After activating my translation charm, I continued. “I have a few questions for you, Gondo. Your people have been terrorizing the townsfolk here, and I was sent to put a stop to it. Want to make things easy on yourself and tell me why you’ve been taking out roads and smashing up people’s houses?”
“You have a dragon for a mate,” he breathed.
“We’re not mates. We’re…” I spread my hand toward Zav. Would he find it presumptuous if I said we were allies? He merely lifted his eyebrows, as if wondering how I would designate us. “We’re working together this month.”
Gondo glanced toward the hot tub, and I blushed. Damn it, fearsome assassins did not blush when interrogating enemies.
“It is not fair,” Gondo said. “Work Leader Nogna didn’t say anything about dragons. She said this would be easy.”
“What exactly would be easy?”
Gondo shook his head and flailed, trying uselessly to escape the magic that held him aloft. He did manage to flip himself over, but that only made him dangle facedown with nothing but grass and my boots to look at.
“Will you be punished if you tell me?” I squatted down so I could see his face and rested my elbows on my thighs.
“No, but I’ll be the weak link in the chain, the one who failed the labor party. Sunga said we should postpone our activities until you left and give up the artifact, but we can’t control them without the yub-yun.” He waved toward the artifact.
“Control who? The sasquatch?”
“The shy furry ones.”
“The sasquatch.” The damage they’d left in that house wouldn’t lead people to think the sasquatch were shy, but if the goblins had been controlling them…
“It was their idea, but they weren’t willing to go near humans or break anything on their own.”
“Wait, the sasquatch clan had an idea? They can, uh, think independently? And make plans?” I glanced at Zav, wondering if he was reading the goblin’s thoughts and could verify this.
But his gaze was focused on the sky to the north, and he didn’t look over. If the goblin hadn’t remained suspended in the air, I would have thought he wasn’t paying attention at all.
“They’re smart enough to make plans,” Gondo said. “Smart enough to have not appreciated us finding and encroaching on their magically protected territory, but they’re peaceful. They didn’t want to make war with us. And we’re not warriors either. We just want a safe place to live and raise our children. We—”
“Shaygorthian has left this area.” Zav turned to face me. “He will not answer me. I do not know what he is up to, but it likely has to do with you.”
“Which way did he go?”
Not north, I urged silently. Not north. The cloaking charm suddenly weighed heavily on my necklace.
“He flew across the lake toward the northwest. He may be returning to your city.”
Seattle was west from our location, not northwest, but I hoped Zav was right. Maybe Shaygor wanted to investigate the place where Dob had died. So long as he didn’t head up to Sandpoint to look for Amber.
“He may attempt to question your allies about the night of the battle. I will follow him and learn where he is going.” Zav looked at the goblin. “Can you detain and question that one on your own?”
“Yes. He’s being a reasonable goblin thus far.”
“There are others out there. Be wary.”
“I can handle some goblins. Thank you. You be wary of Shaygor.”
“Yes.” Zav shifted form and took off, the wind from the flapping of his wings enough to toss my damp braid around.
Sensing his magic leaving, I summoned Sindari and grabbed Chopper, resting the blade on the goblin’s collarbone. Instead of dropping to the ground, Gondo floated down and had time to settle himself on his feet. He crouched, glancing toward the dark woods across the trail, and I tapped the sword against his shoulder to remind him it was there.
When Sindari formed, his head higher than the goblin’s, my captive’s shoulders sank, and he seemed to give up the idea of escape, at least for now.
More goblins? Sindari asked, prowling around to sit behind Gondo, more incentive for him to stay put. Their world must have become extra unappealing of late.
Maybe due to an influx of dragons.
Possible.
“You wanted a place to raise your kids, Gondo,” I said. “Were you thinking of the town of Harrison, by chance?”
He shook his shaggy white-haired head. “Not at first. We wanted to live in the forests here. Our shamans sensed old magic that elves had created and left in place long ago, and we thought we might hide and build our community there, but the sasquatch were already making their homes in the mists. They were friendly to us and let us stay for a time, but they made it clear there was not room for both of us. Our work leaders knew of the nearby town and thought… what if we could convince the humans to leave and claim the place for goblins? Our shamans studied the elven mists protecting the sasquatch and thought they could weave something similar around the town to make visitors forget about it with time. It would be difficult—though so much easier if we knew a dragon.” He gazed longingly in the direction Zav had flown. “He could easily hide an entire city from humans. But the humans would have to leave first. Nobody would be fooled if they were living there. We thought if they were scared and chose to go, the town could be forgotten. Especially if there were no roads remaining to it. It has been difficult for us to achieve our goals. With a dragon ally, it would be so simple.”
I’d never seen anyone look longingly after Zav before. “Aren’t dragons the reason you had to leave your world?”
“Not that dragon. He is Stormforge Clan, yes? His kind have never preyed on goblins. They are indifferent to goblins, but in realms full of beings who would exploit us, force us aside, or hunt us outright—as if we are dumb animals—indifference isn’t that bad. Most of us would be pleased by indifference.”
“I get that you’re trying to find a place you can stay in this world, but you can’t take over a human town. And you can’t—” I grabbed the artifact and held it up, “—use magical devices to control an entire species of animal or race of people, whatever they are.”
Gondo pouted, green lips turned out.
“That is what this is for, isn’t it? And why you came back to get it? Without it, you can’t force the sasquatch to do your bidding.”
“Nobody is afraid of goblins. We needed their help.”
“Well, you’re not getting this back.”
He lifted a hand toward it and stepped forward. Sindari growled, and Gondo halted.
“Our shamans spent many moons making the yub-yun and instilling it with power. You have no right to take it.”
“I do if you’re using it to control beings in my world.”
“Nobody has been hurt.”
“Millions of dollars in property damage has been done.”
“You still have no right to steal our artifact.” Gondo lifted his chin. “Or has the Ruin Bringer no honor? Did you steal that dwarven sword you carry? It is also not from this world.”
I didn’t like the turn of this conversation.
Sindari gazed at me over the goblin’s head without commenting. He didn’t agree, did he? I’d claimed him after killing the vampire who’d been using him to gather prey for fresh blood, and he’d never complained about me taking his charm from that vile soul. But this wasn’t quite the same. I didn’t want to bully the goblins who’d spent their whole lives, if not their entire evolution as a species, being bullied, but I couldn’t give the artifact back and let them continue with their plan.
“I suppose throwing it in the lake won’t work,” I muttered.
It wasn’t like I wanted to take the thing back and put it on my wall for the next home intruder to steal.
Perhaps you should consult your employer, Sindari suggested.
It’s almost midnight. She’s probably asleep under her cat.
I have seen you contact her during off hours before.
These are off, off hours.
But he had a point. Willard was more of a diplomat than I—who wasn’t?—and she had said to call about this.
I dug out my phone. Gondo threw a few more glances into the woods. I couldn’t hear or detect anyone out there, but that had been the case with the goblins this entire time. For all I knew, there were a hundred of them out there watching us.
“The only socially acceptable reason to call at this hour,” Willard answered groggily, “is to announce a birth or death. Are you dead, Val?”
“No.”
I was debating how to fit the artifact problem into one of those two categories when she spoke again.
“I would also allow you to wake me at this hour to announce a wedding,” Willard said. “Are you getting married?”
“Who would I marry?”
“I thought you were making progress with your dragon.”
“You’ve got this elaborate fantasy concocted, and I have no idea where it’s coming from.” I pointedly did not look toward the hot tub or bring up the case of wine I’d given Zav.
“Hm. What do you want then?”
I explained the goblin problem and asked what I should do with Gondo and the artifact.
“Are you actually calling me for advice instead of running in with guns blazing and mowing down enemies?”
“These goblins aren’t exactly the hardened murderers you usually send me after.” At least I didn’t think so. I caught Gondo’s gaze and narrowed my eyes at him. “Have you killed anyone during your schemes and shenanigans?”
“No.” He lifted his hands innocently.
“Have the sasquatch you’re controlling killed anyone?”
“No.”
“Would you tell me if you were lying?”
He opened his mouth to answer promptly but surprised me by pausing to consider his response. “No,” he finally said.