I blink at him. “What island?”
Dante leans forward, a satisfied smile on his face. “Any island you want.”
Covering a yawn, I shake my head. Next to me, Avery does the same.
Dante pulls a pocket watch out of his jacket—Sebastian’s watch. The one Ivan stole. “If my calculations are correct, you have about thirty seconds.”
“Until what?” Avery demands, his voice tired but slightly more coherent than I feel.
“Until the sleeping concoction takes full effect.” He leans forward, giving us a grim smile. “For future reference, it’s best not to sit down to tea with an alchemist you do not trust.”
***
“He duped us,” I say to Avery as I dangle my legs over the side of our rather ornate cage. I’m not sure what kind of birds the ancient people of Kalae used to house in here, but they must have been huge.
“Hmmm?” Avery’s made himself comfortable next to me, with his back against the bars and his legs extended in front of him. Our prison sways gently, which would surely make me ill if I weren’t still wearing the anti-nausea charm I purchased on my first sea voyage.
“I’ve had a lot of time to think about it,” I continue. “Dante tricked us by telling us how amazing we are. That should have been our first tip because honestly, we’re not all that great.”
“Speak for yourself,” Avery says with a rotten grin.
I turn to him. “Do you think Flink is all right?”
There’s a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes that does nothing for my confidence, but he nods. “It will be fine.”
The captain thinks he’s clever with his words, but it does not escape my notice that he says “it” and not “Flink.” He means the situation—the situation that I will surely get over even if my dragon does not make it. My throat tightens, and I look away.
We’re not high off the ground, maybe eight feet, and situated in a corner of the cavernous room. Judging from the singed metal bars, I have a suspicion that we’re in a greater phoenix cage, which would have been quite a sight to behold.
Dante’s men mill around on the other side of the room, looking rather bored. Ivan hasn’t made an appearance again. Apparently, he’s hiding in the depths of the tunnels, not brave enough to show his face even though we’re caged. No one comes or goes, and time crawls on.
I have no idea what Dante plans to do with us, but I almost wish he’d hurry and get it over with.
With nothing else to do, I stare out at the room, my hands on the bars on either side of my face. Gregory should be coming for us soon—hopefully, with a good dose of that illegal fire magic he’s so skilled at.
Disinterested, I watch the men as they while away the hours. I’m half asleep when a weird shuffling noise fills the cavern. It sounds as if it’s coming from the entrance tunnel.
Everyone stops what they’re doing and glances at each other, waiting for someone to explain what the mystery noise is.
I sit up straighter, dread filling my belly. “Avery…we left the door unlocked.”
The captain’s eyes are on the doorway. The noise grows, as do the strange grunts and low mutterings that accompany it. “Why does that sound like a bunch of—”
“Goblins,” I screech as the beasts come pouring into the hall, half running, half crawling. The creatures have bulbous heads, wrinkled, malformed bodies that are covered in sporadic patches of hair, and they move like apes. They communicate in some sort of language, but all I hear is groans and grunts and squeals.
The guards yell and rush forward, meeting their newest uninvited guests. I gape at the creatures, sorely missing my dagger. A tiny blade is better than no blade at all.
Horrified and completely helpless, we watch as the battle begins. Dante’s few guards are vastly outnumbered, and though they slay several of the creatures, they are soon overpowered. The goblins swarm around the men, picking them up and carrying them in great groups, going deeper into the tunnels.
My only consolation is that they won’t eat them in front of us. As nightmarish as the goblins might be, they aren’t completely uncivilized—they prefer to boil their humans before they consume them.
Realizing that we’re hanging in the corner, like a tasty tidbit offering, a group of five lumbers to us, their unnatural yellow eyes bright with hungry greed. They talk amongst themselves—rather, they make noises—and then they start poking the cage with the sticks they brought in with them.
“Watch it!” I yell down, staring at one who just smacked me in the foot. “I’ve killed more than my share of your nasty type, and I have my sites on you.”
Avery sits down, letting them do their worst, not looking as concerned as I feel he should be. “They’ll get bored in a few minutes.”
“You’re just going to sit there?”
“What do you want me to do?”
He has a point. Finally, I join him, careful to keep my arms and legs tucked in. After about fifteen minutes, they grow tired and wander after the others.
A heavy silence descends over the cavern.
“All right.” Avery sits up and digs his lockpick set from his pocket once more. Now that the coast is clear, he’ll be able to use it. “Let’s get out of here.”
It doesn’t take him long to unlock the cage, but I stare at the ground, uncertain. I don’t love heights, and though we’re not really all that high up, my legs begin to shake at the thought of leaping. “You go first.”
Avery flashes me an amused look, but he doesn’t tease me. With ease, he flips onto his stomach and lowers himself, finally letting himself drop when his boots hover only a few feet off the ground. The movement makes the cage sway back and forth, and I grasp hold of the bars to keep my footing.
“Your turn,” he says, obviously quite proud of himself and his graceful display.
I bite the inside of my cheek. “That’s all right. I think I’ll just live here.”
“Come on. I’ve got you.”
I study the ground again and then meet his eyes. The cage continues to rock, making me dizzy. “Nope. I’m good.”
“Lucia.” The one word says everything—that he’ll catch me, that I shouldn’t be afraid, that the goblins could come back at any moment.
It’s an irrational fear. I know that—I really do. But that doesn’t make it any easier.
“Drop down, just like I did, and I’ll grab hold of you.”
Okay. All right. Yes.
It’s sad that I’ve been in the belly of a great amphibious beast in the wildlands of Grenalda, and I wasn’t anywhere near this scared.
Slowly, taking my dear sweet time even though we don’t have it to take, I lower myself to my rump and dangle my legs over the edge. “I’m just going to…leap off.”
The captain nods. “All right.”
“And you’re going to catch me.”
“Yes, I am.”
I take another deep breath, and then I hear a noise coming from the entrance tunnels. There are more goblins coming, and Avery’s on the ground, vulnerable. His sword is on the table across the hall—I can see it from here. But he’ll never be able to reach it in time.
“Lucia, sometimes we have to do things, even if we’re scared. I need you to be brave.”
The ground seems like it’s farther away every time I look at it. “Easy for you to say. You’re not scared of anything.”
The noise grows louder, and I stare at the entry, frozen like a terrified rabbit. Avery’s going to be boiled alive if I don’t hurry up.
“Look at me, Lucia,” Avery says, his voice soft. I meet his eyes, and he hesitates, almost as if he’s deliberating whether or not he should speak what’s on his mind. “I fear some things.”
“Really? What?” I say, knowing he’s just trying to get me down.
He straightens his shoulders, stands a little taller. “You.”
“Me?” I laugh, but it comes out as a terrified, flighty sound.
“Of admitting something to you.” He pins me with his eye
s, ignoring the sound of the goblins as they grow quite near to the tunnel entrance. “If I face my fear, will you leap down?”
My heart’s in my throat. What’s he saying? Numbly, I nod. Only moments pass, but it seems as if time stills.
“I love you, Lucia.” The words are almost a whisper, but then he grows more confident, and his voice rises. “Desperately and completely. Even if you don’t love me—even if you won’t admit it if you do.”
I stare at him, the height and the leap ahead of me forgotten.
“Now it’s your turn.” He looks like he’s the one who just leaped from the cage. “Lucia, jump.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
No Dragon Left Behind
Before I can change my mind, I leap. And then I’m in Avery’s arms, safe—but only for the moment. Together, we race across the hall toward our weapons, though we both know we’ll never make it in time. Still, we must try.
The noise grows louder. Avery pulls me behind him, ready to take the new wave of goblins head on, even unarmed.
But it’s not goblins who come crashing through the doorway as loud as a group of turkeys in the brush.
“About time you show up,” I snarl at Sebastian and the rest of our group, doubling over in relief. Gregory and Gerard are with him, but there’s a fourth member of their party as well. I narrow my eyes at the group, particularly at the auburn-haired girl who’s wearing trousers and brandishing a flimsy rapier. At least she has her hair up. I level my gaze on Sebastian. “You brought Adeline! She’s going to be eaten by the goblins!”
“G-goblins,” Adeline stutters, not looking quite as brave as she did a moment ago. “Here?”
“She demanded she come with us,” Sebastian says, obviously thinking it’s ludicrous as well. “What goblins?”
“They broke into the tunnels,” Avery says, carefully omitting the part where we basically left the back door open for them. “There are at least a hundred of them—maybe more.”
“Why are we standing around? Let’s leave before they come back.”
“They kidnapped all of Dante’s men about thirty minutes ago,” Avery says.
My business partner, a man who hates to get his hands dirty, grits his teeth, holding back a curse or two. “There’s nothing the six of us can do against a horde of goblins. We need to alert the king.”
I stand rooted to the ground, not about to leave. “They have Flink.”
Sebastian stares at me, looking as if he’s about ready to toss me over his shoulder. “Lucia…”
The men are silent for a moment, and I take the opportunity to retrieve Avery’s sword and my dagger. When I return to the group, I look at the mage. “Are you with us?”
“Captain?” Gregory asks. “It’s your decision.”
We turn to Avery, waiting to see what he says. “Sebastian, take Adeline back to the castle and inform Harold of the situation.”
Sebastian’s first instinct is to argue with Avery, but he finally nods.
“The rest of you will come with me. Gregory, do you have a spell to stun the goblins when we find them?”
The mage flashes us a smile, and then he quickly schools it. “I think I can manage something.”
After recent events, his words are chilling. As if sensing what I’m thinking, Gregory chuckles under his breath.
“Once we find the group, Gerard and Gregory will escort them out. Lucia and I will find Flink, and then we’ll meet Gregory at the entrance of the tunnels.”
Everyone nods. The only one who looks uncertain of the plan is Sebastian. “What if Lucia…” He clears his throat, knowing I’m not going to like the next part. “What if she comes with us?”
“Sebastian,” I hiss.
Avery doesn’t shoot down the idea right away, and I glare at him. He takes me by the shoulders. “I’ll find Flink—I’ll bring him back to you.”
“I’m not going.”
“No one would think less of you,” he says quietly, assuring me it’s all right. What he really means is he wouldn’t think less of me. But I already know that.
“I’m going with you.”
He studies me for several heartbeats, and then he nods. “All right. It’s your choice.”
Before he leaves, Sebastian yanks me against his chest and whispers near my ear, “Do not get yourself killed, do you understand? Absolutely no heroics.”
I flash him a smile. “When am I anything less than careful?”
A noise from deeper in the tunnel spooks Adeline, and she jumps back, ready to dart.
“Get her out of here,” I tell him.
Sebastian nods and takes Adeline by the arm. He leaves without looking back, probably because if he does, he’ll change his mind and try to take me with him.
“Are we ready?” Avery asks, rolling his head from side to side, stretching his neck.
Gregory almost looks eager, and Gerard…well, he simply looks pretty, but I’m hoping he can hold his own in a fight.
We make our way through the room that Dante entertained Avery and me in when I passed out at the masquerade. Everything is still and eerie. There’s a partially-played game of chess on the table. Half the pieces are on their sides. A goblet of wine rests on a bench near the doorway, forgotten.
There’s a female scream from deep in the tunnels, and I shiver. I almost forgot about Serena. Does Dante have her too? Are they holding her—will she be an easy target for the goblins?
None of us speaks as we move through the ancient maze. Any other time, I’d stop and marvel at the carvings and ornate architecture—a wonder from another century, but I barely notice it now. We wind and twist, and I hope one of us has a good memory, because I’m afraid I’m hopelessly turned around.
Avery leads, sword at the ready. The blade glows in the light, almost as if it’s as eager for a fight as our mage. I follow directly behind Avery. Gerard is behind me, and Gregory stands at the rear, watching our backs. We enter another room, but this time, we’re not alone.
A pair of goblins screech when they spot us, and they leap across the room in several long bounds. Avery rushes forward, finishing off the first almost before we even begin. I duck as the second makes a swipe for me, spin on my heel, and then plunge my blade into the creature, all while reminding myself that if caught, he’d gladly eat me.
Gregory finishes the beast with a quick burst of fire, and the room goes silent.
Avery doesn’t even look winded. He glances at me. “You good?”
I nod. It’s not the first time I’ve gone up against the monsters, but it’s never a picnic.
We run into several more goblins, some alone, some in groups as large as ten. The thicker they get, the more I remind myself we must be drawing near the prisoners. A gash in my cheek stings. I’m not even sure when I got it, but I wipe away the blood and cringe at my hand.
Avery has a bite wound on his arm that will need to be tended, and Gerard’s walking like he got hit in the side. The only one who’s come this far unscathed is our mage, and he’s not even out of breath. Without him, I’m certain we’d be dead by now. There are just too many of them.
“Do you hear that?” I whisper to Avery, touching his back to alert him to stop. The sound of someone softly crying filters down the halls. “It’s Serena’s assistant.”
We change course, go back to the last hall and then take another one to the left. I peek my head around a corner to see what we’re up against. We’ve reached another large room. This one isn’t as huge as the cavernous ballroom, but it’s still plenty large enough for sixty goblins to congregate in. It appears to be a kitchen and cellar of sorts, and there are wine and ale barrels aplenty. The goblins have already tapped into them, and they lounge about the floor, drinking straight from the barrels, baring their teeth and fighting whenever another tries to push them out of the way. It’s chaos…but it’s controlled in its own way.
In the corner, a fire already crackles in the huge hearth. Five goblins drag a massive cast iron cauldron across the floo
r, running into their lounging comrades as they go.
To our immediate left is another room, this one smaller—a pantry if you will, because the human dinner course is ready and waiting. Several lazy guards stand watch, but their eager eyes are on the pot and not on their hostages
“Gregory,” Avery whispers. “Take care of them—be as quiet as you can.”
Our mage nods. He holds up his hand and concentrates on his targets. The goblins immediately press their hands to their overlarge, pointy ears and then fall to the ground.
“You two stay here—keep watch.” Avery steps forward. “Lucia, with me.”
We wait several moments until none of the goblins seem to be looking our way, and then we dart into the room. Several men begin to yell, but I hold my finger to my lips, reminding them to stay silent. After a quick scan, to my relief, I see Serena isn’t here. Talia is the only woman in the group. Tears stain her dirty face, and she’s as pale as death.
As quickly as possible, Avery and I start on the rudimentary ties. Fortunately for us, goblins aren’t known for their patience, and the knots are sloppy at best. We free Talia first and send her across the hall to Gerard and Gregory. She falls into Gerard’s arms, softly sobbing. We send the rest of the men two at a time, until the only ones left are Ivan and Dante.
Before Avery releases Ivan, he goes through his pockets, helping himself to the money and random trinkets he has stashed away. He studies a wicked-looking dagger he pulls from the man’s sheath. It appears to be Milindrian-forged, quite old, and the blade glows blue. It’s worth a lot of money, and it doesn’t appear to be like anything else in the captain’s extensive collection.
“How about I keep this and your pocket change,” Avery says, eying the man, “and we call it even?”
Ivan glares at him, but he nods.
“Good.” Avery loosens his ropes and sends him over to Gregory, silently telling the mage to keep a careful eye on him.
“Well, looks like we’re done here,” I say to Avery as I turn to leave.
Dante lets out a muffled plea—sounding quite pathetic and desperate. The goblins gagged him—not something they usually do to their victims. He must have squealed very loudly.
Wildwood Larkwing (Silver and Orchids Book 3) Page 21
