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Getting to Dulelm Hollows by more conventional means took hours, which meant that it was once again getting dark by the time we were approaching the hamlet by road. I napped in the back of one of the motley assortment of motor vehicles maintained by that branch of the Goblin law enforcement agencies which specialises in surface operations. My sleep was interrupted repeatedly by dark uneasy dreams that seemed to vanish as soon as I awoke. The cavalcade of motorised transport converged in a field several miles outside the settlement and a motley crew of police disgorged onto the grass. The cops were well-trained and well-disciplined, and most seemed unfazed by being under the open sky, although there were a few nervous glances upwards. The Captain had obviously been studying maps and considering tactics on the trip over, and I had contributed a little in my few waking moments. She seemed in no doubt how to proceed. In a sequence of whispered instructions, she directed the bulk of the force to encircle the entire hamlet in groups of two or three. The cops were directed to wait exactly thirty minutes and then come in, handguns drawn, unless it was obvious that a gun battle had already broken out. The advance guard divided into two groups, with Luncardy and her men in one party, and Trinity and me in the other. Luncardy chose the entry-points. If I knew her at all - and I did all too well by now - she would have selected the approach which she judged would have the best chance of undetected penetration. She waited until the agreed moment when the backup forces should be in place, then nodded decisively. "Right then," she said firmly, "Let's go." We set off, moving as quietly as only Goblins can. The route that Trinity and I had been allocated was the longer one, skirting several areas of woodland and running along hedges, although there was much more cover on the approach. We were barely out of earshot of the other party when a soft whistle caused us to spin around, pointing our guns wildly at innocent patches of darkness. "That's no way to treat a relative," came a familiar voice. I breathed a sigh of relief. Nether strolled out of the undergrowth clutching a couple of big guns and looking worryingly like he was both willing and able to use them. "I wondered what happened to you," I exclaimed as he approached. "Thought you might need some assistance," he replied smugly. There was a soft snort from Trinity. "Besides," Nether went on, "I'm on the trail of those who kidnapped Rosie. Again. And the trail led me here." "I'm not surprised," I said, "So are you coming with us, or what?" "Yeah, let's get on with it," he muttered. The Gask party set off again in stealthy single file. We got closer, edging our way through back yards and around porches, checking house by house for any signs of occupancy - there were none - and carefully making our way towards the centre of Dulelm Hollows. I was beginning to suspect that Garrick had set up his base of operations in the largest house in the hamlet, the grand affair set in its own grounds we had noticed in our previous visit. Nether held up his hand and we all stopped, huddled together in the shelter of mature trees and the high stone wall that surrounded the grand old house. "Can you feel it?" he hissed. I could. As softly as a gauze curtain falling from a window, the magic around us suddenly became much less strong. Not absent entirely, but vastly weakened. It seemed that the Old Ones had somehow managed to exert some of their influence at last.
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Part 93