Chapter 92: Chapter 90: The Return of Raar

Chief Kasz opens his mouth and utters a coarse but heartfelt, “RAAR!”

And he wraps his grubby, slimy goblin arms around me, burying his face in the ruff of fur at my neck. Stunned, I plant my feet to stay standing.

For a long moment, he stays like that, a living hug clamp around my neck. He smells…grateful? Affectionate? Sentimental?

“Raar,” he whispers. “I knew you would come. Good beast.”

What do I do with this? Goblin affection was not on my bingo card. I had no idea that he got so attached to me. I thought I was a pet, a trophy, nothing more.

He whispers, “My throne is gone. Where I fed you treats and treated you like part of the clan. My caves are gone. Trolls took them over. Bigger. Stronger. Meaner. Took all our treasures except the ones we stuck in our skin and swallowed.”

EWWW. I did not need to know that.

But my heart breaks for this goblin. WHY? He stole me. He invaded Lord Lammermoor’s home. To be fair, he also got his slimy butt kicked.

And he lost me. How many good things do these goblins have? Dag. That’s it. And me, briefly. And now they lost their home. Even goblins need a home.

I let his sticky fingers, coated with something I don’t even want to identify, hook in my fur and remain like Velcro. Right now, I don’t see a goblin thief. I see a survivor.

Over the top of his pea-colored head, I see a cluster of goblins emerge. Were there so few before? A shudder rips through me. Dag mentioned that Bykt got squashed.

Not all of the goblins survived.

I growl softly and nuzzle Kasz. He just keeps clinging to me like I’m family. Maybe in his world I am the closest thing he’s got.

He mutters, “Lost. All of it lost.”

I purr softly, letting him know he is not alone. He smells devastated. I wish I could talk to him.

Kaline’s voice is shy and gentle. “Chief Kasz?”

Kasz rotates his head to stare at her. “You feed him well. He looks healthy. Big. Strong.”

The ultimate compliment. Kaline brightens. “I promised I would take care of him. See? He even has a mate.” She points to Lightning, who blushes.

Kasz whoops, excited. “Raar has a mate? Cubs?”

“Cubs will be born in two months,” Kaline answers. “You will see the tiger den we made for Blaze and his little family.”

All the goblins whoop once Kasz calls out, “Raar has a mate and she will have cubs!”

For homeless goblins who just escaped being slaughtered, this tribe seems unusually cheery. Maybe they just don’t want to dwell on their lost comrades and home overrun by trolls. After all, goblins need good news too.

Lamant approaches Kasz, his eyes sharp, his presence commanding. “Come. The carriages are waiting. We will take you to your new home.”

The word has a ring of finality. Lamant is smooth. He is not going to tell demoralized goblins that the home is a temporary situation.

Kasz keeps a hand on my fur. “Goblins, go with them. Go in the carriages. Do not mess them up.”

All the goblins look like little boys and girls reminded by their parents to behave. “Yes, Chief,” they chorus, hunching their shoulders and looking demure.

Niall, Vedette, and Lamant shepherd the goblins to the carriages, with Gussie, Peridot, and Demos making sure the goblins don’t wander off in pursuit of a new and shiny object on the ground. Kasz watches them go, an unusually contemplative look in his eyes.

“They are safe?” he asks in a subdued voice.

Lightning nudges me, and her golden eyes brim with something I haven’t seen before regarding the goblins. Sympathy. [He cares for them.]

I rub my nose against hers. [He didn’t get to be goblin chief by neglecting his people/]

She offers a little “mrrrp” in response. [I can’t imagine losing so many of your own people AND your home in one senseless attack.]

Minette addresses Kasz with grace and kindness. “Yes, your people will be safe. Come with us now. Ride in our carriage. You are our guest.”

Kasz refuses to let go of me. “I go with Raar and his mate.”

“Her name is Lightning,” Hans tells him.

“Lightning,” Kasz repeats, mulling it over. “Good powerful name for Raar’s mate.”

Kaline shakes her head. “You can call him Blaze.”

“No,” Kasz scoffs, a revolted twist to his lips. “He is Raar. Always Raar.”

Kaline pouts. “But–”

“KALINE.” Minette’s voice is a subtle command.

In a huff, Kaline stomps off.

Minette reaches out for Kasz’s free hand. “Pay my daughter no mind, Chief Kasz.”

He shrugs. “It is just Kasz to you. You are the human sheltering us.”

Where is the arrogant goblin who stole me? He is humbling himself before Minette. Obviously, for his people’s sake.

Smiling, Minette leads him to the carriages, and his other hand remains firmly embedded in my fur. I somehow suspect he will not let go the entire way home.

Once safely inside the carriage, Kasz proves my suspicions are correct. He sits next to me, rubbing my fur. Lightning sits on the other side of him and deigns to allow him to hold onto her perfectly groomed fur too. From time to time, he glances at her and strokes her fur to confirm that she is real and tangible. He does the same to me.

“Raar has a good mate,” he says to me. “Raar’s mate is soft and kind and fierce.”

Lightning lifts her head, basking in his praise. [He is not so bad.]

I smirk. [He is an acquired taste, like the blackened fish we had for dinner last night.]

[Yuck. He is more tolerable than burned fish.]

Of course, Demos and Lobo find her sudden conversion to purring goblin friend hilarious. Peridot is curled up close to Kasz so she can keep an eye on him. Gussie and Dag stay on opposite sides of the carriage, acting as if the other one doesn’t exist. Funny, I expected the sociable Gussie to at least make an effort with Dag, but in her defense, he is a bit of a disaster.

Kasz rests his head on mine. Although his earthy aroma makes my eyes water, I can put up with it. Truthfully, it feels right, having him so close. I don’t know why.

[Why do you like him so much?]

Kaline’s voice sounds shy and insecure, like a kid whose best friend has just started spending time with the new kid in school.

I sound as reassuring as possible. [I’m bonded to you. I’m YOUR beast. I just feel sorry for him. He’s not so bad, after all, is he?]

A grumpy sound. [You’re letting him glue himself to you.]

I give her my best Minette and Lamant imitation. [KALINE. His people just lost their home and a lot of them died.]

She is quiet for a long moment, [No fair. You are playing on my guilt.]

Gentling my approach, I persuade her. [Kaline, I’m reminding you of who you are. You are an enlightened human. You are kind and good. Your parents have been welcoming to Kasz.]

Those are the magic words. Kaline stares at me with her big eyes. [They have, haven’t they?]

Her question seems academic, because Lamant and Minette engage Kasz in conversation, asking him about the trolls who invaded the caves. Understandably, Kasz would rather not talk about the trolls.

Adroitly, Lamant changes the subject. He asks Kasz about all the battles he has fought and how he became chief. Kasz launches into the tale, but gets easily distracted when the carriage rolls into the village and approaches our villa.

His eyes pop. “You are rich! Raar lives in a palace.”

The carriage wheels squeak to a stop, and pandemonium ensues. The goblins bounce everywhere. A welcome distraction from the horrors they have endured, the villa beckons them with its elegant temptations. Maartenwitz moans and shakes his head at the indignity of goblins messing up the hallowed halls of the villa.

Herding goblins proves more frustrating than herding cats. Devious, brash, and capricious, the goblins take over the villa in the most nonthreatening yet irritating way possible. It takes all of our patience and coaxing to steer them to the vault that the family has prepared just for them.

The goblins’ boisterousness evaporates once they see the vastness of the vault and all the treasure. Several of them fall to their knees, not a great distance, and mutter in Goblinese. Prayers? The words ring with gratitude. Lamant, Minette, Vedette, and Kaline stand together as a family, surveying the scene with smiles on their faces.

Kasz climbs on my back and addresses the goblins like a general. “We have a new home. We have gold. We have…we have…”

“Raar?” one goblin supplies helpfully.

“Friends.”

Kasz’s word stuns the goblins into silence, but that doesn’t last long when he proclaims, “We stay here forever and ever!”

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