CHAPTER 22: THE SPELLBOUND CLOAK

Not a moment passed before Howl reignited his epic quest in search of the lost cloak. He was desperate to find that singular item that would hopefully bring them to Wales and ultimately return their stranded family. With Xarx's dramatic exit from the Pendragon house and the residents utterly shocked by the truth he spoke, Howl only thought to keep himself occupied, pushing the thought of Xarx far out of his mind.

Sophie, on the other hand, couldn't help but keep Markl at the forefront of hers.

She echoed Xarx's words in her brain until it burned into her skull. That was when Markl realized he had never been a part of your family. How could Xarx say such a thing? It was cruel; it was hurtful and horrid and tore her apart the more she replayed it. As much as she loved Morgan and wished him the greatest that life had to offer, Markl was the first she had shown such motherly affection.

Yet deep inside, she knew Xarx was not far from the truth.

Howl flung the door to his office once more, this time sounding a louder boom throughout the house. Sophie and Calcifer jolted in their seats while Lona covered young Sora in her arms, hoping to avoid an outburst of tears from the child. With Howl's anger fiercely on display, however, it would be difficult for the infant girl to make it to dinner without crying hysterically.

No one dared speak out crassly against Howl this time. Rather, Sophie attempted a lighter approach to soften his fumes. "Still no luck, honey?"

He huffed as he crossed his arms. "It's like it just disappeared out of nowhere." Howl scratched the back of his head as if that would possibly reinvigorate the whereabouts of his most precious cloak. Usually, his caution over rarities and items of personal value went to the highest of extremes. It was still beyond him to believe that this cloak was missing amongst those who were also precious to them.

It didn't make sense - but then again, nothing made sense to him anymore.

Howl continued speaking over the silent sound of the back door opening as a young child crept into the adult space. "I swear, if anything happens to that cloak, I'm a dead man."

"You mean the one Markl took?"

Everyone in the room perked up at the innocent voice that broke into the conversation, and all eyes turned to Morgan and his genially honest aura. His words, so eerily casual and optimistic, were a spark of revelation that screamed into the void. It was like the answer was in plain sight, yet everyone was too aggravated to think clearly - Howl especially.

Morgan didn't smile as he stared at the wandering eyes of the adults. Curiosity had led him back into the house from the children's game outdoors, and for quite some time he had heard loud shouts sounding through the glass door. It worried the boy to hear their muffled anger and serious words. Though Morgan stayed oblivious to their adult conversation, the mention of that beautiful cloak intrigued him.

Howl indulged in his son's comment. "Did you just say Markl took my cloak?"

Morgan tilted his head and shrugged. "If it was the pretty pink and blue one, then yeah."

A resounding sigh exhaled across the room, though it was unclear whether it was of relief or further anxiety. While it spared them any more wasted time knowing where the cloak was - or rather, who had gotten to it first - that didn't help Gwenda or Kenta's current situation in the slightest. They still needed a way to bring them back from Wales.

Calcifer leaned down to the young boy's height. Though he believed Morgan would never tell a lie, he yearned for more clarifying answers. "How do you know Markl took it?"

"I saw him. He had Dad's favorite cloak before he left on his trip." Morgan said, his voice level and calm as if he was completely unaware of the severity of his hidden information. "It looks really good on him. You should let him keep it, Dad."

Howl held firm hands forward, palms facing Morgan as he tried to keep up with his son's plethora of knowledge. "Hold up, Morgan. Hold up. How did you see him with it? When did you see him with it? How did you know he went away?"

Morgan drooped his eyes. "Well, he hasn't been home in a long time, not since he said goodbye after my birthday party. He took it with him before he left."

Howl and Sophie shared a pained glance. All their safety measures, everything they put in place to protect Morgan from knowing the truth - or rather, what they assumed was the truth - had backfired against them. Honesty had not been their policy, and the consequences were pouring out.

"If he has the cloak," Howl said, his thoughts no longer reigned inside of himself, "then he may have gone to Wales as well."

"Oh, he's definitely there." Once more, all eyes turned to the young boy in awe. Calcifer, Howl, Sophie, Lona - their mouths gaped wide as the young child revealed secret after secret. Had they known Morgan was privy to the answers to their troubles, they would have entrusted him weeks ago.

This time, Howl bent down to his son's level next to Calcifer. He needed to be absolutely clear on what Morgan knew. "Son, you know this is a very serious situation. We have not seen or heard from Markl since your birthday."

"I know."

"So, how do you know all of this about him?" Howl asked. "We have been looking for Markl all this time and we're so worried about him."

"The stars told me." Morgan said, his shiny teeth with the sole gap sending shivers down their spines. It was exciting for the young magician boy - he felt useful and smart. While he basked in such a prideful moment, however, everyone else stood speechless.

Everyone except for Calcifer. Though he was stunned to say the least, he was far more concerned that this kid - Howl's kid - was also hearing from his brethren in the sky.

"What?" Calcifer blurted out. "You… you can hear the stars, too?"

Morgan nodded. "And the moon."

Howl sighed in annoyance and rolled his eyes. He rubbed his temple with a heavy force as he stood straight. "Next he's gonna say he can hear the sun, too."

"Nope." Morgan said casually. "Just the moon and the stars at night. They're really interesting, just like you Uncle Cal. They still remember you up there."

Calcifer gawked. What started off as a silly joke was starting to appear far less humorous to the old fire demon. This kid was privy to a lot of things, and not just about Markl. Speaking with the stars of the sky was potentially very dangerous, and notably so for a young naive boy such as Morgan. Calcifer wondered how much of his life as a star the others shared with the child.

Howl breathed a laugh. "This is absolutely ridiculous."

Calcifer darted his eyes upward to the wizard. "Your son just admitted to hearing the celestial beings of the universe and that's what you have to say? You're not even going to take this seriously? By the way, genius, the sun is also a star."

"Well, if he's talking with stars, I'm surprised the sun isn't one of them." Howl said with a sarcastic undertone.

Sophie widened her eyes. "But Morgan doesn't like playing outside during the day. He's always out on the porch at night. I-I thought it was strange, but I figured he just picked up little habits from you, Howl." All those nights he'd sit on their back porch playing with his toys, she often caught him staring at the night sky. An innocent glance, one would only assume he was enjoying his childhood and playing games.

Not her son - he was speaking to the greater universe.

Howl turned to Calcifer as he stood, his demeanor calm and genuine. "What does this mean? What would the stars have to talk to my son about?"

Calcifer licked his chapped lips, confusion building with every answer revealed. He and Howl were both highly intuitive of the deceptive nature of stars. While humans and magicians sought them out for their own desires and wishes, those conversations were entirely one-sided. Stars never actually communicated back, yet Morgan spoke as if they were his friends.

Calcifer shrugged. "I honestly have no clue. This has never happened before. The only thing we really know for certain is that Markl has your cloak and our only way to Wales."

Calcifer took steady steps toward the empty couch and plopped himself on the soft cushions. The amount of defeat that washed over him had drained the remainder of his energy. He was exhausted; his brain turned with questions and wishes and dead ends. No cloak meant no way to Wales - and no way to Wales meant another obstacle stopping Gwenda from getting back home to him.

How long, he wondered, until they were reunited again?

Howl paced the floor once more, his heels clicking with each step taken on the wooden floor. The room waited for an answer, a solution, even a half-baked idea that could jump-start their quest again. Howl paced with one idea in mind, though it was an idea he had only wished to use as a final resort.

He released a heavy sigh. "There may be one other option to get us to Wales. I was really hoping it wouldn't get to this point, though."

Calcifer, Sophie, and Lona glanced over to him with curious and hopeful eyes, though Howl dreaded his next words. "Time to see my old friend Ben Sullivan."