Of Goblins and Gold - Emma Hamm

Chapter 1

The chime of goblin bells filled the clearing, as they did every first week of the month. Sunlight slashed through the forest beyond in harsh beams of gold that illuminated their strange carts. All manner of fabric and hide covered wooden wheels and rickety beds. Someone had dyed woolen sheep skins bright red and laid them to hide the rotting planks.

Bells were tied all around the edges. Bells that chimed, twinkled, and rang for visitors from all over to see the goblin wares. And there were hundreds of wares. Food from far-off places, jewelry so beautiful it made tears prick a mortal eye, and perfume that would ensure true love.

In short, magic.

Freya tucked the frayed edges of her scarf securely around her neck, over the layers of her dark hair. Usually, she would lift the edge so she could only see the blurry visage of the goblins. It was bad luck to look at them. Such familiarity invited the goblins to join a weary traveler on their journey home. Those people were rarely seen again.

“Freya,” her sister, Esther, tugged at her sleeve. “Did you see what they have with them today?”

“You’re not supposed to look,” she hissed.

“I know,” Esther replied. “But today they have—”

“I don’t want to know.” Freya yanked her scarf out of its neat knot in the bodice of her dress. She tossed it like a blanket over both of their heads. “Goblin wares are not for us, remember?”

Together, they rushed past the goblins who called out in voices sounding like crows. “Pretty ladies! Don’t you want to see our necklaces? I’ve got the perfect one for that swan-like neck of yours!”

Freya held her breath until they had placed a safe distance between themselves and the goblins with their temptations. When she couldn’t hear their voices any longer, she whipped the scarf off their heads.

She spun around on her sister, fury heating her face. “What were you thinking? You know the rules as well as I.”

Esther’s own face turned beat red, but Freya knew that had little to do with her actions and more with anger. “It was a necklace, Freya. A necklace with a moon at the end, just like mother used to wear. I thought you’d like to know.”

The words caught her up short. Their mother had worn a half moon necklace, but she knew for a fact it wasn’t goblin made. Their mother had hated goblins. She had dedicated her entire life to researching their kind and creating rules for their town of Woolwich to stay safe from their leathery clutches.

The town emerged from the forest like a mirage lifted from their eyes. Though it was a modest town, it had prospered in the days since it had first been built. They were lucky to have the large salt mine in the distance. Though mining was difficult, it had given the town more money than most.

As such, all the buildings were brand new. Their whitewashed exteriors gleamed in the sunlight, accented by warm wooden beams creating criss-crossed patterns like quilts.

Freya stepped onto the dirt path with her sister and ushered them toward the entrance to town. The well was there, and she desperately wanted a drink after their journey through the forest. Then, they would go to the market and buy all the things they needed for the next month.

Again, her sister tugged on her sleeve.

“What?” Freya said. “Esther, we don’t have time, if we want to return by nightfall. You know walking past the goblins is dangerous in the dark—”

“Freya!” Esther’s shout echoed. Some townsfolk at the gate paused in their stroll, staring at the two sisters like they had gone mad.

Or maybe more mad. Very few of the townspeople liked Freya or her sister. The two girls who lived in a hut outside the village, all by their lonesome now that their dear parents had departed this realm.

She’d heard their whispers of witchcraft. Freya knew how tentative their place was in this village.

Lowering her voice, she stepped closer to Esther and hissed, “Keep your voice down.”

“I’m tired of living our life as though we’re walking on glass. Mother wore a necklace just like the goblins were selling. Did you hear me?”

“Yes, I heard you.”

“And you don’t think that’s the least bit suspicious?” Esther’s eyes were wide with hope. “Maybe she sold it, Freya. Maybe she’s still out there and we just haven’t been looking in the right places.”

Freya’s heart cracked in two. Esther had never given up hope their parents would return, emerging