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

end. Jane hadn’t wanted to think about him at all since the bloodshed in the caves.

He lingered like a shadow in her mind. He would forever remain the symbol to her that humans and goblins would always have sides that called for death or destruction. The only answer he could see was red and streaked with pain.

She opened one eye. The goblins hadn’t moved at all. Not even an inch.

Sighing, she shifted again. Jane spun in a half circle until she could stare at the glittering lights of the City.

She had to admit, it was beautiful. The light from within seemed to spear upwards into the night sky. There had to be so many lights to banish the darkness from above the City.

What were her siblings doing in this moment?

Her hand passed over her mouth at the thought. She hoped they were happy. She hoped that they were peacefully sleeping in a comfortable bed with bellies full.

Willow stood at the entrance of the tunnel. She had spent the day outside with the strange creature the raiders had delivered. It was old, she could tell by the wrinkles around its eyes. But it was sweet.

The giant had walked circles around her for a while before they both had wandered off for adventure. Willow had hopped from large footprint to footprint as the beast meandered through the sands.

She had told it stories along the way. Muttering about sandcats and fairytale creatures that had always made her jump in the middle of the night.

The beast didn’t seem to mind her stories.

Eventually she had been forced to turn around. The City had been so far behind her that she wasn’t certain she would return in time.

She left the creature with a heavy heart. This was the first time she had been outside for a very long time. The sands felt good against her bare feet. The sun blistered the skin along her shoulders. But they were both exhilarating in their way.

She finally felt as though she had come home.

Which was likely why her feet dragged as she forced herself to turn around. The slow walk had meant the sun sank behind the City before she managed to find the tunnel again.

Not that it mattered to her. She was only going to have to endure another one of Luther’s lectures.

She stood in the mouth of the tunnel and held her hands up in front of her. Making duck bills out of her fingers, she wobbled them as she spoke.

“Willow! You’ve been gone far too long.” She deepened her tone to an angry grumble.

“I went outside today Luther.” Her second voice was much calmer and brighter than the first.

“Willow! You’re not supposed to go outside!”

“I met a creature unlike anything I’ve ever seen.”

“Willow! You’re not supposed to meet anything other than people.”

“I think I’d like to go home. Not live in a place where I can’t even touch the walls because I might smudge them.”

“Nag nag nag.” Her right hand chewed on the other, beating the second voice into submission.

She sighed, dropping her hands to her sides and looking back at the sands. A moonbeam lingered upon her, causing the bright spark of her hair to gleam in the night.

“I’d be happier out here.” She whispered to herself.

Closing her eyes, she lifted her face to the sky one more time. The wind rustled past her and stroked loving fingers upon her cheeks.

Everything good had to end though. She slipped back through the tunnel and rushed to the grate she had entered through. The dust had managed to build up significantly since the last time she had been in there. That was what the vents were for, she supposed.

Willow managed to get home just before Luther.

He was always late.

A mad dash of dropping her school clothes to the floor meant that she was able to squeak loudly when the front door slammed open and Luther barged into the house.

“Willow!”

The door to their bedroom started to open. In response, she yelled, “I ain’t got clothes on!”

The door then shut just as quickly as it was thrown open.

“Willow, you weren’t in school today!” There was a long pause as she waited for the rest of the sentence. “Again!”

She sighed and rested her forehead against the door. Willow did not know that her brother was doing the same thing on the other side.

“I don’t like school. They’re mean and rude.”

“They’re children. You can’t just leave school because you don’t like it.”

“They don’t understand me Luther. And when I try to stand up for meself they get angry.”

There was a long enough pause from the other side of the door that Willow leaned back from the cold metal. Her forehead had left a streak of dirt.

“You shouldn’t have to stand up for yourself.”

To add insult to the streak, she placed both dirty palms against the steel and pressed firmly. Perfect imprints of her hands remained.

“Neither should you.” She responded. “But we both do. I’m going to sleep, Luther.”

There wasn’t a response from the other side of the door, so she stepped back. A shower was in order, and then she was going to curl up in her bed. The sooner she was asleep, the sooner she could dream of the adventure today had brought.

Luther was used to having to be the “man” of the family now. He had spent much of his youth watching Jane take care of them, which mean he was capable. He had learned from the best after all.

But try as he might, his younger sister would always be a problem. She was rebellious. She was driven. She was idiotic.

She thought herself a caged creature. It was that thought that certainly didn’t help the situation.

Luther wanted her to be happy, he certainly was. The City offered so many opportunities for him. His mind was finally being challenged on a daily basis. Everyone he met had something new that they wanted to teach him.

Yet even he had to admit that there was something off about the City. Everyone was