Plagium (Keepers Book 1)

Chapter 25 - In Which They Navigate the Labyrinth

Mr. Porter sat in a chair at the far end of the room. His round face was beaming with joy, and he was still sporting his vest and suit pants that Tracey had last seen him in. Tracey was beside herself, yet she stood planted in the doorway. Charlie ventured closer into the room. "Mr. Porter, is it?" he said.

Mr. Porter tipped his head. "It is!" he chortled. "And to whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?"

"Charlie, sir!" he replied, a grin spreading on his face.

"Mr. Porter!" Tracey said, her voice breaking.

"I must've given you quite a scare, my dear," Mr. Porter gravely said.

"Oh...," Tracey said, making her way across the room and giving him a quick hug. "Just a little."

"As much as I'd love to hug you back, I'm afraid that my hands are a little tied up...to this wall." Mr. Porter raised his hands to show it was connected by a series of complicated knots that lead to a metal anchor on the wall. "They tied me enough to walk around the room, but not enough to reach the door," he said, shaking his head. "Very infuriating!"

"I'm good at knots!" Charlie cheerfully said. He immediately started un-knotting, working his way from the wall towards Mr. Porter's hands.

"Thank you, my boy!" he said with a smile. He looked up to Tracey. "I'm sure you've missed me, Tracey."

Tracey nodded.

"Thank you again, Charlie!" Mr. Porter said as Charlie finished un-knotting. He shook his hands out.

Charlie nodded before shyly retreating back to Tracey's side.

"Now," he continued. "Where're the constables? I'm sure they'll need some statements from me," Mr. Porter said as he dusted himself off.

Tracey and Charlie silently stared.

"What...? Why are you two so silent?" he squinted. "If I could see you two any better, I'd say you look like you're hiding something?"

"We're not hiding anything Mr. Porter," Tracey sighed. Out of her pocket, she pulled Mr. Porter's glasses. "Here," she said, handing it to him.

"Why, thank you!" Mr. Porter said as he donned the glasses. He paused upon putting them on. "Are you quite alright, Tracey? You don't look well."

"...no," Tracey sighed.

"Well, take my arm!" he said, concernedly offering an arm out to Tracey. "We'll ask the constables to send for a doctor."

"About that..." Tracey said, taking Mr. Porter's arm and walking with him. "...there are no constables."

"They wouldn't listen to Tracey!" Charlie supplied.

Mr. Porter stopped. "What?" he said in dismay. "Then how in the world did you get in here?"

Tracey frowned but didn't answer.

"I got in here because I was kidnapped," Charlie stated. "Trace and I were try'na look for you somewhere else, and I got caught. They put me in another room here. Tracey found me, though."

"You've put yourselves into danger?" Mr. Porter said in horror. He glared at Tracey. "How many times have I had to tell you to stay out of trouble?"

"We did what was necessary," Tracey plainly replied. "Besides," she added, "we have a records keeper with us."

"And what is a records keeper going to protect you from?" Mr. Porter frowned at Tracey's silence. "How did you get in here?"

Tracey, in the meanwhile, was unaware of Mr. Porter's questions, for she was still struggling with the adverse effects of Jon's device. She swayed in place, noticing that the ringing in her ears had once again returned and that the tilting floors did not still (in fact, they were sloping even more drastically). Tracey briefly closed her eyes.