Chapter Ten

Once again, Jared and Alina found themselves poking their heads out from behind the tree. In the cage, Simon had started to cry as he watched the goblins fearfully.

"Simon!" Jared said, getting his twin's attention.

"Jared!" Simon said, surprised. "Oh, my God…oh, my God…" He looked right at Alina, who had forgotten to make herself invisible. "Oh, my God."

"Shh!" Alina said. "Please don't make any noise."

"Jared, what's happening?" Simon asked. "Get me out of here." He looked at Alina again. "Who's that? Is she here to hurt me?"

"No, no," Alina said, trying to calm Simon down. "I'm here to help, okay? It's gonna be okay. It's gonna be okay."

"Just hang on," Jared said, getting out his pocketknife. "I'm gonna cut you out."

He was about to start sawing at the ropes when the cage started to lower, moving away from Jared and Alina.

"Jared!" Simon cried.

Jared and Alina were about to go after him when Hogsqueal pulled them back. "Get back!" he told them.

"Jared!" Simon called again.

The goblins had become quiet except for a chant that grew stronger with every beat. "Mulgarath. Mulgarath. Mulgarath," they repeated in time.

Jared looked at Hogsqueal. "What are they doing?"

"Summoning Mulgarath," Hogsqueal answered. "Get ready!"

The goblins continued their strange chant. A pile of leaves nearby began to dance in circles as something far away roared. And out of the pile of leaves came…a hunched-back old man with a cane.

Obviously, Jared and Alina weren't very impressed.

"That's Mulgarath?" Jared asked, confused.

"So…let me get this straight," Alina said. "That's the ogre you're all so worried about? That old dude out there?" She screwed up her face in confusion. "That is the supposed hunter whose supposed to want to drain me of my magic?"

"Don't be fooled by what you think you see," Hogsqueal warned them. "That's just what he wants."

The old man approached Simon, who was still in the cage. "I beg your forgiveness," he said, sounding as feeble as he looked. "I asked my friends here to invite you to a nice little meeting. Then they got a bit…uh…overzealous. That's a goblin for you. My apologies."

Simon didn't say anything in reply. He just looked at the old man, trembling with fear.

"What do you want with me?" he finally asked.

"It's not what I want with you," the old man explained. "It's what I want from you. Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide. I know you found it."

Simon looked up at Jared, who had been peering out from behind the tree. He quickly went behind it and began to breathe heavily. He knew that things were starting to look bad.

"That's right," the old man continued. "You can simply walk back the way you came. Just give me the book."

"I don't have it," Simon said. "I don't. Look." He patted his pockets to prove his point.

Apparently, it didn't convince the old man. "Search him!" he commanded his goblins.

"What?!" Hogsqueal exclaimed. "If Mulgarath learns the secrets in that book, he could kill us all!" He thought for a moment. "He's weak in his human form. It's now or never. Come! Death to the Ogre!!"

Unfortunately, a bird flew by at that moment.

"BIRD!!" the hobgoblin exclaimed, chasing after it. "Delicious! Come back here!"

He turned to Jared and Alina. "I'll be back!" he assured them. "Kill him, if you get the chance! Remember the plan!"

"Ugh!" Alina said. "Leave it to a hobgoblin to come to our rescue!"

The two turned back to the action going on under the tree. Simon had been let out of his cage. Two of the goblins had begun to search Simon.

"This is all we found," one said, handing the old man a few pennies, a gum wrapper and a picture of Simon, Jared and their father.

The old man held up the picture. "Do they have the book?" he inquired Simon. Jared and Alina held their breath.

"No," Simon said. "But I know where it is. "I'll go get it for you. I swear."

"I'm placing my trust in you," the old man said, putting a hand on Simon's shoulder. "If you give me the book, your life will go on as if nothing ever happened. However, if you fail, I'm afraid I'll have to find somebody else to get my book for me."

The goblins growled. Simon began to back away.

"Go on," the old man urged. "Run along."

Simon looked up at the tree. Jared mouthed for Simon to go while Alina nodded vigorously. Simon nodded and ran.

Jared and Alina breathed a sigh of relief, but it was short-lived. The old man began to change. He grew horns and his skin turned a dark yellow color. "Mulgarath! Mulgarath!" the goblins chanted.

Jared and Alina both leaned against the tree, their eyes closed and their breathing becoming irregular. They had no idea that they were shoulder to shoulder and could feel each other's heart beats race faster and faster.

"You failed me, Red Cap!" Mulgarath bellowed in a low voice.

"There are two human boys with the same face!" Red Cap, the goblin leader, explained. "The Jared…and the Not-Jared." He finally understood. "We took the wrong one."

"Then find the Jared," Mulgarath commanded, "get the book, and kill them! Kill them all!"