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Oliver was overwhelmed. All he could do was nod. “OK.”
Geoffrey knocked on the door, and it opened. He stepped out and Oliver and Rill were alone again. He realized he’d forgotten to ask what Rill had told Geoffrey. He looked at his bird. It was an adjustment having a familiar. He’d have to consider the bird now in all of his dealings. It was his job to protect Rill, and he’d been worried about himself. If Rill was labeled illegal, would they have him destroyed? The thought was so painful, he felt tears well behind his eyes.
No. He’d pull it together and get them both out of this mess. He had family now, and someone on his side. That was better off than he’d been this morning. And Rill? Well, although their bond was new, he felt a missing part of him had been slotted in like a puzzle piece. No matter what happened to him, it was worth it to have Rill in his life.
It felt like several hours, but he really had no idea how long it was before his uncle returned. While he waited, he wondered about the relationship between the two brothers. Also, why did they have different last names? Maybe they’d had different fathers, or one of them had changed their name.
Rill must have felt his unease and terror, because he worked to keep him entertained, hanging upside down from the perch, and jumping around acting silly in the cage. Oliver laughed, and Rill chirped at him in amusement as well. Finally, a single knock and the door opened, admitting Geoffrey.
“Alright, my boy, we can go.”
Oliver stood, stretched out his back, and picked up Rill’s cage. “Can we get him released from this?” he asked.
Geoffrey looked solemn. “We’ll talk about it once we get you home.”
Oliver frowned, but conceded, and they walked out together. He put the cage in Geoffrey’s roomy sedan and climbed in the front seat. The car was an older model Cadillac, in mint condition. The seat was comfortable, and he immediately felt exhausted. He shook his head to wake himself up as Geoffrey climbed in the driver’s seat.
“Why do we have different last names?” he asked after Geoffrey started the car.
“Well, that’s because your grandfather didn’t want to be associated with the Hamilton wizarding family.”
“We are a wizarding family?” Oliver asked.
“Ancient, and powerful.”
Oliver felt a deep melancholy at that statement. All he’d ever wanted was to go to wizard’s school and learn how to do magic. Here he was from an old and powerful family, and he could barely do anything. Then, the first real magic he did, calling Rill, had landed him in trouble. It wasn’t fair.
“Now, now, boy. You’re still young, you’ll have plenty of time to reach your potential,” Geoffrey said, noticing the funk he’d fallen into.
“Not if I’m in jail, and Rill is dead,” he sulked.
“Well, that’s where I come in, isn’t it?” He threw a smile at Oliver, although it was mostly lost in his beard.
“Is it possible to get us out of this?”
“It won’t be easy, but it is doable.”
Oliver sighed and looked out the window. It didn’t feel doable, and he was sure that nothing would ever go right in his life again.
Geoffrey parked the car at his building and followed Oliver to his apartment on the top floor.
The guards had returned his property, so he had shoes, his belt, keys and his wallet back. He unlocked his door and set Rill’s cage on the kitchen table. He picked up his laptop from the floor and set it down next to the cage. For the first time in a long while, he didn’t want to get on it immediately to check his email or gaze at courses for school.
“Do you want something to drink?” he offered his uncle.
“Do you have coffee?”
He nodded and took a moment to set up the coffee maker.
“How do we release Rill?” he asked from the kitchen. The place was old, but it’d been designed well, and the top floor had tall ceilings and an open concept living room and kitchen.
Geoffrey was quiet for a few moments. “That’s a tricky answer, my boy.”
Oliver felt a chill run down his spine. He was out of jail; it didn’t make sense that Rill had to stay in his cage.
“How so?” His voice was cold, and he felt bad. Geoffrey had been nothing but positive and helpful. It wasn’t his fault.
“Well, it seems that the Guild thinks that Rill escaped from their experimental program. That’s how come you were accused of theft.” Geoffrey moved from the living room to join him at the kitchen table. They both stared at the cage as Rill cocked his head for all the world as though he were waiting for an answer. “I already cleared you of that charge. If he escaped, and came to you on his own, there was no way it was theft. However, if he is the same bird, they have a claim to him, and they consider him dangerous.”
