by Cheree Alsop
Aleric could smell a light, feminine aroma that overlaid Dr. Worthen’s expired cologne and hospital antiseptic scent. He followed Lilian’s trail to the wine racks. The goblin odor increased. He could tell right where she had been when the creature bit her arm. She had dropped the wine bottle, but it hadn’t broken.
Aleric followed the scent of the bottle to where it had rolled to rest near the boxes on the far side of the small room. The goblin odor ran beside it. The creature had taken off, perhaps at Lilian’s scream. He trailed it to the wall beneath the tiny, barred window. A glance up showed scratch marks on the bricks. Broken glass littered the floor at his feet.
A pit formed in Aleric’s stomach. The goblin was gone.
He made his way back up the stairs and scratched on the door.
“Already?” Gregory said in a muffled voice. “Are you sure? I don’t think I’m ready. What if it bites me, too? Then we’re all in trouble. The E.R. would be a disaster without me.”
Aleric scratched again. He didn’t want to phase to human form just to open the door. Changing form took energy, and he would be naked; it wasn’t a situation he stepped into willingly. He let out a growl.
“Fine, fine, I’m coming,” Gregory replied.
A moment later, the sound of the knob turning was loud in the stairway. Aleric could hear the individual parts of the doorknob shifting, metal rubbing against metal, and the pull of the latch against the wood of the frame as it slid free. The door opened slowly. Aleric pushed his nose against it.
The sound of Gregory scrambling backwards was mixed with a cacophony of metal on metal, wood on tile, and a loud clunk. Aleric peered around the door.
Gregory was hunched against the opposite wall with a pot on his head, a pan lid in one hand, and a wooden spoon in the other. He stared at Aleric with wide eyes for a moment before lowering the spoon.
“Where’s the goblin?”
Aleric snorted. He made his way to the door and waited, impatiently shuffling his feet for Gregory to get up.
“Do you need to go out?” Gregory asked. “I’m glad you’re house-trained, otherwise I’d have to explain that to Dr. Worthen along with why the rest of his pasta got eaten.”
Aleric rolled his eyes.
As soon as Gregory opened the door, Aleric bolted around the side of the house to the cellar’s small window. Cautious of the glass, he sniffed the ground carefully. The goblin’s scent was impossible to miss. He took off running.
“Where are you going?” Gregory called. “Should I return my battle armor or take it with us?”
Aleric didn’t slow. He heard the clunk and clank of the orderly running to the car. The voice in the back of his mind wondered how the red-head would drive the vehicle with the cook wear he was actually wearing.
He slowed just long enough for Gregory to turn the corner in the little blue car and catch sight of him, then he broke into the mile-eating lope of the wolf. His paws hit the pavement in a cadence he could run for hours. With the pungent smell of the goblin to guide him, he left the upper neighborhoods of Edge City and made his way into the streets. The closeness of the buildings, the rush of the cars, and the way the skyscrapers blocked out the sun as it arched through the sky gave Aleric a feeling of claustrophobia. He turned a corner and his steps slowed.
The goblin’s scent was joined by several others. Why there would be so many goblins in Edge City was beyond him. In Blays, goblins usually inhabited dark, musky places like the swamp at the other end of the Drake City forest or in the basement of Grimmel’s factories in the Sludge. There had been rumors that the troll paid goblins in pixies to keep the riffraff out of his warehouses.
Aleric heard Gregory pull up at the last alley. The clatter of the human climbing out of the car echoed along the bricks. Aleric stalked deeper into the darkness that was barely penetrated by the light overhead. His paws sunk into the refuse that had piled up until the pavement was only a memory. The sour lemon and mud scent filled Aleric’s nose. Foreboding murmured at the back of his mind.
Aleric was nearly to the end when a whisper of claws on brick made him pause. He looked up and his heart slowed.
Seven goblins watched him from their places along the walls, their spider-like legs holding onto the bricks while their heads swiveled from their black, shiny abdomens.
Chapter Two
Aleric barked a warning.
Gregory stumbled into the alley with a clatter of metal. He looked at Aleric, then followed his gaze up.
“Uh, Dr. Wolf, this goes way above my pay grade and my experience level,” Gregory said. He took a step back and the goblins scurried down the wall on either side.
“Dr. Wolf!” Gregory yelped.
There were so many of them. Aleric didn’t know how to stop them all. If Gregory got bit, he would never forgive himself. Aleric dove in front of Gregory. His teeth snapped shut millimeters from the closest goblin. It skittered back up the bricks.
Aleric snapped at one on the other wall. The creature the size of his head snapped back; its small, sharp teeth closed on a tuft of fur. Aleric shook his head and the creature fell free. Before it could scurry back up the wall, Aleric grabbed it by the back. It let out a squeal and tried to stab him with its claws. Aleric looked around, unsure what to do with it. He wasn’t interested in losing an eye to the Dark fae.
“In here!” Gregory called.
Aleric glanced over to see that the orderly had taken off the pot he had worn on his head and he held it like a catcher’s mitt with the lid ready to close.
Aleric jerked his head to the right and let the goblin go. It hit the lid and fell into the pot. Gregory slammed the lid on top.
“Jackpot!” Gregory yelled. “Do you think that’s why they call it that? We should change it to goblin pot, or we can name the goblin Jack. It is a very distinguished name.”
The goblins had moved further up the bricks at the sight of their trapped companion. Aleric wondered how to get them back down.
Gregory gave the pot a skeptical look. “I don’t think we’ll be able to fit more in here.” The goblin tried to push its way out. Gregory let out a shriek and sat on top of the pot. “Definitely not,” he said, his voice high. “We need to get out of here, now! Let’s get this back to the hospital to help Lilian.”
Aleric didn’t want to leave the goblins in the city, but he didn’t know what else to do. The creatures were high up on the sides of the buildings and there was no way to get them down. With the goblin attempting to escape the Gregory’s pot, their best bet was to return with better tools.
Aleric backed up slowly to keep the goblins in sight, but the creatures made no move to come back down. Gregory picked up the pot in both hands and, with a high squealing noise, ran back to the car. Aleric found his clothes next to the vehicle where Gregory had tossed them in his hurry to get inside. A glance in showed the orderly in the passenger seat with his arms wrapped tightly over the lid of the pot. The wide-eyed look he gave Aleric told of his terror at the creature he held prisoner.
Aleric phased behind the car and pulled on the clothes. He opened the door to the driver’s side.
“Do you expect me to drive?” he asked.
Gregory nodded. “If I let this thing go, we’re both finished.”
Aleric shook his head. “I can hold the pot. I don’t know how to drive.”
Gregory’s arm slipped and a claw poked out from beneath the lid. Gregory let out a yell and slammed the lid shut again. His face was pale when he said, “Drive, Dr. Wolf.”
Aleric slid into the driver’s seat. He turned the key like Gregory had done. The small blue car rattled to life.
“Now what?”
Gregory stared at him. “Haven’t you driven before?”
Aleric shook his head. “There are vehicles in Blays, but I usually walked wherever I needed to go. This is a first for me.”
“Better the first than the last, right Doc?” Gregory replied.
“What does that mean?” Aleric asked.
Gregory gave the pot a worried look. “If this goblin gets out, I’ll be like Lilian, right? I don’t want this to be the last car I’ve ever owned in my life.” He patted the dashboard. “Nothing’s wrong with you, Little Blue, I just expected so much more.”
The claw snuck out again. Gregory let out a shriek and shoved it back in. Aleric looked above them. The goblins were heading toward the car.
“Tell me how to get us out of here.”
“Alright,” Gregory instructed. “Put your foot on the brake. That’s it. Now shift it into reverse. Good. Back us up slowly using the gas pedal. Slowly!”
Aleric slammed on the brakes before they hit the wall. He looked over his shoulder and steered them carefully back up the alley. As soon as he could turn the car around and head forward, it was easier; but he felt completely out of his element. Cars sped around them with horns honking and drivers giving gestures out their windows. A motorcyclist hit the side of the car with his fist.
“People around here aren’t very nice when they’re driving,” Aleric noted.
“Yeah, and you’re actually doing a decent job,” Gregory replied. “Wait, stop!”
Aleric slammed on the brakes. They both jerked forward.
“Why?” Aleric asked.
Gregory pointed. “The light’s red. You can’t go.”
Aleric stared at him. “You stop because the light tells you to?”
Gregory nodded. “Of course.”
“Well, who tells the light to tell you?” Aleric asked.
Gregory looked at the light. “They’re programmed that way. It keeps traffic from being utter chaos. They don’t have traffic lights in Blays?”
Aleric shook his head. “The leprechauns do it. It’s part of the Drake City job placement program.”
“Leprechauns?” Gregory repeated. “That’s crazy.”
“Crazier than letting some light tell you what to do?” Aleric replied.
Gregory was quiet for a moment, then he said, “I never thought of it that way.”
Aleric pulled forward when the light turned green. By the time they reached the hospital, he had left finger impressions in the steering wheel from holding it so tight. He climbed out of the car feeling as strained and exhausted as though he had phased a hundred times.
“I never, ever want to do that again,” he said aloud.
“I agree,” Gregory replied, climbing out of the car. “Werewolves weren’t meant to drive.”
Aleric reached for the pot, but Gregory shook his head. “I’ve gotten this far. I’ll take it all the way.”
Aleric gave a half-smile at the orderly’s bravado. He could smell the sour scent of fear wafting from the red-head, but Gregory held tight to the container and led the way to the hospital.
“Oh good, you’re back!” Nurse Eastwick exclaimed when they reached the Emergency Room. “Did you find the goblin?”
“We found a goblin,” Aleric replied.
“Is there a difference?” Dr. Worthen asked. “Lilian’s condition is worsening. She’s in a coma.”
“Oh no!” Gregory said.
“It does make a difference,” Aleric told them. “The antidote for a goblin bite comes from the goblin that does the biting. If it’s the wrong goblin, she won’t react.”
Dartan came around the corner to hear the end of it. “Are you saying there might be more goblins in the city?”
Aleric nodded. “We followed the goblin from Dr. Worthen’s house to an alley and found six more.”
Dartan whistled. “Just when we thought fae sightings were going down. No wonder there’ve been so many bite victims.”
Aleric stared at him. “There’s more?”
Dr. Worthen nodded. “Three more since you left. All of them have had the same seizures as Lilian. You’re saying we need a goblin for each one that bit them?”
“It’s the only way,” Aleric replied. “We’ll make up a serum from this one and see if Lilian or any of the others respond.” He looked at Dartan. “In the meantime, we need to come up with some sort of way to contain these creatures. Is there anything in the D Wing we can use?”
“I’ll figure something out,” Dartan said. “Do what you need to with this one, then bring it to me.”
“We need a way to knock it out so we can remove a scale,” Aleric said.
“I’ll call Dr. Indley,” Dr. Worthen said.
“I’d be happy to call her,” Dartan replied.
“I think Aleric should call her,” Gregory offered.
Everyone looked at Gregory, then Aleric.
“I’ve got this,” Aleric said, taking the pot from Gregory’s hands. “Somebody call her. I’ll meet her in Operating Room Seven.”
“I’ll get it prepped,” Nurse Eastwick said.
Gregory fell in beside Aleric as he made his way to the Operating Room.
“Dude, you should have called her!” Gregory told him. “She would’ve been happy to hear your voice, you could have told her about the goblin, then figured out some cute way to ask her out for dinner. It would have been a great setup for a date!”
Aleric glanced at him. “I don’t want to date Dr. Indley.”
“Why not?” Gregory asked. “She’s funny, smart, and a veterinarian. What’s there not to like?” He pushed open the door to the O.R., then paused with his hand still up. “Unless, of course, she’s not your type.”
Aleric saw it as an easy way out. “She’s not my type.”
Gregory’s eyes lit up. “What then? Dark hair, blonde, green eyes, blue eyes, tall, short, skinny, voluptuous, what?”
Aleric stared at him. “That’s a lot of descriptions very quickly.” He was stalling, and while he stalled, the memory of a young woman with light blue eyes teased at the back of his mind. He saw her sweep a strand of her black hair back behind her ear in a self-conscious gesture. He let out a breath. “Gregory, can we talk about this later?”
“Huh?” Gregory replied. “Oh, uh, sure. I’d better go see if they need help with the other goblin victims. You sure you have that one?”
“I’ve got it under control,” Aleric replied.
A few minutes later, Dr. Indley walked into the room.
“Who would have thought tranquilizers and cages would be the request of the day?” she asked. “Given Dr. Worthen’s description, I brought in a…,” her words cut off at the sight of the goblin’s claw sticking out of the pot. “H-he didn’t mention giant spiders.”
Aleric pushed the claw back inside and held the lid shut. The goblin scrambled around, trying to shove its way out again.
“It’s not a spider. It’s a goblin. They have the body of a spider, six legs, and the head of a gremlin. Not the prettiest creation, and definitely one of Blays’ deadliest. If we don’t find the one that bit Lilian, she will die.”
Dr. Indley stared at him. “Just like that?”
Aleric nodded. “So we’ve got a lot of work to do. And it sounds like more goblin victims are rolling in. I need a scale to extract the antidote. Did you bring anything to knock this creature out?”
“Yes,” Dr. Indley replied. “Let’s try this.”
She set her medical bag on the counter and withdrew cotton balls and a black bottle. She poured several drops of the mixture onto the cotton balls and motioned for Aleric to open the lid. As soon as the cotton was inside, he shut it again and held on for the goblin’s ensuing escape attempt.
“What’s in the bottle?” he asked.
“It’s an A.C.E. mixture,” Dr. Indley replied. She glanced at him as if realizing he had no idea what she was talking about. “It’s a mixture of one part alcohol, two parts chloroform, and three parts ether. My anesthesiology professor used to call it his guaranteed go-to for tough cases.” She gestured to the pot. “I figure this counts.”
“Definitely,” Aleric replied.
The movements beneath the lid had stopped. Aleric bent his head down to peek inside. An image of the goblin launching itself at his face teased at the back of his mind
. He shook his head to clear the thought and slid the lid aside.
The goblin lay at the bottom, its slit eyes closed and small breaths moving its fanged mouth up and down.
“Ugh,” Dr. Indley said. “Hideous.”
Aleric picked the goblin up and set it on the table. He couldn’t deny that the sight of its six claw-tipped, jointed long legs and shiny black body was repulsive. The last thing he wanted to do was touch it. He grabbed a pair of forceps from the tray next to the table.
“You said something about scales. Where are they?” Dr. Indley asked.
“Look,” Aleric replied. He kept one hand on the goblin’s body in case the creature suddenly awoke. He used the forceps in his other hand to open the goblin’s mouth.
“Okay. That’s just disgusting,” Dr. Indley said.
The goblin’s teeth were jagged with a second row behind the first.
“If they lose a tooth, the next one comes forward,” Aleric told her.
“Like a shark,” Dr. Indley noted. “That’s one of the many reasons I’m not a marine vet.”
Aleric opened the mouth further. “Behind the second row of teeth are the scales that eventually form the new teeth. If you pull one out….” He demonstrated by grabbing one of the scales and yanking. It came out with the sensation of pulling a feather from a bird. Aleric half-expected the goblin to wake up and jump at him, but it remained asleep. He handed the veterinarian the forceps and quickly put the goblin back in the pot.
“This is it?” Dr. Indley asked. She regarded the scale uncertainly.
Aleric nodded. “Look.”
He took the forceps and squeezed the scale gently between his fingers. A gooey, thick purple substance oozed out.
“That’s the antidote,” he told her. “Syringe.”
Dr. Indley grabbed one from the tray and handed it to him. Aleric carefully withdrew the thick fluid from the scale. He put the cover back over the needle and held the syringe up. Both of them looked at the small amount inside.
“Are you sure that’s enough?” Dr. Indley asked.
“It doesn’t take much. Let’s go try it,” Aleric said.
