“Who?” Delaney turned toward me, the first time she’d looked straight at me since she’d arrived. Her eyes were blue, but sparked with that aqua and gold of the Reed power that rolled throughher.
“HeadlessAbner.”
“The gnome? You foundhim?”
“Someone found him. Or released him. A part of him. What do you want with the gnome?” I askedDeath.
He raised one eyebrow. “Bring him, and I will showyou.”
When neither of us moved, he pursed his lips, and then said, “I will not harm him.Yet.”
Another second, two, five clicked by. Finally, Delaney nodded. “Where ishe?”
“In the truck. Holdon.”
I wasn’t worried about leaving Delaney with Death. If he’d wanted to hurt her, he’d have done it the moment she’darrived.
Plus, a part of me wondered if he’d come back now, so soon after having to leave, because he’d missed her. Missed our little town that he’d only spent a couple of months getting toknow.
The box was in the front seat. I picked it up and was standing beside my sister in a fewseconds.
She glanced at my hands. “Let mesee.”
I opened thebox.
Her eyebrows notched together and the wind whipped the stray strands of her long brown hair out of her face. “Abner.”
“Abner,” Iagreed.
“Where’d you findhim?”
“Bertie hadhim.”
“Did she do this tohim?”
“No. He was brought to her thisway.”
Delaney’s gaze met mine. Yeah, there was something weird about the town Valkyrie ending up with a long-lost gnome head. Especially since she hadn’t wanted to reveal her delivery source to me. Delaney’s gaze told me I’d need to do some followup.
My gaze told her I’d do it but only if she bought me extracandy.
She told me to stop acting like akid.
I told her to stop acting like mymother.
“Daughter of Reed. The gnomehead.”
I handed him thebox.
He reached inside and withdrew the head, holding it propped on just the tips of his long, boneyfingers.
“Wake, gnome. Andspeak.”
I felt the frigid push of his power. Delaney shivered, and I knew whatever I’d felt, she’d felt magnified by ahundred.
“Gnobody puts Abner in a box!” Abner’s voice was creaky and sharp. His face, while still full of cracks and divots, was fully life-like. He was down to one eye, half a nose, and a lopsided beard, but he didn’t seem to notice nor was he bothered by theremodel.
“This,” Death said with grave patience. “Is a very dangerouscreature.”
