Chapter Twenty-Three
Audrey walked into the storage room and stopped just past the threshold. The space was larger than she’d expected, extending deeper into the back of the hut than the exterior walls suggested.
She didn’t need the candle anymore. The shimmering magic surrounding the weapons gave plenty of light. She blew out the flame and set the candle on a table next to the door. The room glowed with a faint shimmer, the light shifting between shades of blue, green, and gold.
Audrey moved toward the nearest shelf and studied the blades, picking them up to weigh them and check their balance.
She was looking for one that felt right, something balanced and deadly that would fit her grip perfectly.
Most of the daggers were too heavy or too long, designed for orc hands rather than human ones.
She worked her way along the wall, testing blade after blade, until she found one that fit her palm.
Her fingers shimmered as she held the hilt firmly, and she felt a tingling in her hand. The sensation spread up her arm. She didn’t know whether it was normal or not. She’d never wielded an orc weapon before. But it seemed natural for her to feel the magic in the dagger.
She had to be careful with the blade. If she cut herself by accident, the magic in it was pure poison. It could infect orcs and spread through their bodies like a disease, but when it came to humans, it could kill them almost instantly.
She turned the blade and watched the metal gleam with a shifting rainbow of colors. She found a leather sheath and attached the dagger to her waist.
Audrey walked out of the storage room and locked the door. She’d found what she needed, and there was no point in lingering here. She slipped the midnight blue vial out of her vest and squeezed it in her hand. For some reason, she felt better holding it.
She walked back to town with her senses alert, scanning the dark forest for any sign of movement. The air felt different, but she couldn’t pinpoint why.
The roads were empty when she emerged from the tree line, not a single orc in sight.
As she approached the community center, she heard clamor inside, voices raised in what sounded like argument or alarm.
She didn’t want to go in until she understood what had gotten everyone so riled up, so she tried to round the building, moving along the side wall to look through a window.
Morgath burst through the front door before she could make it halfway around. He was wearing his skull helmet, the massive horned bone covering his entire head. That took Audrey aback. If he was wearing it again, it confirmed that something was seriously wrong.
He spotted her.
“There you are! I was just coming to get you.”
He sounded angry. Impatient. He marched toward her, his heavy steps making the ground shake.
“What?” she asked, backing away from him.
He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her toward the building, his fingers digging into her flesh hard enough to bruise.
Audrey planted her feet and fought him, twisting her body, trying to break his grip.
He was surprised enough to let her go, stepping back to look her up and down.
She knew he could see that she was armed to the teeth, daggers strapped to her thighs and waist, and the bulge of her gun visible at her lower back.
“It’s true, then. You’re an orc hunter.”
His voice sounded resigned, like it wasn’t just downing on him now what she truly was. He’d known or suspected it for a while, and the gear she was wearing only confirmed it.
Audrey retreated until she was on the road. She had to make sure there was enough distance between them, so he wouldn’t grab her again. For now, it was just the two of them, facing each other. The last thing she needed was for him to drag her into the middle of his horde.
She squared her shoulders and met his gaze. Or tried to. She couldn’t see his eyes in the dark, through his skull mask.
“I didn’t want to believe Brumis the Bold,” he continued in the same calm, half bewildered, half resigned tone.
“She said you’re a fighter. That you knew what you were doing when you two sparred the other day.
That you brought your own daggers. Why would an orc tribute bring weapons to her orc mate’s home, Audrey? ”
Audrey pursed her lips and stared at him defiantly. She didn’t like how he was putting her on the spot. Of all the things she’d prepared herself for, this wasn’t one of them.
Orcs started pouring out of the community center behind Morgath, forming a semicircle around him. This was exactly what she’d hoped wouldn’t happen.
“Who are you, Audrey?” Morgath asked. “Why are you here?”
Audrey saw Jorrad the Brutal standing near the front of the crowd, his scarred face twisted into something that looked like amusement.
That smug expression made her snap.
“You want to know who I am? I am a survivor!” She raised her voice, so all could hear. “Fifteen years ago, you and your horde swept through the town where I lived with my family. You left it burning.”
She pointed at Jorrad.
“He killed my mother, my father, and my brother. I saw his face with my own eyes. I was hiding in the storm shelter, but I could see everything on the camera feed. I saw him coming out of the house covered in blood and bits of flesh. I even have proof. I still have the recording from back then. I couldn’t do anything with it, because once the peace treaty was signed, all crimes of war on both orc and human sides were wiped clean. As if they never happened.”
She was shaking, panting, but she stood her ground.
“I was an orphan, unable to get any kind of justice. Lost in the system for years before I joined a group of orc hunters. Yes, I hunt orcs for a living, and for pleasure. For ten years, I’ve been getting justice for those who’ve been denied it.
Now it’s my turn. I came to kill Jorrad the Brutal with my own hands.
Then kill you too,” she finished, looking at him.
“You’re the captain who allowed that atrocity to happen. ”
Morgath went still.
Jorrad took charge, pushing his way through the crowd like he had every right to lead in the captain’s silence.
The orcs moved aside without question, parting to let him through.
He grabbed someone by the scruff of their neck and brought them forward, dragging them like they weighed nothing.
Audrey saw that it was Owen, his face bruised and his hands bound behind his back.
A few other orcs marched Tyler, Cole, Natalie and Shauna to the front, pushing them roughly until they stood in a line beside Owen.
Audrey felt like she was living a nightmare, watching her team brought out like prisoners on display. This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen.
Brumis the Bold stepped forward, grinning at Audrey.
“What are you going to do now, little hunter?”