They appeared to be half frozen as they trekked across the mountains, wearing crudely sewn capes of patchwork furs as ice formed around the edges of their giant, bat-like ears. They carried blocky spears, crude swords, and clubs—though Angelique also spotted the occasional shield and even a fewbows.
“Those areforestgoblins. What in the blazes are they doing here in the mountains?” Angelique wondered. “They can’t survive up here; even mountain goblins would have a difficult go ofit.”
Pegasus rested his muzzle on her foot as she carefully stowed her telescope. “Do you feel like going on a goblin hunt,Pegasus?”
As soon as she gripped his mane, Pegasus abandoned his horizonal path and began picking his way down the mountain—a slightly terrifying experience as occasionally his hind end folded down, and Angelique had to cling with a white-knuckle grip to stayon.
When they were just above the pack, Angelique slipped off Pegasus’ back, scrambling in a rather ungainly manner to keep her feet underher.
She flexed her fingers as she juggled trying to hold her heat spell and ready an attack spell. She paused, met Pegasus’ gaze, then nodded before she went hurtling down the steepembankment.
She collided with a goblin, and though she skidded to a stop, her target was not nearly as lucky. He went hurtling down the side of the mountain,screaming.
Angelique flicked a spell at the goblin in front of her, who had turned around to watch his companion fall to his death and now raised his sword above hishead.
A gust of wind barraged the goblin, knocking him over the mountainside aswell.
Pegasus raised turmoil at the front of the line, trampling goblins—who fell over the mountain in their effort to escapehim.
Angelique threw a ball of fire at the next goblin in front of her. He ducked, but it only took a tickle of magic to encase him in ice with the weather as temperamental as itwas.
An arrow whistled as it narrowly missed Angelique’s head. She threw up a defensive shield and dosed the archer goblin in a wave of water in shortsuccession.
The goblin squawked, but his skin turned blue-ish green as the frigid temperatures instantly froze the liquid to hisskin.
A kick, and he went tumbling down the side of the mountain with the rest of hisfellows.
The one remaining goblin—for Pegasus had already taken care of the rest at the front of the line—tried to rush Angelique. She threw up an ice wall in front of her, but it wasunnecessary.
Pegasus lunged, grabbing the goblin by the neck, and snapped his head, flinging the goblin down themountainside.
He then reared and shouted his fury—a bugling call that echoed through the mountain range. When he slammed his hooves back down, the entire mountainrumbled.
“I’m excited too.” Angelique staggered and had to grab the iced-over goblin for support. “But could we maybe not celebrate quite somuch?”
Pegasus twitched his ears and stepped forward as she dismantled the ice wall so he could noseher.
“I’m getting faster.” She patted his cheek as she edged around his side, sticking close to him due to the narrow path. “Did you see how quickly I threw some of myspells?”
Pegasus swished his tail and lookedunimpressed.
Angelique rolled her eyes. “We can’t all be powerful star constellations. Some of us must be satisfied with being a mere Enchantress-in-Training.”
Pegasus snorted but braced himself as Angelique swung onto hisback.
Angelique shivered and had to pour more power into her heat charm. (She’d nearly lost it in the fight as she concentrated on the goblins, something she was not going to tell her already-unimpressed traveling companion.) It took longer than she wanted before the numb feeling left her fingers and she could curl themeasily.
As Pegasus started to pick his way along the mountainside, restarting their trip, Angelique twisted so she could glance back at the site of thefight.
Already snow was blowing in, covering signs of the altercation.I don’t understand what the goblins were doing up here. But is this why Erlauf is so plagued by them? It seems unlikely; nothing can live on this side of themountains.
Angelique tucked the thought away to ponder later. For now, she had greater worries—specifically the Princess Rosalinda’s curse and the sea witch in Ringsted. And, above all else,Evariste.
Chapter 24
By the timeAngelique and Pegasus popped out of the Chronos Mountains over two weeks later, Angelique would have happily baked in the golden deserts of Baris for at least a month. Unfortunately, Ringsted’s situation was dire, and she needed to report it before hurrying on toSole.
So after giving Pegasus a few days’ rest in the skies, they pressed on to the Veneno Conclave fortress, reaching it just before mid-summer.
