“Go!” Tam yelled at Jennet.
He tried to wrench himself away, but he couldn’t break the king’s grip. Left-handed, he scrabbled for his sword.
The Goblin King drew Tam closer, his yellow fangs terribly sharp, his eyes gleaming with malice. The hilt of the sword slipped out from under Tam’s fingers and he felt the edge of panic. Come on, sword! Finally, when it seemed the goblin was about to take a bite out of him, he got a solid grip and pulled the blade free.
“Ark!” the king screeched. He threw both clawed hands up to shield his grotesque face, and Tam scrambled backward into the tunnel.
From her place just inside the tunnel, Jennet shot a bolt of magefire at the Goblin King. He cried out again and staggered toward them, barking out commands. One long, crooked finger pointed toward the tunnel, and goblins surged forward.
“Let’s go!” Tam shouted.
Jennet gave him a panicked look, then picked her skirts up with one hand and dashed down the tunnel. He was right behind her. The noise of goblins scurrying after them grew louder. At any moment, he expected to feel sharp claws digging into his back.
The tunnel branched, and Jennet went left. She didn’t slow down, but he heard her panting for breath. Another branching, and she went right this time. They continued headlong, their way barely lit by the faint blue glow of her staff. The sounds of pursuit faded, but the back of Tam’s neck still prickled. Those goblins didn’t seem like the kind to give up easily.
“I have to rest,” Jennet gasped, slowing down.
“Ok. I think it’s safe for now.” He faced back the way they had come, sword at the ready. The only sound was Jennet’s breathing. After a moment, she stopped panting so hard. Tam’s own breathing evened out, but he didn’t let down his guard.
The tunnel was full of thick shadows. Then, suddenly, eyes shone in the darkness. A blur of sharp claws and red-capped creatures erupted toward them. Jennet gasped and began to run again, but Tam stayed behind. He swiped at the goblins, and the front ranks leaped back, yelping when his steel touched their flesh.
It was rapidly getting too dark to see. He whipped his sword at the goblins one more time, then whirled and sprinted after the faint blue glow of Jennet’s staff.
It didn’t take him long to catch up, which meant that the goblins would be closing fast, too.
“Quickly, come this way,” a high, familiar voice piped.
“Puck!” Jennet said. “Where are you?”
A little brown hand beckoned from the shadows. Squinting, Tam could just make out a jaunty figure standing in a small opening in the tunnel wall. If the sprite hadn’t spoken, they would have run right past.
“Are you sure that’s Puck?” He was tempted to poke his sword at it.
“Hush your mortal mouths, and come,” Puck said. “Or stay, and the redcaps will gnaw your bones.”
“Tough choice,” Jennet said, and slipped through the opening.
Tam hesitated. He didn’t trust the little creature - or the company he kept. But it was either Puck or the goblins.
“Tam?” Jennet whispered.
He couldn’t abandon her. He let out a breath and squeezed himself through the gap. It was a tight fit. Good thing he wasn’t wearing his armor.
“Conceal your light,” Puck said. “Softly now, softly.” He waved his hands at the opening they had just come through.
Tam blinked. In the moment before Jennet’s staff had vanished, taking its light with it, he thought he saw the tunnel walls close. Truth or trick?
Whether it was an illusion or not, the sounds of the goblins passing by were all too clear. Their guttural voices and the scritch of claws on stone made Tam’s blood surge. His fingers clenched hard over his sword hilt and he held his breath. Finally, the last sounds of marauding goblins faded away. He let the air slip out between his teeth.
“You may summon your light again,” Puck said.
A warmer glow pushed back the darkness this time. Tam looked over at Jennet. She was holding a glass lantern lit by a round ball of light.
She nodded at him. “You could summon one, too.”
“Makes it too hard to fight.” Still, he held the image in his mind. A moment later, a second lantern dangled from his fingers.
Despite the wave of tiredness that washed over him, there was something comforting about their twin lights. This part of the goblin tunnels seemed less menacing. Or maybe it was just having Puck with them, humming a tune as he led them forward.
“Um, Puck,” Tam said, “Where are we going?”
“Here and there.”
Jennet lifted her lantern. “As long as it’s away from the goblins, I don’t really mind where you take us.”
“Don’t say that.” Tam gave her a warning look. “Aren’t we trying to get closer to the court? I don’t want to end up in the middle of a marsh again.”
According to that book she had lent him, you had to be careful what you said around the fey-folk. There had been a whole chapter about bargains gone awry and the faeries’ tricky ways.
“The knight can take you closer in,” Puck said, “but if you need to go out, follow the stairway.”
“Hold up.” Tam stopped walking. “The knight? As in, the Black Knight? That’s a no.”
“But…” Jennet paused, looking from Tam to Puck.
The sprite laughed, the sound like high bells. “Do you fear to face him in single combat again, bold Tamlin?”
“I’d be a fool not to. And I don’t need any more souvenir cuts to take home, thanks.”
“He has already tested your mettle, bold champion. But you will need an escort if you desire to meet his Lady.”
An odd exhilaration swept over Tam. “You mean the Dark Queen?”
“Puck, are you sure?” Now Jennet was the one who sounded uncertain. “I don’t think we’re ready. There are more layers to go through, aren’t there? Like the Dark Forest and the Fey Fields—”
“The land is ever-changing,” Puck said. “The roads you once traveled have shifted, and the places laid by Thomas the Bard are all but gone. The Realm returns to its own.”
Jennet looked worried. “So, you’re taking us to the Black Knight, who will take us to the Queen?”
“Jennet.” Tam set his hand on her shoulder. “This is it, right? Boss fight? Isn’t that the whole point of the game?”
“It can’t be that simple.”
“Why not?”
“Because that’s not how the faeries operate. It’s never straightforward.” She pressed her lips together. “We’re not ready. There are things about that fight - things you need to know.”
Puck was watching them, head cocked to one side. “Ah, Fair Jennet. How is it that you have not told your knight what exactly happened when the queen defeated you? Why have you not described the bounds of that battle, and its consequences?”
“I thought,” she sounded suddenly very unsure. “I thought we’d have more time. I was going to explain everything, as soon as we got out today.”
“What?” Tam stared at her, feeling like the ground had tilted under his feet. “Jennet - didn’t you think that information might come in handy? Sooner, rather than later?”
“I…” She stood with her head bowed.
The lantern light glowed golden in her hair. For an instant, his dreams of the Dark Queen receded. He remembered the odd stillness he had first noticed about Jennet. Her paleness, that waxed and waned like the moon. There was an otherworldly quality about her - but he had gotten used to it. Had practically stopped seeing it. And then his mom was back and, well, he should have paid more attention.
“Jennet,” he said. He couldn’t help the edge in his tone.
“Yes?” Her voice was thin.
Damn, he hoped she wasn’t going to start crying on him. Not that it would change the questions he needed to ask.
“Children,” Puck said, “We have no time for this. The Knight is holding a doorway open. We must not wait, or it will be too late to leave the goblin’s kingdom.”
“All right.” Jennet turned away from him and headed down the tunnel. Puck danced at her heels and sent him a mischievous look.
“But…” He was talking to empty air. Fine. He vanished the lantern and stalked after them.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
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