“Yes, can we?” pleaded Sot.
Ben glared. “I thought we were here to discuss trolls. You seemed anxious enough to do so earlier. You practically cried to do so. Now you don’t care anymore?”
Fillip glanced hastily at Sot. “Oh, we care a great deal, High Lord. The trolls have mistreated us grievously.”
“Then let’s get on…”
“But the trolls are gone for now and cannot be found again immediately in any case, and the bottle is right here, right in front of us, so can we touch it for a moment, Great Lord—just for a moment?”
“Can we, Mighty High Lord?” echoed Sot. Ben wanted to take the bottle and beat them over the head with it. But instead he simply picked it up and handed it over. It was easier than arguing. “Just be careful,” he cautioned.
There really wasn’t much to worry about on that count, he realized. The bottle was heavy glass and looked as if it could endure a good deal of mistreatment. Actually, it seemed almost something more than glass—almost a metal of some sort. Must be the paint, he thought.
The G’home Gnomes were fondling and caressing the bottle as if it were their most precious treasure. They stroked it and loved it. They cradled it like a child. Their grimy little paws moved across its surface almost sensuously. Ben was disgusted. He glanced out into the gardens at Willow and thought about joining her. Anything would be better than this.
“How about it, fellas,” he said finally. “Let’s finish up with the trolls, okay?”
Fillip and Sot stared at him. He beckoned for them to return the bottle, and they reluctantly handed it back. Ben set it down next to him again. The gnomes hesitated, then resumed their complaint against the trolls. But the effort was halfhearted at best. Their eyes kept straying back to the bottle, and finally they gave up on the trolls altogether.
“High Lord, could we have the bottle?” asked Fillip suddenly.
“Oh, yes, could we?” asked Sot.
Ben stared. “Whatever for?”
“It is a precious thing,” said Fillip.
“It is a treasure,” said Sot.
“So beautiful,” said Fillip.
“Yes, beautiful,” echoed Sot.
Ben closed his eyes and rubbed them wearily, then looked at the gnomes. “I would love to be able to give it to you, believe me,” he said. “I would love to say, ‘Here, take the bottle and don’t let me see it ever again.’ That’s what I would love to do. But I can’t. The bottle has some connection with what happened to Abernathy, and I have to know what.”
The G’home Gnomes shook their heads solemnly.
“The dog never liked us,” muttered Fillip.
“The dog never did,” muttered Sot.
“He growled at us.”
“And even snapped.”
“Nevertheless…” Ben insisted.
“We could keep the bottle for you, High Lord,” interrupted Fillip.
“We would take good care of it, High Lord,” assured Sot.
“Please, please,” they implored.
They were so pathetic that Ben could only shake his head in wonder. They were just like little children in a toy store. “What if there were an evil genie in the bottle?” he asked suddenly, leaning forward with a dark frown. “What if the genie ate gnomes for breakfast?” The gnomes looked at him blankly. Obviously they had never heard of such a thing. “Never mind,” he said. He sighed and sat back again. “You can’t have it, and that’s that.”
“But you said you would love to give it to us,” Fillip pointed out.
“That is what you said,” agreed Sot.
“And we would love to have it.”
“We would.”
“So why not give it to us, High Lord?”
“Yes, why not?”
“Just for a little while, even?”
“Just for a few days?”
Ben lost his temper once again. He snatched up the bottle and brandished it before him. “I wish I had never seen this bottle!” he yelled. “I hate the damn thing! I wish it would disappear! I wish Abernathy and the medallion would reappear! I wish wishes were candy and I could eat them all day long! But they aren’t, and I can’t, and neither can you! So let’s drop the whole subject of the bottle and get back to the trolls before I decide I don’t want to listen to you anymore on anything and send you on your way!”