Pixel watched their ferocious guest scarf food like it was going out of style. "How did you know food would work?" he asked Score, who shrugged.

"When I was out on the street, I planned my life around finding nourishment. Hunger is pretty common." His eyes glazed over as he thought for a moment on his former, hellish existence.

"Why are you feeding me?" The child asked suspiciously. It had just consumed an entire banquet that Score had whipped up out of nowhere.

"Weren't you hungry?" Score retorted.

A nod.

"Well, then, we didn't want you to be hungry." Score said this easily, as though human goodwill was the most natural thing in the world. Wide blue eyes stared at him.

"We'd like to make it so that you aren't ever hungry." Pixel opened an innocent looking cupboard and rummaged through it, looking for a sweet to give the child.

"What do you mean?" A little hand snaked onto the table and stuffed a last cracker into its pocket.

"Score and I, we have everything we could every want. More food than we could eat. We know that you're hungry and we'd like to share it with you." Pixel found a peppermint and tossed it to the child, who deftly caught it and popped it in its mouth.

"You're crazy. You ent going to do asperiments on me or nuffin, are you?" Mangy hair curtained the face of their supplicant. Score blinked.

"Experiments? Of course not. We just want to give you someplace to stay, something to eat."

"I dunno... how come me?"

"Why not you?" Score countered. He knew that, if presented with this offer when he was a street kid, he too would have been wary of abnormally nice people. The youngster would come around eventually.

"You gots a bed for me too?" There was a hint of hope in the voice this time.

"Absolutely. Would you like to see it?" Pixel waved a hand in the direction of the stairs. The child bounded off the chair and followed Pixel, at a distance. Score watched the way the little scamp walked. It was the mistrustful half-run of the alley and the gutter. He saw so much of himself, and grinned halfheartedly.

The castle had a plethora of rooms that the three had never bothered to use. One such of these was now opened. A dusty bed was against one wall, and a thick rug covered most of the stone floor. There was a wardrobe that was filled with moths and who knew what against the other wall. A door led to the adjacent bathroom. Pixel pointed this out.

"You can wash up in there. The water is always warm, and the towels never get sopping. If you'd like, Score and I can leave you now, so you can get used to things." He paused. "That is, of course, if you want to stay."

A moment of consideration. A small nod. "Not forever, just for the night," came the concession. Pixel smiled.

"Whatever you like. Now, before we leave, you do have to do one thing for us." The child froze and glanced up in fear. "Just tell us your name, so we have something to call you, please." There was visible relaxation.

"My runner, he calls me Crow. You can call me Crow too."

"Whatever you like." Pixel smiled. "Thank you for coming to visit us Crow, I hope you enjoy it here. If you'd like to see either of us, we'll be downstairs. We'll leave now." He and Score backed out of the door and shut it quietly.

"Crow?" Pixel asked Score when they were alone. Score shrugged again.

"Street names are like that. He kind of looked like a ragged bird. I wonder what a runner is though." Score jumped down the stairs two at a time.

"Are you sure it's a he?" Pixel asked carefully. "I didn't see anything that reminded me of either gender."

Score laughed. "Didn't you see what a tough little kid Crow is? Definitely just like me. What a stud."

Pixel decided to keep his mouth shut. Score would figure it out for himself sooner or later. They reached the common room and Pixel took a mirror down off the wall. "We ought to keep an eye on Crow, you know." He said to Score as he muttered a scrying spell. The mirror clouded and then cleared to reveal their tiny guest rummaging through the wardrobe, then heading to the bathroom. Pixel broke the spell. "No need to be peeping Toms" he said, half to himself, changing his mind, before wandering into the kitchen to fix a snack. Score sat down on the sofa. It was a nice one that he'd made out of one of Garonath's hard chairs. He thought about Helaine almost automatically. She had the uncanny knack of creeping in whenever his brain was not occupied. This time, however, he did not push her out of his mind. There she was, alternately beautiful and bossy, clever and stubborn. So I admire her, Score thought to himself. What's wrong with that? She's a good friend, and it's okay to miss her a little. Score stretched out
on the couch and closed his eyes. She was probably missing him and Pixel horribly right at this very minute.





Helaine took another long pull of the spicy drink the goblins poured out and belched jubilantly before resuming singing off-color songs with her friends. Goblins threw amazing parties. As they launched into another chorus, Helaine took the opportunity to sample some of the tantalizing roast meat. A slightly tipsy goblin, who had obviously been quaffing some of the heavier alcoholic brew, got up to sing the next verse.


"When I was a half baked laddie

I found me a lovely lass

Her eyes are just like sapphires

But you should see her ass!"


The whole crowd repeated his last line with a laugh and began again with the chorus as an old female goblin, presumably the singers wife, smacked him hard across the rump with a smile. Helaine looked away uncomfortably.

She found herself face to face with another smiling female goblin. "Are you really Helaine like they say?" She asked. Helaine sighed. She'd been getting questions like this all night.

"Yes, I am. And yes, I killed the Wyrm, and yes, I did know Gunther. Anything else you'd like to ask?" Helaine took another swig of her drink.

"Where are Score and Pixel?" the gobliness asked.

"What?" Helaine nearly spit out the contents of her mouth. No one had yet asked about them, let alone known their names.

"That is what they are called, aye?"

"Yes." Helaine sat her mug down firmly and frowned.

"Are they dead? I am sorry. My husbands are dead as well." Helaine looked at her companion, startled.

"What? No no no... Score and Pixel are not my husbands. And they are very much so alive. Just not here."

"They did not want to see their goblin friends?"

"No, it's not that. I just wanted to come alone." Helaine bit her lip. The gobliness raised a crooked eyebrow.

"Both my husbands were killed in a mining accident. It is an ache, after you lose the ones you love."

"I'm sorry." Helaine said, then asked, "Goblins are not monogamous?"

" 'To say that you can love one person all your life is just like saying that one candle will continue to burn as long as you live.' That's Tolstoy." The gobliness grinned toothily.

"Tolstoy?" Helaine wondered blankly.

"He is a great author from one of the rim worlds. I read two books by him. You know about wormholes?" Helaine shook her head. "They are like little Portals between worlds, they come randomly and deposit things or take things. When you cannot find something, we say the wormhole took it. We get many things from a rim world in one of our caves. Many socks. But sometimes books or papers or keys."

"Oh" said Helaine. "And you found Tolstoy in the cave?"

"Aye, he is quite the brilliant one." The gobliness paused, and then extended a hand. "I am Veda," she introduced herself, "And if you are seeing Borla, know that she is my child."

Helaine smiled. "I'll be sure to remember that." Smiling, Veda excused herself, leaving Helaine alone with her drink and a few thoughts about Tolstoy.

...like saying that one candle will continue to burn as long as you live.




*****
This chapter just sort of wrote itself, so don't sue me if you've got a problem. As to the question posed by a certain reviewer, I think we can all agree that Score and Pixel, especially Score, have a lousy streak of getting into trouble...just wait until Helaine comes home.
Crow is VERY vaguely based on a souless little girl I briefly met at a soup kitchen in the basement of the 1st Methodist Church in San Francisco's Theater District when I was last there, at least I copied many of the mannerisms. So don't tell me homeless kids don't just waltz into strangers' homes. You'd be surprised what they do.
The next chapter may take a while, my apologies, but I've a headache's worth of tests and projects coming up and I don't know how much brain power will be left for Diadem. We shall see.
To my reviewers: Thank you, you've kept me alive, I hope you continue to enjoy the story as much as I do.
Aroo!

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