Chapter 4

Chapter Four IN WHICH Everything Goes into the Fire As he crossed the highway, Jared tried not to jostle the deliberately loose knots that kept his hands bound behind his back. He marched behind a similarly bound Mallory and avoided looking up at the distant shadow of Byron and Simon flying overhead—their only means of escape if things were to go wrong and the quickest way out if things were to go right. Hogsqueal poked Jared with the tip of the dwarven

当他穿过高速公路时，贾里德尽量不去挤那些故意松开的绳结，这些绳结把他的手绑在背后。 他跟在同样被绑着的马洛里后面走着，避免抬头看拜伦和西蒙在头顶飞过的远处的影子——如果事情出错，他们是唯一的逃生途径，如果事情顺利，他们是最快的出路。 霍格squeal用小矮人的尖戳了戳杰瑞德

sword. "Hurry up, nose pickers." "Cut it out," Jared said, nearly stumbling. Thimbletack squirmed against the back of his neck. "We're not even inside yet, and that thing is sharp," Jared said. "Right," the hobgoblin snickered. "My bad, lump- meat." "Leave Jared alone, or I'm going to show you how to use a sword," Mallory hissed, then suddenly went still. The trees on that side of the highway were almost entirely leafless, blackened, and dead. The few remaining leaves hung from the branches like bats. The trees looked less real than the dwarves' ironwood trees. Just beyond, Jared could see the junkyard. The gate was rusted open, and the worn dirt path was overgrown with patches of dead weeds. A NO TRESPASSING sign was stuck in the ground at an odd angle. Old cars, tires, and other trash were stacked in haphazard piles that resembled swells of sand along a beach. And ahead Jared could see the palace clearly. Its spires gleamed with glass and tin in the full light of the sun.

剑。“快点，挖鼻孔的人。” “别说了。”贾里德说，差点绊倒。 西姆布兰蒂克靠着他的后颈扭动了一下。 “我们还没进去，那东西很锋利，”贾里德说。 “好吧。”妖精窃笑着说。 “我的错，你这个笨蛋。”“放开贾里德，不然我就教你怎么用剑。”马洛里嘶嘶地说，然后突然不动了。 公路那一边的树几乎都光秃秃的，变黑了，枯死了。 剩下的几片叶子像蝙蝠一样挂在树枝上。 这些树看起来没有矮人们的铁木那么真实。 就在不远处，杰瑞德可以看到垃圾场。 大门已经锈迹斑斑，敞开着，破旧的土路上长满了一片片枯草。 一个“禁止入内”的牌子以一个奇怪的角度插在地上。 旧汽车、轮胎和其他垃圾杂乱无章地堆放在一起，就像海滩上的沙子一样。 贾里德可以清楚地看到前方的宫殿。 在阳光的照耀下，教堂的尖顶用玻璃和锡制成，闪闪发光。

Jared saw several goblins peering out of the rusted heap of a car. Two sniffed the air and a third began to bark. Then the goblins started to crawl from the vehicle. Each lifted a toadlike head and gnashed teeth of glass and bone. They carried dwarf-forged pikes and curved swords. "Say something," Jared whispered to Hogsqueal.

贾里德看见几个妖精从一辆生锈的汽车堆里往外张望。 两只嗅着空气，第三只开始吠叫。 然后半兽人开始从车里爬出来。 每个人都抬起癞蛤蟆似的脑袋，咬着玻璃和骨头的牙齿。 他们手持矮人锻造的长枪和弯剑。 “说点什么。”贾里德小声对霍格squeal说。

"You say you captured both?"

“你说你两个都抓住了？”

"I caught the humans," Hogsqueal called. "No thanks to you trash hounds!" A large goblin scuttled closer. His teeth were made of bottle glass, and they shimmered in the sunlight— brown, green, and clear. He was dressed in a ragged coat with tarnished buttons and a frayed tricornered hat. The hat in particular caught Jared's eye because it was dyed a strange ruddy brown. Flies buzzed close. "You say you captured both?" "Easily, O large Wormrat," Hogsqueal bragged. "There they were, the girl swinging around this sword right here—sharp, isn't it?—but I was too fast for them! I.." Wormrat eyed him, and the hobgoblin's words trailed off. "Okay," he started again. "They were sleeping and I—" The goblins began to bark loudly. Whether it was laughter or something else, Jared wasn't sure. "I still caught the scallywags! They're my prisoners," Hogsqueal said, raising Mallory's sword. It looked huge in his small hands and was wobbling slightly. Wormrat barked, and the tip of the sword drooped. Jared glanced upward to see if Simon and Byron were

“我抓住了人类。”霍格斯喊道。 “多亏了你们这些垃圾狗！”一个巨大的地精慢慢靠近。 他的牙齿是用玻璃瓶做的，在阳光下闪闪发光——棕色的、绿色的、清澈的。 他穿着一件破旧的外套，钮扣已经失去光泽，戴着一顶磨破的三角帽。 这顶帽子特别引起了贾里德的注意，因为它被染成了一种奇怪的红褐色。 苍蝇嗡嗡地飞近。“你说你两个都抓住了？”“很容易，大虫子。”霍格斯夸道。 “他们就在那儿，那个女孩就在这儿挥舞着这把剑——很锋利，不是吗？”但我跑得太快了！我. .” 虫鼠盯着他，妖怪的声音越来越小。 “好吧，”他又开始说。“他们在睡觉，我——”半兽人开始大声吠叫。 贾里德不确定这是笑声还是别的什么。 “我还是抓到那些无赖！”他们是我的俘虏。”霍格squeal说着举起了马洛里的剑。 它在他的小手手里显得很大，微微摇晃着。 虫鼠吠了一声，剑尖垂了下来。 贾里德向上瞥了一眼，看看西蒙和拜伦是否在

nearby, but they were either well hidden or gone. Jared hoped for what seemed like the millionth time that Simon would be able to control the griffin. "We do what I say," said Wormrat. "Bring them!" Mallory and Jared were pushed and pulled through the junkyard by a barking mass of goblins. They had to be careful not to step on the jagged pieces of metal that stuck up from the dry dirt at odd angles. Whenever Mallory and Jared slowed, the goblins shoved them and poked them with weapons. Rust from the cars streaked Jared's jeans as he squeezed through the narrow passageways between them. Finally they were led into a clearing where a dozen more goblins were lazing around a fire. Smallish bones were scattered among the debris. Wormrat grunted and pointed toward a blue car close to the fire. "Tie the prisoners there." "We should take them to the Palace of Trash," Hogsqueal said, but he sounded halfhearted. "Quiet!" barked the big goblin. "I give commands." A grinning goblin used a coil of rusty wire to attach Jared and Mallory's tether to the car. As the goblin

就在附近，但他们要么藏得很好，要么已经不见了。 贾里德已经无数次希望西蒙能控制狮鹫了。 “我说什么我们就做什么。”虫鼠说。 “把他们!”马洛里和贾里德被一群狂吠的半兽人推着拉着穿过垃圾场。 他们必须小心，不要踩到从干燥的泥土中以奇怪的角度伸出来的参差不齐的金属碎片。 只要马洛里和贾里德放慢脚步，半兽人就会推搡他们，用武器戳他们。 当贾里德挤过两辆车之间狭窄的通道时，车上的铁锈在他的牛仔裤上留下了一条条条纹。 最后，他们被带到一块空地上，那里还有十几个半兽人围着一堆火懒洋洋地闲着。 小骨头散落在废墟中。 虫鼠哼了一声，指着靠近火堆的一辆蓝色汽车。 “把犯人绑在那里。” “我们应该把他们带到垃圾宫去。”霍格斯卡尔说，但听起来却心不在焉。 “安静！”大妖精吼道。 “我发号施令。”一个咧嘴笑着的地精用一圈生锈的铁丝把贾里德和马洛里的绳子系在车上。 作为妖精