Chapter 7
7
My stomach felt bruised and I couldn’t sense my legs anymore, yet the goblin’s steady footsteps continued, carrying me across the Bogs with only a view of the path just below us.
“I can walk myself,” I groaned for the hundredth time.
“I know your kind, night runner. You will not escape me so easily.“
He was really overestimating my talents. “Well then maybe you could just take the delivery for me.” I knew it was a moot point. He hadn’t believed a word I’d said thus far.
“You have nothing of value in your little satchel. You are a spy.“
Not this again. I had really gotten myself into it. I should have just kept my mouth shut all along. “I’m not a spy. ”
I felt a wave of magic, then suddenly I was less annoyed and more sleepy. “Hey, what are you—” but my words were slurring. I felt another pulse of magic, and then I was out.
I woke up with hard stone beneath me—I cracked my eyes open despite my splitting headache— and around me. There was stone all around me. Wonderful.
I sat up, taking in the iron bars of my prison cell. Where I had been taken was dark, and had that peculiar damp claustrophobic feeling of being underground. A torch blazed against the wall outside my cell, and another to my left.
I moved enough to lean my back against the cold gray stone. My messenger bag was missing, and my clothes were still damp from the pond. I reached into my jacket to find my knife had also been taken.
“Sorry,” a little voice said beside me.
I looked down to see the blue goblin I had rescued from the trolls. Unlike my clothing, his fur was dry, and his tufted ears stood up at attention.
I touched my hair, feeling it frizzy and mussed from getting wet. I was pretty sure I looked as terrible as I felt. “It’s not your fault that jerk snatched us up.“ I looked down at him again. “Or is it?”
He visibly shivered. “No, not my fault.”
I leaned my head back against the stone wall. “So do you know anything about this Mistral?”
I heard the scraping of claws, then felt his little body push against my side. He shivered again. “High Goblin of the Stone Clan. Very old. Cruel and cunning.“
Great. What had that devil gotten me into? Thinking of Sebastian, I reached into my boot, pulling out the playing card. It was still in pristine condition despite the water that had poured into my boot, but no magic emanated from it.
I lifted it in front of my face. “Hey, if you can hear me, I could use a little help.”
The two hearts on the card stared back at me, but nothing happened. I had expected as much. He had already told me he wouldn’t be able to reach me in the Bogs.
I hastily stuffed the card back into my boot as I heard a door open. I waited with my back against the wall as someone stepped into view. I had expected the goblin that took me, but instead I got a devastatingly handsome man with stone gray skin and pure white hair. I could see the points of his ears through the hair. He was lithe, but muscled, and moved with otherworldly grace.
He came to stand at the other side of the iron bars. He wore a white linen shirt and gray pants, looking like he’d stepped out of another century, though the clothing looked right on him .
Dark eyes looked me up and down coldly. “I’m told you had a delivery for me, but we found only candy and trinkets in your satchel.” His voice was rich with a hint of an accent I couldn’t quite place.
He’d said the delivery was for him, so he must be Mistral. Now to tell the truth, or not to tell the truth. Although, I certainly didn’t want this man catching me in a lie. “I was actually hoping to ask you a question, but your… friend kept insisting I was a spy.”
“Yes, Gabriel is rather suspicious of outsiders.” He crossed his arms, still looking down at me like I was an insect. “Well?” he said after a moment. “Ask it.“
Surprised, I considered my words. I probably shouldn’t mention Sebastian. Few people would take kindly to a mission from a devil. Myself included. “I wanted to ask you about a woman named Celeste. I’m trying to find her.”
His brows lifted in genuine surprise. “Now that is not a name I have heard in a long while.”
Feeling silly still seated on the ground, I pushed to my feet. “Do you know where she is?”
But he only observed me, not answering. His gaze drifted down to the furry blue creature. “What is that doing here?”
The creature shivered, wrapping its little arms around my ankle.
Feeling bad for the little guy, I quickly crouched and picked him up, then returned my attention to the high goblin. “He’s with me. ”
The goblin’s gaze lifted from the creature to my face. The fire from the torch caught his eyes just right to show me how striking they were, deep gray, a few shades darker than his skin. “What do you want with Celeste?”
“I just want to know where she is.”
“You’re just a messenger, or so you claim. Who actually wants to know where she is?”
I once again debated telling the truth. If he found out I was working for a devil, I might be stuck in this cell forever. Then again, he might take pity on me. And if he had any way to tell if I was lying, he certainly wouldn’t. “For a devil named Sebastian.”
His brows lifted again. “An unwise choice of employer.“ He tilted his head, studying me. “Although I’m guessing there was little choice in the matter.”
I crossed my arms around the little goblin huddling against my chest. “You guessed correctly. So can I go now?”
“Go?” He pursed his lips as if the idea was preposterous.
A lump started forming in my throat. Surely he wouldn’t keep me here. “Yeah. I was sent here to ask you about Celeste. If you don’t know anything about her, my job is done.”
He took a graceful step forward, nearing the bars of my cell. “My closest advisor believes you a spy.”
I stepped toward him, fighting the panic slowly constricting my chest. I couldn’t be stuck in this cell forever. Not for that stupid devil. “But you know that’s not true. I just told you why I’m here.”
His long, silky hair draped across his shoulder as he continued watching me like he was waiting for something. Silent moments ticked by.
“You can be both a messenger and spy,” he said finally. His smile told me he didn’t really believe it. He was messing with me, but to what end?
I dared a step closer, close enough that he could grab me through the bars, though I doubted he would. The little goblin hid his face against me. “I’m not a spy. You have no reason to lock me up.”
“Invading my lands is not reason enough?”
I looked directly into those stunning gray eyes. “I am a messenger . I didn’t invade anything. I just came here to ask you a question. What’s the harm in that?”
He continued watching me with that small smile on his lips, and I finally realized what he was doing.
And it wasn’t exactly a relief. I sighed heavily. “What do I have to do to get out of here?”
His smile broadened, and it was a little too close to Sebastian’s smile for my liking. “I’ll think about it.” Smirking, he walked away, and a few seconds later the unseen door creaked closed behind him.
I looked down at the little blue creature now looking up at me. “Do you think he’ll be coming back soon?”
The creature blinked rapidly at me, clearly worried.
I was pretty sure I was only being toyed with, but it was cold comfort at best. “Goblins do know that humans need to eat, right?” I looked around the cell. “And use the bathroom?”
The little goblin simply shivered again. Wonderful . I was stuck for who knew how long, and the only person who knew exactly where I was, was a devil.
And devils weren’t exactly known for heroic rescues.