Part 16 (2/2)

Then he flexed his left.

”What happened?” said the salesman.

”You didn't do it!” the frog cried. ”Hooray! Hoorah! He didn't do it!”

Jack said, ”For a minute there, I felt very con-fused.” He shook his head like he was waking up from a dream. Then he said, ”Where's Jill?”

The goblin, trying to hide his frustration, smiled an oily smile. ”Are you sure you don't want the sword? Everything you've ever wanted for will come true! Really! Really and truly!”

Jack's eyes became hazy again. But again he shook his head sharply. And then he said perhaps the wisest thing that he had ever said. He said: ”Maybe I've been wanting the wrong things.”

And he turned away from the goblin.

As he walked away, he said to himself, ”I want Jill back.”

So he went back to where he had begun and methodically traced Jill's path. He asked questions and eavesdropped and guessed his way past the stalls of the underground market, through the tall and crooked houses of the goblin city, and finally to the shadow of an enormous, dark castle. There, Jack saw a line of goblin men, winding out of the door. He asked them what they were waiting for. He joined the line, and waited, too.

And now Jill watched Jack step forward from the line, his jaw set, his face hard. He did look different, somehow. But not in his face, nor his shoulders, nor his hands. Perhaps it was just on the inside.

Just as Jill was thinking this, Jack announced, ”I want to marry the queen.”

Jill screamed from within her gag. She shook her head frantically to stop him. The frog hissed madly from Jack's pocket. ”Jack! She's your cousin! Is this legal? I don't think it is! And aren't you a little young to settle down? Finally, consider the fact that they will kill you! Jack! Jack! Are you listening to me?” But he wasn't.

Meanwhile, a thrill had run through the Goblins in the hall. ”It's a human!” ”There's a human!” ”Is that a human?”

Two guards had stepped forward. They slammed the b.u.t.ts of their spears into the stone floor. ”Will you risk your life to treasure and protect this lady?” the guards barked in unison.

Jack looked at Jill and smiled. ”Yes. I will.”

”No!” Jill wanted to cry out. ”Jack! It's a trap! It's not a fair test!” All she actually said was, ”Nnnnnnjjjjjjjtttttrrrrnnnnffrrrrrrttttttt!”

Meanwhile, the hall exploded with sound. Goblins screamed and shouted at Jack. ”She's ours!” ”Leave her alone!” ”No humans allowed!”

”Bring forth the casket!” the goblin guards yelled, and four other guards came forward with the great iron casket, suspended between two long poles. Again, they explained the task. ”In this casket,” announced the four guards in unison, ”are two slips of parchment. One says 'Death!' The other says 'The Lady!' If you choose 'Death!', you will be killed right here on the spot! If you choose 'The Lady!', you will become her husband for all the rest of your days, and you and she will spend countless hours together alone, engaging in whatever pursuits give her pleasure. Do you understand?”

Jack gave a curt nod.

Jill strained against the bonds on her wrists and ankles. No, Jack . . . No . . .

Jack was blindfolded. Two soldiers pointed their spears into Jack's back.

The casket was brought directly before him.

Its lid was drawn back with a slow creak.

Jill watched, no longer breathing, as Jack's hand moved toward the casket's iron darkness.

”Wait.”

It was Jack's voice.

”Wait,” he said again. ”Do you swear, on the honor of your kingdom and your queen, that this is a fair test?”

There was a pause. The great hall was deathly silent. Then one of the goblin guards, the one with the rich voice and the careworn face and the deep, old eyes, said, ”It is a fair test.”

”On the honor of your kingdom and your queen?” Jack pressed him.

There was another pause. Finally, Jack heard, ”On the honor of the kingdom and the queen!”

Jack nodded. He slipped his hand into the chest and withdrew a piece of paper.

Jill had not drawn a breath for a good minute now. Her head felt light. She could not feel her hands or her feet.

Jack put the piece of paper in his mouth and began chewing.

For an instant, Jill had no idea what was going on.

Then the hall erupted.

”What happened?”

”What'd he do?”

”Stop him!”

These cries and more exploded from the goblin men. They clambered upon one another and pointed and howled.

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