by Nikki Frank
“I’m sorry.” I squirmed, imagining his pain. “Is there anything I can do?”
“Kiss it and make it better?” Iya teased through clenched teeth.
A blush ran wild, not only across my face but all the way to my toes. “Thank goodness your humor is recovering,” I said, bending forward to place a kiss on his shoulder.
Iya leaned toward me with a bit of a purr. “That definitely helped. Can I get another?”
My full blush flared up again. I went to kiss again, and Iya shifted, so I got the nape of his neck. My lips stayed at his neck as I breathed him in. He smelled ever so faintly of his cinnamon magic. And he smelled male in the best possible way.
My heart thudded, and I pulled back. “You should be good.”
Iya shook his head. “More.” He shifted so that his face got very close to mine. “Please?”
My eyes closed on their own, and I leaned until my lips barely brushed his. My new feelings charged through my body, leaving electric tingles behind. He took my face in his hands and kissed me. My arms coiled around him, stopping abruptly at his back.
“Iya? Where’s the wound?”
“Gone. I healed it already.” He kissed me again. “I can multitask, you know.”
“We should get going then. We have a whole new plan to come up with. We failed half the mission. The prince is out there doing God knows what. Now how are we going to get the names of other goblins with knowledge of the spell?”
Chapter 20
I’d started absently pacing the chamber, and Bazyli hurried to fall in step with me. “I can help, Mistress Olivia.”
“You know where to search for the prince?”
Bazyli turned extremely red, given the dark gray of his skin. “While you two were . . . occupied, I explored to distract. Felt awkward. Anyway,” he cleared his throat, “I found this.”
He handed me a very old scroll. I shuddered as my hand closed around it. The paper looked and felt like human skin. Trying to ignore this, I unrolled it.
Another scroll slipped to the floor, and Iya picked it up. “Bazyli, you found a copy of the spell.”
“And a list of the goblins who know it,” I added in wonder.
Iya peered over my shoulder in an instant. “An oath scroll. Signed in blood.”
“A what?” I asked.
Iya’s eyes darted over the scroll. “This one is pretty simple, less complex than the blood contract we drew up for Feran. But it works on a similar principle. They aren’t able to speak the contents of the oath without King Valkyv’s express permission.”
He chuckled. “He was one clever, controlling old bastard, I’ll give him that. He’s tied them up even after his death. Now they can never speak the spell.”
“So, we don’t have to find them?” I asked hopefully.
“No. They can still use the spell themselves. But at least the knowledge won’t spread while we round them up.” His face beamed. “We have our leverage.”
Bazyli twiddled his fingers, looking at the floor. “Did you really mean you would protect me? These are powerful goblins. Between helping you in and finding this information for you . . .” He gave a little sob.
Iya put a hand on his shoulder. “You’ve been more help than I can explain to you. You have my word—we will protect you.”
“Take me with you? When we get to the library, please don’t send me back.”
Iya gave an ironic laugh. “Why not? Let’s add one more to our motley crew.”
Bazyli perked up. “The library is this way.” He opened the rock to our left and pointed us into the new tunnel.
~ ~ ~
We kept a hard pace, and I didn’t dare ask to stop for lunch. Or was it really lunch? I’d become so turned around being underground. My stomach simply told me we were way past time to eat. And I needed to sleep again but wasn’t going to ask for that either. Sleep wouldn’t have come anyway. Katriane and Naruhi were out there with a full-blown goblin search underway.
Time began to drag again. I stumbled over my own feet. Once we found the others, we could have a real night’s sleep, especially with a shi and a dragon to guard us. Using these thoughts, I pushed myself onward.
“Are we almost there?” I asked.
“Yes,” Bazyli’s answer came through a huge yawn.
Less than five minutes later, Bazyli opened a hole to the surface, and we flopped out onto the grass. I sucked in deep breaths of the warm, late-evening air. The trees and grass smelled so awesome. I could go the rest of my life without smelling rock again.
“Hmm . . .” Iya stood himself up. “Evening. So we’ve been gone three and a half days.”
“And only slept once.” I rubbed my cheek against the grass, my eyes closing on their own.
“Sorry, sweetheart.” Iya pulled me to my feet. “We’ve got companions to reunite with, and you’ll be more comfortable on one of the couches inside anyway.”
“Padding . . .” I mumbled and followed along after him.
Iya ran a hand across the copper square of the library door. It shimmered, and we stepped through to the inside. Instantly, the sleepy feeling left me, replaced by high alert. The library had been ransacked. Chairs and tables overturned, padding from cushions strewn about, and everywhere the flutter of loose paper from the victimized books.
Iya sprinted in the direction of the hidden passage. I stayed on his heels. The mirror which had hidden the entrance had been tossed to the side and shattered. The reading room would surely be empty, but we checked anyway. It, too, had been raided.
Raw panic ran through me. Katriane. She deserved so much better, yet I’d just left her to be swallowed by the danger I seemed to drag around. Spinning around, I raced back through the library to the outside. The scent of our joint magic couldn’t have disappeared yet.
The trail led off into Setmyth and was already growing faint. Shit. Could I get to her in time? I followed the scent, my state of agitation increasing when I caught the faint murmurings of many voices. Wind and branches whipped against my face as I sprinted that direction. Something in my gut told me I had to get to Katriane.
A scream came from a small clearing lit with torchlight and milling with goblins. Katriane’s cries pierced me. I raised my hand to start burning, but Iya caught it.
“Too many,” he whispered and held his hand in front of my face. On his palm sat the small lump of demon ore Bazyli had given him. “Use your shoes to get Katriane out of here. I’ll take care of the goblins.”
I nodded and tensed to run. Iya caught me around the waist and lifted me up. “This is your first flying lesson. Hope you can land.”
With a push from his great wings, he shoved me into the air and toward the center of the goblin mass. What I saw from above made me sick and then brought fiery rage. Naruhi lay on the ground, shackled and bleeding from lances pointed at her. Katriane hung like a pig on a roasting spit over a fire.
I curled and braced myself for impact. The ground forced the air from my lungs, but I couldn’t stop even for a moment. Luckily, I’d landed near Naruhi. A quick slice of my dagger and her bindings were cut. Her growling shook the trees, and the goblins, who had paused in surprise at my arrival, warily waved their lances in our direction. Katriane gave a gasping sob. I had her down from the spit a moment later.
“Get out of here,” I screamed at Naruhi.
I caught Katriane around the waist and dug my shoes in. Goblins closed in around us as Naruhi vanished.
We’re out of here. I thought at Iya. Don’t get hurt.
Pushing with my Hermes shoes, I bulldozed through the clustered goblins, using surprise and speed to knock them out of the way. Free of the mass, we blurred past Iya into Setmyth. I’d never used my shoes while riding on so much anger and adrenaline.
An explosion behin
d me rocked the earth. Skidding to a stop, I turned to watch the reaction of the demon ore. I hadn’t expected to see much having gone so far, but an expansive crater spread out where forest had been. Iya flew above the center, so far away that his features weren’t visible.
“So that’s what happens when an akuma gets ahold of demon ore . . .” Bazyli pulled himself out of the ground beside me. “No wonder the goblins hid its existence.”
I ignored him, focusing on Katriane. Tears streamed down my face. “Hang in there. Iya will fix you.”
“I have some burns. But I’ll be all right.” Her voice revealed more pain than her words.
A closer look exposed blisters on her cheeks and hands. Her clothing bore singe marks and holes.
“Oh, Katriane.” My tears came harder. “I’m so sorry. I left, and you got hurt.”
Iya gave my shoulder a squeeze holding his other hand out to Katriane. “I’m here, Livy.” Iya soothed. “I’ll have her patched up in no time.”
A warm nose pressed against my cheek, followed by a scratchy tongue, drying my face. “Don’t blame yourself, mistress.” Seinaruhi’s voice hung heavy with sadness. “I’m the one at fault. My job is to protect you and your charges, and I wasn’t strong enough.”
I wrapped my arms around her silken neck. “There were too many of them. It’s not your fault.”
“The goblin regiment must have been waiting right at the border,” Naruhi explained to Iya. “They claimed to be taking all suspicious persons in connection with the king’s death. But obviously that was just an excuse to cross the borders.” She paused. “Wait. How did you get back so fast?”
Iya pointed at Bazyli, who gave her a frightened wave.
“You got a guide? A goblin?” She let out a growl as she said this.
“He’s a Kobold,” Iya answered. “I’ll explain later. Finish telling me about the goblins.”
“They got Katriane, and we chased them outside when the group split. Feran took off after the larger group, and we haven’t seen him since. The others must have had backup because they ambushed me from behind . . . I’m just glad you made it back when you did. Never did I think I’d end up as someone’s dinner. It’s not a fate shi would normally consider.”
Iya let out a rumble and turned to me. “I wonder . . . you weren’t able to draw your power from Katriane for a while. Is Feran’s blood contract still functioning? If it’s gone or weak, he could have used the opportunity to—”
“No,” I interrupted, mopping up the tears still leaking down my face. “No way. You really think he’d have left them alone and not eaten them?”
“Unless the blood contract had only weakened, and he figured the goblins could do his dirty work for him.”
“Iya. Why do you mistrust him? He happily came to work for us.”
“Livy.” He was completely exasperated. “He’s a dragon. They’re tricky and dangerous. How can you trust him so readily?”
“The same way I learned to trust a demon. I’ve got several dragons who have shown me biases against dragons aren’t all true. And a demon who’s doing the same. You ought to have more faith.”
He grumbled and crossed his arms. I’d made my point, but he clearly wasn’t ready to concede.
“Naruhi, Katriane, this is Bazyli,” I said. “He’ll be joining us from here on out. We owe him a great deal, and he’s under our protection. I want to—” The world spun suddenly, and I staggered sideways.
“The first thing we need to do is rest,” Iya said, as he caught me. “Anyone who wants to sleep is going inside the library. I doubt any more goblins are lurking, but you never know, so I suggest everyone come. Livy? Is something else wrong?”
My lip quivered as I stared up at him and shook my head.
He let out a little huff. “Then get ahold of yourself. We still have to decide on a new plan now that we no longer have the prince to bargain with.”
I gave a shuddering sigh, closed my eyes, and tried to regain my composure. “I’m sorry. I think I’m just tired. Let’s get to the library and sleep. I’ll be better then.”
Iya nodded and turned to go. I stumbled behind him. A large head with red-gold fur steadied me.
“I’ll carry you, mistress.” Naruhi offered a large paw to assist me in climbing up.
~ ~ ~
Soft scratching entered my brain, dragging up irritation because I desperately wanted sleep. A moment later growling joined the scratching. Then snarling. Iya and I jerked upright at the same time.
“Mistress Olivia?” A deep voice rumbled.
I rubbed at my head. “Velor?”
“It’s Feran.”
Iya hissed, so I used his chest to push myself out of bed and head in Feran’s direction.
“Where have you been? You worried me. Goblins overwhelmed Naruhi. If you went after a bigger party, they could have posed a danger even to you.”
He gave a pleased sort of purr. “I hunted down all the goblins for you. Sorry it took so long. But knowing their despicable plans, I took the liberty of crossing their borders to finish off those who felt so free as to cross ours.”
He shuffled his hind feet. “I brought you a little present, Mistress.”
“Something for me?” I always felt awkward receiving gifts.
“For your kindness.” He wound the back half of his body in through the doorway, dragging something along.
“Prince Tezky,” Iya and I yelled in unison.
Feran gave us a sinister grin. “I caught the little pile of blood-bat shit sneaking toward our borders. Probably trying to rendezvous with the party of guards. I brought him here since you indicated he’s valuable to your plan.”
Iya sat with his mouth hanging open, but I jumped off the bed and hugged Feran’s snout. “I can’t thank you enough.”
Feran gave a strange snort, and the front of my shirt incinerated. “I’m so sorry, Mistress. You surprised me.” He fell silent for a moment then touched the tip of his snout to my forehead. “I’m happy to do whatever you ask of me. It’s an honor serving you.”
Iya, over his shock and on his feet, pulled Prince Tezky off the floor. I looked the goblin over. The prince stood a couple inches taller than me and a few inches shorter than Iya with pale, powder blue skin and dark grey hair. His pointed ears and teeth showed as he hissed at Iya. Oddly, his clothes were human. He wore blue jeans and a black T-shirt.
Iya sat him on the edge of the couch—hard. His hands and feet were presumably bound by dragon magic. Clearly, Tezky wasn’t going anywhere.
“Do you have any idea why we wanted to capture you?” Iya asked him.
“I don’t know,” Tezky spat back. “Ransom? A power play?”
“I don’t need money or power from you,” Iya snapped. “Let’s start again. My name is Iya, akuma lord of Hakushi. My father and one of the other akuma lords caught wind of your father’s delusions of goblin superiority. Your father developed and was in the process of implementing the elimination of magic-kind and a goblin takeover of the entire Borderlands.”
“Lies,” Tezky hissed. “You went on an unauthorized trip to Earth for your own personal gain. My father simply issued an order for your removal since you disregarded our laws. Don’t blame him because you don’t like the fallout of your actions.”
“He went to Earth for me,” I told Tezky.
He narrowed his eyes. “And who are you? You should be on Earth supplying my kind, imp.”
I crossed my arms and glared at him. “I’m the demon lord Olivia. Iya is a healer. Our trip to Earth was a last-ditch effort to stabilize my power. We succeeded, and I’m back as a fully functioning demon lord. Some of your little minions are in pieces on display outside my palace if you’d like to confirm. We’d have appealed to your father properly when we returned, but he’d already
set his plan in motion, using our absence as an excuse.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Tezky growled. “What plans? He only opened the borders. If you weren’t going to submit to Borderland laws, he saw no need for us to, either.”
“An excuse.” Iya shoved the scrolls in his face. “The spell and the oath signed in blood by your own top officials. He planned to wipe out everyone who wasn’t a goblin. You are coming with us. You and evidence of your father’s plans will be brought before the rest of the demon lords, and we’ll come up with a fitting agreement. If you cooperate, you’ll be released to take your throne and rule.”
“How did you know I’d be ruling?”
I gave Iya a sideways glance, and he nodded. “Because I’m the one who killed your father. You will produce the goblins on this list for memory modification. Failure to do so will lead to more eliminations. Possibly even yours. But we didn’t put in all this effort into sparing goblin civilians just to turn around and start a war. We want to negotiate. We heard you have a more modern and level view than your father. We’re counting on you leading your nation in a way that’s harmonious with the rest of magic-kind.”
He scowled at me. “I hear you have some very unorthodox notions of ruling.”
“And I have a very safe and prosperous district. You don’t have to run yours as I run mine. But you do have to respect life other than goblins.”
He huffed and struggled against his bonds. “When can I go free?”
“When I’m sure you’re not a flight risk,” Iya scolded. “We’re still in need of a few more hours’ sleep. Feran, you can keep him bound?”
“As long as you wish.”
“One last detail.” Iya held his hand out over Tezky for a moment, scanning. “No need to have goblins sneaking up on us in the middle of the night. I think we’re good. I don’t sense any tracking spells.”
The dragon carefully picked Tezky up in a claw and curled around him. I’d slept curled with my dragons numerous times. They never held me as tight as Feran held the prince. Feran’s grip kept Tezky captive in addition to his bindings. He’d never escape the dragon.
