Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

P aige's pulse quickened. Would the child-like creature be able to give them any information on her mother? And would the information lead her to hope or despair?

"Ask him what he knows about the people who were in the house before we arrived. And why was he left? Did they bring him there?"

The Golem shrank down in his seat. "Scary lady."

Paige shot Drucinda a dirty look. "Stop, you're scaring him."

Drucinda crossed her arms and clicked her tongue. "Ridiculous. Just ask the questions."

Paige heaved a sigh. She could understand the Golem's sentiment at times. "I will. Just let me ease into it. He's scared."

"Granite scared. Granite captured. Hurt Granite."

Paige patted his hand. "No one's going to hurt you, Granite. I promise."

"People hurt Granite."

"Did someone hurt you? "

"Yes. People capture Granite. People hurt Granite." He curled his stony hands into fists and banged one against the other.

"No one here is going to hurt you, Granite. Not even the scary lady. She only seems scary. But she's…nice…enough."

Drucinda shook her head. "Thanks for the vote of confidence. I'll remember that the next time we're being attacked by a gaggle of gremlins."

"Granite, did the people who hurt you take you to the house where we found you?"

"Yes. Granite lived in the forest. People come and take Granite away. Take Granite to house. Chain Granite."

"Who were these people? What type of creatures?" Drucinda asked.

Paige pinched her features and shot her a glare. She held her hands up before crossing her arms again with a roll of her eyes.

"I'm sorry they did that to you. We're going to help you, Granite. But we're also hoping you can help us."

"Granite help."

"Good. I'm glad we can count on you."

"Wait a tick." Drucinda waved a finger in the air. "If people hurt Granite so badly, why would you help us?"

Granite shifted his beady eyes to Paige. "Pretty lady looks like Mama."

"What?" Drucinda asked with a scoff.

Dewey wrinkled his nose. "Are you trying to say your mom looks like Paige? That's kind of impossible since she's human and your mom had to have been a Stone Golem."

"Not Mother," Granite corrected. "Mama. Mama help Granite at house."

Drucinda narrowed her eyes, her chin lifting as she pieced things together. "So, this person whom you call Mama was a human. "

"Mama human."

Drucinda tugged her phone from her pocket and tapped on it furiously.

"Mama was a nice human?"

"Mama take care of Granite. Mama help Granite. Mama protect Granite."

Drucinda flipped the phone around, showing the Golem her display. A picture of a red-headed woman filled the screen. "Is this Mama?"

A smile curled the edges of the Golem's small mouth, and he poked a finger toward the display. "Mama."

Silence stretched between them for several breaths as each of them processed his words.

"So," Drucinda said as she tucked her phone away, "Reed is alive."

"Or was," Rochelle said.

"Can he tell us anything else about their stay there? What happened to Reed? Where did they take her and why?"

Paige held up a hand as she nodded her head. "I'll do my best. But even with the Kindercom, he's…childlike. We have to tread carefully."

A stone finger scratched Paige's arm. "Bracelet. Pretty."

Paige dangled it in front of him. "Yes, it is. It was my mom's. Did you know that the person you call Mama is actually my mom?"

The Golem stared up at her quizzically.

"Try another line, Paige, before you confuse him," Dewey whispered.

Paige crinkled her nose and swallowed hard as she tried another route. "Can you tell us more about what happened while you were in the house?"

"Granite go to house. Chained to floor. Mama visit Granite. Nice to Granite. Help Granite. Heal Granite."

"Stop," Drucinda said. "Heal? She healed you? "

The Golem lifted his arm and pointed at a white scratch that ran from one side to the other. "Golem hurt. Mama fix."

Drucinda's features pinched. "Fixed him. Healing powers?"

"That's not something Liam mentioned," Dewey said, "but his arm is healed pretty nicely."

"How did you get that injury?" Drucinda asked.

"Man hurt Granite."

Drucinda slammed her hands on the table, leaning closer to him. "How? How did they hurt you? Describe it."

"Man take tool. Put on Granite's arm. Man take hammer. Smash tool into Granite's arm. Granite cry."

Paige's stomach turned over as she realized he described someone using an awl to split his arm open.

"And the woman I showed you…that woman healed you. How?"

"Mama make magic. Spread magic over arm. Arm heal."

Drucinda leaned back, crossing her arms again. "So, she made a magical potion."

"Sounds that way," Rochelle said. "When you knew her, she had no magical tendencies, did she?"

"No, straight human, or so we thought."

"Reed didn't have any magical abilities that she informed the library of," Ronnie added.

"Yet, now she has discovered them."

Paige sucked in a breath before she directed the conversation into a new direction. "Granite, can you tell us what happened before we got there? The house was empty except for you. Why did they leave? And why did they leave you behind?"

Granite waved his massive arms in the air. "Crazy. People running. Man grab Mama. Mama cry. Mama scared. Granite smash man. People mad. People hurt Granite. People lock Granite away. "

Granite lowered his chin, his eyes turning glassy. "They take Mama. Granite alone."

Paige's heart broke for the poor creature. She patted him on the shoulder. "It's okay, Granite. You're not alone now. We're here with you."

"And we're going to find Mama," Drucinda said. "We need to discuss this further. Alone."

"We can't leave him here. He's upset and scared."

Ronnie chimed in, "Tell him we'll get him something to eat and a nice warm bed to sleep in while we find her."

"Right. Granite? We need to go look for where they took Mama. But you'll be safe here. We'll get you something to…" Paige stopped speaking, her brow furrowing. "What do Golems eat?"

"Crystals," Dewey answered. "Obviously."

"Gemstones," Drucinda said. "Those are a real treat. Maybe we ought to try the alchemy generator. They probably won't be as tasty as mined gems, but may be a nice treat for him."

"Right," Paige said with a nod. "Okay. We'll get you some nice crystals and gemstones to eat, and then you can take a nap. And maybe when you wake up, Mama will be here."

"Little Mama find Mama."

"Yes, right," Paige said with a nod. "I'm going to try to find Mama for you. And for me."

"Little Mama come back?"

"Yes. I'll be back after you've had your food and a nap. Okay? I promise."

"I wait here. Scared."

"There's no reason to be scared, Granite. Ronnie is my friend." Paige grabbed the woman's hand and squeezed it. "She is going to make sure they take good care of you, okay? She is going to help you like I helped you and Mama helped you. "

Granite shifted his dark, beady eyes to Ronnie who smiled and waved at him. "Hi, Granite. I won't leave, I promise."

"Ronnie stay."

"That's right." She slid into the chair across from him. "I'll stay. Ro, you'll get Paige and Dewey set for their retrieval mission."

"I'm on it." The woman bobbed her head as she stalked toward the door and flicked her keycard against it. "Come along everyone, we have many things to attend to."

Drucinda, Paige, and Dewey followed her from the room. Paige gave one last glance at the stone giant. A giggle emerged from him as Ronnie showed him a trick with her fingers.

At least he was in good hands. She needed to try to focus her energy on whatever retrieval they'd been requested to complete. Her mind shifted focus as she left the room behind, but remained split. How close had they been to finding her mother?

Seconds? Minutes? Hours? Had her mother slipped right through their fingers? Or was this all a lie?

They reached the main archive, and Drucinda leaned against the BookTron desk. "Alright, what's our plan?"

"You should follow up on everything you learned at that manor. I also have information about one of those symbols that can be tracked."

Drucinda nodded. "Right. There are several angles I'd like to try, too. Though…"

"What?" Rochelle asked her.

"Paige, I don't mean to sound cruel, but we should prepare for…"

Paige sliced a hand through the air. "I get it. They may have killed her."

Drucinda arched an eyebrow as she glanced down at her feet. "Yes. They may have, though they may also have set this up."

"Set it up?" Paige asked.

"Yes. This may have all been a set-up to send us on a wild goose chase."

Paige's heart sank. Drucinda was far more savvy than she was. If she thought this may be a set-up, she was probably correct.

"The timing is odd," Rochelle agreed.

"Yes. Just as we find a lead, Paige is called away on urgent business and no one can track the information."

"Although, that could lend credence to the idea that this is real," Rochelle argued. "They want her attention elsewhere instead of on the hunt for her mother."

"Very true. We'll take it one step at a time. Have you messaged them that Paige is available?"

Rochelle tapped on her phone's screen. "I'm sending it now. I wanted to be sure she could stay human-sized for an extended period of time. We'll see what they say."

Paige blew out a long breath. How difficult would this mission be? Was it a trap? A distraction meant to draw her attention from the search for her mother?

She drummed her fingers against her green-tinged forearm as she waited for their response. It came more quickly than she expected.

Rochelle's phone chimed, and she glanced at the screen. "Central is sending the information now. They questioned why she is in Paris. I'm ignoring it and responding that we will dispatch from here."

"How long do you think you'll get away with that?" Drucinda asked as the ticker machine hummed to life behind her, warming up to spit out the mission details.

"As long as it takes. I'm busy. I'm away from my desk and dispatching as best I can. "

"That's dangerous ground, Ro," Drucinda said with a smirk.

"They can fire me if they'd like. My pension's large enough."

Drucinda grinned at her the ticker tape started to spill out of the machine. "A quiet life in the English countryside?"

"Make it the French countryside, and you'll have it right."

Drucinda ripped the tape off as the machine whirred down into sleep mode. "Here we are." The grin quickly disappeared from her face, and she puckered her lips. "Oh my."

"I don't like the sounds of that."

"Me either," Dewey said as he settled on Paige's shoulder.

Drucinda glanced up at them, letting her gaze roam to each of them before she reported it. "The Scepter of Shadows."

Rochelle's eyebrows shot up.

Dewey's jaw dropped open. "What?"

Paige shrugged. "Okay, well, that doesn't sound so bad."

Dewey clapped a paw over his eyes as he shook his head.

"You know, I really thought you were finally learning something, and then you prove me wrong every time. The Scepter of Shadows has the power to control minds, manipulate shadows, and summon creatures from alternate realms. In the wrong hands, it can be catastrophic. Though, I'm shocked it's even out there. Wasn't this supposedly entrusted to the Egyptians in B.C. times?"

Rochelle shrugged. "That's how the story goes. Though apparently, it has resurfaced."

"Or someone wants us to think it has."

"Where does the trail start?"

"Please don't say Egypt," Paige said. "I don't have fond memories of being there."

"You're in luck. First hints of this appearing is in St. Philomena's Cemetery in Scotland. "

"Oh, great," Paige said with a sigh, "I don't have fond memories of Scotland either."

"Where do you have fond memories?" Drucinda asked.

"Uhhh." Paige narrowed her eyes as she rubbed her chin. "One to think of it…since I've worked here, I don't really have any fond memories of any places."

"Hey!" Dewey exclaimed, fluttering into the air. "What's that supposed to mean? We had some pretty good movie nights either at the nest or your place."

"Right," Paige said with a bob of her head, "also, though, we were attacked during one of those by Devon. And I nearly died multiple times in your nest, so…there's that."

"Good point."

Drucinda poked a finger at her. "Too bad. You're going to Scotland. Ro, you've got the plane on standby, right?"

"I do. Though Shadow Harbor brought their plane, too. We should send them on that and keep our plane in case you and Thorn need to follow up on a lead on your end."

"Good point."

"Oh, boy, our new plane!" Dewey clapped his paws together. "Yeah, baby, let's try this out. I hope there's a soaker tub."

"Off you go, enjoy," Drucinda said as she rolled out the chair and plopped into it. "Keep us posted."

"Hey, wait. Shouldn't we maybe take some gear? You know, in case we need something."

"Take what you need. I'm calling the pilots now with the destination, and they will be ready to go as soon as you arrive," Rochelle said as she pressed her phone to her ear and crossed to the stairs leading to the main library.

Dewey focused on Drucinda who already clacked away at the BookTron's keyboard. "Can we take magic bag?"

Without removing her eyes from the screen, she gave him a flat, "No. "

"But…we don't know what we're going to need. It could be a pickaxe, or maybe a magical orb. We may need–"

"Then take those things," she answered, still not looking at them.

"We can't take all of that." Dewey crossed his arms, his horns wiggling as he crinkled his nose. "Plus, we also have to carry Paige's spaghetti in case she shrinks. Although, she's holding up fairly well right now despite her greenness."

"I may need the magic bag if I chase down a lead regarding our other little issue. Hands off the magic bag. You can take whatever else you'd like."

Dewey frowned at her, his tail swishing in the air. "I want–"

"Take the magical generator. That should suffice," Drucinda answered, shooting him a glare over her shoulder.

"You have a magical generator?" Dewey's eyes lit up. "Really? And we can take it."

"Have at it, little man," Drucinda said as she jotted something down on a piece of paper and thrust it in their direction. "There's the location."

Dewey snatched the note, a grin on his face. "Oh boy, thanks!"

"You're welcome. Now, go find that scepter."

"We're on it!" Dewey said. "Come on, Paige."

"Don't forget the–"

"Energy serum, I know, I know," he said as Paige wandered toward the shelves.

She ducked between two and studied the reference numbers before swinging to the right. "Okay, I didn't want to ask this in front of Drucinda, but what's a magical generator?"

"Oh, it's a cool little device that'll pretty much make anything we need on the spot. "

"Seriously?" Paige asked. "That seems better than a magical bag."

"Not really. The magical bag is faster. But the generator is a pretty awesome tool, too. I'm satisfied with the trade-off."

Paige spun in a circle, trying to get her bearings. Her tail swished behind her in frustration. "This place is a maze."

"Not really." Dewey fluttered into the air and sailed down an aisle. "This way. Come on."

Paige hurried after him as he zipped around the shelves. "Let's see…R2134, R2135, R2136. Here we go. R2137. It should be around here."

Paige narrowed her eyes at the numbers on each of the boxes. "What's the last part?"

"Uh, R2137 point 3452," Dewey answered.

"3452. Hmm."

"Not there?"

Paige squinted at a worn sticker. "Maybe this is it. The sticker's worn away but I think it says 3452."

"That must be it. Grab it and pull it out. I need to look at the serial number to see which color Energy serum we need."

"There's more than one?" Paige asked as she wiggled the box top.

"Yeah. There are seven different colors. Do we need yellow? Pink? Purple?" Dewey gasped in a breath. "Is it a super cool model that needs blue?"

"Guess we'll find out if I can ever get this lid off. The stupid thing is stuck."

"Put some muscle into it, Paige."

"I'm trying." Her fingers started to cramp as she dug them into the box top's edge. It finally started to loosen. "Here we go. Almost got it."

A rogue breeze blew a lock of her hair across her face as she pulled the top off. A sudden burst of wind knocked her backward. She winced before she glanced up at a wind tunnel rising in front of her.

"Uh, is this thing supposed to be doing that?" she shouted over the din of the swirling air.

"Oh no!" Dewey shouted as he desperately tried to fly away from the swirling vortex. "You opened a Magical Vortex."

"Huh?" The twisting grey tornado pulled her closer to it.

"A Magical Vortex. Paige! We're doomed!"