A rustling came from the jungle just in front of me and I turned to it. “Is someone there?”
I took a step forward and then felt fire in my shoulder. I looked down and a short spear was sticking out of my flesh, pain radiating through me, and I fell to my knees just as something burst out of the wilds toward me.
2
I felt tugging and heard grunts. My face and head felt hot and I tried to look around but there was just darkness. Feeling the pressure around my head, I knew that I had something wrapped around my eyes preventing me from seeing.
I tried to move my hands and my legs, but to no avail. They were bound and I could tell now from the way they were pulled that I was upside down.
More grunting, like something between a man and a pig. It was all around me now, and I said, “Who’s there? Who is that?”
The grunting quieted a moment and then I felt an impact across my chest that knocked the wind out of me, and then more uproarious grunting. They were amused.
We continued on in this way for what seemed like a long time. Then we began descending a steep hill and I was jerked about. I could hear more voices now, but not of men. They were groans and squeals and then a choppy language of growls and hisses.
I was lifted high into the air and then placed on something. Two of the creatures were debating and then I felt warm flesh on my face as the cloth was violently ripped away. I was facing the sun and it blinded me so I turned away from it. When I opened my eyes again, I saw their feet.
They wore no sandals and no clothing. Their feet were three large toes, the flesh as black as dates. I ran up the leg and the torso to the head, which was misshapen and appeared almost like a man’s except that the flesh was gray and the ears pointed. The teeth were sharp, like an animal’s, and the nose was little more than a slit in the gruesome face.
Orcs.
But not like any I had ever seen.
Orcs in the Empire were puny, pathetic creatures that stalked the night looking for those who were too old or too young to defend themselves. They were hunted for pleasure and lived in holes like rats.
But these orcs were massive, larger than men, muscular, and covered with scars and open sores, fearsome creatures that sent a shiver down my back. The one who had taken the cloth from my eyes leaned down over me and his face was in front of mine. He screeched, and bits of raw meat and putrid spit flew over my face. I turned away from him and closed my eyes. He clawed at my face and I felt the hot sting of slashes.
A pit was dug in which skins of animals were placed. I was tied to a log of wood, and two forked pieces of lumber were placed on either side of the pit. There would be no fire: they meant to eat me raw. The skins were probably there to catch the blood to be drunk later.
Several of them brought out what looked like drums: animal skins stretched over hollow bits of wood. They began drumming as they lifted me and placed me over the pit. I screamed, which brought them no end of pleasure, and several of the larger ones came over and stripped off my clothes.
AYSTA
We walked to the edge of a hill and Slesh told me to duck low. We hid behind the vegetation. Before us lay what appeared to be a small village. Huts dotted the muddy ground, and in the center was a pile of corpses of men.
And then I saw them.
Creatures with skin as dark as night and teeth that I could see from where we were, teeth meant to tear into flesh and crunch bone. They were far larger than any orcs I had ever seen, and they were brutal to each other; I saw one bash another with a stone over the head for a bit of bone taken from the thigh of a corpse.
“They’ll eat corpses,” Slesh said. “But they prefer live meat.”
He was looking off to the right and I glanced over and saw what he was watching. Hung on a log like an animal about to be butchered was Prince Kandarian.
“A fitting end,” he said.
“No, we must stop them.”
He looked to me, astonished. “You want to save Kandarian?”
“He dies by my hand and no one else’s.”
“I can hardly imagine a worse death than being eaten alive by these bastards. The swift cut of your blade would be a mercy compared to that.”
“I don’t care. I want to look into his eyes as life leaves him and tell him of my family. It has to be me. If you won’t help me I’ll do it myself.”
He scoffed. “You’re too injured. You couldn’t hurt a bird. How will you defeat a village of giant orcs?”
He was right of course. They were quick and powerful. The ends of their hands were tipped with claws and they appeared to be at least somewhat intelligent, though not as much as orcs in the Empire.
Just off at the brim of the jungle I could see movement. It was the other men and they were staring down at their prince in wonder. I began circling over to them and Slesh grabbed me.
“Don’t do it. Let him die and get your pleasure from his death from here.”
“I can’t.”
I pulled away and walked to Gorb. His lip curled when he saw me and I saw his fingers tighten over his broadsword.
“I’m not here to fight you,” I said. “I want to save him too.”
He stared at me a moment and then back out to the orcs. “There’s too many for us to rush in.”
“Create a distraction with a small number of men. The rest of us will go in and kill the remaining orcs and take him.”
“There’s thirty of them and only twelve of us.”
“Then you better make certain the distraction is large.”
He stood still a moment and then disappeared behind me. I heard him shouting orders to the men and he and one other man disappeared into the jungle. Slesh came up behind me and sat down. He picked at some branches and began ripping the leaves apart in his hands.
“This is a mistake,” he said. I was silent. “What did he do to you to make the hatred burn this much?”
I crouched low as I saw Gorb and the other man, one on each side of the orcs up the hill. I took out my blade.
“Bloody hell,” Slesh said as he stood. “We don’t even have any weapons.”
“There, in the center, away from Kandarian, the orcs have gathered together weapons they’ve found.”
I looked back to the men and waited. It wasn’t long before Gorb stepped out of hiding and stood in full view of the orcs. He took out his cock and started pissing on the side of the hill.
“You ugly bastards!” he shouted. “Come and see a true beast!”
The orcs, surprised and confused, didn’t move at first, and I could see the debate in their primitive minds. Then a shriek escaped from one of them and they dashed for the hill. Just then the other man on the opposite side of the hill began shouting and throwing stones. He hit one of the females on the head and she let out a high-pitched whine. Some of the orcs sprinted for him, but most went after Gorb.
“Now!” one of the men near me shouted.
We ran down the hill heading for the weapons. My blade was held loosely as I attempted to run but the pain was too much and I slowed. Slesh ran past me and elbowed an orc in the face. The orc, hardly noticing, grabbed him by the throat and lifted him into the air.
I swept down, sliced its arm from its body, and Slesh dropped to the ground. The orc howled in pain until I ran my blade through its heart. By then Slesh was on his feet and had lifted two swords. He was cutting through the orcs that had remained behind. Then the orcs running up the hill saw the commotion below and began to turn.
They fought fiercely, trying to claw our throats and faces, but Slesh fought just as fiercely. He sliced one in half, bringing both swords down upon the shoulder blades and cutting down to the waist. He ripped the blades from its body and cut off the head of another orc that was running up behind him.
One leapt and landed on his back. It raised its claw and I threw my blade, cutting through its skull and flesh, the blade sticking out the other side of its head as it toppled over. As I went and pulled out the blade, orcs were running about n
ow in a frenzy. Some were attacked and getting cut down. Others were fleeing.
One man hit the ground from a blow and an orc grabbed his arms and tore them off. Another smashed his skull like a fruit. Another man had his face bitten off and was still alive, running and screaming before another orc got a hold of him and tore his spine from his body.
I looked over to Kandarian. Gorb had cut his way through the orcs and released him. Kandarian pulled out two thin blades and joined the fight. I thought he would run like a coward, but he was like a terrible wolf, and quick; he would strike ten times before the orcs could even get off a single blow. He spun over the back of one and embedded a blade into the eye of an orc behind him before spinning around and slashing the throat of another.
He whirled and thrusted and coiled and sprang like a man possessed. He was even growling like an animal. It so caught me off guard that I didn’t notice the orc until it had landed on my back. It bit into my shoulder and I felt the flesh tear away in long strands. I screamed and then pushed up just enough to get the blade straight and pressed it back into its stomach. As it squawked from the sudden pain, I removed the blade and sliced up across the neck, its head slipping off its body smoothly.
I felt a hand on me and I recoiled and brought up my blade when I saw that it was Slesh. He took my wrist and helped me back up the hill away from the melee. The men were running now too. Most of the orcs had fled but you could see them regrouping on the outskirts of their village. It would only take a few moments for them to realize they could overwhelm us with numbers.
We made it up the hill and back to the beach. Slesh placed me down and examined my wound.
“It will get corrupted if the wound isn’t closed,” he said.
He gathered some of the dry wood that was around and brought it near. He took my blade, which I was too weak even to hold, and struck it on the wood, causing it to burst into flame. Then he placed the edge of the blade into the flames.
“What are you doing?”
“We have to cauterize the wound or the corruption will spread up your arms and into your heart. It will kill you.”
“The orcs will do that.”
“No, they won’t. They fear water.”
My breathing was heavy and labored. “Then why do they live so close to the sea?”
“I don’t know. Maybe they worship it as a god?”
I was losing blood so quickly that though the day was boiling hot I was shivering and my fingers and toes felt icy. He took the blade out of the fire. The blade absorbed whatever element it was in. It did this as a way to maintain its integrity no matter what climate shades might find themselves in. I saw the edge of the blade and it glowed red from the heat.
“Do it,” I said.
He tipped me to my side, away from the blade so I couldn’t see it. He placed it against the wound, and at first there was no pain, then it began to sizzle and I smelled the bitter smoke of burnt flesh. I screamed, but I didn’t move.
We had to do this twice more to cauterize the entire wound. By the end I lay in the sand on my stomach, barely conscious, staring over the water as I heard the other men coming out of the jungle, some of them laughing.
Above them all, I heard one voice: Lucius Kandarian.
2
The men did not sit with us but instead gathered around a pile of wood nearer the water. I could see Gorb discussing something with Kandarian, and before long Kandarian went to Elfred and spoke with him. He looked to me and I looked away. I was filled with so much rage and disgust I couldn’t look at him. And what’s more, I had not expected him to fight the way he had. He was brutally efficient, not a single movement wasted. I was now filled with doubt as to my own abilities.
I had thought I would come to him and take his life easily and enjoy his death, savor it. But now I wasn’t certain I could actually bring it about.
Boots in the sand, Kandarian flopped in front of me. He brought his knees up to his chest and watched me. Slesh was eyeing him and then looking back to the men.
“Could we have a moment alone please?” Kandarian asked.
Slesh was still a long while before he rose and wandered farther down the beach.
“So, you are the gorgon slayer?”
“No.”
“No?” he said. “Were you not the one that saved our arses?”
“Slayer implies that I killed it. I did not. I have never heard of a gorgon being killed. You can only wound them in one place and hope they lose interest.”
“Gorb says he’s never seen skill like that. He says you ran like a panther and flew through the air like a hawk. Lying, murdering, little hawk … who are you really?”
“I told you.”
“No more lies, fair maiden. I’m afraid you’re fresh out of mercy and trust. If you do not tell me I will have Gorb cut out your eyes and send you back in that jungle to get reacquainted with the orcs. Who are you?”
I stayed silent.
“I figured as much,” he said. “You were sent to kill me? You don’t need to answer, and I suppose I don’t need to ask. But I would like to hear it from you.”
I turned away from him. I felt his hand on my back and it filled me with revulsion as he caressed my flesh. Then he shoved his finger into the cauterized wound on my back and I screamed. I saw Slesh hurry over and fling the prince off me. Then I saw the other men pull out their weapons and rush us.
“Stop,” Kandarian said. He rose to his feet and looked to Slesh. “You protect her. Why?”
“Just felt right.”
“Hm, curious. One assassin and her protector. Fascinating, wouldn’t you say, Gorb?”
“I would M’lord.”
“Whatever should we do with them?”
“Let them live,” a voice said from behind the men. They turned to see Elfred looking on.
“Elfred, why would I possibly let an assassin live?”
“Because she saved your life. It was her idea to save you. And that big one there, her protector, he helped too. I doubt we could have spirited you away without them, My Prince.”
Kandarian turned to me. “So you come to kill me and then save my life. Now why would you do that I wonder? You are full of mysteries, aren’t you?” He glanced to Gorb. “Tie her up. And her protector.”
Slesh took out his swords that were tied to his waist. “I don’t think anybody’s going to be tying me up today.”
We stood in silence a while. I could barely lift it, but I picked up my blade. If I couldn’t kill him, I could at least injure him. Maybe scar him for the rest of his life so I would always haunt him.
“This is nonsense,” Elfred said. “None of you will be doing anything of the sort. Put your weapons down. I said put them down!”
To my astonishment, the men listened to him. Gorb and Slesh were the last two to lower their weapons but they eventually did so.
“If we’re going to get off this forsaken island,” Elfred said, “we’ll need manpower.”
“It’s not an island,” Slesh said, not taking his eyes off of Gorb.
“What do you mean?”
“This isn’t an island, old man. You’re in the Darklands. And we’re all going to die here together.”
3
I lay against a tree as the men gathered wood. The plan had been hatched that we would build another ship. As they were debating, I noticed that Slesh said nothing to them of his being here before or the other route to re-enter the Empire. In fact, he didn’t pay much attention to them at all. He kept his eyes on the woods; he would stare into them for a long time.
“What is it?” I asked when he was close enough.
“The air. I can smell the stink of orcs. They’re regrouping.”
“You said they were afraid of water.”
“They are. But we’re not in water.” He looked down to me. “If they attack, you run into the sea. They throw stones so watch for those, but they will not enter after you.”
“That’s comforting.”
“Noth
ing about this is meant to be comforting.” He looked over to Kandarian. “Not least of which is that our little prince is a tiger on the battlefield.”
“You noticed that too?”
“I hate to say that I was right, but we should have let the orcs have him.”
I looked away to the sea when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Gorb staring at me. I looked to him and he smiled and slid his finger across his throat.
Night fell quickly and so did the heat. The cool wind blowing in from the sea swiftly turned freezing. I huddled up near the fire Slesh had made and he sat next to it as well, poking at it with a stick and watching the glowing cinders rising to dance in the night sky.
I looked into the fire. “I was a child when I saw him the first time. Our village was small and no one had ever seen royalty before. We were independent under the kingdom and only were annexed into the Empire a short while after it was formed. I remember my mother had sewn a quilt. It held the banners of all the families in our village. She was so … simple. We had no coin but she thought that thoughtfulness could make up for extravagance, that the royal family must be cultured and flattered when people of our station gave them gifts.
“When I saw Kandarian ride into the village, I thought he was the most handsome man I had ever seen. I thought we would marry and how wonderful it would be to go live in his palace. He saw me and smiled and my heart jumped. He went about waving and meeting people and decided he would spend the night in our village.
“My mother saw him later that evening. She brought him the quilt. She was very beautiful … he … came to our home that night and broke down the door. He took my mother and my older sister out of their beds and locked them into a room with him while his guards watched. My father was away to the next village, trading, but he came back early in the morning. When he saw the prince exit our home covered in blood, he knew what had happened. He dashed at the prince, and that one there, Gorb, put a sword through his neck.”
Empire of War - An Epic Fantasy (The Empire of War Trilogy Book 1) Page 14