Page 36 of King of the Unsightly

When in fact, I had so much to fear.

But Gren’s words held some weight to them. I felt relatively calm, but I still couldn’t stop drumming my fingers. A bad habit of mine I couldn’t quit.

“An ale and a water,” Kaschel said as he tossed a few silver coins on the counter, and the goblin nodded its head and snatched them.

The goblin grabbed a mug from under the bar, pulled the tap handle, and slid the amber ale toward us. I licked my parched lips as my mouth instantly watered. He slid a wooden cup full of water in my direction, and I hesitated.

A musty smell flooded my senses, and I gagged and pinched my nose.

Could I have gotten something without a suspiciously spoiled smell to it?

I doubted it. Was this why people in the wilderness drink their own piss on the brink of dehydration? Because they were so dehydrated they didn’t care?

Did I say I’d rather drink my own piss?

I pinched my nose harder and chugged it as fast as I could. I inhaled and squirmed as the water oozed down my throat. Kaschel’s chest pressed against my back as he chuckled at my obvious discomfort.

I quivered as it hit my stomach. “Did you poison me?”

“How could I have poisoned you? It’s just water. You should be fine,” Kaschel said in a smug voice, and it sent vibrations against my back. “You should use that brain of yours, even if it is the size of a pea.”

I mumbled some unrefined words as I compelled the water to stay down.

I moved my squeezed elbow and accidentally smacked the creature next to us. I peeked over, and the man glowed yellow and had an impish aura to him. Then the bastard winked at me.

I shuddered and turned back to Gren.

Kaschel’s attention was focused on something in the distance. “Stay right here. I need to handle something.”

“Wait, what do you mean?” I asked, but he didn’t hear me over the music or crowd, or maybe he chose to ignore me, again. Highly possible.

I faced the bar as Kaschel shoved past people and disappeared from my view.

A sharp pang hit me at the nape of my neck, and I tried to rub the intense spasms away.

A blazing inferno stirred inside me as the color of the room turned to a pinkish hue.

If I ever experienced walking on air, this was pretty damn close to what I imagined it would feel like. A myriad of iridescent hues swirling around me shimmering like fireflies. My bodywas weightless as the light danced around my skin and warmth consumed me.

My pragmatic world turned to brushstrokes of pastels. The crowded bar suffocated me until I wobbled outside, slid down the wall, and tipped my head back.

I smiled with closed eyes as a numbing sensation overtook my arms and legs, but it didn’t feel like pins and needles. It felt warm and fuzzy like someone stood there tormenting me with a silky feather.

Light footballs echoed around me.

I dropped my head down, squinting. “Gren, when did you get so ... small?”

I tilted my chin up wondering if Gren could carry me. I laughed as the sound left my lips.Of course, he could.

I patted what I assumed to be Gren’s head. “You can carry me, but just don’t drop me.” I hummed along to the faint music and tossed my head back and closed my eyes again.

Euphoria swirled through me, but a faint burning sensation itched all over my skin. My feet dangled off the ground, and I whistled at Gren’s strength.

Gren carried me like I said he could. “See, I told you. You just had to believeeee.” I tipped myself farther back and I blinked.

But a million sets of tiny eyes appeared, not Gren.

An audible gasp escaped my lips.

---