Page 20 of Did It Have To Be Gnomes?! (Carry A Faerie #1)

It gave me the creeps, and I had the feeling if I could read the writing around it, I’d be even more creeped out than I already was.

The worst part of it, though, was how it made me feel.

I was a null, magic couldn’t harm me, but even I could feel something almost slimy-like crawling over my skin and trying to find its way in. Slimy and dark and gross and evil.

I hated it, I hated the feeling, and I hated that it had to be affecting both Lyric and Miles even worse than it was me.

So before either of them could protest, I released both of them and quickly reached out to put my palm on the seal.

The evil, heavy, slimy magic died out instantaneously.

Miles took a deep breath and glanced around, taking everything in with a smile. He seemed relieved and happy.

“Wow, you did it. You broke the magic. It doesn’t feel so heavy in here anymore.”

Lyric nodded and walked over to give Miles a quick side-hug—why? I had no idea, but Miles smiled, so that was good. My nullness must’ve still been in effect so he didn’t feel anything from them.

“He’s right,” they said. “The air’s lighter, and I can’t feel that evil magic anymore.”

My shoulders sagged. “Good. That’s a relief.”

I pulled my hand away from the seal, and the heaviness came back with a vengeance. The sudden change took my breath away, and I was knocked backward a few steps. I staggered, and my head got all fuzzy, and by the time I shook it away, Lyric and Miles were at each other’s throats.

Miles was towering over Lyric even though he was only three inches taller than them, and Lyric was pushing on his chest, looking like they were about to throw a punch or maybe even strangle my guy-I-wanted-to-date.

Shaking off the brain fogginess, I rushed forward and pushed them apart again, my hands on their chests.

They both shook themselves out and murmured apologies.

I said, “So… it looks like touching the damn seal didn’t actually break the thing.” I stared at the seal for a second. “Let me try something real quick.” Since I didn’t want them to fight again, I grabbed their wrists and tugged them over to the seal with me.

After releasing them, I placed both hands on the seal, closed my eyes, and tried everything in my power to push my null magic into the seal.

I pushed and shoved as much as I could, but unlike when I purposefully spread my magic around or pushed extra into someone else, it felt like I was hitting a brick wall.

It was almost as if the seal itself had some kind of magical shield around it that protected it from the full force of my null magic.

“Well, shit. I don’t think it worked.” I glanced at them. “Grab my arms or something before I let go of this thing. I don’t want to break up a fist fight.”

Both of them grabbed my arms without hesitation. I supposed they didn’t want to get into a fist fight either.

Digging my heels in, I dropped my hands from the seal and let the magic rush over me. Even with my stance at the ready, I was pushed back a few steps, but Miles and Lyric held tightly to my arms, so they moved with me, and no one lost their grip.

“Everyone okay?” I asked.

“Yeppers,” Lyric said. “Glad your nullness kept me from getting the full force of that blast.”

“Yeah, same here.” Miles used his free hand to brush the hair from his forehead. Surprisingly, the force had even knocked some of his hair loose, even though he clearly used gel again today. “But I’m okay. Clearly that didn’t work.”

“Nope. I don’t think I can break it while it’s in the wall like that.”

Miles nodded, staring at the seal as he thought for a few seconds. “What if we pull it out of the wall and actually break it in half or something?”

“It’s metal.” Lyric frowned. “But I’m sure we could find the right tools to cut it up or whatever. That would probably work.”

They nodded at each other, then rushed over to the seal before I could stop them.

Since I didn’t want them fighting again, I stepped forward and placed my hand on Lyric’s back and the other on the back of Miles's neck. He didn’t tense this time and even leaned into the touch for a few seconds before he tried to dig his fingers into the concrete around the seal.

There really wasn’t anywhere to grip, but the man sure did try.

I watched the two of them struggle for a couple of minutes before I said, “We’re not getting that thing out of the wall without tools, and I don’t think we’re the ones who should do it anyway. What if we mess up the foundation of the house or something?”

“Then what do you suggest?” Miles asked, looking upset that he couldn’t get the seal out.

“We need help. Someone who’s used to working with magic. Someone who can break curses.”

Miles's eyes went wide. “You… you mean a necromancer?”

He sounded so scandalized, I almost laughed. Not that necromancers were anything to mess with, but still. Was it really that wild of a suggestion?

“A necromancer, yeah.” I nodded, staring at him for a moment before turning to Lyric, who looked resigned.

Lyric shrugged. “I think it’s the only way.”

“Agreed. We can’t get a construction crew in here with that magic active. That’s just way too dangerous. Imagine if the workers got so mad they started using their tools against one another.” I shuddered at the horrific thought. “And obviously, I can’t break it myself, so…”

They both nodded, although Miles looked super grumpy about it.

He sighed. “Fine. But I don’t like this. At all.”

I grinned at him. “Noted.”

“Um, guys?” Lyric nudged me. “Do you hear that?”

All three of us froze and listened for a moment. It took a few seconds for me to hear… shuffling? And little tiny squeaks, although I kind of thought the sounds were coming from upstairs.

Ew, had the gnomes sensed us down here?

Miles sucked in a gasp. “Oh my god, I hear the meeps.”

He was right. The squeaks were actually meeps, now that I listened more carefully. “They’re coming from upstairs, though, right?”

“I can’t tell.”

“Guys,” Lyric whisper-yelled. “I hear something… like something down here with us.”

I met their gaze. “I swear to god, if you’re just trying to scare us, I’m going to steal your favorite pink shirt and wash it with bleach.”

They gasped dramatically. “You wouldn’t.”

“Try me.”

They narrowed their eyes and opened their mouth, but their gaze moved over my shoulder before they could speak. Lyric’s eyes went wide as they stared at something behind me, and then they yelled, “Oh shit! Run!”