I stepped over a fallen gremlin, seized its crude spear, and took to the air, searching for any sign of Scar Eye and the boom. A spark down at the far end of the hallway showed me Scar Eye’s swollen-knuckled hand dragging the mortal hatchet along the floor behind him, and I zipped off after them.
Gremlins are ugly, dirty, violent, cruel, mean, and vicious, but also quick and quiet, even for Little Folk. By the time I’d reached the corner, they were already at the bottom of the stairs beyond—and Scar Eye’s fangs flashed in a crocodile’s smile as he smashed closed the heavy oak door at the stairs’ bottom almost perfectly in time to make me break out all my teeth on it.
I swerved and curled into a ball at the last second to take the impact on my shoulders, bounced off the door, and collapsed tothe ground. It took me a moment to gather myself and stagger to my feet. My wings were stunned. I had to jump up to grab the doorknob and wrestle the thing open, then start running forward on my slow, stupid legs like some slow, stupid biggun.
I ran anyway, jumping and thrumming my wings as much as I could get them to move, helping me take long steps like in those Hong Kong movies, but it was all I could do to stay on the gremlins’ trail, descending through the Castle on the most rapid path to the basement.
I caught up to them in the kitchens, and only as I came through the doors did my wings beat true again, and I zipped up to near the ceiling to observe.
The four large gremlins bearing the boom were rushing toward...
Mab’s frozenboogers.
They were rushing toward the pizza ovens.
Suddenly I saw their plan. The ovens were full of gas that could burn. The boom would go boom and then the Castle would burn, collapsing down into its own guts.
And it would kill everyone inside.
I felt my tummy get cold. Because that wouldn’t be a little death, the kind of death that my people hardly noticed. That would be a great big death, the ones I could see now. It would make endings where stories were supposed to be happening.
I gripped my captured spear, clenched my jaw, and prepared to dive on the gremlins with the boom.
“Not so fast, pix!” growled Scar Eye in his horrible buzzing voice.
I whirled to see the gremlin standing on one of the Bane-made tables, grasping the mortal hatchet in one hand.
His other hand was knotted into a fist with Lacuna’s dark braid wrapped around it. Even as my eyes widened, he swept the edge of the hatchet toward her throat—stopping only when she flinched back from the touch of the Bane and let out a harsh scream.
“Villain!” I shouted. “You let her go!”
“Here is what happens, pix,” Scar Eye said. “You land, drop your weapons, and come with us. Once we’re outside, I’ll let your man go.”
“Oh!” Lacuna said indignantly, her dark eyes flashing as she looked at me. “Oh, did you hear what he said?”
“Do not fear, my love!” I declared. “I will save the day!”
Scar Eye growled and leaned in toward Lacuna a little more. I heard the sizzle as the Bane touched her skin and she let out a thin peal of pain.
I whirled in a circle, searching for options. The four gremlins with the boom slapped it against the side of the pizza ovens and twisted a dial. The boom started makingtick tick ticknoises, which was what booms did on television just before they went boom. Those four were very large and tough-looking warriors, heavy with scars. I mean, as dumb as gremlins are, with that many scars they had to have learned something somewhere.
“Now!” Scar Eye said. “Or I kill him!”
“No!” I said. I dropped the spear and it clattered to the ground. “Wait!” I zipped down to the table, my hands raised. “Don’t hurt her.”
“Hah,” Scar Eye said. “What I thought. Stupid pix.” He kicked a coil of leather cord over to me. “Now tie your legs.”
I bent over slowly and picked up the cord, trying to think. This situation was bad. The boom kept goingtick tick tick. The other four big gremlins leapt up onto the table, surrounding me.
Kringle’s merry balls, that pizza smelled good. Even the gremlins were noticing that. One of them with extra large rubbery lips eyed the oven and licked them.
“Do it, pix,” Scar Eye almost purred. “It’s over. You lost.”
And then a blue light appeared in the room. It darted erratically across the floor, then up the leg of the Bane-made table.
And thirty pounds of gray tomcat came merrily along behind the light, batting at it excitedly. Mister the cat flung himself up onto the table in pursuit of the blue glowing dot and came to a sudden stop. All seven of the Little Folk standing on the table froze in place. Then the tomcat tilted his head to one side and, with barely more pause than that, pounced on the nearest gremlin.
“Move, kid!” screamed Bob the Castle. “Sixty seconds on the counter!”
