Jig watched Barius flex his strong arms. Posing for the others, Jig figured. Typical. Jig straightened, determined to be brave just this once. He might not make it into songs or stories, but at least when he saw Shadowstar, he could say that he hadn’t flinched at the end. What would Shadowstar say when they met?

He remembered what the god had told him before. Next time you should try to duck.

Jig screamed and rolled out of the way as the sword whistled over his head. His legs kicked madly, knocking Barius back. He tried to get up, but Barius kicked him in the side. Jig rolled over, clutching his gut. Barius stepped away, and his boot brushed Smudge’s web.

“Little runt,” Barius gasped. He glanced down at his leg. “Disgusting.” With his free hand, he reached down to brush the web free.

Any goblin would have known better. Even Barius might have known, had he stopped to think. Smudge’s web, like that of any fire-spider, was highly flammable. With an angry human looming over him, Smudge reacted the way he always did in the face of danger.

Barius screamed as flames enveloped his leg. He swatted his burning clothes, then stomped at the web. Smudge scurried back, flattening his body to the floor. He darted one way, then the other. Jig could see his legs waving in fear as he tried to get away, but Barius was too fast. Snarling like an animal, Barius turned so his foot was parallel to the wall.

“No!” Jig lunged, but he was too slow. Barius’s boot landed on the terrified Smudge. To Jig, the crunch of Smudge’s body sounded as loud as a dragon’s roar.

“No,” he repeated in a whisper. Most of the flames had died, and Jig could see there was nothing he could do. Even if Shadowstar would have helped him heal a lowly fire-spider, it was too late. Smudge was dead.

Jig snarled as he attacked, leaping onto Barius and sinking his fangs into the prince’s sword arm. The sword hit the floor with a ring. Jig’s claws raked Barius’s body. Barius punched Jig in the head, but he didn’t even feel it. All he could see was Smudge’s crushed body. Tears blurred his vision as he bit down harder. His nails struggled to reach the flesh beneath the prince’s armor.

“Curse you,” Barius yelled. He wedged a knee against Jig’s chest and pushed. Jig scrambled for anything to hold on to. If Barius got free, it was over. One of Jig’s hands grabbed the prince’s shirt, the other clawed at his belt.

Barius broke away. Jig flew back, still clutching a piece of Barius’s shirt in one hand and something hard in the other. His head cracked against the floor. He wiped his eyes, and only then did he see what he had grabbed.

He had the Rod of Creation.