Barbara gave Liam another kiss and then pulled back, laughing. “Silly dog. I guess we’d better go pack whatever we’re going to need and hit the road.”
“Right now?” Liam said. “Shouldn’t we wait until morning and start out when we’re fresh?”
She shook her head. “The people of the Otherworld are very literal. If the Queen said two weeks, she meant two weeks from the moment she spoke. We’ve already lost part of a day. And we have no idea how long it is going to take up to figure any of this out, even if Beka can help. I don’t think we have any time to waste.”
Babs tapped Barbara on the arm, looking serious. As usual. “Barbara?”
“Yes, honey?”
“Can we bring the cookies?”
“Of course we can.”
“And Chudo-Yudo?”
“I wouldn’t consider going without him.”
“And my sword?”
Liam winced and Barbara bit her lip to keep from laughing.
“Sure,” she said. “Cookies, a dragon-dog, and a sword: what every well-equipped little girl takes on a journey.”
“Remind me to sign her up for the Girl Scouts when we get back,” Liam said. “And I guess I better call Nina at the station and tell her she’s going to need to arrange a replacement for me for the next two weeks. It looks like we’re taking a road trip.”
***
Four days later, not long after sunrise, Beka opened her door and said, “Hey! What are you guys doing here?”
Chewie stuck his large head around her legs and said, “They’re going to think you’re not happy to see them, with a greeting like that.” He and Chudo-Yudo rubbed noses affectionately, tiny flames dribbling out of their nostrils.
“Oh, sorry! That’s not what I meant. I was just surprised,” Beka said, giving Barbara a big hug and then giving one to Liam for good measure. Little Babs still wasn’t very comfortable with being touched, although she would occasionally pat Liam or Barbara on an arm or shoulder as a way of showing affection, so Beka just smiled at the girl.
“You were here not that long ago. I thought you were planning to stay home for a while. You weren’t Called out here on some kind of a mission, were you?” Beka looked around as if some catastrophe might be lurking around the corner. “I figured if anything came up around here, I’d be Called to handle it.” Uncertainty lurked in her blue eyes.
Barbara wasn’t much more of a hugger than Babs was most of the time, but she knew that Beka had struggled to build up her confidence after her mentor, Brenna, had purposely torn it down. She put her arm around the younger woman. “Quite the contrary, actually. We’ve come to you for help.”
Beka’s eyes widened. “You did? Wow. I guess you’d better come in and tell me all about it. I’m sorry you missed Marcus, but he’s already taken the fishing boat out for the day.”
“Can we go sit by the ocean?” Babs asked. “We have to talk about the ocean anyway.”
“You do?” Beka smiled at Babs and then looked at her adoptive parents. “Is that okay with you? We should be able to find a place to sit by ourselves. It’s early enough in the day that it’s mostly only surfers and a few people walking their dogs.”
“I am not wearing a leash,” Chudo-Yudo said warningly.
Barbara rolled her eyes. “As if I’d try to put a leash on you. I might as well just set myself on fire and cut out the middleman. This is California; you’ll be fine. Just stick close and try not to scare the natives.”
“I don’t care about him scaring them,” Liam muttered. “As long as he doesn’t eat them.”
Chudo-Yudo sniffed. “Take a bite out of one hunter and everyone holds it against you forever. I was friends with that deer and the guy was trespassing on our land. Jeez.”
“Huh,” Beka said. “At least Chewie has never tried to eat anyone, although he has been known to shower everyone in a ten-square-foot area when he shakes the water off his fur.”
“I would rather eat s’mores,” Chewie said with dignity. “People taste bad.”
Liam rubbed one hand over tired eyes. “I’ll tell you what. The first person who gets me a cup of coffee can eat anything or anyone he or she wants.” He yawned.
Beka laughed and snapped her fingers, producing a steaming cup. “Here, take mine. I’ll pack us up a little breakfast picnic and we can go sit on the beach and eat while you tell me what brought you all the way out here that you actually think I could help you with. This ought to be good.”
***
“Well, that’s bad,” Beka said when they’d finished telling her the story of the Queen’s challenge. “And it doesn’t bode well for me and Marcus when I go to her to ask for the same favor. Three impossible tasks in two weeks? That’s harsh, dude.”