Chapter 28
Chapter twenty-eight
Calypso
Calypso let Vidorak walk away because if she went after him, she risked either setting him aflame or having sex with him. Her body still felt the delightful soreness from their fucking even as she boiled with anger.
Instead, she finished getting ready as calmly as she could before stomping out of the bedchamber. Leaning against the wall of the stone staircase was the orc she’d seen around Vidorak and Mor.
“Good morning, my queen. We haven’t officially met.
I’m Nazghor.” He gave her as charming a smile as one can have with two tusks at the ends.
His face was clear of scars and classically handsome, reminding her of the refined beauty of the elven kind.
There were beads interwoven through his long black hair, which was currently pulled back in a low ponytail.
If one overlooked the green skin, pointed ears, and red Orcish marks that spanned from his fingertips to shoulders, he had the air of a nobleman.
“I am not your queen,” Calypso responded.
“You are the chieftain’s mate, which makes you our queen. Or it will once the mate ceremony is completed.”
Her head started pounding. Her mate had left out some details, it seems.
Through gritted teeth she asked, “Where is Vidorak?”
Ignoring her irritable mood, Nazghor easily responded, “The chieftain is in the gathering hall. Kinar departed overnight, joined by several warriors. As a result, Vidorak will need to speak with the horde.”
That took the edge off her fury. While she knew Vidorak had planned to challenge Urim, the situation had forced his hand. It wouldn’t be a small task to lead jarls who had followed his ruthless uncle for decades.
Deciding to leave him to his work, Calypso turned her attention to other questions on her mind. “I’m assuming you have been assigned to monitor me.”
“Think of me more as a guide.”
“Take me to the kitchens, Nazghor,” she directed. “And on the way, tell me exactly what an orc mating ceremony entails.”
He casually led her through the tunnels as if they were old friends.
“It’s slightly different with each clan, but the general customs are the same.
Here, I’ve heard it’s done at a sacred lake in the central dip of the mountains.
The mates enter from opposite sides under moonlight and approach one another. ”
“What happens when they get to one another?”
“Traditionally, the shaman says a prayer as the mating pair exchange vows. Once that is done, there is a public mating followed by a feast.”
Calypso paused and looked at Nazghor, but he was completely serious. From everything she’d seen, it wasn’t entirely shocking to find out orcs were such exhibitionists.
“Do you have a mate?”
“Not anymore.” A fleeting grimace of pain crossed his face.
He led her to the kitchen, where the human women were working as they had the other day. They probably heard about the change, but to them it was just another orc that owned them.
The work in the kitchen came to a halt as the captive women looked at them with guarded expressions.
Dalia was the first one to step forward and speak. “Is it true? Is the chieftain dead?”
Nazghor nodded. “Vidorak Ushnarsson is our new chieftain.”
There was no change in her neutral expression as she accepted the development. Calypso waited to see if the witch would ask the burning question, but Dalia remained silent. Was it fear or hopelessness that kept her from asking what would come of them with the new chieftain?
Calypso indicated she wanted to speak privately, and the three of them stepped aside. “I want to know more about the women going missing. Do you know why they were chosen?”
Dalia’s gaze flittered to Nazghor. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”
“It’s okay, please share,” Nazghor reassured her.
She hesitated, but answered. “No one ever asks. It’s too risky to draw attention.”
Calypso didn’t judge the woman, who was simply acting in self-preservation. Speaking out when there was nothing she could do would only get her killed. Calypso could do something about this, but she needed direction.
She looked over toward Nazghor, but he just shrugged his shoulders regretfully. “I was not privy to this. Whatever Urim did, he kept it between someone he trusted.”
They went to leave when Dalia spoke up again. “Is he dead too?”
“Who?”
“The orc who would take the women.”
They paused, and Nazghor asked, “You saw him?”
“Yes, I caught a glimpse of him once leading a woman out of the mountain. He is the one with the short hair and bone piercings in his ears.”
Knowing exactly who Dalia referred to, Calypso faced Nazghor and asked, “The orc that Grushag took away, is he still alive?”
“Mabanok? He’s alive, but not for much longer.” Nazghor hesitated. “I don’t like the look in your eyes.”
Calypso stopped herself from smiling too quickly.
“Let’s go pay our soon-to-be-departed orc a visit, Nazghor.” Then she turned toward Dalia. “You can tell the others that the new chieftain plans to change things around here. They will be returned to their homes.”
There wasn’t the wash of relief that Calypso expected to see. Dalia went to leave, face still somber, when Calypso stopped her once more. “A coven in Taybe has been established. You are welcome to go there once you leave the mountain.”
Without responding, Dalia nodded briskly before resuming her work.
The disapproval on Nazghor’s face was clear. “The chieftain won’t be happy about this.”
“About what exactly?” Calypso stilled. She had no position of power in the orc clan and likely shouldn’t have spoken for him. However, if Vidorak didn’t release the captive women, she would see him as an enemy, mate bond or not.
“He would not want you to visit Mabanok in the dungeons,” Nazghor clarified. “I need to tell him.”
Calypso waved a hand in dismissal. “Is that all? Show me the way, then tell him.”
He led her through the tunnels descending deeper into the mountain. The air became stale and thick. Calypso smelled the sharp tang of blood before she saw it. They reached a large metal door with a heavy lock that Nazghor pointedly didn’t reach to unlock for her.
“Stay here. The chieftain is nearby, so I will go speak to him first,” Nazghor instructed before disappearing into the darkness.
Calypso examined the lock, tilting it up.
Vidorak was a busy orc, and there was no need to wait on things she could handle.
With a blast of her fire, the lock cracked and separated enough to be slipped off, and the door opened. A whiff of rotted flesh and urine hit her nostrils.
Grimacing, she entered, the sound of her steps echoing throughout the stone-covered dungeon. It was pitch black here, but she spotted a torch handle near the entrance and lit it.
Picking it up carefully, she let her vision adjust. Unlike the dungeon in Sanograd where she had been imprisoned, there were no cell doors here. There was no need for them. Shackles and chains hung on the walls, designed to restrain prisoners.
This was a room of death. No windows, no light, no noise. Just air that suffocated you and a maddening silence.
Calypso observed the area, noting a couple of orc bodies that had likely died months ago. It seemed Urim wasn’t one for keeping a clean torture chamber.
She moved forward slowly, letting the flames illuminate the room further until a shadowy form at the very end caught her eye. Hanging by metal chains wrapped around his wrists was the barely recognizable body of Mabanok. Swelling had disfigured his face, and dried blood and grime coated his torso.
For a moment, she thought he was already dead. His chest barely rose in the fire’s glow.
“Can you open your eyes?” Her voice sounded too harsh in the morbid silence.
The large orc’s face twitched in response, but his eyes remained shut, likely too swollen to open.
“That’s probably for the better in here,” Calypso said as she approached. “I just need you to hear me anyway.”
The orc gave a bloody cough in response, mumbling something in Orcish.
“Oh, come on now. We aren’t in the forest anymore, so let’s not play games.” Calypso grabbed his balls with a flaming hand. “I know you speak the common tongue.”
Mabanok screamed, voice hoarse and raw.
She let go after a couple of seconds. Seems she still held a grudge about the little game he set up in the forest to decide which orc would force himself on her. “Let’s try things again.”
He gave a pained groan but spoke this time. “What do you want, witch?”
“Answers. What did you do with the female captives who are disappearing from the mountain?”
His lips twitched. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”
She cocked her head. “Is that so? Would you like me to refresh your memory?”
He flinched when she reached for him. Instead of striking, she ran a long fingernail over the numerous wounds on his chest. “I am feeling generous, so I’ll make you a deal instead.”
“You cannot tempt me with lies of being released.”
She shook her head even though he couldn’t see her.
“We both know that’s not possible at this point.
Your death approaches. How quickly is up to you.
If you keep your secret, I will cauterize these wounds and let your clansmen hurt you again only to heal you afterward.
It would not be a pleasant way to go.” She leaned forward and whispered in his ear, “Tell me what I want to know, and I will set you free. You will not feel it. I promise.”
A heartbeat passed. Mabanok hung so still that she wondered if he’d lost consciousness.
“Urim had me sell them for gold.”
“To whom?”
“Some woman. We meet once a month in the ruins outside of Ettera.”
“Why is she buying them?”
“I don’t know.” His voice became weaker. “I bring her the girls, and she gives me gold.”
“When is the next meeting?”
“Tomorrow.”
She may not know what the buyer’s motives were, but Calypso doubted she’d deal with orcs if she had good intentions. These women were being treated like cattle, passed from one owner to the next.
Calypso put a finger under his chin and tilted up his drooping head. “You do not deserve mercy. But I do not break promises.”
With that, her nails sharpened to deadly points. She plunged her hand into his chest, gripped his heart, and squeezed it to silence. As promised, it was over in less than a second. He had not even emitted a sound before his life faded.
Calypso stepped back and spared him one last glance before turning around. Near the entrance of the dungeon stood her orc, watching her silently in the shadows.
When she approached, he reached for her bloodied hand and took out his waterskin. Cool water poured over her hand, cleaning off the blood.
“Do you disapprove?” she asked with a guarded expression.
He shook his head. “I am unburdened from having to deal with him. Though, I’d rather you waited for me to join you.”
“I was not in danger.”
Skin clean from traces of her killing, he pulled her to his chest. His arms wrapped around her, chin resting on top of her head. “I know. Did it bother you? Having to take his life.”
Only honesty should be between them. “No. Does it bother you that it doesn’t bother me?”
“There’s not much you can do that would bother me.” He buried his head in her hair and sniffed. Calypso smiled, loving how he enjoyed doing that.
“I think that’s an answer from your cock.” To prove her point, she rubbed against his hardness. “Tell me the truth.”
“It doesn’t bother me,” he repeated. “Though I think you consider yourself crueler than you are.”
She made a noncommittal noise, not wanting to analyze herself any further today.
“I’m assuming you heard it all. The next exchange is tomorrow.”
She felt Vidorak stiffen under her embrace. “You mean to leave the mountain and meet with the buyer?”
She pulled away in order to look at his face when she responded. “If no one shows, it will be suspicious, and by the next meeting the news of the new chieftain will have spread. This woman shouldn’t be allowed to get away with this.”
There were warring emotions in his eyes, and she braced herself. Vidorak was not a male who was prone to being defied. But she was not a woman who would tolerate being controlled.
“Grushag and Nazghor will join,” he finally said. “Unfortunately, there is more I need to do here.”
Even as he said it, she could see he was considering coming. She put a hand to his cheek. “We will be fine. Who we are makes it impossible to always be with one another.”
He scowled. “Don’t say such things. Even if it is true. It makes my monstrous side want to lock you up again.”
If he meant to be scary, it didn’t work because she laughed. “Don’t worry. We won’t be gone long. I plan to be back in time for my mating ceremony after all.”
To her delight, her scary orc actually blushed at her words and mumbled, “I meant to say something.”
She laughed again. “Don’t worry, Nazghor filled me in on your voyeuristic ways.”
“Nazghor talks too much. We don’t need to do all that. Just entering the lake and exchanging vows is enough.”
“And miss my chance to show off how good you fuck me? I don’t think so.”
When he said nothing back right away, she worried she had scandalized her dear orc, but then he pulled her to a stop. “Consider our deal of truth over.”
She drew back, unsure of how to feel about that. Even with the argument this morning, she had grown to enjoy his questions, enjoyed how he pushed her to open up. She wanted to share these things, but the first step was too difficult.
“I still want to know all of you.” He caressed her hair. “But I want you to share these things willingly.”
“It will take time.” What surprised her most was that she actually wanted to try, sought to put her trust in him, and that scared her beyond belief.
“One more thing,” he said as they left the dungeon behind. “Promise me we will discuss the amulet more before you use it.”
Her fingers went to the cool stone around her neck. “I promise.”