Chapter 9

“Wait, why hasn’t Matthew impregnated anyone?” I wondered after I awoke from my sleep.

For some reason, that anomaly of Matthew’s failure to breed struck me as very odd. I mused over it until Matthew himself revealed it to me by showing me two stone cold black eyes as he stood over me. THEY WERE NOT HUMAN. There was something very ... unnatural about Matthew, and then I grasped it. Matthew was somehow ... supernatural. I couldn’t figure out how that was possible, but he was supernatural. There was no rational explanation for it at all.

“Strictly speaking, I’m what’s called a goblin. You’re right. I’m not human. As such, I could breed a female goblin, but not a woman. Look, I ... tried to make it happen. I tried to defy the odds and impregnate a woman. I ... failed. Last night proved to me that I would always fail. I ... I slew the real Matthew Kumar some time back and impersonated him. Yes, after she met and fell for him, but before the engagement.

“You see ... my kind are an endangered species now. Our old habitats have been reduced significantly, our homes, that is. We’re resilient up to a point, but humans have also hunted us for centuries, not knowing who or what we are. What they think we are, the chupacabra and such, is not who or what we are. We’re not devils, either. We’re goblins.

“Also, the former United States Government, the previous Russian Government, and at least three other governments have captured a lot of my people and kept them in captivity for a lengthy time. Luckily for me, many of us have some shape-shifting capacity, but in my case, it’s much stronger, allowing me to survive much longer and keep my freedom longer than others.

“So, you see, I have a business proposition for you. I’ll resign my Myanmar junta post, let you declare Matthew Kumar dead, come out into the open as a real, live goblin, thus enabling you to wed Princess Theodora easier ... make her your fourth wife. But I want something in return ... I want my people liberated as much as you can make it happen, from all places where they’re held captive. And I want some land on which to settle us.

“I will take a goblin mate or two, give up on interbreeding with human mates, and simply settle my chosen land ... as the new Goblin king, lord, whatever. What say you? Is it a deal?” Matthew showed his true, goblin face, and offered to shake my hand.

“Done! You get Clearwater, Florida, Salvation’s Islands off French Guiana, and Devon Island. These territories will become the United Goblin Enclaves and you will serve as their Grand Hetman. It’s a small country, but by your own admission, you have a tiny population, so that should work for now at least. We can review the matter later, if necessary, as your numbers grow. Now that climate change is abating, your proximity to the sea should be less of a problem.

“There is, however, the question of how to keep you fed without overfishing. I’ll likely just turn over human corpses to you, if that’s okay, and you can eat man-flesh. You’ll also get revenue from tourists, but you mustn’t eat them. Agreed?” I asked as I started promulgating the Thirty-Eighth Decree, which required the release of all goblins kept in illegal and secret captivity by all governments.

“I thank you, kind sir. And please ... convey my apologies and condolences to Princess Theodora. I wronged Her Highness ... but I just don’t have the nerve to face her, under the circumstances. Goodbye, sir. I will take my leave of you and await my new subjects in Clearwater, Florida, where I shall reign from the old Sea Org headquarters of the former Church of Scientology. My name is Daroix, by the way. Pleased to meet you as my true self!” the goblin smiled as he vanished.

“So, he just gets by with it?” Theodora asked as she leaned over me, her face less accusatory than hurt.

“For the present, perhaps. There are mitigating circumstances for now, though what he hasn’t considered is that I’ve handed him lands entirely dependent upon my good graces. If he puts a foot wrong, I can land on him with both feet. Or maybe he has considered that and is just desperate. I understand why he did it, not that it’s justified, and he knows it, too, which is why he couldn’t face you. Don’t assume that I’m indifferent to your pain, my dear. Far from it. This is simply the best approach for now. For now. I promise you, though, if he crosses me, you’ll get to kill him yourself,” I assured Theodora, who smiled at that.

“I’ll ... accept this under one condition only,” the princess insisted, being unusually assertive.

“What’s that?” I wondered aloud.

“That you marry me, make me your fourth wife, just as he proposed. Yes, I was listening in the whole time. Truth be told, part of me wanted to confront him, but part of me didn’t. Goblin, huh? Fucking weird! Anyway, how about it? Will you be my prince, Mr. President?” Theodora asked me, drawing closer to plant her lips on mine.

“Hell, yeah! You’re definitely wife number four now!” I told the Greek princess, who then knelt and began sucking me as I rose to my feet.

“Oh, yes, I could suck this cock forever!” Theodora declared as she licked and sucked me from head to base.

“As for Tricia, I’m making her a member of the Myanmarese junta in place of the fake Matthew. This continues the tendency to fill it up with couples ruling together. Also, I’m putting Ahanu, Miles, and Jimmy in control of a reunified Sudan. Since they’re neither Arab nor sub-Saharan African, nor white, for that matter, they’re an excellent choice for a triumvirate. They are complete outsiders with no obligations, ties, connections, etc., which will make them far more likely to be impartial and fair to all Sudanese. This is Sudan’s future for now at least. Time will tell what becomes of it.

“No doubt, the triumvirs will be very popular with the ladies. Which is good. Just don’t forget Becca, okay? Don’t neglect her or anyone else in our inner circle. Officially, your governing body will be known as the Special Executive. I got that title from a book called ‘First Citizen’ by Thomas T. Thomas, incidentally. It made sense to me as a name. Very practical. Oh, and be sure to mate with both North and South Sudanese women alike. Don’t play favorites,” I directed my three Maliseet companions, Becca’s old flames.

“Well, I propose that they marry me ... all three of them, and definitely my old flames should wed ... and simply bed, as many Sudanese women of both races as feasible. As for Oswald and I ... just like Oswald and Helga, and you and I, it just works better as a mistress/paramour situation, don’t you think? Most of our relationships work best as simply lovers. There are exceptions, though. A polyandrous union between my boys and me ... it just makes sense, doesn’t it, guys?” Becca encouraged them now.

“Yes, my queen!” Ahanu teased Becca as Jimmy, Miles, and he scooped her up and sat her down to have their way with her.