the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling. Crossbows pointed at us or not, this could be good.
“Which would be more convincing?” Tam drawled. “To regale your friends here with how when you were fourteen, you fell face-first out of Countess Na’Ghal’s boudoir window into a pile of horse manure with her enraged husband in pursuit, or your eighteenth birthday when you treated yourself to a pair of ripe Caesolian—”
“I believe you,” his brother said quickly, lowering the crossbow.
Tam smiled, and it was genuine. “Are you quite certain? It would be no trouble. I assure you I recall both events in exacting detail—or dozens of similar… shall we say, unfortunate moments from your past.” Tam nudged the body at his feet with the tip of his boot. “Though we shouldn’t stand around until reinforcements arrive for this pack of jackals, so I could just cut to the good parts.”
“I said I believe you.” Tam’s brother rested the butt of his crossbow against his hip, bolt pointing at the cave’s roof. He turned and glanced over his right shoulder. “What do you think?”
“I believe him,” said an amused voice from the shadowsnear the cave entrance. “However, it would be prudent to be absolutely certain that he’s telling the truth. Perhaps Tam should share that birthday story. After all, the truth is in the details.” Another goblin stepped into what light there was, his body glowing from a faint red protection spell. A good one. The spell winked out.
“Jash Masloc,” Tam said, grinning until his fangs showed.
“Good to see you, Tam.” The mage turned to the others. “Stand down, ladies and gentlemen. Our guests may not be nice, but they are friends.” The mage bowed gallantly from the waist. “Prince Chigaru, Director Kalis—welcome home, such that it is. Your Highness, this wasn’t the welcome you should have received.”
“But it was the one we expected, Count Masloc,” Chigaru said.
“Sarad has a twisted sense of propriety,” Imala noted. “How did you know we were coming?”
“Thankfully, we still have spies close to King Sathrik who can still get messages out.” Jash Masloc smiled. “Even under siege, the goblin court is still the court. Secrets are merely gossip that hasn’t been spread yet. There’s more than one chamber in these caves. We didn’t know which one held your mirror—and neither did these poor bastards—until Magus Silvanus announced your less-than-happy arrival.”
I resisted the urge to shoot Carnades a dirty look—or better yet, tell Tam’s brother to just shoot him. “Our exit mirror got busted,” I said.
“That would explain the… outburst.”
Not more than ten seconds on the other side of the mirror, and Carnades had come close to getting us slaughtered—or worse, captured, tortured, and then slaughtered. Having Carnades Silvanus in our immediate vicinity was going to get us killed before we even got into the city. But if the looks our new goblin friends were giving him were any indication, Carnades would be on his best behavior. He might not know the goblins in the cave with us, but they certainly eitherknew or had heard of him. Or maybe Carnades just reeked of bigot.
Tam walked quickly toward his brother.
His brother held up a placating hand. “I knew you were telling the truth. I didn’t doubt it for a minute.”
“Yes, you did. At the very least, you doubted my motives.”
Tam’s brother slung the crossbow’s strap across one shoulder just as Tam caught him up in a bear hug.
“Of course, I doubted your motives,” he said with a big grin, returning the hug. “You’re a Nathrach, aren’t you?”
Tam made quick introductions. His brother was Nathair, or Nath to his friends. When Tam had finished introducing everyone else, he turned to Talon.
Oh boy.
More than a few of the Resistance fighters had the fine features of pure-blooded goblins, or the “old families” as I’d heard Tam call those like them. I wasn’t
“Which would be more convincing?” Tam drawled. “To regale your friends here with how when you were fourteen, you fell face-first out of Countess Na’Ghal’s boudoir window into a pile of horse manure with her enraged husband in pursuit, or your eighteenth birthday when you treated yourself to a pair of ripe Caesolian—”
“I believe you,” his brother said quickly, lowering the crossbow.
Tam smiled, and it was genuine. “Are you quite certain? It would be no trouble. I assure you I recall both events in exacting detail—or dozens of similar… shall we say, unfortunate moments from your past.” Tam nudged the body at his feet with the tip of his boot. “Though we shouldn’t stand around until reinforcements arrive for this pack of jackals, so I could just cut to the good parts.”
“I said I believe you.” Tam’s brother rested the butt of his crossbow against his hip, bolt pointing at the cave’s roof. He turned and glanced over his right shoulder. “What do you think?”
“I believe him,” said an amused voice from the shadowsnear the cave entrance. “However, it would be prudent to be absolutely certain that he’s telling the truth. Perhaps Tam should share that birthday story. After all, the truth is in the details.” Another goblin stepped into what light there was, his body glowing from a faint red protection spell. A good one. The spell winked out.
“Jash Masloc,” Tam said, grinning until his fangs showed.
“Good to see you, Tam.” The mage turned to the others. “Stand down, ladies and gentlemen. Our guests may not be nice, but they are friends.” The mage bowed gallantly from the waist. “Prince Chigaru, Director Kalis—welcome home, such that it is. Your Highness, this wasn’t the welcome you should have received.”
“But it was the one we expected, Count Masloc,” Chigaru said.
“Sarad has a twisted sense of propriety,” Imala noted. “How did you know we were coming?”
“Thankfully, we still have spies close to King Sathrik who can still get messages out.” Jash Masloc smiled. “Even under siege, the goblin court is still the court. Secrets are merely gossip that hasn’t been spread yet. There’s more than one chamber in these caves. We didn’t know which one held your mirror—and neither did these poor bastards—until Magus Silvanus announced your less-than-happy arrival.”
I resisted the urge to shoot Carnades a dirty look—or better yet, tell Tam’s brother to just shoot him. “Our exit mirror got busted,” I said.
“That would explain the… outburst.”
Not more than ten seconds on the other side of the mirror, and Carnades had come close to getting us slaughtered—or worse, captured, tortured, and then slaughtered. Having Carnades Silvanus in our immediate vicinity was going to get us killed before we even got into the city. But if the looks our new goblin friends were giving him were any indication, Carnades would be on his best behavior. He might not know the goblins in the cave with us, but they certainly eitherknew or had heard of him. Or maybe Carnades just reeked of bigot.
Tam walked quickly toward his brother.
His brother held up a placating hand. “I knew you were telling the truth. I didn’t doubt it for a minute.”
“Yes, you did. At the very least, you doubted my motives.”
Tam’s brother slung the crossbow’s strap across one shoulder just as Tam caught him up in a bear hug.
“Of course, I doubted your motives,” he said with a big grin, returning the hug. “You’re a Nathrach, aren’t you?”
Tam made quick introductions. His brother was Nathair, or Nath to his friends. When Tam had finished introducing everyone else, he turned to Talon.
Oh boy.
More than a few of the Resistance fighters had the fine features of pure-blooded goblins, or the “old families” as I’d heard Tam call those like them. I wasn’t
Similar Books
