Page 44 of Nearly Dead

Goblins.

I instinctively turn toward the crib, my feet weightless and floating.I see the goblins crawl from the shadows like mold come to life, hunched and skeletal.Their clawed hands wrap the slats of the crib as they slowly crawl to where baby me sleeps.More skitter across the ceiling in jerky lurches.One drops down inside the crib, and I feel a sudden pressure in my chest.

Lorelai doesn’t move.Her breath is slow and deep, like she’s enchanted.

My heart races.I want to stop the creatures.I know this is a memory.Fear is not rational.I survive this.Yet, I still feel the helpless terror building inside of me.

The baby in the crib whimpers softly, sensing something is wrong.

A goblin places a gnarled hand over baby Tamara’s nose and mouth.Others start to chant, their voices like bones cracking in a fire.At first, I can’t understand their language, but then the translation whispers magically into me.

“Life force, bright and new.Magic untapped, power subdued.Feed the master, feed the need.Take the breath, plant the seed.”

I freeze.

What the fuck?

No,seriously, what the ever-living fuck?

Baby me begins to struggle.Her tiny limbs flail weakly as the goblin draws out a shimmering thread of breath.It glows faintly as it’s pulled toward the goblin’s mouth.

My throat suddenly tightens.I can’t breathe either.I pull at my neckline and lift my head back to gasp.

In the chair, Lorelai’s fingers twitch.Her eyes flutter beneath her lids.She’s fighting the spell, but it’s too strong.She can’t wake up.

I wheeze violently.My lungs burn.Baby me doesn’t make a sound, but I see the thrashing.

I fall helplessly to my knees, my head dizzy as it hits the edge of the crib.I swing my arm weakly toward Lorelai but can’t reach her.My vision begins to fade.

Then, one of the goblins pushes another out of its way, and they begin chattering in an argument.The other fights back, and they roll in a tangled mass before crashing into the mobile.

Butterflies spin.Glass wings catch the moonlight and scatter rainbows across the room, throwing the sharp prismatic light like a disco ball made of lightning.

The goblins shriek a high-pitched, feral sound.They stagger back, clawing to escape as the rainbows slice through the darkness.In their panic, they hit the mobile again, spinning it faster.The one taking my breath recoils from the crib as the rainbow light cuts through the dark close to it.The breath-thread snaps, recoiling like a whip into baby Tamara’s lungs.I inhale sharply, finally able to breathe again.

“Lorelai!”I grunt instinctively, forgetting my mother can’t hear me.I try to pull myself to my feet, but I’m weak.

The baby gasps and lets out a powerful, soul-piercing cry.

The sound cracks something in the room.Lorelai jerks in the rocking chair.She screams, but it’s muffled.A magical gag pulls tight across her mouth as unseen ropes pin her to the chair.Her panic is so tangible, and she thrashes violently to be free.

The goblin cackles and returns to infant me, its mouth opening far too wide, as it tries to resume its task amid the chaos.The baby quiets, and I feel my throat tighten once more.I try to reach into the crib to knock the creature away.It’s no use.The creature can’t feel me.

This time, a shimmer of green light coils from the baby’s lips, and I want to vomit.My body, mysoul, is being tugged out of me.The goblins want to capture me for their necromancer master.

I don’t know how, but the invisible gag finally slips from Lorelai’s mouth.

Lorelai bolts upright, screaming.The goblins hiss and scatter into the shadows.The mobile above the crib continues to spin.The air still stinks of burnt magic and rot.Before she reaches her daughter, the memory breaks like glass.

CRACK.

I stumble into the next scene like pages flipping in a nightmare.I have no idea how much time has passed, but my lungs still ache.The mobile is still.The rainbows are gone.

Lorelai clutches her baby to her chest, pacing and crying softly as she mumbles, “I’m sorry.You’re okay.You’re okay.I’m sorry, butterfly…”

All I can do is watch as I try to catch my breath.

Her words are only stopped by the sound of heavy footsteps pounding from outside the apartment.I lean to watch as the door bursts open.My father appears, accompanied by two bodyguards flanking him.

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