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

by Laszlo, Jeremy

  Angered with himself, he left the tent and set about gathering supplies. Stomping from place to place, he gathered a leather sack and stuffed it full of meat, rope, and a skin filled with water. Returning to his tent, he rolled Jen in the fur she slept upon and carried her from his home, snatching up a spear as he left. With the sun blazing, he crossed the miles of sand until he reached the grassy land beyond. Then, further still he hiked into the forest at the base of the mountains.

  High he climbed, where other Orcs were not likely to follow, and where it was cold. It was a sick reason, perhaps, but he knew she would not rot as fast in the cold and even unthinking, her presence comforted him.

  For weeks he stayed with her, watching her deteriorate, as it slowly tore him apart. He watched as her scalp and hair slid from atop her head and tore free to settle upon the cold stones beneath them and her eyes ruptured only to deflate and fall from her skull. He watched as the flesh from her fingers tore when she bent them, and broke away leaving little nubs. He watched as great slabs of her skin were left behind as she sought to rise from laying down or sitting. He watched still as her muscle and other tissues turned slowly into a thick black fluid and she was rendered immobile. Still he stayed at her side waiting.

  Though it was painful, and he, not she, suffered the torture of her slow death, to Gnak it had been worth it to not put her down. She had had two more days with moderate periods of lucidity and he used them to express to her his regret of failing her and not listening to her. He told her that all would be OK, and comforted her when she realized what it was that was happening, but that had been more than ten days ago. In her final moments of conscious thought, he promised her that he would carry on to see the god’s desires fulfilled, and at the same time he would teach his people that there was more to life than pride and courage. All that was left for him was waiting.

  It was three days after her last movement that the little ball of swirling light left her. Unable to let her go, he again snatched it out of the air, and held it close.

  It took him three more days of experimentation, but when he was done he was both satisfied and prepared to return to camp. One last time he focused himself inward, and located the small orb of Jen’s light and willed it into his hand. He felt the warmth, and felt the transition as it exited his body, coalescing in his palm. Then, as he had done hundreds of times, he drew it back into himself. Jen was with him. Rising, he strode down the mountainside.

  It would be a long walk, but he did not care. Gnak had a promise to keep, both to his goddess and to Jen. He had a plan, and had thought it through several times, but in order to pull it off he had to kill a few Orcs. Sometimes to save many you had to kill a few, and Gnak could live with that. After all, he had an empire to build.

  “Gnak wish Jen here,” he said into the empty air, setting his pace for the long journey back home alone.

  “I am here,” her small voice replied inside his head.

  -End

  Begin Volume II Now

  Fallen Crown

  Books by Jeremy Laszlo

  Clad in Shadow (Poetry for a Burdened Soul)

  The Blood and Brotherhood Saga

  The Choosing (Book One of the Blood and Brotherhood Saga)

  The Chosen (Book Two of the Blood and Brotherhood Saga)

  The Changing (Book Three of the Blood and Brotherhood Saga)

  Crimson (Book 3.5 of the Blood and Brotherhood Saga)

  The Contention (Book Four of the Blood and Brotherhood Saga)

  The Champions (Book Five of the Blood and Brotherhood Saga)

  The Crowned (Book Six of the Blood and Brotherhood Saga)

  Orc Destiny Trilogy

  Twisted Fate (Orc Destiny, Volume I)

  Fallen Crown (Orc Destiny, Volume II)

  The Beyond Series

  Beyond The Mask (The Beyond Book One)

  Beyond The Flesh (The Beyond Book Two)

  Beyond The Soul (The Beyond Book Three)

  About the Author

  I live in southern Louisiana with my wife and children, and work full time as a civilian employed by the federal government. I like to spend time with my family and am excited that we will soon have a new addition in Feburary of 2014.

  I spend as much time as I am able writing, but also enjoy downtime with the wife and kids, and am a bit of a movie buff as well. I thrive on sarcasm and nerdism and am currently addicted to The Big Bang Theory amongst other things.

  Fantasy has always been my reading genre of choice, though I am picky about who and what I read, and I refuse to read a series out of order. I have been known to devour entire sagas in mere days, emerging only when necessary for survival.

  I love to hear from all of my readers, and hope to chat with you on the Blood and Brotherhood fan page on Facebook, here:

  http://www.facebook.com/bloodandbrotherhood

  Or feel free to contact me through my website and send me an email, here:

  http://www.wix.com/jeremylaszlo/author