Emma's gaze moved to my glowing arm, recognition dawning. "You're like me," she gasped. "You can hear him too."
I nodded, surprised. "You understand him? The emotions he projects?"
"Since I was a little girl." She stroked Horrace's fur lovingly. "My parents thought I had an imaginary friend, but he was always real to me. When the rift opened and took him..." She swallowed hard. "I never stopped looking. Never stopped hoping."
The receptionist was staring open-mouthed at the reunion. "Dr. Wilson, should I cancel your next appointment?"
Emma nodded without taking her eyes off Horrace. "Cancel everything for the rest of the day, Janet. This is... this is important."
She led us through the clinic to a private office in the back, Horrace still clutched tightly in her arms. Once the door closed behind us, she sank into her chair, overwhelmed.
"I can't believe you're really here," she whispered to Horrace, who was making soft, contented sounds against her chest. "I've missed you so much."
Milo was openly crying at the reunion, while even Rook's stoic expression had softened. Fenric observed with careful attention, no doubt cataloging every detail for future reference.
"How did you find him?" Emma finally looked up at us. "And how did you know to bring him to me?"
"That's where the long story comes in," Zane leaned against the wall, arms crossed. "The short version involves prophecies, interdimensional physics, and a lot of weird coincidences."
I pulled one of the chairs closer to Emma's desk. "Horrace found me, actually. He was collecting cat collars in the swamp. I think he was trying to find a way back to you."
Emma's eyes filled with fresh tears. "He kept my blue collar," she touched the heart-shaped tag that hung around Horrace's neck. "I put it on him the day before he disappeared."
"The collar helped us find you," Milo excitedly gestured. "We used its emotional resonance to trace it back to you."
As we shared an edited version of our story, leaving out cult attacks and Harbingers, Emma listened with increasing amazement, never loosening her hold on Horrace. In turn, she told us how she'd found him as a child, a strange creature that had appeared in her backyard during a thunderstorm.
"He was so small then, barely bigger than a kitten," she smiled fondly. "My parents thought he was a stray cat at first, until they got a good look at him. Dad wanted to call the authorities, but I begged to keep him."
"What changed their minds?" I looked at the manticore.
"Horrace did," Emma laughed. "He sang them a song. Did you know he can imitate any sound he hears? After that, they couldn't resist him either."
Horrace demonstrated by perfectly mimicking the clinic's phone ring, making us all jump. Emma laughed through her tears.
"He still does that," she wiped her cheek. "Some things never change."
As Emma and Horrace reconnected, I felt a warm satisfaction spreading through me. This was right. This was how it was supposed to be. The chalice mark on my arm pulsed with gentle affirmation.
Then something shifted.
The blue markings on my skin suddenly flared with blinding intensity. At the same moment, Horrace stiffened in Emma's arms, his tentacles rigid as all twelve eyes swiveled toward me.
"Winter?" Rook was instantly alert, moving to my side. "What's happening?"
A hollow ringing filled the air, like crystal struck by metal. The blue collar around Horrace's neck began to glow with the same light as my markings.
"It's responding to the trial completion," Fenric's voice was tight with alarm. "The emotional resonance is creating a magical feedback loop."
Horrace leapt from Emma's arms to mine, his body vibrating with tension. Through our connection, I felt his fear, not for himself, but for me.
"Something's coming," I gasped as pressure built in the room. "The Harbingers, they're watching."
The air shimmered and tore open. Where Emma's office wall had been, a pulsing rift appeared, darkness beyond swirling with crimson eyes. A voice that wasn't a voice filled the room, scratching against our minds.
"THE VESSEL COMPLETES THE TRIAL OF MEMORY. THE CHALICE FILLS."
Horrace pressed closer to me, his body now glowing with the same blue light as my markings. Behind me, I felt Rook, Zane, Milo, and Fenric move protectively closer.
