A warm jolt woke him. He sat up. “Gah!” He found himself looking right at Calypsa, who was sitting on his cot.
With a warm and inviting smile, she said, “Hello, Nath Dragon. Did you miss me?”
Nath blinked. At first, he thought he was dreaming, but he felt fully alert and revitalized. He noticed her hand was holding his. Energy flowed from her into him. “Calypsa? It’s really you?” he asked, trying to pull his hand away.
She held his hand in a strong grip. “There is only one me, obviously. So, it couldn’t be anyone else but me. Do you feel better?”
“Much,” Nath said. He felt better than he’d felt in two years, actually. He flexed his arm. “Much better. Thank you.”
“You looked so worn out. I just had to help you.” She crawled into his lap and put her hands over his neck. “Did you miss me?”
Her warm, alluring body seemed to merge with his. She nuzzled her face into him. Her soft lips brushed against his neck. His heart started pounding in his chest. Calypsa nuzzled his neck. It felt so good having the curvy woman in his lap. Her hair tickled his nose. But now, with his strength back, he managed to control his own passion. “Not to be without thanks, but I’ve been so miserable, I hadn’t been able to think about you or anyone. I just want out of here.”
She stopped nuzzling his neck and looked at him with a straight face. “You haven’t thought of me at all?”
“I have, some, but I never thought I would see you again,” he admitted.
“And when you thought about me, what did you think about?” she said.
Nath didn’t want to say what he thought. He was mad at her for robbing him in the first place. That’s when his entire life started to slide downhill. He changed the subject. “Calypsa, how did you get in here?” The door to his cell was locked shut. “And what about the guards? What if they find you in here?”
“Then we will die together,” she said. Just as she finished, a guard came through the heavy curtain. Calypsa waved at the man. “Hello.”
Nath couldn’t believe his ears. Rond was right. She’s crazy!
CHAPTER 21
“Tell me this is a dream,” Nath said, as the guard marched right up to him. The guard wasn’t an orc, but a man. The ringmail and tunic he wore fit loosely on his body, and his shoulders were broad, making his head look smaller. He seemed familiar. Nath swallowed then said, “Tell me you don’t see a woman on my lap.”
“Well of course I do. A very fetching one at that,” the guard said in a friendly voice.
Nath’s head tilted. “Radagan?”
The man grinned. “You remember?”
“Well, of course I remember, but you shrank.”
Radagan slapped the small belly he still had with his hands. “I still keep a little bit of the old me around. As a reminder of how big I was.” He hitched his thumb over his shoulder. “I could have dressed myself in that curtain back in the day. So, how have you been, Nath?”
“I’ve been rather miserable until now,” he said. Calypsa lay against his chest with her eyes closed, breathing in and out deeply. “How did you get so small, Radagan? And why are you a guard?”
Casually, Radagan leaned against the cell bars. “Well, being in the hold broke me of my bad eating habits, it seemed. I don’t know, but I just changed. The fat fell off me after that, but I still indulge a bit in the kitchen, but mostly on the slow days. You see, once I got fit, I told them I wanted to join the guards. Isn’t that something. Look at me, I have armor and a club.” He pulled his club out of his belt and dropped it on the floor. It made a loud clatter. “Whoops.” He reached down to pick it up and kicked it away. Finally, he grabbed it and stuck it back in his belt. “Sorry, I get excited.”
“I thought only orcs were guards,” Nath said, staring at the curtain. Given the amount of racket going on, he expected more guards to come in at any moment.
“They are increasing the force,” Radagan said. “A few men, born and raised in Slaver Town like me, have been added. That happens time to time. I guess I’m one of the lucky ones. And the orcs have their training outside in the fields, so they need to leave another force behind. They have more training coming on soon. That’s when they ride the horses, take the dogs, and hunt after prisoners they have loosed. I hope I get to do that soon.”
Nath tapped Calypsa on the shoulder.
“Yes?” she said, looking at him with dreamy eyes.
“I think you have some explaining to do. Both of you. How am I to escape again?”
Radagan’s eyes grew big. “Escape? Caly, you didn’t say anything about escape. You just said you wanted to see him. I can’t be privy to any escape plan. I’ll lose my position.”
She shooed Radagan away with her hand. “Just go away and make sure no other guards hear your blathering. I’ll explain it all to Nath and to you later.”
With a little grunt, Radagan shuffled away, stepping beyond the curtain.
“So, what is the plan, Caly?” Nath asked.
“Oh, I like it when you call me Caly. It’s very personal.” She walked her fingers up his bare chest. “Say it again.”
“One more time, and you explain, Caly?”
“You have such a soothing voice, Nath Dragon. I love it.”
Homer stirred. He looked right at Nath and Calypsa, blinked a few times, shook his head, pulled the blanket over him, and started snoring.
“Out with it, Caly,” Nath said.
“The prisoners and slaves are ready to revolt. They are convinced that you will lead them,” she said, looking at her fingernails. “The day after the guards head outside to train for the slave hunts, the slaves within will be ready to act. There will be a sign. The slaves will turn on their masters and on the guards, and during all of the commotion of battle, we, you and I, will make our escape.”
“You’ve told these people I am leading a revolt? Are you insane?” Nath clamped her wrists in his hands. “Innocent people will die.”
“Pfft. These people are criminals. Who cares what happens to them? All that matters is that you and I are free to be together forever.” She batted her eyes at him. “And ever.”
Nath wanted out, but he wasn’t willing to risk the lives of others to do so. It wasn’t right. People like Radagan, born in Slaver Town, could be hurt or even killed. The same could happen to Homer. “Caly, you can’t do this. I don’t want others to suffer on my account.”
“Don’t be silly, Nath. They are already suffering, and they are choosing to do this.” She looked him dead in the eye. “Would you not risk your own life for freedom, Nath? Or the freedom of others? Don’t deny the others the same opportunity.”
“These people are broken. They will not fight.”
“They will when they have something to fight for. Nath, you are not here by chance. You are here to be their liberator. At least, I’ve convinced them of that. You are the Special.”
“So, that is what you have been doing since you’ve been here? Getting their hopes up in me?” Nath said, exasperated.
“You have to admit it is an excellent plan.”
“It’s a horrendous plan.”
“How is freeing you a horrendous plan, Nath Dragon?” She scowled. “I’m risking everything for you, and this is the thanks I receive. These people are nothing. But you are something. They all can see it, but you can’t. Maybe you don’t want to get your hands dirty, but there is no other way out of here unless you do. As for slaves, do you really think they want to be slaves?” She got on her feet. “At least I’ve given them something to believe in. You.”
“My idea of leaving was slipping out on a wagon loaded with block. Not by distracting the slavers with a war. These people are too weak to fight, Caly. They’ll be slaughtered.”
“Then so will you,” she said. Somehow, her body shimmered, and she squeezed through the narrow bars like a rubbery cat.
Nath moved to the bars. “Calypsa,” he said, marveling. “How did you do that?”
“I can do many thin
gs. You should trust me.” Standing on the other side of the bars, she said, “There will be a riot, Nath Dragon. And there will be an exit. Whether or not you take it is up to you.”
“I’m not going anywhere with these irons on. And they watch me like a hawk.”
“Don’t you think I’ve thought of that?” She shook her head, frowning, turned, and left the room.
Scratching his head, Nath said to himself, “What just happened?”
CHAPTER 22
Over the course of the next several days, Nath spent his time busting rocks in the quarry. It was just him and about twenty other slaves, the same as always. The bugbear kept his distance. He didn’t look Nath’s way, not once.
With a steady rhythm, Nath’s sledgehammer came down on the rock. Chips of stone flew. Rock split off in chunks. A bald, broad-backed dwarf would dig the hunks of stone out of the crevices with his hands and haul them away. The dwarf, who never spoke a word, now hummed. He even glanced at Nath a few times with his hard eyes.
Nath peered around, checking his surroundings. Unless he was going crazy, the slaves had a bit of a spring in their step. At the same time, the guards were oddly quiet. Even Foster, who sat at the top on his tall chair, didn’t have much to say. It was as if they were all going through the motions, waiting for something to happen.
With the sun at its zenith, the prisoners were taken into the shade and given a water break. They sat along the wall and passed oak buckets down the row to one another. Hard loaves of bread were passed between them. Nath’s eyes swept the upper rim of the quarry. He was hoping to see Calypsa. He hated the way things were left.
But she’s crazy.
He’d mulled over her plans and even shared them with Homer.
“Women will go to great lengths when they are in love with a man. I’d be flattered, if I was you.”
That wasn’t all of the conversation either. When Nath asked Homer if he would risk his life to be free, he was surprised at the musician’s answers. “Wouldn’t death be better than a life such as this? At least the slaves can die fighting for themselves, rather than dying weak and withered, like a sun-scorched flower, at the hands of their cruel masters. I think they would be with you, Nath.”
The plan wasn’t for Nath to lead a fight, however. The plan was for the fight to allow Nath to escape. He couldn’t do that. But again, Homer surprised him.
“If the slaves can free one prisoner among them, then it is a victory for them. They want to stick it to the guards, to Foster and the slave lords, and make fools of all of them,” Homer said. “Perhaps, Nath, now is not the time to free all of us. Perhaps you can be freed, come back, and put an end to this place. All days are the same for us, you know that, but give us hope for a new day, when the sunshine and rain can be enjoyed again.”
“Break’s over,” one of the guards said. It was a man. The guard force was down to half of their number. Where there used to be twenty, there were only ten. In the barn, there were less than twenty, as opposed to the forty Nath normally counted. It made Nath nervous. There was tension in the air, like the calm before the storm. He got up, grabbed his hammer, and got back to work.
The slave hunt training was going on somewhere beyond the wall. If Nath were to guess, at least half of the orcs were gone. He figured there were five or six hundred guards in all, and even though men had replaced some of them, it only appeared to be a couple of dozen at most. At this point, the slaves vastly outnumbered the guards, at least three, if not four to one.
Now would be the perfect time to do it. If the slaves wanted, they could take over the entire city, bar the guards on the outside by defending the walls from within. Heh, it would work if it were well coordinated.
Lost in thought, Nath pounded away at the rock, with several scenarios playing through his mind. In midswing, he heard the crunch of a foot stop on the rocks behind him. He checked his swing and turned.
Foster stared down Nath with his head tilted slightly. He held his sledgehammer, Stone Smiter, in front of his waist with two hands. A pair of guards flanked Foster from behind. They had swords on their hips, not clubs. “It’s awfully quiet,” Foster said to Nath, “too quiet. I have a feeling that something is going on, Nath.”
Nath’s blood froze. Foster never called him by name. Something else occurred to him too. The guards didn’t have their clubs, just the lash, but swords were now strapped on their hips. Nath had been so tired and preoccupied he’d missed it. He could only think one thing. Oh gads, he’s on to us!
CHAPTER 23
Nath resumed his swinging. The hammer head struck stone.
Bang!
How can he be on to me when I haven’t even done anything? It had eaten at Nath that if Calypsa did indeed stir up the slaves, then they would be talking. What were the chances that the guards wouldn’t overhear them? Certainly, they knew the slaves and their habits. If something was up, the guards would know. You don’t know anything. You haven’t heard anything, Nath. Everything with Caly was just a dream.
“I don’t know what you are talking about, Foster,” he said while swinging. Bang! “If something is going on, I’m sure you’d be certain that I’m the last to know. Besides, I thought you knew all that happened in your slave yard.”
“Oh, but I do.” Foster licked his puffy lips. “You see, even though there is a lot of orc in me, I have a very calculating mind. You might be interested to know that my father was an engineer on the towers in Narmum. A brilliant man who would lay block that will not fall. That is where these stones go. He taught me a few things when I was young. He said, ‘Pay attention. There are always signs before a change. You will feel it in your bones, so long as you always pay attention.’ My bones quaver, Nath. I want you to tell me what is going on.”
Nath kept hitting.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
“I don’t know what you want me to say. You have your guards, though I guess some of your men are away for training during the slave hunt.” He brought the weapon high overhead and brought it down. Bang! “I didn’t want to tell you I knew that because you would punish me for knowing. But Homer, my cellmate who does laundry, shares what he hears with me.” He drew the hammer back over his shoulder.
Foster grabbed the sledgehammer by the handle with an iron grip. “Stop swinging and keep talking.”
Fighting the urge to glance around, Nath continued. Mopping the sweat from his brows on his forearm, he said, “Fine, I could use the rest. Where were we? You were telling me about your mother, weren’t you?”
“My mother? I don’t speak about my mother. She was an orcen tramp who abandoned me and my father.”
“I can’t say that I blame her. You were probably a very rotten son. Did you have any other brothers and sister—”
Foster slugged Nath in the stomach.
“Oof!” Nath landed on his knees. “I guess that’s a no,” he sputtered out.
“Stop delaying, fool! Keep talking about the prisoners. What do you know?”
Catching his breath and holding his stomach, Nath said, “I don’t know why you are interrogating me. You should ask them. I don’t even consort with any of them.” Foster drew back. Nath put his hands up. “Listen, I think that they are excited that the orcs are gone. They would see it as an opportunity to escape while your numbers are weakened. But, it’s purely fantasy. I’m sure that you’ve dealt with this before, during times like this.”
“True, but not with you here. Not with the one they call the Special.”
Nath’s heart skipped. Cleary, Foster had his ear to the ground, and he knew exactly what was going on. If anything started now, it would be a disaster. He glanced at the guards’ swords. “You are amply equipped for any sort of riot.” He lifted his chained wrists. “And I’m not a threat. I just want to get away from you and serve my master, whoever that might be.”
“You lie. You want to escape. Of course, you want to escape.” Foster stuck the head of his hammer in Nath’s face. “But the only escape from here, for
anybody else but you, is death. And that will include your cellmate.”
Angered, Nath said, “Foster, I have learned my lesson. I’m following my orders, biding my time until the master I serve comes. Leave others out of this thing that you created.” He caught the ogre, Torno, pushing the huge wheelbarrow their way. There was a half full load in it. He came to a stop a few feet behind the guards that came with Foster. “Eh, I think your big pet wants something.”
Foster turned his head and gave Torno a look. “What do you want, ogre? Load your rocks and go away.” He turned toward Nath. “I should have let him kill you. Oh, I wish I would have.”
“Why do you hate me so much?” Nath asked.
“Because you are you, and I am me. I hate everybody.” Foster rested his hammer back on his shoulder. With his free hand, he reached into his belt pouch and produced a rock the size of an egg. It was made of cinnamon-red crystal that matched the small stones embedded in Torno’s collar. “Torno, you don’t want to draw my ire today, do you?” The stone flickered in his palm. “Now, take those rocks up the ramp before I have you sucking your thumb like an ape.”
Nath looked at Torno. The towering ogre lifted a huge maul that was sitting in the wheelbarrow. His brow crinkled. That’s when Nath saw it. Or didn’t see it. The ogre’s restraint collar was gone.
Foster must have seen a curious look in Nath’s eyes. The half-orc suddenly twisted around. “Torno, where is your collar?”
With the suddenness of a thunderclap, the ogre unleashed a hard, powerful, bone-breaking swing. The massive maul collided with the two guards, sending them flying head over heels.
Enslaved: The Odyssey of Nath Dragon - Book 2 (The Lost Dragon Chronicles) Page 7