The Goblin's Crown

Chapter Fifty Four: Siege

The goblin's eyes twinkled with mischief and his mouth twisted sideways with a grin that could curdle milk as the once picturesque world beneath us crumbled into a hellish pit of chaos.

He used another's body, but his soul beamed out of the borrowed skin like a flame through the darkness of night. For a moment, I did not see Snorri, but another goblin, a true goblin, one who's dull gray hair twinkled silver in the light of the growing flames below.

"Knut!" I released his name from my lungs like a desperate gasp of air. I threw myself at his puppet, jumping up to encircle my arms around Snorri's thick neck.

"Matilda!" He shouted, playfully spinning me like a child in his arms. He sat me down with a wry look in his eyes. "There, see, it hasn't been too long since we last saw each other. We haven't forgotten each other's names." A claw brushed away a mat of bloody hair from my cheek. "Though, personally, I still think Mouse suits you better than Muh-till-duh." He bent over me, bringing his mouth nearer to mine. "Or should I now be calling you Empress Mouse? Conqueror of the City of Thorns? Scourge of the Unseelie?" My spine tingled delightfully at every new title. "Yes, Empress. I do like the sound of that." He cooed to me in a seductive sigh. "That is what you will be once the Unseelie kingdom falls. We, you and I, are turning our petty little kingdom of slaves and sell swords into an Empire, My Lovely. This is just the first step." He leaned in further, going in for a kiss.

I pressed my hand against his chest, keeping those borrowed lips at bay. "Not while you're wearing another goblin's body. I know it's you, but I'd feel strange kissing Snorri, even if it is you in there." I teased, barely containing myself. I could feel heat sweep through my body, turning my skin bright red. It grew worse the longer I stood beneath Knut's gaze. It had been so dreadfully long since I'd last even spoken to him and I was dreadfully disappointed that his flesh and blood body wasn't standing there with me so I could kiss him dead.

"Thank you for not betraying me with one of my minions." He chuckled deeply, his own cackle mixing with Snorri's low rumbling. Taking my hand, he settled for a kiss to my fingers. He looked up at me as his lips pecked the skin of my knuckles, never leaving my own. "I have missed you. Have you missed me?" He asked. His face didn't change, but there was a spark of wickedness in his eyes. He knew. By God, he knew how pleased I was with him. The irritatingly wonderful, brilliantly ugly, darling devil!

"A little," I answered coyly. It was an effort to finally pry my hand away and return my attention to the siege. I watched as goblins with devilish horns chased after a group of women whose wings they had already gored and shattered. One of the women tripped. She cradled something against her chest. When she fell, she curled herself inward, cocooning the thing with her own body. The goblins snatched her up by the hair and yanked the bundle free of her arms. It was a baby, newly born. Its wings were still mostly naked with a few straggly feathers. The baby wailed and the mother screamed for its return. Instead, one goblin dragged her away while another carried the infant off in its jaws. "How did you do all this? This cannot be just half the hoard." I asked, stiffing a joyous laugh at the Unseelie's sufferings. The sight of them being dragged out of the sky and back down into the hellish pit below by goblin claws and fangs was the most beautiful sight to behold. I hoped Mab would come to their rescue soon. I wanted, needed her to see this.

"It isn't. It's the large majority of it." He confessed. He stood beside me with an arm strewn across my shoulders.

"Don't you need them?" I asked.

"Mab is trying her damnedest to push me back. We've been in constant conflicts ever since you left. It has been difficult, but it's forced me to add to my army almost constantly. I'm making more as we speak. She's trying to squash me, but instead, she's merely made my forces and myself that much stronger. Things have begun to change, though. These past few days, things have been quiet. There've been no attacks in three days. I believe she's finally decided to come check on her city. I'm taking the opportunity to quadruple the number of my goblins, sending most to you. I feel you're going to need them."