Ten feet in, the bug reached the first branch in the tunnel. Damien guided it down the side tunnel. A couple feet further on it widened into a round room filled with trash, animal skins, and half-eaten gobbets of meat. Damien shuddered, glad he couldn’t connect a thread to transmit smell.
No other paths led out of the chamber so he guided the bug back to the main tunnel. Over the next five minutes they passed two more branches leading to living chambers like the first, but still no goblins.
The main tunnel led to another round chamber three times the size of the smaller ones. Ten goblins gathered around a giant creature seated on a crude wooden throne. It had curved tusks and long six-fingered hands ending in black talons. Rolls of fat under coarse black fur covered its body.
Through the link Damien saw the corruption rolling off the monster. The goblins’ eyes resembled black pits as they stared, enraptured, by the horror on the throne. They’d absorbed the monster’s corruption.
“What the hell is that?” Jen asked. She stared at the monstrosity on the projection, her mouth partway open as though she wanted to say more but couldn’t find the words.
“It’s a demon. That’s the source of the corruption.” Damien shuddered. Demons were an abomination that had no place in the mortal world. Over time, just by being here, they twisted everything and everyone around them, turning their surroundings into a little slice of hell on earth. Only rarely could a demon overcome its innate corruption and transform into something purer, a risen demon, like Lizzy. “Looks like it’s taken control of the tribe. See the especially wrinkled one closest to it?”
“Yeah. Man, that’s one ugly goblin.”
The withered goblin beside the demon’s throne had bones driven through its earlobes, lips and nose. Sharp fangs protruded from its upper lip. Withered, sagging breasts argued it was female, but Damien had no intention of getting close enough to make sure.
“That’s their sorcerer. There’s a connection between her and the demon. She’s not a full warlock, but her power’s been enhanced by the demon’s corruption. The regular goblins have absorbed it as well. They’ll be much more dangerous than anything you’re used to.”
“They’re nothing but shit-stinkin’ little goblins.” Talon’s knuckles were white, he was gripping his swords so tight. “Let’s go get them.”
Jen ignored Talon and pointed at a pair of dark arches at the rear of the throne room, for lack of a better word. “What are those?”
Damien guided the wasp along the ceiling, hoping neither the sorcerer nor the demon would notice it. It reached the closest arch and flew through. A long, narrow, twisting tunnel led to a small opening to the surface. Looked like a back door. He searched beyond the second arch and found another exit. It was too small for the demon, but the goblins could escape through them easily enough.
“That’s it.” Damien let the wasp dissolve. “A demon, a sorcerer, and nine corrupted goblins. We should get out of here and collect some reinforcements. I can fly to The Tower, get some more sorcerers, and be back in a day.”
“What if they attack another farm tonight?” Edward said. “While you’re collecting reinforcements people might die. We’re here now. Let’s deal with them before they do any more harm.”
“I agree,” Talon said.
“I don’t know.” Alec chewed his lip. “If there’s a demon…”
Rhys remained silent, his gaze on Jen. Whatever the others thought, it was her call. Damien watched the muscles of her jaw work as she thought. “Edward’s right,” she said at last. “We need to deal with them before anyone else gets hurt. We can’t fight them in their lair. Damien, can you flush them out so we can fight in the open?”
“Sure, I can blast them out easy enough. What are you going to do about those other exits?”
She turned to Edward. “Take Alec and cover the left side. Talon, you and Rhys take the right. We’ll cover the main entrance. Kill anything that comes out then fall back here to reinforce us.”
“How are we supposed to find them?” Talon asked.
Damien conjured two glowing spheres. “Follow the lights. When you’re in position crush them and I’ll sense it. My blast will follow a minute later. Be careful. Their aura of corruption will make your iron skin vulnerable. Don’t count on it to protect you.”
“How about you let us worry about the fighting?” Talon said.
Damien sent the orbs out toward the small tunnels. It would take a couple minutes for them to get in place. He wished Jen had let him get help. During his studies he’d read a lot about demons. Even a weak one would be a huge challenge. If he had to fight the sorcerer at the same time he didn’t know what might happen.
“We can do this, right?” Jen sounded like she needed some encouragement. In truth he didn’t know if they could do it and he didn’t want to lie to his sister.
“It’s not too late. You can call them back, we can retreat, and return with more help. There’s no guarantee they’ll attack again tonight.”
“But there’s no guarantee they won’t. Edward was right about that much. We’ve been hunting these monsters for a week. The people rely on us to protect them and we’ve done a poor job of it. We’ll take them down together. I can count on you, right?”
“Do you even need to ask?”
They shared a smile. A few seconds later the first then the second orb shattered. The others were in place. Damien conjured a ball of energy and hurled it at the entrance.
Chapter 19
A golden ball of energy raced toward the entrance to the goblins’ lair. It flew out of sight down the tunnel and Damien detonated it. The explosion shook the clearing and sent bits of wood flying out. Dust and debris marked the openings of the secondary exits. Jen
