Free The Necromancer's Nephew by Andrew Hunter

which a rhythmic chopping sound could be heard. Marla peered inside as they walked by, and then visibly recoiled. Garrett looked in to see an old ghoul in a leather apron smiling at him. The ghoul held a rusty cleaver poised in one massive paw. A pile of meat on the scarred wooden table before him still bore too much resemblance to something that might have been walking around, conducting business on the streets above not too long ago.
    They hurried along quickly, and presently began to hear the sound of an argument. No, not an argument, but a one-sided tirade .
    A rasping, panicked voice cried out, imploring others to action. "You must find it! You must find the thief!"
    The voice sounded almost human, but there was a buzzing undertone to each word. As Garrett drew closer to the, as yet unseen, speaker, the more alien seemed its tone .
    The three friends followed Norris through a large stone arch. Its iron gates lay rusting on the dusty cobbles of the ancient lane .
    Old buildings ringed what had once been a broad courtyard. Vast support columns grew up through their broken facades like stone trees , disappearing into the darkness high above. A low fire burn ed in the dry bowl of what had once been the town's fountain .
    Silhouetted against the flames sat a small, stooped figure with its face buried in its hands, weeping .
    Marla gasped, and the creature looked up. The goblin's oily gray skin stretched tightly over spindly limbs. It wore only a ragged shift that might have once been red. Its three-fingered hands and two-toed feet seemed overly large for its frame, as did its wide, flat head. Long, pointed ears framed its noseless face. The goblin's wide mouth hung open, revealing rows of needle sharp teeth, and its enormous golden eyes blinked in disbelief .
    The goblin king leapt toward them, and Garrett stepped unconsciously to place himself between Marla and the beast .
    Instead of attacking, the creature flung itself prostrate onto the ground before them. "Forgive me, my Queen!" it cried, "Forgive me!"
    Warren snorted. "Well Garrett," he said, "it looks like you're the Queen now."
    Garrett shot him an ugly look .
    Marla stepped past to kneel at the goblin's side .
    " Siur'tha naellenu ," she said, placing her fingers on the goblin's trembling shoulders.
    The goblin slowly lifted its head. Its wide amber-colored eyes blinked. A look of transcendent adoration spread over the creature's face .
    "My Queen..." it whispered .
    Marla smiled at him. "My name is Marla," she said, "P lease stand up."
    The goblin pushed himself up to a kneeling position, his eyes still locked on Marla. "M... Ma... my Queen," he said, "I beg your forgiveness."
    "Forgiveness for what?" Marla asked .
    "I lost it," he whimpered, "It was stolen from me."
    "Who stole what now?" Warren demanded .
    The goblin's eyes hardened as he glanced toward the ghoul. Then he looked back to Marla with a penitent face. "The flower, my Queen! An evil spirit has stolen it."
    "You lost your flower?" Warren scoffed, "Is that what this is about?"
    "Forgive me, my Queen! I have failed in my duty!"
    Marla turned to Warren. "Do you know what he's talking about?"
    "Yeah... sort of." Warren scratched at his head absently. "As long as my family has been in Marrowvyn, the King has always been here, and he's always been guarding some sort of sickly little weed."
    "It is not a weed, fool!" the goblin's words were muffled as he pressed his face to the ground at Marla's feet .
    "Yeah... anyway, he's always had this... flower. Won't go anywhere without it. Guess he finally forgot where he set it down or something."
    "I did not!" the goblin howled, lif ting his head to bare his teeth. "Anna Gree stole it from me!"
    Warren laughed. "How'd that old ghost steal anything from you? She doesn't have any hands... not even ghost hands."
    "I don't know how she did it!" the goblin hissed, "I didn't see her take it."
    "How do you know she has it then?" Garrett asked .
    "I can feel it there with