The Goblin Deception, page 16
A wolflike creature the size of a bull leapt out of the secret tunnel and skidded furiously on the stone floor as it struggled to make the sharp turn into the room. It shook shards of ice and rock off its shaggy fur and turned to face them with rage it its black eyes. Its jaw stretched wide, ready to clamp down on whatever it could find. The beast decided on Nathan, who stood the closest to it, and charged.
As she stood, stunned and staring, Galhad grabbed Isla and rushed her to the farthest corner of the room. She watched as Nathan narrowly dove out of the way of the beast’s attack, though its fangs caught and tore away the hem of his sweater. Thwarted, the beast began smashing at the stone stools that hemmed it in. Nathan got to his feet in the center of the room. His body began to swell and the rest of his clothes started tearing.
Isla’s jaw dropped, but she couldn’t bring herself to look away as Nathan’s joints contorted, the bones moving under his skin. Hair sprouted all over him, while his face rearranged itself like putty, stretching out into the long square muzzle of a large golden wolf, who shrugged off the remains of Nathan’s clothing. The transformation was over in a few blinks of an eye, but the image burned itself in Isla’s memory.
Across from him, the beast snarled a challenge, sending drool flying from its massive jowls. The noise made Isla flinch but Nathan, in his wolf form, snapped at the air in response and then took a flying leap onto the monster’s broad, furred back.
The beast thrashed, bucking like a horse to try to shake Nathan, who had sunk his teeth into the fur between its shoulder blades. With a sharp twist, the beast managed to dislodge Nathan and send him flying toward the open mouth of the storytelling cavern, where he landed in a pile of freshly fallen snow. The monster bounded after him, and Isla followed cautiously, Galhad close on her heels, determined not to lose track of them.
She saw the beast leap on top of Nathan, and the two rolled outside in a tangle of snarls, limbs, and fur. They caught themselves a few meters down the mountain path when Nathan managed to detangle himself from his attacker and jump back to give himself breathing room. He was breathing heavily, sending great cloudy puffs into the air.
The beast looked only half as tired, its panting not nearly as loud. It took the opportunity to scan the mountainside, and its nose pointed toward the village. A sick feeling tightened Isla’s stomach. If the monster made a break for it, they’d never catch it in time, and it would be free to rampage.
“Nathan! You have to stop it!” Isla cried out. As the beast turned and made as if to run, Nathan tackled it into a nearby tree.
While the animals fought, Isla turned to her father. His panicked expression matched her own. “We have to warn them!”
“I’ll go. You stay— Isla!”
She was already gone, determined to reach the village first. The trail had a fresh dusting of snow, but not enough to bury her boots and slow her stride as she expertly sprinted down the path the group had already packed firm on their way up. She could hear the sound of fighting through the trees behind her and prayed Nathan could keep the beast busy long enough. Despite her height, she was a fast runner, and she knew the trail — she needed ten minutes at most. As she leapt over rocks and ducked under tree branches, her lungs began to burn from the cold, but fear spurred her on. At one point, Isla heard the monster’s ear-splitting roar again, so loud she couldn’t even guess at how close it might be, but she refused to look back. She just had to make it to the guards on duty.
At last, she stumbled onto flattened terrain, and she burst from the trees to see two figures standing in the archway that served as the entrance to the village from this direction. It was Chiefs Celeste and Thornlowe, and they were having some kind of argument.
It didn’t matter. “Get the soldiers!” Isla screamed as she charged toward them.
Both chiefs turned to her sharply, and even at this distance, she could see Thornlowe’s eyes widen in horror. He took off into the village.
Celeste urgently waved her forward, face full of dread. Suddenly that dread became shock. “Look out, Isla!” she screamed. “Behind you!”
Isla looked back, and her own screams lodged in her throat.
The beast must have finally gotten past Nathan. It was thundering down the end of the trail, smashing through the trees in its path. Its dark eyes were wild with rage and fixated on Isla.
Isla willed herself to run faster.
Celeste still stood stubbornly in front of the entrance of the village, as if she had the power to stop the beast. “Get out of the way!” the chief ordered, but it was a command Isla ignored.
The beast was too close and there was no time — it would trample her in seconds, and then go right through Celeste — so she did the only thing she could think of.
Isla had never tried to cloak another person in her invisibility before, but she grabbed Celeste by the shoulder and pulled them both around the side of the archway, willing her power to do something good for once. She felt the familiar tingle cover her and heard the chief gasp.
The beast arrived, sliding through the archway in a spray of snow. Isla flinched as the snow hit her face, but tried to keep as still as possible. The beast swung its great head from side to side, searching for its prey, taking in air in huge sniffs. She held her breath and tightened her grip on Celeste’s shoulders, silently willing the chief to do the same as the monster approached them slowly but steadily, step by step. It seemed confused, its nose so sure that something was there but its eye deceiving it. Finally, it reached them, and it gave one more determined sniff, just an arm’s reach from their faces, close enough to ruffle Isla’s hair with its awful breath. And then it made up its mind, lunging forward with open jaws, ready to snap. She squeezed her eyes shut—
A guttural battle cry cut through the air, startling the beast. Isla’s eyes flung open and she quickly ducked away off to the side, pulling Celeste with her, as the monster turned its bulk to face the noise. A cluster of goblin soldiers charged it, spears and axes raised, and Isla frantically dropped her invisibility, hoping no one would spot it in the commotion. The monster flattened it ears and bared its massive teeth at the approaching threat. Then a wolf howl added to the cacophony and Isla knew Nathan had made it down the mountain too.
The beast decided the hunt was no longer worth pursuing. It leapt out of the way of the first volley of spears and ran back through the archway just as Nathan appeared. Still a golden wolf, he harried the beast away, nipping at its heels as it fled into the trees of the mountain wilds. The goblin soldiers cheered and shouted after it.
Elated with relief, Isla grinned and turned to Celeste, only to be met by a look of dread.
“Oh, Isla,” the chief whispered in a heavy voice. “What have you done?”
Before Isla could reply, she heard Thornlowe’s voice through the din. “Seize her!”
Someone grabbed her shoulder and ripped her away from Celeste. Another grabbed her other arm and held her firm, their fingers digging into her.
Isla looked between the two soldiers in a panic. “What are you doing?” she demanded.
With the beast gone, the tone of the soldiers around her was changing. She caught looks of disgust and even rage.
“Lock her in the cells,” Thornlowe ordered, shouldering his way into view. “Don’t let go until she’s secure. Do not fall for her sorcery.” He met her stare, and she was shocked by the hatred that flashed in his blue eyes. As he stepped into her space, he bent to murmur in her ear, words only she was meant to hear. “I told Galhad he should have let your bloodline die.”
“Why are you doing this?” Isla gasped. She tried to pull away, but the soldiers only tightened their grip on her.
“You led a monster to our door,” a familiar voice explained, thick with disgust. Isla turned her head to see Mica, whose face was scrunched in a snarl. “Did you think you wouldn’t be caught?”
Isla began to shake. “What are you talking about?”
“We all saw it, Isla,” the captain told her. “We saw you disappear. You have Talbot’s curse.”
Words caught in Isla’s throat, forming an aching lump that prevented her from speaking, from defending herself. There was nowhere to run this time. She had thought… she had hoped…
“I should have seen it sooner,” Mica continued, taking a step closer, her eyes narrow with suspicion. “Galhad told me he suspected someone in the village was behind the ‘accidents.’ Who better than his own right hand, with the power to make it all happen? All this time, you’ve been hiding this...” She gestured up and down, from the top of Isla’s head to the tips of her boots, as if unable to find the words for something so repugnant. “How long have you been plotting to betray us?”
Isla felt the blood drain from her face. “I came to warn you about the beast!” she protested. “I-I saved Celeste. It was the only way! I didn’t—”
“It looked more like you lured the monster here and then vanished yourself so it would charge past you and destroy the village. It all makes sense. Even the ‘floating knife’ that attacked Chief Clavin just in time for you to conveniently show up to help. Tampering with the smithy, destroying the medical supplies, breaking the water tanks. No one knew who it was because no one could see you.” Mica shook her head. “How could you betray your own people like that?”
“Mica, please!” Isla’s voice cracked. “I didn’t do any of that! I swear it!”
The captain glowered at her. “We’ll get the truth out of you either way. How could I have been so foolish as to trust you?” she asked in a low, gritty voice. She gestured to the soldiers, and they began to drag Isla away.
“Stop!” Isla screamed, twisting and pulling against the hands that held her. “I’m not a traitor!” She bucked her body violently and the soldier who held her left arm loosened his grip in surprise. Isla wretched away from him and spun again, twisting under the grip of the soldier on her right side so he was forced to let go or else have his wrist broken. She stumbled away from the soldiers, holding her hands out in a feeble attempt to keep them away. “Please,” she begged, her voice cracking. “Please, I was only trying to help!”
The soldiers circled her again, their faces pulled taut and spears drawn. Through the crowd, she could see Thornlowe, his face grown pale and wearing a pained expression she had never seen on him before.
No matter what Isla said, these people would never see her as one of them again. Her years of service, her loyalty — none of it mattered. They had all turned on her without question. All because of a curse she had no choice to bear. Just like how Supai said it would be.
“Please, stop,” she whispered, sinking to her knees, unable to find the strength to fight anymore. If they’d heard her, they didn’t care.
A ways away, she could hear her father’s voice, shouting furious commands to stand down, to pause, to let him through to her, but she couldn’t see him. Looking between the legs of the soldiers around her, she did see Nathan, in his human form again. He was at the back of the mob, shouting and throwing punches at the goblins in his way. Some of the soldiers turned to deal with him, forcing him back and blocking her view.
Her world was crashing down around her, and there was no one to help.
Three sets of rough hands came for her again, and Isla’s heart leapt into her throat. The sensation of needles across her skin ignited immediately, and the soldiers gasped, flinching back as she disappeared from their sight.
Isla crawled just out of reach and turned in a circle, desperate to find an escape. Tears blurred her vision, her hands held close to her chest. “Please stop, please stop,” she whispered over and over again. Isla closed her eyes, wishing she could truly disappear, not just become invisible, and make all the shouting and the screaming stop. “The curse isn’t who I am. Please, I never wanted this.”
When someone grabbed her again, Isla flinched away. She looked up, expecting to see a goblin face, but found Jessica’s instead. The witch was eyeing their surroundings, her determined green eyes speckled with gold.
How did you find me? Isla wondered, too surprised to ask out loud. The goblins were still gathered around, hands and spears hesitantly inching forward, dangerously close as they searched for her. But they couldn’t see her, and they didn’t seem to see Jessica either.
Jessica groped for Isla again, this time yanking her onto her feet and pulling her close. A cyclone of snow and wind erupted around them, placing them at the eye of the small hurricane that made the goblins around them yell and cower back.
“Come on!” Jessica said over the sound of the wind. “Let’s get you out of here.” The cyclone split behind them, leaving a gap just big enough for them to slip through, and the witch gave Isla a forceful yank to get her moving.
Once they were clear, the cyclone spun sideways and dissipated, leaving confused soldiers in its wake. Isla looked back at the angry mob: she finally caught sight of her father, in a shouting match with Thornlowe; Mica was calling out orders, telling the other soldiers to keep searching; and Nathan was still fighting some off, his tired shoulders hunched and sagging.
“Isla!” the witch’s voice was kind but firm, and it dragged Isla’s focus back. “Drop your invisibility so I don’t have to guess where you are.”
“But how–”
“I’ll explain later. Right now just trust me.”
Isla wiped at her tears with the back of her hand as the tingling sensation of her invisibility fell away. She looked at Jessica, who could actually meet her gaze now.
The witch nodded. “Let’s go.”
Isla drew on what little strength she had left to keep pace. She couldn’t stop thinking of the fear and anger on everyone’s faces, of the painful merciless grip on her arms as they’d restrained her. She was running away from everything she’d ever known, turning her back on the people she had sworn she would do anything to protect. But she couldn’t even protect them from herself. Maybe that did make her a traitor after all.
Chapter 19
Nathan
Nathan’s knuckles cracked as his fist connected with a goblin’s metal helmet. The soldier went down, and Nathan took a moment to shake out his hand. He hadn’t intended to start a fight — he just wanted to get the soldiers away from Isla — but with the adrenaline coursing through his veins from the fight with that beast thing and his wolf still so close to the surface, it was instinct.
Bending his body out of the way to avoid a spear thrust, Nathan snarled and caught the soldier by the throat. The goblin’s eyes bulged beneath his helmet, and he dropped his spear in favour of grabbing at Nathan’s wrists.
“Enough!”
Nathan dropped the soldier and half-turned to see Mica glowering at him. She marched forward until they were toe-to-toe. Nathan was a little surprised his wolf would let her get that close. Even more than that, he could feel the energy in his body drawing toward her. The wolf respected Mica, and it would hear what she had to say.
“If you hit one more of my soldiers, I will put you into the ground myself,” she snarled at him. “The only reason the kill order on you hasn’t been given is because you helped stop the fire from before. But from the way you’re acting, I have every reason to believe you’re working with the traitor.”
“She’s not a traitor,” Nathan snarled back.
Mica’s eyes narrowed, anger flushing her grey cheeks. She stabbed at his chest with her finger. “You have no idea what she is capable of. Isla bears the curse that nearly destroyed our people.”
“That doesn’t prove she’s trying to destroy you now. I’ve only been here two days, and I’ve seen Isla show nothing but stubborn loyalty for your village. And this is how you repay her?”
“You think I want to believe it? I trusted Isla. But you saw what she did, leading the monster here. The accidents, the suspicious circumstances, the attack on the chiefs’ lives — all explained by that curse! She brought a monster to our door and has shown her true self! She has never been a true part of this village,” Mica snapped, gesturing angrily. “Always keeping to herself, listening in on everyone’s secrets. She’s never tried to be one of us, and now—”
“Now you know why!” Nathan beat her to it. He let out a frustrated sigh and gestured to the angry goblins still shouting and arguing around them. “Look at how you’re all freaking out! Why would she ever risk letting her powers show if this is how you were going to react? Did you not hear her crying, or did you just choose to ignore it? ‘Cause I don’t know which is worse.”
Stepping away, Mica shook her head. “You don’t know.”
“Well, maybe that’s a good thing.” Nathan crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t need to know what happened a whole bunch of years ago, when I do know that no one who’s guilty would beg the way she did.” Nathan may not have been book-smart, but he trusted his instincts. He knew how to read people’s intentions, and watching Isla’s heart break in front of him had spurred on his rage. The memory of it made the fire in his gut flare up again, and he fisted his hands at his sides to stop himself from doing something stupid. Like punching the stubborn look on Mica’s face.
His anger tempered when her expression shifted — there was a brief flash of regret. It was quickly replaced with tense composure. “I have a duty to protect my people from threats against our village,” she said. “That curse is a threat, which makes Isla a threat.”
“Okay, so she can disappear. Big deal,” Nathan argued. “Is there anything else that would actually give you reason to think she’s behind everything?”
After a long look, Mica turned away from Nathan. “Ignore the wolf. Find Isla. Now!”
“Do not harm her!” Galhad’s voice boomed over their heads, commanding attention and silencing the soldiers. Thornlowe was equally red in the face, standing a step behind his brother with arms crossed and a furious expression on his face.
