Elliot and the Goblin War (Underworld Chronicles 1) - Page 33

“What else do you need?” Mr. Willimaker said, running up to Elliot. “The circle digging has begun.”

Elliot explained the rest of his plan to Mr. Willimaker and then put a hand on his shoulder and said, “I haven’t forgotten about Patches. We’ll get her back, okay?”

Mr. Willimaker bowed gratefully. “I trust you, King Elliot. But how will you get the Goblins to come here?”

Elliot pointed to Reed’s very large jar of pickle relish. “Didn’t you tell me that Goblins love pickles?”

“Oh, yes.”

“What about pickle relish? I bet they love it too.”

Mr. Willimaker grinned. The jar was as tall as he was, a little bit wider, and far more see-through. Somewhere in Flog were hundreds of Goblins who had, in their wildest and craziest dreams, hoped to find a treasure like this one day. Every Goblin in Flog would come to eat as much as they could. They loved pickles more than anything else, and now pickles were going to be their downfall.

What’s that around your mouth?” Grissel asked Fudd. “It’s yellow.”

“Lemon pie.” Fudd smeared his mouth across his sleeve. He’d stopped before entering Flog to eat the lemon pie King Elliot had given him. He thought he’d feel less guilty about working with the Goblins if he couldn’t see the pie anymore, but for some reason, eating it had only made things worse. His stomach growled at him in a rather accusing way. Fudd tapped his foot on the ground and silently ordered his stomach to be quiet. He had bigger worries than an upset tummy.

“So let me make sure I understand,” Grissel sai

d. “You’re telling me that King Elliot is just going to wait, all by himself, in some trees to catch us Goblins? Doesn’t he know how much stronger we are than he is?”

Fudd threw up his hands. “He thinks he can get all of you into his forest and trap you there.” He noticed a little lemon pudding on one of his fingers and licked it. Every lick sent a shock of guilt through him. Sweet, delicious guilt.

Grissel knocked Fudd’s hands away. “How will he trap us?”

“It doesn’t matter, because it won’t work,” Fudd said. “You and I will poof directly there and capture him, and then you’re free to get rid of him.”

Grissel smiled. “You said Elliot has the Brownies in those woods?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll bring all my Goblins. Once we’ve captured Elliot, I’ll make sure that my Goblins finally destroy the Brownies!”

Fudd rubbed his hands together nervously. That had not been part of his plan. “But we agreed that I’d become king of the Brownies.”

“You can become king of anyone we don’t eat.”

“And what about Patches?” Fudd cringed as he asked the question, worried about the answer.

A wicked glint crossed Grissel’s eyes. “She’s fine. For now. But that will probably change tonight.”

Panic welled inside Fudd, choking him. “No, Grissel. No, you can’t.”

“Who’s going to stop me? You?” Grissel bared his sharp teeth and let out a low growl. “I’ll do whatever I want. Now come with me.”

At this point, Fudd had no choice but to follow Grissel, but when they left Grissel’s home, he saw Goblins already poofing themselves away. Some of them licked their lips. Some rubbed their hands together in excitement.

Grissel grabbed one of them. “Where’s everyone going?”

“Can’t you smell the pickles? Hurry before they’re all gone!” With that, the Goblin poofed himself away.

Grissel sniffed the air. The sour smell of vinegar and cucumbers filled his nose. It came from the human world. A line of drool ran down Grissel’s chin, and he grinned hungrily at Fudd.

“Remember the pickles,” Fudd said, waving his hands and taking two steps back. “Goblins should eat more pickles and fewer Brownies.”

Grissel watched as the last of his pickle-hungry Goblins poofed themselves to King Elliot’s woods.

“It’s a good thing I already decided to let them go,” Grissel said. “Because otherwise they’d be in a lot of trouble for leaving without me.”

Tags: Jennifer A. Nielsen Underworld Chronicles Fantasy
Source: readsnovelonline.net
readsnovelonline.net Copyright 2016 - 2024