The Master Read Online Free Page A

jealous lover. This made her vindictive, a trait that did not endear her to her people. Or to Qasim.
    But there was also no denying that she had a terrible, enthralling sort of beauty. It had fascinated him from the first. He wondered why he wasn’t moved by it anymore.
    â€œIt certainly ended Wren,” he said, surprised at how cold he sounded. Apparently his vocal chords were not connected to his heart, which still wailed.
    â€œWhat will you do now?” the Dark Queen asked her sometimes lover.
    â€œThat rather depends on King Gofimbel. He’s bound to be somewhat . . . upset.” Qasim wondered now if Mabigon had been the one to betray him to the king. It would be like her to get someone else to do her killing for her—and she would enjoy having the goblin lord in her debt.
    â€œI’ve spoken with Gofimbel already,” Mabigon answered quickly. “And he is prepared to let the matter pass without further punishment. Assuming that you are also going to be reasonable.”
    So, she
had
been the one to betray him. Was he going to be reasonable about this? Qasim wasn’t sure. Wren was dead and he had just decided that no reparation could be made to her. And there was no denying that the queen could still be useful. Nevertheless, a part of him wanted to break the Dark Queen’s lovely neck. Gofimbel’s might have been the hands that wreaked the murder, but she had certainly guided them. And Qasim could kill her. The creation magic forbade him turning on Gofimbel, but his lover was another matter—and she had foolishly come with just her gargoyle, the arrogant bitch.
    â€œYou will do the wise thing, won’t you?” she asked.
    He ignored her question. “And you?” he asked, distantly curious. “What is to be your pound of flesh for this indiscretion?”
    â€œFor this little half-goblin?” The queen’s nostrils flared. “She is nothing. A means to an end—a foolish end, which I hope you now realize is impossible. . . . You didn’t love her after all, did you?” The queen’s voice was a sudden whiplash.
    â€œLove her?” Qasim repeated. He tilted his head as he considered this. He said slowly and truthfully, “I don’t think that I can love anyone. I wasn’t made that way.”
    â€œWell, then,” Mabigon said with a cold smile, “I have nothing to be jealous of, do I? For I am far more beautiful than she.”
    â€œFar more,” Qasim agreed.
    â€œShe is nothing—especially now. Shall we let Prax eat her?” Mabigon asked, indicating her gargoyle, who had crept a few steps into the room, drawn by the smell of death. The creature’s gaze was avid as it stared at the corpse.
    Unable to explain his reaction even to himself, Qasim was nonetheless offended and even enraged at the idea. “No,” he said, managing to keep his voice calm, in spite of the heat that rolled through him. “I’m going to burn the building. The humans will find her body in bed and think it was an accident.”
    The Dark Queen nodded reluctantly. Qasim knew she wanted to watch Prax eat Wren—and make him watch, too—but she was also practical. Anything that looked like a gargoyle attack would arouse the humans and bring on a hunt for the beast.
    â€œThen let’s do it and be away. This place stinks of flowers—and you know how I hate being out in the sun.”
    And death. It smells of death, Qasim thought. But that didn’t bother the queen. And had it been anyone other than Wren, it wouldn’t have bothered him either. It was what they traded in, after all.
    The hobgoblin reached for the candle at the side of the bed. He lit it carefully and then lifted the flame to the bed curtains. The velvet shied away, but in the end it caught fire, began blazing grandly.
    Good-bye, Wren
, he thought as the flames closed in on her.
It may not be our children who bring down the goblins, but