She grabbed his shoulders and pushed him against a tree. “Lucky or not, you did it. There’s two of us. If we don’t kill him, who knows what he’ll do. He’s only human, right?”

“No,” Jig said. He wiggled free and sat down. “Haven’t you listened to his voice? Whatever he is, he’s not like any human I’ve heard.”

He told her how the second voice had taken control back in the Necromancer’s chamber. “Even Barius was afraid of him.”

Riana’s jaw tightened. She took a few steps after Ryslind, then stopped. Slamming her knife into a tree trunk, she swore angrily. “I hate bullies. He and his brother both. They expect you to do everything they want, and if you don’t, they threaten you.”

Jig shrugged. That was the way it had been with every goblin captain he had ever known. What did she expect? Ryslind was too powerful. For all they knew, he could have turned himself invisible and waited to see if they chased after him.

“Besides, if we kill him, how are we supposed to get through the lake?” He didn’t give her time to answer. “We should go back.”

He listened to make sure Riana was coming. After a few paces, he heard her follow, kicking sticks and rocks with every third step.

Good. Now if they could find their way back, everything would be just great. He looked around nervously. The sunlight was mostly gone, and the stars had begun to appear in the sky. Jig had never seen stars, but he found them a disappointment. The songs described them as pretty, but all he saw were weak dots of white light. They provided little light, and in the darkness, the roots had begun to attack his feet with abandon. Stars might be fine for surface-dwellers, he decided, but he’d trade them all to have the sun back.

Riana wasn’t having as much trouble. She eventually passed Jig, which was fine with him. If she could find the way back to their camp, he would happily let her lead the way.

“They’re going to kill you, you know,” she said casually.

Jig stopped. “Who are?” He grabbed his sword and looked around.

“Barius and Darnak. They’ll kill you as soon as they don’t need you anymore. If I’m lucky, they’ll toss me in prison.”

When he didn’t answer, she said, “What did you expect? You’re a goblin. I’m a thief. They’re not going to let us go once they find the rod and escape.”

He tried to think of a good argument. What reason did they have to kill him? He had helped them through the tunnels above. He had killed the Necromancer. But he suspected Riana was right. After all what reason did they have not to kill him?