Pizza delivery, part XXVI

"This is beyond my abilities." Brend said, shaking his head. Callan slammed his mug down, liquid sloshing out onto the tabletop.

"They're not going to do anything to help you?" Callan asked, his voice dangerously soft. I shrugged and stared down at my own drink. One of the palace guards had brought me to the Blue Belle, but neither the princess or either wizard had come with me.

"They haven't a clue about how to get me home, and Tigernach implied that I shouldn't even try to find a way." It was frustrating to have finally made it to the end, and find that going home was impossible.

Brend frowned, and Callan gave a sharp shake of his head. "That apprentice shouldn't get away with this, laddy. None of them should!"

"I agree, but what can we do?" I said, and felt Smoky shift within the cloak.

"I could consume them." The wraith said in my mind, and I looked down with a frown.

"That isn't an option." I said, noticing as Callan shifted uneasily. He and Brend hadn't been happy to learn about my deal with the wraith.

"What about the wraith?" Brend said, and I looked up at him.

"Yes, let me feed." Smoky said, and I frowned at my friend.

"We're not letting him eat them."

"Oh, no!" Brend shook his head quickly and waved his hands. "That's not what I meant."

"Then what?" Callan asked, turning toward the wizard.

"The wraith has consumed much in its lifetime, right?" Brend asked.

"Countless memories." Smoky said, and I could almost sense his pride at the declaration.

"Yes." I said, folding my arms. "Is that important?"

"Possibly." Brend said, resting his hands on the table. "Perhaps one of his acquisitions can provide an answer."

Could Smoky be the key? I shifted in my chair, and took a deep breath.

"Smoky?"

"Countless memories cannot be sifted in an instant." Smoky's response was a low grumbling in my mind.

"But you'll look?" I asked. It was hard to ignore the flicker of hope I felt. Sure, I had friends in this world. But I wanted to be able to choose whether or not I stayed here. I needed that choice.

"It could be amusing." Smoky finally responded, and I couldn't help but smile.

"He'll look, but it could take a while." I said, looking at my friends. Brend smiled, while Callan shifted in his seat before resting an arm on the table.

"In the meantime, you'll need something to do." Callan said. I nodded, fighting back a grimace.

"Her Highness wants me to open a pizzeria." I said. Perhaps if I wasn't so frustrated by their disregard for how being snatched from my own world and then told I couldn't go back could be unsettling, I might have taken the princess's suggestion more kindly.

"Is that what you want to do?" Brend asked. I shook my head.

"Longing for a pizza recipe is the reason I'm here, and I've no desire to give that away right now."

Callan nodded, then set a scroll on the table.

"Well laddy, then until that wraith can find an answer, how about you join my band?" Callan said as he leaned back.

"Officially." Brend motioned at the scroll. I reached forward and picked up the scroll. Opening it, I scanned the contract. It listed things like what some of my roles would be within the band would be, how treasure would be split, and even would let me list what was to be done with my possessions should I perish in the midst of an adventure.

"Official cook?" Glancing up from the scroll, I couldn't resist a chuckle. "Isn't that Lorcan's position?"

Callan waved a hand. "Oh, he knows when to pass the ladle into more skilled hands."

Looking back down at the contract, my hands shook.

Yes, I couldn't go home. Not yet. But the friends I'd made here wouldn't let me dwell on that.

Instead, they'd offered me something better.

"I guess my days as a delivery boy are done." I said, and reached for the quill and ink Brend offered.