Jinx On The Divide by Elizabeth Kay Page B

brandee was too quick for him, and he found himself slammed back on the floor with a foot planted firmly in the middle of his central design. He tried wriggling toward the door.
    "You're not going anywhere," said the brandee, placing his other foot on the carpet as well. "At least not without me on board."
    "I take orders only from my mistress," said Nimby.
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    "We'll see about that," said the brandee, and he started to recite a change-of-ownership hex.
    Nimby knew that these hexes were only temporary -- he'd had one put on him before -- but it was going to make the heroic rescue of Betony and Felix (if that was what was needed) impossible. "Where do you want me to take you?" he was compelled to ask, but he felt like a cut-rate doormat for failing in his task before he'd even got going. Some hero.
    "Yergud," said the brandee.
    When they reached Yergud, the brandee rolled up the carpet, admired the view of the twin volcanoes, and went looking for the bookshop. He always visited bookshops, and this one was world famous. He'd once spent fifty years inside his lamp with only Slobbit's Compendium of Cuddyak Diseases and a jinx box, and the jinx box had been as mad as a cycad. Since then he had added to his library at every available opportunity. There were a surprising number of cookbooks, although most of them dealt with fish. The brandee's eye was caught by one called Dining Out on Mythical Beasts. It was beautifully produced, with some delightful illustrations.
    "Bestseller, that one," said the shop assistant.
    "Got anything on science?" asked the brandee. It was always worth a try.
    She shook her head. "No. You're the third person who's asked me today."
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    The brandee raised a questioning eyebrow.
    "Oh, it's just a fad. Our beloved thane has got himself a scientist, and it's caused an upsurge of interest in all the mythical stuff."
    "A scientist? Here?"
    "A human being, supposedly."
    "Where is this scientist?"
    "Squill's headquarters."
    "Where's that?"
    "Used to be a hotel -- the Yergud Valliton. First left at the soothsayer's, and then second right after the hat shop."
    "Thanks," said the brandee. He tucked Nimby more firmly under his arm, went outside, and came face-to-face with a brazzle. The carpet wriggled violently, unrolling itself so that half its pile was visible.
    "Hey," said the brazzle, a young female sporting the latest craze in black-feather spikes. "You've got Betony's carpet."
    The carpet in question started to reply, so the brandee tightened his grip and hissed, "Silence, floor rag."
    "What's happened to Betony?" demanded the brazzle. "What have you done with her? Where is she? How come you've got her carpet?"
    "I bought it secondhand in a general store," lied the brandee, unrolling Nimby and placing him on the ground.
    "Where?" demanded the brazzle.
    "On the road to Vattan, Fish Dump of the Spitfire North."
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    He sat himself down in the center of the carpet, cross-legged, and ordered, "Up!"
    The carpet interpreted the command as literally as possible. He jerked upward, tilted suddenly, and tipped the brandee onto the ground. The lamp rolled a little way downhill, and the brandee jumped to his feet and chased off after it.
    Nimby moved next to Fuzzy and whispered, "Betony and I got separated. She's got Felix with her. The brandee caught me and used a change-of-ownership hex. It'll wear off after another day or so, but in the meantime I can't go back for them."
    Fuzzy nodded. "Where are they?"
    "Somewhere near Vattan. They're looking for Rhino."
    "No chance," said Fuzzy. "I know rhinos are endangered, but Felix won't find any he can reintroduce from over here because they're mythical beasts, and ..."
    "This Rhino is a boy, and a very dangerous one. He's telling the japegrins how to make weapons of mass destruction."
    "I'd better get going, then," said Fuzzy, thinking, Smooth. I'm going to have an adventure.
    "Great balls of wool, you're not up to something like this, Fuzzy," hissed Nimby, for he could see