Free Paint it Black: 4 (The Black Knight Chronicles) by John G Hartness

that, and I gave her a little shrug. If she was going to play mind games, I figured I needed to keep my artillery handy. I had no illusions about actually being able to hurt her, but the experiment of a moment ago proved distraction was good enough to screw up her mojo. I’d take it. The others took their places around the table, sharing worried glances. When everyone was settled, I turned back to the troll, who had never moved.
    “Ogg, tell us about the Goblin Market.”
    He shook his enormous head, and I repeated the request. He shook his head even more forcefully, and a few long strands of troll-slobber escaped from his bottom lip. I picked up the Glock and pointed it at his kneecap. “Ogg, tell us about Goblin Market or I’m going to start shooting you. These bullets are cold iron bullets, so they’ve got a better chance of killing you than anything else I can think of. But even if they don’t, they’re still bullets, so they’re going to hurt like hell. And I have a lot of bullets. So either start talking, or I’m going to have to recarpet Lilith’s whole office.”
    Ogg looked at me with a furrowed brow, then grinned and said “Oh! Ogg get it! You have to do new carpet because Ogg bleed all over the old carpet.” His smile disappeared, and a coldness flashed across his face that sent a shiver down my spine. “Ogg not like that idea.”
    “Then tell me about Goblin Market.”
    “Uh-uh. First rule of Goblin Market is no talk about Goblin Market.”
    Another facepalm moment and I had only met this guy tonight. Usually it takes weeks for someone to become this irritating. Ogg was verging on world-record status here. “Ogg, that’s Fight Club . And it’s a movie. It’s not a real thing.”
    “Actually, it was a book first, by Chuck Palahniuk,” Greg chimed in.
    “I know that!” I said, motioning for him to be quiet.
    “No, you didn’t. I know better. And really, Jimmy, it’s not like you’re a big reader.”
    “I read!” I protested. My partner is admittedly the smart one, but I’m not a total Neanderthal.
    “What was the last thing you read?”
    “ Transmetropolitan. ”
    “What was the last thing you read that wasn’t a comic book?”
    “Shut up.” I turned back to Ogg. “Now, about Goblin Market.”
    “What about it?” the troll replied. I still wanted to shoot him, just a little, but I thought Sabrina might object. Or worse, that Lilith might.
    “What is it?” I asked with a deep sigh. I braced myself for some kind of half-assed non-response, but Ogg surprised me.
    “It’s where you buy stuff. From the goblins.”
    “What kind of stuff?” Sabrina asked.
    Lilith finally contributed to the conversation. “Anything you want. Jawbones for necklaces, extra years to live, baby’s breath, stardust. Whatever you want, you can get it at the Goblin Market. You need a love potion? Goblin Market. You want a cloak which will let you walk between raindrops? Goblin Market. You want a lampshade made of human skin? Goblin Market.”
    “But cheaper on eBay,” Ogg added.
    “So this is where you bought the jawbones?” Sabrina continued.
    “Yeah. I got a guy. He save them for Ogg.”
    “Saves them from what?” I had a feeling I didn’t want to know, but I asked anyway.
    “From man-brain stew. He buy heads from some other dude, makes yummy stew, but no meat on a jawbone, so he save them for Ogg.”
    Sabrina looked horrified; Greg looked grossed out. Lilith looked smug, but Lilith always looked smug, so I had no idea if it had anything to do with Ogg’s revelation or if it was just her face. Abby looked fascinated, and I felt a little queasy, but also just a little bit hungry. And that made me even more grossed out. I leaned in to Ogg. “You’re going to take us to see this brain stew guy. We need to talk to his supplier.”
    The troll shook his head. “Uh-uh. Ogg can’t go back to Goblin Market. And wouldn’t take humans if he could. Bad for humans there. Lots of things there