The green beacon flew into the air and landed on the roof of a light blue house with vegetation and thatch growing across the lawn.
“This must be it,” I said, putting the car in park.
“Let’s go,” Katie said.
I pushed open the door and got out of the car. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do when I found Samantha, but I figured it would come to me. Probably not the best strategy when going up against a powerful witch, especially since I was nothing but a bobbin.
I walked up to the door, but when Katie tried to join me, she bounced back toward the street. She tried again, but something blocked her from walking forward with me.
“It must be some sort of ward or something to keep out magical creatures,” Katie said, touching the bubble again.
“Just stay here,” I said. “I’ll be out in a jiff.”
“And if you’re not?”
“Don’t think like that.”
I took a breath and knocked on the door. I didn’t know what to expect. It could have been anything guarding the door, which was why it surprised me when the person who answered was a short, kindly, old lady with a thin, wrinkled smile.
“May I help you?” she asked, her aged voice straining. She was wearing a floral apron with a hundred pockets on it.
“Yes,” I said. “Would you like to buy some girl scout cookies?”
“Oh my, yes,” the woman replied. “Please come in.”
She beckoned me inside and I entered the house. I almost did not see the sly, sinister smile she gave to Katie before she closed the door.
Chapter 41
The old woman’s house was smaller on the inside than it had been on the outside, which I didn’t think was possible. Her front door opened directly into the living room, decorated with flower wallpaper and a similar floral pattern for the couch. A doily sat on the coffee table, along with two coasters. There was no TV in the room, or any electronics of any kind that I could tell. Not even a radio.
“Now, what do you want, dearie?” the old woman said, shuffling off to the kitchen.
“Like I said, my troop is selling cookies.”
“Sorry, what I meant was, what do you really want? I saw your locator spell above my house and felt your ghost familiar as it tried to penetrate my wards. So, please, do not patronize me.”
“Fine,” I replied. “I’m looking for my friend Samantha. A golem of her was made here, or at least I think it was anyway.”
“Ah yes,” the woman said, returning to the living room with a mug of hot chocolate. “I don’t have much call to make golems nowadays. I remember her well.”
“Is she still here?” I asked.
The woman sat down and placed the mug on one of the coasters. “In a fashion.” She chuckled. “I’m sorry. You don’t know that’s funny yet.”
I glared at her. “I don’t have time for games.”
“Don’t you though?” the woman asked. “Your friend is still searching for the dragon fire you seek, so I think you have a moment or two.”
“How did you know we’re looking for dragon fire?”
The woman snapped her fingers and another mug of hot chocolate appeared on the other coaster. “It’s written all over your face. Please sit. Your cocoa will get cold.”
“I don’t want to sit.”
“My dear, that wasn’t a request. I am just being polite about it. If you want to find your friend, you will sit down.”
I walked over and sat down across from the woman. “I don’t drink hot cocoa from strange women, but I will sit.”
The old woman snapped her fingers and the cocoa vanished. “Fair enough. It’s your loss. It’s truly quite excellent.”
“If you know about what we’re after, do you know what we’re making?”
“Of course,” she said, taking a sip of cocoa. “It’s the talk of the magical world. Do you know how much power it must take to cause a rip that big in the universe?”
“A lot, I guess.”
“I’ve seen tears like this open before, but they almost always heal themselves in a matter of hours.”
“If everybody knows about it, why haven’t they gone to fix it yet?”
“Do you think it is that easy? There are forces in this world that work against the goodness, and fight to keep the portal open, even against every effort to close it.”
“I’m going to do it. I just need dragon fire.”
The old woman scoffed. “There hasn’t been a dragon sighted in years, decades even. You need a live dragon to capture dragon fire, my dear. No. I think your quest is fruitless. That quest at least.”
“What other quest do I have?”
“To save your friend, dear. Have you forgotten already?”
“Of course not. I just wouldn’t call it a quest. More like a thing I have to do.”
She leaned forward and whispered, “That’s all a quest is, dearie.”
“Can you help me then?”
She took a sip of her cocoa. “I wouldn’t be here if I couldn’t. I am somewhat of a fixer for the council, but to tell you the truth, they bore me. Unfortunately, I am bound to them until they release me.”
“What are you?”
“A gnome, of course. How else would I have power to summon a golem and put your friend in my pocket dimension?”
“A pocket dimension? What is that?”
“Why, it’s a dimension I keep in my pocket. I used to keep all sorts of things in there, but now it is only your friend, and some knickknacks.”
“And you’ll give her to me?”
“I could, but it’s much more fun to watch you struggle to bring her back. Are you game?”
“Do I have a
