CHAPTER TWO

Winter

Reflexively, I jump back. Alec bats at the animal, but he misses. The critter lands on the ground and makes a gurgling noise, almost like it's trying to talk.

"What ..." My jaw drops. "What is that?"

It's not any animal I've ever seen. In fact, it's not an animal at all, is it? It looks more like it would fit in at Dyad Marketplace than the woods.

"It looks like a tiny goblin." Alec bends to study it but still keeps his distance.

The tiny creature is gray green, with a face far too wide for its body. Its eyes are black as coal, and its hands and feet are large and round like a baby's, with long, delicate fingers and toes. It doesn't stand more than a foot tall.

"It might be a creature native to this pocket dimension," Alec says, eyeing the goblin warily.

The creature starts to move towards us, and I take a step back. "Should we ... should we try to communicate with it?"

"I don't know," Alec says. "It could be dangerous."

But the goblin doesn't seem aggressive. It's st