Elise Runs and Dorothy Falls

Chapter 20

Dorothy woke up in a dark room, bound by rope to a chair. Her head hurt furiously; she tried to clear it with a squeeze of her eyes but could hardly raise her eyes. Her bonds were so tight she couldn't feel her hands.

Looking up against the will of her neck, she found a red-haired man in uniform leering down at her. Over six feet tall, he would have looked impressive if it weren't for his bushy beard without a mustache. He had strong blue eyes, though, which Dorothy met even in the dark.

"Thank you for joining me."

He punched her in the face.

When next Dorothy woke, she felt blood trickling from her nose. Her vision swelled and swayed, and she felt angry. She yanked against the ropes controlling her.

"Ordinarily I wouldn't strike a child," came the voice, "but in your case I think I'd like to do it again."

She felt the back of a hand hard against her cheek.

"Now, from this point we can either do things the easy way or the hard way. My name is Admiral Duval. What's yours?"

"Fuck you..." Dorothy managed through soreness to flash open her brilliant red eyes. She found the bearded man standing very close to her and looking down.

"How many others are there?"

"None."

Duval smiled. "So how many?"

This time Dorothy did the best thing and stayed quiet. She pulled at her binds and glared.

"Did I mention we met before? Yes, at the Battle of Govget. We didn't meet in person, but I know of course you were there. I was just a captain then. Your people, if you could call them that, fought well... I would have congratulated them, if any had survived. You were the only one."

Suddenly Duval knelt down close to her. Their faces almost touched.

"You're going back to Spellhood, you know. They're going to turn you inside out to figure out who and what you are. However, if you tell me... even a little something... you might be spared some pain. Tell me: what did you do to kill that man?

"Who are you?

"What did you become?"

When she said nothing, he stood straight again. He walked behind her where she could no longer see him. Suddenly she felt his hands on her shoulders. Her neck.

"Think about it."

Admiral Duval left.

For hours the witch languished in her cell, burning with rage and contempt. In all that time she never did remember what happened. She didn't know where she was. She didn't remember killing anyone. She didn't know what happened to Elise. But hatred welled plentifully. No one could make her return to Spellhood. Nothing could relieve the pressure building in her skull.

The door opened, and inside walked a little green man. Ears like sails, a long green nose, and shrewd, featureless eyes solid gold. Unlike the admiral, he wore rough leather armor and on his belt such a sword you only saw its kind in fairytales. It quelled even Dorothy. There had been a chair across from her all along, although until then no one used it.

"What do you want?"

"I wanted to get a look at you for myself," replied the goblin.

"Well you've gotten it. What do you think?"

"I thought you'd be older."

A moment passed between them as Dorothy looked down and as the goblin watched her carefully.

"Did you kill that soldier?"

"I... I don't know. I don't remember."

Again the conversation faded. The next time someone talked, it was Dorothy.

"You're some kind of important person, aren't you?"

The goblin continued to gaze at her. "A lot of people think so. I've never cared much for accolades. I'm an explorer. Or at least I was."

"Are you George Goblin?"

He nodded. Seconds more clicked by as her thoughts slipped into despondency. Her bowed head fell even more.

"What are you going to do with me?"

George Goblin stood up. Without looking back at her he headed for the exit, opened the door, and left. The door shut behind him.