Chapter 15
Infiltration and Illusions
Antoinette, perhaps with unexpected help, attempts to sneak into the enchantress's agency. She encounters magical security and illusions designed to deter intruders, leading to comical mishaps.
Antoinette adjusted the ridiculously large, novelty spectacles perched precariously on her nose, the plastic frames doing little to disguise her distinctly un-spy-like demeanor. Beside her, an unlikely accomplice, a gnome with a penchant for dramatic sighs and a surprisingly strong grip on a miniature grappling hook, gave a curt nod. Bartholomew, as he’d introduced himself with a flourish that suggested he’d practiced it in a mirror, was Antoinette’s Mother’s latest “knitting project,” a fact that still made Antoinette’s brain perform a series of elaborate somersaults.
“Are you quite sure about this, Bartholomew?” Antoinette whispered, her voice a reedy squeak that did nothing to inspire confidence. “My mother said you were… a guardian