bullet.”
Every time she closed her eyes she saw him fire. The flash of the muzzle, the smell of the shot. Her heart lurched, diving into her stomach. If Dai remained loyal after murder, he wouldn’t defy the king and take her home.
She sighed and asked the question that had so far remained unanswered. Her mother’s tale of a greedy man wishing for gold seemed too simple. The Goblin King had hoarded gold the way goblins do, but he wanted to be human. He wanted the curse to be broken. Maybe if she understood she could help him. Then they would be even. No more debts between them and she could go home. “Why were you cursed?”
“I wasn’t. Roan was. We just came for the ride.” He placed his hands on the back of her chair. His hair fell around her like a curtain.
“What do you mean?” She spoke without turning.
Dai was too close. Anger and hurt rolled off him and burst like raindrops on her skin.
“You want to see what happened, want to know why we deserved this punishment?” He pulled her chair back and spun her around to face him.
Eliza nodded since saying no would’ve been pointless.
“Follow me.” He led her towards the cave entrance.
Eliza stopped. “No. I’m not going out there again.”
What other nightmares would surge forth to attack her? Would every stray thought come to life?
Dai took her wrist and tugged her over the threshold.
“No, please.” She clawed at his fingers.
“Relax. I’m not going to torment you with your nightmares. My creations are much more fun and educational.” He sucked in a breath and lifted his hand. Dust swirled, drawn up by an unfelt wind.
“You control it like him.”
“No. Not like Roan. He has the power to make anyone’s dreams into nightmares and nightmares into reality. I can only call my memories, my fears, my nightmares.”
The starless twilight sky glowered over them as out of the dust a clearing in a forest was born. Twenty men filled the space.
She took a step back, expecting one of the sword bearers to turn and attack.
“It’s not real. It’s kind of like 3-D TV but without the glasses.” Dai walked around the scene.
“You get TV here?”
“No. We go to the cinema.” He glanced at her. “Plenty of shadows to hide in, no one knows we’re there.”
Right. She was never sitting at the back of a theater again, just in case. Eliza followed Dai around his living memory. The men all wore swords and cloaks, fighting men—warriors. It was like watching a foreign film with a soundtrack she could only guess and no subtitles. Watching the men speak, listening, she realized it was the same language the three men had used. A language too beautiful to be Goblinese. The lilt and fall of the words wrapped around the furtive whispers in the night. She looked again at their clothing.
“You were Celtic?”
Dai smiled and nodded. “Decangli.”
This wasn’t a casual meeting. The need for secrecy spread like mist. She was eavesdropping on something she shouldn’t hear. No living human should get to re-examine history, but it was a hard offer to refuse.
“What are they saying?” Eliza found herself whispering as if the recreated dead could hear.
“We’d planned a rebellion against the Romans that had taken up residence on our land. It was all set.” Dai closed his eyes and listened as if he were hearing a symphony.
Eliza moved closer to the image, towards a man wrapped in a blue and red plaid cloak. His golden torque winked in the firelight. “Is that—”
Dai opened his eyes. “Roan?”
She nodded. “That’s the king’s name?”
“Is that the name he gave you?”
The king hadn’t given her anything except more nightmares. There weren’t enough lights in her house to chase away the darkness he brought.
“No. He’s not given me a name.”
“Then stick with king. It is his rightful title, even then.” Dai sighed. “He was a good king. He lived to remove the Roman stain and to continue our father’s fight.”
A man in
Every time she closed her eyes she saw him fire. The flash of the muzzle, the smell of the shot. Her heart lurched, diving into her stomach. If Dai remained loyal after murder, he wouldn’t defy the king and take her home.
She sighed and asked the question that had so far remained unanswered. Her mother’s tale of a greedy man wishing for gold seemed too simple. The Goblin King had hoarded gold the way goblins do, but he wanted to be human. He wanted the curse to be broken. Maybe if she understood she could help him. Then they would be even. No more debts between them and she could go home. “Why were you cursed?”
“I wasn’t. Roan was. We just came for the ride.” He placed his hands on the back of her chair. His hair fell around her like a curtain.
“What do you mean?” She spoke without turning.
Dai was too close. Anger and hurt rolled off him and burst like raindrops on her skin.
“You want to see what happened, want to know why we deserved this punishment?” He pulled her chair back and spun her around to face him.
Eliza nodded since saying no would’ve been pointless.
“Follow me.” He led her towards the cave entrance.
Eliza stopped. “No. I’m not going out there again.”
What other nightmares would surge forth to attack her? Would every stray thought come to life?
Dai took her wrist and tugged her over the threshold.
“No, please.” She clawed at his fingers.
“Relax. I’m not going to torment you with your nightmares. My creations are much more fun and educational.” He sucked in a breath and lifted his hand. Dust swirled, drawn up by an unfelt wind.
“You control it like him.”
“No. Not like Roan. He has the power to make anyone’s dreams into nightmares and nightmares into reality. I can only call my memories, my fears, my nightmares.”
The starless twilight sky glowered over them as out of the dust a clearing in a forest was born. Twenty men filled the space.
She took a step back, expecting one of the sword bearers to turn and attack.
“It’s not real. It’s kind of like 3-D TV but without the glasses.” Dai walked around the scene.
“You get TV here?”
“No. We go to the cinema.” He glanced at her. “Plenty of shadows to hide in, no one knows we’re there.”
Right. She was never sitting at the back of a theater again, just in case. Eliza followed Dai around his living memory. The men all wore swords and cloaks, fighting men—warriors. It was like watching a foreign film with a soundtrack she could only guess and no subtitles. Watching the men speak, listening, she realized it was the same language the three men had used. A language too beautiful to be Goblinese. The lilt and fall of the words wrapped around the furtive whispers in the night. She looked again at their clothing.
“You were Celtic?”
Dai smiled and nodded. “Decangli.”
This wasn’t a casual meeting. The need for secrecy spread like mist. She was eavesdropping on something she shouldn’t hear. No living human should get to re-examine history, but it was a hard offer to refuse.
“What are they saying?” Eliza found herself whispering as if the recreated dead could hear.
“We’d planned a rebellion against the Romans that had taken up residence on our land. It was all set.” Dai closed his eyes and listened as if he were hearing a symphony.
Eliza moved closer to the image, towards a man wrapped in a blue and red plaid cloak. His golden torque winked in the firelight. “Is that—”
Dai opened his eyes. “Roan?”
She nodded. “That’s the king’s name?”
“Is that the name he gave you?”
The king hadn’t given her anything except more nightmares. There weren’t enough lights in her house to chase away the darkness he brought.
“No. He’s not given me a name.”
“Then stick with king. It is his rightful title, even then.” Dai sighed. “He was a good king. He lived to remove the Roman stain and to continue our father’s fight.”
A man in
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