Tangled

Chapter 267

Unshift 267

Unshift 267

267 Lisa: Waking to War

A tiny hand shakes me awake with incongruous force, something I'd attribute to King Kong and not the gnomes who've been sheltering me and teaching me about magitech since my escape.

Groaning. I pull my blanket over my head. I'm too tired. "Go away

"Wake, wake, lazy girl! The war has come!"

The wizened old housekeeper-it has to be her, because no one else treats me like an unruly pig -yanks my covers off and slaps at my legs. "Hurry up, or die here alone!"

War?

I

Die?

My brain isn't functioning yet, but I stumble out of bed as she throws some clothes at me. "Dress! Hurry! Boots too!" Those are tossed at my feet, bruising my pinky toe in a way that has me hissing and hopping on one foot. "No time, you lazy girl! Get moving!"

Uncertain of what's going on but recognizing that her anxiety level is sky high, I throw on a clean shirt and jeans that they must have sourced from humans. Too bad they didn't bring a bra, too.

But at least there's socks.

Shoving my feet into them, the gnarled woman shoves at me until I fall onto my ass on the bed. "Put this on," she snaps, throwing a coat at me.

"Okay, okay. Hold on. You haven't even explained what's happening!"

"War!" she snaps. "Hurry!"

Despite her gruff demeanor, she kneels to shove my boots on as I shrug on the coat, two sizes too big and I double check what I'm feeling strapped in some hidden pockets-armed. With knives. In fact, they seem to fit the term dagger more than knife.

"Let's go. Hurry, hurry. The Grand Sage is waiting"

the old man who's taken me under his wing and owns this place. He's some sort of high-falutin' to-do in the gnome community. They don't

I'm not

think that's a real title, but

"Mistress Keeper, I don't-"

your face," she hisses. "This isn't the time for

go."

bite my tongue, swallowing the questions bubbling up inside me. Even I'm

14

Waking to

out pain to keep me in line. So I follow her silently through the dark building, my feet now

once-confusing paths.

perusing a map for hours

any sort of comfort at the moment, as I'm dragged

deafening boom shakes the entire structure. The floor bucks beneath my feet, and I stumble, my heart leaping into my throat. Elverly's iron grip closes around my arm, yanking me upright with surprising

barks, her gravelly

having to put in a surprising amount of effort to keep

are shouts and screams, the kind that chill your blood

War.

new meaning. I'd thought she meant some sort of far-off conflict, a theoretical threat

Not a war here.

Not a war now.

situation slams into me as we careen down a flight of stairs. The basement. We're heading to

a word, he ushers us toward what he calls the "safe room. The door swings open, revealing a space

he urges, his usual calm demeanor cracking under the

us. The room comes alive, whirring and clicking. Panels shift, mechanisms engage, and the space around us shrinks. It's like being inside a giant, mechanical Rubik's cube as

of the question, and moving? Forget about it. I'm wedged between Elverly

all breathe into this tiny space, sharing the mingled scents of oil, metal, and

since my escape. I don't

I whisper, unable to keep silent any

24

C

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