I first met Gary when I moved back to Durham. I’d quickly realized that if I was going to survive, I needed weapons, spells, and information.
It was the third item on that list that I needed right now, and I had a feeling the information was going to cost me. Unfortunately, I was still so tired I could barely keep my eyes open, and the sun was still a few hours away from rising. Thankfully, gnomes were mostly nocturnal, and they needed much less sleep than humans.
Gary’s store was cluttered. A mishmash of weapons, spells, and various knick-knacks greeted visitors, all organized in some way that only Gary seemed to understand. Tall shelves were bolted to the floor, jostling for space in the tiny room. It seemed all the smaller for the two kids that played some kind of game that involved ducking behind shelves and yelling made-up incantations at each other.
The gnome shrugged at me as I walked in. “School got out early. They’ve sucked the life out of me.”
It was the most personal information Gary had ever offered and it surprised a chuckle from me. He shrugged, flashing his sharp, pointed teeth in a snarl as one of the kids almost bumped into me.
“Sorry, Miss,” the little gnome grinned at me, and I couldn’t help but reach out and ruffle his hair. His grin widened as he spun away, his gray hand waving as he pretended to throw a spell at his brother.
I turned back to Gary. Once, when I was flipping through a history book, I’d come across a picture of what humans had imagined gnomes to be before the portals fell. The cute old men with the long beards and pointy hats have nothing in common with Gary and his kids.
Sharp, pointed teeth, grey skin, and nocturnal habits. Gnomes may be lesser fae, but they were still part of the unseelie court.
I pulled out the knife. “I need some way to trace the owner of this knife. Or at least narrow down my options.”
Gary studied the knife. “I can't help with that." His mouth turned down slightly. "But I can give you the name of someone who can. For a price." He stuck out his lower lip before sucking it into his mouth. I waited while he shoved his thumbs into the belt loops of his specially-made jeans and rocked back on his heels. “There’s a witch who is good with stuff like this."
I sneered at him. "I know plenty of witches."
None of them would give me the time of day. But that wasn't the point.
"Trust me, this witch is different. A lot of witches, they scry for an object and inadvertently tip off the owner of the object. The owner starts paying attention, increases security. I'm guessing that's the opposite of what you want."
“You’re guessing right.”
“This witch doesn’t make those kinds of mistakes.”
“Okay. How much will that information cost me?"
“She’s private. Doesn’t like to be bothered.”
“Uh-huh. How much for a piece of that privacy?”
Gary scowled at me, but I had his number. If I wasn’t careful while negotiating with him, I’d lose my shirt.
“$400.”
I studied him without speaking. He raised one eyebrow.
“$300,” he said finally, and I sighed.
“Look, we both know you’re going to charge me a hundred bucks because you like how much business I bring in with referrals. How about we skip the song and dance?”
He angled his head, and I moseyed over to a stack of explosive spells, thankfully stored high enough that his hellion kids couldn’t reach them.
I grabbed a few and placed them on the counter, raising an eyebrow. A little reminder of how much money I spent in here most weeks.
One of the kids let out a sharp cry and ran to his dad, throwing his arms around his legs. Gary frowned down at him, but sighed.
“They’re overtired,” he said. “I need to close. Fine. A hundred bucks. But only because I don’t have the time to negotiate.”
I threw in an extra fifty, because I’m a softy, and because his kid was blinking up at me with watery eyes. Gary’s lips twitched and he shook his head at me, but he wrote down the name I needed and handed it to me.
Selina Henderson.
“Thanks. One more thing,” I remembered, and Gary gave me a look that warned it better be quick. I held a photo of Mary up for him to see. “Have you seen this witch?”
