Goblins on the Prowl Read Free Page A

“Ah!” she said, picking up a ball made of yellow glass. She stared at it for a moment, then muttered, “Too dangerous.” She tossed it to the floor.
    I expected the glass to shatter. Instead, the ball bounced back to the shelf she had taken it from.
    She also rejected a silver star, an odd-looking twig, and an ugly-faced doll. At last she picked up a strip of brown leather. Halfway between the two ends, pressed into the leather, was a metal disc with a strange design stamped into its surface.
    â€œThis might do,” she muttered. Then she nodded and smiled. “Yes, it will do quite nicely!” She handed it to me. “This is Solomon’s Collar. When you wear it around your neck, you can speak to animals.”
    â€œThat’s wonderful!”
    â€œNot necessarily. Most animals are more interested in food and shelter than conversation. Still, there are times when it can be useful to ask directions from a hedgehog, or advice from a bear. Doesn’t work with bugs, of course, but every once in a while there’s a spider you can talk to. All right, that’s for William. Let’s see what I can find for you.”
    She returned to the shelf, where she picked upand discarded a yellowed bone, a chunk of glittering rock, and a foot-long purple feather that began to move as if being blown in the wind. She finally settled on a small green glass bottle about three inches high. A cork stoppered the neck. I could see that the bottle held some kind of liquid.
    â€œWhat is it?” I asked as she handed it to me.
    â€œSleep Walk. Enough for four trips—five, if you use it carefully.”
    â€œBut what is it?” I repeated.
    Granny grinned, showing her remaining teeth. “When you take a sip, you fall into a deep sleep. Well, your body does. Your spirit remains wide awake . . . meaning you can slip free of your flesh and wander off to observe things without being seen. Well, mostly without being seen. A few people might catch a flicker of movement from the corner of their eyes. A very few might think they’ve seen a ghost.” She smiled. “But that’s no worry. Everyone needs a proper scare now and then.”
    â€œSounds scary for the person using it!”
    â€œIt’s perfectly safe!” Granny snapped. “Unless . . .”
    â€œUnless what ?”
    She shrugged. “If something happens to your body while you’re out roaming—that is, if it should happento be killed—then you’ve got no way back in. Which means you end up as one of the wandering dead. So that’s unpleasant. Also, you must return to your body within two hours or you’ll be shut out forever. But mostly it’s perfectly safe.”
    â€œThank you,” I said, wondering if I would ever have the nerve to use the stuff.
    â€œDon’t mention it. Now it’s time for you to pay for my advice and counsel. A bit of wood splitting should be just the thing. My stores are down, and it’s going to be a long winter.”
    We climbed the stairs; then she handed me an ax.
    I put on my coat and went outside.

    I mostly like Granny, but I have to say her idea of “a bit” is different from most people’s. In this case “a bit of wood splitting” meant “from now until it’s almost too dark to find your way home.” Splitting wood is good for warming you up, though. Before long I had taken my coat off again.
    Splitting wood is also good for thinking. And what I was thinking about right then was goblins. Why had those goblins left Nilbog? What had they hoped to find in my cottage? Why had they been wearing red headbands?
    While I was thinking about this, I noticed a ­squirrel perched on a nearby branch. I wondered what it would be like to talk to it, the way William would be able to do once he had Solomon’s Collar.
    I took the collar out of my coat pocket and studied it.
    It’s not like