Twisted Fate (Orc Destiny Volume I) (The Blood and Brotherhood Saga) (8 page)

“Thanks, Tanis. Be safe,” the warrior concluded.

Gnak watched as the mounted warriors turned into the night
and rode off on their mounts, oblivious to his presence. With his face, bicep,
and shoulder wounds he was almost happy he would not have to fight this night.

Making his way around the outskirts of the human camp, he crept
through the shadows watching the human named Tanis go home to warn his clan. It
was a weak clan, one he could kill easily, but he did not want to raise alarm.

It was yet another hour before Tanis returned to his own
building, and Gnak was free to explore a bit. He found the homes rather
interesting, especially the holes cut into the walls that he could peer through
to see what was within. Rounding the corner of one building, he came to a
sudden stop as an animal began to growl at him. It was a small thing, mostly
fur and bones, but it did not run at his presence. In fact, it even barked once,
marking it as some tiny breed of wolf. Without delay, Gnak dispatched the foul
animal in a single blow, careful not to rupture its flesh and leave blood
behind. Snatching up his kill, he tucked it in his belt and continued to
search.

Within an hour he located a building with various food
items, including meat. Something he would not require this night. Another
building had leather and cloth items in abundance, and yet another had what he
desired most. Together in the same room, both Jen and Jonny slept upon separate
beds. The young magical healer slept within reach of the window. Gnak grinned
wickedly.

He could have left the very first night. Snatched the
supplies he needed, the girl too, and headed south. But he didn’t dare. Not
with a girl who had magic.
Who knew what she could do?
She might turn
him into a toad or something. He would have to watch and see if she did
anything else peculiar before he snatched her. And that was exactly his plan.

Heading out, away from the village, Gnak jogged into the forest
east of the buildings and went a few miles into the trees to assure himself
that none of the humans would see. Once assured, he pulled his kill from his
belt and tossed it on the ground before gathering some fallen wood. Pulling his
fire rock from his pocket, he struck it over and over with the blade of his
sword, watching the sparks of fire land upon the wood. Within a couple of
minutes a small blaze crackled.

A little while later he had the miniature wolf all gutted
and skinned and upon a small wooden spit, where he turned the handle slowly. Patiently
he waited until the meat browned, and only fat dripped from the creature before
he snatched it up and ate it ravenously. It was two hours later, with a full
stomach, when Gnak stomped out his small fire and turned back towards the human
camp.

Returning to the building he had first inhabited, he again
slipped past the door and better inspected the inside. Though his first hiding
spot was adequate, he noticed one that could possible serve him better. Climbing
the ladder up to a space above the room, he could see both down into the room,
and out one of the portals in the wall facing the humans’ camp. He could see the
home of the small human female called Jen from here, and nearly every other
home as well. Victory would be his.

For two days and nights Gnak watched the happenings of the
humans. Theirs was a simple and stupid life of feeding animals they had
captured, and cutting down more weeds to feed the animals they had captured. Of
course, it made his nightly hunting very simple. Even with a full belly and
plenty of sleep, however, his condition worsened by the day. The swelling in
his face had already spread to his neck, and for more than a day his head had a
drumming within it that would not stop. His opportunity was fading with each
day he delayed. If he waited much longer he would not make the return journey
himself. It was a risk he could not take.

He had seen Jen nearly all day every day, watching from his
hidden perch within the building. It was her job to pick up the bundled grasses
and place them into a cart pulled by a stubborn four-legged beast similar to
those rode by the human warriors. Daily she struck her little brother, a little
harder than the day before, and daily she healed him flawlessly. He even knew
that she relieved herself behind the building he occupied, even though she was
repeatedly told not to by what he assumed was her mother.

Over the course of his watching, never did he see her do
anything wicked to man or animal. She was soft. Weak. Gnak was decided that
this night would be
the
night.

He watched the camp’s routine that final time, and watched
as the humans returned to their homes as darkness threatened. Stragglers were a
daily occurrence, as it appeared that some of the male humans would rather be
in the fields working than in their homes with their mates. By the looks of the
females, he couldn’t blame them.

He waited then, a full two hours after the last sighting of
a human, before he climbed down the ladder and back out of the building. Visiting
the leather and cloth home first, he reached one long arm through the hole in
its wall and collected a bag to fill with provisions and a small scrap of soft
leather. Next came the food storage building.

Entering the unlatched door, Gnak strode inside eyeing all
the supplies. No humans lived in this building, but several families of rats
did. Collecting some dried meat, a round block of some hard substance the
humans seemed to like, two long brown things that the humans cooked, and a
large skin of water, he made his way back outside, slinging the bag over his
shoulder. He had no idea how much the little female required, but assumed he
had taken plenty.

Walking back around and behind the buildings, he entered a
small storage room where he snatched up the spear he had eyeballed nightly, and
two short lengths of rope. The human spear was shorter than one made by his
race but would suffice. Walking to the southern end of the camp, he shoved the
spear down into the soil and hung the pack upon it. Then he prepared the short
lengths of rope into loops he could easily tighten, but that the small girl
could not escape. Prepared, he went to collect his prize.

Back into the camp he crept silently, and as he had done on
each night he rounded the corner of the building warily, peering around that
last bit to be sure no light shone in the wall holes. Deeming it safe, he
walked right up to the hole and looked inside. There she was, sleeping as if
the world owed it to her. Carefully, gingerly, he slipped his hands beneath
her, lifting her slowly. She stirred a little, but remained asleep. Once she
was off of the bed roll, he pulled her up and out through the hole and
simultaneously tucked her under one arm as he stuffed the scrap of leather he had
collected in her mouth.
That
certainly woke her up!

Kicking and thrashing with muffled screams of fear and
panic, the girl’s eyes popped open as silent screams caught in her throat. Wrapping
the first rope about her head he cinched it tight, securing the leather in her
mouth. Readjusting his kicking cargo, he grasped her tiny arms in one large
hand, wrapping the second coil of rope around them and securing it in place as
well. Then he tossed her up over one shoulder and strode to the edge of the
camp where he collected his new spear and pack. It was time to go home.

Setting a nice brisk pace, he strode across the grass
covered hills back to the south, all the while his prized bundle kicked and
thrashed and tried to scream. Over. And over. And over. She was relentless. Even
tied and gagged she fought on, trying to free herself from her captor. It was
annoying beyond a doubt, but so too was it admirable. She was a stronger child
than she appeared. She had heart. She would make a proud sacrifice.

It was several hours later when her thrashing began to
lessen, and thinking she had finally given up he was quickly proven wrong. The
girl said something quite calmly through her gag, and then was silent for
several long minutes. Then without warning he felt the wet warmth flowing down
his shoulder, back, and chest. She had pissed on him. Disgusted, he yanked her
from his shoulder and deposited her on the ground roughly. She crumpled into a
pile and Gnak could swear she was giggling.

With the urge to smash her little skull he paced back and
forth, waiting for the urge to pass. It refused… at least for a quarter of an
hour or more. Then he had an idea. If the humans spoke basically the same
tongue as him, then perhaps he could convince her to not make him kill her prematurely.

Stalking to the girl, he stood towering above her and jutted
one massive finger in her face.

“Next time you piss
me
… I piss
you
.” he
grunted at her, and watched as her eyes grew wide and mouth began moving a mile
a minute.

“No talk!” he told her in no uncertain terms, and with her
shoulders sagging she complied.

Snatching her back up off the ground, he shook her slightly
at arm’s length to be sure she was not still dripping before once again
slinging her upon his now wet shoulder.
Disgusting humans.

It was an hour before dawn when he found a seemingly safe
location to rest for the day. The humans might come looking while it was light,
and if they did, he did not want to be moving about. Setting her down again,
feeling dizzy as he bent, he lowered himself down upon the ground where he
could easily see her. Their only protection from view was the tall grass around
them, and as such he needed to express to her the circumstances of his
companionship.

“You hear talk. Take rope mouth. You no yell. Yes yell, me kill.
You eat. You drink. I rope back. Yes?” He questioned her understanding. She
nodded her agreement.

Reaching out, he grasped the rope in both hands and loosened
the knots that held it in place. Once loose, he allowed her to remove it with
her still bound hands. She stared at him a moment and he held the bag full of
supplies out to her. She took it easily, if not a bit reluctantly, and pulled
the straps open to reveal its contents. The thirty seconds of silence was then
apparently too much for her.

“You can talk?” she asked entirely too loudly.

Baring his teeth at her, he squinted menacingly and she took
well his meaning.

“I mean, I was told Orcs and goblins and trolls and giants
couldn’t talk. Can all of you talk?”

“Humans talk much. Very much,” Gnak replied, still scowling
at the girl.

She reached inside the bag and pulled out one of the long
brown objects, breaking herself off a hunk. The inside, it seemed, was soft and
fluffy. Tearing the piece she had collected in half, she placed one half on
each of her knees. Reaching in again, she tore free a chunk of the hard orange
substance, and sat it atop one of the halves of fluffy stuff. Then she again
reached in the bag and extracted a small piece of the dried meat. This she put
atop the orange stuff, and then she placed the second piece of fluffy stuff
from her opposite knee on top of the small pile of human food. Grasping it from
each side with her bound hands, she smashed it down and crammed the first bite
in her mouth, chewing with her mouth open like the large animals the humans
kept and fed.
Disgusting!

After the second bite, with her mouth still full of half
chewed food, her eyes looked up to his once again and she talked through the
disgusting mass of gelatinous gunk in her mouth.

“Are we going to where you live?”

Gnak did not bother to answer.

“Why did you take me?”

He ignored her again.

“Are you going to eat me?”

Maybe this would shut her up… “Maybe yes. Maybe no. Me think
yes,” he replied.

“So why not just kill me now and not have to feed me on the
journey?”

She had called his bluff.
Eat a human? Yuck!

“Maybe kill. Maybe no.”

“Maybe blah, maybe blah,” she recited through another half
chewed bite.

“Are you smart enough to answer a single question?”

Gnak was tired of her already.

“Are you smart enough to no ask more?” He half repeated her
own words back to her, showing his understanding.

Her eyes widened. She had obviously underestimated his
intelligence. He could only imagine what she would ask next.

“I’m Jen, and I am eleven. What’s your name?” she asked.

He was at a loss with the tiny girl. Perhaps if he gave her
one answer, her simple mind would be satisfied and she would shut up after all.

“Gnak,” he replied.

“Gnak…” She tested the word. “Is that really your name?
Gnak? Kinda… um… silly. Isn’t it?

This time she had him at a loss. He knew none of her words. Kinda?
Um? Silly? Orcs had no such words so instead of listening further, he reached
across as she pulled the watering skin from her lips and picked up the leather,
stuffing it back in her mouth. She did not resist. He was more than a little
disappointed by the fact. He had thought her strong of heart.

Securing the rope back in place around her mouth, he used
the remaining length of it to tie around his own wrist. If she moved, he would
awake. The dizziness was becoming more and more an issue. He needed rest. But
first, before he tried to get some sleep he ate a quick meal of dried meat as
her eyes watched his every move. Then, looking to her, he spoke once again with
his finger in her face.

“You run. You die. You yell. You die. You piss. You die. Yes?”

She nodded her agreement and he shoved her over onto her
side so she could rest as well. Then laying down a very short distance from
her, keeping her easily in reach, he closed his own eyes. For a minute. Then he
popped them open to see if she had moved. She hadn’t. Closing them again, he
did not reopen them again until at least three minutes later. Still no change.