The Goblets Immortal by Beth Overmyer (highly recommended books txt) 📗

“What? You don’t know?” He knew he was sleeping. He’d much rather wake and see what was happening to himself and the girl. Last he’d seen, she was still hovering in the air like a fragile ornament waiting to be dropped.

The woman was speaking again, and Aidan forced himself to attend to what she was saying. “If you wish to see your family again, I and I alone can help you. And in order to help you, I need your location. Where are you?”

Aidan sighed and shrugged. “I was attacked.”

Her face fell. “Who attacked?”

“Goblins.”

She frowned. “And you survived?”

“Yes.” He was growing weary and wished to sit down. “Is it all right if I wake up now? I fear I’m not out of danger yet.”

“What do you mean?”

“What I mean is that something must have frightened the goblins off, and now I am with them.”

“A prisoner?”

Aidan nodded. “Most assuredly.”

Meraude took to pacing, her fair brow wrinkling with either worry or distaste. “This complicates things, to be sure. Can you use your abilities against them?”

He scowled. “You think I didn’t try that?”

She held up a hand to waylay his words. “All right. You must find out what they are and what their weakness is. Goblins cannot abide light…. Hmm. Whatever scared them off must be— Ah, most assuredly, you are dealing with nymphs.”

Aidan rubbed his temples. “And how do I fight them?”

Meraude sighed. “If you cannot use your abilities, then I’m afraid you’re going to have to stay where you are until I free you.”

That didn’t sound like a good idea. “Couldn’t you get inside one of their dreams?”

She raised her eyebrows at this. “Pardon? I don’t follow.”

“You could appear to them and tell them to let us go….”

“Us?”

It was Aidan’s turn to be confused. Surely he’d mentioned his traveling companion before. “I met up with someone.” He did not like the look she was giving him; it was displeased and bordering on scandalized, so he added, “We’ll be parting ways soon,” even though he knew there was no possibility of that.

That brought the smile back to Meraude’s face. “All right. Let me answer your question: I cannot appear to just anyone.”

“But how, then—”

She held up a hand. “And nymphs don’t dream. Even if they were to dream, what weight would my words hold with them?”

Aidan shrugged. Isaac the Roma’s words were still in the back of his mind. Was it true that Meraude slaughtered magical things? Was he a fool allowing this dream conversation go on? Not that he had much choice. Maybe he should be more careful what information he let slip his lips.

The woman’s dark eyes were appraising. “Lord Ingledark, let me be clear. I am trying to help you.”

“I know.”

“Then you’ll have to trust me and stay put with these woodland creatures, all right? No heroics, no escape attempts. Just stay put. Understand?”

Well, that was insulting to his intelligence. Aidan had no intention of staying put and waiting for some possibly evil mage to free them. Nonetheless, he feigned a thoughtful look and finally nodded. “As you wish.”

That seemed to satisfy Meraude, for she didn’t press the matter. “I suggest that if you have anything to say to me, you say it now.”

Aidan shook his head. “I can think of nothing else to say.”

Meraude smirked. “How about your location?”

“I don’t know where we are. The nymphs—”

“Where were you when the goblins attacked?”

That made Aidan’s stomach drop. How best to lie? “If I recall correctly, we were still somewhere on the road to Wontworth.” There, the truth but not the truth. They’d been turned around and had wandered in the wrong direction for several miles.

Aidan began to shake and his face stung.

“It would seem someone’s trying to rouse you. I suggest you be roused.”

The scene dissolved and Aidan was nearly blinded as he returned to reality from his dreaming state. “Ugh.” His eyes closed again and he listened. There was lively chatter in the near distance, many fair voices singing and making merry. He heard the crackling of a fire, felt its warmth, and shifted slightly.

Something slapped him in the face again. “Sir!”

Aidan never thought he’d be so relieved to hear a woman’s voice in his life. He opened his eyes just as her foot connected with his forehead.

“Ouch!”

“Shh! Sorry…sorry.”

Stars swam before his eyes as he tried to focus on her. “Where are we? Wh— Ow. What happened?”

“Some ruddy awful beasts have got us.”

He squinted and looked away from Slaíne. They were in a small cave dug out beneath a nest of tree roots. She was chained to an iron pillar. He was free. And the so-called ‘awful beasts’ that had captured them were beautiful creatures of multicolored light. Had she not been in chains and he with a sore head, he might have had a merry laugh at her odd view of things.

“Are you hurt?”

“Nah,” she said as he returned his attention to her. “Can you do anything about these?” Slaíne tugged at the iron chains, which clanked miserably.

Aidan shook his head. “No. I’ve no abilities with that metal.”

“Figured that would be the case. But have you any luck with picking locks?”

Aidan crawled over to her, his head scraping the roof of their enclosure. He studied the chains. He whistled.

“What?”

“You’ve got some fine bruises.”

She snorted. “Can you pick the lock?”

Aidan heaved a great sigh. “Maybe if I had something to pick with that won’t break off inside the mechanism.” Something was bothering him. He felt for Pulls, and knew at once what the source of his irritation was. Slaíne’s Pull was as strong as ever; he’d felt that even in his queer dream. But as for the numerous nymphs surrounding them and their supplies? Nothing. He could not feel their wagons, their tables heavily laden with food and drink, their beds, their blankets. It was almost as if they were figments of a dream. “Blast.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I can’t feel anything of theirs.”

Slaíne raised her eyebrows and then frowned. “Explain.”

Aidan launched into a short explanation about how his ability