Aoife

To make a long story short, the goblins were sufficiently impressed. As soon as they saw we weren’t lying, and as soon as they had the chance to talk to the various people who’d begun to build their new homes with us, the decision was unanimous.

Getting our new additions settled in would prove to be a bit more tricky, but the struggle to find adequate housing would be more than worth it in the long run. Besides, it would turn out that goblin’s had their own nesting behaviors, and found themselves preferring to stay in close quarters with each other, so they took up a lot less space than you’d expect.

They didn’t even affect Willow’s workload. Not really. Like myself, they were carnivores. Meat was all they needed to get by, and most of them had become fairly talented hunters since the flicker. That did raise certain questions though, hunting could only sustain a population of our size for so long, so we’d have to start raising our own livestock as soon as possible. Maybe I could abduct some former farm animals sometime, I’d have to pitch it at our next town meeting. All those thoughts were secondary, however, to my biggest driving concern.

The goblins were fleeing from Cyrus.

These goblins had information, information we desperately needed, so as soon as they were settled in, the questions began, and one of the lead goblins from before, who I now knew was named Terry, started to tell us their story.

“Most of us had never met before we changed. A few of us had family, sure, but for the most part, we were strangers. Even still, there was this feeling. We all shared this constant feeling that we were meant to be together. It was like our brains just automatically sorted every goblin we saw into family.” We had a bonfire going in the village center, a tusked animal of some sort had been roasted along with a variety of root vegetables, and we all joined together for the feast. All of us itching to listen. “It’s a strange feeling, especially when you’re first getting used to it. That wasn’t all, either. It’s not just that we saw each other as family, there was also this strange sense of where each other were. We were drawn to each other, and eventually, we gathered together into this huge family. Those days were good, short as they were…”

Terry took a moment to gather themself before they moved on, and I could imagine why. If I was able to handle them so easily, I dreaded to think of what Cyrus and his village could have done.

“Eventually, after a good bit of wandering, we came across another community. A thriving town full of humans and angels, at least twice the size of what y’all have now.”

That set off a wave of murmuring through the gathered crowd. Everyone, whether they’d seen it personally or not, knew what Cyrus was capable of. To find out that even after the massacre I’d committed, his numbers had so far surpassed our current group well over a month ago was not a welcome thought. Against that many humans, all juiced up on potions, it didn’t look good.

Terry, for their part, simply pressed on with the story.

“They called it Sunrise… We thought that maybe we could talk to them, that we could work together in a way that would benefit all of us, and Cyrus, when he dropped in on us from above, told us he agreed.”

I felt Erica tense up beside me, and I reached down to take her hand. She’d had a more personal experience with Cyrus’ lies than most, and she still woke up some nights, choking and gasping for breath, still strapped to that chair in her head. I still woke up with her, running my hands through her fur, enveloping her in the calming cool of my magic, reminding her that she wasn’t there anymore. That she was safe.

“We set up camp nearby. Cyrus told us that we made some of the humans nervous. That we just needed to give them time to get used to us. Somehow, we believed him.” Another deep breath from Terry, other goblins pressing in around them to show their support. “As soon as we were settled in, we were attacked. A pair of humans, young ones at that. They charged in, swords swinging, juiced up on who knows what, and they slaughtered us…”

They were crying now. No amount of deep breaths, no amount of kindness, and no amount of support could’ve prevented that. They’d lost their family, after all, and now they were reliving it. Remembering that pain for our sake.

“We weren’t prepared. They caught us off guard because we trusted them, because Cyrus buried our doubts in awe and terror, and our people died. We ran, obviously, and eventually found ourselves drawn to you. Just like that sense that led us to each other, something else brought us here. This place just feels… right. It feels like the only place we might actually be safe…” A thought crossed their mind, and they narrowed their eyes at me. “Any clue why that might be?”

Their tone was accusatory, and their expression firm. They had good reason not to trust me. Dragons can manipulate emotions, and even if all I could do right now was generate fear, they had absolutely no reason to trust me when I told them that, especially considering what they’d been through.

“I- That’s not-” 

I couldn’t think of what to say, but thankfully, I didn’t have to say anything at all. There was a thunk as metal struck the earth, and Cass’ golden sword was on the ground by the fire, flickering light glinting off its surface.

“You ever see a sword like this before?” Cass’ tone was casual. Conversational, even.

The goblins crowded around the blade, whispering to each other before Terry answered.

“It looks like the swords some of the angels use.” The edge in their voice grew more dangerous by the minute.

“That’s ‘cuz it is. This sword belonged to an angel. It belongs to me now because I killed the fucker.” She stood up, undoing the top few buttons of her shirt as she walked up to Terry, revealing the lumpy, blistered scar on her shoulder. A sibling to the slightly more faded scar I had on my leg. “It’s magic. The cuts it makes burn, and it keeps them from healing properly. I got this scar when that angel tried to kill me, and that was after it stabbed Aoife in the thigh.”

Cass leaned down and picked up the sword again, returning it once again to its place on her belt.

“I can’t prove to you that we don’t mean you any harm, nothing I say will convince you, but one thing’s for sure, we’re no friends to Cyrus. Not now, and not ever.”

Terry met Cass’ eyes with a level stare, gauging the truth of her words. After a brief moment of hesitation, they gave her their answer.

“For now, that will be enough.”