Gustav Gloom and the People Taker (9781101620748) by Kristen (ILT) Adam-Troy; Margiotta Castro Page B

any shadow person would think it smelled bad.
    When she was finished climbing down, she stepped out onto solid floor and was able to look around. The area around them was a vast, open, and mostly empty space from which it was possible to look up and see many other hallways and chambers of the Gloom household. Some of the hallways zigzagged, some looped around one another like ribbons, and some went in directions that hurt her eyes to look at.
    Although the mound of shadow garbage was highest where she and Gustav had landed, the gray-black mist remained ankle-deep where she now stood and billowed up in a little puffy cloud when she shifted her slippered foot.
    Gustav arrived next to her and asked, “You ready to go?”
    She gave him a sour look. “You know what? Your house is really stupid.”
    â€œAt least it’s not painted Fluorescent Salmon.”
    She had no immediate answer to that.
    â€œCome on,” he said, reaching for her wrist again. “The People Taker can be anywhere. We have to—”
    She pulled free and crossed her arms. “You can take me through the Too Much Sitting Room, or whatever else comes next, after you tell me why we had to run away from the banquet in such a hurry.”
    â€œWe don’t have time. You might be in terrible danger right now.”
    â€œI might be,” she agreed, her arms still stubbornly crossed, “but I don’t think I’ll be in any
more
danger than I am, and probably a lot less, if I understand what’s going on.”
    Gustav’s grunt was similar to the noise Fernie’s dad made whenever Fernie wanted a reason she couldn’t stay up another half hour to watch the end of a scary movie.
Because I said so
had never worked as an argument in the What household, no matter how often he said it. He said, “Your shadow was able to keep you from moving.”
    â€œSo? Your great-aunt Mellifluous yelled at it and made it let me go.”
    â€œIt still shouldn’t have been able to do that.”
    Fernie looked at Gustav’s face. It was the same serious face she had seen through the fence, the same serious face that had been her constant companion and, she had to admit, good friend for the last couple of hours . . . but there was something new in his eyes that she hadn’t seen before.
    Fear.

CHAPTER TEN
    THE GALLERY OF AWKWARD STATUES
    Gustav Gloom didn’t have the time to stop and explain, but it would take less time than not stopping to explain. So he spoke quickly.
    â€œThat shadow I mentioned before, Lord Obsidian? He’s not satisfied with shadows having a world of their very own and a few houses like this in your world. He wants to conquer the Dark Country, declare himself king, then invade your world and take over. He won’t be satisfied until shadows walk around like people, and all the people of the world are dragged along the ground after them like shadows.”
    Fernie had to admit that didn’t sound like much fun at all. At the very least, it would be hard to stay clean. “But how was any of that made worse by what happened upstairs?”
    â€œBefore now, he would have wanted the People Taker to get you just because he wants prisoners and slaves. But once your shadow showed that she was able to keep you from moving, you became something he could
learn from
, something that can teach him what he needs to know in order to get what he wants. We have to get you out of this house and back home before he can find you.”
    Fernie hugged herself for warmth even though the air around them was neither warm nor cold. “You’ll keep looking for Harrington?”
    Gustav looked offended. “I wouldn’t dream of not continuing to look for Harrington.”
    Fernie did something she didn’t expect to do: She wrapped him in a tight hug.
    Gustav took to being hugged about as well as a tree would, except that a tree would not have given the impression that it