wore pajamas and his hair was mussed from sleep, but he was positively panicked.
“What is it, Duncan?” I asked, already throwing my legs over the side of the bed so I could get up.
“It’s Finn,” Duncan panted. “They were ambushed on the way to Oslinna.”
11. Defeat
I don’t remember moving or running. It was all a blur of nothing until I was in the front hall with Finn. A small crowd had gathered around, including Thomas, but I pushed them out of the way to get to him.
Finn was sitting on the floor, and I fell to my knees next to him. He was alive, and I almost sobbed at the sight of him. Blood covered his temple, and his clothes were disheveled. His arm hung at a weird angle, and it took me a moment to realize it had to be broken.
“What happened?” I asked, and I touched his face with trembling hands, mostly to be sure he was real.
“We caught them off guard,” Finn said. He stared off at nothing, and his eyes were moist. “They were going home, I think, and we happened to run into them. We thought we could get the best of them. But they were too strong.” He swallowed hard. “They killed the Chancellor.”
“Oh shit,” Tove said, and I turned to see him standing in the gap I had left in the crowd.
“Tove, go get your mother,” I said. Tove nodded once and left, and I turned back to Finn. “Are you okay?”
“I’m alive,” he said simply.
Finn was in shock, so I didn’t push him for details. Markis Bain ended up filling in the details about what had happened. They were on their way to Oslinna when they saw the Vittra camped out. The way he described it, it sounded all very Rumpelstiltskin. The hobgoblins had a fire going, and they danced around it, singing songs and telling tales of how they defeated Oslinna.
The Chancellor thought they should get the drop on the hobgoblins. They could end the fight right there in the woods. Finn was initially against the idea, but if they had a chance to stop the Vittra before they hurt anybody else, they had to take it.
The only reason any of the team had survived was because they had surprised the Vittra, but the Chancellor wasn’t the only one who died. Another Markis had been killed, and another tracker was severely injured.
All of them were battered and bruised. When Aurora came over to heal them, Bain kept saying it was amazing that any of them were alive. Aurora healed Finn, but not completely. She wouldn’t waste her energy on a tracker, no matter what I said.
Duncan and I helped Finn up to his room to rest, and Tove stayed behind. He wanted to make sure the others got home okay. We’d have to plan another way to help Oslinna, but we couldn’t do it now.
“I don’t need to lie down,” Finn insisted as Duncan and I helped him sit on his bed. “I’m fine.” He winced when I bumped his arm, and I sighed.
“Finn, you are not fine,” I said. “You need to rest.”
“No, I need to figure out how to stop those damned hobgoblins,” Finn said. “They’re going to come after us all eventually. We need to find a way to beat them.”
“We will,” I said, even though I wasn’t sure that was true. “But we aren’t going to do anything right now. It can wait until the morning, when you’ve slept some.”
“Wendy.” He looked up at me, his eyes stormier than normal. “You didn’t see them. You don’t know what they’re like.”
“No, I don’t,” I admitted, and the tone of his voice made my stomach twist up. “But you can tell me all about it. Tomorrow.”
“Let me at least talk to Loki,” Finn said, almost desperately.
“Loki?” I asked. “Why would you want to talk to him?”
“He has to know how to handle these things,” Finn said. “There’s got to be some secret to defeating them, and if anyone knows it, it would be a Vittra Markis.”
“He’s probably sleeping –”
“Then wake him up, Wendy!” Finn yelled, and I flinched. “People are dying!”
“Fine.” I twisted my ring around my
“What is it, Duncan?” I asked, already throwing my legs over the side of the bed so I could get up.
“It’s Finn,” Duncan panted. “They were ambushed on the way to Oslinna.”
11. Defeat
I don’t remember moving or running. It was all a blur of nothing until I was in the front hall with Finn. A small crowd had gathered around, including Thomas, but I pushed them out of the way to get to him.
Finn was sitting on the floor, and I fell to my knees next to him. He was alive, and I almost sobbed at the sight of him. Blood covered his temple, and his clothes were disheveled. His arm hung at a weird angle, and it took me a moment to realize it had to be broken.
“What happened?” I asked, and I touched his face with trembling hands, mostly to be sure he was real.
“We caught them off guard,” Finn said. He stared off at nothing, and his eyes were moist. “They were going home, I think, and we happened to run into them. We thought we could get the best of them. But they were too strong.” He swallowed hard. “They killed the Chancellor.”
“Oh shit,” Tove said, and I turned to see him standing in the gap I had left in the crowd.
“Tove, go get your mother,” I said. Tove nodded once and left, and I turned back to Finn. “Are you okay?”
“I’m alive,” he said simply.
Finn was in shock, so I didn’t push him for details. Markis Bain ended up filling in the details about what had happened. They were on their way to Oslinna when they saw the Vittra camped out. The way he described it, it sounded all very Rumpelstiltskin. The hobgoblins had a fire going, and they danced around it, singing songs and telling tales of how they defeated Oslinna.
The Chancellor thought they should get the drop on the hobgoblins. They could end the fight right there in the woods. Finn was initially against the idea, but if they had a chance to stop the Vittra before they hurt anybody else, they had to take it.
The only reason any of the team had survived was because they had surprised the Vittra, but the Chancellor wasn’t the only one who died. Another Markis had been killed, and another tracker was severely injured.
All of them were battered and bruised. When Aurora came over to heal them, Bain kept saying it was amazing that any of them were alive. Aurora healed Finn, but not completely. She wouldn’t waste her energy on a tracker, no matter what I said.
Duncan and I helped Finn up to his room to rest, and Tove stayed behind. He wanted to make sure the others got home okay. We’d have to plan another way to help Oslinna, but we couldn’t do it now.
“I don’t need to lie down,” Finn insisted as Duncan and I helped him sit on his bed. “I’m fine.” He winced when I bumped his arm, and I sighed.
“Finn, you are not fine,” I said. “You need to rest.”
“No, I need to figure out how to stop those damned hobgoblins,” Finn said. “They’re going to come after us all eventually. We need to find a way to beat them.”
“We will,” I said, even though I wasn’t sure that was true. “But we aren’t going to do anything right now. It can wait until the morning, when you’ve slept some.”
“Wendy.” He looked up at me, his eyes stormier than normal. “You didn’t see them. You don’t know what they’re like.”
“No, I don’t,” I admitted, and the tone of his voice made my stomach twist up. “But you can tell me all about it. Tomorrow.”
“Let me at least talk to Loki,” Finn said, almost desperately.
“Loki?” I asked. “Why would you want to talk to him?”
“He has to know how to handle these things,” Finn said. “There’s got to be some secret to defeating them, and if anyone knows it, it would be a Vittra Markis.”
“He’s probably sleeping –”
“Then wake him up, Wendy!” Finn yelled, and I flinched. “People are dying!”
“Fine.” I twisted my ring around my
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