Page 90 of Echoes of the Banshee

“A goblin?”

“Yes.”

“What colors was the stone?”

“It was green and black.”

The rest of the goblins stand up and approach, looking at the picture.

They go back and forth. Talking about different stones it could be. One brings me a book that has better pictures than the one I’d been going through. I flip through it to look at the stones as they suggest them, attempting to narrow it down.

“Did it have red?” a blue haired goblin asks. I try to recall but can’t. I shrug.

“What are you thinking?” one asks him.

“Ruby Zoisite.”

I flip to the index, then quickly to that page.

“That’s it!” I exclaim looking up excitedly. All the goblins stare at me in horror.

“What?”

“You dreamed of a death stone.”

Benson

Where There’s Smoke, There’s Thea.

It’s been more than a week and I’m still beyond annoyed with Zair. He spends most of crafting complaining that Thea won’t open up to him. I don’t know why he cares. He doesn’t like her, thinks she’s ugly.

The dude is seriously blind.

She’s the kind of woman you marry.

The thought stops me cold and a shot gets past me that I should’ve stopped. Coach makes me run laps after practice for it.

They don’t help.

By the time I get done with my shower, the locker room is empty and I’m sure that Thea and Zair have vanished into their secret nook in the main library. I grab my bag and head to the goblin building. There’s a lot of noise coming from the library, hopefully not another argument about befriending spiritborne.

“You’re scaring her.” I stop short as my hand rests on the door. Her? I step inside and have to blink a few times to confirm I haven’t lost my mind. Thea is sitting at a table on the far side of the room. A pile of books surround her. And every goblin is standing around, talking over each other, voices raising.

“Hey!” I call, everyone ignores me, after two more failed attempts to get everyone’s attention I put my fingers in my mouth and whistle. The goblins all turn to me, but my eyes are on Thea as her face lights up when she sees me. It takes me a second to remember what I’m doing.

“What’s going on here?” I ask.

Silence. I raise an eyebrow.

“She came to research something,” Gabe says, pointing to a paper on the table.

“And we were just trying to help,” a goblin with acne I don’t know says.

Only Thea could charm a room of goblins into helping her. Though they all look remorseful at getting caught. I meet Thea’s eyes and she suppresses a smile. I know exactly what she’s thinking because I’m thinking it too. We’re so going to hell.

“What are you doing in our space, witch?” I snap.

The goblins let out a collective gasp. Talking to a witch like that, is a good way to die.