Page 52 of XOXO

“We can disguise ourselves.”

“There has to be a better choice.”

But we circle the main building and come to the same depressing conclusion as before—we have no idea how to get inside.

“Where would we find a gnome looking for a threesome?” I grumble.

“Well, there’s that bar one block over.”

“You don’t have to know everything.”

“You snuck past the bar the same time that I did.”

Brynn and I skirt around buildings and stick to the shadows to work over to the bar she claims exists.

When we turn the next corner, light streams into the street from the rowdy bar. Inside, guys in white shirtsleeves clink comically large flagons of beer that spill all over the floor with each strike.

“Please don’t make me,” I whine.

“If you have a better idea, I’m open to it.”

“I have a rope.”

“I don’t think scaling the building will help.”

“No, it’s to . . .” My voice dies before I can make an inappropriate joke. “It’s an idea.”

“How is rope going to help us?”

“Gnomes are collectors. They like trinkets and expensive items, but there’s one thing they like most of all.”

Silence hangs between us while I wait for her to guess the answer.

She gets frustrated and spits a, “What?”

“Information.”

“And you think we have something to trade?”

“They hate witches. We are witches.”

Brynn grunts at that. “Sounds like they’d attempt to torture us for that information. I doubt the High Witch would approve of us being taken hostage by hostile gnomes.”

“It’s better than trying to seduce one!”

“Enough of this.” She huffs and marches over to the back of the building.

“No! Wait, Brynn,” I whisper as loudly as I can without drawing attention.

My literal partner in crime never pauses. She checks both ways before crossing the street and flattening herself against the stone face. Black paint flakes off, revealing smooth limestone underneath. I chase after her in the dark.

Not ten seconds after we disappear into the shadows, a car navigates the turn. Headlights slice through the night, even in the intense moonlight, but we remain hidden on the opposite side of the street.

Maybe luck is on my side tonight after all.

A gnome in a gunmetal-gray suit exits the nondescript sedan and heads into the bar.

Weapon. I sigh inwardly. Literally anything lethal would’ve been good to pack in my B&E duffel.

---