Kate stared at the man, horrified beyond words. Hugh Roberts had meant real harm to his wards, but she could never have wished such an end for him. She remembered how he had looked crawling around on the ceiling and closed her eyes with a shudder.
“Well, time to kill you,” the man said abruptly. “I’ll be able to try something new tonight with that ear. Do you command that bracelet to light, or does it light by itself?”
“I don’t really know,” Kate said, gazing at it. “I don’t think I do anything.” In answer, it flared a little brighter. The sorcerer looked annoyed.
“Go ahead,” he told the feathered ape hoarsely, handing him a key. “Unlock the door and then kill her.” Bulk shuffled forward, head down. He turned the key in the lock, and Kate stepped through the open door. Bulk looked up at her, his yellow eyes strangely darkened, and shuffled back a step. Kate walked out into the room, stepping over the flat fur thing, and he moved farther away, looking at the floor.
“Now what’s happening?” growled the sorcerer. “Are you working a spell on him?” He crossed to the ape and stared at his face, slapping him a couple of times. Kate was surprised that his hand didn’t go right through. Maybe spirits could hit each other.
“Go kill her!” he demanded, pointing at Kate. The ape shook his head pitifully. Bright flames engulfed the feathery body, and he howled silently, writhing in torment. “Go kill her now!” But Bulk crouched down and hid his face.
“I can’t believe this!” The man eyed Kate uneasily. “I think he’s afraid of you. They lose their memory, voice, and hearing, so their fears are almost the only thing they have left. But why you?” Kate considered the question herself. Bulk must be afraid of being bitten, she thought. Every goblin was raised to know what the King’s Wife Charm could do.
“I’ll fetch another one,” the man muttered. This time he didn’t lock her up in the cell; in fact, Kate noticed that he gave her a rather wide berth as he headed for the door. Bulk disappeared after a minute. Kate hurried to try the two doors out of the large room, but both of them were locked. What a shame, she reflected bitterly, that this powerful sorceress couldn’t work a simple Unlock Spell.
The sorcerer came back with Sayada and Tinsel, a giant of a goblin with thick, corded silver-gray arms. Adele had named him for his hair, which fell like bright tin threads around his face. Neither goblin would approach Kate at all. The sorcerer bullied them and burned them, but they refused to lift their swords. The gray-haired man wiped the sweat from his face and studied the slight, pretty girl with real alarm.
“I can’t imagine what they think you’ll do,” he complained. “It’s times like this that I wish they could speak.”
“Maybe they’re just gentlemen,” Kate suggested calmly. “They certainly look like gentlemen to me.” The sorcerer stared at her in astonishment and turned to study the two phantoms. He had been sure she would scream at the sight of the one without a nose, but she gazed at the freakish creature as serenely as if she saw it every day. He hesitated, taken aback, trying to think what to do. Then he snapped his fingers in sudden inspiration.
“I know which one will kill you,” he said gleefully, turning to leave. “He’s the best one, the very best, and he’s not afraid of anything.”
Unlike you, thought Kate in disgust. You can take on helpless things without a qualm, but you’re afraid of one mysterious girl. She glanced up scornfully as he returned, his plain, comfortable face wreathed in smiles. Then she gasped. Right behind him was Marak, eyes on the ground, curved sword in his six-fingered hand.
“Oh, so you’re afraid of this one, eh?” The sorcerer turned to look at the silent goblin. “That’s funny, I don’t think he’s so bad. A little grotesque, but nothing compared to those nose holes, I would have said.”
Kate stepped forward quickly. “Marak,” she called out in goblin, “look at me. I’ve come to help you escape. Can’t you work any magic at all?” The goblin King didn’t even move. His face was shielded by his impossible hair as he leaned on the curved sword.
“No working spells on him!” barked the sorcerer. “I don’t want you damaging him! Now, kill her,” he commanded the goblin. Marak swung the sword up and stepped toward Kate without hesitation. She reflected bitterly that the sorcerer had been right to pick him out. The goblin King had nothing to fear from the King’s Wife Charm. He would never be bitten, no matter what he did. If only he would look at her!
“I wasn’t enchanting him, I was talking to him!” Kate said indignantly, stepping away from her husband’s advance. “I just said hello. Why didn’t he answer?”
“What, you know him?” shouted the man in disbelief. “Wait a minute,” he ordered, and Marak stopped at once, staring at the ground. “He only hears and knows what I hear and know. If I were out of the room, he’d hear nothing at all. What language was that? How do you know about goblins? Why are they afraid of you?”
“His name is Marak, and he is the King of the goblins,” she said, ignoring the questions. “He is a great magician, much greater than you will ever be, and he protects his people with his magic. He doesn’t need to carry around candles like you do. He lights the entire kingdom with his spells. And I asked him why he had a sword in his hands. He doesn’t need a sword. He kills with magic.”
The sorcerer looked excitedly at the motionless goblin King. “What a shame he can’t speak or remember! Have you watched the spells? Do you know the words?” Kate’s heart gave a leap. As the sorcerer talked, she saw Marak make a movement of his own. He was fingering the sword thoughtfully as if he were thinking about her last statement.
“The goblin King’s magic wouldn’t work for you,” said Kate coldly. “No human could work it. No human can ever work magic. They talk the demons into working it for them.”
The sorcerer flinched, and his pupils glowed bright red. “Kill her!” he roared angrily. Marak raised the sword again, but this time he didn’t step forward.
“Marak,” cried Kate desperately, “I know you won’t hurt me. You never did, unless it was very important,” and she held out her scarred hands. “I know you won’t kill me because the lines say a long life. A long life for both of us.”
“Stop! Where did those come from?” The sorcerer studied the magical lines with interest, and Marak put down the sword. This time Kate thought he was looking at her, but she couldn’t be sure because his hair was still in his face.
“They’re from the wedding ceremony,” she explained. “From the magic worked to protect the King’s Wife. Nothing matters to the King as much as his wife and his son. Remember, Marak? Your wife and son!”
The sorcerer stared at her, amazed. “You’re his wife?” he demanded. “You’re married to that monster? A pretty girl like you and a freak like that!” He bellowed out a laugh. Behind him, the goblin dropped his head once more.
“He’s not a freak!” cried Kate in indignation. “Goblins are strong, not pretty, and he’s worth a hundred of you! Marak, you have to come home,” she begged. “You’re asleep right now in your own palace, and you have to wake up!”
The sorcerer turned to look at his servant, and the goblin turned to look at his master. Marak hesitantly reached a hand up to push the striped hair out of his face.
“Stop that!” cried the sorcerer. “You know you can’t move on your own! That’s enough of your magic!” he snarled at Kate. “You came here to kill me, but you’ll be killed instead by your own precious freak.” He whirled back to the goblin. “Kill her right now, and be quick about it!”