“Keep moving, huh?” said Slobad after a deep breath and a stifled sniffle. “Keep moving.”
Glissa crawled through the ductwork, following Slobad’s directions. The farther she went through the maze of cramped tunnels the closer she came to the abyss. After a while, she could hardly hear Slobad’s commands through the fog in her mind.
She saw light up ahead. A few more turns and they reached the end of the tunnel. The yellow moon was rising in the distance. Glissa fell to the ground in a heap. She heard Slobad drop to the ground behind her, but she stared in silence at the moon.
CHAPTER 16
“What now, huh?” asked Slobad from behind Glissa.
She glanced up at the goblin. “What did you say?”
“What now, huh?” he repeated. “We get away. What we do now?”
Glissa stared at the goblin. She had no idea where they were or what was going on. She had heard that same question before, but it wasn’t Slobad who had asked it. It was …
“Where’s the golem?”
Now it was Slobad’s turn to stare at Glissa. “What you talking about, crazy elf?” he asked. “We left Bosh back in the cult caves.” Glissa could see tears streaming down the goblin’s face. When she didn’t respond, he continued. “Cult was attacked, huh? Remember? Flying silver men with blue heads. Goblins die. We run. Bosh stay behind so we can escape. Remember? Any of it? Bosh save Glissa’s life-again.”
“Bosh is the golem?” asked Glissa, more to herself than to Slobad. “And he speaks now.…” Bits and pieces of the last few days swirled around inside her head. Kane’s death. Her descent into the abyss. Bosh’s voice pulling her back. The attack. The dead goblins. Bosh taking a lightning bolt in the back that was meant for her.
“You left him there?” she demanded.
Slobad wiped the tears from his eyes and nodded.
Glissa backed away from the goblin and drew her sword. “The vedalken got to you, too, didn’t they?” she demanded.
“What?” said Slobad. “No! Bosh my friend, huh?”
“Just like the cultists were your friends,” sneered Glissa. “You left them to die with Bosh. All this time you told me you were cursed, but you’re the one who always lives when everyone around you dies. How does that happen, Slobad? Hmmm? You’re good at getting away, at leaving your friends to die. You left the cultists to die once before. You told me yourself.”
“Stop it, huh?” snapped Slobad. “You talking crazy. You don’t know what you say.”
“Don’t I? My life has been a disaster since I met you.”
“Slobad didn’t kill your family, Glissa,” said the goblin gently. “Didn’t kill trolls or elf friend. Didn’t attack Taj Nar.”
“Then who did?” screamed Glissa. “I have to blame somebody. If not you, then who? Me? Is that what you’re saying? It’s all my fault?” Glissa’s face flushed as she continued. “I have a destiny, Slobad. A destiny. Do you hear that? And that destiny is to watch everyone I love die one by one.” Her breathing came in gasps. “Is that my fault? I say it’s your fault. It’s your flaring curse that has caused all of this!”
Glissa stopped suddenly. She was clawing for breath. Then she was crying. She tried to wipe the tears from her eyes and cheeks with her palms, but they kept flowing. She balled her hands into fists and jammed them into both eyes, as if to cork the flow of tears.
“It is my fault, isn’t it?” she whispered after a time.
“Attacks not your fault,” said Slobad, dropping down beside her. “Not Slobad’s fault. Not curse’s fault. Not destiny’s fault. It was globe-headed mage, huh? Memnarch. Vedalkens. Someone trying to kill you. Stop your destiny.”
“But look what I’ve done to your only family. It’s dangerous to be around me.”
“You my family, now, huh?” said Slobad. “Listen. I live alone for long time. Not happy, just surviving, huh? Then crazy elf drag Slobad from hole and into danger. Show Slobad how to fight for life, not hide from it. Give Slobad purpose, huh? Make me feel part of family.”
“Get Slobad killed,” sighed Glissa.
“Maybe.” The goblin shrugged. “But die for cause, huh? Die fighting evil. Die fighting beside friend. Better than living in hole, safe and alone. I leave cult first time to save Slobad, huh? I leave this time to save friend. Come. We find vedalken mage. Or Memnarch. Whoever behind attacks. We find, huh? Make him pay for Glissa’s family, friends, Slobad’s cult family, Bosh.”
Glissa nodded her head. The little goblin had a way of cutting through to the truth. She saw plots and deceit everywhere. He saw life and truth. The truth was that someone really was trying to kill her, and it wouldn’t stop until she made it stop. She owed it to Slobad to save his friend and his family. Glissa reached out and hugged her companion, squeezing until he pushed her away.
“Crazy elf.”
“Come on, we have work to do.” She jumped to her feet and headed back toward the tunnel.
“Where you going, huh?” asked Slobad. “Quicksilver Sea that way.” Slobad pointed across the craggy hills that surrounded them toward the open lands of the Glimmervoid.
“The vedalken can wait,” said Glissa. “Our friends cannot. First we save Bosh and Dwugget, then we make Memnarch pay.”
* * * * *
Glissa and Slobad made their way back through the ductwork to the Krark cult lair. Slobad led the way with the fire tube doused. Glissa followed blindly, holding onto Slobad’s satchel so she didn’t lose him in the winding tunnels. After crawling through the dark for some time, Glissa nudged Slobad.
“Did it take this long on the way out?”
“No,” said the goblin. “Taking us to secret part of cult lair, huh? So secret, even they don’t know about it.”
“Another one of your personal improvements?” asked Glissa.
“Yes. Hiding spot, huh? See most of lair. Hide there when shaman’s warriors attack long ago. No time to get others to safety. We go there now. Check for danger, huh?”
“Good plan,” said Glissa. “That should bypass any guards they may have left at our escape tunnel.”
“That, too,” said Slobad. “Now, be quiet, crazy elf. We under lair right now.”
The two crawled on in silence for a while. After a few more turns, the goblin stopped. Glissa could hear him grunting. A moment later, she heard metal scraping. Then Slobad began moving again. His satchel pulled her upward until she grabbed the lip of a hole.
The elf pulled herself up into a large room. She could barely see anything, but light seeped from small openings near the floor all around her.
“Slobad,” she hissed. “Where are you?”
“Over here, huh?”
Glissa felt her way through the dark toward the goblin’s voice, bumping into what felt like a table, then a chair, along the way.
“We spy on lair from here, huh?” said Slobad. “Kneel down. Look through hole. Hole shows hall where attack start, huh? Look.”
Glissa knelt and looked through the opening. It was the same size and shape as the cover Slobad had to remove to get into the tunnels, which she suspected were air ducts. Ingenious little goblin. Through the hole Glissa saw an intersection of two corridors. The hallway across from her was dark. That must have been where we slept, she thought. To the right was where the goblins were attacked. Glissa could see the scorch marks on the floor and the blood, but otherwise the corridor was empty.
“Where are the bodies?” she whispered. “At least five goblins were killed there. Where’d they go?”
“Good question. Maybe silver beasts take them.”
“Maybe,” said Glissa, “but why? Dead goblins wouldn’t help them find me. That has to be the right corridor, though. I saw the blood.”
“Check other holes, huh?” said Slobad.
Glissa and Slobad circled the large room, checking each peephole in turn. There were several on each wall. Through each, they saw the same thing. Deserted corridors, scorch marks, and some blood. There were no sign of goblins, hover beasts, or Bosh.