From the basement, a sound echoes up through the vents. Not mechanical. Not wind. Singing. Someone or something is singing down there, in a voice like grinding stone.
“What was that?”
“We should investigate.”
“We should absolutely not investigate the singing basement.”
“The building’s foundation stone is in the basement. If something has disturbed it?—”
“Foundation stone?”
“Every treaty building has one. It anchors the magic.”
“And ours is singing?”
“That is... unusual.”
The singing gets louder. It sounds like...
“Is the foundation stone singing Barry White?”
“It appears so.”
“Why?”
“I do not know.”
We descend into the basement. In the corner, the foundation stone—a normal rock with googly eyes stuck to it—is indeed singing “Can’t Get Enough of Your Love, Babe.”
“Someone put googly eyes on the ancient foundation stone,” I say.
The singing stops,and the googly eyes move, focusing on us. “Finally. Visitors.”
“Edgar,” the stone grumbles, its voice like gravel in a blender. The singing stops. “Last time he visited. Thought it was hilarious. Couldn’t get them off—stuck with some kind of permanent adhesive that reacts with the magic. Been stuck for six years.”
“The stone talks?” I squeak.
“The stone talks,” Stenrik confirms, sounding resigned.
“The stone is BORED. Do you have any idea how tedious it is being a foundation? Decades of holding up this building with no one to talk to except the occasional mouse?”
“I’m sorry?” I offer.
“You should be! And you two—worst matched pair I’ve seen since 1887. No trust, no connection, just awkwardness and that terrible wine I can smell from here.”
“Hey! My wine choices are not?—”
“Your wine choices are criminal. And you!” The googly eyes swivel to Stenrik. “Three hundred years old and still emotionally constipated. No wonder the magic is failing.”
“The magic is not failing,” Stenrik protests.
“The magic is definitely failing. The barrier is thinning. Shadow creatures are becoming corporeal. You failed last night, didn’t you?”
“How do you know that?”
“I’M THE FOUNDATION. I FEEL EVERYTHING.”
The stone starts humming “Let’s Get It On.”
