AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Shh,” I told him. “I found something.”
He said. “Your excuse for shutting me out isvomit?”
I peeled open the brittle, charred paper, and found writing on it.
“No, look.” I turned the note toward Silas. “It’s an address. We have a lead.”
CHAPTER 19
Silas twisted his fists on the steering wheel. The rubbery plastic squeaked under his tense grip.
Something was wrong.
I wanted to tell him that he was going to burst the throbbing vein in his neck if he kept up this level of irritation. He could even crack a molar under the intense grind of his teeth. What had changed? Why was he so upset?
I knew better than to comment, or he’d turn that ire onto me. I asked anyway, “Everything all right?”
“Mmm,” he said in non-answer.
I turned in the passenger seat toward Fernando in the back. He was slouched down so far in his seatbelt that I could barely see his eye over his round belly.
“The greatest birthday gift will be concluding this mission before the deadline, and reclaiming my old life,” I said. “Today is the day.”
An elongated squeak came from the steering wheel.
The top of a large red barn peeked over the crest of the hill ahead of us. That had to be our destination. We were almost there.
“Noah Darie will be living at this address, gleefully rubbing himself all over the Trai Amulet, using its power to make everything around him giant,” I said. I could already picture it. We’d arrive, I’d race from Silas’s car and catch Noah in the act. Noah would cry for mercy as I twisted his ear, and he’d apologize profusely for licking my foot. Then I’d drop an anvil on his tongue for good measure, make sure he’d never lick another person again. Then I’d slap on the cuffs. The apples he’d giganticized would feed the Inorog population for weeks, while the cans of preserved green beans would feed the hungry all over the continent for years.
A giant mint chocolate chip ice cream cake would await me on my desk in my rightful office upon my return to the library. And everything would be right as rain.
The steering wheel squeaked.
We arrived at our destination.
“Soon all of this will be over,” I told Silas, with a gentle pat on his shoulder. “We can return to how everything is meant to be.”
Silas threw the car in park, jolting the seatbelt hard between my ribs.
“Jeez.” I scowled at Silas.
He climbed out and started for a barn, the only structure in the area. Everything else was rolling hills and empty space. Sadly, there did not appear to be any building-sized cans of green beans. Perhaps they were inside the barn.
“Let’s go,” I told Fernando. “We can’t let him find the amulet first.”
“Kay.”
Even if there’d been hints of feelings in the mix of Silas’s confusing kindness, I was so close to getting everything I wanted. I couldn’t afford to lose sight of the prize now. After I had my office back and I was senior librarian again, then maybe I’d have the time to think about if there really could besomething between me and Silas. Or maybe once this mission was over, everything would go completely back to normal, with the two of us hating each other.
The thought made my stomach churn.
I raced after Silas, Fernando at my side. When we had just about caught up, Silas threw open the barn doors and headed inside. As I crossed the threshold, I was immediately overwhelmed by the sight that awaited me. Towering mountains of boxes were stacked floor to ceiling, leaving only a narrow path to walk through the barn. At the other end of the path, light poured in from the open back doors.
“This is….” I didn’t even know what to say. “Like a dragon’s lair.”
“Dragons like shinies.” Fernando opened one of the boxes and tossed the lid aside. “This no treasure. This trash.”
I peeked into the box and found tons of yellowed newspaper clippings. Yes, it did appear this was a collection of garbage.
