Jim Hines - Tamora Carter: Goblin Queen

by Jim C. Hines

Copyright 2020

Cover art and interior illustrations copyright 2020 by Leanna Crossan

Published September 2020

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Thank you to everyone who helped make this book better. Authors Merrie Haskell, Patrick Samphire, and Stephanie Burgis all critiqued early drafts of Tamora Carters adventures. My agent Eddie Schneider provided wonderful feedback as well. And my son Jamie listened to me read the entire storytwice!and shared what he did and didnt like.

Big props to artist Leanna Crossan, who did an incredible job bringing Tamora and company to life on the cover and the interior artwork. And speaking of artists, thanks also to Jenn Reese for the oh-so-cute fire-spider stickers she created as one of the bonus Kickstarter rewards.

And that brings me to everyone who supported this project on Kickstarter, helping to transform that finished manuscript into a published book. I am both humbled and grateful to you all, and Ill be saying more on that in the Afterword. But I want to give an extra-special shout-out to John Senn and Steph DuFresne, whose generosity made the goblins cry happy tears.

Finally, I need to tell you about Megan Ruth Cunningham, her mother Kelly Naylor, and a librarian named Ms. Pookie. (Youll meet Ms. Pookie in chapter four.)

Several years ago, I helped out with a fundraiser for a group working to end violence against women and girls. Kelly made a very generous donation to the organization. In return, she got to help create a minor character in one of my books.

Ms. Pookie is based on her daughter Megan, who passed away far too young. Megan was kind and compassionate, stubborn andindependent, and a great lover of books.

Kellythank you for sharing your daughters story with me, and letting me share Ms. Pookie with the world. I hope Ive done justice to Megans memory.

For all those left behind.

Humans and goblins alike.

Tamora used to come to roller derby practice for the sheer joy of pushing herself until every muscle in her body ached. And spending two-and-a-half hours kicking butt, of course.

Since her best friend Andre had vanished two weeks ago, shed come to escape. The moment she entered the Crystal Lewis Skating Rink, twelve-year-old Tamora Carter and all of her problems disappeared, and she was T-Wrex of the Grand River Honey Badgers.

She was playing as a blocker in tonights scrimmage, doing her best to clear a path for her teams jammer to lap the red team while preventing the red jammer from lapping hers. It was like a loud, chaotic, full-contact race on roller skates.

It was just what she needed.

Tamoras team was down four points. A peek over her shoulder showed the red jammer closing in.

Sweat dripped from beneath her helmet. She jerked her head to keep it from her eyes, then spread her skates into a partial split. Dazer, a heavyset girl to her left, did the same. Both girls turned their skates inward, cutting their speed and blocking the track, forcing the red teams jammer to slow down behind them.

Nice teamwork! The shout came from their coach, a meaty woman who went by the nickname Vorpal Thorne. Thornes voice sliced through the clacking of skate wheels and the grunts of the skaters like a plow through Michigans winter slush. She was the fastest skater Tamora had ever seen, and she had the power of a monster truck.

The red jammer put on a burst of speed, aiming to sneak between Tamora and Dazer. Tamoras leg muscles protested as she stretched to try to stop her, but it was too late. The jammer vaulted over their outspread skates.

It was a risky move, but a good one. Dazer flinched and swerved out of bounds. The red team cheered.

Tamora ground her teeth into her mouth guard and glanced back to check the rest of her team. The white jammer was coming up fast. Tamora raced ahead, ignoring the burning in her legs as she positioned herself to interfere with the red blockers. If they couldnt stop the red team, they could at least score a few more points of their own.

T-Wrex, get back here! shouted one of her teammates.

Tamora hugged the inner curve of the track and kept going. Up ahead, the four red blockers had come together as a human dam. The moment Tamora entered the straightaway, she crouched low and increased her speed. She skated right into the opposing team and landed a hip block on an older white girl who called herself Terror Swift. Swift lost her balance and grabbed Tamoras jersey.

They both went down. Tamoras helmet smacked the floor, and her vision flashed. She hunched her body protectively as the others skaters swerved and jumped past.

Thornes whistle put an end to the jam. What the heck was that, Swift?

Swift spat out her mouth guard. T-Wrex tripped me!

Tamoras lower lip stung. She tasted blood. You grabbed me, you clumsy

Thats enough, both of you. Thorne slid to a stop between them, forcing them apart. Swift, that was a legal block and you know it. Youre lucky you didnt both end up with broken ankles. Penalty box, now.

Swift rolled her eyes, but she didnt argue. Nobody argued with Vorpal Thorne.

Youre bleeding, Wrex, said Thorne.

I know. Her mouth guard had saved her from losing any teeth, but it hadnt saved her from a split lip.

She didnt care about the pain, but the rules were clear. No blood in the rink. With only a few minutes left of practice, Tamora was done for the night.

You got ahead of your team, Thorne continued. Youve got good moves, but

I know . Just like that, she was Tamora Carter again. She got to her feet and skated off the track while Vorpal Thorne started everyone else practicing double-knee slides.

Tamora yanked off her helmet and sat on the bench with a handful of other skaters and parents. Her own father worked overnights at the hospital and slept during the day, so he rarely made it to her practices, though hed never missed an actual bout.

Dad had been reluctant to sign her up for Junior Roller Derby. Shed worn him down by going on about the benefits of exercise. Parents were all about physical activity and getting out of the house, away from phones and tablets and computers and video games. Especially video games. Andre was always getting grief from his parents for all the time he spent gaming.

Thinking of Andre made her throat hurt. She blinked hard, wishing she could keep skating, keep pushing herself until she was too exhausted to think.

The end of practice was when she used to pick up a pair of grape Slushees from the Qwik Stop, then head down to Andres house to hang out until Dad made her come home for dinner.

But Andre Stewart was gone, along with Kevin Lord and Elizabeth ONeil. Three kids taken in a single night, and nobody had any idea what had happened to them. She hated not knowing. Hated that there was nothing she could do.

She took a shaky breath, wiped her face, and grabbed a squeeze bottle of Gatorade from her bag to drink. Her practice jersey and pads went into the bag, and she began swapping out her skate wheels. Dad had gotten her a set of FastSwap wheels for her birthday, letting her alternate between the pink wheel covers she used indoors and the neon green covers for skating around Grand River.

Hey. Terror Swift, whose real name was Paige Reed, sneered down at Tamora. Sorry about that hit. I shouldve known you couldnt handle it.

Tamora spotted Paiges mother watching with her arms folded. She must have sent Paige over to apologize. Tamora licked blood from her swollen lip and turned away. Whatever.

Ask if she needs a ride home, called Paiges mom.