TWENTY-EIGHT

After stuffing himself with chicken and pan-fried noodles, Thomas joined the others in a library-sized room with a giant fireplace and an assortment of couches, chairs, and tables. He parked himself in a wide leather chair next to the fire and sipped on a creamy mango drink. Professor Reilly sprawled next to him in a large recliner, feet up, sipping on a glass of amber liquid. Adelia and Huxley sat side by side on the long couch across from them.

“Thank you, Ling Sun,” said Huxley. “Dinner was delicious, as always.”

“Very welcome.” Ling Sun bobbed her head and looked at Thomas. “How our new guest like?”

“Me? I loved it,” said Thomas. “Thank you.”

Ling Sun smiled. The skin around her eyes crinkled, showing an age defied by her energy and dark hair. “Good. Sticky bun?”

“Oh, none for me, thanks,” said Adelia.

“I’d love one,” said Huxley. “Thank you.”

“Yes, please,” said Thomas. “That sounds great.”

“Two for me, please,” said Professor Reilly. Adelia shot him a look. He shrugged his shoulders and grinned. “What? I’m a big man. It takes a lot to fill me up.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” said Adelia. “One of these days, I’m going to get you on a proper diet.”

“Diet? What? How can you use such language in front of the child? Thomas, cover your ears!” Professor Reilly shook his head, his eyes wide. “Diet? Why, that’s the foulest of the four-letter words! Take it back. Hurry.”

“Not a chance,” said Adelia. “Not until you start taking better care of yourself.”

“I bring sticky buns, you figure out how many go in belly.” Ling Sun pointed at the professor’s round middle and raised an eyebrow. “But maybe diet not such a bad idea.”

Professor Reilly’s mouth hung open, his jaw working as he tried to find the proper words to express his horror. Thomas laughed, as did Huxley and Adelia. Ling Sun disappeared through a side door, a half-smile crinkling the skin around her eyes. When she reappeared with the plate of sticky buns, Professor Reilly took two. He chomped into the first, glowering at Adelia. His face softened, and he lifted the remaining half in a complimentary gesture. “Mmm. Very nice.”

Ling Sun bowed slightly. “Thank you.”

The sticky buns weren’t the kind Thomas was expecting. Instead of a cinnamon roll, it looked like a dumpling. He took one and nibbled on the corner. It was sweet, but not overwhelmingly so. He took a bigger bite. “Oh, wow. Wow. That’s really good. Thank you.”

“Very welcome,” said Ling Sun. “You want one more?”

“Yes, please.” Thomas grabbed another and popped the rest of the first one in his mouth. When both had been finished, he sat back, rubbed his tummy, and let out a quiet burp. His belly was full, and he was feeling a whole lot better when suddenly a thought occurred to him. He hadn’t had a chance to talk to his mom. He looked around and noticed a phone on the long dining room table.

The professor must have seen him staring in that direction and picked up on his thoughts. “Would you like to make a call?”

“Would that be okay?” Thomas asked, almost timidly. He didn’t want to get his hopes up, but suddenly, he really wanted to hear his mom’s voice.

“You’re not a prisoner, Thomas,” Professor Reilly replied. “Everything you see here is yours. I think your mom will be incredibly happy to hear from you.”

Thomas leaped out of the chair, accidentally knocking his drink onto the floor. The glass shattered, sending shards in all directions. He looked down, abashed, and started to apologize.

“Not to worry, my boy,” said Professor Reilly. “Help is on the way. Go, make your phone call.”

The professor was right. By the time Thomas picked up the telephone, Ling Sun was back with a young helper. The girl looked like she might be about his own age, but it was hard to tell because locks of long hair hid most of her face.

“It’s an international call, so you’ll need to dial 001 before the number,” said Adelia.

Thomas punched the numbers into the phone, hit the green button, and heard the unfamiliar “boop” of an international ringtone. After the third boop, the line clicked, and he heard his mom’s voice. “Hello.” She sounded tired, stressed.

“Mom.” His voice was hardly more than a whisper, emotion tearing at his throat and making it hard to get the sounds out. He fought back a flood of emotion and cleared his throat. “Mom, it’s me.”

“Thomas! Thomas, my brave, beautiful boy! Are you okay?”

“I, uh, I’m . . .” He started to choke up but forced himself to stand tall. “I’m okay.”

“Oh, my baby boy. I’m so sorry you had to find out about things this way. There’s so much I’ve wanted to tell you but couldn’t. I know this all must seem crazy right now, but everything will make sense soon enough. Can you please forgive me?”

“Why? Why couldn’t you tell me?”

“Because I promised not to,” said Susan.

“Why not?”

“Your dad wanted you to have a proper childhood. To go to school, make friends, be a kid. He was afraid you’d lose all of that if he didn’t make it home and you learned the truth about why. Selfishly, I agreed.”

Thomas wanted to argue, but aside from growing up without a dad, his childhood had been pretty good. Factoring in Enrique, maybe even great. Would it have been different if he’d known his dad was missing and why? Probably.

“I get to come home though, right? I get to come back soon, right?” There was silence on the other end, and a sinking feeling crept into the pit of his stomach. “Right?”

“I hope so, sweet boy,” his mom managed, though he could hear the tears in her voice. “I really hope so.”

Matching tears welled up in his own eyes. “B-but I don’t want to be away. I w-want to come home.”

“I want that, too,” she finally managed, her voice raw with emotion. “I want that more than anything in the world. But it’s not safe for you here, and you can’t come home until it is. I need you to trust in the people around you, sweet boy. They’ll protect and teach you. Right now, that’s the most important thing. You’re part of something bigger now, Thomas, and that has to come first, before anything you or I might want for ourselves.”

“I don’t understand,” he said, hot tears spilling down his cheeks. “What am I part of? Why can’t I learn what I need to at home?”

“I’m going to leave it to Huxley, Adelia, and Professor Reilly to explain. It’s a long story, and you need to hear it from the beginning. Just know that you’re in good hands, and that everything will work out just the way it’s supposed to.” She paused. “Thomas?”

“Yes, Mom.”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Thomas’s voice cracked. He let himself cry for a moment before setting down the phone, squaring up his shoulders and turning around. Adelia was right behind him, gathering him into a hug before he had time to protest. He gave in without a fight, burying his face in her shoulder. The tears started again, warm against the soft cloth of her shirt.

Professor Reilly patted Thomas on the shoulder. “I know it’s a lot to take in, my boy, and I can’t begin to imagine how you might be feeling right now, but we’re going to have some fun. I can promise you that. By the time we’re done, you’ll be doing things you can’t even imagine right now. The blighters on the other side won’t know what hit them.”

“The ones with Arius?” Thomas wiped a sleeve across his face and rubbed his eyes. “Arius Strong?”

Professor Reilly nodded. “The very same.”

“How do you know that name?” Huxley looked at Thomas, a curious expression on his face. “We haven’t talked to you about him yet. Have we?”

“I heard you talking about someone named Arius while I was hiding, and a couple weeks ago, I read an article about a billionaire with the same name. Who is he?”

“That’s part of a very long story.” Huxley put a gentle hand on Thomas’s shoulder and steered him toward the living room. “How about we gather around the fire and start at the beginning?”