into the table in the center of the room. The wobbly structure collapsed under his weight, scattering paper and pens. The lamp on the table clattered to the ground, splashing kerosene across the floor. The light went out, casting everyone in deep shadow as the faint glow from the next room could only stretch thinly to where we were pinned down.
I grabbed the chair closest to me and swung it into the face of the next goblin to reach me. An ugly crack echoed above the shouts and the wood frame shuddered in my hand, only to give way completely when I brought it down on the back of a second goblin.
Swinging the chair like an enraged lumberjack, I mowed down my opponents, forcing them back as I tried to reach Serah. I glimpsed four goblins writhing on the floor, clutching carefully placed wounds as they howled in pain. The swarm was giving her a little more space. They slowly stalked her, searching for an opening.
“An escape plan would be nice!” she shouted above the din before squeezing off a round into the groin of a goblin who had gotten too close.
I flinched as he went down, his low keening sending the remaining goblins scrambling away from her and over to me. The remains of the chair shrank in my hand with every swing until I was left with a jagged stake. We had been pushed back, while the horde of goblins didn’t seem to be waning. For every one that fell, two more popped up to replace him. They were wearing us down.
Dodging another goblin who had lunged at me, I thumped him in the throat before kicking him away. In a second I had between opponents, I found Bronx had been pushed back toward the front window. We had our exit.
“Bronx!” I shouted, catching the troll’s attention. “Behind you!” As the massive creature turned sharply, his elbow hit a goblin about to strike, knocking him into the window. The tinkle of glass was a pleasant sound. Bronx smiled and picked up his would-be attacker. With a low grunt, he tossed him through the window, where he bounced across the front lawn.
Stepping over another goblin, I grabbed the sleeve of Serah’s coat and jerked her toward Bronx. Unfortunately, I pulled her off balance. She knocked into small side table that had been hidden from my view. Two flickering candles fell to the floor. One went out. Time slowed down as we all froze, watching in growing horror as the flickering candle rolled to the spreading pool of red kerosene that was soaking into the old hardwood floor.
“Shit!” I muttered before pushing Serah ahead of me to the window. The whoosh of the growing flames nearly drowned out the screams of panic. I shoved Serah out the window, hoping she avoided the jagged teeth of the broken glass. Diving after her, I kept rolling for several feet across the frozen ground to give Bronx some room to follow me.
When I stopped to catch my breath while lying on my back, I looked at the house to see that a good chunk of the lower level on the right side was already engulfed and the flames were spreading to the second floor. Panic riding hard behind the rush of adrenaline, I fought hard to slip into my inner center of calm as I gathered together the magical energy in the surrounding air. A quick whisper of words gave me insight into the occupants of the house—they were only goblins. Bronx had been right. They weren’t keeping any of the babies in the farmhouse.
The relief that swept through me brought the sting of tears to my eyes and my hands trembled. Most of the goblins were escaping into the woods to the south, heading away from us. Some would die in the flames, but I couldn’t summon up the remorse I was sure I was supposed to be feeling. I was just too grateful that we hadn’t accidently killed any children in our poor attempt to contact the goblin black market.
A soft laugh dragged my gaze from the burning structure to find Serah on her knees in the snow, staring at the house. Her laughter grew until she was shaking her head and holding her stomach. Sitting up, I found Bronx watching her with an equally quizzical expression. When she caught our confused looks, she smothered her laugh and pushed to her feet.
“I get why the TAPSS vamps are scared of you