Chapter 13
Eli
I was half-dozing in my box when a bang sounded on the door of the hut, and a gruff voice announced that Ul-Rott demanded “the human” brought to him immediately.
Panic turned my guts to ice. I certainly hadn’t managed to charm the chieftain, so he didn’t want me for his bed.
More likely he just wanted to make an example of me.
Now my head would be on a pike…and Pilgrim would win.
Bright light knifed my eyes as the box lid creaked open. Smeg’s bulk filled the gap. “Time to make nice with the chieftain,” he leered as he yanked me upright by the shoulder. I stumbled out of the box on pins and needles.
As I was dragged past Pilgrim, he leaned in and said, “Now’s your chance to finally pull your own weight. Don’t blow it.”
They thought this summons was a good thing? How was it possible we had such different ideas about what was happening?
I was glad for my rough orcish clothing when the guard herded me outside. The nip in the air was no worse than before, but the sky had taken a subtle turn I knew all too well. Not tonight, and maybe not even tomorrow…but soon, a storm would be on us. And it would be brutal.
The guard marched me not to the chieftain’s lodge, but the larders.
What if the chieftain wants me for…the menu?
A shove from the guard brought me back to the present. “Stop stalling. When Ul-Rott commands, you obey.”
A string of should-haves played through my mind. I should have resisted. I should have run. I should have made a grab for a sharp stick and taken out Pilgrim when I had the chance.
I should have let the river carry me away.
But before I could come up with more self-recrimination, I saw that not only was the chieftain himself waiting for me at the door of the larder….
With him was Kof.
“About time,” Ul-Rott said, as the guard smacked me to my knees and ordered me to bow.
The chieftain hardly registered my presence at all.
He turned to Kof and said, “I can see why you’re not afraid of it.
The creature can hardly even stand up, let alone curse anything.
Well, it’s your responsibility now. Just don’t let it interfere with the hunt.
Otherwise, we’ll throw it to the clan to keep the peace. ”
It, I belatedly realized…was me.
But what had he meant by, It’s your responsibility now?
Once the Chieftain and his guards stomped off, the quartermaster turned to Kof and said, “Ul-Rott should have picked someone with two good eyes. How can you keep one on the witch when you don’t have an eye to spare?”
“Now you suddenly believe the rumors—now that Ul-Rott has seen your failures and you’re scrambling to save your own hide?
” There was an undercurrent of danger I’d never heard in Kof’s voice before—a restrained threat that hinted his patience was nearing its end.
“You know as well as I do the accusations are nonsense.”
“No one talks to me like that in my own larder.” Trawg jabbed a finger at the door. “Go back to your caves—and take your witch with you.”
On our way through the streets, I naturally fell into step beside Kof on his sighted side, since the knot of scarring on the other was difficult to look at. With just the good eye showing, he looked…well, not handsome, obviously. He was an orc.
But he looked whole.
It made speaking with him easier as well.
“Does the tribe truly think I have magic?”
He shrugged a massive shoulder. “Some probably do. They’re ignorant. Not everyone has had dealings with humans.”
It was a thoughtful reply…for an orc. Though the village around us was bustling with orcs, it felt like there was no one there but Kof and me. And I realized I could finally exhale.
Kof led me into the sulfurous caves. The guards saluted him as we entered and the damp warmth of the caverns settled into my bones. My cramped muscles eased. “When did you last eat?” Kof asked.
That depended. How long had I been in the box? “It’s been a while,” I admitted.
“Then you’d better get your strength up for the hunt.” He walked me to a crude kitchen and handed me a round of flatbread, still warm. My stomach twisted in eagerness from the smell of it, and I had to pace myself to keep from swallowing it whole and choking on it.
What game was Kof playing—first clothing, now food? I didn’t question this sort of generosity from Bess. She was human. But what was the orc really after?
Whatever it was, I’d have to figure out how to use it to my advantage. “Why am I your responsibility?”
After some thought, Kof said, “Something doesn’t feel right. And if everyone is busy hunting for witches, we leave ourselves vulnerable to the real danger.” He measured me with a glance and added, “And if you are a witch, I will deal with you myself.”
I gave my head a rueful shake. “Believe you me, if I had the power, I wouldn’t be here now.” And Pilgrim would be long dead.
Boots rang on stone and another orc strode into the kitchen—the big brute of a shaman I’d seen at the welcome feast. Kof made to kneel, and the shaman said, “Forget about that, we need to ready ourselves for the hunt!”
Bloodlust gleamed in the shaman’s eyes as he ran through all the preparations he’d require. This hunt was a huge undertaking, and he’d be accompanied by a hand-picked contingent of his honor guard.
“We’ll travel lean,” he said, “and cover our scent. But every man should still bring enough rations to last a week, and a backup weapon.”
“What about me?” I blurted out, and the shaman looked at me as if a wooden keg had just spoken. “Do I get a weapon? I’m a pretty good shot with a crossbow.”
Kof gave me a level look. “It’s one thing to trust a wild animal not to bite you…and another to shove your hand in its mouth.”
A wild animal, huh? I supposed it was a step up from the chieftain’s “it.”
I trailed along with Kof as he organized his men. I marveled at how calm and methodical he was…and did my best not to compare him to the last captain I’d served.
My captain.
But he’d been a big, strapping, wide-shouldered man, too.
And his leadership was nowhere near as good as Kof’s.
There were no portholes to monitor the daylight deep in the caves, but my internal time told me we worked well into the night preparing for the hunt.
The honor guards seemed eager for something to kill.
I was thankful that “something” wasn’t me.
Especially given the way some of them warded me off with gestures the minute they were on Kof’s blind side.
“You will bed down in my chamber,” Kof informed me as I finished packing up the last of his supplies. An unwelcome thrill stirred deep inside me. And then he added, “And I’m a light sleeper—so don’t try anything foolish.”
Indeed.
The cavern Kof called home was big by anyone’s standards, but stalagmites jutted up from the floor at odd intervals and the ceiling sloped off at cockeyed angles. But the space looked surprisingly…homy.
“You have furniture,” I blurted out.
He seemed surprised I’d even noticed, or cared. “It belonged to the old shaman. It had to be stored somewhere to keep it out of Droko’s way.”
Everything had been made with care. Shelving, tables, chairs, and even a cushioned divan. “He was a cripple,” Kof said gruffly.
Ah. No wonder it was all so low to the ground it wouldn’t have looked out of place at any of the human ports I’d traveled through.
“Sleep now,” he commanded. “We’ll get an early start tomorrow.”
Evidently, I had been expecting to do something other than simply sleep, if the uneasy twinge of disappointment I felt was anything to go by. I must have looked confused, because Kof said, “Use the cushion, if you wish. Taruut has no need of it anymore.”
I crawled onto the upholstered divan and tentatively stretched my limbs. Scent clung to the cloth strongly enough that even I could smell it—incense, spice, and the earthy musk of orc. A surprisingly welcome change from the all-encompassing stink of larkwood.
As I settled in, my mind wandered into dangerous territory—imagining the cushions dipping under Kof’s weight as he crawled onto the divan and covered my body with his, pinning me beneath his bulk.
I squeezed my eyes shut tight and willed the thoughts away.
But my body betrayed me as desire coiled low in my belly.
I tossed and turned, as unwanted images played behind my eyelids no matter how hard I tried to banish them.
Kof’s huge hands roaming down my flanks, his knee shoving open my thighs, his tusks grazing my neck as he growled in my ear… .
No. After the captain’s betrayal, I refused to think like this about any man.
Especially an orc.
Mercifully, exhaustion finally claimed me, dragging me down into dreamless slumber. It was the first restful sleep I’d had since I joined the Lost Clan, no longer cramped in that suffocating box, but stretched out on the cushioned divan, muscles eased in the seductive warmth of the caves.
I didn’t wake until Kof roused me with a heavy hand on my shoulder. For a disorienting moment, I thought perhaps I’d spun up another ridiculous fantasy, his face so close to mine. But the sharpness in his single eye reminded me this was all too real.
“On your feet,” he commanded gruffly. “It’s time.”
In the heat of the night, I’d thrown off my tunic. His gaze raked over me and his nostrils flared as I retrieved it from the floor and pulled it over my head. Maybe I should have been the one to make the move, and crawl over to him while he slept….
Stop it.
I was just torturing myself with this sick fantasy—it was never going to happen. And if he watched me as I dressed, well…he was a responsible kind of orc. And I was his responsibility.
What I really needed to focus on was getting my hands on a weapon.
Out in the woods, with everyone distracted by the hunt, it would be the perfect time for me to palm a small knife.
Wrap it in fallen leaves to disguise the iron smell of the blade, and I could slip back into Pilgrim’s commandeered house and hit him before he even registered that I smelled of more than just the forest.
“Stick by me during the hunt, and don’t wander off,” Kof said. His muscles flexed solidly as he gestured for me to follow him. “If I can’t see you, I can’t protect you.”
“From who?” I wondered aloud.
“From everyone. Who knows how many of the clan are taking these witchcraft rumors seriously? If you don’t want to find yourself on the sharp end of weapon, stay where I can see you and keep to yourself.”
I couldn’t fathom why he even cared. And puzzling through that question was just as troubling as my unwanted fantasies—which were doing their persistent best as we made our way through the caves, and my shoulder brushed his arm when the tunnel we were traveling narrowed.
He’d told his men to pack provisions for a week.
Maybe I deserved one final hoorah before I buried a smuggled knife in Pilgrim’s throat… .
Abruptly, the air changed. We’d stepped into a cavern open to the elements, and the wind that fluttered the nearby torches carried a biting edge that cut right through the sulfur-thick humidity. Kof nudged me. “Keep up.”
I hadn’t realized I’d stopped in my tracks.
I hurried along, sticking close to keep him between me and the other orcs.
And if that meant I actually felt safe with him…
so be it. But while Kof might protect me from a superstitious orc, he could hardly shield me from the weather.
Outside, the sky had a peculiar look to it, a surly, overcast haze with an ochre undertone.
It was turning. Just like I’d suspected it would.
“Kof, wait.” I snagged him by the crook of the arm. “The sky.”
“What of it?”
“A storm is brewing.”
“Let it rain. We are strong. I’m sure we can handle getting wet.”
“I’ve seen weather like this before. Not just a heavy storm, but enough to capsize a ship.” I raised my head to the sky and inhaled. “It’s in the air. Even I can smell it.”
His nostrils flared. “Maybe so. But storm or no storm, we need food.” He dropped his voice low and added, “And the men need something to hunt besides witches.”
“You don’t get it, Kof. This is weather we might not survive.”
“And the same can be said of starvation. On the full of the moon, you’ll move on to another clan—another larder. And the Red Hand will have nothing left. Besides, the chieftain has called for a hunt, and no one would dare contradict him. Not if they value their head.”
If I couldn’t sway Kof, no way would I manage to convince anyone else. In the end, the most he would do was call for heavier cloaks. As he spoke with his men and made the last-minute arrangements, I was watching the sky.
That’s when a hand closed around my upper arm and dragged me behind an outbuilding.
Pilgrim.
He leaned in so close, his tusk brushed my cheekbone. “Going on a little adventure,” he growled, “are we?”
“The chieftain said I should stick to Kof. I’m obeying him.” My jaw was clenched so tight, I barely grit out the words.
He squeezed my arm so hard, my vision went red and tears sprang to my eyes. “If you’re thinking about running off in the woods…think again. I know your scent. And I will track you down and make you wish you were never born.”
“It hadn’t even crossed my mind,” I said.
And oddly enough, that was the truth.