The Goblin War (32 page)

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Authors: Hilari Bell

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Tobin’s friends were beginning to converge from the parts of the field where the barbarians’ final rush had swept them.

There were no barbarian warriors. Anywhere.

The barbarians were gone, and his brother was leaning against him, hurt, perhaps, but alive.

Koryn would have to forgive him now.

It occurred to Jeriah that while Tobin might be the hero, he’d had a lot of help. In real life, heroism seemed to be more of a group effort than it was in the ballads.

Jeriah opened his mouth to tell Tobin what an idiot he was for trying to do this all by himself—and nearly getting killed in the process—but Makenna’s cold voice interrupted.

“I’ve seen more than one underplanned, reckless, half-assed stunt—but this one beats them all!”

Jeriah closed his mouth and listened with amused respect to a general’s furious harangue about sacrifice tactics, and leaving your ill-informed allies to scramble after you, trying to fill in the conspicuous gaps in your plan. It was a better, fiercer scolding than a brother’s. And as she reached out to touch Tobin’s face with a gentleness that belied every harsh word, Jeriah realized, with a surge of stunned delight, that it sprang from the same source.

This girl loved his brother. He didn’t think Tobin had realized it yet, and he was certain
she
hadn’t, but Makenna was going to be his sister-in-law.

She was currently comparing Tobin’s strategic ability—unfavorably—to that of a bunch of rabbits running in circles.

His father would consider her a practical person, and the girls would love anyone Tobin brought home. His mother . . . Jeriah thought of Makenna at war with his mother and cringed. Then he thought of what might happen if she
allied
with his mother, and his blood ran cold.

Maybe Jeriah could join the sunsguard. Since their mad plan had worked, Commander Sower would probably forgive him. And even if he didn’t, someone was bound to mount an expedition to cross the great desert and explore the lands the barbarians had left behind. He would miss Koryn . . . but why should he have to miss her? With her insatiable thirst for knowledge, maybe she’d be willing to join him. An exploratory expedition would need clerks.

If it didn’t occur to the Hierarch, Jeriah would have to suggest it. The great desert was just about the right amount of space to put between himself and the chaos that Makenna and his mother could create if they got together to . . . to enforce the goblins’ entry into human society? Or find something to do with those lesser barbarians Tobin was so concerned about? Or something even wilder and worse?

Judging by Daroo’s disgusted expression, the goblin boy had observed the same thing about Tobin and Makenna that Jeriah had, and Daroo was young enough to disapprove. Jeriah owed the goblins enough to stay for a while, at least. And if new in-laws, chaos, and goblin court battles weren’t sufficiently interesting to keep him occupied—or if they became too horrific—a desert full of adventure would always be waiting.

About the Author

HILARI BELL
used to work as a reference librarian, but she now writes science fiction and fantasy for kids and teens from her home base in Denver, Colorado. Hilari’s favorite activity is camping, when she spends all her time reading and hiking. She says, “Camping is the only time I can get in enough reading. Well, I take that back—when it comes to reading, there’s no such thing as enough.” You can visit her online at www.sfwa.org/members/bell.

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Also by
HILARI BELL

THE GOBLIN WOOD
THE GOBLIN GATE

and

The Knight & Rogue Novels

The Last Knight

Rogue’s Home

Player’s Ruse

and

The Prophecy

The Wizard Test

A Matter of Profit

Credits

Jacket art © 2011 by Cliff Nielsen
Jacket design by Hilary Zarycky

The Goblin War

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Bell, Hilari.
   The goblin war / by Hilari Bell. — 1st ed.
      p. cm.
   Sequel to: The goblin gate.
   Summary: After crossing over from the Otherworld where they have been trapped in mortal danger, Tobin and Makenna must figure out how to help Jeriah stop an army of barbarians from taking over their Realm.
   ISBN 978-0-06-165105-2 (trade bdg.)
   [1. Goblins—Fiction. 2. Magic—Fiction. 3. War—Fiction. 4. Fantasy.] I. Title.
   PZ7.B38894Gnr 2011
   [F]—dc22

0210040322
CIP
AC

EPub Edition © SEPTEMBER 2011 ISBN: 9780062093332

11 12 13 14 15
LP/RRDB
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

FIRST EDITION

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