The opposite bank had more of a gentle incline, so I was able to walk slowly out into the dry air. Now my skirts were wet and heavy. I wished I still had the goblin dress on, which wouldn’t have been so long.
I tried my best to rush to the coffin, so I could get one look at Nyar before Mr. Vedast was right behind me.
He was more perfect than I remembered. His face was peaceful, but his mouth was open just a little so I could see the edges of his fangs. His hair was in some disarray, sweeping one direction across his brow and another way behind his head. He was still wearing the clothing I had last seen him in, complete with a few buttons still undone—by my hand, I thought. He had a sword at his side now, I was glad to see, because he certainly might need it. His hands were that ghastly pale color with knobby knuckles and sharp claws.
He was a mess and I loved him.
My hands tugged at my bonds behind my back, desperate to touch him.
“Ugh. Look at him.” Mr. Vedast grabbed my shoulder and shoved me back. “Like a corpse mated with a wolf.”
“You want to mate with that?” One of the other men poked the coffin with his finger, laughing.
They were hoping to make me cry, to force me into displaying shame for what I had done, but I would never be ashamed for any of it. I held my head high, even as a slight tremble passed through my jaw.
Mr. Vedast pushed up the glass lid of the coffin. It actually seemed too light, for what it was, but I suppose it was enchanted not to be too heavy, so I could have lifted it myself. He brandished his sword at Nyar’s prone form.
“Go ahead and kiss him, then,” he told me.
God help us. Let us get out of this somehow. I prayed before I leaned forward.
My lips met Nyar’s. He was warm, his taste so familiar.
His eyes opened. Golden and heavy with sleep. Then, a blink, and they came alert. He saw Mr. Vedast almost immediately, and sat up—in fact, I could tell he would have been on his feet with his own sword drawn, had Mr. Vedast not put a hand on his chest before he could get that far. I had certainly learned that Mr. Vedast was quite keen on using his hands to restrain, shove, and grab.
Nyar, now upright within his coffin, glanced at me briefly, with hope but also a hint of caution.
I gave him a look back that I hoped would tell him everything—most of all, that I hadn’t betrayed him.
“Sabela,” he said. And I knew he understood.
The curse has been broken, the river witch said. Her voice had a funny hitch to it, like she didn’t know what to do with herself. And now the fun will begin.
Nyar’s eyes shot to Mr. Vedast.
“Goblin King,” Mr. Vedast said. “I’m here to avenge all the young women you have taken advantage of over the years. Tell me where your gold is, and I will spare your life.”
Nyar raised an eyebrow. “Is that so?”
He glanced around the room. At the frothing river. At me. And the twelve men with their swords drawn.
“It’s right here,” he said. “Underneath the coffin.”
Mr. Vedast’s eyes were darting around. In fact, he reminded me of when I was in the library trying to look at the maps. He expected a trick. “Get up,” he said.
Nyar climbed out of the coffin in one nimble motion, standing beside me, close enough that I could feel the heat of his body. Underneath where he had been laying, there was an obvious wooden panel that Mr. Vedast lifted up, and just as promised, there were sacks of gold coins.
“Take them,” Nyar said. He took a step back.
“Put your sword down,” Mr. Vedast said. “Three against one.”
Nyar lifted his hands in a gesture of peace, and then took off his sword belt. Is this a good idea? I wondered. He must know what he was doing.
Mr. Vedast motioned for his two men to reach for the gold first. They took a heavy sack in each hand.
“Get them across,” Mr. Vedast said.
They carried the sacks across the river, as the waters remained calm.
As soon as Mr. Vedast saw it was safe, he grabbed two more, and the he tried to manage two in one hand so he could take a third. While Mr. Vedast was distracted with the gold, Nyar’s claws tore the strands of the rope that bound my hands. I rubbed my chafed wrists, but kept my hands tucked behind me so Mr. Vedast wouldn’t notice.
I wondered why Nyar was letting him get away with all this. Mr. Vedast was obviously getting more arrogant, caught up in his impatience, and I was sure it was a trick and that any moment Nyar was going to attack him while his hands were full.
But maybe he didn’t care about the gold.
I had just had this thought when I heard a commotion outside the door. The men who were guarding it took a step back. “Goblins!” they cried. “Real goblins—not ghosts.”
“Was this your plan all along?” I whispered to Nyar.
“I wouldn’t call it a plan, so much as…a circumstance. I knew they would return to their true forms as soon as you kissed me. But I don’t want them hurt. Halt!” He shouted. “Be cautious, my people!” He looked at Mr. Vedast. “They won’t hurt you if you won’t hurt them.”
Mr. Vedast dropped the sacks and drew his sword again. “I know what you’re planning. You think I’ll cross the river, and as soon as I cross, your men will kill us. But I’m staying right here. If your goblins dare to hurt my men—“ He pointed his sword at Nyar’s heart. “I will run you through.”
“The thing of it is,” Nyar said, “I’m going to die one way or another. The river witch has become so obsessed with her curse that I’m not sure she even knows how to take on a human form anymore. She is waiting to drown me as soon as I cross. So if you kill me, it won’t make much of a difference. You will have to cross the river sooner or later. My people, on the other hand, deserve the gold. If you would be kind enough to leave it on the opposite bank for them, I’ll tell them to leave you alone.”
“I came for gold,” Mr. Vedast hissed. “How many goblins could there be?”
“Well, sir—quite a lot, I think,” one of the other men said. “Maybe a hundred?”
“A hundred?”
“I can hear them out there having a discussion. I think we’re outnumbered. You’d better just give it up.”
“Fine,” Mr. Vedast spat. Now he pointed his sword at me. “I hope you enjoy drowning with your goblin.”
“I will,” I said, although…well, I’d rather not.
Mr. Lock put one foot in the water and immediately it sprayed a forceful plume of water at him. The waters began to churn.
Greedy man, the river witch said. I don’t like you either. I think I’d like to see you fight the Goblin King. Who will win? I don’t care. I will enjoy the show.
Mr. Vedast went pale, but only for a moment. He realized that Nyar’s sword was still on the ground, while he was holding his own, and moved to strike.
Nyar dodged the first strike, but it carried him even farther from his own sword. Mr. Vedast seemed to have angled him that way on purpose. Nyar hit the side of the coffin, and darted around it, using it as a shield. Mr. Vedast chased him around the coffin, slashing perilously close. He was a good fighter. Nyar was agile, managing to evade but not to get into a position where he might use his claws.