City of Towers_ The Dreaming Dark - Keith Baker [69]
“Shaarat’kor!” he cried. This goaded his companions into action. The warriors began to circle Daine and his allies, searching for an opening.
“Stand ready!” Daine said, sliding into guard and waiting for the charge.
But the attack never came. A high female voice called out in Goblin, interrupting the battle. “Leave him alone, Jhaakat! Leave him be unless you plan to drink your own blood!”
The hobgoblin hissed, but he paused and looked over his shoulder to the source of the source of the voice. Daine stole a glance as well and blinked in surprise. The speaker was the goblin girl he’d met on the lift from Deni’yas—the thief who had stolen his purse.
“Begone, girl!” the hobgoblin snapped. “This is business of the Ghaal’dar. No place for cityfolk who have long lost touch with our ways.”
“You are in my home, Jhaakat, and you do not know our ways. We know better than to drink poisoned korluaat, but I’ve seen a number of you Darguuls make that mistake. Besides, the Stone Eye wants to see him. Perhaps you’d like to explain the delay?”
Jhaakat looked askance at that. The other hobgoblins lowered their weapons and took a step back. “Fine,” said the hobgoblin. “Take him.” He looked at Daine, spat at the ground, then turned and walked away.
“Daine,” Lei whispered. “As someone who doesn’t speak Goblin, would you tell me what is going on?”
“I’m still trying to figure that out,” he said. He looked over to the little girl. “It seems that there’s more to you than meets the eye,” he said in the common tongue of Galifar. “I suppose I should thank you for helping us. I’m not in the habit of being rescued by thieves.”
Looking at her now, it was clear that the girl had been playing a role on the lift. Daine remembered hearing that the short-lived goblinoids matured faster than humans, and clearly the girl’s wide-eyed “I just wanted to see the sky” burbling had been an act. He’d been thinking of her as a child of six, but her level gaze had the focus of a young adult.
“You saved me on the lift,” she said in the tongue of Galifar. Her voice was so childish and sweet that it was difficult to take her seriously. “And you did give me all that money. It was the least I could do.”
“I didn’t exactly give you that money.”
“I know … but you had it just hanging there. And I know you saw me.” She looked at Jode, who grinned. “I thought you just didn’t want to give it to me in front of the guards.”
“What did you just do?” Lei asked. “Who are you?”
The girl studied Lei carefully. “I’m Rhazala. Those mean Darguuls sleep at my father’s hostel, so they know better than to cross me. And I told them someone important wants to see you.”
Daine nodded. “Well, thanks, Rhazala. Since I imagine you don’t have the money any more, I guess we’ll just have to call it even and be on our way.”
“You can’t do that!”
“Why not?”
“I told you. Someone important wants to see you.”
“You weren’t just making that up?”
“You don’t joke about the Stone Eye. If you don’t come, I don’t know what he’ll do to me.”
Daine sighed and looked at the other three. “Well, I suppose we can take a few more minutes before following up on all of our other leads. What do you think?”
There were general nods of assent.
He turned back to Rhazala. “Fine. Lead on.”
The people of Malleon’s Gate seemed to know Rhazala. Many waved as the goblin girl passed by. Others looked away or studiously ignored the girl and her traveling companions. As they continued deeper into the district, they began to see more statues—a hobgoblin warrior in full armor, his flail broken off halfway up the handle; an angry bugbear with one arm missing; a pair of goblins encrusted with mildew and mold.
“I’ll give you one guess as to what old ‘Stone Eye’ is,” Jode murmured, touching his eye and then pointing to one of the statues.
“A medusa, you think?” Daine frowned.