A Tale of Two Goblins - By H. P. Mallory Page 0,66
me?”
“Fighting it on its turf is a suicide mission,” he began, apparently ignoring my second question. “We’ve already had this discussion.”
“Enough with trying to avoid the real question here, Knight, where are we going?” He didn’t answer but he really didn’t need to once he turned down my street. The answer was pretty crystal clear. “Why are we going to my house?” I insisted.
He said nothing but parked in front of my apartment building and then turned to face me and his expression was blank. “We can do this the easy way or we can do it the hard way.”
While I tried to understand what the hell he was talking about, my heart began pounding as it jumped to conclusions. He stepped out of the car and before I had the chance to think, he was at my side, opening the door for me.
“What is this about?” I demanded.
“Dulcie, step out of the car. We need to have a conversation.”
“To hell with you,” I blurted and undid my seatbelt as I jumped out of the car, attempting to sidestep him. His hand was like iron as it wrapped around my wrist. “Let go of me,” I seethed.
He shrugged. “If you want to make a spectacle of yourself in front of your neighbors, I have no problem with that. If you want more privacy, then let’s take it inside.”
I gulped, suddenly afraid he’d figured out I was on something. What else could this have been about? Knight wasn’t stupid. I said nothing but started for my apartment, with half a mind to sic Blue on him. At least the Mandrake was buried deep in my panties drawer. And it wasn’t like I was about to admit anything about the Mandrake to him anytime soon. So, for now, my secret was safe.
I unlocked my front door and he pushed it open. I stepped inside the apartment and he closed and locked the door behind me.
“What the hell is this all about?”
He took off his coat and draped it over a chair by the door. “It’s about the Mandrake, Dulcie.”
I felt my heart drop to my feet. He knew. “What…what are you talking about?”
He laughed but the sound was bitter. “Enough. It wasn’t difficult to figure out—you haven’t slept in over five days; you look sick and you’re hallucinating.”
“So what? Those are all common side effects resulting from sleeplessness.”
He scoffed at me, crossing his arms against his great expanse of chest. “And you expect me to believe you’ve been staying awake on caffeine?” he asked. “Please.”
“You can leave now,” I said as a pang of anxiety overcame me. He was going to try to get me to give up the Mandrake. I had one dose left and there was no way in hell I was going to let him take it from me. Beads of perspiration formed along my hair line and I could already feel them gliding down the small of my back. But, none of that mattered. What did matter was that Knight knew my secret and he was going to try to take me off the Mandrake. Or maybe he was going to arrest me?
He reached inside his pants pocket and produced a white pill the size of a dime. He handed it to me. “Like I said, we can do this the easy way or the hard way.”
“What is that?” I asked, backing away from it.
“It’s Corel Root,” he started. “Direct from the Netherworld. It’ll clear you out and speed up your withdrawals. You’re going to be a hell cat to deal with for the next few hours but I can handle it.”
I glared at him and shook my head. “I’m not taking that.”
He shrugged and put the pill back into his pocket. “The hard way it’ll be then.”
Before I had the chance to respond, he lurched for me and grabbed hold of my waist, hefting me over his shoulder. I yelled and batted my ineffectual hands against his massive back but I might as well have been a toddler putting up a fight for all the good it did me.
Without even thinking, I shook my fist until a mound of fairy dust emerged, then I dumped it on him, envisioning him shrinking until he was mouse-sized. The fairy dust just shimmered on his shoulders in an array of ineffectual glitter and fell to the ground as he chuckled.
“Your magic won’t work on me or have you forgotten?”
I had remembered but by that time, I’d already doused him. Not