother with the change in topic, but then she grinned while pointing at one of the tents. 'He's over there, and he was asking for you both. Take it easy on him, will you? He's wounded,' she sighed as I wasn't paying attention. 'Honestly, I don't know why I bother.'

She hadn't been kidding; Asher was covered in as much blood as he'd been when he'd first arrived in this realm, only this time he had a gaping hole in his shoulder. Peering at it closely, I could already see the healing magic in action, sewing bloodied tissue back together as though it were a torn linen garment.

I patted his arm gently. 'Hang in there.'

'If I could have everyone's attention, please?' Inspector Garland announced from atop several stacked hay bales. The man sure did love attracting all of the attention. 'Many of you may have noticed strange things happening in this world; you might have even seen unusual beings passing through your homelands-'

That's an understatement.

I had to cough to cover up a laugh, earning me a frown from the man. He must have hated me by now, but he carried on speaking anyway, brushing off my interruption as a mild inconvenience.

'All of this damage was a result of the actions taken by Professor Magnus Melia. His failed plot to rule over fifty worlds has also left many realms connected through magic for all of eternity. Of course, according to external surveys, some of these places seem to have been damaged beyond repair.'

The Inspector must have forgotten who he was talking to; many of these beings were creations of the mind. None of them knew of other worlds or how they, as people, came to exist, so he wasn't prepared when they hit him with a barrage of questions that he could not answer.

'There are other worlds?'

'My homeland was raided by werewolves!'

'Where do we come from?'

'Wheeey beeer baaar.'

I'd almost forgotten about the Uvaaaru,  my cute furry friends. They would no doubt be as curious as anyone about what had happened to them, especially after our unexpected visit to their home.

The Inspector was unsuccessfully playing down their plethora of questions and looking around for any means of escape.

Sensing his unease, I sighed before stepping forward to speak for everyone present. 'What do we do now, Inspector?'

He smiled back, nodding; I'd finally given him a question he could answer, and he latched on to it as though it were a lifeline. 'The future is yours to shape as you want, my friends. Together we will rebuild this world and others like it, realms that we can share and explore till our heart's content.'

Everyone started cheering, and I looked down to see someone's hand slotting into mine. 'Violet?'

She squeezed my fingers. 'We survived Jake, and now there are fifty uncharted worlds out there for us to discover. It can't get much more exciting than that.'

'Where do you think we should go first?'

Violet laughed. 'Let's just get this place fixed up, for now, shall we?'

'You're probably right. Let's do that.'

The unravelling of the realms was complete, but instead of forcing us all apart, we were now closer than ever.