Page 67 of Did It Have To Be Gnomes?!
Fuck, I really wasn’t sure I could.
“Alright,” Winter said after everyone had a gate piece. “Miles and I will go in first, then Chaos and Aeson next with Lyric bringing up the rear.”
Lyric said, “Sir, yes, sir.”
That made even Chaos crack a very tiny smile, but the kid asked, “You sure it’s smart to put Miles up front? Don’t you think that’ll make them attack us more?”
Winter grimaced. “Yeah, but I don’t want him in the back alone.”
Aeson raised his hand. “Okay, then I’ll switch with him. Me and Winter up front, Morty and Miles next, then Lyric in the back.”
Both Winter and Chaos looked unhappy about the switch, but neither voiced an objection, so I went to stand beside the necromancer, and his brother stood beside my… uh, beside Winter.
Winter arranged us so he was directly in front of me, and Aeson was in front of Chaos, which seemed to mollify them both. Honestly, it made me feel better too, even if that made me a little bit of a baby.
From behind me, Lyric said, “Don’t worry, My-my, I’ll help keep you safe too.”
They sounded like they were joking, but I also knew they meant it. In the short time I’d known them—or at least known them as an adult—I’d grown to trust them, at least enough to know they’d help me if they could.
“Oh!” My eyes widened. “Um, we forgot to tell you that the curse or whatever it is makes everyone really pissed off.” I cringed. “Last time, Lyric and I almost beat each other up.”
“Lovely.” Chaos sighed, absently petting Clucky, who was quietly sitting on his shoulder, occasionally rubbing her cheek against his. “So it doesn’t just affect the gnomes. That’s going to make it more complicated.”
“I’m a null, by the way.” Winter threw it out there like it wasn’t a big deal, but both Chaos and Aeson froze and stared at him with wide eyes—their expressions were the same and made theirmatching facial features more obvious. “Yeah, so I can help if anyone gets too feisty down there.”
Aeson’s eyes were wide. “What’re the chances of an empath, a null, a necromancer, and a he—”
“It’s definitely strange,” Chaos said, quickly cutting off whatever his brother was about to say. Clucky let out a chirp in the direction of Aeson, as if yelling at him. “I’ve never even met a null before, and I’ve only come across one empath in my whole life before today. Very strange.”
“You don’t think this place is like, calling us to it, do you?” Aeson’s eyes were wide, and he directed his question at his brother.
Calling us to it? Could a curse really do that?
But no. I’d been called here by the homeowner, and then I was the one who’d roped Winter into coming with me, and he’d done the same to Lyric. It had to be a coincidence.
Chaos thought about it for a few beats, and I had the feeling he was actually reaching out with his magical senses. “Nah. This is purely a coincidence.”
Did he pick that up from the magic? I wasn’t sure exactly what Chaos—or any necromancer—was capable of magically speaking. Honestly, I didn’t think anyone truly knew. Most of the things I’d heard were only rumors and wild accusations.
“Hmm.”
I caught Winter’s gaze, and he shrugged. I didn’t think either of us knew what to do with the twins.
Involving them in this was a little… scary. I didn’t want them getting hurt. Going down there with a big group was either the smartest thing to do, or the stupidest. I only hoped that letting them come with us wouldn’t be a grave mistake.
Thinking that put some resolve in my bones. I wasn’t about to let either of these kids get hurt.
Plus, I still needed to feed them.
Chapter Twenty-One
Winter
Was it just me or was there more to these twins than meets the eye?
Clearly, Chaos didn’t want us to know what kind of magic Aeson had, but I knew he definitely had magic—and a lot of it. I could feel it even from a distance.
Too bad the kids didn’t know that Lyric would’ve been able to figure it out the second they laid eyes on them. My best friend had their secret, and unfortunately for me, there wasn’t a damn thing I could do to get them to spill the beans either. As they’dpointed out to Miles earlier, they never gave those kinds of secrets away.
