She stepped forward, into the wal . Oh, crap. I squeezed my eyes closed and fol owed.
The world froze around me. I gasped, sucking in solid frozen air, and a sharp ache fil ed my lungs. Panic stung my mind, flooded my muscles, but I couldn’t move. Then, as suddenly as the world had frozen, it thawed, turning as comfortable as bathwater. I released the frozen gasp I’d comfortable as bathwater. I released the frozen gasp I’d taken, and the pain in my chest vanished as warmth spread over my body. Again I didn’t feel like I was moving, but the world slid out of focus, like a child smearing his hand through a painting that was not yet dry. Then it solidified again, and I was standing in a cavern that held a castle. Not just a big house, but an honest-to-goodness, large-stonefacade-with-turrets-and-towers castle. There was even a moat—though why anyone would build such a thing in the bel y of a cave was beyond me. As I stood there staring, the drawbridge lowered and a portcul is made of twisting vines lifted to clear our path.
Rianna beamed at me. “Welcome home, Al!”
Chapter 9
“Home?” I stared at the large stone wal . At the moat of crystal clear water. At the jutting spiral towers. “This isn’t a home. This is a castle!” Like a castle straight out of the Middle Ages. Or a fairy tale. Welcome to Faerie, Alex.
“Do you want to go inside?” Rianna al but bounced on her toes as she asked. “It opened for you. It’s yours.”
“And it’s about time,” a rough female voice said behind me.
I turned, but didn’t see anything. My confusion must have shown on my face, because Rianna pointed toward the ground. I obediently looked down.
A woman who stood no higher than my knee stared up at me. She was nearly as wide as she was tal , so she looked like a waddling basketbal wrapped in burlap as she gave me a quick once-over, and then, with a nod, marched past me.
“Wel , get a move on,” she cal ed over her shoulder. “I’m sure there’s a layer of dust on everything by this point.”
I gaped at the smal woman and then looked to Rianna for explanation.
“Wait, Ms. B,” Rianna cal ed after the woman. “This is Alex.”
The smal woman paused. “Wel , of course she is.” Ms. B
curled her lips in what might have been a sneer or a smile
—I wasn’t sure which. “Now, I’ve work to do.” She hopped onto the castle’s drawbridge, the hair that exploded around her head like overgrown spider-grass trailing behind her as she walked away without a backward glance.
she walked away without a backward glance.
“Uh, Rianna . . . ?” I looked at my longtime friend.
“Ms. B is a brownie. Think of her as a housekeeper, cook, and general organizer of al things inside the castle.”
“I can’t afford a housekeeper!” And I certainly couldn’t afford to keep a castle. I was barely able to stay on top of paying rent on an efficiency.
“Don’t be sil y. You don’t pay brownies. Faerie may say you own this property, but trust me, this is Ms. B’s castle.
She went absolutely crazy when she couldn’t get inside—
tried to take the wal apart stone by stone. Not that Faerie let her. She was here before Coleman claimed the castle, and she’l stil be here when the castle changes hands again.” She didn’t elaborate on how I might lose the castle, but hurried on. “My suggestion is to make friends with her.
She never liked Coleman. On the few occasions he stayed in the castle every meal came out burned, the ceilings leaked, moths attacked every scrap of material, and sand wound up on the bedsheets. He’d leave and everything would return to gleaming order. Brownies are good at holding a grudge.”
“Coleman couldn’t get rid of her?”
Rianna shook her head, and the dog at her side made a huff that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. She ignored him. “You don’t get rid of brownies. You could burn the place to the ground, but I’ve heard they wil stick around to tend the ashes. Though, sometimes, if they particularly like a family or a person, they wil relocate with them rather than remain attached to a domicile.” She shrugged, like she used to when we’d study together at academy and she didn’t think the subject was particularly interesting.
“Right.” My head was spinning. This is all a little surreal.
“Are there any other, uh, inhabitants I should know about?”
“Just a garden gnome. He tends the grounds, but he’s shy. I rarely catch sight of him.” She leaned closer. “I think he’s sweet on Ms. B.”
I stared at her, trying to decide if she was joking. She I stared at her, trying to decide if she was joking. She wasn’t. How do I get myself into these things? I turned back toward the castle. “So are we sure Coleman’s holdings are now mine? I mean, I didn’t exactly claim anything—I just showed up.”
“Faerie locked this place up tight as soon as Coleman bit the big one. The castle opened for you. It’s yours.”