Page 65 of Ashes and Amulets

A chattering sound came from the middle of one of the piles.

“Fernando is that you?” I looked around the barn, seeing no sign of my companion.

The chattering continued.

Fernando popped up beside me, his large eye and unibrow the only part of him I could see sticking out of his hiding place.

“No me,” he said.

I gestured for him to join me. Side by side, we followed the sound across the barn to a particularly large stack. What could be making the sound if not Fernando? Was there something inhere with us? Given the fact that we were in a barn, the most likely answer was a rat.

Fernando dove into the pile without hesitation.

“Be careful,” I called after him.

Scuffling sounds came from within. A hiss. A thump. Anugh.Two blue hands shot up out of the mass, holding a toy monkey clanging cymbals. The paint was faded from its face, its vest was ragged, and it had no eyes. Still, it clanged its ceramic hands together.

“That’s creepy,” I said. “And unhelpful.”

“No rat.”

“I agree. I’m glad it’s not a rat.”

“No, Isadno rat.” Fernando touched a hand to his belly. It grumbled loudly. “So hungry.”

I shivered at the thought of him eating a rat, though he had definitely eaten worse in the past, and surely would again. “I wish I had a snack for you, but I don’t. You could keep checking the barn, see what you can find.”

He nodded. “Okay.”

Then he jumped back into the piles and swam around looking for treats. I, too, was on a desperate search mission, but the stakes of my hunt were much higher than a rumbly tummy. If I didn’t find this amulet, my fate at the library was uncertain.

What had the boss said?If you fail again, don’t bother coming back at all.It was something like that, and no matter the boss’s exact wording, the situation was not good.

I searched and searched and found nothing pertinent. There was plenty of interest—a collection of ceramic dolls’ left legs, various rusty metal spoons, tattered capes—but nothing remotely like the amulet. I was beginning to suspect Noah must have kept the amulet on his person. Perhaps he’d been sleeping in his car.

Or he had another stash no one knew about, one like this barn, but with a mattress in the corner. He could have fled town upon realizing the library’s top agent was onto him. Or perhaps I was giving him too much credit and he’d drank too much and passed out in a sheep field somewhere for days.

I’d been wasting my time being friendly with Silas when I could have been asking questions in town. Certainly with everyone knowing everyone’s business, someone would know Noah’s hiding spots. After I concluded my search of the barn,ifI didn’t find the amulet here, that would be my next move—interrogation.

Hours passed without me making any progress. I was beginning to lose hope when I spotted something yellow,canary yellow.The color was so specific…could it be?

I trudged through the piles until I reached it—my suitcase. Noah had stored it here this whole time.

I popped it open and found my belongings had been rifled through, and all the socks were missing. Peculiar. This evidence added additional support to the theory that Noah and the toe licker were in fact the same person. I’d know for sure once I found him. At least it wasn’t my underwear that had gone missing.

While the clothing Silas had lent to me was adequate, there was nothing more confidence-boosting than wearing something of my own. I did a quick scan of the barn, found no one, then stepped behind a pile of boxes and changed into a royal purple dress with a yellow rose embroidered across the skirt.Yes.

I tucked Silas’s clothes into my bag and returned to my search invigorated. I was Lily Fernsby, powerful librarian, unstoppable phoenix. I was going to crush this mission and reclaim the life I was meant to live.

I checked box after box for the amulet. Then I checked some more. Eventually, I happened upon Imogen’s rainbow suitcase, which had been stashed surprisingly far from my suitcase.

Light waned, making the barn more difficult to traverse. With most of the day dedicated to the exhaustive search, I decided I would be leaving at least mostly on a positive note. Yes, I’d expected to find the amulet, but I had discovered a giant sheepandmy belongings. There was still one smaller pile to check, but even if I came up empty, tomorrow I’d be refreshed and ready to figure out the last missing piece as to the amulet’s whereabouts.

“Fernando, it’s almost time to go,” I called.

The barn was weirdly quiet. How long had it been that way? I thought back…a few hours at least. Had Fernando left for a snack? It seemed the most likely scenario.

“If you’re playing hide and seek or otherwise too occupied to speak to me, I’m finishing this final pile before I leave.”

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