The horn blew and the goblins took off, sticks on their shoulders parallel to the ground. Astaroth released my hand and snapped his fingers before covering it again and slowly moving my palm over him. The ground shook, and I gripped tighter. It spooked some of the contestants and tripped them up before the dirt caved in random spots on the field. Unable to stop, some goblins fell directly into the pits and others were quick enough to jab the dirt with their sticks and vault over them. The onlookers went insane, jumping in their seats and yelling. I couldn’t make out half of what they were saying and had trouble focusing on anything other than the field and what Astaroth was doing with my hand. The fear of being caught and the excitement of the games made my breaths quicken.
He snapped his fingers again. Shadows moved inside several pits before tentacle like appendages rolled and slithered out, snatching goblins up into the air by their legs, arms, and necks. They ruthlessly struggled to break free, beating on the tentacles with their sticks to no avail, before disappearing with the spiky suckers as they slithered back into their abyss. Tiny creatures scurried up and out of other pits in all directions, climbing up the goblins’ bodies. Their cries could be heard throughout the arena as they tore the ravenous little beasts from them and kept going to outrun them.
Another snap. Magic prickled over my skin as he moved my hand a little quicker. I shifted in my seat, breaths stuttering from the onslaught of energy and arousal. Astaroth scooted closer without missing a beat, wrapping an arm around me and gripping my hip. The ground quaked again to the point of shaking the entire arena. All the contestants stopped in theirtracks as the dirt split in a jagged line across the width of the field. They looked at one another before some bolted toward it, sticks at the ready, but they didn’t make it before a wall rose up from the ground. A few vaulted into it and crashed to the ground, the rest of them stopped at the base of the wall and stared up at it.
“What will they do now?”
Astaroth rested his cheek on my head. His words were throaty and rumbled in my ear. “Whatever it takes to serve their queen.”
One lone goblin attempted to scale the wall using only his hands and feet. He made it halfway and then fell to the ground. A small group gave up and sat down.
Astaroth growled. “They don’t deserve to be in your presence.”
“Ast—”
He squeezed my hand around him reminding me of his stupid rule. “They have worked hard, Roth.”
“Not hard enough, Cali,” he scolded me back.
I rolled my eyes when he snapped his fingers and vines came out of the ground around them, holding them down and counting them out of the games. I went back to watching as another group observed what happened and huddled together. Suddenly, one ran to the wall and waved the rest over. They began climbing one another, creating a goblin ladder of sorts until they reached the top. The biggest of them all scurried up their backs and leaped over the other side. He dangled from it and waited as one by one the bottom goblin climbed up and over, creating a new ladder going down on the other side. When their feet touched the dirt on the other side, the one on top would slide down until all were on the ground.
The crowd cheered, and I pulled my hand back to join them.
“They will be your personal guard.”
Shocked, I counted thirteen heads and turned to Astaroth. “All of them?”
“Yes. Not all at once, unless needed.”
I relaxed and let out a breath. Being encased in a circle of goblins daily would ensure I’d never get out of bed.
The horn blew and all the soldiers came back onto the field forming an open circle.
“I thought it was over.”
Astaroth stared down at the field. “The best is yet to come.”
“And now for the finale!” a voice echoed through the arena.
I settled against him, and without even thinking about it, returned my hand to his thigh. His erection jerked against my palm as I slid down it.
“Cole, Hunter, Tate, Greg.”
My brow furrowed as they announced the names. They hadn’t announced any others, and those names sounded nothing like the other goblins’ I’d heard while in the labyrinth. These were very human. Four larger goblins emerged hesitantly from an opening in the wall. They entered the circle, fear evident in their posture, and the surrounding goblins closed it off, trapping them inside. Someone tossed a single sword between them. Then, in one fluid motion, the goblin circle pointed sharp, wooden stakes at the newcomers.
“To the death!” the group shouted.
Deafening silence followed. It’s as if everyone held their breath and watched in shock. My head whipped toward Astaroth. His hard gaze didn’t budge from the field. I went to pull my hand away and scoot to the edge of my seat, but he gripped my wrist and prevented me from moving.
“To the death?” I hissed. “Why?”
“’Tis their punishment.”
Attention split between him and the goblins moving counterclockwise in the circle, I slid back into my seat, putting space between us. His hold on me remained. One of the goblins tried to find a weak spot in the circle and was jabbed with a stick.He howled and held his gut as he retreated. The other three went for the sword. A wrestling match erupted as they fought for the weapon, even playing tug of war with it, until one of them finally stole it for himself, impaling one of the others in the process.
With a roar, the crowd surged to their feet. The silence was not nearly as deafening as the blood lust vibrating my eardrums. Their excitement for murder made me ill.
The sword wielder kicked the goblin off his blade and turned on the others. They jumped out of range with every swing, but he made a critical mistake. He turned his back to one of them. They took that moment to pounce on him. Wrapping his legs around his waist, the attacker jerked the sword wielder’s head back and to the side. He wobbled, fell to his knees, and dropped the sword. A goblin ran up and snatched it before the other had a chance to retrieve it. Thinking fast, he raised the dead body as a shield, but it didn’t work. The sword went through both of them.
