Exiled - 01 (31 page)

“Yes, as soon as possible.”

“We cannot take you there ourselves. It is in a land where we are forbidden to travel, but we can take you to Galthor. He can help.”

“Galthor is a troll?”

Sorent snorted and grimaced. “Oh for gods’ sake, no. He is a filthy goblin, but the best in Drakar to meet your needs. If we leave now, we should get to him by high sun.”

“Thank you, Sorent.”

Sorent led us back to the bridge. One of his guards went first, the chief second, then the other guard. We followed and Ishmar trailed behind, making the bridge swing with each of his steps. I gripped the rope tightly and was relived to reach solid ground on the other side.

Two of the three suns had started to rise and the sky with decorated with hues of blue and yellow. Chief Sorent led us through the Christmas-colored grass to a path he said would take us straight to Galthor.

“I’m sure we can manage on our own, Chief,” I said.

“Nonsense. We will guide you and ensure your safety. It’s the least we can do,” he replied with a snort.

I didn’t think it was an argument I could win so I didn’t bother to object. Having a few extra people on our side couldn’t hurt.

~~~~~~

Chapter 29

The Chief hadn’t been kidding when he said the path would take us to Galthor’s. We followed it all morning until all three suns were at their peak in the dark green sky. The trail ended at a large field of green, red, and now also blue grass.

A small structure in the middle of the field was surrounded by a large fence. Strange yellow vines with white and red flowers wove themselves through each slat. Inside the enclosure, various creatures were grazing and resting in the shade of strange trees.

Sorent stopped at the edge of the path. “There it is: Galthor’s!” he said.

I looked at the old wooden building I assumed was a house, although it was much smaller than any I’d ever seen.

“You’re not coming?” I asked.

Sorent grunted and shook his head. “I’m afraid not. The trolls and goblins have a history of war, and although Galthor himself would welcome us, I cannot step onto his land without breaking the treaty.”

“Well, thank you. For everything,” I said.

He snorted. “This is the least we can do for you, hunter.”

I must have looked surprised and Sorent laughed. “Your friend told us about your heritage, but do not worry. You have already proven you are not like the hunters of our legends. We are people of Drakar, and this is not one of Ithreal’s worlds. Not all creatures of the Underworlds despise your kind.”

I looked at Tiki, who shrugged. “I appreciate your help,” I said.

“It was our pleasure, but our debt to you is hardly erased. You spared the life of one of my people, and that is not easily repaid,” he said with a snort and a grunt. “Good luck.” His guards fell in line around him.

Ishmar smiled and bowed to me before he turned, and the quartet set off back down the path.

Tiki and I started walking toward the old structure, but Sorent called back to us. “Oh, I nearly forgot…” he shouted. “Goblins are strange creatures. You don’t want to upset them. Trust me, be polite. You don’t want him to get him angry.”

“Good to know,” I said, and they disappeared behind a hill.

As we neared the house I could see a small figure at the far end of the property, watering some plants along the side of his house and watching us as we approached. Once we neared the gate, he moved straight towards us.

“Remember, be polite,” Tiki said, but I didn’t have time to ask what happened when a goblin got mad.

Galthor was short, with thick green skin coated in warts and pimples. Two tusks jutted from his lower jaw and square teeth showed brown between plump, dark purple lips. His red eyes looked small and angry.

“Whadya want?” His speech was clipped and his accent sounded vaguely Irish.

“We’d like to speak with Galthor. Please,” I said.

“Yeah I’m Galthor. Like I said, whadya want?”

“We need a means of travel to Alkalina Lake. We need to be there as soon as possible and Chief Sorent told us you were the best person to help us with that.”

The goblin stared at me for a moment and then looked proud. He put his thumbs through the black suspenders holding up his brown pants and grunted. “I am Galthor, da finest beast trainer in all da dimensions. But I don’t do charity work, not even for Sorent, and you don’t look like ya ’ave a quartz to ya name.” He turned to walk away.

“Perhaps a trade?” Tiki suggested.

“We don’t have anything to trade,” I whispered.

“We both have something the goblins value more than money.”

Galthor moved back towards us. “What could you ’ave dat I would want, ’alf breed?” He scowled.

“Blood,” Tiki said.

“Bah, I would die before I drank da blood of a half breed! I wouldn’t want dat filth inside of me.”

“What about mine?” I said.

The goblin laughed. “If I won’t take his dirty blood, why would I take yers? One half breed is no better den anudder. Yer all disgusting creatures and our world’s should be rid ’o ya.”

“But I’m not a half breed. I’m not even a demon.”

Galthor took a step closer and stared up at me. His massive nose moved as he leaned towards me and sniffed. “Ya do smell different. Whadya supposed to be?”

“I’m not from this world. I’m from a world called Earth and I was born a hunter of the Circle of Light. My blood is hunter’s blood.”

The goblin snorted and laughed, looking at Tiki, who nodded in confirmation. Galthor eyed me up and down again, hunger filling his eyes. “Blood offers are rarely made nowadays. Dere must be sumptin important at Alkalina Lake for ya ta make such an offer.”

“Very important.”

“Why would I wanna ’elp you anyways? If ya are what ya say ya are, aren’t ya supposed to kill my kind?”

“I don’t. Not anymore.”

The goblin’s red eyes watched me and he sniffed me again. “Dere ’asn’t been a ’unter ’ere for millennia, ’ow do I know yer da real deal and not anudder mutt?”

“Why does he keep calling you mixed breed and mutt?” I asked Tiki.

Galthor grunted and Tiki answered. “After the great war millennia ago, many females of our kind came back with child. Their descendants are those who look like me.”

I arched a brow. “How old are you?”

Tiki ignored me and looked to the goblin. “I may be a mixed breed, Galthor, which I say without shame, but he is not of my kind, I assure you.”

“Yer word means nothing to me, dirty creature,” he snarled.

“How about a sample?” I offered. “Someone of your intelligence can surely tell if the blood is pure or not.”

“Of course I can,” he replied, stretching his suspenders with thick green thumbs.

“Then I offer you a sample. Should you feel it’s not blood worthy of your services, then we’ll leave.”

Galthor stared at me intently, as if I was trying to trick him. “You’ll leave, just like dat?”

“Yes.”

He seemed to consider it before answering. “Deal,” he said. He stuck out a huge green hand that didn’t suit his tiny body, and I extended my own to shake on it.

I pulled out a dagger and reopened the cut on my palm. When the blood started to pool, I hesitated to give it to him. The thought of another creature drinking my blood gave me the creeps, but the thought of anything happening to Rayna made me push my disgust aside.

Galthor eyed the blood, and a thick green tongue slid over his purple lips as he took in the scent. He grabbed my hand and brought it to his nostrils. He sniffed deeply and his red eyes rolled back in his head. His tongue felt rough like a cat’s as it slid across my palm, and he took a few short licks to moisten the skin before taking a short suck from the wound. His tongue pulled away and his small body shuddered.

“I ain’t ’ad da pleasure of such blood in tousands of years. I can taste da power, da magic!”

“So we have a deal?”

“Yah, yah, of course.” He undid a latch and opened the gate. “Come in, come in.”

The goblin led us into his house and Tiki didn’t have as much trouble as I did getting through the door. I had to crouch to avoid putting my head through the roof.

To one side of the entrance was a small eating area, and Galthor ordered us to wait there while he retrieved a jar. He’d specified that he wanted a whole jar, which worried me at first, but when he returned with the vessel I was confident I could fill it. It was goblin sized.

I used the blade he gave me to open my cut further and held the jar beneath it. My blood filled it quickly, and Galthor snatched it from my hand as soon as it was full. He gave me a hungry look that made my stomach turn. He put the lid on the jar then took his blade back and licked it. His eyes lit up as the blood touched his tongue.

“So mortal, yet full of magic,” he said with a smile.

“Now we’ve kept up our end of the bargain, it’s your turn.”

“Oh yes,” he said. “Follow me, follow me.”

Galthor led us to the back of his home where we found a stable much larger than the house.

“Now, pickin’ a creature ain’t like going to da market and pickin’ fruit. When yer paired with a creature ’o mine, it’s a lifetime connection, not a one-time fling. Ya understand?”

I hid my confusion and nodded. I knew blood was a valuable commodity among goblins, but for what little I gave him I thought we’d be renting something, not purchasing a pet for life.

The huge stable was easier for me to move through. It was full of different creatures, some in stalls, others in cages, while some roamed free. The cages held small cats, large cats, and wolf-like creatures. Birds were held in other areas and animals I didn’t know the name of were housed in some of the stalls. I started to wonder if we had come to the right place. We needed something big and fast, and there wasn’t a creature here I thought would fit the bill.

Galthor pulled a thick rope that hung against the wall. A series of pulleys and cogs turned, and after a few moments all the stall gates and cage doors opened at once.

“So how does this work? Do we just pick one?” I asked.

Galthor gave a snort. “No. You don’t just
pick one
,” he mimicked.

“So how do we…”

“Da creature will pick you. For now, we wait,” Galthor said, taking up a seat on a bale of something resembling hay.

We waited while animals moved towards us. Several came up to catch our scent, sniffing both Tiki and me before turning and walking away. Bird-like creatures hovered around us, and before long each animal had moved back to their respective area.

I sighed in frustration and turned to Galthor “Look, we don’t have time…” I was interrupted by a high pitched chirp.

A small budgie-sized creature that I hadn’t noticed sat on my shoulder. White feathers covered its body while gold feathers trailed down its spine and made up its tail. Small blue eyes peered at me while the bird stretched out two incredible pairs of long wings.

“Well look at dat. Dats’s a rare commodity right dere,” Galthor said, waddling in front of us.

“Wow, it’s a…tiny bird,” I said.

“Ah, don’t let her appearance fool ya. Dat dere’s a golden torrent, a close relative to da thunderbird and a rarity in any world. I’ve had dat dere gal for over a century and if I’da known dat would be yer animal, I wouldn’t a made dis deal, hardly fair. But a deal’s a deal, I s’pose.”

I shook my head and looked down at Galthor. “I think you’ve misunderstood what we’re looking for. We need something that can take us to Alkalina Lake, and fast.”

Galthor grunted and waved a hand to shoo me away “Bah! I understand ya just fine, ya see. We made a deal and dis is it.”

“No, you don’t. I need to get to Alkalina Lake and I can’t do that with a little thing like this. I don’t care how rare it is!” I raised my voice in frustration.

“Chase…” Tiki started.

“Ya saying I’m not ’oldin’ up my end of da deal? Ya callin’ me a liar?” The goblin’s voice was deeper now, his accent thickening with each word.