He had just enough strength left to point the rod at Darnak. He didn’t think he had enough strength left to use it, but Darnak wouldn’t know that. So the dwarf stood helpless, watching the two enormous trout that had been Ryslind and Barius flop about on the floor as they suffocated.

“Go away,” Jig croaked at Darnak.

The dwarf shook his head. Tears dripped into his beard. “I’ll not leave them.”

“I don’t want to kill you, too,” Jig said. I don’t think I can, for that matter. If the other goblins heard him now, they’d think his mind had slipped. How could he not want to kill a perfectly good dwarf?

“They are family to me,” Darnak said. “How can I go back to Wendel and Jeneve and tell them I watched their sons die?”

“Their sons were greedy fools,” Riana said. She didn’t bother to hide her satisfaction as she watched the gills of the Barius-fish stop moving.

“Aye,” Darnak agreed. “But they were still family.” With that he drew his club and walked toward Jig. He moved slowly, deliberately giving Jig time to use the rod.

Those few minutes had been enough for Jig to catch his breath. Was he strong enough to use the rod again? He didn’t think so. But was he ready to die and rejoin Shadowstar?

Jig sighed and grabbed the rod with both hands. Once again magic ripped through his body. He struggled to control it. He didn’t want to kill Darnak, and that made things harder. He figured out what he wanted to do and concentrated on a different shape.

Darnak fell. His body twisted and bulged. The walls spun, and Jig blacked out.

CHAPTER 19 - Parting Gifts

CHAPTER 19

Parting Gifts

Jig woke up to find Riana’s green eyes staring down at him. “My head hurts.”

He still had the rod in his hands. She hadn’t taken it from him. He wondered why. “What happened to Darnak?”

“You turned him into a bird,” she said. For once no trace of sarcasm tainted her voice. She sounded impressed. “He flew away a few minutes ago.”

“Good.” He grimaced. The room had begun to stink of fish. He glanced down the tunnel, wishing he could have seen what Darnak had looked like. “Was it a good bird?” he asked.

She giggled. “Ugliest thing I’ve ever seen. Brown, with a dirty black crest and sunken eyes. He could talk, too. Said to warn you there’d still be people coming after this place. Barius and Ryslind had other brothers, and they’ll want revenge.”

“I know.” He managed to sit up. “What will you do?”

Her eyes darkened. “What can I do?”

There was the bitterness Jig was used to.

“Go back to being a thief?” She gestured at the treasure scattered around the room. “If I take any of this, someone will only kill me to get it.”