The trip to the hospital was a short one. I willed the artifact armor into a bracelet so the doctors wouldn’t be suspicious when they examined my back.

When the nurse approached to draw blood, I hesitated. I didn’t know the extent of the corruption in my body and didn’t want to risk passing it to an innocent unawakened.

Mrs. Hodgins was admitted right away. They told me I wouldn’t be able to visit her. Unfortunately for them, I had Kalli. A quick trip to the restroom and a short teleport through the hospital, and I was by her side.

Mrs. Hodgins sat up and gave me a reassuring smile. “What’s with the frown? I’m fine. Something like this isn’t going to keep me down. What’s an old lady need with a perfect face?”

From the looks of things, she was going to have a pretty gnarly scar on the left side of her face. As far as the explosion went, she was right, it could have been a lot worse. I felt guilty even though it wasn’t exactly my fault. We brought the potions, after all.

Kalli looked up at me with red eyes. “I think I’m going to stay with her. At least until the blood tests come back.”

I nodded and sat on a couch in the corner of the room. It felt just like the good old times like when I hung out with Mrs. Hodgins in the library. She told us about the guild and the various awakened that passed through.

While not an adventurer herself, she spent a lot of time talking to them as they visited the library doing research. As the head scholar in the biggest guild branch in San Diego, everyone who wanted restricted books had to pass through her.

Kalli told stories about Gaia and how we cured the plague and built an empire. Mrs. Hodgins smiled when we told her exactly how Kalli and I got out of the contract.

She snorted when we told her about the prophecy, grimacing in pain as she aggravated her wound. Tutting at Kalli she waggled her finger. “I think that prophecy is a good thing for the two of you. Nothing like a prophecy baby to make hanky-panky less appealing.”

Kalli blushed. “There wasn’t going to be any of that going on even without the prophecy, right Melvin?”

I nodded, only partially in agreement. Damn that prophecy. Before I was forced to answer, Dazon Wren entered the hospital room. Behind him was a familiar face wearing his custom red suit and hat.

“Mr. Bellview!” Kalli cried out, beaming at the bounty hunter. “How is your wife?”

Mr. Bellview returned the smile, a weird look on his normally serious face. “She’s great. In fact, she can beat me in a foot race now. When you awakened her and made it so she can walk, she ended up with a courier class that gives her bonuses to stamina and speed. It’s not that we need services like that with email and all but she’s enjoying it. She got a job delivering magical items.”

The idea of Mrs. Bellview running with the wind made me chuckle. She was the person that started my life as a healer. It was a shame that I couldn’t heal anyone else with my mana until I cured the poison.

Mr. Bellview surprised me by placing a hand on my shoulder. “So, what can I do for you? Director Wren says you have a request for me.”

“Oh, right.” I began, not quite sure how to phrase my request. “You see. My mom’s missing. She said she had to go somewhere but I have no way of getting in touch with her. Do you think you can help me find her?”

Mrs. Hodgins said, “Melvin. You read your mother’s letter. She’s fine. She told you not to go looking for her.”

“I have a bad feeling about it.” Was all I could say.

Mr. Bellview settled into the couch next to me and asked, “Do you have the letter? May I see it?”

I shuffled around in my bag for a moment before presenting it. Kalli looked over Mr. Bellview’s shoulder as he read the letter.

My Dearest Son,

First, I want to tell you not to worry about me. I didn’t go off searching for you even though you forgot to check in with me when you left Earth. (I will talk to you about that later!)

There is something that I have to do. You might not hear from me for a while but please understand that I will miss you every single day. Don’t worry about me.

I have left some money for you with the guild. Consider it your inheritance. I can’t put a timetable on my return, so just keep living your best life until we see each other again.

Love always,

Mom

“Well, it sounds like she doesn’t want you to go looking for her.” Mr. Bellview said after reading it. “But, I’d be happy to look into it for you. I have some connections that can help. After what you did for us, I owe you one.”

“Thanks,” I replied. “I just want to know that she’s okay.”

“Let me see that,” Dazon said, looking at the letter. “Did you know about this, Vanessa? The part about leaving money with the guild?”

Mrs. Hodgins smiled and nodded. “That’s right. She said there’s a vault for Melvin in the crypt. Said it’s from his father.”

“My father?” I asked, shocked at the revelation. “Did you meet him, Mrs. Hodgins?”

She shook her head. “No. Your mother only mentioned him. I believe she went to go see him about something.”

I always assumed my dad abandoned us. Could Mom possibly have known how to get in touch with him all along and just never told me about it?

I felt a soft touch on my shoulder from Mr. Bellview. “Do you still want me to track her down?”

After thinking about it for a few seconds, I nodded. “I can’t believe my mom knew where my dad was all along. I’ve wanted to meet him since before I can remember.”

“I’ll get right on it.” Mr. Bellview promised. “Top priority.”

“In the meantime,” Dazon added. “You can come visit the crypt and see what she left for you.”

The thought did intrigue me. Kalli smiled and urged me on. Go, Mel. Mrs. Hodgins will be fine with me here. You can get me when you’re done.

In the end, curiosity won. “I’d like to see what my parents left me.”

Dazon smiled. “Okay, kids. Are you ready to go?”

Kalli shook her head. “I’ll wait here, thanks.”

The vault wasn’t in the guild building where I expected it to be. It was at a fully functional Jiffy Lube. Or beneath it in any case. Dazon led me into one of the oil change bays down a stairwell to the pit beneath the cars.

On the wall was a series of panels with various switches and levers. Dazon opened one of the panels revealing a tiny black button. When he pushed it, the floor started to descend.

Down and down we went until a thick metal door was revealed. Green light flooded the chamber and a female voice called out. “Please state your names.”

“Dazon Wren, Director of Guild office four four two seven,” Dazon said. “Now, you. Say your name.”

“Melvin Murphy.” I croaked, reminded of the high house security system.

A series of clanking sounds echoed from the door and it swung open. Dazon stepped into the hall beyond and motioned for me. “Come, your vault is in here.”

He didn’t have to tell me where. A green light lit the path to my assigned vault. It was deep in the crypt. We passed by rows of what looked like mailboxes and safety deposit boxes before coming to small doors that looked like closets.

After descending twice, Dazon whistled. “Wow, I didn’t think it was going to be one of the big ones. The letter said money, right? Your mother must have left you a fortune.”

That didn’t make sense. Mom knew I needed money for Kalli’s contract, didn’t she? Did I forget to ask her when she told me she knew about magic? I could have saved so much trouble if I’d just asked my mom for money.

Then again, if Mom was so rich, why were we so poor? I was still mulling over it when we arrived. A garage door stood between me and my inheritance.

Dazon looked back and forth between the door and me. “So, um, I guess you’d like a little privacy, wouldn’t you? Do you need my help getting back to the hospital?”

I shook my head. “No, I can get back to Kalli no matter where she goes.”

With a final sad look, the guild director reluctantly shuffled off toward the exit. I waited patiently until he was well out of sight. Then I realized I forgot to ask him how to get the vault open.

The moment I touched the door, the security system spoke again. “State your name.”

“Melvin Murphy,” I repeated.

The door slid up unceremoniously revealing a room filled with…junk. I waded into what must have been a hoarder’s dream. Furniture that looked unlike anything I’d ever seen on Earth filled the room. For all I knew, it was probably from another world.

Kalli commented, startling me. That doesn’t look like money.

I sighed and began wading into the mess.

I noticed. Mom must have left something in here for me if she felt it was important enough to tell me about in the note. Also, there must be a reason she said it was money. I think it has something to do with the word inheritance.

What would Mom want me to find? I climbed over an old couch made out of a substance that felt like water with a solid surface. Everything was wedged together as if the person who packed it was playing furniture Tetris.

I considered deleting some to see if there was anything in the back. The problem was, if I did that, I might delete what I was looking for. That was probably how hoarders got started. Everything’s important!

It took a while but I managed to make a hole in the wall of furniture. On the other side was a single table. It wasn’t a special table. Just an ordinary four-legged table.

On top of the table were two items. A black candle and a dollar bill. After turning the candle over in my hands, I looked at the dollar. There was a handwritten note.

Burn only during your darkest hour.

Meanwhile, very near Kalliville…

A trio stepped out of a portal. Two wore hazmat suits. The third was different. The scout wore no protective suit. She had on an oversized lab coat and glasses. In her hand was a stopwatch. She glanced at it expectantly as she waited.

“One minute.” She said more to herself than to the other two.

“Two minutes.” She marked off another minute, not expecting anything to happen.

“Excuse me, miss.” Natalia’s muffled voice came from one of the hazmat suits. “Are you sure it was wise to come without any protective…”

The girl held up a hand, silencing her. “Three minutes. It’s perfectly safe. Antoni demonstrated this fact. Do you not trust your own eyes?”

The worker, Antoni, took off his hood. He was braver than Natalia. Zofia made a note. “Four minutes.”

The portal was stable. Well within her calculations. “Five minutes.”

There was smoke coming from the west. A village or town perhaps? “Six minutes.”

Was portal stability a constant or a variable? She would find out in a minute. “Seven minutes.”

Now she would find out. Ten seconds. Still good. Fifteen. Did it just flicker? Twenty. It was unstable. Twenty-five seconds. It vanished. “Seven minutes, twenty-five seconds. Are you positive it was twenty-three seconds last time?”

Natalia fumbled with her hood before finally, taking it off. Perhaps there was hope for her yet. “Yes, twenty-three. I am positive. The variance might be because you timed it from the destination rather than the origin.”

That was a possibility. The portal may not vanish from both sides at the same time. She would have to compare notes with the technicians upon her return.

For now, it was time to explore.