Jinx On The Divide by Elizabeth Kay Page A

brandee had disappeared. "We can't use our wish now," he said. "Why did the brandee
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    have to kidnap Rhino, of all people? Anyone else would have wanted to go back home."

"What you have to ask yourself," said Betony, "is why Rhino doesn't want to go home. He must have a pretty horrid life back in your world. If you could make it better for him, he might want to go back."
    Felix had no inclination whatsoever to make things better for Rhino, even if it were possible. "He made a lot of other people's lives pretty horrid, too," he pointed out. "And he'll do the same here." He grinned suddenly. "I know where he is, though."
    "How?"
    Felix pointed to the painting.
    A beaming smile arrived on Betony's face. "You are clever," she said. "All we have to do now is get there."
    A horrible thought crossed Felix's mind. "How?"
    "By magic carp ..." Betony's voice trailed off. "Nimby," she whispered. "We left Nimby behind in the Pink Harpoon when we entered the lamp."
    Nimby had waited patiently for Felix and Betony's return, but as the fire grew lower and the customers went their separate ways, he had begun to get worried. It was all very well pretending to be a brainless floor covering, but he couldn't stay rolled up in the corner forever. Someone would notice. He heard the landlord say good night to his last customer and start to clean up. Nimby could just barely see him with
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    his light receptors. He watched him go over to the table where Felix and Betony had been sitting, look underneath it, pick up the lamp, hold it up to a candle, and examine it. Then he put on his coat and went out.
    Nimby unrolled himself and tried to follow. But carpets aren't very good at lifting latches and unlocking doors, and it took him a while to find an open window he could squeeze through, by which time the landlord had disappeared. It was pitch-dark outside, and Nimby knew he wouldn't be able to fly very far. He needed to twisty-strip sunlight for energy, like a plant photosynthesizing, so he decided to find some shelter and lie low until dawn.
    It was harder than he'd anticipated. All the outbuildings that looked promising were a little too security-conscious. He had to fly quite a way out of Vattan until he reached the next village, which was farther than he really wanted. It seemed to consist of just a general store, a fishmonger's, two houses, and a small farm. Eventually, he found a door that was slightly ajar and squeezed himself through, catching one of his threads on the architrave. He tried to jerk it free, but it broke off and he let out a little yelp of pain. Fortunately, the room was deserted -- it was a storeroom. Nimby just lay there on the floor for a while, exhausted. Finally, his light sensors adjusted to the gloom, and he looked around. Strings of onions were hanging from the ceiling, and sacks of grain were stacked against one wall. There were barrels of salted fish, and casks of fertle juice, and bundles of herbs -- and
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    that was when a sudden gust of wind banged the door shut behind him. One cursory inspection of the latch showed him that he wouldn't be able to get out of this one. He was stuck, until somebody needed some onions. He rolled himself up beneath the skylight, so that he would catch the first rays of sunshine, and went to sleep.
    It was a long time before anyone came.
    The sound of running footsteps alerted him; then the door banged open, and a shaft of light arrowed across the floor. He caught a glimpse of a tall, darkly robed figure, carrying something under his arm. Then the door closed again, and there was the sound of heavy breathing.
    After a moment or two, there were more footsteps outside, but these ran straight past. Nimby's light sensors adjusted themselves to the shadows once more, and he found himself looking directly at the brandee. The brandee grinned and held up the red woolen thread that Nimby had left on the door frame like a calling card.
    Nimby tried to make a bolt for the ceiling -- but the