enjoyment around here? I should be cooking, cleaning, and chasing

down the roaches, not watching old movies all day long.”

“Broom, we don’t have any roaches, ” Wyrdrune said patiendy.

“Small wonder, with me watching movies all the time. No,

Modred’s absolutely right. Take it back. I shouldn’t be so selfish.

Sweep and dust, sweep and dust, that’s my role around here. An old

broom’s got to earn its keep—”

“An old broom’s gonna go flying off the balcony in about another

second if it doesn’t shut the hell up, ” snapped Kira.

“You hear this? That’s the thanks I get for trying to keep a

decent house! Fine, go ahead then, throw me off the balcony! I’ve

already got half my bristles in the grave! I’m just a useless old

broom, only taking up space—”

“Where’s my knife?” said Kira. “I’m gonna whittle myself a

toothpick.”

“Will you two stop? said Wyrdrune. ”Broom, we have to talk

about something important, okay? Why don’t you go and make

some coffee?“

“Coffee, he wants. Four o’clock in the morning and he wants

coffee. What is this, a truck stop?”

“Please, Broom, ” said Modred. “It really is important. I

don’t think we’ll be going back to sleep. Some coffee would be

very much appreciated. “

The broom sniffed. “Well… long as I’m up, I suppose I might as

well make breakfast. No point you should all get acid stomach. I’ll

whip up some French toast with cinnamon and maple syrup. May

as well make myself useful, so nobody should think that all I do

around this place is sit around and watch old movies…”

Wyrdrune rolled his eyes as the broom shuffled back into the

kitchen. “I had to animate that stupid thing. I could have given

Mom a kitten or a puppy to keep her company, but noooo…”

“It serves you right for casting spells beyond your level, ” Merlin

said. “Though I must admit, it was a first-rate piece of conjuring.

How you managed it, I’ll never know.”