I snapped myself out of it, bringing myself back to the present, and wondered suddenly if the key was somehow provoking my mind to drift. The moment I laid eyes on its ivory handle or crystalline body, I felt my head go light and become flooded with thoughts I had previously swiped to the corner of my subconscious, not necessarily negative ones but rather things I had mentally pinned to think about or research at another time.
Such as the reason why the Cosmos was the only plane of existence that was different, in that the Dark Energy didn't quantify people and things. Or how I might be able to expand arrow production and distribution to other countries after I'd dominated the US market...
"Alex," Louie said, and yanked my pants sharply with his teeth. "You're just staring at it. Can I see it?"
"I was," I admitted. "It's a weird thing. It makes your mind drift. Here, take a look."
I knelt and showed the key to him. He looked at it for a couple of seconds, sniffed it, and looked at me again.
"It looks nice, I guess," he said nonchalantly.
"You don't feel it?" I asked.
"Feel what?" he asked, as we reached our floor and the elevator door opened.
Leo got out of the elevator and waited for us to head over to our apartment.
"When I look at it..." I tried to find the right words. "It's mesmerizing."
"I don't feel anything," Louie replied, after we entered our apartment. "Maybe it's a magical effect and I have a better resistance to it?"
"I guess..."
"Can I use the bathroom?" Leo asked solemnly.
"Of course," I said with a smile. I'd been so enamored by the fact we were finally going to go ahead with Louie's quest that I'd forgotten what he had just been through. This might well have proved to be something scarring for Leo, no matter how cool he tried to look.
I'd better pull my shit together and be more considerate around him. Or else, I wouldn't be much of a friend, would I?
"Second door to the left!" I shouted as he left the room.
He didn't say anything or look back, but simply waved his hand to acknowledge me. I looked at Louie, concerned.
"Leo is acting weird," he remarked.
"Well, can you blame him?" I said. "He must have been through hell. Being kidnapped and beaten almost to death."
"Yeah, I guess," Louie said, following me as I walked over to the sitting area.
The new couch I'd purchased after Rory had destroyed mine a couple of months back was a long brown leather corner sofa, wide enough to fit both of us comfortably. Unfortunately, this one was even higher than the old one and Louie couldn't climb onto it without using his spell. He'd been banned from doing so while I was asleep because, despite apparently being cleverer than me, he was still a dog and therefore couldn't understand the concept of speaking softly or whispering. So in order to avoid him waking me up with his incantation every time he went to sleep after me, I'd bought him a set of padded steps to climb up instead.
"Did you get the quest?" Louie asked, once he'd done this and settled on the couch.
"Come to think of it, no. I haven't received a quest yet."
I placed the box on the low coffee table in front of me and took out the key. The handle was cold to the touch and the crystal shaft and tip reflected the light from the large Edison lamps behind us. As I held it, a cold breeze traveled from the key to my body and gently rustled the hair on Louie's back.
Quest Name: Man's Best Friend II
Availability: Single
Rarity: B Grade
Description: The Faery Queen is extremely selective about the people She chooses to bestow her gifts upon. This quest acts as an invitation to Her palace, where you will be able to make your case for why your soul should be bonded with that of your bestial partner.
Success: Use the Best Friends Key and have an audience with the Faerie Queen.
Failure: Return to your realm empty-handed.
Status: 0/1
Time Left: Unlimited
Reward: ???
Do you accept the quest? Yes No
"I just got the quest." I mentally pushed the notification to Louie too.
"The queen of faeries?" he said, and wagged his tail excitedly. "I loved that Alieria lady that gave me that awesome bacon and my class."
I smiled at the order in which he listed the gifts he'd received--first the bacon and then his class--without mentioning the most important part. "She was the messenger of the queen."
"Exactly!" Louie said and barked loudly, barely keeping himself from spinning around in anticipation. "Can you imagine what kind of delicacy she is going to give me?"
"Buddy, I don't think it works that way--" I started, but then heard Leo return. "Are you okay, man?"
"Yeah, I'm fine."
I didn't want to push him too much, but I felt that I had to at least let him know he could talk to me. If I had learned anything over the past six months, it was that people should not take friendship for granted. You had to actually make the effort. And Leo had proved to me that he was absolutely worth it.
"Look, man," I said, and waited for him to sit on the couch before continuing. "If you need to talk about what happened, I'm here, okay?"
"We're both here," Louie added and lay down next to him, prompting him for the usual belly rubs he'd give him.
Instead, Leo put his hands between his legs and looked at the floor without saying a word. Once Louie realized he wasn't getting any rubs, he came back to my side and I provided him with what our distraught friend didn't.
"You know..." Leo said after a while. "It's all
