Goblins (17 page)

Hale came forward and joined in the melee, shooting an onrushing creature in its throat. It clutched at its neck as green blood seeped through its bony fingers. It fell to its knees, and as it headed to the floor, a creature behind it stepped onto its back and used it as a springboard. It came at Garnett, whose gun was empty. The man ducked low, pulled his Buck knife from its sheath on his belt and stabbed upward into the creature's belly as it sailed over him. Green intestines and blood cascaded down upon him in a shower of gore.

Levy continued to put down her attackers. Her pant leg was shredded where the creature had clawed her and a small pool of blood was forming around her foot. Hale didn't like seeing so much blood and wondered how bad the wound was.

He pulled the trigger on his Glock and shot a creature in its face as it was about to stab Garnett with its white dagger. Its jaw flew sideways and shattered against the wall. It crashed to the ground in front of the deputy who then stomped its head, turning it to pulp.

Garnett nodded at Hale—a quick thank you—then turned back to take on another approaching creature when the little bastard threw his dagger. Garnett couldn't get out of the way in time and the blade plunged into his right eye socket all the way up to the hilt. He turned toward Hale, his remaining eye open as wide as Hale had ever seen an eye open. The man's mouth twitched, but amazingly Garnett didn't go down. He simply stood there, his body trembling as if electric currents were running through him.

Hale's heart dropped into his stomach. He needed to scream. He'd fucked up. Led his people straight to the slaughterhouse.

Levy yelled that she was out of ammo.

Hale took up firing at the creatures heading her way.

Another creature sprang from the herd, wielding a mace over its head. The weapon had a human head at the end of it, with bone shards for spikes. Hale saw that it was heading toward Garnett. He knew the man was already dead and did nothing. He needed to protect the living. The mace collided with the side of Garnett's head and the skull gave way as if it were made of piecrust and filled with strawberry jam. Brain, skull and flesh splattered the cave wall.

Levy's gun was back in its holster. She was unarmed.

There was no way Hale was going to be able to take on the remaining group of creatures by himself. He would be out of ammo with a few more pulls of his trigger.

Levy glanced at the ground with her flashlight, scooped up one of the dropped white daggers and came up swinging as a chunky creature reached for her. The blade sliced through its arms and neck as if they were made of butter.

Hale couldn't believe what he had seen. Not that his officer wasn't giving up, but how ferocious she seemed, the blade making easy work of the tough creature's flesh.

Catching another creature coming at him from along the wall, he shot it in the face and stopped it cold. Hale hadn't forgotten about the mace-wielder, who was mauling Garnett's head—which was nothing more than a jut of spine and pulverized flesh. He pointed his gun at the thing's head and fired a bullet into its brain.

Levy was swinging wildly and shouting like a crazy person, lopping off creatures' arms, legs and heads. Her body was coated in green. The sight energized Hale. He lined up another creature in his gun sights, but when he pulled the trigger, nothing happened. He dropped the weapon, knowing he was out of ammo, and picked up a white dagger from amid the mess on the ground. The weapon was practically weightless, but felt impossibly strong. The entire thing was one piece, carved from a human femur. Holding it, Hale felt powerful and re-energized, as if he'd downed an entire pot of coffee.

Levy met a creature head on. It held a white bone dagger. The two clashed weapons, sending red flames across the blades. It was then that Hale had no doubt about everything Jed had told him. Not only were these creatures goblins, but they were from another world. The bone daggers were imbued with some kind of magic, making them sharper than a scalpel and stronger than titanium. And they supplied the wielder with energy.

Two goblins came at him, one muscular, the other no taller than a few feet. He targeted the one wielding its own bone dagger, the smaller one armed with only its claws. Hale swung wide, but the goblin leaped back and out of the blade's reach. The smaller goblin collided with him and latched on to the lower part of his leg. Hale brought his knee up and clobbered the creature on the top of its head with the dagger's hilt. Something gave and green fluid flowed from the creature's head. But it was far from done and sank its teeth into his calf.

The other goblin came at him, knife held high.

Hale brought the blade up in time to block the blow. The goblin kicked out with its taloned foot and sliced the underneath of Hale's forearm. He cried out and stepped back. Pain engulfed his leg as the small goblin continued to gnaw. Needing to take care of that first, knowing that if he lost the leg he'd be done for, he spun, twirled the blade around and then plunged it into the back of the small goblin. It screeched and then Hale felt its grip release as it slid to the floor.

Taking out the goblin had cost him. The other one was coming in with a killing blow. There was no time to block the attack with his dagger. He blinked and prepared for the end when Levy spun, her blade out, and lopped off his attacker's head. The headless goblin's attack lost all power and the blow glanced harmlessly off Hale's shoulder.

The tunnel was then still.

Hale shined his flashlight around and down the passageway, making sure no other goblins were approaching. Seeing all was clear, he thanked his savior.

She nodded, but said nothing.

“We need to leave,” he said. “There could be more goblins on the way here for all we know.” The tunnel extended far beyond their sight. Dens might too.

Levy stared down the dark corridor. Her face was rigid, lips thin. Her chest heaved and her eyes blazed with fury. She looked ready to kill, smeared with her enemies' green blood.

Hale looked down at himself and saw that he was covered as well. He hoped it wasn't toxic. They both had open wounds.

“Officer Levy,” Hale said sternly.

She looked at him.

“We need to leave.”

“What about…the bodies?” She moved the flashlight's beam to Garnett's corpse, then to Patrone's. She stared at them, unblinking.

Hale stepped in front of her. She blinked and looked up at him. “You don't want that image burned into your head. We can't do anything for them now, except honor their memories. That means we need to make it out of here. We need to warn the town. There could be more goblins.”

“Goblins?” Levy said, her eyebrows coming together. “You keep calling them that.”

“It's a long and unbelievable story that I'll be happy to share with you once we're out of here.”

“You knew about these things?” Levy asked, her stare burning through him.

Hale swallowed, feeling caught in the act. But he wasn't going to beat himself up. “No, not exactly. Now let's move.”

Levy bent and plucked the badges from Patrone's and Garnett's corpses. She wiped them off before pocketing them. She turned around and headed toward the den where Keller had died.

Hale stopped her. “I'll get it, but then we leave.”

She nodded.

He didn't want her crawling around and sifting through Keller's blood and guts, let alone seeing the man's body in such a state. She deserved to remember the man as he was when he was alive. The two had been close. Came up through the academy together. She was good friends with his wife. Godmother to their kids.

Hale had known Keller since he took over as Manteo's Chief of Police. Keller was a damn good cop and a better person. A gym rat without the attitude.

Hale's throat tightened and a tear made its way down his cheek. He wiped it away, smearing green goo across his face. About to head into the den, he hesitated. He tried to mentally prepare himself, but knew it was useless, then bent low and went inside.

He looked around the hovel, hoping to see the glint of the man's silver shield. He didn't allow his eyes to settle on anything for too long, but it didn't matter. The place was a bloodbath. Arms and legs lay about, torn from their sockets. The man's head lay on its side, half of it gone. It looked like the goblin had taken a huge bite from it. The remaining eye stared accusingly at him. He couldn't breathe. He felt his legs want to give out, despite having the weapon in his hand. The power it supplied was gone. It must only work when in battle.

Hale thought about running from the place, but knew if he did, Levy would come inside. She wasn't leaving Keller's badge behind. Shaking, he forced in breaths of the fetid air and somehow got control of himself. But if he didn't hurry, he might grow too exhausted to even leave.

He continued to shine the light around, praying to see the badge. But all he saw was carnage. He nudged body parts over, the squishy sounds of him stepping on flesh and blood nauseating.

Keller's torso was mostly intact and too heavy to move without actually lifting it and turning it over. Hale couldn't tell if he was looking at the man's frontal region or back. The uniform shirt was a mixture of tattered cloth and blood. He was about to flip the large chunk of meat over, when he saw a nipple and knew he was looking at the chest. There was no badge pinned to it though. Then he noticed the left breast—where badges were displayed—was missing, the area resembling fresh, uncooked salmon. He glanced around the torso for the item, but didn't find it. The goblin had devoured it.

Hale exited the cave and slowly shook his head when he met Levy's eyes.

“You didn't find it?” she asked.

He looked at the dead goblin at his feet, the one whose den he'd just departed from.

Levy's nostrils flared. Her lips formed into a line. Hale saw anger flourishing into rage. Before he could stop her, she was on her knees and slicing the dead goblin's belly open.

Hale took a step back. He wasn't going to stop her.

“I need light,” she said, and Hale shined the flashlight beam directly on the creature's stomach. Levy dropped the bone knife, stuck her hands into the incision and pried the flesh apart. She sifted around in the cavity, pulling out guts until she held the badge in her hand. She wiped it on her grimy pants and stood, then spit on the goblin's corpse. She looked at it for a moment and Hale thought she might break down. But she shoved it into her pocket, picked up the dagger and said, “Now we can go.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

Crud dragged the policeman by his right ankle like a kid pulling along his favorite blanky. A trail of blood lay behind. The man's back was slowly being torn away by the rough tunnel floor, the backside of his uniform already gone.

Crud had hoped the man would wake from the pain, which he thought must be of the burning variety. To watch him shed tears, struggle and beg for mercy would have been music to his ears. He guessed he had hit the man's head too hard. But the human was still alive. If any serious damage had been done, it wouldn't matter in the long run.

Crud planned on presenting his prisoner to the goblin king, whether for his master to dine upon, make a slave or turn into a goblin. A human with such fighting prowess would surely make for a great goblin warrior and wonderful addition to the king's army. Above all—for Crud always looked out for Crud—the goblin hoped to be rewarded for such a find.

The man started coming around. He mumbled something, his words indecipherable. Crud stopped and let go of his ankle. When it hit the ground, the prisoner moaned in pain and his eyelids fluttered open.

Annoyed, Crud huffed as he stepped up to the man's head. As much as he wanted to hear the man's discomfort and keep him conscious, he bent down, lifted the cop's head off the ground and slammed it back down. The human fell unconscious again.

The goblin remained there, his hand clamped to the man's head. He was finding it difficult not to smash it again and again. Or maybe he'd just tear it clean off and wear it atop his head. He thought about how great it would be to crack the head open like an egg and slurp up the mushy brain. He'd see if he could suck out the eyes through the back of the sockets, something not always as easy as it seemed.

But he knew if he presented the human to the king, he'd receive three times the bounty in return. Meat from a number of his personal slaves. Lesser individuals, but just as tasty, as long as they weren't ill or too old.

And though he wanted to keep dragging the man, get his flesh down to the ribcage, he thought his king would prefer the offering with the most meat possible.

Crud sighed, something he rarely did and readied to heft the man onto his back and carry him the rest of the way, when he heard footfalls ahead. Not the clickety-clack of clawed feet, but the scuffing of human footwear. He inhaled deeply through his nostrils and caught human scent mixed with goblin blood and juices.

One voice was female, the other male. The female sounded like she was in distress. Crud wondered where the other three humans were. Dead most likely? If so, then how were two still alive? They had surely reached the dens. But then they should all be dead. Had they managed to kill the guards? Every last one?

Impossible!

However unlikely, it had to be the case. There was no other explanation.

The goblin king had been correct. The humans were growing more powerful, each generation stronger and more advanced than the previous. Still, they would never be a match for the goblin king's army.

Crud would finish off the two remaining humans. They had to be haggard and weak. Out of ammo, their guns—which was what made them dangerous—useless now.

Eager to make their acquaintance, the goblin left his prisoner in the middle of the tunnel. He found a crevice a foot away where he hid, blending in almost perfectly with the rocky tunnel wall.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Despite his leg paining him from the goblin bite, Hale offered to carry Levy piggyback style for as long as he could, but she refused. Her leg was hurting more and more the farther they went and the bleeding had gotten worse again. Each step brought with it a grimace and limp. Her stride was lessening, their progress slowing. But she wasn't near crawling yet. Hale told her she was being silly, to let him help. He kept offering assistance, but after the last time he had, she said, “You may be my boss, but if you don't stop bothering me, I'm going to knock you out and drag
your
ass out of here.” Hale was speechless after that and hadn't offered again.

Jane Levy was one tough lady.

Still, he didn't stop worrying about her. The gash was bone deep and bleeding a lot. She was going to need a heavy dose of antibiotics and probably surgery, or at least stitches. Hell, they both were going to need antibiotics and stitches. Hale's forearm had been sliced open and his leg was lined with puncture wounds. Both injuries were bleeding, but neither had gouged bone. They were also covered in green goblin fluids, blood, saliva and who knew what else. He hoped the stuff wasn't infectious, especially due to the fact that they both had open wounds along with a multitude of cuts and scrapes. For all Hale knew, the goblins carried hepatitis C or some other diseases to boot.

The two officers trudged on, making good headway considering Levy's wound. Just as he started to feel better about her, she nearly stumbled to the ground. Hale grabbed her and stood her up.

“Let's take a break,” he said. “Just for a minute.”

She didn't argue and leaned against the wall. Hale took a seat opposite her, in the tunnel at one of its narrower points. Levy wouldn't look at him directly. From between smears of goblin blood and grime, he saw that the color of her face was off. The pale skin practically glowed in the soft light. She was sweaty too, but then again, so was he. Still, he didn't think she was doing as well as she let on.

“How are you feeling?” he asked. “Really.”

“Stop fussing over me,” she said. “I'm fine. You'd be a little sore too if you'd had your shin ripped open.”

After about thirty seconds of silence, she shoved away from the wall.

“What are you doing?” Hale asked.

“I'm good to go,” she said, and as she shined her light ahead, she stopped.

As Hale got to his feet, he did the same.

A body was lying in the middle of the tunnel, the bottoms of its shoes in their direction. They looked at each other, then, with bone daggers in hand, moved forward and kept their eyes peeled for movement.

“It's Willows,” Levy said and started to rush-limp forward.

Hale gripped her shoulder. “Wait.”

Levy didn't fight him and stopped.

“Listen,” Hale commanded, his voice barely audible.

Silence filled the air around them, but it didn't mean they were alone.

From where Hale was standing, Willows looked intact. But the ground was shiny leading up to him. It was the man's blood. Willows had been dragged.

“He's breathing,” Levy said.

Hale focused on the man's chest and saw it moving. Relief fell over him. “We don't know how he got there, but it certainly looks like it wasn't of his own accord.”

“Yeah, I see the blood trail,” Levy said, her beam of light following the crimson stain until it faded in the distance. “But the immediate area looks clear. We need to help him.”

Hale was only able to come up with two reasons Willows had been left in the tunnel. The first: a trap. The second: whatever had been dragging him had taken off when it heard Levy and him approaching. Seeing that the area was clear of any goblins, he decided that the latter must be the case.

“All right,” Hale said. “You've got more medical training than I do so I'll keep watch.”

They moved forward, Hale a few steps behind Levy. He kept checking both directions of the tunnel with his flashlight. Not seeing anything coming their way gave him a bit of solace. But there were outcroppings and dark crevices where the wall jutted out and shadows dwelled. He'd keep an eye out.

“How is he?” Hale asked.

“He's got a strong pulse,” Levy said, her voice sounding upbeat for the first time in a while. Then, almost sadly: “But he's bleeding from a nasty-looking head wound.”

“Hey, he's alive,” Hale said. “That's more than I thought when we first saw him, so I'll take it.”

Levy called Willows' name gently a few times, then massaged his cheek and chest. “He's not responding.”

“Then we'll carry him out,” Hale said. “Help me get him over my shoulder.” He slid the bone dagger into his gun belt along with his flashlight, but kept it turned on. The beam shot off the ceiling and helped illuminate the area. Together, they hefted Willows' upper body off the floor.

“Damn, for a slender guy, he's heavy,” Levy said.

Hale laughed. “Yeah, he packs a lot in his lean frame.”

As Levy jostled the man's arms so Hale could bend and lift him up, she cried out.

Hale looked up at her, thinking her ankle was barking again. Then he saw the blood dribble from her lips. He didn't understand what had happened. Maybe she'd suffered an internal injury only now revealing itself. Her body jerked and then her head whipped back and forth. Hale grabbed on to her shoulders, letting Willows slide back to the ground. Levy looked down and Hale followed her gaze. The tips of four claws were poking through her uniform at stomach level. A red flower blossomed around each one. She coughed, speckling his face with dots of crimson.

“Nooooo!” he yelled, and she flew sideways into the wall. A goblin stood in her place. The creature had snuck up on them, had probably been hiding in one of the shadowy outcroppings. The thing was thick and muscular and uglier than the others he'd seen. Blood, like maple syrup, dripped from its right claw.

Time seemed to stand still for a moment, neither man nor creature reacting. Hale knew it was because he was in shock.

The creature was grinning, letting it play out because it was enjoying the human's inner pain.

Furious, Hale went to grab the bone dagger from his belt, but the goblin moved faster and backhanded him across the face. He twirled around from the blow like a top and crashed to the floor a few feet away, the unforgiving ground like another wallop. Despite the pain cutting through him, he sat up and crawled to his feet. He wobbled backward, feeling a bit unsteady, but knew he needed to act fast.

He drew the flashlight and bone dagger simultaneously, expecting a barrage of claws to be upon him, but found that the goblin hadn't moved from where it stood. The thing was grinning, as if it knew something Hale did not. It raised a finger and pointed it at Willows, then at Levy, who was leaning against the wall, shivering and alive.

Hale knew it was only a matter of time for her, amazed that she was still holding on. Her flashlight was pointing at the wall, providing light for the area. She was no longer holding the bone dagger.

“Choose,” the goblin said, its voice sounding as if it were clogged with gobs of phlegm.

Screw that. Hale wasn't going to allow the thing to kill one of his people, at least not without a fight. He charged forward, hoping to catch the creature off guard.

The goblin's hand shot to Willows' throat, the razor-sharp claw pressed against his flesh. It had moved with incredible speed.

Hale skidded to a stop. “Wait.”

The creature chuckled, then brought its other hand to Willows' face and covered his nose and mouth.

“What are you doing?” Hale asked, panicked.

Willows' body trembled. He was suffocating. In his condition, it might not take long for brain damage or death to occur.

“Stop it, you're killing him,” Hale shouted.

The goblin tilted its head as it eyed him, its grin spreading.

Hale knew it was enjoying itself. He felt helpless. “What do you want, damn it?”

The goblin removed its smothering hand. Willows sucked in a gulp of air and stopped trembling. He remained unconscious.

“Choose,” the goblin said, still pressing its claw against Willows' throat. Its other hand flew to Levy's throat, pointer finger claw threatening.

Levy's eyes kept closing. She didn't seem to notice or care what was happening. She was dying, so it made no difference if the goblin ended her life a few minutes sooner. Hale wondered if it might be more merciful than to let her suffer. A quick slash and the pain would be gone.

“Save Willows,” she muttered, her words surprising Hale. She
was
paying attention. Aware of everything.

Hale couldn't choose. He wouldn't give the evil fuck the satisfaction.

“I'm dying…Chief,” Levy said. “Save the living.” She coughed up more blood.

“Both die if no choose,” the goblin said.

“Okay, okay,” Hale said, gesturing with his arms for the goblin to hold on. “Her. Take the woman.” His gut churned at hearing his own words.

The goblin nodded, then lifted its hand from Willows' neck and motioned to strike Levy down.

Hale didn't want to watch, but had to. Though she would have been dead soon anyway, he'd been the one to sentence her end. He wished his gun had a bullet left. One single bullet. He'd shoot the thing and be done with this nastiness.

The goblin waited. Hale knew it was prolonging his turmoil. He should move. Do something. Attack and take a chance. But it wasn't the best option. If there was a possibility to save Willows, he had to take it. The goblin had left the man alive for a reason. Maybe it couldn't kill him. Wasn't permitted by some goblin law. Or maybe it was going to use the man for a ritual.

The goblin snickered, and Hale saw he'd made a mistake. The thing sank two of its claws into Willows' eye sockets, burying them completely. The action produced a wet, sloshing sound. Willows convulsed, his arms and legs flailing.

“Nooooo!” Hale screamed and lunged at the goblin.