Chapter 3

Chapter Three IN WHICH Mallory Finally Gets to Put Her Rapier to Good Use Through the small hole in the stone, Jared saw goblins. There were five of them, all with faces like frogs' and eyes that were dead white with no pupil at all. Hairless, cat-like ears stuck up from their heads, and their teeth were pieces of shattered glass and small, jagged rocks. Their green, bloated bodies moved swiftly over the lawn. One held a stained sack while the rest scented the air like

dogs, moving in the direction of the carriage house. Jared backed away from the window, almost tripping on an old bucket. "They're headed right for us," he whispered, ducking down. Mallory gripped her foil more tightly, knuckles white. "What about Simon?" "I didn't see him." She lifted up her head and peered outside. "I don't see anything," she said. Jared crouched down with the stone clutched in his palm. He could hear the goblins outside, grunting and shuffling as they got closer. He didn't dare look through the stone again. Then Jared heard the sound of old wood snapping. A rock hit one of the windows. "They're coming," Jared said. He shoved the Guide into his backpack, not bothering to buckle it. "Coming?" Mallory replied. "I think they're here."

Claws scraped at the side of the barn and little barks came from beneath the window. Jared's stomach turned to lead. He couldn't move. "We have to do something," he whispered. "We're going to have to make a run for the house," Mallory whispered back. "We can't," Jared said. The memory of the goblins' jagged teeth and claws wouldn't leave him.

"A couple more planks and they'll be inside." He nodded numbly, steeling himself to rise. Fumbling, he tried to fit the stone into the eyepiece and attach it to his head. The clip pinched his nose. "On my mark," said Mallory. "One. Two. Three. Go!" She opened the door and they both sprinted toward the house. Goblins hurtled after them. Clawed hands caught at Jared's clothes. He wrenched free and ran on. Mallory was faster. She was almost to the door of the house when a goblin caught the back of Jared's shirt and pulled hard. He went down on his stomach in the grass. The stone flew out of the monocle. He dug his fingers into the dirt, holding on as much as he could, but he was being dragged backward.

He could feel the clasps on his pack loosening, and he screamed. Mallory turned. Instead of running on toward the house, she started running back to him. Her fencing sword was still in her hand, but there was no way she could know what she was up against.

He was being dragged backward.