Wings by E. D. Baker Page B

them. Nothing can best them in battle, including fairy warriors.”
    The goblins began to toss hunks of meat to the hipporines. While they were occupied tearing the meat apart, Targin and his goblins hopped over the wall and bent down beside the trench Jak had filled with water. There was a grating sound as they moved a large stone, and water rushed from the pool into the trough.
    While the goblins were moving the stone back into place, Jak crawled over the wall and ran up the corridor as quietly as he could. It wouldn’t do to have his uncle find him there, but Jak was glad to have found this place. For the first time since he’d moved in with his relatives, the little boy felt as if he had made some friends.

Chapter 11
    Asearch party found Jak the day after he escaped from the Pit. He was sent home that very morning, accompanied by a silent mole goblin, disgraced for not serving out his confinement.
    It took most of the day to reach his uncle’s den. The entire way Jak wondered how he would break the news. When he arrived, his aunt Karest announced that his uncle had important guests and was too busy to see him. Gammi wasn’t there so Karest was shorthanded and had too much to do seeing to the needs of the guests to worry about him.
    Relieved that his announcement had been delayed, Jak ate some leftovers in the kitchen, then went to bed with a book Gammi had given him. He could hear muffled voices talking in the room down the corridor from his, although he couldn’t make out who was talking or what they were saying.
    Jak had fallen asleep with his book still in his hand when Karest opened his door. “Your uncle wants to seeyou now. Get up and get dressed. You can’t go in like that.”
    Bleary-eyed, Jak stumbled out of bed and pulled on his pants and shirt. He was still putting on his shoes when Karest came back to get him. “Be polite,” she said. “Don’t speak unless you’re spoken to and then tell them only what they want to know. Answer their questions, but don’t volunteer anything else. You don’t want to bore them with your chatter.”
    “Who’s in there?” he asked as they approached the door.
    “The head of the wolf clan,” she whispered, “and your great-aunt, Lurinda. She was with the fairy queen’s court for many years. Behave yourself. It’s an honor to be called before them!”
    Jak didn’t feel honored when his uncle, Targin, introduced him to his guests. Wulfrin, the leader of the wolf clan, was lean and grizzled, but he looked like an intelligent goblin and seemed very interested in Jak. The lady goblin seated beside him looked older than Gammi, with long white hair and pale, nearly translucent skin. Her eyes were the youngest thing about her; their emerald green color was as vivid as if she were Jak’s age. Jak stood silently watching her stroke her neck with the retractable claws of her long, thin fingers, the single ring she wore glinting in the candlelight. He decided that she was the most beautiful goblin he had ever seen.
    “Now, Jak, tell me and my guests why you’re home from school in the middle of the week,” his uncle said.
    “It isn’t a special holiday that I’ve forgotten, is it?” asked his great-aunt, Lurinda.
    “No ma’am,” said Jak. “I was sent home because I got in a fight with Nihlo. I’m sorry, Uncle. He has a broken leg.”
    Targin frowned and grunted, but all he said was, “Go on.”
    Jak nodded. “They gave me detention, but I got out of the Pit before my time was up and—”
    “You got out of the Pit!” said Wulfrin. “How the blazes did you manage that?”
    “I found some loose stones and dug my way into a neighboring cave,” said Jak, remembering his aunt’s admonishment to answer their questions and nothing more.
    Wulfrin smiled. “Most resourceful.”
    “Indeed,” said Lurinda in a voice that was almost a purr. “Thank you for coming to meet us, Jak. I think you’ll do very well.”
    Jak returned to his room, but it was a long