Total pages in book: 254
Estimated words: 240032 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1200(@200wpm)___ 960(@250wpm)___ 800(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 240032 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1200(@200wpm)___ 960(@250wpm)___ 800(@300wpm)
I held Duncan a little tighter.
Henri’s body shifted beside my knee, and I didn’t imagine that his voice took on a different tone as he said, with a strength and that deep-knit presence that had me glancing at him, “It’s an honor to have you here.”
He sounded the way I’d imagine a king greeted another visiting monarch, all grand and certain.
“We have returned,” one of the gnomes in the front replied in a voice that crackled with grit and a depth that was at odds with his size. “This has been our home nearly as long as it has been yours, Great Wolf.”
I peeked at the “Great Wolf” beside me and slowly turned back to our visitors. I was coming back to that title later. Yes, I was.
“I speak for everyone here when I say that I’m pleased you consider this your home. Is there something I can help you with?” Henri asked, still using that commanding voice. “We closed your mine off decades ago, but it’s there for you whenever you choose.”
In synchronization, every single one of the gnomes turned to the donut and me, and the beings stared as the green glow of their torches somehow brightened enough that I had to squint until the light wasn’t so blinding.
They kept looking at us.
This wasn’t exactly making me feel better.
I didn’t know what to do. No one was saying anything. Henri wasn’t doing anything other than watching them watch us.
So I did what felt right, what my ogre friends had brought up before. I reached into my unzipped fanny pack and pulled out a packet of almonds I’d been saving for a snack and held it out to them. It wasn’t a proper offering, but something was something.
The green torches flared even brighter. The gnome closest to the package took it; it was almost as big as he was. He turned and passed it to the gnome behind him, and that one did the same, and they did it again until someone in the back row held the almonds.
Still unsure what to do, I stuck my hand out to the being who had originally taken the almonds, and without missing a beat, he wrapped a hand much bigger than I would have imagined—his skin was really rough—around my index and middle fingers, shaking them.
“I’m Nina, and this is Duncan,” I told him. Them.
The gnome to the right of the original one stuck his hand out just as his neighbor let go, and I stifled a smile when he shook mine too. I was so surprised when the whole front row put their hands out and wanted a shake as well. In my lap, Duncan stretched his neck out maybe half an inch, his little nose twitching hard. He wasn’t tense though. His tail stayed the same safe shade of blue the whole time, reassuring me.
“We rejoice in your presence,” the main gnome, the one who had taken the packet said, adding a word or a name that sounded so gurgled in another language, I couldn’t recreate it to save my life. It sounded like he’d hacked up a phlegm or two getting it out.
I smiled cautiously at the serious faces standing there. “Forgive me, but I think you might have the wrong person. I don’t remember ever meeting any of you.” I’d remember meeting a gnome before.
They didn’t reply.
What they did was keep staring, until, as a unit, the gnomes pivoted toward Henri again and said, “We thank you for your greeting. No assistance is needed at this time.” Then they all took a step back and said, “May the moon guide your way.” In the reverse order of how they had arrived, each and every one of them returned to the trees where they had come from, disappearing into the gnarled caves inside them that shouldn’t have been deep enough for so many of them to go into.
I’d watched satyrs become humans and humans turn into majestic wolves, but nothing had ever blown my mind like their tree system just did.
Henri didn’t say anything else until the last gnome was gone. “You’re safe, Ladybug. No need to shake.”
That got my attention. The white wolf was huddled against Henri’s back. She was trembling, and it made affection bloom in my soul. She was just a little kid, after all.
“We would never let anything happen to you, Agnes.” I tried to make her feel secure too. Safety in numbers. Plus, I was so close to Henri that she could use my body as a shield if it came down to it.
He said who knows what else to her, and soon afterward, her shaking eased for the most part.
And that’s when I finally exhaled like I’d been holding my breath for half an hour. That encounter didn’t make sense or make me feel any better. I didn’t get kidnapper vibes from them, and neither did Duncan from how easygoing he’d been, but you could never be too sure. I wouldn’t.