The Goblin Warrior (Beneath Sands Book 2) by Emma Hamm (100 books to read txt) 📕

Willow leaned forward. “What?”

“Juo.”

“Is that your name?” She asked excitedly. “My name is Willow.”

“Juo.”

She grinned then, leaning over the table so that she could see his face more clearly. She was an excitable child, and the idea that she had taught something to another species made her breathless. “Willow.”

Perhaps it could hear the excitement in her voice, but Willow could have sworn that she saw the creature’s mouth quirk slightly at the side.

But then it was gone, replaced with a look so fierce she squeaked and flinched backwards.

“Willow.” It said. This time it almost sounded urgent. “Willow.”

Then she heard what the creature was hearing. The heavy sound of footsteps that were walking towards the door.

Saddened that her new friend was going to be taken away from her so quickly, Willow stared at the door with wide eyes. Just when she had found someone that was as strange as her, that person had to be taken away.

She touched him gently on the cheek, her fingers leaving a warm mark in their wake. “Be safe, Juo. I’ll come back and visit.”

And then she was scrabbling back towards the vent. She toed the edge of a chair and launched herself back up into the vent.

Willow had just managed to squeeze herself far into the vent when the door opened.

“What in the world?”

The words made her freeze.

“Those damned engineers. I keep telling them that the vents are clanking and what do they do? Now they start falling apart. You’d think at some point they would actually fix things around here!”

The frustrated words made a smile spread across her lips until Willow thought her face would crack. Next time she would be more careful. Next time she would figure out a way to keep the grate in the vent so that she could replace it.

This time she had managed to do it without getting caught. Willow was going to keep it that way.

8

Jane and the goblins traveled for two more days. This time, they listened to her. The goblins were stricken by grief and shock. The battle had been a reminder that they did not understand the people in this land.

Jane did.

Her life had been significantly different Above. She was reminded of that every second that her feet were sinking into the sands. Though it had been a novelty to come back, she now wished for dark caves and soft blue light.

No longer did she linger in the sun with her face turned towards it. Instead, Jane remained in the tents with the goblins. They needed her presence as much as she needed theirs. Together, they became a source of comfort for each other.

Now, they had something more important to do.

“No.” Ruric’s voice travelled easily over the vast expanse of sand. “We are not doing that.”

“We have to.” She replied. “Ruric, the fastest way to get to the City is on that train. It’s only for a few hours and then we’ll be there. We have taken too long already. Simon has definitely made it to the City before us. We don’t know what they’ll do to Juo.”

“It’s not safe.”

“You didn’t have any trouble with safety when you ran into raiders and killed them all!”

His silence was answer enough to her harshly spoken words.

Jane sighed. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t fair. But you have to trust me. I will make certain that no one sees you.”

She watched as his face tilted towards her, those dark eyes of his still watering with lingering pain from the sun. “And if you do not return?”

“I will come back.” She said quietly. Her palm touched his cheek. “I will not leave you and your people out here. I’ll bring water.”

Ruric sighed. Jane had been worried about their chapped lips for a while now. The goblins needed a considerable amount of water compared to humans. Their bodies were not used to heat and could not retain moisture. Though the goblins remained stoic, Jane could not help but worry.

“I’ll be back by nightfall. These are my people. They will remember me. They will help.”

If she saw any sort of resignation in his eyes, Jane ignored it. She knew that Ruric still did not trust her. Neither did his people.

Trust was a fluid thing. It ebbed and flowed through life with the inconsistency of sand pushed by wind. Jane would prove to herself and to them that she could be trusted once more.

First, she needed to get cloaks for all of them that could cover them on the train to the City. She had to get water. She had to get anything that could cover the goblin’s feet better than small leather strappings.

The list of needed items grew until they pushed the worry out of her head. Ruric would have to wait for her.

She ducked out of the tent and made her way across the sand dunes.

A storm was brewing. She could feel it in her bones. The way that the sand whipped across her face was a telltale sign that the sands had started to boil. The sands people could always tell when a storm was coming.

This was the perfect time to sneak into the camp. No one would want to linger upon the sight of a figure who wasn’t rushing towards its home.

Jane planned on taking more than her share. Guilt spiked through her chest, nearly knocking her back a step. These people had little to nothing to their name. They could not afford to give her what she was going to take.

She had no time for guilt. They needed the things she repeated in her mind over and over again. Therefore, she had to take them.

She stumbled through the whirling sands until she came upon the first line of tents.

This one wouldn’t do. There wasn’t anything hanging on the lines. They had been smart and taken in all the laundry that had likely been airing out. There wasn’t enough water here to actually clean any clothing, but they could at least beat the