Worlds Apart by Marlene Dotterer Read Free Book Online

he'd pulled
from his neck, connecting with the stomach of the remaining goblin.
The body of the first one was not where it had fallen, Clive
noticed. Damn, he must have already run off. Clive got a
handful of the last goblin's neck in his fist, and jerked. He
wanted this one.
    The obnoxious fellow had other
ideas. He jumped into a back flip, his boot connecting with Clive's
face on his way over. Clive fell back, blinded, letting the goblin
escape. He followed, still half-blinded, jumping over a pile of
boxes scattered in his path, and shoving away from a wall as he
swayed off-balance against it.
    The goblin tripped, and with a
great lunge, Clive threw himself across the alley. He snatched onto
a wad of hair, pulling the goblin onto his back, and landed right
on top of the creature's face. He scrambled up before any teeth got
into him, flipped his captive over, and forced the goblin's hands
behind his back, muttering the charm that fastened handcuffs around
them.
    The goblin's ear-splitting screech
was one continuous wail, and people were beginning to gather at the
end of the alley in clusters that lingered a moment before moving
out of sight. Clive ignored them.
    He delivered a swift blow to the
goblin's head.
    “Shut up!” The screech cut off,
and in the sudden silence, Clive leaned forward to shout in his
ear. “You have a lot to tell me, Mister. Start with who you
are.”
    The answer was a growl. He moved
off the goblin and lifted him to his feet. “Fine. We'll continue
this at the sheriff's.”
    If the goblin, whose head just
brushed Clive's waist, had plans to resist, he never had a chance.
Clive's quick steps forced him to run just to keep from being
dragged. Clive kept an arm tucked through the goblin's as they
emerged onto the street. People stayed back, but their stares were
wary. Their mutters reached him, causing him some concern they
would interfere. Someone had already called for the sheriff, and
Clive stopped as she strode down the sidewalk toward him with swift
and deliberate steps.
    Her green slicker was open,
revealing long legs clad in blue jeans, and a white button-down
shirt that displayed her badge on her left breast. Her hair was a
damp blonde braid, and blue eyes snapped as she looked up the
single inch she needed to glare into his eyes. “Who the hell are
you, and what is going on here?” she demanded.
    He removed the strap from his
wrist and flipped it in front of her face. “Clive Winslow. Portal
Enforcement. This goblin is wanted for questioning.”
    She ignored the squirming goblin
as she took Clive’s strap and examined the ID it displayed. When
she tossed it back, her eyes were not any friendlier. “Bring him
in. You can use my office.” One hand shooed Clive on down the
street as she stepped around him to deal with the crowd. “It's
under control, folks. Be on your way.”
    With a jerk on the goblin's arm,
Clive continued down the street. His captive was panting by the
time Clive threw him into a chair in front of the constable's desk,
snapping the handcuffs to a long chain pegged to the floor. He
pulled up another chair and straddled it, hands dangling over the
edge. Blood oozed from the puncture wound in his neck, itching
where it met his collar. He ignored it.
    His voice was soft.
“Name?”
    The goblin tightened his thick
green lips and shifted his eyes away to study the desk. Clive
lifted a hand, fingers spread in a claw-like shape. He growled
once, a low rumble in his chest.
    The goblin's eyes snapped back to
Clive's face. He sneered, but licked his lips before he spoke. “I
don't have to tell you anything. Go ahead and put me
away.”
    “Think you'll be safe in jail?”
Clive asked. “Because I don't. I think your boss will get to you
quite easily.”
    “Yeah. To get me out.”
    “That true? In how many
pieces?”
    The goblin snorted, but his
eyelids flitted in nervous jerks as he gazed around the room. The
sheriff arrived and flung her slicker onto the coat rack by