Page 24 of The Hunger
“It’s okay. I knew it wouldn’t be easy. Don’t stop searching for him. I think he might be headed to my house. I’m not there, though.”
“Where are you?”
“I’d rather not say. Let me know if you catch up to him.”
“I will.”
After hanging up, I tapped the steering wheel and debated where to go. There was one place I could go. One place Fenris would never think to look for me. Unfortunately, it was in the top ten places I didn’t want to go but in the top three places I needed to visit.
I headed toward the marshes while worrying about what I would find. I hoped Piepen had made it to his guardians’ place before Dewy caught up to him. But even if he had, would the older couple have been enough to protect the child? How could such tiny people with such amazing attributes neglect them so horribly? If I had wings and didn’t need a mark to come and go? Well, I sighed, thinking of all the places I would visit.
When I pulled into the parking lot, I could see a fresh set of footprints in the snow. I got out and glared at the small shoe prints. My insides went hot and cold at the thought of the horrible, old goblin raiding brownie burrows. I knew in my gut that he wouldn’t hesitate to rip the wings from an infant if he managed to find one. My vision sharpened, and the thing inside me shifted.
“Elbner, I know you’re in there. Get out of those reeds, now.”
A faint, outraged growl came from my left. Then the reeds rustled with vigor. Several moments later, a very angry goblin emerged.
“Megan’s been looking for you. You should go home.”
“The fury is no longer Elbner’s master,” the old crank said, crossing his arms.
“Is that because you know she won’t like what you’re doing?”
“Elbner isn’t doing anything wrong. Elbner is trading for wings, not taking them.”
The way his eyes shifted slightly to the right confirmed that he’d take them in a heartbeat if given the chance.
“Given or taken, it doesn’t matter. I warned you that Megan won’t tolerate the consumption of brownie wings, and neither do I. If you have no master in Uttira, you have no purpose here. It’s time for you to leave.”
He glared at me, his anger and indignation growing, but said nothing. His persistent, stubborn presence was statement enough, and the mutiny of it grated against that dark thing inside of me. It lifted its head, using my eyes and mouth.
“Go.”
Elbner jerked in place, turned, and started walking in the direction of the road.
I stared after him with a heavy, sick feeling weighing in my chest. A thought burrowed into my head, but before I could focus on it, a high-pitched screech distracted me.
From the reeds, a familiar hate-filled brownie flew at me.
“You have no right to chase away a source of income,” Dewy yelled. Several yells, echoing her sentiment, came from the marshes.
“Touch me, and I will retaliate,” I warned.
She lifted her hands, curling her fingers into “claw your eyes out” mode, and flew faster toward my face. I swatted her from the air with the back of my hand. She tumbled before righting herself and coming at me again.
My vision sharpened. I could see the smudge of her lipstick and a smear of last night’s eyeliner. Where did they even get tiny makeup?
I lifted my hand again.
“Please, don’t hurt her,” Merri said, rushing from the reeds toward her sister. The two collided, and Merri grappled with her sibling.
“If she keeps trying to attack me, I’m going to make her eat her own wings.”
Several more brownies appeared from the marshes and helped Merri subdue Dewy. The angry female brownie fought against them all.
“Don’t side with this sparkle sponge,” she yelled. “She’ll steal your men next. She probably has another dozen pair of her nectar-scented panties to toss into our wetlands.”
I made a face.
