I took a deep breath. I’d been standing up to my father when he was trying to kill the dragons for a while now, but this felt different. I almost expected him to shout at me to go to my room. Instead, he looked dumbfounded.
Spear nodded his head. “I’m sorry, Julianna. You are right. I’ve not been acting like a man should in my position as leader.” He held his hand out for my father to shake it.
I raised my eyebrows at my father and put my hands on my hips, the way a mother would when scolding a child.
“I’m sorry, too, Spear. Please accept my apology.” He hardly looked like a man of contrition as he took Spear’s hand and shook it, glaring at him the whole time, but it was a start.
“Great!” Someone clapped me on the shoulder and squeezed. I turned, expecting to see Ash, but it was Xander. He gave me a grin and then let go. “Perhaps we should try knocking?” he said heading to the door. “It seems like the polite thing to do.”
He had a point. In my head, we would have been knocking it down. Maybe I wasn’t so different from my father after all. I tried to suppress a smirk at the thought of it while Xander rapped his knuckles on the peeling green paint of the door. After a minute, he knocked again. I was just about to suggest that we knock it down using brute strength when the door opened a crack.
“What do you want?” asked a high pitched whiny voice from behind the door. I couldn’t see the owner but I could tell it was a Goblin.
Spear stepped forward. “We are here to speak to Krikor.”
A mossy hand reached around the door and opened it a fraction more. The goblin—one I’d not seen before—widened his eyes as he took in the sight of our strange crew. “Dragons, Slayers, Wolves. Oh, no. Certainly not, certainly not!” He made to shut the door, but Spear blocked it with his foot.
“I’ve met with Krikor before. Please tell him that Spear is here. He knows who I am.”
The Goblin narrowed his eyes. Goblins were deceitful creatures and like anyone who lies, they never believed anyone else was telling the truth. I could see that the Goblin was either afraid to let us in or had been strictly forbidden to do so.
“Nope. Not going to happen.” The Goblin stamped down hard on Spear’s foot, causing him to retract it from the door. Half a second later and the door slammed shut.
“Let me put it this way,” yelled my father through the door. “Either you open it and let us in, or we’ll open it ourselves. The dragons here are desperate to burn something down.”
He turned and gave me a wink as though he was doing me a favor. I would have rolled my eyes for a third time that day if it wasn’t for the fact his little threat worked. The door opened once again and the small creature stuck his head out.
“Wait here. I’ll speak to the king.” The door slammed shut once again.
Ten minutes passed before the Goblin reappeared, but this time, he wasn’t alone. He had two more Goblins by his side. I recognized the one on the right as Grunch, who had opened the door for us before. I remembered his sneer only too well. He’d been reluctant to let us in last time. This time, he looked absolutely outraged that we were coming back into his home. Nevertheless, he let us all troop past him as we followed the first Goblin. Grunch and the other Goblin I didn’t know took up the rear, locking the door behind us. I had a terrible feeling of foreboding about it all. We’d been down here before and gotten out alive. Something told me we would be lucky to do it again.
The Goblin King, Krikor, smiled as we piled into the vast cavern that the Goblins called home. The smile did not extend to his eyes as he shook Spear’s hand. “I wasn’t expecting to see you again so soon, and yet at the same time, I’m not surprised. What does surprise me is the company you are keeping. First one Slayer and now more.” He raised his fuzzy gray eyebrows into an arch. “And who else? Oh my, Wolvren. What a party.”
“We aren’t here to party, Krikor,” replied Spear forcefully.
“What are you here for then? Oh, don’t tell me. I don’t actually care. I invited you in out of respect, but I think I made my position quite clear last time. I’m afraid you cannot stay. We are busy here and I have to say, the sight of dragons, Slayers, and Wolvren in my home unnerves me.”
My father moved forward in an attempt to intimidate the small Goblin. “We’ll stay as long as we need to. You’ve got some questions and we’ll not be leaving until you answer them.”
Despite the fact my father was at least three times his height, Krikor stood his ground. “We’ll see about that.” He smiled coldly. It was a smile that frightened me to my core.
Chapter Three
He clicked his fingers and a couple of Goblin warriors ran out from nowhere. Dressed in full battle regalia and with anger upon their faces, they looked ridiculous nonetheless as they were both so tiny compared to the rest of us. My father could stamp on the pair of them, crushing them both, armor and all, with no more difficulty than one would crush an ant.
I watched the amusement on my father’s face as they ran to him, spears aloft, ready to stab him. “Is this the best you can do Krikor?” he asked, pulling a spear upward and taking the Goblin with it. The angry Goblin kicked his feet in the air. My father threw him to one side where he hit a wall and fell to the ground.
The other spear-holding Goblin looked more apprehensive but held his ground. Krikor clicked his fingers again and hundreds of armored Goblins appeared, all with spears, swords and other assorted weapons raised. Even my father, as brave as he was, had cause to step back.
I thought about retreating, but something was off. The Goblins looked strange. It took me a few seconds before realizing what it was. “It’s a trick!”
My father looked at me. “Bloody good trick,” he yelled back. “Come over here, Julianna. Let’s go.”
“No, Dad. It really is a trick. They are all the same Goblin.” I remembered back to the last time I’d been in these caves. Krikor had read my mind. If he could read minds, wouldn’t it stand to reason that he could plant images in people’s minds, too?
Seconds later all but three of the Goblins disappeared into thin air. “Well done, Julianna,” said Krikor, looking impressed. “Usually people run when I do that to them. I see I’m going to have to come up with something better for you.”
My father, clearly annoyed at being shown as weak, strode over to the aged Goblin and picked him up by the scruff of his neck. The three remaining Goblins, one of whom was still on the floor after being hurled there, made the decision not to fight him.
He brought Krikor up to eye level.
“Now look here, Goblin. Just because you know magic doesn’t mean you can get the better of me. We came here for answers and you are going to give them to us.”
Krikor nodded as best he could. My father put him down on the ground where he dusted himself off and gave my father an evil look.
“Please stop this arguing,” I said, jumping forward. Tensions were rising again and I was sick of it. “Your Highness, please tell us what we want to know. We’ve been to you before and you wouldn’t speak, but this has gone on long enough. Too many people are getting hurt.”
Krikor nodded his head and beckoned us to a room I recognized. I’d been here before. Krikor pulled a chair out for me at the large, round table and I sat. The rest of my party filed in, taking seats or standing along the walls when each seat filled. Krikor took the largest chair. I’d never seen him look so grumpy before but I couldn’t blame him. I guess it wasn’t every day he was outsmarted.
“This seat is reserved for the highest member of a party,” he said, indicating the only spare seat left. It was almost as large as his chair. Almost, but not quite. I could already see both my father and Spear eyeing it. Alpha didn’t seem bothered in the slightest. He’d already found a seat next to Morganna at the opposite end of the table.
As the two men both made a move for the seat, I saw a twinkle in Krikor’s eye. He’d purposely done this. He wanted the men to fight. He wanted to exploit their need to dominate. I sighed as
they both reached the chair at the same time. As I expected, they began to argue loudly, each of them gripping one of the chair’s smooth wooden arms. Instead of trying to stop them arguing, I calmly stood from my own seat and slipped between them, lowering myself into the large chair. Ash, who’d been standing behind me, took the seat I’d just vacated.
“Gentlemen,” I said.
Krikor arched a brow in obvious amusement. Both my father and Spear stopped what they were doing and stared, dumbfounded. I was going to pay for this later, but I didn’t care. Anything was better than another fight. In the end, both of them had to stand.
“Krikor,” I began, “those swords you sold to the Slayers. They trap dragons.”
“I know they do. They were made that way. From the dawn of time, the Goblins have made weapons imbued with magic. The Slayer swords are no different. You already know this. Why are you here? We do not offer refunds.”
“I don’t want a refund.” My voice was a little too loud, echoing slightly off of the cavernous walls. “I want to know how to get the dragon souls out of the swords.”
Krikor regarded me, his eyes on my scarred arms. “You already know this, too. Those scars. I assume there are more of them?”
I nodded although I didn’t need to. I could feel him trying to read my mind.
“Blood is the way. A sacrifice of blood from an innocent. This is the only way to free the souls.”
“No!” I yelled, this time not caring that I was being loud. I had to wait a few seconds before my voice stopped echoing. “I’ve done enough. I’ve ripped my body to shreds to free the dragons but there are still many more. I don’t have the strength to free them all.”
“The answer is simple,” Krikor responded. “Find another innocent. Take their blood.”
I thought about all of the people in my village. I thought about the ones younger than me, the ones not yet old enough to own a sword.
“I can’t do that,” I replied. “I’m not hurting anyone else. You made these swords, you know the magic. I might not be able to read minds but I can see it in your face. You enjoy being superior to us. This is just a game to you, but it isn’t a game to me. I’m not prepared to let the children in my village shed a drop of blood.”
“But they already have shed blood,” answered Krikor slyly. “I can see it in your head. You and your dragon boyfriend attacked your village. You didn’t seem to mind innocent people being hurt then.”
“She was trying to stop me,” my father said, coming to my defense. “I’m the bad guy here, not her. Give her what she wants.”
“And what exactly is it you want, Julianna?”
I shifted under the weight of his glare. What did I want? I wanted all this to be over, for a start. “I want the remaining dragons freed. I want you or your people to use your magic and make them wake up without any more bloodshed.”
“The swords need a sacrifice. They were made that way and always have been. Your ancestors asked for it to be so. However, there might be something I can do for you.”
“What is it?” asked Ash, jumping into the conversation.
“You can pay me. One thousand gold pieces for every sword left.”
I inhaled deeply. That was more than each sword cost to buy in the first place. There was no way we’d ever find that much money. Anger radiated from my father with each passing second.
“That’s fine,” I heard a voice behind me. I turned to see Spear.
“There are still so many swords left,” I reminded him. “How will you be able to afford it?”
“He can’t afford it,” grinned Krikor. “I can see inside your mind. You don’t have that kind of money. None of you do.”
Spear walked round to him. “If you can see inside my mind so well, you’ll know I was about to make you a deal.”
“A deal that doesn’t interest me,” snapped back Krikor. “Now kindly leave. You’ve taken up enough of my time as it is.
“Come on, Krikor. Think about it. Isn’t it better to get the gold later than not at all?”
“What was the deal, Spear?” asked Morganna from the opposite side of the table.
But it wasn’t Spear who answered her. It was Krikor. “He was going to offer me an IOU. He actually thought I’d free all the dragons on a promise of gold.”
“We can pool our money,” argued Spear. “The Slayers, the dragons, the Wolvren...”
Alpha, who had been silent up until now, sat up in his chair. “We are not a part of this. We promised to help you because my beloved asked us to, but I’m not giving away the Wolvrens’ gold to save some dragons.”
An argument erupted around us, with Slayers, dragons and wolves bickering. Krikor grinned. He’d done this on purpose. He never wanted any gold, he wanted to see each group fight.
“Stop!” I yelled. Yet again, my voice reverberated off the walls. “Gold won’t save the dragons, will it? You’re lying to us.”
“No, of course it won’t. I already told you that only the blood of innocents will do it, but none of you seemed to believe me.”
I still didn’t believe him and now it wasn’t just my father that wanted to punch him. However, hurting him wasn’t going to help our cause any. There was another way to get the dragons out, I could feel it, but I also knew that Krikor wasn’t going to tell us. Maybe the thousand gold coins he asked for would loosen his tongue, but as none of us had that kind of money, it was pointless trying to come up with whatever he was hiding. I stood up from my chair.
“Fine. I’ll continue to do it myself.”
Ash looked like he was going to argue, but Krikor cut him off. “Good. You do that. It’s been working well for you so far. I can’t say those scars of yours diminish your beauty at all. Of course, it won’t do you much good in the long run.”
“What do you mean?” I asked him.
“Haven’t any of you noticed that there are more dragons missing than the Slayers have? That’s because we found that the swords we made for your ancestors were popular. Other people wanted them too. We could get a lot of money for one sword, but a sword that trapped dragon souls? Oh, they sell for a whole lot more.”
My father moved toward him. “What exactly are you saying, Goblin?”
“If I tell you, you must promise never to come here as a group again. I never want to see dragons and Slayers and Wolvren come to my door as a pack. There is too much history between you all and I have no wish to be in the middle of your petty war.”
My father looked as though he was going to argue, but Spear jumped in. “Fine. We’ll never come to see you together again. I’m actually hoping we’ll never have cause to visit you at all. Now, will you tell us what you mean?”
The small Goblin eyed him curiously but didn’t answer. This infuriated my father who slammed his fist down on the round table, making us all jump.
“Speak, Goblin, or I’ll pull your ears right from your head.”
Krikor looked up at him. It was apparent he wasn’t used to being spoken to in such a surly manner and it was even more apparent he didn’t like it. “There’s another Slayer village on the other side of the mountain,” he sniffed. “They have Goblin-made swords, too.”
Chapter Four
“Now what?” asked my father as we were shown the exit to the Goblin cave. Krikor had unceremoniously thrown us out after my father decided to make good with his threat and try to pull his ears off. Krikor, being magic, managed to stop him just in time, but refused to talk to us at all after that. Not that I could blame him.
“We go to the other side of the mountain,” announced Spear. “What else can we do? We have to collect all the swords.”
My father sneered. “Actually, we don’t. I promised to help you collect all the swords from our village. I said nothing about scouring other villages. We don’t even know where this other village is or if it exists. Why should we believe the slimy toad, anyway?”
I pulled Ash toward my father and Spear. I had a feeling that all-out war was going to break
out any minute between the two hot-headed leaders. I gave a silent thank you to Alpha, who, although rather hot-headed himself, chose not to engage with the sparring chiefs.
“We would know exactly where this village is if you hadn’t gotten us thrown out,” replied Spear angrily.
My father puffed out his chest. “It was a ridiculous idea in the first place, coming here. Everyone knows the Goblins are not to be trusted. It’s common knowledge.”
“There was nothing wrong with the plan,” replied Spear, drawing himself up to his full height. “It would have worked if someone hadn’t put his big foot in it.”
I could see my father beginning to boil over, his face bright red with anger.
“Dad,” I said, taking him by the arm. “I’m sure we can figure this out.” I pulled him to one side, getting him away from Spear.
“How about Nenno, Fox and I fly over the mountain, see if we spot the village?” asked Ash, coming to my rescue.
“That’s a great idea,” I agreed enthusiastically. I didn’t like the idea of venturing over the mountain without Ash, but something had to be done to stop the two chiefs warring with each other. My father eyed Ash suspiciously, but after pausing for thought, nodded his head.
Before us, the peak of the largest of the Triad Mountains loomed. The weather had cleared, leaving the snowy peak glistening in the sunshine. As Ash, Nenno, and Fox hid behind a rock to undress and change into their dragon forms, the rest of us plotted a route. Going to the very peak of the mountain would be impossible without proper climbing equipment, but there seemed to be some kind of trail, worn between rocks, around the edge of it.
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