Chapter 5

Chapter Five IN WHICH the Fate of the Missing Cat Is Discovered Jared and Mallory approached the goblin camp cautiously, dodging from trunk to trunk. Broken bits of glass and gnawed bones littered the ground. High in the trees they could see cages woven from thornbushes, plastic bags, and other refuse. Squashed soda cans hung from the branches, clattering together like sinister wind chimes. Ten goblins sat around a fire. The blackened body of something that looked a lot like a cat

turned on a stick. Every now and then one of the goblins would lean over to lick the charred meat, and the goblin turning the spit would bark loudly. Then they would all start barking. "Skin it raw, skin the fat."

Several of the goblins started to sing. Jared shuddered at the words. Fidirol, Fidirat! Catch a dog, catch a cat Skin it raw, skin the fat On the spit, turn like that Fidirol, Fidirat! Cars whizzed by, oblivious. Perhaps even their mother was driving past now, Jared thought. "How many?" Mallory whispered, hefting a heavy branch. "Ten," Jared answered. "I don't see Simon. He must be in one of those cages." "Are you sure?" Mallory squinted in the direction of the goblins. "Give me that thing." "Not now," said Jared. They moved slowly through the trees looking for a cage large enough to contain Simon. Ahead of them, something cried out, shrill and loud. They crept forward to the edge of the forest.

An animal was lying alongside the road, beyond the goblin camp. It was the size of a car, but curled up, with a hawk's head and the body of a lion. Its flank was streaked with blood. "What do you see?" "A griffin," said Jared. "It's hurt." "What's a griffin?" "It's kind of a bird, kind of a—never mind, just stay away from it." Mallory sighed, moving deeper into the woods. "There," she said. "What about those?" Jared looked up. Several of the high cages were larger, and he thought he could make out a human shape in one of them. Simon! "I can climb up," Jared said. Mallory nodded. "Be fast." Jared wedged his foot in a hollow of the bark, hefting himself up to the first split in the branches. Then, pulling himself higher, he started crawling along the bough that held the little cages. If he stood up on that limb, he would be looking into the cages that were hung higher.

As he edged along, Jared could not help looking down. In the cages below, he could see squirrels, cats, and birds. Some were clawing and biting at the bars, while others were unmoving. A few contained just bones. They were all lined with leaves that looked suspiciously like poison ivy. "Hey, dribble-puss, over here." The voice surprised Jared so much he almost lost his grip on the branch. It had come from one of the large cages. "Who's there?" Jared whispered. "Hogsqueal. Now how about opening that door?" Jared saw the frog face of another goblin, but this one had green cat's eyes. It was wearing clothes, and its teeth weren't glass or metal, but what looked like baby teeth. "I don't think so," said Jared. "You can rot in there. I'm not letting you out." "Don't be a cat-whipper, beetlehead. If I holler, those guys are going to make you into dessert."

"I bet you yell all the time," Jared said. "I bet they don't believe anything you say." "HEY! LOOK—" Jared grabbed the edge of the cage and pulled it forward. Hogsqueal went quiet. Below, the goblins slapped one other and snatched pieces of cat meat, apparently unaware of the racket in the tree. "Okay, okay," Jared said. "Good. Let me out!" the goblin demanded.