by Jean Rabe
“I think it was your sense of chivalry that brought you here,” the air answered.
“Carmella?”
“I told you I wouldn’t abandon you, even if you do think I’m a frail woman. But it looks as if we’re going to have to abandon our plan to get Erlgrane’s wizard. There are just too many guards, and who knows where the old mage is now. Maybe we can try later if we get a few reinforcements. Our priority right now is to get out of here.”
“Then get me down! Please!” Fenzig’s tone was harsh, but his face showed he was happy to see her. Well, not exactly see her, as she was still invisible. But he could tell where she was, as she had started to lower his cage. “Why didn’t you help me earlier—when all those guards were piling on top of me?”
“The odds were too bad. The guards and the wizard had seen you, but they hadn’t seen me,” she said as she continued to bring his cage toward the floor. “I let them think you were working alone; that way I could stay hidden and help you out when there were fewer people about.”
The cage landed on the stone floor with a dull clank, and Carmella set about trying to open it. “Where’s the key?” she asked.
It’s not here, Fenzig thought. He noticed she was still wearing the medallion, so he decided he might as well think to her rather than talk. The guards took it with them when they left.
“Terrific,” she replied.
You claim to be a thief—pick the lock, he mused.
“I’m not that kind of a thief.”
He heard some grumbling and a few soft footsteps; then he watched as the metal implements on the bench were shifted around. A thin silver rod with a sharp point floated in the air toward him and started working at the lock.
Move it this way. That’s it. Then this way, Fenzig mentally instructed as he motioned with his hands. You’re not too bad; you just lack a little finesse.
“Thanks,” she muttered.
The cage creaked opened, and the gnome scrambled out. The backs of his legs were sore from being cramped inside the cage, but he blocked out the sensation in favor of concentrating on his freedom.
“Uh-oh.” Carmella sharply inhaled. “We’ve got . . .”
The gnome ignored her and pointed toward the door. “Up those steps and . . .”
But before the pair could take a step, the door slowly opened and the wizard padded inside. His eyes immediately locked onto the gnome, and he sputtered. “Thief! You might escape that cage, but you cannot escape me!”
“Company,” the gnome said, finishing Carmella’s interrupted sentence.
“King Erlgrane said you were mine to do with as I will, just so long as I killed you in the end. I have plans for you, scoundrel. You shall be part of my next grand experiment.” The wizard slammed the door behind him and started mumbling.
Fenzig suspected the old mage was calling down another magical spell, and he didn’t want to be the object of it. He sprinted across the stone floor and ducked, just in time, behind a crate. He didn’t see the effect of the wizard’s enchantment, but he heard it—a loud crack that sounded like a bolt of lightning—and he smelled it—a hint of sulfur in the air.
“Fool! We can play this cat-and-mouse game for a time if you wish, but I will win! You haven’t the resources to best me!”
Fenzig risked a peek over the top of the crate and saw the wizard painting symbols in the air with his spider-leg fingertips. These didn’t look like the blue and green snakes he had made earlier in the tower. These looked like the outline of overlarge hands. As the gnome watched, the wizard spoke a string of what seemed to be nonsense words and pointed toward the crates. The glowing hands flew through the air and started grabbing crates, moving them about and revealing Fenzig’s location.
“I have you now, thief!” the wizard spat. He gestured, and the magical hands shot toward the gnome.
Fenzig ran, his bare feet slapping over the cold stone floor. Although the gnome was fast, he wasn’t as fast as the wizard’s enchantment. The hands scooped him up and dangled him a few feet off the floor.
The old wizard smirked and slowly glided toward him.
Carmella! Where are you? Do something! Fenzig’s mind called out. He’s coming closer and he looks decidedly unhappy. He’s . . .
Before the gnome could finish the thought, he saw a pair of metal spikes float through the air behind the wizard. It was Carmella carrying them, of course, Fenzig knew, but he wasn’t sure what she intended to do with them.
Be careful, Carmella. Those could kill him. Try to take him alive. If you can, we might still save your sisters.
“Gnome,” the wizard sneered, “I’ve always wondered what it is about your race that makes you so short and squat, and gives you hairy feet and nimble fingers.”
“We’re born that way,” Fenzig retorted as he squirmed helplessly in the grip of the magical hands.
“You’re quite a bit different than a human—on the outside,” the wizard continued. “All of your kind are.” He was rubbing his hands together in a gesture Fenzig had seen greedy merchants display. “Maybe if I cut into you a little, I can see how different you are on the inside.” With that, the wizard reached into the folds of his robe and produced a sharply honed, thin-bladed knife.
Fenzig gasped.
“Oh, don’t worry,” the old mage sneered. “This will hurt, but it won’t kill you. I have too many experiments to conduct to let you die so soon. I’ll make sure you stay alive for a good, long while.” He brought the knife in closer to the gnome.
“No, you don’t!” an invisible Carmella spouted. She was just behind the wizard now, with the metal spikes in her hands held out to the old man’s sides. She brought the flat sides of the spikes inward with a considerable amount of force, and Fenzig heard the wizard’s ribs make an ugly crunching sound.
The wizard pitched forward to his knees and gasped in pain and surprise. At the same instant the magical hands holding the gnome vanished, and Fenzig fell several feet to the floor. He landed solidly on his rump and cried out.
“So you did have an accomplice, little thief,” the wizard jeered. He held his right side with a shaky hand and started gesturing again with the left. “No matter, really. Now I will have two people to experiment upon.”
Carmella was bringing the metal spikes in for another attack, but as she closed to within a few inches of the wizard’s body she stopped, motionless. The wizard swiveled and rose, eyeing the spikes that seemed to hover in midair. Then he gestured again. The air shimmered and sparkled, and a moment later Carmella was revealed. She looked frozen, as if she were a lifelike statue.
While the wizard’s attention was trained on her, Fenzig slid behind a counter and stretched his fingers up, seeing what he might find. Hmm, now here’s something that might be useful, he thought as he filled his hands and pockets.
“You look familiar,” the wizard hissed.
Fenzig knew the old mage was talking to the frozen Carmella.
“I can’t place you, but I will. I never forget a face, and I have seen your lovely visage before.”
Fenzig slid around the far end of the counter, hoping to come up behind the wizard. I don’t like this, he thought. I don’t like being in a wizard’s laboratory, especially when the wizard is powerful and can grow extra legs on animals, create craven cats and freeze people.
“Where’d your little friend go?” the wizard asked. “He was here just a moment ago. Ah, there you are, thief.”
The old man’s voice was coming from above the gnome, and when Fenzig glanced up he saw that the wizard had leaned over the counter and was looking directly down on him. The gnome snarled and threw his hands into the air, releasing the sand he had so carefully carried. The colorful grains flew upward and into the wizard’s face.
The old man coughed and wheezed and rapidly backed out of Fenzig’s view, but the gnome pressed his attack. He sped around the corner of the counter and barreled right into the mage. The wizard teetered on his slippered feet for only a moment before he fel
l to the floor.
Fenzig followed him, scrambling up the man’s bony form until he stood on the wizard’s chest. “Don’t move,” the gnome growled. “Not one move. Not one inch. Not one gesture. Not one word.”
“Otherwise we might be the ones cutting into you.” Carmella had somehow broken free of the spell that held her. “Nice work, Fenzig.” She dropped the spikes and shook her head as if to clear her senses. “I don’t know what that spell was, but I didn’t enjoy being the target of it. I could see everything, yet I couldn’t do anything.”
She took a step toward the wizard and looked down at him. His face bore a pained expression, and he continued to wheeze. Fenzig looked down, too, and realized he was standing on ribs that likely were cracked or broken from Carmella’s blows. He jumped to the floor to stand next to the wizard and grabbed the wrinkled face between his small hands. The wizard stared unblinking at Fenzig, his rheumy blue eyes meeting the gnome’s intense gaze. Even though the mage seemed powerless, his eyes unnerved Fenzig.
“I’ve found some cord,” Carmella volunteered. She sat on the floor and started wrapping it around the wizard’s hands. “You can’t gesture if you can’t move your fingers. That means you won’t be able to cast any more spells.”
The wizard shifted his gaze from the gnome to her. “Who are you?” he said in practically a whisper.
“I look familiar because I’m Duke Rehmir’s youngest daughter,” she said as she finished tying his hands together. That task finished, she tore off a piece of his robe and stuffed it in his mouth. “I’m the one you didn’t turn into an emerald.”
“Great, he can’t go anywhere now or do anything! We got him!” Fenzig said aloud. “But now we have to get him—and us—out of here. You’re not invisible anymore, and I know the old man isn’t about to do anything that might help us leave. He’ll probably try to foul up our escape attempt. Who knows when the guards will be back. Maybe this place is part of their regular patrol.”
“I doubt it,” she replied. “If I were a guard I wouldn’t want to come down here. The place reeks of evil.”
“Fine, but do you have any brilliant ideas for getting us out of the castle? We need to hurry. There probably isn’t much darkness left.”
Carmella smiled weakly at Fenzig. “I told you I studied with a wizard for a while. He didn’t teach me much because he didn’t know too much himself. Outside of teaching me how to make tattoos and how to break down not-so-powerful spells, he taught me how to sense life and the pasts those lives experienced.”
“That’ll be real useful here. You can find out what the wizard had for breakfast yesterday.”
She frowned. “And he taught me the only other spell I know, a spell that makes things smaller. I always thought it would come in useful if I broke into some treasure room. I could cast it on the treasure. That way I could put a lot of tiny valuable stuff into a little space.”
“Can you use it to shrink him?”
“I don’t know if it works on people, but I’ll give it a try. I was actually intending on casting it on him in the treasure room. Stick him in my pocket, and then we’d climb back out the window. But things didn’t turn out that way.” Carmella sighed and rocked back and forth, closed her eyes. Her face grew flushed, and her breathing became irregular. “Nothing to lose,” she whispered.
For a moment Fenzig feared she would collapse, and he’d be faced with taking both her and the wizard out–which would be impossible. But then the color drained from her face and her eyes fluttered. Her hands glowed softly, and she placed them on the wizard’s chest.
The gnome saw the wizard jerk and twist spasmodically, as if he were having a seizure. This continued for several long moments, and just as Fenzig felt sure the wizard would perish, the old man started to shrink. Fenzig jumped back for fear he would grow smaller, too. The wizard seemed to fold in upon himself, becoming shorter and thinner. Even his clothes and the cord wrapped about his wrist shrunk.
Carmella pulled her hands free and watched the transformation continue. Within moments the wizard was Fenzig’s size, though of a much slighter build. A few moments more and he was but a foot tall, like a child’s doll. The process continued until he was half again that size, a little shorter than Carmella’s hand from the heel of her palm to her fingertips.
She grinned broadly. “I guess I’m not such a bad wizard after all.”
“You’re a great wizard,” Fenzig said. The gnome’s mouth hung open as he stared at the diminutive wizard. “Will you be able to make him big again when we get to the duke’s?”
She pursed her lips. “I should be able to. If the shrinking spell works, the regrowth version should, too. You’re next. Stand back.”
“What?” Fenzig screamed. “No way. I like being small, but I’m small enough.”
“Listen, our chances of escape will be much better if only one of us has to get out. I can carry you and the wizard in my pockets.”
“No,” Fenzig protested, “I can carry you and the wizard in my pockets. I’m a far better climber than you are, and if I get caught, I can drop you in some nook or corner so you can use your magic and try to escape later. They didn’t see you, remember?”
“Chivalrous to a fault,” Carmella said. “Either that or you’re afraid of my magic. Too bad I don’t know any humans like you.” She swayed again and mumbled, directing the enchantment on herself this time. Within moments she was even smaller than the wizard, and she looked up at Fenzig and put her hands on her hips.
“Well,” she asked in a voice as faint as a whisper, “aren’t you going to get us out of here?”
The gnome grinned and carefully scooped her up and placed her in his breast pocket. He wasn’t quite so careful with the wizard—despite the old man’s ribs. He put the mage in his pants pocket and padded toward the door. He paused under the animal cages and glanced up.
I’d like to free you, too, he thought. I’d like to take you all out of here, but it just isn’t practical, and you’re all in very bad shape. You’re going to die here, and there’s nothing I can really do about it except feel sorry for you.
“Not everyone or everything can have a happy ending,” Carmella called in a voice that sounded like a distant whisper.
Can you please take that necklace off? Fenzig pleaded to her. I’d like to think to myself for a while.
The gnome didn’t take the stairs, but instead climbed the stairwell wall. His fingers and toes fit perfectly in the niches between the stones, and it was far easier and quicker than trying to maneuver over human-sized steps. At the top, he heard guards talking. They were pondering what experiment the wizard would conduct on the gnome, possibly turning him into a miniature craven cat.
Fenzig shivered and slipped past them, clinging to the shadows and making his way out of King Erlgrane’s castle. The sky was a pale gray tinged with pink, indicating dawn was fast approaching. The shadows were not as plentiful as they’d been when he and Carmella had broken in, so the gnome relied on speed, running across the open courtyard and hoping the sentries were too tired to be paying attention. Scaling the outer wall was easy after everything he had already endured, and making his way back to Graespeck was not difficult either.
Carmella remained tiny the whole trip. In fact, when Fenzig glanced in his pocket, he saw that she was sleeping. He didn’t bother to wake her—not even when he climbed on the Carmen the Magnificent wagon and bid farewell to his father.
“I’ll be back,” Fenzig said. “I’ll not stay away so long this time. I promise. And when you see me again I might be looking for a job as an apprentice woodcarver.”
The older gnome beamed, and Fenzig smiled back.
Carmella woke up after the wagon had been on the road to K’Nosha for a few hours. She climbed out of Fenzig’s pocket, and he set her tiny form on the seat next to him. The gnome watched her wiggle her fingers and cast another spell. This one, too, was successful, causing her to grow back to her normal height.
“I can take the wago
n the rest of the way if you want,” she offered. “I’ll bet you’re tired.”
“I’m hungry,” Fenzig replied, and he watched her retreat into the wagon. “I think there are still a few tiny cakes left,” he called, “and how about some cheese?”
The miles melted away, and by the time a couple of days had passed, all the food in the wagon had disappeared. Carmella and a still-hungry Fenzig found themselves at the duke’s estate by midmorning—with no sign of pursuit from Erlgrane’s men. The gnome suspected the king had no idea his wizard was gone, as the monarch likely didn’t venture down to the old mage’s catacombs.
Carmella waved to the guards at the gate. Word of their arrival traveled quickly, and the duke was waiting for them at the manor’s front door.
“Carmella!” the duke beamed, rushing toward her and helping her down. He hugged her fiercely, then grinned at the gnome. “Come in, please,” he urged. An arm about his daughter’s waist, the duke ushered them inside.
“I was so worried about you,” the portly man said as he led them up the stairs and to his study. “I was afraid I might lose you, too, Carmella. I was . . .”
“We were successful,” she said happily, interrupting him. “We have the wizard.”
“Where?”
Fenzig could tell Carmella wasn’t used to all the attention, and she seemed a little uncomfortable. She extracted herself from her father’s affectionate grip and went to stand before the mantel, where the three emeralds glimmered.
“Where is he?” the duke persisted.
“Here,” Fenzig said as shuffled forward to join them. He gently pulled the tiny wizard out of his pocket. “It wasn’t easy catching him, sir,” the gnome began. “There was this laboratory, and all these creatures, craven cats, and magical spells were going off, and then we had to escape without anyone seeing us, and—”