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I was driving myself and the bird home when my phone rang. I groaned when I saw who was calling but I swiped to answer it through the car’s hands-free system. ‘I’m on my way,’ I lied.
There was a beat of silence. ‘You’re late.’
‘Dead body.’
My mum sighed. ‘Why couldn’t you have been a lawyer?’
We both knew the question was rhetorical; from the moment my dad had died in the line of duty, there had been no other path for me. ‘See you soon,’ I hung up. ‘Change of plan,’ I said to the bird, feeling ridiculous. ‘We’re going to dinner at Mum’s house. Can you please refrain from insulting everyone?’
‘Food?’
‘Food.’
The bird gave a happy ruffle of its feathers and settled down to wait. At least it wasn’t squawking obscenities at me.
I changed direction and headed for Hoole where Mum lives in a large semi-detached house with my brother, Rupert. At twenty-nine, he is the youngest of us but, unlike me and Julian, he has yet to fly the nest. I suspect that’s because he can’t bring himself to leave Mum and I’m grateful for that, but equally it twists me up inside that my youngest brother isn’t living his life to the max.
My hands tightened on the steering wheel. As the eldest, I should have been the one living with Mum but I work long shifts and keep weird hours, plus she hates seeing me in the Connection uniform. Our relationship is a match made in arguments, so I’d moved out.
As I parked up, I removed my suit jacket with its tell-tale pin on the breast pocket. The pin showed the symbol of the Other realm: three triangles inside each other in ever-decreasing size with a circle wrapped around them.
When you’re in the Other realm, everyone is supposed to display that symbol somewhere on their person. As a wizard, I have it emblazoned across my forehead, minus the circle – a sign and warning to everyone that I am in the Other realm and I have full access to my magic. The creature elements of the Other realm – trolls, ogres, dryads and dragon shifters – don’t have the same mark but they are supposed to wear one of the pins so that even at a glance someone can see they are in the Other.
The issue is that dragon shifters, amongst others, look human until they’re in their dragon form, and some factions don’t like that they can pass as human when they’re anything but.
I pulled on a maroon hoodie that said Your ambition outweighs your skills. It had been a gift from Rupert because he thought he was being funny, but it was better than strolling in with the jacket. Mum would still frown at the suit trousers but she’d get over it.
I looked at the bird. ‘If you don’t behave, I’m putting you back in the car.’ It gave an affirmative shriek and closed its beak with an audible clack. I stifled a smile as I opened the car door and grabbed the cage.
I had keys but I couldn’t be bothered to find them while juggling the bird house, so I rang the doorbell. Mum opened the door and her mouth dropped open. Her brown hair, darker than mine, is dusted lightly with grey but her face has remarkably few lines and she looks a full decade younger than her sixty-one years. ‘You’ve got a pet,’ she said faintly.
‘He’s a witness. Can I come in?’
‘The bird is a witness?’
‘Yup.’
‘Just when I think the Connection can’t stoop any lower,’ she muttered not quite under her breath.
‘Hello, beautiful!’ the bird sang to her, giving a happy hop.
Mum clutched a hand to her chest in surprise even as her smile grew. ‘Oh! Aren’t you a darling?’
The bird preened. ‘Thank you.’
‘And so polite too! Does it need to be in the cage?’ she asked critically.
‘It’s magic and I don’t know what species it is, so yeah. It’s staying in its golden cage for now.’
‘Prisoner,’ the bird squawked sadly.
‘You poor thing!’ Mum shot me a disapproving look. I ignored it.
‘Can I come in?’ I asked again, pointedly.
‘Of course, love!’ She moved back so I could wrangle the cage inside. ‘Everyone’s already at the table.’ She paused. ‘Rupert has a new … friend.’ She didn’t bother to hide her distaste.
‘You’re not a fan?’
