“I’m not paying this price,” Mr. Callo bellowed at the wine merchant. “You’ve upped it twice in the last four months.”

“Demand is high, Luca. I don’t care if we used to work together. The price is the price. Pay it or move on and let the real customers step up.”

“This is theft. Absolute theft! How can you sleep at night knowing you are bleeding good people dry? You wouldn’t have even had a job all those years ago if I hadn’t vouched for you. Give me the old price. And I don’t mean the one from last week, I mean the real one. The price you were charging when you first set up. We both know that’s more than enough for this kind of wine. It’s not like you have the finest vineyard in the area. Give it to me.”

The man behind the table folded his arms over his chest and glowered at the old man before him. “The price is the price. No exceptions.”

Mr. Callo roared, “Fine, keep your foul swill! I hope you choke on it.”

He banged the bottle he was holding back on the table, not caring that it sent the others to wobbling. The merchant shouted and lunged forward trying to still the bottles before they fell and let loose a wave of wine over the stone street.

The old man sneered as he marched away with Jaakx following along behind him. Jaakx could hear the man's angry muttering but didn’t pay it any mind as he weaved, ducked, and squeezed past the gathered people. His gymnastics were made a little easier because most people seemed eager to avoid the grouchy old codger.

Jaakx’s dagger was a comfortable weight in his hand as he crept along the stone ground. His bare claws clicked on the hard surface, soaking up the heat of the sun that seemed to linger within it. The breeze rushing past him smelt tangy and fresh. It was such a lovely day. The best kind of day for digging out another soul gem from someone's still-warm body. Days like this just didn’t exist in the swamp. It was always hot and muggy; the air as still as the stagnant water. This place in the human world was much better.

“Did you hear about Mrs. Banchi?”

Jaakx faltered in his tracking of Mr. Callo as his ears whipped around. Two women were gathered at a small white table with an umbrella overhead. Both were dressed similarly to Nonna and had shopping baskets at their feet. Between them were matching mugs of a dark and fragrant liquid.

“I did, yes. I cannot believe Fabio would do such a thing. He was such a kind boy.”

“It is true what they say; you don’t really know a person until there is conflict. And Mrs. Banchi, well, there was no greater conflict than that.”

“But truly, Vivian’s boy? We watched him grow and take over that butchery. You’ve seen Chiara, she’s truly devastated. To think her husband was capable of such a thing. Their boys were out the back too, you know?”

“No! Surely not. They didn’t see their father murder the woman did they?”

“Mhmm. That’s what I heard. Although the boys say it wasn’t Fabio. What else would they say at seven years old though? The man they saw carving up the old woman wasn’t the father they knew.”

“Oh, those poor little things…”

Jaakx stopped listening. He’d been thrilled to know his fine work was still being talked about. He was less thrilled to know the butcher was getting all the glory for it. Jaakx was the one with the soul gem. He was the one who would get all the rewards. It didn’t matter much what he told himself. Without the humans recognizing the murder as goblin work, he just felt hollow. He felt like all his fine work had been for nothing.

Shaking away the nasty thought, Jaakx twirled his dagger and looked around for Mr. Callo again. The man had disappeared.

“Well, shit,” he muttered to himself before taking off down the street.

He dodged from one side of the street to the other and gazed down the occasional alley that popped up between the buildings. Nowhere did he find the obnoxious Mr. Callo. It was only when he found himself beside a familiar fountain that he heard the man's deep voice.

“Come on, sweetheart. You know you want to. Your husband doesn’t have to know a thing.”

Jaakx clambered up on the rim of the fountain and scuttled along it until Mr. Callo and a young dark-haired girl came into view. The girl was looking at her toes with her cheeks a brilliant shade of red and she had a smile on her lips.

“I can’t, Luca. It wouldn’t be right.”

Mr. Callo leaned in closer, tucking his finger under the girl's chin, and lifted her head until she was looking into his eyes. “You only live once, sweetheart. You can’t deny the sparks between us. I could show you a good time. One you’d never forget.”

The woman lifted her hands to grip Mr. Callo’s wrists. “Matteo would kill me. Will you protect me from his wrath? Will you give me a home when my family turns their back on me? Sparks mean nothing when my whole life will be in shambles.”

“I can’t do that, sweetheart. You needn’t worry about such things. My whole being cries out to be with you. I am an old man. Set in my ways. We’ll keep it secret. No one will ever know. Once you’ve tasted what I have to offer, you’ll never look back.”

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

The woman’s struggle to find an answer suited Jaakx just fine. He was getting bored of their conversation. He had a soul gem to collect and if the foolish woman was not going to run back to her husband then she was in for a wonderful show.

Ignoring the dance of the titillated people in front of him he waltzed along the rim of the fountain, twirling his dagger. Using the added height to his advance he leaped and took a hold of Mr.Callo’s collar.

“What the…” the man managed as he stumbled back.

The rest of his words were little more than a gurgle as Jaakx tore the man’s throat with his blade. Blood spurted from the cut like the spouting fountain beside them, coating the girl from head to toe. She screamed and thrashed, slapping at the wetness coating her face before turning around and sprinting away. Jaakx could hear her desperate cries for help but paid them little mind. Mr. Callo had chosen a nice private area to try to seduce the married woman. It would be a while before people listened to her insane rambling and came after him.

Mr. Callo dropped onto his face in the dirt, his dull eyes staring off into the distance. Rolling over the man wasn’t the easiest of tasks but once it was done Jaakx had free rein to dig his claws into the man's new throat hole. He dug around even after he could no longer hear the woman’s screams. A crease formed between his brows as he dug deeper, coating his arm right up to the elbow in the man's warm blood. Still, there was nothing. Muttering grumpily to himself he retrieved his dagger and sliced the man right down the middle, reaching up under the man's ribs. He found the heart but still no gem.

His ears flicked around as the sounds of a crowd tickled the fine hairs there. The woman must have found some people. With vigor, he dug through the man’s rope-like organs, throwing them every which way. Blood splattered over the ground and splashed into the fountain. Jaakx’s movements were becoming agitated the longer it took him. It should not be this difficult to find a simple stone of glowing human essence.

“It was right over here. Come on. Hurry! It’s a monster.”

“Frog flaps, where the hell is it,” Jaakx growled to himself.

He tossed another lot of organs on the ground beside him. His ears perked up and swiveled around at the hard sound of them hitting the ground. With his heart thundering in his chest he dug through the pile he’d just tossed until his claws hit something small and hard. He yanked the thing free and hopped to his feet, shouting his glee as he danced about in an awkward circle. The stone was clutched to his chest, the warmth of it a balm after all the trouble Mr. Callo had caused.

“There it is!”

Jaakx yelped at the cry and turned to face a crowd of horrified onlookers. He touched his face, only now realizing his Shadow Mask had dropped. He had wanted his deeds to be known as goblin work but not like this.

Women screamed and the men hollered. A chunk of brick whizzed by his head, missing braining him by a hair.

“Kill it!” A man roared.

Jaakx swore and took off as fast as his bloodied feet would let him. The entire crowd chased after him, slinging whatever they could pick up from the ground. Rocks, chunks of concrete, empty bottles. It all chased him as he bobbed and weaved back towards the cramped buildings and the safety of Nonna’s. He hissed each time he was struck. His blood blended with Mr. Callo’s.

Something bigger than a rock slammed into his back a few streets away from Nonna’s. He tumbled to the ground, rolling and bouncing until he struck a wall and came to a jarring standstill. Lights danced in front of his eyes like the buzzing bugs that floated over the stagnant pools of water in his homeland swamp.

He could hear the thudding of approaching feet but no matter how he struggled he couldn’t raise himself up. He curled into a tighter ball instead. The gem in his hands throbbed with the power hidden within as he clutched it to his chest.

“We got him!” someone called from not too far away.

Jaakx shuddered in his huddle. He’d been doing so well. He’d been riding a wave of success that stoked his ego until it was a roaring blaze. He’d thought he’d be done in a week and shoving his success in Onk’s face. So much for all of that.

The door behind him flung open and a hand shot out. It gripped his arm and yanked him inside.

“Help me,” a woman cried. “There’s a monster in my house!”

Jaakx had no time to understand what was happening before a loud creak filled his ears and he was dumped into a dark box barely big enough to fit him. The lid of it thudded shut as the woman continued to scream for help.

He froze inside the tight hiding place trying hard to still his rapid breathing. He let go of his hard grip on the soul gem for long enough to pull his dagger out. Outside the box was chaos. There were bellowing and thunderous footsteps going one way and then another. Some came near and he found himself shrinking in on himself.

Humans were crazy. He’d been worried when he leaped through the portal after all of Ma’s stories but then everything had been so easy. He’d begun to think of the hairless apes as little more than the swamp toads they harvested for stews. Just weak animals ready for the hot pot. He’d been wrong. They became vicious when angered like a hive of wasps. Grouping together to make their stings hurt more. Maybe collecting ten soul gems was just something he couldn’t do. He’d be killed here one day before Nonna agreed to reopen the portal. Vile witch that she was keeping him trapped here for a reason she wouldn’t say.

The lid of the box flew open. Jaakx hissed and lashed out with his dagger as he blinked through the sudden burst of light. A hand latched onto his wrist, keeping his blade from causing any damage.

“Easy, little one. They’ve all gone now. You’re safe.”

Jaakx stopped his flailing and focused in on the new face leering down at him. It was pretty. So pretty his eyes almost bulged right out of his head. Her skin was pale and just the right amount of pebbled by adorable little red bumps. Her nose was long and slender, turning down just a tiny bit at the end. Her eyes were such a pale shade of blue they almost looked white. Her hair was a tangled mass of frizzy curls in a shade like a raven’s feather. Even her teeth, which peeked out from between her pink lips made Jaakx’s heart flutter. He had no idea humans could be this gorgeous. She was a goddess trapped in the human world. She had to be.

The woman smiled and helped him from the box.

“You’re a goblin, yes?” she asked, her voice so gravelly that Jaakx shivered in delight. He tried to answer but his voice caught in his throat in the presence of such beauty. She watched him, her pale eyes sparkling before she let out a honking laugh. “What, cat got your tongue?”

All thoughts of returning to Nonna vanished as Jaakx melted into a puddle at the woman's feet.