A Thief of Nightshade (20 page)

“But his anger did not pass as quickly or as easily as he thought it would and he did not remember to tell the guards to light the torches the next morning, or the next and for five full days he kept the light from her. On the eve of the fifth day, as he was watching the embers of his fire glow, he felt his anger melt away and he suddenly feared for what he had done. So he leaped from his throne and lit a torch as quickly as he could, making his way through the mud and mire, unattended by the guards or his servants. Finally, at the coldest, darkest part of the underground prison, he found her crumpled in a heap at the door to the cell.

“He kneeled to cradle her in his arms. Her skin was colorless and cold, her body no longer shaking from lack of warmth. When he spoke to her, she did not stir. Fearing the worst, he pressed his hand to her chest and, to his surprise, found a heartbeat. But its strength was not great and he knew not how to help her, so he brought her back to the throne room and wept.

“His subjects heard him weeping, so they came to see what had so saddened their King. He showed them the princess and the very best doctors and the very best metal workers and the very best sculptors came to look at her and see what was to be done, and there was only one thing he could do; piece by piece, the young princess was replaced by parts fashioned from the Goblin King’s hands. Her eyes he made of the deepest jade, her hair of spun silk. Little by little, everything but her heart was made new and this pleased the King very much, for she was now truly his and would never leave his side. But as soon as he woke the princess up from her slumber, certain that she would thank him for what he had given her, she touched his face with her wintry metal hands and leaned up to whisper in his ear the very important message she had promised him the evening they had first met. ‘I would have loved you,’ she said and died of a broken heart in his arms.”

Aubrey didn’t realize she’d had her hand over her mouth, but when he stopped talking, it fell into her lap. “Hansel and Gretel creeps you out? Oh my God, Jullian.”

He shrugged. “I never said it had a happy ending. Besides, wasn’t one of your papers about The Maiden With no Hands?”

She actually hated that faerie tale.

“Okay, weeping on bloody stumps, as Grimm put it, is a tad less poetic than the Goblin King falling in love with a princess. But still, ugh. And this one amuses you?”

“It does, for some reason. I suppose it’s the idea of the goblins having a human king that does it; it just wouldn’t happen.”

She laughed, “Oh, it’s not the jade eyes that seem surreal, or the complete and utter lack of medicinal probability.”

Jullian kissed her forehead and temple. “Of course not,” he said.

“Oh, before I forget, did you get Grant’s message?”

Jullian shook his head.

“He wants to take you hunting for your birthday next week.”

“I hate birthdays, can’t we skip it?”

“You skipped last year’s birthday,”

Aubrey laughed. “Besides, you only turn thirty-five once. You’ll have a great time.

You always do.”

WHEN AISLINN WOKE, GIVEN WAS NO

LONGER
beside him. He bolted upright to find her feeling her way across the wall with her eyes closed. She was still shivering, but the blood had been wiped from her forehead, most likely onto his fur, and she seemed to be doing a little better; that is, until she grew frustrated and hit the wall, her bare fists repeatedly smacking the wet stone.

“You’re going to break your hands if you don’t quit,” he grumbled. On two legs, he made his way to where she stood.

She pushed his chest when he approached her; she may as well have been a willow pressing against him. But sensing she needed her space, he went back to the corner and watched her continue her bizarre task. After nearly an hour and still nothing spectacular, he finally felt inclined to comment.

“I hate to tell you this, but if you’re looking for a way out of here, you aren’t going to find it. They would have noticed a gaping hole in their prison, wouldn’t you think?” Aislinn shook his head, sniffing to see if the prior tenants had by chance left behind something edible. “We’re going to have to wait until someone comes for us.

Don’t ask me what we’ll do then, but we can’t do a damn thing from in here.”

She eyed him for a second but found that she still could not talk and was now even more annoyed. She went back to the wall. This time, he noticed her lips were moving; she was mouthing something.

Still, it looked futile and he was hungry.

He was just about to reach for the moldy piece of bread he spied just a few feet from him when he saw something he wasn’t entirely sure he could have seen.

He looked back up and plain enough, Given stood against the wall with her whole right arm having disappeared through it. Her lips were twisted into a proud smirk. She withdrew as he neared her; he expected to find himself capable of the same trick, but felt nothing but cold wet stone.

“Am I missing something?”

Given pointed to the wall then to herself, nodding, then to him and the wall and shook her head.

“You’ve found a way out, but ... only you can go through it?”

She nodded.

It was just as well; at least this way he wouldn’t have to worry about fooling with her once the goblins came for them. It would certainly make his burden a little lighter. “Go, then. You’ll need a head start once they discover you’re gone.”

She shook her head and tried to tell him something but he couldn’t tell what it was. Finally, she walked up to him, took his face in her hands and kissed him on the top of his snout.

He remained totally still as she disappeared into the wall and for a very long time afterward. He really didn’t blame her for leaving him; it was in her best interest. Not only that, but she had warned them more than once that they were going the wrong way. He lowered his head and, for the first time in nearly a decade, he thought about how he’d felt when Jullian had gone. He’d stayed, much like he did now, in the same spot, looking out across the water. He kept feeling like he would see Jullian again, not just then, but for years afterwards. He would think to tell him something and then painfully remember that he would never see his brother again.

Jullian had always been smarter than Aislinn, and Aislinn had never begrudged him for it. They had been inseparable growing up; Jullian had taught Aislinn how to hunt and had helped him through his lessons when they were children, rescued him from pub brawls when they grew old enough for that sort of trouble and had stayed with him through the night after Merrial had miscarried their first child. It was more than a little amusing for him to find out that Jullian had fallen for one of his students, not because he thought Jullian would find the idea improper, but because Jullian’s first love had always been his writing. Aislinn smiled at the thought. Jullian had courted off and on after coming of age, but no woman captured his affections, not even a little, and judging by the way Aubrey described him, how she spoke of him even in her sleep, she had captured more than his affections, she had captured his whole heart. Aubrey told Aislinn they hadn’t known each other very long before he had asked her to marry him, which didn’t surprise Aislinn in the least. Jullian had always known what he was looking for.

He would tell Aislinn that his heart would know it when he found her. In fact, he’d chided Aislinn for his engagement to Merrial. How Jullian had known who Merrial really was below the perfectly painted image she wore so spectacularly, Aislinn would never know. It was just Jullian’s way to know things like that.

And it was Aislinn’s way to taint everything of value that came near him; Aubrey, the precious girl who had stolen his brother’s heart, had sustained a mortal wound, all because Aislinn was too busy feeling sorry for himself. Who knew how wounded Given was now, considering what she’d taken on for Aubrey’s sake.

He’d looked down on her. He had said cruel and hurtful things that would do nothing but convince her of the truth of what she had probably been told all of her life. He was ashamed. Aubrey was right— Jullian would be horrified. Worse yet, Jullian was out there, living his worst nightmare and Aislinn had been willing to give up before the journey had even started.

The reality of Jullian’s return to Avalar simply hadn’t hit him until now, and why now he didn’t quite know. But the image of Jullian on a silver throne, dressed in white, had flashed through his mind while he slept. He’d had his share of nightmares through the years, but this was not a nightmare. Maybe it’s better this way

for him; he’ll never know that Aubrey died of a Wraith wound. Aislinn shuddered. She’s running out of time.

He rose on two legs and stared at the bars, wondering how much weight it would take to break through them and if he would break anything in the process.

Groaning in anticipation of the pain, he walked back a few paces and leaped forward.

Aubrey felt unbelievably dizzy and nauseous. She reasoned that it very well could have been looking at Cain that did it, but over the last few hours she’d come to recall Jullian’s grim tale of the Goblin King and just as it had then, it now brought revulsion.

Cain had continued to ask her all sorts of seemingly random questions. Then he had apparently figured out that she didn’t want his company and had been silent for the better part of a half-hour.

“Have you ever met the Goblin King?” she asked.

Cain twisted around unnaturally to look at her. “Why?”

“Why? Why not? Because we’re prisoners in his prison, why else? Has he sent you here for something, to find out about his prisoners? What has he offered you?”

Cain made his way back around until he was in something of a normal position and frowned at her the best he could with his rubbery lips and shifting gears. “You are a very rude human. I’ve done nothing to lead you to such accusations.”

She smiled sweetly. “Nor have you answered my questions. Have you ever met the Goblin King?”

Cain refused to answer her, wheeling back to his corner of the cell.

“Is it true that a request to see him cannot be denied?”

He whipped around, something resembling stark horror sweeping across his metallic features. “Nonsense. It isn’t so bad here. There’s plenty of time for that later.”

“I don’t have time,” she whispered.

“I’ve wasted enough of it as it is.” She walked to the cell door and looked past the bars to the unsettling creatures who stood sentinel at either end of the hall. She took a deep breath and called out to them, “I want to see His Majesty, the Goblin King.”

The creatures laughed darkly and one of them motioned for the other to unlock the cell door. She heard Cain wheeling around behind her frantically, mumbling under his breath. She’d been fairly convinced of his guilt, but now, as the goblins came to take her, she wasn’t so sure anymore.

HIT
the ground, or rather the rock that lay on the ground. Her clothes were soaked and she was freezing, but she knew if she were going to make it in time she would have to travel swiftly. She’d hated to leave Aislinn behind, but had to for a multitude of reasons, not the least of which was the same reason she’d come to them under false pretenses in the first place. They would never have trusted her otherwise and if she were going to help Aubrey defeat Saralia, she couldn’t take that chance.

Now, it seemed she had no choice but to reveal her identity. She was a Shade, there was no deception in that, but Aubrey and Aislinn had been the only ones to see her outside of the Crimson Stair. Humans naturally made all sorts of incorrect assumptions about those around them and she had counted on it to make her seem like she’d belonged there. If Aubrey thought about it long enough, she’d realize that Given had never actually been acknowledged by the others.

More than a little incensed that Aislinn hadn’t listened to her when she’d tried to lead them away from Koldavere, Given frowned. In her caution to not reveal why she knew so much about the Goblin City, she had inadvertently allowed him the upper hand. She was ruminating on that when something moved beside her in the bushes.