Tobias Jeng's Arc

Chapter 2 of 2

Tobias slept badly at the roadside inn. The invitation stayed under his shirt, warm against his ribs. He needed it to reach the queen. But the hobgoblins who traded it away had followed his tracks. He woke to scratching at the shutters and knew his three days had grown teeth. He crept downstairs into the empty common room. Firelight from old embers stained the timbers. Six little green shapes waited on the tables. The leader stood on the bar, wiry arms crossed, grin sharp. "Paper," the hobgoblin said. "We sell it now. Better buyer. You give it back." Tobias understood. They had found a richer bidder and wanted their prize returned. If he lost the invitation, he lost the stage, the queen, everything. "You already traded it," Tobias said. "A deal is a deal." The leader hissed. The others fanned out, knocking mugs to the floor. One climbed the wall toward him. Tobias raised his brass gauntlet and turned the valve. Steam hissed from the knuckles. A flame bloomed in his palm. The hobgoblins froze, eyes wide and hungry, exactly as before. But hunger was a tool now. Tobias split the flame into six drifting sparks. "You want sparks?" he asked. "Chase them outside." He flung the sparks through the open door into the night. Five hobgoblins bolted after them, shrieking with delight. Only the leader stayed on the bar, watching him with cold little eyes. "Trick," the leader said. "You buy time." "I buy nothing," Tobias said. "I keep what I paid for." He lunged. The hobgoblin sprang for the door. Tobias slammed it shut with his boot. The creature hit wood and dropped. Before it could rise, Tobias pressed the hot gauntlet close to its face. Steam curled around its ears. "Tell the buyer the paper is gone," Tobias said. "Tell them a man burned it. Then they stop hunting me." The hobgoblin bared its teeth. Outside, its cousins were still leaping after fading sparks. Alone, it saw the math. It nodded once. Tobias opened the door. The leader shot out, gathered its pack, and vanished into the dark. He leaned against the bar and breathed. His hands shook. He had kept the invitation. He had ended the chase. But he had bought that peace with a lie: the paper was burned. And lies traveled. If the hobgoblins told their buyer the invitation was ash, that buyer might mention it to the wrong ears. Word could reach the palace before Tobias did. A burned duke's invitation was still a stolen one. Tobias tucked the paper deeper against his chest and gathered his coat. He had two days now, not three. The road to the queen was open. But he could not simply walk to a gate anymore and hand over a document rumored destroyed. He needed a way inside that no guard would question.