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

glass and as she glanced around, she could see Luther in the cell next to her. There wasn’t a smudge on the glass, but the lights reflected upon the clear surface. Everything was pristine white.

She wanted to destroy it all.

Her hand moved and the soft shushing sound seemed to hurt her ears. They had removed her clothing. She was in some kind of hospital gown. White like the rest of this room and so clean that it made her skin look dirty.

The gown nearly ripped as she stood. Jane realized her balance was off. Her feet seemed to curl underneath her and she had to use the glass wall for balance. She had a profound sense of satisfaction as her palm left streaks upon the glass.

“Luther.” Her voice was hoarse and croaked out of her dry mouth. She pounded her fist against the glass, testing its strength and trying to get her brother’s attention.

“Luther!”

He stirred on the bed, his legs shifting until she could see his eyes open.

“Get up.” Her throat hurt when she spoke. “Get up, Luther.”

Slowly he swung himself off of the bed, and Jane had to grit her teeth as she watched his awkward walk towards her. The white gown covered him as well, and Jane realized he had lost his tan as well. Her heart squeezed as she realized she hadn’t noticed until now. The family who had lived in the sands had disappeared entirely right under her nose.

His palms hit the glass against her. It was so sturdy she didn’t feel it shudder when his weight slammed against it.

“Jane.”

“Are you okay?”

He nodded. “I think so.”

“What did they give us? I don’t feel right.”

“Some kind of drug.” He answered. “I’m not sure. I’ve never misbehaved, but I’ve seen them use it on people before.”

“Feels like someone hit me.” Jane’s hand rose to press against her forehead.

“I doubt it. The Doctor seemed… interested in your health.”

He was choosing his words carefully so he didn’t upset her.

Jane sighed and pressed her forehead against the glass. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know until your friend scanned me. And even then, there wasn’t any time.”

“I know. I understand.”

“Do you?” She looked at him then, through the streak her sweat slicked forehead had left and into his eyes. “I didn’t mean to bring any of us into this. I thought…”

“You thought you could save them.” His fingers spasmed against the glass. “I don’t understand why you did it. I don’t feel the same connection you do, but I don’t know them Jane.”

“I made another mistake. I should have known that if he was in the City, he was untouchable.”

Silence widened the gap between the siblings. Though this time, the silence came more from the two of them attempting to catch their breath. Jane’s legs were shaking even though she was propped up against the sturdy wall.

Finally she stirred, her biceps flexing as she pushed against the glass. “Ruric. He mentioned the other goblins, have you seen them?”

Luther shook his head. “I only woke once. I couldn’t even roll over.”

“I have to find them.” She muttered, though the first step away from the glass nearly toppled her. “I have to warn them.”

“Jane.”

She paused to look back at her brother.

“If he knows about them, he already has them.”

“He might not. There might still be a chance.”

“What are you going to do Jane? We’re locked in here.”

Her eyes were already searching the stark room for anything that she could find. “I don’t know.”

There was only the bed in the room. She curled her fingers under the edge and tried to lift it, only to find that the bed was bolted to the floor. Her hands were too weak to bend metal. If she had only been a goblin then maybe… Maybe she might have been able to do something.

In desperation, she turned towards the opposite wall where she could see a corridor.

She flung herself against the wall, slamming her shoulder repeatedly into the glass. Every thump shifted the bones of her shoulder and made pain arch through her neck. She couldn’t sit still and do nothing. She had to at least try.

“Jane.”

Luther’s voice couldn’t seem to break through her madness. He watched as she threw her body against the glass time and again until she couldn’t any longer. Only then did she pause to pound her fists against it. The heavy strikes were muffled. The glass was too thick to even make a sound.

She slid down the smooth surface. Her hands clutched her shins as she pulled her legs towards herself and pressed her forehead against her knees.

There was no sound in this prison. No echoes. No life other than stark white and glistening surfaces. This was a place she could certainly go mad.

“Quite the display of aggression, Miss Penderghast.”

The voice she least wanted to hear was muffled in this room that seemed to dampen all sound. The Doctor, or whoever he was. A man that could be killed just like the rest of them. Jane realized that she intensely wanted to see this man bleed.

Slowly raising her head, she looked towards the sound. A small box was mounted in a corner of the room. It had been white like the rest of the room when she first looked, but now it showed a pale face with slicked back hair.

She said nothing in response to his quip.

In return, he tsked. “Now now, you want to be on my good side Jane.”

“The only side of you I want to be on requires a distance of miles.” She muttered.

The screen in front of her flickered a few times before it realigned itself. It showed a sterile room like her own. The walls were washed white and the sheets were perfectly folded. Except in this room there were three people clustered around a big yellow body she recognized.

Her eyes squeezed shut against the sight. She had caught enough of a glance to see the bright bloom of red that had been slashed across Ruric’s body.

Her heart thumped hard