Page 34 of The Goblin and The Dancer
“Such bravery could be a valuable asset,” Ratiga continued. “After all, those naughty rebels that I told you about escaped me with several chests from my treasury. Now that I have found someone willing to confront the kraken, I might want to recover those chests.”
“We thought you might say that,” Paul said calmly. “But we’re not interested.” He crouched, swiftly drew a pistol from his boot, and fired.
The bullet dinged off the helmet of one of Ratiga’s bodyguards, and his ear-splitting howl made everyone in the cavern jump for cover.
Grik reached into his vest and removed his own weapon. As planned, Grik and Paul had gone unsearched because of the jewelry they had used to distract the guards.
Grik removed a flashbang and held it high. “Paul, Rosanna, run! And shut your eyes!”He threw the flashbang with all the strength he could muster—directly at Ratiga.
There was a bang that seemed to make Grik’s brains rattle, followed by a terrific flash that pressed against his eyelids. He opened his eyes in time to see the delightful sight of Ratiga tumbling out of her throne in a screaming ball of silk. She crawled behind it, half-blind, trying to find a place to hide. The narrow space was already occupied by a terrified goblin, and Ratiga threw him out into the open to make room for herself.
One of the tall candelabras surrounding the dais was knocked over by panicked guards, and it tipped into another. Both of them went over with a series of crashes, sending sparks flying into the air. They caught on the silk hangings draped from pillars and instantly turned the dais into an inferno.
Grik turned and ran for the exit tunnel, sucking in his breath a little in surprise when he saw that Paul and Rosanna had not left without him as he had ordered them to. They were waiting for him at the mouth of the tunnel, their hands over their ears.Rosanna had her eyes closed, but Paul was squinting into the cavern, and spotted Grik.
He waved a hand and shouted, “Come on, Grik!”
Grik put on a burst of speed and the other two reached out and grabbed him, almost lifting him off the ground as they turned and left the burning cavern.They ran breathlessly through the tunnels, staggering with exhaustion, while their ears still rang from the explosion behind them.
“We can stop a minute,” Paul finally wheezed. “It will take them a while to follow. If they even want to.”
They collapsed on the ground—and suddenly they were laughing, laughing until tears of relief streamed from their eyes.
“Did you see the way her feet went up in the air?” Paul howled.
Rosanna imitated Ratiga’s high-pitched squeal, and Grik and Paul gasped for breath as they were caught up in a fresh wave of merriment.
We’re getting hysterical; we’re probably in shock, Grik thought, but it felt too good to stop. He couldn’t remember the last time he had laughed with someone. It was different than when you laughed by yourself. It felt like he was part of them, as if they belonged to one another. He didn’t want it to end.
But it had to eventually, if only because they finally ran out of breath.
Paul stood up first and said with a sigh, “We have to keep moving.”
Grik jumped up eagerly. “I know I was on the right track before—trust me. We have to go back to where we once were and follow that shortcut. That will bring us close to a goblinway, I’m sure of it.”
There was a brief silence that felt horrible to Grik. Paul’s brow was furrowed as if he were about to say something, but then he glanced at Rosanna.
Rosanna gave him an encouraging nod.
Paul cleared his throat and finally said, “Lead the way, Grik.”
“Here,” said Rosanna, smiling at Grik, “you’ll need this back.” She handed Grik his glow stick. Their fingers touched as they both held it for a moment, and Grik could feel himself curling up inside like a piece of paper held too close to fire.
“Let’s go,” Paul said, carefully not watching them.
They hurried through the dark, following Grik’s nose. They paused only once, at a little cave Grik sensed along the way, where the tiniest waterfall of cool water fell into a small basin of rock.
Grik drank until he was satisfied and sat back, head dripping as he watched Rosanna and Paul splash their faces with the reviving liquid.Grik studied them and felt a wave of liking for them that was stronger than ever.
“I’ll save you both,” he blurted. “I promise.”
“You already have,” Paul muttered, wiping his mouth, but his eyes met Grik’s without wavering. “We needed that water.”
Rosanna reached over a wet hand to clasp Grik’s. “Thank you.”
Grik’s heart glowed. Maybe he could redeem himself after all.
They went on, pressing forward at a hard pace, like dogs at the scent of home. Grik murmured the word “soon” at their every stumble. The other two began to mumble it too, like a chant. Soon they would be home. There would be more water and warm baths and food—mountains of food. There would be warm fires and lamps to stave off the horrible dark. There would be air and sky. That thought urged them on even more than the need for sustenance.
