The goblin was maybe up to her shoulder, short and squat and distressingly ugly. He had large bulbous eyes and a long bulbous nose, and his nostril hair mingled with a moustache in a way that was far from appealing. His green skin looked unhealthy in the torchlight, afflicted as it was with sores and boils. He wore a filthy grey suit that had lost all the buttons from the jacket. His belly protruded. Hair sprouted from his belly button.

“Give us the gold,” he said.

“Give me the babies,” she told him. “Then you get your gold.”

He shook his head. “Give us the gold, then you get the babies.”

“How do I know the babies are here? I can’t hear them crying.”

“Maybe they’re happy.”

“Then show me them smiling.”

The goblin scratched his belly thoughtfully. “Compromise,” he said.

“OK.”

“We’ll give you half now, you give us the gold, and then we give you the other half.”

“There are three babies. How do you give me half?”

He shrugged. “Chop a baby in two.”

“You know, even for a goblin, that’s disturbed. Bring the kids out, right now, or I walk away with the gold.”

The goblin growled in displeasure. “Colm,” he said, “Fintan, bring them out.”

From behind him, two more goblins emerged. Valkyrie was amazed to realise that the first goblin was the handsome one of the family. His brothers wore rags, torn and dirty, and they carried the babies between them. The babies had dummies jammed in their mouths.

“See?” the first goblin said. “Alive, uneaten, and not chopped or anything. Now, the gold.”

Valkyrie reached into her coat and brought out a bag that jangled in her grip.

The goblins stared at the bag, practically drooling.

“Put the kids down,” she said. “Just place them on the ground over here, very gently, and step away. Then I’ll give you the gold and we’ll say goodbye.”

One of the goblins, she didn’t know which one he was, so she decided that he should be Colm, grunted. “How do we know there’s gold in that bag?”

“Because I tell you there is.”

“We don’t know you. Liam, we can’t trust this girl.”

The first goblin, Liam, scratched his belly. “We were expecting the skeleton. Where is he?”

“He couldn’t make it.”

“He sent you instead?”

“Yes, he did,” said Valkyrie

“You’re his assistant, then?”

“Partner.”

“You’re a child.”

“You’re a goblin.”

“Only on the outside.”

“And on the inside you steal babies. Looks and personality.”

“I don’t like you.”

“You just have to get to know me,” she said. “Are we going to stand around talking all night, or are we going to do this ransom thing?”

“The skeleton should be here,” the third goblin, Fintan, mumbled.

“Shut up,” Liam barked. “We’ll settle that later. Right now, give her the brats. I want to see that gold.”