by JC Kang
Kaiya considered using a magical command. No, the ogres might not all understand Arkothi, while all her men did. Instead, she dropped the bauble, nocked an arrow, and let it fly. It hit the leader in the right shoulder. He shrieked, and the club slipped from hand.
Brandishing swords, Ma Jun and Chen Xin guarded her flanks. She fitted another arrow, took aim and shot at an ogre closing on Tian’s back. It lodged in the ogre’s spine.
Tian deftly rolled under the clumsy swing of another ogre, simultaneously cutting through his knee tendons. A gap opened in the ring of attackers. Tian beckoned her. “Run, this way!”
Chen Xin grabbed Kaiya’s wrist and pulled her in that direction. Ma Jun backed up, keeping the other enemies in front of him. Tian ran toward her.
A high-pitched whistling sang from behind. Chen Xin collapsed, dragging her down with him. Kaiya staggered to her feet and tried to pull him, but he was too heavy.
Tian grabbed her by the shoulder. “Leave him. We must get to safety!”
“No!” She tugged at Chen Xin’s inert body.
Tian reached under her arms and across her chest. He pulled.
Her sweaty grip slipped from Chen Xin’s arm.
Tian’s tone was insistent. “We must go! We can outrun them. In the dense woods.”
Kaiya looked toward the fire, where Ma Jun and the doctor stood back-to-back, fighting valiantly. Four of the ogres turned and lumbered toward her.
Heart racing, she turned and ran, letting Tian pull her along through the darkness. Despite what he believed about the dense woods slowing them, the ogres loped with longer strides. The footsteps gained on them.
Tian pulled her down into thick brush with no warning. He threw himself on top of her, his hand on her mouth. His heat and weight smothered her. Images of Geros leaped into her mind. Her heart seized. She struggled for a split second.
No, this was Tian, trying to protect her. With conscious effort, she took control of her fevered panting.
The footsteps approached. Faster. Louder.
Then ran past them.
She held her breath, too scared to let it out. Her vision adjusted to the darkness and Tian withdrew his hand. All was silent, save for the ogres’ pounding feet in the distance and the rustling of the river.
Motioning for quiet, Tian helped her up and guided her back towards their camp at a brisk pace. His hand on hers felt reassuring.
Then he dragged her down into more brush. In the far distance, the ogres spoke in their harsh-sounding language. Soon, that too faded.
“I think they’re gone,” Tian whispered. “You wait here. I’ll go back. To check the camp.”
She shook her head emphatically. “We stay together. We might get lost and separated.”
He nodded in acquiescence, but his pursed lips, silhouetted against the dark, betrayed his opinion on the matter. He pulled her to her feet, and they crept back toward the sounds of the river.
When they reached the path by the water, the flickering of their campfire shone in the distance to the south. The sky had started to lighten, dark blues on the horizon merging with the black above. Slinking back as quietly as they could, they reached the site.
There, Chen Xin lay face-down. She stifled a gasp. He was bleeding from a horrific wound in the back of his head. Their gear had been taken. There was no sign of Ma Jun, Fang Weiyong, or the ogres.
Sobbing, Kaiya ran over and sank to her knees. She rolled Chen Xin over and nestled his head in her lap. Within seconds, his warm blood seeped through her pants. She stroked his short hair, and his eyes fluttered open.
Squinting at her, he offered a weak smile. His voice rasped in a strained whisper. “Princess Kaiya, it has been an honor to serve you all these years. I have seen you grow into a fine woman... I’m so....” He choked on his words and fell silent.
Tian knelt down beside him to feel his pulse. He looked up at her and shook his head.
Tears trickled unheeded down Kaiya’s cheeks. Chen Xin had been with her for as long as she could remember, had borne the brunt of her forceful personality without complaint. Now he was dead, at just thirty-eight. Her fault.
Tian eased her up and folded his arms around her. She leaned in, draping her arms around his neck and burying her face in his chest. The warmth of his body was comforting, filling the emptiness in her heart. He stroked the back of her head.
“Poor human,” a mocking voice said from the shadows. “Stupid human, come back for friend.”
A trap.
Tian’s body stiffened as he muttered some unintelligible curse.
She was running, Tian’s hand wrapped around her wrist and pulling her on a mad dash down the river bank trail. When had he grabbed her?
An ogre stepped in front of them, only to be cut across the neck with a swift draw and slash of Tian’s saber.
Jumping over the body, Kaiya looked back. Two ogres shambled behind them in close pursuit.
Despite her improved physical conditioning after two months of hard travel, her lungs burned. She panted as the path sloped upwards. Below, the river descended, the roar of water suggesting rapids.
A whirling, whining sound swooped in behind her. Something tangled her legs. She fell hard into Tian’s ankles, knocking the wind from her.
He tripped over the ledge and into the river below with a loud splash.
“Tian!” Kaiya sat up and struggled to free herself from the bola entangling her legs. Her fingers trembled, her heart raced. Was Tian all right? She squinted. Dozens of feet downstream, Tian’s inert form bobbed among the rapids.
A dark shadow appeared above her. Heart pounding, she looked up.
“Girl need help?” an ogre cackled. His huge, six-fingered hand wrapped around both of her wrists and jerked her onto her entangled feet. He smirked, revealing sharp yellow teeth. Rubbing some of her short hair between his fingers, he grunted.
Then, he reached toward her face. No! He lifted her chin in a tight pinch between his thumb and index finger and fixed her with a dull gaze. “Girl got ugly hair, but pretty face.” His breath reeked of rotten raw meat, stirring her stomach to rebellion.
She tried to turn her head through his strong grip, to no avail.
He laughed. His hand strayed from her face and down her back, then around toward the front.
Oh no. What was he going to do? All her muscles seized up, fear freezing her in place. The horror of this situation surpassed her encounter with Geros, swallowing up her attempt to use the power of her voice. Unlike altivorcs, who found humans to be hideous, ogres had a well-known appetite for human women. In human societies, one might sometimes encounter one of the few half-ogres born to women who survived the experience.
A male behind her barked in an unintelligible language. The hand on the side of her ribs withdrew. Patting her on the cheek, he mumbled, “Chief say we go. Maybe us do fun later.” He winked, sending a shudder wracking through her.
He lugged her up over his shoulder, still holding both of her wrists in his hand, and shambled towards their camp. Incoherent thoughts bounced through her head.
When they arrived at the campsite, three more ogres leered at her. Chen Xin’s body lay there, though they’d taken his boots. Why, considering their feet were so much larger?
With a deep breath, she settled her racing thoughts. “Put me down,” she sang. Power, held back by fear, sputtered inside of her. Energy drained out of her arms and legs.
The ogre’s expression blanked and he set her on the ground.
Kaiya stumbled away, her limbs weighing her down like dwarf anvils.
She did not get far.
An ogre tackled her from behind, sending her careening face-first into the ground and knocking the wind from her. He scrambled up and straddled her, his weight crushing into her back.
Her captors exchanged a few more words in their language and then flipped her over. One gagged her with a stinking rag, which must have been used to wash a goat. Two others bound her wrists and ankles with rope. The f
rayed fibers bit into her skin. They ran a long pole through the ropes, and then hoisted her up like a deer carcass between two ogres. Kaiya’s rattling heart bounced all rational thought from her mind. She wriggled and writhed, only to be rewarded with cruel laughs. Finally, all energy spent, she wilted.
The sky above flushed pink, as the crown of the sun glanced through the tree tops. The beasts began their march back through the river. Where were they taking her? At the deepest point, the water reached to the ogres’ waists. Their massive bodies resisted the strong flow of the current.
Kaiya wiggled upwards as best she could, to keep from getting her back wet from the splashing waters. After several minutes, they emerged from the river onto another path through the forest. They came to a clearing, where Ma Jun and the doctor lay bound to poles, just like her.
Ma Jun’s left eye swelled shut, flushing an ugly shade of purple. He looked at her with his good eye and shook his head. Another seven ogres sat there, slurping on some food. Four ogres lay dead.
The largest one’s arm dangled in a sling, with a black splotch seeping through a clumsy bandage on his shoulder. The leader. The one she’d shot. He glared at her and stood. He lurched over, drawing a wicked, serrated metal knife with his good hand and yelling foul gibberish.
His words needed no translation. The knife announced his intentions. He was out for revenge, coming to cut her throat here and now. Then they would do horrible things to her body, robbing her of dignity even in death.
She squirmed to free herself. The other ogres lifted the pole off the ground, setting gravity against her. Before the enraged leader could reach her, two of his companions interceded, stammering with wild gesticulations. He snarled and sheathed the knife, spitting on the ground. He came closer and aimed a kick to her side—not strong enough to break anything, but sharp enough to send pain flaring through her ribs.
She yelped. Ma Jun resumed his struggle, only to be punched in the jaw.
The leader leaned in and yanked her head back. “You lucky you pretty. You bring good money. Else I gut you.” He released her and stomped away.
Good money? Were they to be sold into slavery? Kaiya let out a long exhale. Warm tears flowed freely over her cold cheek.
After a while, the ogres hoisted her and the two others back up and resumed their march through the forest. Where were they headed? There couldn’t be a slave market in the wilderness. Could there? Fleet had never mentioned anything about the tribal peoples keeping slaves.
The sounds of wildlife fell silent as they passed. The brutes lumbered on, and the sun rose higher, peeking through tree branches as the morning progressed. After three hours, they arrived at what appeared to be a permanent campsite in a large clearing.
Kaiya’s arms and legs ached from the strain. Hopelessness overcame her.
Evergreen needles and greywood leaves covered the ground. Several large tents circled a bonfire. A couple of ogres milled about, but the loud sound of snoring from the tents suggested there were a few dozen more.
And from one tent came the sounds of a woman, crying and screaming. Kaiya’s heart leaped into her throat. She fought against her bindings. It was no use. She looked to see where the ogres were taking her.
Four fifteen-feet poles were secured horizontally between trees. On either side of each pole, alternating from left shoulder to right shoulder, dark-haired humans sat quietly, their wrists bound so that the pole passed between their arms. There were thirty-eight in total, about ten to each pole.
The ogres carried them over to the other prisoners. Black-haired with ruddy skin, they were Kanin tribespeople, dressed in deerskin clothes and furs. All young adults, mostly men. No children or elderly. Some looked up, craning their necks and meeting her gaze. Eyes widened and murmurs passed through the lines.
Kaiya sucked in a breath. There were several sets of twins.
The ogres untied her feet, and then added her to one of the poles. They secured Ma Jun and Doctor Fang to different poles. One ogre stood guard while the rest stomped back to the center of the camp.
How could they possibly get away? She looked over at her countrymen. Fang Weiyong was talking to a tribesman, or at least trying to. Ma Jun met her eyes and nodded. He must be making a plan of some sort.
Several hours passed. Mouth still gagged, Kaiya looked at each of the prisoners within her line of sight. They must all have some sad story. Like her, caught by ogres for some nefarious purpose. And why so many twins? If not for the stinking gag, she would’ve asked.
When the sun shone high in the sky, two ogres approached. One looked fairly intelligent, his eyes seeming to comprehend things more deeply than the average ogre. His comrades all nodded respectfully at him. The chief, probably. His companion was the one she had shot, arm still in a sling. Perhaps a lieutenant of some sort.
Behind them, the chief dragged a comely young woman, tears streaked across her face. Her deerskin dress was torn, partially revealing her breasts and legs. The blood staining her thighs left no doubt as to what had happened to her.
Poor girl. Kaiya drew her knees to her chest. It probably wouldn’t be long before she shared the same fate.
The other prisoners muttered and wailed. Others sobbed as the ogres tied the girl to a pole.
The chief came up and inspected them in a cursory manner. When he paused at Kaiya, her heart almost stopped. He bent over and clutched her chin in an iron grip between his thumb and index finger. Try as she might, she couldn’t turn her head. He peered at her through sleepy eyes before turning to his lieutenant and grunting something.
The other ogre nodded and grinned.
Her entire body trembling, Kaiya scuttled back as best she could. The prisoner beside her yelped.
The chief snorted and released her, then stood and yelled back at the camp. One ogre brought a sloshing wooden bucket and lifted it to each of the prisoners’ mouths. Water! It dribbled out the sides, and tantalized Kaiya’s dry mouth.
Another ogre hand-fed them small chunks of some foul-smelling meat. The stench quelled the gnawing in her stomach.
The ogres approached. They would have to loosen the gag to feed her. And then the power of her voice... No. There must be at least thirty here, and without a musical instrument, she’d be exhausted after three or four commands. Her flute, in the fold of her robe...gone. The Teleri imperial crest, too. Nothing to do now but wait, rest, and look for another opportunity. And hope.
When offered, Kaiya gulped the water down. Its coolness ran down her chin and neck. The meat, on the other hand, stank so bad that she just turned her head. Those ogre hands were filthy, and what kind of meat was it, anyway?
The chief addressed them all, speaking in heavily accented but fluent Arkothi. “Rest well. You will be travelling in the late afternoon.”
Then he turned to Kaiya, grinning. “Except you. We will keep you until our next group is ready. I’m sure the big bosses won’t mind if we have some fun first.”
Big bosses? Fun? Her heart resumed its pounding, but she nonetheless glared back at him in defiance.
Another several hours passed. Kaiya’s wrists chafed from trying to loosen her bonds. Eventually, she gave up and closed her eyes, letting sleep overtake her. In what seemed to be minutes, loud clanging jolted her out of sleep.
Night had fallen, and the ogres were back with food. Again, she drank the water but refused the meat. After half an hour, the leader appeared again. “Now, get ready to leave. Stand up.”
As the prisoners shuffled to their feet, he ambled over to Kaiya. “All but you.” He laughed as he motioned his lieutenant to take hold of her. He pulled out a large knife and cut through her bindings. Kaiya kicked and struggled, but the ogre effortlessly lifted her in the air, far enough away from her flailing.
It wasn’t long before she tired.
Ma Jun twisted and turned, disrupting his pole, but another ogre came and punched him squarely in the kidneys. Everyone cringed at the sound of cracking bones. He collapsed, almost bringing
the entire line of prisoners down with him. The leader angrily barked at the offending ogre, who then yanked Ma Jun to his feet.
Kaiya’s wrists were retied in front of her. An ogre shoved her to her knees, holding her down with enormous paws while the ogres prepared the others for departure.
A dozen ogres marched the prisoners out of the camp on a path to the south. Ma Jun stumbled along, slowed by his injury. Exhausted from her struggle, Kaiya could only watch them leave before the chief half-dragged her towards a tent.
CHAPTER 38:
Rescue with Red Hair
He lay flat on his back. The chill of the hard ground seeped through his wet clothes. Tian opened his eyes. Everything was blurry. He blinked to clear his vision, and listened. There was the rippling of the river, birds chirping, wind blowing through the trees...and talking.
His vision came into focus. Above him, the tops of sweet evergreen trees, swaying in the breeze, framed a bright blue sky. The iridescent moon was hidden from where he lay, but the sunlight suggested it was either early morning or late afternoon.
Where were those voices? He turned his head, sending a blazing pain searing through his temples.
Ignoring his body’s protests, Tian pushed himself to a sitting position. With great effort, he looked from side to side, but the voices came from behind, in elegant, accentless Arkothi. His hand inched toward his saber, only to find that it, and his dagger, were missing.
“Well, well, General Shaotyan rises from the dead!” It was an unfamiliar but melodious male voice, butchering the name of the Wang Dynasty founder.
Tian twisted around, gingerly, fearing that any quick motion would cause his brains to leak from his ears.
Six people huddled in a semicircle on the ground, about ten feet away from him. Four men, most likely Arkothi from their olive skin and dark hair, nodded at him in turn. They wore camouflaged leather cuirasses and bore shortbows and longswords. Some sported short beards. Most looked to be in their twenties.