“One hour,” a second voice advised. “Then we leave. Call if you need anything.”
The voices continued on down the hall and faded away.
“Questor!” Abernathy warned a second time, his patience obviously at an end.
Questor freed himself from his hiding place and looked down at his discovery. Carefully he pulled back the cloth covering. There were symbols etched in gold leaf on the leather binding that read Gateway Mythologies.
“Drat!” he muttered, shoved the book back into place, and pulled out the next one.
Greensward Histories. He reached for the third.
Theories of Magic and Its Uses.
“Yes, yes, yes!” the wizard whispered in relief.
He could not take time to read it here, he knew. He checked the last of the volumes and found nothing. He would have to hope that the one in his hands held what he was looking for. He moved quickly back across the room toward the door.
“I’ve got it!” he announced triumphantly as he reached Elizabeth and Abernathy.
Abruptly an alarm went off. They all jumped, and Elizabeth gave a short cry. Questor hurriedly tucked the book into the carry bag he had brought. “What’s happened?” he gasped, white hair and beard flying out in every direction. “What did I do?”
“I don’t think you did anything at all!” Elizabeth grasped his arm as he whirled this way and that, casting about for imagined attackers. “It’s a fire alarm! But I can’t imagine what set it off!”
Questor Thews and Abernathy immediately looked at each other. “Poggwydd!” they exclaimed.
They hurried along the corridor to the stairs and started down, jostling and bumping against each other, all talking at once.
“We shouldn’t have left him alone!” Questor moaned, clutching the carry bag and its precious contents close against his chest.
“We should have tied and gagged him!” Abernathy snapped. From below came the sound of shouts.
“Maybe it isn’t him at all!” Elizabeth encouraged.
But it was, of course. Two security guards were hauling Poggwydd into view just as they arrived at the bottom of the stairs. The Gnome was disheveled and covered from head to foot in a coating of ash. He was struggling and moaning pathetically while the guards held him at arm’s length between them, not at all certain what it was they had.
“Boy, I’ve seen it all!” one of them was muttering.
“Shut up and hold on to him!” the other growled irritably.
Poggwydd caught sight of Questor Thews and started to call for help, but the wizard made a quick motion with one hand and the startled G’home Gnome was rendered instantly voiceless. His mouth worked in futile desperation, but nothing came out.
“Stand back, folks,” one of the guards advised as they carried the struggling Gnome past.
“What do you have there?” Questor asked, feigning ignorance.
“Don’t know.” The guard’s attention was diverted momentarily as Poggwydd tried to bite him. “Some sort of monkey, I guess. Filthy as a pig and twice as ugly. Found him in the kitchen, trying to start a fire. It almost looked like he was trying to cook some food he’d stolen, but c’mon, he’s a monkey, right? Anyway, the fire alarm went off or he might have burned the place down. Look at him fight! Mean little devil. Must have escaped from a zoo or something. How he found his way here, I’ll never know.”
“Well, be careful with him,” Questor offered, trying to avoid Poggwydd’s furious look.
“Careful as can be.” The guard laughed.
“There, there, little fellow,” Questor called after the struggling Gnome. “Someone will come to claim you soon!”
“Can’t be soon enough for me!” the other guard called back, and the unfortunate Poggwydd was dragged kicking and writhing through the front door and out of sight.
Questor, Abernathy, and Elizabeth stood staring after the Gnome in silence for a moment. Then Questor said, “This is my fault. I completely forgot about him.”
“You told him to wait where he was,” Abernathy reminded him, evidencing a noticeable lack of sympathy. “He should have listened.”
“Questor, what did you do to stop him from talking?” Elizabeth asked.
The wizard sighed. “Cast a small spell. I couldn’t very well let him tell them who we are, and that is exactly what he was about to do. Besides, things would be much worse for Poggwydd if they found out he can talk. He is better off if they think him an animal, believe me.”