The Girl Who Was A Warrior (The Clandestine Chronicles Book 1)

by L. S. Emory

  “I tried to warn you,” I said. I knew I had gotten lucky, since I still didn't know how to control the sword’s magic.

  The goblin grabbed on to the tree and pulled himself up. “So, it’s a magic sword. Maybe I’ll just take it. I might be able to get a good price for something like that.”

  All right. I wasn’t giving up my sword, but now he knew I wasn’t as weak as he thought. “I’ll make a deal with you. You let me down, and I won’t hurt you any more.”

  He looked at me again. “Girl, you are still not in a position to hurt me. But I have a deal of my own.” He stroked his goatee again. “Can you use that sword to detect magic?”

  Detecting magic was a basic spell that every first year student learned. It was Magic 101. I wasn’t that good with other spells, but I had been able to cast that one. At least for the most part.

  “I can. What kind of magic do I have to detect?”

  “I told you, I’m tracking a wood elf. He is in possession of a magical item. I’ll let you go, but you have to help me track him down.”

  I didn’t have time for this. I had to finish this test on time. But, then again, I was stuck in this trap. If I didn’t get down, I wouldn’t finish the test anyway.

  “Deal,” I said. “Now let me down.”

  “Hmm. How do I know I can trust you?”

  He had no reason to trust me. And I certainly didn’t trust him. But I needed something to sweeten the the deal.

  “Speak up, girl!”

  I had to think quickly. Goblins preferred gadgets, sprockets, and other mechanical devices. That was it.

  “I’ll give you my watch to hold on to. If I do anything that breaks your trust, you can keep it. If I don’t, you give it back.”

  “Let me see it,” he responded suspiciously.

  I held out my arm, as best I could, toward him so he could see. The gold and silver on the watch glistened in the sun, which seemed to make the goblin light up. He reached down into one of his pockets and whipped out what looked like a small cylinder. He pressed a button on the side and the cylinder extended outward, like a telescope. He pointed one end toward my watch, and put the other end up to his eye. He turned the cylinders around and around. Suddenly, a light popped up from the end, and he pointed it right at my arm. He glared at it for a minute, and the retracted the contraption and put it back in his pocket.

  “Deal,” he said with a mischievous grin. “I’ll take the watch as collateral. You do anything I don’t like, it’s mine.”

  “Fine,” I replied, trying to not sound as irritated at this whole arrangement as I was. I was pretty sure that the watch was supposed to serve some purpose that I wasn't sure about yet. And I was even more sure that Cody expected it back at the end of this test.

  “”All right, toss it down to me.”

  I pulled the watch off my wrist. I hesitated for a second. Trust a goblin like you trust a hungry dragon. That was an old wizard proverb. But right now I didn't have time for proverbs. I carefully lobbed the watch toward him.

  The goblin walked to a tree behind me and and began to do something. I couldn’t see what was going on. A few seconds later, a felt the rope loosen and air whoosh across my body as I fell straight to the ground. I hit pretty hard, harder than I thought I would have.

  “You need to learn how to fall better, “ I heard the goblin from behind me say. “You’re lucky you didn’t land on your sword.”

  “Thanks for the warning,” I mumbled. I slowly got to my feet, checking to make sure I had everything. I took my sword and put it back in its sheath on my back. I ran my hands along the inside of my belt, where I had been carrying the map. I could feel its weathered texture against my skin. It was still there.

  “Well, don’t just stand there. We have a job to do.”

  I looked around and saw the goblin standing there, tapping his foot impatiently. “Ok, where do we start?”

  The goblin all of a sudden looked up to the treetops. “Behind the tree! Now!”

  He ran behind a large pine tree, signaling with two crooked fingers for me to follow. I ran behind him, looking around to find out what he had seen. I didn’t spot anything, but I didn’t know what I was supposed to be looking for.

  “Get down on the ground!” The goblin dropped to the ground, pointing to me to do the same. I hurriedly dropped down. The leaves crunched and twigs snapped.

  “What is it?” I whispered. “What did you see?”

  “SSHHH!”

  I didn’t see anything. And I didn't like being shushed. Maybe this was my chance to get away, while this goblin was paranoid about something in the forest.

  Then I heard it.

  Leaves crunching. Slowly, every couple of seconds. Then a low growl, like nothing I had ever heard. There weren’t a lot of things that I was afraid of, but just that sound sent a chill through my body. The goblin looked over his shoulder at me, raising his finger to his purple lips, signaling for me to be quiet. I was already being as quiet as I could. But the noises I was hearing were starting to creep me out even more. There was something out there. So, the goblin wasn’t paranoid.

  A few seconds later, all the noise stopped. No crunching leaves. No growl. It was eerily quiet, like being in the eye of a hurricane. I knew this wouldn’t last. It never does. I learned that when my parents died. Everything was boringly normal one day, and then the next my whole world was destroyed.

  I carefully raised my head and peeked around the tree. I could see something standing in the path that I had been on, but didn’t get a real good look. Whatever it was it was some kind of animal, standing on four legs. It was big and hairy, but my vantage point was from the back, so I wasn’t real sure.

  All of the sudden I heard leaves crunching again. But not like before. This time the crunching was fast, desperate. It was something walking through the forest. It was something running. Not toward us though. Whatever it was, it was running away from us. The sounds kept getting fainter and fainter, until I couldn’t hear it anymore.

  “What was that? Is it gone?” I whispered.

  The goblin sat up, brushing the dirt and leaves off his shirt. “That, girl, was a werewolf.”

  “A werewolf?” I asked.

  “Yes, a werewolf. You know, a human like person that can change into a wolf? Don’t tell me you don’t know what weres are!”

  “Yes, I know what weres are, thank you very much,” I snapped back at him. It was just that I had never seen one. Arkdale was a protected wizard city, so other supernatural races were not allowed to live there. They had to get special permission just to come in on business. Of course, we all grew up hearing stories about weres, and studied them in school. But that was about it, as far as my knowledge and experience were concerned. “What was it doing?”

  The goblin looked me straight in the eye. “It was doing the only thing that a werewolf would be doing out here. It was tracking something.”

  “Tracking something? Like something for dinner?”

  The goblin rubbed his forehead. “No, it was not tracking something for dinner. My guess? It was tracking you.”

  Chapter 10

  “Me? What do you mean me?”

  “Just what I said.”

  I shook my head. “No way. Why would it be tracking me? No one even knows that I’m out here. If it’s tracking anyone, it must be you. Maybe it’s after the wood elf too.”

  “Oh yeah? What do you know about goblins, girl?”

  This sounded like a trick question. I didn’t want to look like I didn’t know anything, but I was limited in what I knew. Since we didn’t interact with goblins, we never learned that much. And I really didn’t want to get into the strained relations between our two races.

  “Well, I know that goblins were the last supernatural race to be emerge…”

  “Bah,” he exclaimed, interrupting me. “You know nothing. We were not the last. But that doesn’t matter. Since I have to assume that the little you know is wrong, let me fill you in on one important
fact.”

  “What’s that? “ I asked.

  “Goblins can’t be tracked. That’s why whoever you told you that goblins were the last race is wrong. We were there from the beginning. The rest of you just couldn't find us. And that’s the way we wanted it. The werewolf wasn’t after me. And weres aren’t bounty hunters. They see tracking for money as something beneath them, a perversion of their skills. So that leaves you.”

  I didn’t know any of that. But it couldn’t be tracking me. “I swear, I don’t know anything about that. There’s no reason anyone would want to track me.” At least I didn’t think so. The only ones it could possibly be would be someone from the school, or maybe if I had been reported to the authorities. Aunt Linda said that if I came out here and passed the test, the Wizarding Authority wouldn’t come after me.

  “I don’t care. It’s the only thing that makes sense. Now there’s a werewolf out here prowling around, one that I’m not tangling with.” He stuck his wrinkled finger at me. “Now you tell me who you are and what you are doing here, before you get both of us killed.”

  I didn’t know if I believed him. I didn’t want to. It didn’t make sense. The only thing that I knew was that I didn’t want to be out there with a werewolf any more than this goblin did. I didn’t know all of the history, but I did know that wizards and werewolves had an uneasy treaty that both signed after the Werewolf Uprising of 1975. So I shouldn’t have had anything to worry about. The only problem was that I could still feel that nagging fear. If I was wrong, I could be in trouble. What if what the goblin was telling me was true? I had to decide whether to trust him or not.

  Trust him.

  That caught me off guard. I jerked my head around to see who had said that. No one else was there. I knew that I had heard that. At least I thought I had. Maybe I was losing it. Hearing voices wasn't a good sign of a healthy wizard. When I was little, we had a neighbor, Dr. West, that heard voices. My Dad said it was from his years of service as Magical Creature Administrator for the Wizarding Authority. He said that kind of work, with the travel across the world and all, sometimes wore down a person's mind. Dr. West used to tell us stories about wrestling dragons. Hearing voices was one thing, But wrestling dragons? That’s another kind of crazy. Everyone knows that dragons don’t exist. At least Dr. West had a good excuse. I, however, did not.

  Trust him.

  There it was again. It sounded like a voice, but not like a voice. I was hearing it with my ears, but could feel the words inside my head. That was what it was like, feeling the words more than hearing them. Now I was starting to creep myself out. Despite what humans might say about us, wizards are pretty normal. We don’t hear voices. And we definitely don’t hear them in our heads.

  I looked at the goblin. His facial expression hadn’t changed, but it looked like he was waiting for me to answer.

  “You can start with your name,” the goblin offered.

  I didn’t have time to think about this any more. It didn’t matter if I could trust this guy or not; I really didn’t have a choice. So I told him my story. Everything, from that morning to Aunt Linda and Cody, to the test. When I finished, I looked up to see what his response was going to be.

  He rolled his eyes.

  I was furious. Here I was, bearing my soul, choosing to tell someone else everything I had been through, and all I got was an eye roll. “What is the matter with you, goblin?”I snarled at him.

  He started waving his hands in a downward motion. “Calm down, calm down.” He stood to his feet, looking around to make sure there wasn’t anyone or anything about near us. “First thing, Annabeth, is that my name is Kirby.” He stuck his hand out in front of him. When I just looked at him, he nodded down toward his hand. “It’s customary when meeting someone to shake their hand as a sign of greeting.”

  I looked down at his hand again. I slowly reached out and shook it. “Kirby doesn’t sound like a goblin name.”

  “It’s not,” he responded. “My actual name is Kirbuthak et’ Kriangythariunkar.”

  “Oh. I see. Kirby it is.”

  He frowned at me, showing his displeasure. “Wizards have such problems with the languages of the Old Ones. Maybe you should download a language learning app on your uPhone.”

  “I think you mean iPhone. I thought goblins were supposed to be good with technology.”

  “We are. And I didn’t mean iPhone, I meant uPhone. Humans use iPhones, not wizards. You do know what a uPhone is, don’t you?”

  “I do not.”

  He rubbed his goatee, looking like he was thinking deeply about my telecommunications knowledge. “Interesting. Not an early adopter, I guess.”

  “Whatever. Now, that introductions are out of the way, why did you roll your eyes? Is that some kind of greeting too, or are you just being a jerk?”

  “Look, you seem like a nice girl and everything, but either you are delusional or not telling me the truth. And you don’t look delusional. Why are you lying to me?”

  I jerked my head back. “I’m not delusional. And I am telling the truth. What do you think I am lying about?”

  “I have been coming out here to these woods for decades before you were born. I know every tree, bush, and stone in a ten mile radius. I know who has been out here and why they have been out here,” he replied. “And that shack has been abandoned as long as I can remember. No one lives there. No one has lived there for a very long time. There’s no way you met anyone there. I don’t what you’re trying to pull, but you are going to have to find a lesser goblin than me to fool.”

  I just sat there for a minute. Now Kirby was the one lying. I had been to the shack and I had met Cody. Aunt Linda was with me. She brought me there. I did get thrown out of school. All of that had happened. I knew it did. This goblin was trying to pull something over on me. That’s what was really going on. It had to be. If it wasn’t, then I was delusional. I was going crazy. First hearing voices, now imagining things that happened. No, I wouldn't believe it.

  I looked up at Kirby. Then I saw the real problem. That problem was that he didn't look like he was trying to fool me. In fact, he was looking at me more with, I don’t know, sympathy. It was like he was feeling sorry for me. If he was trying to fool me, his body language didn't show it. I could almost feel his sympathy. And what would be his motive? I wasn't the one he was looking for. And he already had my watch. He didn't really have anything to gain.

  Then I remembered something.

  “I have proof,” I said as I scrambled around, reaching for my belt. “I have a map.”

  Kirby narrowed his eyes, looking at me with his head tilted to the side. “Really. Let’s see.”

  I grabbed the map and pulled it out. I unrolled it and spread it across the ground. “See? This is the map that Cody gave me to guide me. I’m not sure what it is I’m supposed to be looking for, but this shows me where to go.”

  “What’s are these?”

  He was pointing the two ‘X’ markings. “This is where I started from,” I replied pointing to the first ‘X’ that marked where I started from. “This one,” I said, pointing to the other other ‘X,’ “is where I am supposed to go.”

  “I see,” the goblin said, pulling out a pair of strange, round spectacles and putting them on his face. “Interesting. Very interesting. And the path appears on the map as you walk?”

  “Yes. It’s enchanted. I’m not really sure why it is like that. I could just walk toward the ‘X.’ But I guess I am supposed to follow the path for some reason.”

  Kirby picked up the map and started running his fingers around the edges of the map. Then he leaned over and smelled the map. “Yes, very interesting indeed.”

  “You already said that. Why is it interesting?” I asked.

  He placed the map down on the ground again. “And this guy, what’s his name? Cody? He just had this map laying around?”

  “Yes. I mean, I guess. Maybe he’s used it before for testing others.”

  “Interesting.”<
br />
  “Stop saying that. And see? This is proof. I told you the truth. Do you believe me now?” I felt vindicated.

  Kirby took the spectacles off and returned them to his pocket. “Hmm.”

  “Hmm? Is that all you have to say?”

  “Well, obviously you were given this by someone. But this isn’t some magic testing map.”

  I didn't understand. Of course it was. That’s why Cody gave it to me. I figured reading the map and following the path was just part of the test. “What do you mean?”

  “Who really gave you this map? And what are you getting paid?”

  “What are you talking about? I told you. Cody gave me the map. And I’m not getting paid anything. What would I get paid for?”

  He pointed down at the map. “This isn’t for some test. Look here,” he said holding the map up and pointing to the edges of the map. “Here, see these markings? They are very light, barely noticeable to the untrained eye, so you have to look close.”

  I bent down and squinted. I saw something. It was very faint, but I saw some strange markings all along the edges of the map. “Ok, I see it. So what?”

  “Do you know nothing about mapmaking, girl? Please tell me that they at least taught you something about maps before you got kicked out of that school?”

  This was irritating. No, we never had a class on maps or map reading. Wizards don't use a lot of maps. I don’t know what this goblin thought that we did, but obviously didn’t know much about wizard education. “I must have been absent that day,” I said with a fair amount of snark in my voice.

  He didn’t seem at all bothered by my tone of voice. He was too concentrated on the map. “Well, then, let me give you some education on the matter. Everyone uses maps. Even humans use maps. But maps used, and made, by supernaturals are different that human maps. And it’s not just the enchantments. These markings,” he said pointing to the edges of the map again, “are not just symbols. Sometimes mapmakers would sign their maps or put some special mark on them to identify it as one of their creations. But look at these. They are different. See how they go all around the edges of the entire map?”