The Goblin Bride (Beneath Sands Book 1)

beauty of the clothing they wore.
 One moved slightly to whisper to another and she was captivated as the fabric seemed to float around the creature. It was so fine, so light, something that Jane had never hoped to see before in her entire life. Those in the City might live with such vivid colors, but one such as her? She was not worthy of the gift.
 Even the goblins fell silent for a moment, and Jane suddenly discovered that she was holding her breath. It was only natural to wonder what it was that everyone seemed to still for. Her mind raced with the potential of some kind of beast wandering out of the darkness. What would cause these ghastly creatures to go as still as the grave?
 What came into the cave from the back was not what she expected. A stooped creature walked towards them supported by a stronger goblin who appeared to be holding much of her weight. She was clothed in the most vivid array of colors that Jane had ever seen. And it most certainly was a female. Her face was different than the others, softer and more round. Though her spine was bent, she had prominent breasts that were outlined by the cloth covering her.
 Jane couldn’t help but compare her to a butterfly she had seen once before. The large drapes of fabric fluttered behind her as she walked towards them. Each movement seem to shift through her, as though she herself wasn’t entirely solid. The fabric created an illusion that the creature was made nearly entirely of air. Jane’s breath was taken away by the sight.
 There were a few of the other miners like her, startled into wide eyed awe. Others were disgusted by the sight before them, their faces clearly betraying their emotions. The man who had been with her on the cliff ledge spat towards the female.
 He was immediately flattened into the ground by the goblin holding him, his face mashed against the rock. Jane had barely even blinked before the move was completed. The goblin barely seemed to notice. Its foot remained firmly holding the man in place. She thought for a moment he would struggle before she realized his head had been hit so hard that he had been knocked out.
 Gulping, she looked back towards the female that had finally crested the throne. Gently she was seated by the larger creature at her side, and she cast her gaze over the humans that were being held before her.
 It was then that Jane realized that none of the other goblins were female. There was something decidedly different about this creature than the others, perhaps a slightly darker skin tone or a thinner body structure. It did not matter that the others on the stones were clothed in fabric of equal beauty, they were not female.
 She had the distinct feeling that she was being put up for the slaughter. All of the creatures watched them, though she couldn’t quite tell which one of them they were looking at. She couldn’t tell when their eyes were moving.
Silence made the very air seem to press down upon her. Never in her life had she been scrutinized so fiercely. Somehow she was certain that the longer they looked at her, the more she was found lacking.
 A few of the miners flinched at the warble that seemed to vibrate from the female’s throat. She had a pleasant enough voice, not as high pitched as the one Simon had killed, nor as deep as the other creature that had killed him. The trilling sounds were unnerving though, the vibration of them breaking as she made the noises over and over again.
 Jane’s eyes opened wide as she realized what was happening. The creature was talking. This wasn’t some kind of animalistic bleat. Those were words. There was a distinct cadence to them that rose and fell as though there was a conversation happening. These creatures not only possessed the most precious things to her kind, did not only have the most vivid fabrics she had ever seen, but they also spoke a language that seemed so complex she could hardly understand it.
It felt as though her very world was turning upside down.
The trills stopped after a time and Jane assumed that this meant that the female was done speaking. The others seemed to look to her to understand what they needed to do next. Like some kind of leader, she gestured with her hand towards the humans.
The first goblin stepped forward, shoving the human he was guarding so hard that the man fell to his knees before the strange gathering of creatures in bright colors. Even from where she stood, Jane could see that he was shaking.
The warbles started again, the deep thrumming within their throats starting to wear on her ears. She did not like it that they were speaking and she had no manner of knowing what they were saying. Jane didn’t even know whether they spoke the same way. Humans tended to vocalize upwards at the end of a question or soften when they speaking quietly and kindly. These creatures were nothing like her species. Perhaps they didn’t speak in the same way either.
On the dais before her, one of the goblin males nodded towards the man. If she could read their faces at all she might have suggested that he looked bored. But she couldn’t tell. She didn’t understand what they were doing. Why were they bringing miners down into these depths? What was the point of keeping them alive?
Obviously, for Jane and Simon, this would have been punishment. They had killed. That she could understand. But this wasn’t punishment for the others. They had done nothing wrong.
Each man was shoved before the gathering of goblins. Forced onto their knees, some would find the courage to look at the goblins, others would keep their eyes on the ground. The warbles and trills would start again and eventually one of the goblins would gesture with their