“No one needs a zwoot!” A goblin shoved another out of the way. “But a fish tickler….”
“We’ve got piece cods! You definitely need one of these!”
Nervous by how quickly they shifted to hostile tactics, I glanced around and locked gazes with a more humanoid goblin who pushed his way through the group. His dirty red hat reminded me of a sock cap, but it wasn’t knitted nor were there seams on it. The rest of him was just as filthy.
“For a pretty penny, the dust of a Bluebell can be yours!”
The glass jar held something bluer than blue. It flicked back and forth as he shook it from side to side to entice me. The color was hypnotizing. I had never seen a shade like that before, and I wanted a closer look. As I leaned down to inspect it, the little man smirked and raised the bottle up to my nose. There was no powder in the jar though. It was more like a twig… or maybe a stem of a flower. A second later, a small face pressed against the glass, tiny hands beside it beat against its prison, begging to be set free. Was this the pixie that escaped last night?
His eyes lit up and he pointed at my chest. I looked down to find the black obsidian-like stone had slipped outside my shirt, rainbows flashed in it as it swayed around my neck. He grew more excited. “Or a trade will work, if you are willing to barter.”
I startled the man by gripping his wrist. The other goblins jumped back as I pulled him closer. He tried to break free, but I was stronger than him.
“That is so pretty,” I said, awing over it so he would let down his guard.
The man stilled, giving me a wary glance. “Yes, deary. And for two pretty pennies it can be yours.”
“Two pretty pennies?” I tightened my grip and tugged him closer. “You just told me one.” I lifted the pendant, and his gaze latched onto it. “Or a trade.”
“Well,” he huffed, fighting between looking at me or the pendant I dangled in his face. “The price has doubled.”
“That’s not fair!”
“Says who?”
“Says me,” I said.
He pulled harder against me, his words growly, “I says it is!”
One of the nearby goblins shoved their hand into one of their pockets and rooted around. Their face lit up as they pulled their hand free, holding up something metallic. “Two pretty pennies!”
“Yes,” the man hissed as his eyes widened with glee.
Before he could touch their outstretched hand, I slapped it away with my free one. “Don’t you dare!”
He glared at me as they jumped backward, holding their hands to their chest.
“You need to release it,” I demanded.
His shocked expression confused me.
“What?” they squinted. “It’s nothing more than dust.”
The pixie inside fluttered its wings rapidly. The man’s eyes bounced between me and the jar before he jumped to grab it with his other hand. I went for it, too, and it fell to the ground, shattering on the cobblestone road.
He stumbled backward, covering his face with his disgusting, faded red hat.
“Oh no,” I whimpered as I reached down to scoop up the prone creature.
With my focus on the pixie, I didn’t see the man sneak up to my side. He leaned forward and snatched the swinging pendant, pulling it over my head along with some of my hair.
“Hey!” I reached out for him.
“You take mine; I take yours,” his voice called out from within the crowd around us.
I’ll find the little shit, I thought to myself as I bent over the pixie again. But before I could retrieve it, a hand covered my mouth and nose and jerked me away. A stern voice mumbled in my ear, “No, you don’t.” Then a foot came down atop the small creature and smooshed it into the stone.
I gasped but couldn’t get any air. My fingers pried at the hand pressed firmly over my face until I got free. “Why did you do that?” I screeched.
