He trilled in response, his tentacles spreading to touch several of the collars around us. The moment he made contact, they began to glow faintly, each with its own distinct color and intensity.
"Now you," Milo instructed. "Let your markings respond to Horrace's energy, then channel it into the collars."
I knelt carefully, placing my hands on two of the collars nearest to me. The blue markings on my skin immediately responded, brightening as they connected with the emotional residue trapped within the objects. Images flashed through my mind, cats playing, sleeping, being loved by their families. The overwhelming sense of belonging, of being wanted and cherished.
"It's working," Thornwick whispered in awe nearby.
One by one, the collars began to light up more brightly, each finding its place in the pattern. Most glowed with warm, golden light, but one collar, a simple blue one with a heart-shaped tag, pulsed with an intensity that made the others seem dim by comparison.
"That one," I pointed to the blue collar. "That's Emma's."
Horrace made an excited trill, his tentacles reaching toward the glowing collar. The moment he touched it, his entire formblazed with brilliant light, and the connection between us strengthened into something almost overwhelming.
Through him, I saw her. Emma, no longer a little girl but a woman in her thirties, living in a small apartment across town. The visions showed her life, working as a veterinarian, caring for animals, never quite able to forget the magical pet she'd lost so many years ago. Most heartbreakingly, I saw the empty space on her bedroom shelf where Horrace's favorite toy had once sat, kept all these years in hope of his return.
"She's alive," I gasped as the vision faded. "She still lives here. She's been waiting for him."
Horrace's form was vibrating with such excitement that his colors shifted rapidly through the entire spectrum. His musical trills reached frequencies that made the windows ring in harmony.
But the spell was taking its toll. Each ping of connection stressed Horrace's already fragile interdimensional nature. I could feel him weakening through our bond, his form beginning to destabilize as the effort of maintaining so many simultaneous connections drained his energy.
"That's enough," I broke contact with the collars, immediately moving to steady Horrace as he swayed. "You did beautifully, buddy. We found her."
Thornwick was already noting down the collar's resonance signature, his hands flying across his tablet as he recorded everything. "Fascinating! The emotional resonance was exponentially stronger for the target collar. The bond between Horrace and his original companion has remained intact despite years of separation."
The sound of footsteps on the cabin's front porch interrupted our celebration. I heard Rook's deep voice, followed by Zane's lighter tones, then Fenric's measured cadence as they approached the kitchen.
"Success?" Zane took in the scene of glowing collars and our excited faces.
"We found her," I couldn't contain my joy. "Emma. She's alive, and she still lives here in town."
Fenric stepped forward, his expression shifting from personal warmth to professional focus as he took in Thornwick's readings. "How confident are we in the spell's accuracy?"
"Extremely," Thornwick adjusted his glasses. "The emotional resonance patterns were conclusive. Young Emma is approximately three miles northwest of our current location."
"That's walking distance," Milo bounced on his heels. "We could visit her today!"
"Absolutely not," Fenric's bureaucratic instincts immediately kicked in. "Protocol requires advance planning, security assessments, proper documentation…"
"Or," I interrupted, "we could just go knock on her door like normal people and reunite her with her lost pet."
Rook frowned, his protective instincts clearly at war with the simple logic of my suggestion. "There could be complications. After thirty years, she might not remember him clearly. Or worse, she might have moved on, formed new attachments."
The thought sent a spike of anxiety through me. What if Emma didn't want Horrace back? What if seeing him again only brought pain instead of joy?
But Horrace himself showed no such doubt. He scampered to the glowing blue collar, wrapping a tentacle around it possessively. His musical trill was pure determination, he was going home, complications or no complications.
"I think the decision's been made for us," Zane observed, watching Horrace's display. "When has our interdimensional friend ever been wrong about these things?"
As if in response to his words, Horrace began to glow more brightly, his form stabilizing as new energy flowed through him. The prospect of reunion was literally revitalizing him.
"We should at least scope out the location first," Rook insisted. "Make sure it's safe before involving civilians in our prophecy drama."
"Agreed," Fenric nodded. "I'll coordinate a reconnaissance mission while Dr. Thornwick analyzes the remaining resonance data."
"No reconnaissance," I stood up, decision crystallizing. "We're going. Now. Together. Horrace has waited thirty years to go home. He's not waiting another day because of our paranoia."
Something in my tone must have conveyed my absolute resolve, because none of them argued further. Even Fenric simply nodded, though I caught him making notes on his tablet.
