“Gift from Bram, you said?” the man repeated and I could feel his gaze as it followed my body from chest to toe. And it wasn’t from nerves-I’d planned that one. “I’m here as a gift for Quillan, from Bram,” I said, my voice two octaves higher than it normally was. Thinking maybe I should knock again, I held my hand up at the same moment as the door opened a fraction of an inch and I could just make out the crooked nose and yellow teeth of the man I presumed to be the bouncer. I found it hidden behind an overgrown bush and pushed the branches aside, knocking twice. The click of my heels against the pavement was the only sound in the dark night and I forced myself to the rear of the shack, searching for the door. It was a one story hovel of a place that looked as if one good breath of wind would knock it to Kingdom Come.

If I’d thought the parking lot looked like it had seen better days, the building was in even worse repair. I took a deep, steadying breath and told myself I’d be fine, that I’d get through this and in thirty minutes, Bram and I would be en route to my apartment, easy peasy.

Nerves short-circuited through me, making my heart pound so fast I was afraid it might stop. He nodded and I could feel his eyes on me as I closed the car door and approached the back end of the building. I reached for the door handle, suddenly remembering my house keys in my lap. “My three hundred years have increased my stamina and strength, Sweet.

A Tale of Two Goblins by H.P. Mallory