He was one hacked off gnome. And I didn’t want to be around if he managed to shove free of Lea’s spell.
The vines climbed inexorably upward, their grip on my chest tightening to the point where I could barely fill my lungs with air.
Panic clawed at me, drawing tears to my bulging eyes. Two very important things managed to push past the fear in my mind. One, I was going to die. And two, I was really and truly sick of gnomes.
A door slammed, and I heard footsteps running across the tile floor. My vision was dimming as lack of oxygen took its toll. I saw the blurry outline of a too-slender woman with fire-engine red hair running toward the tree. She slowed when she reached the giant gnome, staring up at him as if wondering how he’d become frozen. Or wondering how long he’d stay that way.
Behind me, Lea groaned. Something in my chest loosened as my fear for her at least eased.
The encompassing vines were so tight that they were tearing into my skin. It was like being wrapped in knives. Twining their way up my body, the vines had found my throat. It was only a matter of time.
I would soon be dead.
Sebille turned to look at the tree. For just a beat, my vision cleared. I saw confusion in her expression. Then her gaze slid higher and stopped. Her face seemed even paler than usual, making her freckles stand out like an army of ink spots on her face.
“Sebille,” I ground out. The word came out sounding strangled, so soft I was sure she wouldn’t hear it.
But she started to run, and the last thing I saw as she sped toward me, was her leaping into the air and turning tiny in a bright pop of light.
And then everything turned charcoal gray.
Icy hands slapped me hard across the cheek.
I grumbled at the assault, swiping at the air in front of my face and missing my assailant completely.
“Come on, Naida,” a hostile voice said. “Stop lying around. We’ve got stuff to do.”
I knew that voice. It was snotty and uncompromising and…
Slap!
…and about to belong to a dead person.
My eyes flashed open, and my hand snapped up to grip the icy weapon before it could strike me again. “Stop. That!” I ground out grumpily.
Sebille rolled her eyes. “Finally! I thought you were going to sleep all day.”
At this point, I’d like to report that I was safe at home in my little hidey-hole at Croakies. Unfortunately, that would be a lie.
I still seemed to be lying on the floor at Gnomish, so I couldn’t have been unconscious for all that long. “How long was I out?” I asked, easing slowly to a seated position as my head throbbed like the bass in a hard rock band. I groaned, putting a hand over my eyes and resting my elbows on my knees.
“At least five minutes. Maybe longer,” Sebille said crankily.
I stared at her, my mouth open. “Five minutes? You were beating me senseless over five minutes?”
Sebille stared back, completely unconcerned with my hostility.
I gave up trying to stare her down. It wasn’t worth it. I hurt all over. “I really need to stop coming to this stupid place.”
“I second that thought,” another voice said. I turned to find Lea heading our way. She spared me a smile and then looked at the sprite. “We need to go. He’s working through that spell pretty fast.”
I shoved to my feet, suddenly filled with energy. “You don’t have to ask me twice,” I told her.
The three of us started toward the front door, keeping as much distance between us and the giant gnome as possible.
A loud creaking noise, followed by a whoosh of flower-scented air, was all the warning we got that our time was up.
“Run!” Lea yelled.
We took off, running for all we were worth toward the exit. As we neared the receptionist’s desk, sparks lit the air and a wooden soldier stepped from the shadows. Then another, and another, and way too many more.
We slammed to a stop, started to turn, and realized Gerrard flippin’ Gnomish had broken clear of Lea’s spell and was turning to face us, effectively cutting us off from our secondary exit option.
“Gnarled gnome knuckles!” I yelled. “I’m really sick of these guys.”
We stood there for a beat, looking from the line of approaching soldiers, to the stalking giant behind us.
“What now?” I asked my partners in crime.
Sebille sighed. “Now, we go to Plan Z.” She grabbed the suitcase from me and threw it on the ground.
“Hey!” I objected.
“Open it!” she demanded, looking at me.
“Wha…?”
She all but stamped her foot with impatience. “Hurry up, Naida, they’re almost on us.”
“But, I can’t…”
“Use your Keeper magic,” Lea said, her gaze skimming from one problem to the other and her fingers dancing in the creation of a spell she wouldn’t have time to complete. “A Keeper marked it, so a Keeper should be able to open it.”
I bit back the words pulsing on my tongue. I didn’t have enough energy left to do anything useful. And because I was such a failure, my friends and I were going to die. “I don’t think…”
“Just do it!” Sebille screamed, sending a stream of energy into the line of oncoming gnomes. The power hit the first several soldiers and knocked them onto their wooden keisters, but the next several gnomes in line just filled in for them, and they kept coming.
Behind the growing line, regular bursts of sparking energy told me Gerrard was still making more soldiers.
If I didn’t figure out a way to open that suitcase, it was game over.
I really had no choice. My entire body trembling with terror, I placed my palm over the suitcase and dug deep for my magic. To my surprise, it bubbled up in response to my searching energy, rising from my core as I wiggled my fingers and lifted my hand,
