“Laine is going to guard your house, but they should all be safe as long as they stay inside,” Eldon said. He turned to Laine. “Are you sure you don’t want me to leave someone else?”
Laine drew a massive broadsword from a sheath and gripped it with one massive hand. He shook his head, his usually friendly eyes narrowed dangerously. “I’ll be fine.”
“Good,” Eldon said. “Let’s move.”
Uncle Laine gave me a comforting nod, and then I followed Eldon, Allison, and Steven into the woods, grimacing as the cold wind whipped through the trees.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“The end of your street,” Eldon said. “They were gathering there. Laren and Liz are keeping watch.”
“Why gather there?”
Eldon glanced back at me. “I have no idea. None of this makes any sense, but we have no choice. We need to destroy them.”
Frowning, I tried to keep up as we raced through the trees. Branches swiped past my face, scratching my cheeks. I passed through a spiderweb and quickly wiped it off. Why would the monsters start attacking Riverfield? To draw me out? Was it an ambush?
Eldon finally slowed down, and I saw two cloaked shadows emerge from the darkness. Liz hurried over to Eldon and gave me a brief nod.
“They’re still gathering. It looks like they might attack the first house.”
Eldon looked behind her. “How many?”
“About thirty,” she said. “They outnumber us five to one.”
“We have no choice,” Eldon replied. “I sent word back to Derwin, but Caria and the others won’t be here for hours. It takes a whole lot longer without the elevator, and only the Monster Crusher can use it.”
“Six of us,” Allison whispered. “Versus thirty.”
“And only one we need to kill,” Eldon said. “Did you see the leader, Laren?”
Laren shook his head. “No, just goblins. We’re going to have to find him the hard way.”
“Perfect,” Eldon muttered. “Show me.”
We started after Laren, and Allison glanced at me.
“Ready for a real fight?” she asked quietly.
“Not really.”
We fell into step beside each other.
“I’ve never seen this before,” she murmured. “This is the first time they’ve ever shown themselves in Riverfield in such force. Like they want us to attack.”
“Do you think it’s a trap?”
“It’s always a trap.”
I looked at her. “So why not go home?”
“Because you need me.” She paused. “Besides, if we lose, I won’t have a home for much longer anyway.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“What?” she asked, already sounding bored. She really was evil.
“Why do you act like that at school? I mean, you’d think someone fighting monsters wouldn’t even really care about elementary school drama.”
“Do you?” she asked, raising one perfectly trimmed eyebrow.
I paused. “Point taken. But I’m not evil.”
Allison shook her head. “I’m popular. That’s how popular girls act.”
“I don’t buy that.”
She scowled and looked away.
“It’s just how I’ve always been. It’s how people expect me to be. Maybe I like it. I don’t know. I do feel…guilty sometimes. I shouldn’t have posted the picture.”
“That was kind of mean.”
“I know.” She briefly met my eyes. “I…well, I guess I was a bit jealous that you got to be the Monster Crusher. Maybe a lot jealous. And I knew I was supposed to be helping you and that’s why I was going to just ignore you, but then you called me out and the other girls were asking if I was going to do something…I don’t know. It was dumb. I’m sorry.”
I frowned. “Thanks. Can’t you just start being nice?”
“Maybe. I hate school…I guess I’m just miserable there, you know.”
“Why do you hate it at school? You’re the most popular girl there.”
She stiffened and quickly started after the others, leaving me behind.
“Everything I want is in Derwin. I just can’t have it.”
I watched her hurry ahead, and then suddenly thought back to something. A very dark look she had given me in the courtyard yesterday when I was talking to Lee.
“You like Lee.”
“No, I don’t,” she said sharply, shooting me an angry look.
“You’re in love,” I said.
“Shut up.”
We joined the others where they were crouched down, watching something in silence. I peered through the trees. I couldn’t see too much in the faint moonlight, but I could hear the raspy voices. Squinting harder, I started to see the shapes forming in the trees. I could make out the mossy-green skin and the moonlight glinting off of spears and swords and metal caps. I took a small step to get a better look and stepped right on a branch. It cracked loudly, and I hunched right down to the ground, horrified. The raspy voices changed, and Eldon looked back, glaring at me. I heard shuffling in the distance.
“Good work,” Allison muttered. “So glad to have you along.”
“Weapons ready,” Eldon whispered.
“Where are they going?” Liz asked softly.
I eased around Eldon to get a better look. The goblins were marching now, their swords and spears at the ready. I looked ahead of them and just made out the faint street lights through the trees.
“They’re attacking,” I said. “We have to stop them.”
Eldon looked around, seeming hesitant. “This doesn’t make any sense.”
“We have no choice,” Allison said. “They’ll kill anybody who gets in their way.”
Eldon paused for a moment and then nodded. “On my signal.”
He slowly stood up and everyone followed suit. I felt my palms sweating on the handle, despite the cold air. But it was different than my first mission. Now the monsters were attacking my home. They were in my world. It was time to defend it.
“Now,” Eldon said quietly, moving forward in almost complete silence.
The Swords crept after him, Allison pulling the bow from her back and fitting an arrow. I took the rear, and the group slowly started picking up speed, heading for the back of the goblin troop. We broke out into a jog, still moving quietly through the trees.
We closed in, and I unsheathed the hammer and lifted it over my shoulder.
Just then a hideous shriek split through the canopy. Eldon and the others stopped immediately, and I
