Chapter 13
13
No little eyes watched us from the tiny goblin houses as we passed them. I would have assumed that the small goblins were nocturnal, but it seemed I was mistaken. Ringo had retreated to my bag. “I don’t recommend the northern woods,” his little voice emanated from within.
I smirked. “Yeah, I think we better avoid the trolls. And the Citadel.”
Mistral would want his report at some point, but now I was even less sure who to trust. Why were these vampires suddenly after me? It didn’t make any sense. I needed to keep my information close to my chest until I figured out what was going on.
My watch buzzed, and I hurried to answer it. I had tried calling Braxton once I was safe, but he hadn’t answered .
“What in the hells is going on, Eva?” his voice buzzed from the watch.
“I have no idea. Are you okay?”
“Okay as I can be. Lilith’s buddies got me out of there. When they told me to run, I ran. And we all know vampires are no match for werewolf speed.”
I let out a long breath. He was safe, and being smug, so he wasn’t feeling too bad about it. “I’m sorry Braxton. I shouldn’t have pulled you into this. Whatever this is.”
“You know I’ve always got your back, Eva. Where are you?”
“In the Bogs. I’ll stay here until the sun is up.” I stepped around a mucky puddle. I would need to find some high ground if I hoped to get any sleep.
“You may want to stay there longer. This is some crazy shit going on. And we both know even with vampires, you’re not safe in the daylight. They have their… fans . And let’s not forget the angelics.”
I nodded along with his words. “Yeah, it’s a risk, but I need to figure out a way to talk to Lilith. She obviously knows something about what’s going on.”
“Oh, no, Eva. No more nighttime adventures. If you’re going to ask anyone, ask your devil. He at least wants you alive. We have no idea why Lilith helped you. Maybe she just wants to hand you over to someone else.”
My frown deepened. He was right. I didn’t know her at all. But then why had Sebastian sent me to question her? “I’ll think about it. I’m going to find a place to get some rest.”
“Don’t come home with any more goblins, Eva. We don’t have a lot of space.”
Shaking my head, I ended the call. We reached a small open hill, the grass less soggy with the elevation. I wasn’t sure where all the moisture in the Bogs came from. I mean, it rained plenty in the city, but out here it was practically a swamp. I hiked up the hill, keeping my attention on our surroundings, but I didn’t sense anything. Stars glittered serenely overhead, as if nothing could possibly be wrong.
Reaching the top of the hill took the rest of my energy, and I plopped down, bringing my messenger bag into my lap. I opened it and looked down at Ringo. I had either left behind or lost most of the candy, and the few remaining pieces floating around were crushed and coming open at the seams. There were also a few suspiciously empty wrappers. I had a feeling Ringo might have some sticky fingers. Literally not metaphorically.
“You know. When I leave in the morning, you might want to stay here this time. It seems like my life has become a little more dangerous than yours.”
He twitched his tufted ears and blinked those big eyes at me. “Do you want me to stay?”
“No, I…” I could admit I had gotten attached to the little guy. It had been oddly nice having him around. “I want you to do what you want to do. Don’t act just out of loyalty to me. ”
He hunkered down a little further in my bag, until all I could see were his shining eyes. “I want to stay with you.”
I smiled, unexpectedly relieved, though I could only hope I didn’t get him hurt. “Then you’ll stay with me.”
“Stealing goblins now are we?”
My gaze whipped up to Gabriel standing over me. I hadn’t sensed him at all. He cut an imposing figure above me, his arm muscles straining against his linen shirt as he crossed them.
“Not stealing. Befriending .”
His mouth twitched, but he didn’t quite smile. “Pure motives from a spy? I think not.”
I settled more comfortably onto the grass. “What do you want?”
“My master saved your life. Surely you would not choose to pay him back by loitering on this hill all night.”
My brows lifted as I tried to figure out what he was talking about. Then it clicked into place. The gate that had magically opened. It was magic all right. High goblin magic.
“We’re just fine here, I think.” Leaving my bag in my lap, I leaned my hands back against the grass and looked up at the stars. “Don’t worry, we’ll be gone in the morning.”
I barely had time to react as he grabbed my arm and hoisted me up. I held onto the messenger bag with my free hand, pulling against his grip. I tried to shift, but his fingers remained vice-like around me.
He tugged me closer, leaning down near my cheek. He smelled like the earth, and vaguely of wood smoke. “You forget, night runner, this entire place is in part another realm. I’m used to keeping hold of slippery things.”
I hadn’t known that, but I kept my mouth shut. He started dragging me back down the hill, fast enough that I started to stumble. I managed to throw the strap of my messenger bag over my head and across my shoulder, securing Ringo, then I tugged back against his grip again, my boots sliding across the grass.
“I can walk on my own!”
He stopped, then tugged me close. I ended up with my hand braced against his broad chest, but he didn’t seem to notice. “Do you recall what happened last time you were a pain in my side?”
I went still. I wanted to be in control when I faced Mistral, not asleep in a prison cell.
“Don’t worry,” I hissed. “I’ll keep up.”
Still gripping me, he leaned close to my face again. “See that you do, night runner. I won’t rescue you next time you are destined for a troll’s cookpot.” He released me, then started walking down the hill.
I had to jog to keep up with his long strides. “Hey, I rescued myself from that, thank you very much.”
“Why do you think the trolls gave up their search so quickly? ”
I stopped for a moment to glare at his back, but he kept walking and I had to hurry to catch up again. So he had chased away a few trolls. It didn’t mean I owed him anything. I had too many debts already.
“Devils certainly do take fine care of their lackeys.” Mistral sat in his chair by the fire once more. I had almost forgotten how attractive he was, and seeing his stern expression brought our brief kiss instantly to mind. His linen shirt, pale gray this time, looked smooth as butter.
Gabriel pressed his palm against my lower back, forcing me to step forward.
Giving him a glare, I walked toward the fire and the empty seat. As I lowered myself onto the cushions, Ringo squirmed out of my bag and climbed onto my shoulder.
Mistral observed us, lifting an eyebrow at me. “I’m surprised you kept it.”
“He’s not an it .” I crossed my arms and leaned back, turning my gaze toward the smoldering fire. “And thanks for letting me in,” I grumbled.
“I must say, when you returned for your report, I didn’t expect you to be chased by vampires.” I turned back to find his eyes lingering on my red silk top.
“Really? Because I entirely expected to be chased by vampires. ”
His stone gray eyes studied me coolly. Maybe he didn’t get sarcasm. “What have you learned from Sebastian?”
I debated how much to tell him. I didn’t really trust him, but truth was part of our bargain. I didn’t want to accidentally break it. I knew what happened when you broke bargains with devils, but not with goblins.
Something terrible, I was sure. There had been magic behind our kiss. I probably should have asked more specifically about the terms. That would teach me to be so impulsive.
Regardless, with Sebastian almost getting me killed too many times, I wasn’t inclined to show him any loyalty. “He had me question a vampire named Lilith tonight about why some angelics tried to kill me. Apparently that is now actually of interest to him. At first I thought he was the one that set it up, but now I’m not sure if that’s true.”
He steepled his fingers, reminding me of Sebastian. “The only truth you’ll see is the truth he wants you to see. Remember that. What else?”
I shrugged. The fire was making me sleepy… and hungry. It had been a long night. “Nothing. He wanted me to ask you about Celeste, then he wanted me to ask Lilith about the angelics. Before she could tell me anything, some vampire I don’t even know tried to have me captured. I had to run, and I ended up here.”
“Lilith helped you?” he asked.
“You know her?” But of course he knew her. This was all some giant sick joke, created just for me.
“It’s not important.” His gaze went distant as he watched the fire. Apparently it was now time for quiet contemplation.
My eyes were drawn to Gabriel approaching with a wine decanter and two long stemmed glasses. I hadn’t noticed him leaving to fetch them.
My eyes roamed up the full height of him. “You sure move quiet for someone so large.”
“Not all of us tromp around loudly enough to alert every troll in the forest.” He set the glasses on a little table, then filled them both with a pale purple liquid.
The sharp tang of alcohol hit my nostrils, along with a more pleasant aroma of lavender and vanilla. Not that I couldn’t use a drink, but I wasn’t sure if some unknown goblin beverage should be that drink.
Mistral took his glass without acknowledging anyone. He sipped it, still peering pensively into the fire.
What the hell, they came from the same carafe, and I was stuck here with Mr. Broodypants until sunrise. Lifting my glass in sarcastic thanks toward Gabriel, I took a sip. The liquid burned all the way down, but the flavor was divine. The mixture boasted the strong herbal taste of lavender, the warmth of vanilla, and a touch of honey for sweetness.
Gabriel smirked, pouring more of the liquid into my glass when I extended it his way, then retreated toward the door .
“You will continue learning from Sebastian.” Mistral’s voice startled me after he had been silent for so long. “And you will report to me until our bargain is fulfilled. At that point, I will assist you with your problems.”
I swirled the pale purple liquid in my glass. “You know, Sebastian is paying me for my work.”
He finally looked at me, seeming genuinely surprised. “Why?”
I shrugged. “There was no mention of timeline in our bargain. I agreed to work for him, but I didn’t agree on how quickly I would do it.” I cradled my glass before me and lifted a brow. “I believe there was no mention of timeline in our bargain either.”
He returned his glass to the small table, his long graceful fingers trailing across the stem. “Perhaps not, but I am also the only thing standing between you and a pack of angry vampires.”
I glowered. “Fair enough. So can we crash here until morning?”
He furrowed his brow. “ Crash ?”
“Yeah, like stay here? Spend the night?”
He wrinkled his nose. “I’m familiar with the term, I’m just not sure I’ve ever had the request for someone to… crash here.”
I leaned back in my seat, taking another sip from my glass. “There’s a first time for everything.”
“Apparently so. You may crash, but on one condition.”
I lowered my wine glass. “Go on.”
Ringo trembled on my shoulder, reminding me of his presence.
“You will tell me more about yourself.”
He honestly couldn’t have surprised me more. “Why?”
He shrugged. “Call it simple curiosity. I do not interact often with humans.”
I doubted it. If I had to guess, he was still trying to figure out why Sebastian was interested in me. Just what was their history with each other?
I took another sip, though the delightful liquid was already starting to go to my head, then shrugged. “I’m an open book. Ask away.”
“Your mother was full-blooded celestial?”
I deflated. That was the last thing I wanted to talk about. “Yep. Good ol’ mom.”
“And she taught you your abilities?”
“Not quite.” I fell silent, growing increasingly uncomfortable.
“For being an open book, you don’t seem to have many pages.”
I took a bigger swill of my drink. “I just don’t like talking about my mom.”
He watched me for a long moment. There was too much behind those stunning gray eyes, making me squirm in my seat. “Fair enough. Were you born in the city?”
“No, I came here when I was young.” I was already regretting allowing him to ask questions. Maybe I should have risked the vampires.
I was actually happy when Gabriel returned, interrupting us. He didn’t say anything, but Mistral seemed to understand what his presence meant.
He stood, then offered me his hand.
Irritated, tired, but also warm and tingly from the wine, I took his hand and stood. His magic sent a little thrill through my body and I involuntarily took a step toward him.
Keep your enemies close. Yeah, that was it. Although I wasn’t entirely sure if he was actually an enemy. Or my enemy. He was most certainly Sebastian’s.
With a small smile, Mistral led me toward the door with Ringo hiding beneath my hair against my neck. Gabriel watched us pass, then followed.
We made our way down the hall with the impossibly long runner rug, eventually stopping at another open door with food smells wafting out. Mistral escorted me inside.
The first thing I noticed was the long wooden dining table, big enough to seat ten people. I wondered how often those seats were filled. So far, Mistral and Gabriel seemed like the only two goblins in the entire place. Judging by the lavish spread on the table, maybe some of those elusive people would be joining us tonight. There was enough food to feed an army .
Mistral walked past me, then pulled out a chair, waiting behind it expectantly.
After a moment’s thought, I took it. He wasn’t the first guy over a century old I had been around. They tended to have better manners than the rest of them.
Mistral took the seat at the head of the table, adjacent to mine.
I glanced back at Gabriel standing near the open door. “You cook?”
He smirked. “I have many talents, spy.” He turned and walked out the door, shutting it behind him.
With Mistral watching me, I removed the glass salad bowl from my plate and scooped some roasted fingerling potatoes into it for Ringo. I put the bowl on the seat beside me, and he hopped down out of my hair. He needed no further invitation to start loudly munching on the potatoes.
My eyes shifted to Mistral, who was yet to fill his plate. “You know, I feel like an animal in the zoo when you watch me like that.”
“I do not usually serve fine wine and foods to animals.”
I looked at the wine carafe in the center of the table, debating pouring myself another glass. “You call that wine? It tastes as strong as whiskey.”
He smiled. “Goblins have no issue handling their liquor. Are celestials not the same?”
“Not that I know of.” Despite my words, I reached for the carafe .
The food looked amazing, and something drenched in melted cheese had particularly caught my eye, but I was hesitant to eat. The wine had proven safe enough, but—
“The food is made with a bit if magic, but it isn’t enchanted, if that’s your worry. You already agreed to our bargain. I have no reason to bespell you.”
I gave him a wary look.
“You don’t know much about goblin magic, do you?”
I furrowed my brow, not sure if I should admit it, but he could find out easily enough. “Not really.”
“I could tell you, if you’d like.”
I held my wine glass close to my chest. “Oh yeah? In exchange for what?”
He lifted one shoulder in the most graceful shrug I had ever seen. “Simple dinner conversation. Gabriel is not a goblin of many words.”
I sipped my wine. Damn, it was delicious. “Are you the only two living here?”
“In this estate, yes. In the Citadel, no. There are many others.”
Seeing that Ringo wasn’t keeling over, I finally decided to fill my plate. I went for the cheesy thing, which ended up being some sort of flat pie, like a giant tart. I plopped a slice onto my plate and took a bite. The buttery crust melted in my mouth. There was fruit inside, maybe pears? I would never have thought to pair them with the melted cheese, but it was absolutely divine .
“No more questions?”
I looked at Mistral. He still hadn’t eaten anything. “Not hungry?”
“It is proper to see that guests are well fed before the host has his share.”
I took another bite of the pie, giving him a quizzical look. The goblins I was most familiar with would snatch any food you gave them.
“We are not all chittering creatures living in the muck,” he continued. His eyes lowered to Ringo who was licking long strokes across his empty bowl on the chair beside me.
I glared at Mistral and lifted a finger to my lips, warning him to not insult my little friend.
His eyes danced with amusement, making their pure gray seem a little less cold. “In truth, we are not far off from the fey. In fact, our peoples are originally from near realms.”
I lowered the bite that was halfway to my mouth. It wasn’t often that the older creatures talked about their original realms. They still existed, but as the creatures remained in the land and bred with humans, their magic faded, and most of them were pretty bitter about that. Most realms had near realms, like earth and the hells, but both the fae and goblin lands were far realms.
Now, those far realms were little more to them than a distant memory. The best they could do was bring a bit of their magic to a place here, beyond a boundary .
“Fey use the magic of the land,” I said stupidly, considering how goblins might be similar to fairies.
“Oh, so you do know something ,” he quipped. “Fey use the magic of the earth. Goblins use the magic of the sky and air.” He tilted his head. “Perhaps it would be easiest to think of us as somewhere between fey and celestials.”
“Then why do so many of you look—” I cut myself off, realizing I was about to be horribly rude. The wine was getting to my head.
“Like trolls?”
I slumped my shoulders. “Um, yeah.”
He finally took a slice of the same pie I had gone for, ignoring the rest of the food. “Goblins do love their curses.”
The idea curled my stomach. I would do my best to never get cursed by a goblin. Although, here I was in a bargain with one. “Are any of these curses a result of bargains?”
He gave me a wicked smile. “Yes, some. Though it is different when a bargain is struck with someone with no goblin blood.”
I only had a moment to feel relieved before he continued, “When a bargain with such a mortal is struck, the price of going back on it is that the mortal will have to live in goblin lands forever. They can never leave again.”
I dropped my fork onto my plate with a loud clatter. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as taking my soul, but the Bogs were not a place I would choose to live. The Citadel didn’t seem too bad, but still. I valued my freedom. It was something I had worked hard to maintain.
I took another swill of wine, choosing my words. “But as long as I tell you what Sebastian has me do, I’m good, right?”
“Yes, quite.”
He maintained eye contact long enough that my cheeks flushed. I set down my wine. I needed to stop if I was going to keep my wits about me. It was bad enough to make bargains with goblins. Probably even worse to do anything else with them.
The tension between us broke as Ringo started snoring in his chair.
Mistral looked past me down at the little creature. “Perhaps we should take your friend to bed.”
I was surprisingly reluctant to end the evening, but I nodded my agreement. For some reason, a devil was interested in me, and so were a bunch of vampires. Not to mention the angelics. It might have been flattering if I wasn’t worried about getting killed. Just as Mistral’s attention might have been flattering under other circumstances, but as things stood, I knew there were ulterior motives behind it.
I couldn’t trust anyone, least of all another ancient being who had tricked me into a bargain.
But that didn’t mean I didn’t admire the sight of those smooth linen pants as he led me out of the room.