Dark Realm, The (20 page)

“Do you think it will work?” She sounded nervous.

“We have to try.” He pulled off one armored gauntlet. “I can’t imagine trying to put my armor on inside-out. Do you think if I vanish this stuff, it will come back when I need it?”

“I don’t know why not. All right, turn your back.” She leaned her staff against the wall and gave him a look, eyebrows raised.

“Hey. No worries.” He vanished his gloves, then turned to face the rough-hewn rock.

There was a silky swishing sound. Despite himself, he wondered what Jennet would look like in her underwear. Did these characters even have underwear? He’d find out in a minute, when he switched his own clothing.

“Done,” she said.

Tam turned, fingers busy with the buckle of his sword-belt. “Are you sure you changed it? Your robe looks the same.”

“Of course I changed.” She smoothed one hand over the front of the silvery garment. “All the seams are showing - can’t you tell?”

Not really. He shrugged off his breastplate, relieved to find he was wearing some kind of homespun shirt beneath. Next were his boots and the armor covering his legs. Brown pants - good. He didn’t want to be flashing Jennet. Without waiting for him to ask, she turned away.

Quickly, he stripped off the simple clothing. There was underwear after all. He flipped the pants and shirt inside-out and put them back on. Then the sword. He was careful to twist the belt around, too, re-buckling it from the inside.

“Ok,” he said. “Let’s go find out how legit that old book is.”

Jennet turned back around and nodded at him, her eyes big and scared-looking.

Way too soon they were back at the end of the tunnel. The Goblin King was still standing, and the deer had been dragged in front of him. It looked like the creatures were getting ready to have a feast. Tam glanced at Jennet, who looked even paler. He hoped the goblins would cook the deer and not just dismember and devour it on the spot. If she threw up it would break their cover for sure.

He jerked his head to the left, where the cavern was quieter. Most of the goblins were looking at the other side, where the king was. If he and Jennet stayed close to the wall, they should be safe.

Provided this clothing thing actually worked.

Fingers wrapped firmly around the hilt of his sword, Tam stepped into the ruddy light. He took a slow step forward, then another, barely daring to breathe. Five feet in. Then ten. The nearby goblins didn’t seem to know he was there. He looked back to where Jennet stood in the shadows of the tunnel, and beckoned to her.

He could see her fingers clench around her staff, and for a second he wasn’t sure she’d be able to take that first step. Then her shoulders straightened and she came forward, as slowly as he had. Once he was sure he wasn’t leaving her behind, Tam started moving again. Maybe the goblins couldn’t see them, but he wasn’t betting on the ugly creatures not hearing or smelling them.

His nerves sparked, urging him to hurry, to run, but he kept his pace deliberate, forced his breathing to stay low and quiet. This was going to be a slow, dangerous journey.

Halfway around the cavern, he paused to let Jennet catch up. So far it had been simple enough to stay along the rock walls, but just ahead two goblins crouched against the stone. They were throwing white twigs on the ground, then scooping them up again in some kind of complicated gambling game. Tam looked closer and a chill snuck up his neck. Not twigs, but bleached finger-bones, knobby on one end.

The festivities on the other side of the cave were growing louder. He tried not to see what they were doing with the deer carcass. As soon as Jennet got close, he began edging out into the cave, giving the bone-throwing goblins a wide berth. Jennet followed him. When she was directly in front of the goblins, one of them stuck his long pointed nose in the air, nostrils flaring.

The goblin leaped to his feet and said something in the garbled language to his companion. It sounded urgent, and both Tam and Jennet froze. Had the creature scented them? The first goblin was waving his arms around. Then he pointed directly to where Jennet stood. The other goblin shook its head, and the first goblin leaped forward. Its arm brushed across Jennet’s skirt, and both she and the creature let out a cry - though the goblin’s was far more vicious.

Tam grabbed her hand and yanked her forward. Just in time. The goblin’s knife hissed through the air where she had been standing. Tam and Jennet dashed through the cave, the two goblins following. They were making noise now, but they still seemed to be invisible. Distraction. He had to create some kind of distraction.

There - a battered copper pot lay against the wall. Tam caught it up with his free hand and flung it into the center of the feasting goblins. A lucky throw - it flew right past the Goblin King’s head and struck the creature behind him.

The reaction was like kicking a hornet’s nest. Chaos erupted in the cave. Goblins drew their weapons, and warlike shrieks filled the room. The two goblins tracking them began leaping up and down, waving their arms and pointing.

Jennet picked up a wooden shield and hurled it behind them. Screaming goblins converged on it, gouging it to splinters with their knives and claws.

“No more time for that,” Tam said under his breath. “Run for it!”

Dodging and leaping, the two of them pelted for the tunnel. Almost there. Just a few more steps -

Clawed fingers sank into his arm, jerking him to a stop. He spun, to find he was face-to-hideous-face with the Goblin King.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

“G
o!” Tam yelled at Jennet.

He tried to wrench himself away, but he couldn’t break the king’s grip. Left-handed, he scrabbled for his sword.

The Goblin King drew Tam closer, his yellow fangs terribly sharp, his eyes gleaming with malice. The hilt of the sword slipped out from under Tam’s fingers and he felt the edge of panic.
Come on, sword!
Finally, when it seemed the goblin was about to take a bite out of him, he got a solid grip and pulled the blade free.

“Ark!” the king screeched. He threw both clawed hands up to shield his grotesque face, and Tam scrambled backward into the tunnel.

From her place just inside the tunnel, Jennet shot a bolt of magefire at the Goblin King. He cried out again and staggered toward them, barking out commands. One long, crooked finger pointed toward the tunnel, and goblins surged forward.

“Let’s go!” Tam shouted.

Jennet gave him a panicked look, then picked her skirts up with one hand and dashed down the tunnel. He was right behind her. The noise of goblins scurrying after them grew louder. At any moment, he expected to feel sharp claws digging into his back.

The tunnel branched, and Jennet went left. She didn’t slow down, but he heard her panting for breath. Another branching, and she went right this time. They continued headlong, their way barely lit by the faint blue glow of her staff. The sounds of pursuit faded, but the back of Tam’s neck still prickled. Those goblins didn’t seem like the kind to give up easily.

“I have to rest,” Jennet gasped, slowing down.

“Ok. I think it’s safe for now.” He faced back the way they had come, sword at the ready. The only sound was Jennet’s breathing. After a moment, she stopped panting so hard. Tam’s own breathing evened out, but he didn’t let down his guard.

The tunnel was full of thick shadows. Then, suddenly, eyes shone in the darkness. A blur of sharp claws and red-capped creatures erupted toward them. Jennet gasped and began to run again, but Tam stayed behind. He swiped at the goblins, and the front ranks leaped back, yelping when his steel touched their flesh.

It was rapidly getting too dark to see. He whipped his sword at the goblins one more time, then whirled and sprinted after the faint blue glow of Jennet’s staff.

It didn’t take him long to catch up, which meant that the goblins would be closing fast, too.

“Quickly, come this way,” a high, familiar voice piped.

“Puck!” Jennet said. “Where are you?”

A little brown hand beckoned from the shadows. Squinting, Tam could just make out a jaunty figure standing in a small opening in the tunnel wall. If the sprite hadn’t spoken, they would have run right past.

“Are you sure that’s Puck?” He was tempted to poke his sword at it.

“Hush your mortal mouths, and come,” Puck said. “Or stay, and the redcaps will gnaw your bones.”

“Tough choice,” Jennet said, and slipped through the opening.

Tam hesitated. He didn’t trust the little creature - or the company he kept. But it was either Puck or the goblins.

“Tam?” Jennet whispered.

He couldn’t abandon her. He let out a breath and squeezed himself through the gap. It was a tight fit. Good thing he wasn’t wearing his armor.

“Conceal your light,” Puck said. “Softly now, softly.” He waved his hands at the opening they had just come through.

Tam blinked. In the moment before Jennet’s staff had vanished, taking its light with it, he thought he saw the tunnel walls close. Truth or trick?

Whether it was an illusion or not, the sounds of the goblins passing by were all too clear. Their guttural voices and the scritch of claws on stone made Tam’s blood surge. His fingers clenched hard over his sword hilt and he held his breath. Finally, the last sounds of marauding goblins faded away. He let the air slip out between his teeth.

“You may summon your light again,” Puck said.

A warmer glow pushed back the darkness this time. Tam looked over at Jennet. She was holding a glass lantern lit by a round ball of light.

She nodded at him. “You could summon one, too.”

“Makes it too hard to fight.” Still, he held the image in his mind. A moment later, a second lantern dangled from his fingers.

Despite the wave of tiredness that washed over him, there was something comforting about their twin lights. This part of the goblin tunnels seemed less menacing. Or maybe it was just having Puck with them, humming a tune as he led them forward.

“Um, Puck,” Tam said, “Where are we going?”

“Here and there.”

Jennet lifted her lantern. “As long as it’s away from the goblins, I don’t really mind where you take us.”

“Don’t say that.” Tam gave her a warning look. “Aren’t we trying to get closer to the court? I don’t want to end up in the middle of a marsh again.”

According to that book she had lent him, you had to be careful what you said around the fey-folk. There had been a whole chapter about bargains gone awry and the faeries’ tricky ways.

“The knight can take you closer in,” Puck said, “but if you need to go out, follow the stairway.”

“Hold up.” Tam stopped walking. “The knight? As in, the Black Knight? That’s a no.”

“But…” Jennet paused, looking from Tam to Puck.

The sprite laughed, the sound like high bells. “Do you fear to face him in single combat again, bold Tamlin?”

“I’d be a fool not to. And I don’t need any more souvenir cuts to take home, thanks.”

“He has already tested your mettle, bold champion. But you will need an escort if you desire to meet his Lady.”

An odd exhilaration swept over Tam. “You mean the Dark Queen?”

“Puck, are you sure?” Now Jennet was the one who sounded uncertain. “I don’t think we’re ready. There are more layers to go through, aren’t there? Like the Dark Forest and the Fey Fields—”

“The land is ever-changing,” Puck said. “The roads you once traveled have shifted, and the places laid by Thomas the Bard are all but gone. The realm returns to its own.”

Jennet looked worried. “So, you’re taking us to the Black Knight, who will take us to the queen?”

“Jennet.” Tam set his hand on her shoulder. “This is it, right? Boss fight? Isn’t that the whole point of the game?”

“It can’t be that simple.”

“Why not?”

“Because that’s not how the faeries operate. It’s never straightforward.” She curled her fingers into her palms. “We’re not ready. There are things about that fight - things you need to know.”

Puck was watching them, head cocked to one side. “Ah, Fair Jennet. How is it that you have not told your knight what exactly happened when the queen defeated you? Why have you not described the bounds of that battle, and its consequences?”

“I thought,” she sounded suddenly very unsure. “I thought we’d have more time. I was going to explain everything, as soon as we got out today.”

“What?” Tam stared at her, feeling like the ground had tilted under his feet. “Jennet - didn’t you think that information might come in handy? Sooner, rather than later?”

“I…” She stood with her head bowed.

The lantern light glowed golden in her hair. For an instant, his dreams of the Dark Queen receded. He remembered the odd stillness he had first noticed about Jennet. Her paleness, that waxed and waned like the moon. There was an otherworldly quality about her - but he had gotten used to it. Had practically stopped seeing it. And then his mom was back and, well, he should have paid more attention.

“Jennet,” he said. He couldn’t help the edge in his tone.

“Yes?” Her voice was thin.

Damn, he hoped she wasn’t going to start crying on him. Not that it would change the questions he needed to ask.

“Children,” Puck said, “We have no time for this. The Knight is holding a doorway open. We must not wait, or it will be too late to leave the goblins’ kingdom.”

“All right.” Jennet turned away from him and headed down the tunnel. Puck danced at her heels and sent him a mischievous look.

“But…” He was talking to empty air. Fine. He vanished the lantern and stalked after them.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX