Page 13

Chapter Thirteen

A fter I went home and packed a suitcase, I went straight to the bank. Were they open on Saturdays? According to Mr. Raccoon, Sashimi had been working there, so it must be.

When I got to the front doors, they opened for me automatically, and while the lobby was deserted, the elevator worked when I went to it.

When the door opened to his office, I marched in to find Sashimi behind his desk surrounded by piles of paper, notes here and there while his fingers flew on some kind of calculator, only it made a loud clicking sound from his clawed fingers. There was a pile of the machines to the side of the desk that were in various states of smashed.

“Rynne,” he said, standing, and probably losing whatever complicated computation he was doing in his head.

I swallowed hard and clung to Mr. Raccoon, but he didn’t mind. He was tough, like a goblin. “I have two questions.”

He frowned, looking unsettled, wary. “Two questions? I’m not an oracle. I don’t answer questions.”

I shook my head. “Not that kind of question. First, what is the going rate for assassination?”

His dark brow rose. “That depends entirely on who you wanted assassinated. You’ll have to be more specific.”

“Winston the Warlock. Do you know him?”

“Ah. He’s very famous. Very difficult not to know.”

“He told everyone, even after I gave in to his blackmail! I guess that’s a lesson for me. Never trust a blackmailer.” I rubbed my forehead and then peered at him, feeling like an idiot. “So, the second question…”

“I haven’t answered the first.”

“It doesn’t really make a difference.”

He narrowed his eyes at me. “You shouldn’t ask such questions of someone who is, in fact, an assassin if you aren’t serious.”

“But you know I’m broke, and a real assassin wouldn’t ever kill someone without hopes of being paid for it. I just want to kill him.”

His expression cleared. “No, you don’t. You want to hurt him, but not kill. Also, not hurt him badly, because you’re like that. Soft underbelly.”

I shrugged, irritated that he wouldn’t take my anger seriously. It was serious to me. “Which brings me to the next question. Can I stay with you until I figure out housing? It’s hard to find really secure housing in areas that aren’t incredibly expensive, and police officers sometimes get targeted, so security is important.”

“Me?” He stared at me with big glowing eyes, and I started feeling like maybe this wasn’t the best solution.

“Is that weird? I guess it is. I should have asked Gabby, but she’d probably tell my mother if she asked. Also, her and Apples are unconsciously affectionate. It’s disturbing.”

“Ah. We’re hiding you from your mother? That does sound serious.” He pursed his lips, which were very soft and pretty. “It would cost four-point-two million to kill Winston the Warlock, and it would take time, research, and hopefully a close friend willing to betray him.”

“What?” I blinked at him. “I said I wasn’t serious.”

“And to answer your second question, yes. You may stay with me until you’ve figured out permanent housing.”

“Oh. Okay.” I stared at him while he stood there behind his desk, staring back at me. “Um, I guess I’ll just take this…” I grabbed my suitcase and started to the left, where his room and amazing bath tub was. I was going to climb into it and have a good thinking session. Maybe I’d scream a little, but eventually, I’d start thinking.

He vaulted over the desk and grabbed my suitcase, pulling me up short.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

I stared at him. “Oh. You don’t want me in your room? That makes sense. I guess I could sleep on the window seat.”

He smiled, showing a flash of sharp teeth for a moment before his soft lips smoothed. “You think that I live in the bank? I own a great deal of real estate, much of which I consider personal property. Not my office.”

“But it smells like you,” I said, suddenly hyper aware of him, so close to me, and my feelings still so raw and intense.

“Yes, but it is not for you.” He pursed his lips. “Rynne, do you need a hug?”

I gaped at him. “Goblins hug?”

“Not really, but humans do, and you are half human.”

“Come to think of it, if the goblin queen is always a human, and your father’s always at least half a human, you’re probably even more human than me.”

He wrinkled his nose. “That’s not the way the goblin king works.”

“But you’re the goblin authority.”

“Do you want a hug or not?” His expression was even. He didn’t want to hug me, but he could see that I was coming apart at the seams.

I straightened up and pulled back my shoulders, releasing the tight hold I had on Mr. Raccoon. “I wouldn’t want to take advantage of you when you’re willing to let me stay with you. What do you want for rent?”

“Nothing. You will stay with me as long as you like, and you will give me nothing for it that you aren’t already giving me. You’re already under my protection. I would happily pay for your housing, clothing, transportation, and make certain that it was as secure and safe as possible.”

“No more edible dresses?” I asked him wryly.

His frown was concerned. “I think it was more than edible. I think there was a compulsion spell woven into it. Otherwise, I don’t think I would have eaten it. That was out of character for me. I don’t usually run around eating people’s clothing.”

“Glad we cleared that up. I was starting to wonder if I’d have to give up natural fibers completely. I’m sorry to interrupt your work,” I said, nodding at the pile of broken machines.

“It wasn’t going well.”

I grabbed his arm while it hit me. “Wait, the dress had a compulsion spell in it? So at the governor’s ball, I really was compelling everyone to answer me?” I groaned and dropped my suitcase and Mr. Raccoon and threw myself at the goblin, squeezing him as tight as I could while he inhaled sharply and held very still. All that time I’d been working magic? I was supposed to be a witch! Why hadn’t I noticed? And Clarinda! I was going to kill her! No, because it was way too expensive, but I’d avoid her for at least a week.

“What are you doing?” he asked, and I realized that he was still standing there, very still, while I strangled him with all my pent-up emotions.

“Hugging. You offered. You’re supposed to squeeze me back.”

“Oh. It feels more martial than I expected.”

“Sh. I’m very upset.”

He carefully put his arms around me and squeezed, but gently. Little by little, the emotions eased out of me until I wasn’t on the precipice of loud, ugly sobbing. I closed my eyes and breathed in his scent. It was nice. Like paper and ink, also the woods at night, wild, but in a suit.

Eventually, my heart stopped pounding so hard, and I pulled away, slipping out of his arms and trying not to feel weird. He’d offered.

“You do feel better,” he noted, studying my face. “That’s all right then. Come with me and I’ll take you to goblin town.”

“I don’t want to interrupt your work.”

He smiled slightly. “You burst in here with a suitcase when you don’t want to interrupt my work? What do you bring when you do want to interrupt me?”

“An edible dress with compulsion properties, obviously. I feel like an idiot now, running around like a hysterical child. I just feel so betrayed. My mother put a truth spell on me. I guess I understand how everyone at the ball felt under my compulsion.”

“Empathy is a monster. I recommend avoiding it where possible.” He took my hand, his skin smooth and warm against mine. “And your blackmailer betrayed you as well. I suppose I should save my betrayal for another day. How did you like the parking garage?”

I beamed at him. “I love it. It is the best thing about our relationship.”

He squeezed my hand slightly. “That’s only because you haven’t seen my house.” He tugged me towards the room, the one that was too private and personal to be where he lived, and then into the closet, pushing back the suits to reveal a wall.

He stood there, studying it thoughtfully.

“It’s a very nice wall,” I said, brushing the gray stone. “I think it’s granite, like the bank.”

He glanced at me, amusement in his eyes. “I’m calculating area. I don’t think that the suitcase will fit. We’ll have to pick it up later. The raccoon will be a squeeze.”

“Well, we can leave him too,” I offered. “But I don’t see why you have to do calculations about area in your closet.”

He squeezed my hand, then pressed his palm against the wall. A green light ran down the wall, over his hand, then it split to reveal a small booth with a smooth rounded top and flat bottom.

He stepped in, pulling me with him, and suddenly we were face to face, in a very tight space, the smooth wall behind me, giving me nowhere to go. Not that I wanted to.

Mr. Raccoon climbed in after us, clinging to my legs as he pressed in and the wall slid closed behind us, leaving us in the dark.

“Well, if this is your house…”

He laughed and then slid his hands around my waist, turning me so I had my back pressed against his chest. “Tell me if you’d rather hide your face against my skin, or if you’d like to see.”

“Um, see?”

It sounded like a trick question.

“Then see,” he murmured, and then all of a sudden we were in motion, shooting up, like a rocket, emerging from the top of the bank and spearing through the sky with the city spinning all around us.

My stomach was left behind from the rush of motion, but the thing is, it was incredibly cool, like doing tricks at the skate park with Gabby, or chasing down a criminal with nothing but my taser. I was laughing by the time we hit the top of our arc, and then we came down in a rush, past buildings, rushing down, down, towards the ground of a nice piece of lawn. We were so fast, I barely had time to think what a pity to die and kill all that perfect green grass before the lawn split open, swallowing us in the darkness. We kept falling, down, down, into the undercity, and down, down, to goblin town, and down, down, to wherever Sashimi considered his house.

It stopped with a lurch, but slow enough I didn’t die. I was breathless, but still bubbly as it settled down into darkness, leaving me once more aware of the goblin wrapped around me, his pulse steady while mine raced. His scent was wrapped around me along with his arms and for a moment, I was brought back to the roof, to the feel of his weight, his mouth, his breath.

I’m going to barf.

I gasped and looked down, unable to see the raccoon, but I could smell him. “He’s sick.”

The wall of the capsule opened, and the raccoon fell out, landing on a glass floor that floated over a river of volcanic lava. He promptly threw up a number of weird things, including a tuna can, a banana peel, and a rotting corpse of some kind.

I held very still while the scent floated up, mingling with the scent of goblin. The raccoon had flung himself on the floor and was groaning pitifully with a hand over his forehead, all dramatic.

I’m going to die, and I didn’t even get any delicious spicy fire drink out of it.

I stepped carefully out of the capsule and onto what appeared to be a lava floor, slipping out of the goblin’s arms until I stood next to the raccoon. I looked up at Sashimi, feeling like the world’s worst house guest, and we hadn’t even been here an entire minute. The room was cavernous, with a wall of glass overlooking a glittering city and some kind of seating area that looked downy and expensive. At least the glass should mop up well.

I said, “Sorry for Mr. Raccoon,” feeling very small and idiotic.

Of course, he chose that moment to groan and roll over right into his vomit. I tensed, but what could I do while he was still so nauseous? If I tried to carry him somewhere better, he’d probably throw up the entire way and spread the mess.

“Mr. Raccoon, if you move, I’m going to rip out your spine. Stay there!” I spun around towards Sashimi, who had followed me out, looking perfectly neat and sleek in his charcoal suit and silky hair. “Where are your cleaning supplies? I’m thinking that maybe I underestimated how much trouble I’d be. I wasn’t thinking about Mister.” I rubbed my forehead. “I can clean up and take him and go…” The view out of the window came into focus, a bewildering, dizzying maze of streets and buildings, all lit by greenish fluorescence. A clock tower was the most recognizable thing, but the numbers were all wrong, and it was upside down, growing from the cave roof down towards the streets below. Right. Goblin town. And goblins could scale the walls. And ceilings, as demonstrated by several people outside that window.

I was in a completely different world, and I had no idea how to leave.

Sashimi’s voice was low, soothing. “Your familiar is no trouble. Once he’s stable, I’ll take care of him. He’ll stay right there while I give you the tour.” His voice was firm along with the look he gave the sickly raccoon, who shuddered, but didn’t move or uncover his eyes.

“Are you sure?” I said, stepping closer to Sashimi, peering into his eyes, like I could read truth in them. He was a goblin. He could lie and I’d have absolutely no idea.

He took my hand and swung it slightly before tugging me away from the raccoon and the rocket elevator, towards the rest of the place. “I wouldn’t have told you to get me to date you if I wasn’t.”

I took a deep breath, looking down at our fingers, twined together like that. “Right. It’s all part of the plan. The closer you get to me, the safer you are from your Goblin King curse. How do I get to work from here? How long is the commute? Is it always the rocket elevator, or do you drive?”

“You’re thinking about work after you’ve finally broken your relationship with your mother? Of course. Justice never sleeps.”

I shook my head. “Justice sleeps plenty. That’s the problem.” I glanced back at Mr. Raccoon. He was so disgusting. Why did I have to imprint on a drunk raccoon? Of all the humiliating… I returned to facing Sashimi, aware of the amused slant of his mouth as he regarded me back. I cleared my throat. “I can’t let you take care of my mess. That’s not fair or just.”

He raised a brow and smiled slightly. “And how, exactly, are you going to stop me?”

I twisted his arm, pulling him into a hold that was exactly like the one we’d practiced the other night. The one that had led to all of that dress-madness. I was feeling like that, sad, desolate, betrayed, but also guilty. So incredibly guilty. I’d gone to an event like that, wearing a dress that compelled everyone, and I’d been so oblivious. I’d caused so much damage that I needed to undo, but how?

He grunted, and I realized that I’d pulled him with too much force as I pressed him against the floor. “How long are you going to keep me like this?” he asked, a thread of amusement lacing his words.

“You’re always amused at me. I guess I’m hilarious, fumbling around in the dark when I can’t see.” I loosened my grip only a tiny amount, but then he was rolling me over until my hands were over my head while he held me down.

His eyes flickered gold as he studied me with more hunger than amusement. “You aren’t hilarious. You’re courageous, pushing back the darkness with your bare, soft, delicately delicious hands.”

“You mean idiotic.” I tugged on my hands, but he had me firmly in his grasp, settling his weight around me without putting actual pressure.

“I mean what I said. Now, Lady Justice, who is on your list of suspects?”

I raised a brow as I studied him in that position, beneath him on the floor. “My list of suspects? For the murders that I suppose could be suicides.”

“But they aren’t. They smell like murders.” He brushed my nose with his, sending a flicker of awareness down my spine. “You have a goblin nose now. Always trust the nose.”

I smiled slightly. “That sounds very scientific. All right, well, trusting my nose, I think maybe Joss is involved somehow, or he wouldn’t be pushing the suicide angle so hard. The list of people in the building at the time of the first death includes the cleaning crew, and the security people. I should run profile checks on all of them, but odds are it was something else. I have no idea, either a compulsion spell that could somehow sneak in and force someone to kill themselves, or a different entry that we don’t know about. How hard would it be to break into the courthouse?”

He smiled at me, sharp and diabolical. “I thought you’d never ask.” He rolled off me in one smooth movement, holding my hand to help me up. “Shall we have another exciting date this evening? I’ll provide the wardrobe this time, if it’s all the same to you.”

I shook my head and wrinkled my nose. “It’s not. I’d much prefer you do the costuming considering how my choices went down. That’s the last time I ask to look attractive to a goblin.”

He blinked at me, brow wrinkling for a moment. “You asked to look attractive to a goblin?”

I shifted under his intent gaze, then shrugged. “It was either goblin or demon. My dating options are severely limited, although Tim is looking at me with some interest now that he knows I have a familiar that I might want stuffed once he expires. Although, who would ever want the bodies of a familiar without their soul?” I glanced past Sashimi to see Mr. Raccoon covered in little bugs.

I gasped and rushed towards him, but Sashimi blocked me, wrapping his arms around my waist and spinning me around so I ended up close, staring up into his eyes while he gazed at me with a slight smile.

“Meet housekeeping. Spider droids are all the rage in Goblintown. They will do an immaculate job cleaning your familiar as well as the floor. Have you eaten? It’s dinnertime. Why don’t I make you something appropriately human?”

I studied him for another beat before I nodded, trying not to obviously sniff at his shampoo. He smelled so good. And felt so good. And he was cleaning up my raccoon’s revolting existence without making me feel bad about it. “That sounds good.”

He released me and took a step back before turning and heading towards the kitchen off the main room.

Wait, he was going to cook and clean for me? I hurried after him, grabbing his hand, but he just kept walking, like we were holding hands on our way to the kitchen, which was a work of functional art, but somehow still cozy. Maybe it was the fireplace, even though it burbled with lava instead of conventional fire, or maybe it was the herbs hanging from the stone beams. Maybe it was the two cozy chairs pulled up to the lava fireplace, or the basket with a cushion that was just the right size for Mr. Raccoon.

“Do you have a pet?” I asked, studying the cute plaid cushion.

“No. My sister has several, and sometimes she gets me to keep one, hoping I’ll fall in love and ease the loneliness of my existence, but so far, no luck.”

“Ah.” I dropped his hand. “Thanks to my intervention, you are safe from love.” That thought made my heart positively ache. But at least I still had my family. Who might never speak to me again. I shook my head, trying to get rid of the melancholy. I didn’t have time for that. I had work to do. “Let me cook. I don’t like feeling obligated towards you.” I reached for the knife he was pulling out of a rack, but he moved, blocking me with his shoulder. I grabbed his jacket, and he shrugged it off, so I was left with it, but not him.

“Rynne, you’re only staying here temporarily. Perhaps not long enough to know where I keep my knives. I’m very particular about where I keep my knives. You’ve had a long, difficult, tiresome week, so please, take off your shoes, curl up next to the lava, and let me be the host, hm?” He rolled up his white shirt sleeves and started peeling onions, then chopping them with the same dexterity I remembered, except that his current knife was much more suited for it.

I sighed, clutching his jacket to my chest. It smelled like his shampoo. “But you also had a stressful day, if the pile of mangled calculators was any indication.”

He shook his head, not looking up from his onions, which were almost finished. “Not stress, just…” He looked up at me with a slight smile. He looked tired. “Sometimes being the Goblin King is exhausting.”

“You couldn’t just hire an accountant?” I draped his jacket over the back of a chair and went over to see what he was doing. It was peeling a piece of ginger.

“Rynne, sit down.”

“Sashimi, give me something to do, or I’ll start thinking too much, and maybe burst into tears. I’ve been trying not to disappoint my mother for decades.”

“You didn’t disappoint her. She’s just worried about you. Being a police officer is dangerous.”

I snorted. “You didn’t see her face. Anyway, let me do something, otherwise I’ll start tying your hair in knots.”

He glanced at me with a slightly raised brow. “You can’t help but pursue danger. Fine. Sit on this stool and peel potatoes.”

I smiled and sat while he handed me a peeler and a bowl from a shelf of pretty potatoes in jewel-like colors. “Pity to peel off the pretty peelings.”

“More of a pity to skin your pretty fingers. Be careful. Everything is sharp.”

“Even the potatoes?”

He bumped my forehead with his. “Even the potatoes.”

I smiled at him and then peeled the first potato. He was right. The peeler was incredibly sharp. It was nice to sit there with him, working, like we were a real couple or something.

“Do you mind breaking into the court house tonight? We might get caught,” I said, focusing on the blue potato.

“I already offered them my services in anticipation of your desires.”

I whistled, looking at him, impressed. “You’ll get paid for getting your way? I guess that’s getting my way, but still, I bet you know how to game all the systems.”

“Knowing isn’t the same as doing.”

“Ha. That was false modesty, if I’m not mistaken. I’m lucky that you’re on my side.”

“I hope that we are always on the same side.” He dumped the contents of his cutting board into a sizzling pan and then stirred it, the steam surrounding him making him look more magical than usual. For a minute, I just watched him move, so sure, intent, and absolutely competent. It was like his dancing, far too good for a mere mortal.

I blinked and refocused on my work. I wasn’t here to ogle the goblin. I wouldn’t stay here long, just long enough to find my own place to stay. Then we would continue our platonic dating relationship in a less awkward way. He didn’t seem to feel awkward, though. Maybe I was his pet that could help him not be so lonely. If he was lonely. This place didn’t smell like him nearly as much as his office.

“What’s so stressful about being the goblin king?” I asked, then added, “Other than falling in love with a human?”

“Kendry Maldroit is building a bomb to get Firus back as their endless feud continues. I have to adjust it while he’s at the market, to make certain that it goes off with the exact amount of power to do enough damage to satisfy him psychologically without destroying the city. Furia is pursuing Mad Dog tirelessly, which wouldn’t be a problem except that she’s already promised five other men her heart, instigating them to acts of jealousy over her, and she just can’t stop. Mad Dog could kill them all, which is the usual way of things, and then he’d kill anyone else she looked at in the future until she killed him, or settled down. But no, I have to unravel their love mess before Mad Dog starts killing, because I know his genetic makeup, his history, and how likely he’ll stop at just the jealous lovers. He’s very good at killing once he starts.”

I looked up, horrified for him. I leaned over and patted his arm. “But surely you’re clever enough to turn all of these things to your advantage. You can twist the feud into a race to see who can do the most respectable things, who can make the most friends or fabulous seasonal yard display or something. And the girl, Furia, you can discover what her true passion is and set her up as a piano teacher, or a weapons expert, something more than playing with people’s hearts, making her an asset instead of a danger.”

“And Mad Dog?”

“He shouldn’t be around killing, not if he can’t control it. So he can help your sister with her stray pets she’s trying to find homes for.”

“Interesting.”

“How far off the mark I could be? It isn’t that interesting, considering how much interest I have in ruling a country.”

“But you are invested in keeping the peace. I hadn’t thought about music, but if Furia discovered a sudden love of music, the Music Master wouldn’t rest until she made certain she reached her full potential.” He gave me a sly grin that I couldn’t help returning.

“Poor Furia. Mirabel would devour her.” Everyone knew that you had to stay away from Singsong City’s music master, or she’d drown you in her music abyss. She was still amazing when she played at the piano bar, though.

He continued. “And of course, if there was an opposing neighborhood who threatened both Kendry and Mirus, they’d be forced to reconcile long enough to defeat their mutual enemies.”

“Of course. And Mad Dog? He should really work at an animal shelter?”

“My sister is incredibly good with rabid animals. I could assign him to her as her bodyguard.”

“You’re not worried that he’d kill her? You trust him with your sister’s safety?”

He smiled, showing sharp teeth. “He knows what I’ll do to him if she comes to harm. He would kill himself first.”

“What would you do to him?”

He tilted his head as he studied me. “Put him in a position of authority and duty in an office building, where he spent all his days with numbers and goblins to manage.”

“Oh. That doesn’t sound nearly as bad as I expected.”

“You’ve never tried to manage goblins before. Particularly bankers and accountants.”

“They’re horrible, are they?”

“Almost as horrible as the Goblin Authority.” He gave me a slight frown before he resumed his stirring.

I sat there, feeling all upside down and aching. “That was another warning. But ever since I wrote that letter, it’s been done. At least I got a parking pass out of it.”

He shot me a smile and took the potatoes I’d peeled, working so quickly, until he handed me a plate of steaming deliciousness, rich sauce over the slivers of buttery potatoes, with a side of sizzling lamb.

“Do you always cook dinner when you don’t come for sushi?” I asked as I stared at the two plates he’d prepared so quickly.

“Not always. Sometimes I skip dinner entirely.”

“Do your spider robots cook for you?”

“They can, but the food lacks soul.”

“Soulful food is important?”

“You are what you eat.”

“Hm. Then I’d expect you to have more greens.” I took a large bite and then lost track of the rest of the world. It was so good, so absolutely perfect. It tasted how his shampoo smelled.

When I’d gobbled everything up, I raised my head and realized that he was watching me with a slight smile. “What?”

He shook his head and ate his own meal, but not like it was the most amazing thing in the world. “Now that’s done, why don’t we look at blueprints for the court house?”

I beamed at him. “You happen to have blueprints of the court house?”

“I have blueprints for everything. I like blueprints.”

“Well, who doesn’t?” I rubbed my hands together. “Would you like me to do the dishes before we start?”

“No. That doesn’t require soul. The spiders will take care of it.”

“Mr. Racoon will be so disappointed that they aren’t beetles.”

“I have beetles too.”

I held back a shudder and smiled brightly. “That’s good.” I was immediately drowning in an image of beetles crawling all over a dead carcass. Yeah, so good.

His blueprints were all electronic and could be accessed via the glass wall that overlooked the city. We stood there, with the view past the glowing blue lines that delineated the court house.

“Here’s where Judge Stevens was killed,” I said, touching inside the blue square, precisely where he’d fallen. Where I’d touched glowed orange, marking the spot. “Cool. What are these double lines?” I asked, pointing at the spaces next to the judge’s office.

“There are old access tunnels through the building that they converted into a duct system when they remodeled half a century ago to update the heating and cooling systems.”

“A secret tunnel? How exciting!”

“Yes. There may even be real live spiders in there, so be certain to keep your face mask on.”

I nodded at him. “Of course. This is where Representative Phil fell.” I touched inside another box and there was another glowing orange dot. “There isn’t an access tunnel over here.”

“No, but that office wasn’t nearly as secure.”

I examined the blueprint, following the thin space that was former maintenance access. Sashimi stood at my shoulder, arms crossed, studying the blueprint intently. He shifted slightly and the scent of his shampoo wafted towards me, trailing from his silky hair. For a second, I was completely distracted, as lost in his scent as I’d been in his food.

After a second of very nearly smashing my face against the back of his head so I could inhale all of him more thoroughly, I got it together enough to refocus on the blueprint.

“Isn’t it entirely sealed? The access panel, I mean.”

He pointed to a small x on one side. “There is access through a vent on the roof.”

I looked at him. “We’re going through the roof?”

He shrugged then gave me a calculating look. It reminded me of when he was measuring square feet in his closet. “Do you still ride that board at the park?”

“Not very often, but I’ve been meaning to. Why?”

He smiled at me, sharp and dangerous. “You’ll see. Are you ready to do some breaking and entering, Miss Sato?”

“Yes, Mr. Goblin. Are you?”

“Always.” His eyes gleamed wickedly and for a second I thought he was going to kiss me. Of course he wasn’t. Even dress-drunk, he hadn’t instigated any kissing. Not that goblins kiss, but if they did, they were wickedly good.