“Well,” I said, sucking down the fact that I wasn’t going to be getting sleep any time soon. “I guess we’re going to Gnomish then.”
Other than the two-story-high red, yellow, and white garden gnome gracing the grassy center of the circular drive in front of the gray brick building, Gnomish, Inc. looked just like any other professional business.
The parking lot to the side of the building was empty.
“Nobody here. Maybe they don’t have a security guard,” I said, frowning.
“Maybe,” Sebille agreed. “If there is, I’ll deal with him.”
Her “take no prisoners” attitude had me a little concerned. “What exactly does that mean?” I asked. I was all for helping Alice with her problem…especially since it was probably going to become my problem if it wasn’t solved…but I had no intention of going to prison for committing gnomicide, thank you very much.
Sebille’s silent shrug did not make me feel better.
No, it did not.
Alice parked her frumpy white sedan in the shadows near the building and we climbed out. “How are we getting inside?” I asked.
Alice looked at Sebille. The sprite expelled an irritated sigh and rolled her eyes. No small feat when performed simultaneously. A beat later, she’d popped into dragonfly size and buzzed toward the building. We listened to her buzzing along the face of the building for several minutes before a tinny whisper sifted down to us. “I’ve found an open window. I’ll get the lay of the land and let you in.”
Alice took a deep breath as if she’d been holding it.
The two of us stood there for a minute, the silence stretched taut between us.
As usual, I was the one to break it. “We’ll figure this out,” I told the Keeper.
Alice glanced my way, her expression unreadable in the dim light. But she bobbed her head in agreement and surprised me by giving my hand a squeeze. “Thanks for helping me with this.”
I smiled to show her it was okay, then realized she probably couldn’t see it. “It’s fine. I’m glad I can help in some way.” Though I had no idea how I could help. I was really just along for moral support. Or, remembering the giant hot fudge brownie sundae I’d scarfed before coming to Gnomish, for ballast.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the suitcase.”
So was I. But if I was honest with myself, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything about it anyway.
We stood in silence for a few moments, an icy wind scouring the flat ground of the business park just outside of Enchanted. Almost simultaneously, Alice and I pulled our coats closer and turned away from it. The brittle air had the smell of snow in it and I found myself anticipating the change. I’d always loved snow. Even though I’d never been a fan of cold weather.
The lock turned on the front door and it swung open.
Sebille’s bony frame was backlit by the soft lighting of the lobby. “Come on!” she urged impatiently.
We hurried into the building and she locked it behind us. “I haven’t seen a guard,” she whispered. Then she looked at Alice. “Where do you want to start?”
Alice glanced around, outwardly calm.
I was only half paying attention because the place was already creeping me out. The walls were lined with statues of garden gnomes, their dark eyes blank and dead. Their smiles looked evil in the low light. “Creepy,” I told my companions.
Sebille barely spared them a glance. “We should hurry.”
Alice nodded, pointing to the center of the lobby, which was open to the second and third levels.
I took a step in that direction and there was a soft whoosh of air, followed by a quick flash of scarlet light.
We stilled, waiting.
Nothing else happened.
I looked at Alice.
“It was probably an alarm spell,” she told me as if it was nothing. “Someone will come soon. We need to hurry.”
I felt every drop of blood fleeing from my face, sprinting down my veins into my heart and lungs, where it started a riot that made everything in my chest clench and roar.
Every instinct I owned was screaming at me to get out of that building.
Telling me to run.
Run fast.
But Sebille and Alice started forward and, not knowing what else to do, I followed them.
The open area on the main floor contained a raised octagonal greenspace with an enormous tree in its center. The tree’s lush-leaved branches reached high and wide into the open space.
Around the tree was an assortment of flowering plants, the leaves shiny and dense, and the blooms vivid against their vibrant green hues. My gaze scanning the darkness high above our heads, I got a sense of banister-lined walkways in the dim lighting. My imagination conjured a series of doors forming the backside of the hovering walkways. The Gnomish, Inc. offices.
“I’ll send out my Keeper energy from here,” Alice explained to me. “So it can travel through the whole building.”
I bit back an urge to tell her to get to it. The back of my neck was prickling uneasily. I couldn’t help feeling like somebody was watching us.
Probably those stupid, mean-eyed statues.
Alice lifted her hands and dipped her head back, her eyes glowing with silver light. Matching silver energy shimmered into existence above her outstretched palms and sifted into the dark above our heads.
Her glowing eyes had me taking a step back. Did I look like that when I sent out my fledgling magics? Nah, I decided. I didn’t have enough magic inside me to even make my eyes sparkle, let alone glow.
Sebille and I watched as dual ribbons of silvery energy wound upward from her hands, into the open space above our heads.
We stood in silence for a moment, waiting. A beat later, a distant chime sounded. It appeared to have come from the top floor. Alice hurried toward the staircase that led to the dim levels above, and we started up.
By the time we stepped off the stairs into
