AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Hey! Leave off!” Kora growled, trying to shake himself free. “We had a deal! I give you the book, and you help us fix the Bifrost!”
“You were never in a position to bargain, goblin.” Talos cast one, narrowed look over his shoulder at Anrid, and while holding her startled gaze, snapped, “Tie him up.”
Chapter 34
“He’s gone.” Math’s whisper held an edge of tension. “One of the maids saw him leave shortly after the elvish party left.”
Math rubbed his hands together in agitated circles, massaging them as if the repetitive motion brought him some sort of comfort or stability. Behind them, one of the children coughed a loud, rattling sound that made Jael wince. They stood in the kitchen while the children picked at their midday repast.
Jael wished he could find similar comfort by just rubbing his stone-eaten hands together, but he was far beyond that. He cursed and earned a startled look from his apprentice and an angry one from Trap, who looked up from the table where she wiped snotty noses on a large towel.
“Apologies,” he muttered, “but what is he thinking? Has he lost his mind?”
Math’s mouth twisted in a pensive frown. “It’s possible that he’s trying to help. Maybe things aren’t as bad as you think—”
“Not as—there is no way you can spin this in a positive light, Math.” He pressed a clenched fist to his mouth to quell the desire for more cursing. “Whatever he has planned for that book…it’s not helpful. It’s dangerous. Devastating, even. He doesn’t know what he’s doing. And I’ll be dashed if I let that book fall into elvish hands.”
When his angry voice echoed across the kitchen, several wide-eyed children turned to look at him, Rig among them. The goblin boy stared at him through a shimmer of tears, as if he felt the entire responsibility of the missing book on his narrow shoulders. Jael winced, but he didn’t know what to do or say.
Math shifted and blocked Jael’s view of Rig, but whether it was a deliberate move or a coincidence, he didn’t know. “What are you going to do?”
He tapped his fist against his mouth. “I’m going to go after him and get that book back. What else can I do?”
“You’re going to need help. You can’t take on half a dozen elves and your brother by yourself.” Math offered an apologetic smile. “But all of our lads are running themselves ragged walking the Bifrost line. Since Anrid left...”
“I know.” He’d felt it too, the shuddering of the Bifrost. The popping of runestones as they exploded into shards. The imminent feeling of danger. They were running out of time.
A hand tugged at the hem of Jael’s sleeve. “I will help.”
He studied Rig’s upturned face, set in a determined scowl. The goblin boy pursed his lips before repeating, “I will help.”
Jael rested a hand on his thin shoulder and squeezed. “I appreciate the offer—it’s noble and brave, Rig—but you’re not big enough to help in this matter.”
The boy shook off his hand, movements erratic and angry. “I can help. I’m not too little. I can find Uh-NEE. I can always find her. Prince Kora is going to take the book to the elves, yes? Well, Uh-NEE is with the elves. And if I can find her, I can find them.”
An awkward silence fell between them as Jael and Math exchanged a confused look.
“What do you mean?” Math leaned down, bracing his hands on his knees, so that he looked right into the goblinborn’s face. “How can you find Anrid?”
Rig splayed a hand across his chest, his expression pensive and solemn. “I can feel her. I can always feel her. I know where she is. That’s how I learned about your bad book: I followed Un-NEE into the library, and I saw you. I saw you floating in the lights with the book.”
Jael coughed. “What is he talking about?”
“I’m not sure.” Math straightened and scratched the back of his neck. “But I’m guessing it has something to do with the bond between them. The gifts of the goblinborn are erratic and unique. When he bespelled Anrid and brought her to Agmon, it’s possible he created a bond with her. Not on a personal level, but on a soul level. It’s possible he’s bonded to her as surely as you’re both bonded to the Bifrost.”
“We’re all connected in this. Me. Anrid. The children.” It’s why the children could see the shadows. When they kidnapped Anrid, they unintentionally inserted themselves into every aspect of her life. “Because Anrid and the Bifrost? They’re connected now. It’s why they can see the shadows.”
Jael dipped his chin, a sudden fear stabbing at his heart. He’d been feeling the strain of Anrid’s absence in a painful, physical way because of the soul bonding. If the children were also bonded to her, were they feeling the same way? He cast his eyes over the group, unable to mask his alarm.
“What is it?” Math asked, intuitive as always.
“The children,” Jael began hoarsely, “if they’re bound to Anrid, they’re also feeling the effects of the Bifrost. It’s painful, her being gone. It hurts, Math. I feel like I’m going to collapse, like I can’t take much more. That sort of pressure on children—with them already being sick—”
Understanding blossomed across his apprentice’s features. He too studied the children with growing concern.
It all pointed back to Anrid.
And how much they needed her.
