CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

 

Gabriel stared at the familiar waterfalls as Finley hugged his leg. The water crashed down just feet ahead of them, the spray misting their faces.

“Yo, you okay?” Brent asked, tromping up beside him.

Gabriel patted Finley’s head. “Yeah, I’m good.” With a sigh, he turned to face his best friend since the first grade. “To be honest, I’m worried our parents won’t remember us.”

Brent tugged out the vial of red liquid that Prince Oliver had given each of them before they’d left the palace. It was a potion meant to make their parents’ memories of them return. “We’ve got this stuff, remember?”

“I know,” Gabriel answered. “But, seriously, what if it doesn’t work?”

“Dude,” Brent said, his face growing serious. “Then we’ll have to move to an orphanage and find new parents.” He shrugged. “Or maybe we can move in with Cedric.”

New horror buzzed through his veins at the thought of living with their Willow Creek nemesis.

Brent slapped Gabriel’s arm and laughed. “Kidding!” When Gabriel didn’t laugh, he added, “It’ll be cool, bro. Don’t worry. We’ll be golden. We just, you know, had an extended vacay from school. It’s all good—well, except I’m sure we’ll have some make-up tests to do and that kinda sucks, but it’ll be okay.”

“You guys ready?” Piper asked, strolling up beside them, her long dark hair flowing over her shoulders.

Gabriel pointed at the long purple dress she’d borrowed from the princess. “You think anyone’s gonna notice our gear?”

Piper laughed and motioned toward Gabriel’s and Brent’s princely threads. “It was a great costume party we were invited to, right?” she said, offering up a story.

“Yep,” Gabriel replied. “A party with flying tigers and everything. It was epic.”

“Epic,” Brent added with a nod.

Gabriel bent over and hugged Finley, his favorite furry friend in all of Valta. “I’m gonna miss you, buddy.”

Finley patted his fist over his heart. “Gabrul in here.” Gabriel smiled, hoisted Finley onto one hip, and turned around to face the royal family who waited to say their final good-byes. He trudged through the grass, his sneakers crunching against the golden and orange leaves scattered on the ground.

Gabriel put Finley down, then shook Prince Oliver’s extended hand. “Thank you, Gabriel Stone,” the prince said. “You will forever be a friend of Valta’s—and a friend of mine.” Then the prince turned his attention on Piper and Brent, and Princess Evangeline handed Piper a bouquet of flowers.

While they were talking, Gabriel smiled up at the empress. “I’m glad you’re okay,” he said.

“We are safe because of you three.” Empress Malina placed a hand on his shoulder. “Now go home and be safe. Willow Creek needs a fine boy such as you.”

After one last glance at what they were leaving behind, they made their way through the now-parted falls. A rainbow curved around the top of the water. The fall scenery spread out behind them in Valta, and the spring sun was setting in Willow Creek.

Home, Gabriel thought. Almost there.

 

***

 

Gabriel walked up the steps of 27 First Street, the starry night sky twinkling as if wishing him good luck. His heart raced as he peered in through the white sheers hanging in the front window. The TV was on with the local weatherman. Gabriel didn’t know why his parents bothered watching that guy. His dad always said, If O’Malley forecasts sun, make sure to bring your umbrella.

Two steaming cups of herbal tea rested on the end tables as usual. Gabriel knew it was herbal tea. His parents watched the news with a cup of the stuff every night—but where were his parents?

Lifting the green planter on the front porch, Gabriel took the hidden key and eased it into the lock. He tiptoed inside. When he heard their voices from upstairs, he crept over and poured the elixir in equal parts into his parents’ cups, hands shaking. Prince Oliver had said the stuff he’d put into the town’s water would probably be enough, but this was back up. It would be one thing to have the town forget him, but his parents? Well, that just couldn’t happen.

Just then, Zigzag came bolting down the stairs. Her fur hackled on her neck as she broke into a barking fit.

“Ziggy,” Gabriel said. “It’s me, Gabe.”

But Zigzag kept barking, her lips pulled back into a snarl.

She still doesn’t remember me.

Backing away slowly, a sick feeling twisted his gut as he stepped outside and eased the door shut. He resigned himself to wait for his parents to drink the tea, and worried that the potion the prince had added to the town’s water supply wouldn’t work on his dog.

What if Ziggy never remembers me?

He pushed the thought away, not wanting to think about how crushing that loss would feel.

Gabriel watched through the thin white sheers as his parents came rushing downstairs, obviously curious about what Ziggy’s problem was. They looked in her empty dog dishes, then filled her bowls with food and water. Ziggy began lapping up the liquid.

After settling into their seats on the sofa, his parents started to drink their tea. Gabriel gnawed a thumbnail. He hoped Zigzag had only forgotten him because maybe she hadn’t drunk any water over the last couple of hours. And he hoped he’d put enough of the potion in his parents’ tea. Maybe he should have asked for two vials of the stuff—one for each of his parents.

The phone rang and Dad answered it. Gabriel didn’t know how long to wait for the potion to work. It wasn’t every day that he gave magical elixirs to people to make them forget him, and then another one to remember.

Finally, after ten minutes of feeling like a creepy stalker, he stepped back inside as though it was any other day.

“Hey, Mom and Dad,” he said as casually as he could while kicking off his shoes.

His dad kept talking on the phone as if he didn’t hear him and his mom turned to look at him, confusion covering her face. “What are you doing here?” she asked, her eyebrows pinched together.

It didn’t work!

Gabriel felt like he was gonna puke and immediately thought about orphanages. “What do you mean?” he asked, feeling the blood drain from his face. “It’s me, Gabriel. I live here.” He hoped that by saying his name it would trigger a memory—and that he wouldn’t be forced out on the street.

His mom burst out laughing, then met him at the door. She squeezed his shoulders. “I know, silly,” she said, just as Zigzag bounded forward and licked his hands. “It’s just that you have guitar lessons on Monday nights.” She eyed the clock that read eight o’clock. “Shouldn’t you be next door at Mrs. Simpson’s? And why are you dressed like someone from—” She lowered her voice. “Valta?”

Gabriel’s shoulders slumped, mostly from relief that the potion had worked, but partly because the idea of doing anything other than sleeping was like asking him to run a marathon. Gabriel loved playing guitar, but didn’t think he could pluck even one string right then. And he definitely didn’t want his mom to worry about him having been on another dangerous quest in Valta. “We were just goofing around with costumes.”

His mom tousled his hair, then lifted one strand, leaning in for a closer look. “What’s with this blond streak in your hair? Did you dye it?”

Crap.

Gabriel had forgotten that when Dane had given them their powers, it had turned a few strands of his hair blond. “Um,” he said, trying to think of something. “Piper thought it would be funny to um, dress up with the costumes and add color to our hair.” He paused, twisting his lips in thought. “I’ll fix it, I promise.” Gabriel wasn’t gonna mess with hair dye, and planned on cutting the piece out and keeping it for a souvenir of his adventure.

His mom sighed. “Well, okay. Hey, you look tired, bud. You want me to call Mrs. Simpson to see if we can reschedule your lesson?”

“That’d be so awesome.”

“Hey, Gabe,” Dad said, looking up with the phone in hand. “I was just on the phone with Mr. Chapman, and now Brent wants to speak with you.”

“Thanks, Dad.” Gabriel took the phone and reached his other hand down to pet Zigzag’s head, as she rubbed up against his leg.

Thank God she remembers me.

“Hey, man,” he said to Brent. “All good in the Chapman world?”

“Yup,” Brent replied. “Guess Cedric will have to wait to add two brothers and a sister to his family, huh?”

“Ha. Ha. Oh, did you talk to Piper yet?” Gabriel asked, wondering if everything went okay for her.

“That’d be a double yup,” Brent said. “All’s cool with her, too.”

“Epic.” Gabriel lowered his voice to a whisper so that his parents couldn’t hear him. “So, um, I guess it’s back to our boring old lives, huh?” he asked, feeling a mixture of feelings about having said good-bye to his Valtan friends.

“Dude,” Brent said, dragging out the word. “Our lives are never boring. I am your best friend, after all.” He laughed into the phone.

Gabriel laughed too and plunked down on the sofa, the load of everything they’d accomplished in Valta rolling off him. Seriously, maybe a life without witches, aliens, vampire mermaids, and lakes full of blood was exactly the kind of boring he needed.

He grinned.

Maybe.