Page 52 of Did It Have To Be Gnomes?!
As if the thought of running through the incoming gnome herd scared him, Miles tightened his hold on my coveralls and moved close enough I could feel his breath on the back of my neck.
Reaching behind myself, I gave his arm a squeeze of reassurance and scanned the basement, looking for the easiest route to the door. Once I had it, I kicked a few gnomes out of the way, grabbed hold of Miles and Lyric again, and pulled them along.
Miles stayed glued to my back, constantly stepping on my heels—not that I minded—and by some unspoken agreement, Lyric released my hand and walked behind Miles, protecting him from the back.
Lyric had obviously figured out Miles’s secret—that he was scared of gnomes—and because they were a good person, they wanted to help. Even if, now that my null magic wasn’t helping them, that meant they were pissed and screaming their head off as we trudged through the herd.
Every few steps, I reached back and forced Lyric to grab my hand for a few seconds to calm them down.
I weaved through the tiny monsters of terror, pushing some out of the way with my boots and shaking them off when they climbed me. When one leapt from a shelf and landed on Miles’s arm, he squirmed and shrieked like a little kid until I pulled it off and threw it into the crowd, knocking more of them over.
His trembling hands gripped the back of my coveralls again, and he buried his face between my shoulder blades. “Please, Win… please get me out of here.”
“We’re almost there, pookie. Hang in there.”
He nodded against my back and didn’t comment on the weird endearment that came out of my mouth. I mean,pookie? Really?Where did that even come from? I’d never said that or heard anyone say that in my life.
I felt Lyric grab my shoulder, so instead of being made fun of for the weird nickname, Lyric only snickered and said, “Lead the way, babes.”
I pulled them along the rest of the way, up the steps, and through the door, slamming it shut behind us. Finally, we were free of that horrible cellar, and I wanted to fall to my knees and kiss the ground—the gnome-free ground.
“We should probably get out of here,” Lyric said, sounding out of breath. “The magic’s not as strong out here, but I can definitely still feel it. We should go home.”
Miles sighed, still attached to my back. “We can’t leave the owner like that. We need to figure out how the hell to get rid of that evil magic and get rid of the damn gnomes. She’s counting on us to help her.”
I wasn’t fond of that option—I’d much rather get us all to safety very far away from this property—but I also understood where Miles was coming from. He was dedicated to his job, and not only that, it was his own business’s name on the line if we didn’t take care of the problem. And with how big this mansion was and how much money the owner must have, getting in with this rich crowd on this side of town was probably a big deal for Carry A Faerie.
So reluctantly, I said, “Okay. We won’t leave yet… but I’m telling you this now. I think it’s a bad idea to stay on this property.”
“I second that,” Lyric said, raising their hand.
Miles sighed and slowly released my coveralls, stepping back from me so he could see us. I missed his touch as soon as it was gone, but I was glad he seemed less scared now.
He met my gaze. “Um… you mentioned hiring someone?”
I grimaced. “Yeah, we need a necromancer.”
Lyric asked, “What the hell does a necromancer have to do with that?” They pointed toward the basement.
I shrugged. “Necromancers use death magic for a multitude of reasons, including breaking curses and spells. I really have no idea how any of it works, but I know that thing down there is a curse. Right, Lyric?”
They nodded. “Feels like a curse to me.” They shuddered and rubbed their arms like they were getting rid of a chill.
“Exactly. So we have a curse, and I know necromancers can break them. All curses are rooted in dark magic—death magic—so necromancers can weave them or break them. That… that’s all I know.”
They both stared at me for a long moment before Miles nodded. “Okay, then. Guess we’re getting a necromancer.” He frowned. “How the heck do we find one?”
I held up my phone. “Internet.”
He looked skeptical but still gave me the okay, so I pulled up the search engine on my phone and began my hunt.
“I’m going to contact Ms. Cohen to make sure she’s okay with me bringing a necromancer into the house. I should at least check in and let her know about the cursed seal and everything.”
I gave him a nod, and he moved a little bit away from us to speak to her.
“Hopefully she’s nicer to him now that she’s away from the seal,” Lyric said, frowning at Miles.
It made me smile. They obviously liked him if they were getting offended on his behalf. “I’m sure she will be. He said she was really nice when they met before, so…” I trailed off with a shrug.
