Page 20 of Magical Moonbeam
Twobble let out a groan and thunked his head lightly against the door. “Unbelievable. I told him not to mess with the garden! That’s justrude!”
“You want to tell me whoheis before I open the door?” I asked, gripping the handle just in case.
Twobble huffed. “It was my cousin.Skonk.”
I blinked. “Skonk?”
“Yes,Skonk!He’s my identical cousin. Shows up when things get weird. Which, apparently, is now.”
I slowly opened the door.
Twobble stood on the stoop, covered in leaves and what might have been old honey. His vest was inside-out, and his wild and sparse hair curled in angles no magic could tame. But his eyes were familiar. Concerned.Him.
“An identical cousin?” I asked, arms crossed.
He nodded solemnly. “Yep. A real pain in the butt. Been impersonating me since we were kids.”
“That's... not a thing,” I said. “You can't justhavean identical cousin.”
Twobble gave me a look like I’d suggested gravity was optional. “Maeve. All goblins do.”
I blinked. “What?”
He sighed and hopped up onto the windowsill like it was a personal perch. “Look, goblin families are complicated. You’ve got your hobs, your sprats, your rootlings, and then there’s the identical cousins. It’s more of a magical echo situation than a biological one. Anyway, he tends to appear every ten years or so.”
“That clears upnothing.”
He waved a hand. “Skonk is harmless.”
“You’re joking.”
“Well…mostlyharmless,” he amended, scratching his ear. “I mean, sure, he’s been known to summon a demon or two at the most inopportune times, but that’s usually tied to an emotional response or a hiccup in his snack routine.”
I held up a hand, laughing despite myself. “Okay, wait. I’m not sure I needallthe details right now.”
He pointed his finger like I’d saved him the trouble. “Exactly. That’s the spirit. No one ever really wants to know the whole story with Skonk. Evenhedoesn’t.”
I leaned against the doorframe, the last of the adrenaline leaving my body like smoke. “So you’re saying your cousin justpretendedto be you, trespassed in my garden, tried to realign some magical ley lines, and chucked rocks at my face… all just for fun?”
“Eh.” Twobble squinted up at the clouds. “Could’ve been worse. It could’ve been like when he tried to impersonate Aunt Blecka and accidentally turned an entire village into frogs. Which wasn’ttechnicallyhis fault, but still.”
I stared at him.
He blinked back at me innocently. “I’m not sticking up for him. I don’t care for the chap at all.”
“You know, it’s alarming how these things seem normal whenyousay them.”
“I’m very grounding,” he said proudly.
I shook my head and turned back into the kitchen. “You want some tea?”
“Yes. Something calming. Maybe with lavender. I’ve had aday.”
“You’ve had a day?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“I had to chase Skonk through ashadow ridge,Maeve. Do you know how hard that is for someone with short legs and a sensitive moral compass?”
I handed him a mug.
