The Howling Delve - Jaleigh Johnson [22]
He raised his father's blade, backed into the tree, and twisted, putting the trunk between himself and the goblin. He knew he had to run. If he didn't lose them in the trees, they'd simply ring him in until they wore him down.
Kail's toe caught an exposed toot. He fell and felt the wind whoosh out of his lungs. The goblin's torch came around the tree, but the creature's laughter was drowned out by pounding feet and harsh breathing that passed close to Kail's face. Their owner smelled of blood.
Panicking, Kali rolled blindly away, and saw Borl leap over him. The jump carried the huge mastiff into the goblin's chest.
The creature put its arms around the dog, clawing, and both went clashing into the underbrush. Borl snarled viciously as the goblin screamed and thrashed. Its torch went out, plunging the immediate atea into darkness. The goblins scattered in the direction of the burning trees, confused and terrified by the screams of their comrade.
Kali started to stand and found himself pulled back down by his shirt. He rolled onto his back to free himself and swiped the air, expecting an attack from above. A hand caught his wrist, and he found himself staring into the face of the young girl.
Up close, Kali saw that mottled brown and green paint streaked her face and hands, and her hair was tied back and buried in her hood. Trees and starlight haloed her; she blended into her surroundings like a wraith.
Kail opened his mouth, but she put a tense finger to his lips to keep him silent. He listened, picking up a second set of footsteps approaching fast in the wake of the first hunting party. More goblins, more fire, he thought.
"Are the diggers in the forest?" he whispered around her finger.
The girl nodded, lifting her gaze from him to the ttees. Far off, a sound rose over the tramping of goblin feet, an echo like the chanting of a choir at temple. In its wake, a brilliant flash lit the night, casting the atea into sharp, blue-white telief. Kali flinched under the power, the nearness of the lightning, but the girl paid it no attention. She stated straight ahead. Her lips moved, but Kali couldn't hear what she said. The entire scene felt like a dream, except he could smell the smoke, the dirt, and the reek of goblin sweat.
The girl stopped speaking, and when she did, a frail mist began to build around them. At first Kail thought it was the fire, but the fog was cool and smelled of an herb he could not place. The mist thickened, drifting against the wind to veil their hiding place. It pushed into the ranks of the marching goblins, obscuring them from view. Panicked grunts drifted out of the cloud, and the druid smiled grimly.
From the underbrush she plucked her spear. It was lighter and sleeker than it had first appeared, with a wicked barbed point. Below the blade dangled a clustet of oak leaves and what looked like tiny silver bells on a cord. Raising her weapon to her shoulder, the girl cast it into the fog. A soft, singing chime echoed within the mist-the same sound Kail had heard from the hut-followed by a solid thud and a goblin scream.
The girl drew out another spear, turned to him, and mouthed something. Kail shook his head to show he did not understand. The girl spoke again, just as silently, and Kail stared at her. Tossing her hood back impatiently, she stood and crept around the tree, using the trunk to guide her steps.
She led him to a large boulder nestled between two more of the great oaks, like a stone in a giant's sling. In the lee of the stone and the trees, they were much less exposed.
The girl wedged two fingers inside a pouch clipped to her belt. She pulled out two cream-colored stones.
Kail was not the expert in gems his father was, but he could tell immediately the stones had no value-they had likely been picked from a riverbed or the forest floor. But she held them as close as Kali had kept his sword. She took his hand, put one stone in his palm and kept the other for herself.
Put it in your pouch, she said. Her sudden voice in the dark startled him. / forget, sometimes,