Chapter 5

Becca

A gor cradled me to his chest. “I’m taking you home.”

Clutching the knife in both hands, I shivered in my damp clothes. My feet were so cold, I couldn’t even feel them in my soggy boots anymore. Instinctively, I leaned into the warmth of his body, pressing my knife to my chest.

Being carried all the way back to my settlement in this fashion didn’t sound bad at all. Then, I remembered that the word “home” held a very different meaning for the orc than it did for me.

“Where home?” I tensed.

“To the keep.” He grinned. “I’m keeping you, my fire newt.”

“You’re what?” I scrambled out of his arms.

Covered in mud and blood, I was too slippery for him to hold on to me.

“Hey, stop wiggling.” He grabbed for me, but I’d already slipped out of his embrace and landed on the ground in a crouch. “Where are you going?”

“Home. My home.”

I climbed over the limp neck of the hydra’s head that had almost swallowed me whole.

Agor caught up with me and grabbed my arm.

“You know, I can toss you over my shoulder and get you back to my house well before the sunrise, no matter how much you’d kick or scream.”

The truth of his words weighed heavily on me. He most certainly could do whatever the hell he wished with me. If I ran, he’d catch me.

I was tired. So tired, my hands shook and my legs barely held me upright. Despite the exhaustion, I would still put up a fight, of course. He wouldn’t get me easily. But the element of surprise was no longer on my side. He’d underestimated me once. It was safe to assume he wouldn’t make the same mistake again. In a fair fight between us, the odds were on his side. He was probably three times my size, better fed and more rested than me. And he had a giant, vicious dog with him. If I fought, I’d lose.

Putting the knife away in my boot, I released a sigh and sat down on the neck of the dead hydra.

“And then what?” I asked the orc.

“What do you mean?”

“What will happen once you drag me back to your house?”

A lazy smile spread on his face as he must be envisioning me helpless and at his mercy.

“We had a great time tonight, didn’t we?” he said. “But I got only a taste. And I want much more. Maybe I’ll be the one to put you in chains this time and have my way with you. You’ll love it.”

I shook my head. “I’ll hate it. If you drag me back to your keep against my will and force me to become your ‘plaything’ chained to your bed, I’ll hate you for as long as I live. I’ll never stop trying to escape, even if I have to kill you for my freedom. And trust me, I’m persistent enough to succeed at that sooner or later.”

His dreamy smile dimmed but didn’t disappear completely.

“There is some fun to be had in taming a hellcat like you.”

“Hellcat? Me?” I scoffed at his choice of words. “Funny, because I’m more of a dog person myself.”

I glanced at Ata, who sat nearby licking a scratch from one of the hydra’s teeth on her paw. She was an exceptional animal, I had to admit, strong, smart, loyal, and fierce.

“You like dogs?” Agor perked up. “Do you have one?”

We barely had enough food to feed the children in the settlement. I couldn’t possibly afford to have a pet. But the orc didn’t need to know about the sorry state my people had descended into over the years.

“We travel a lot,” I waved him off. “Not the best lifestyle to have a pet.” The disturbing plans he had for me wouldn’t leave my thoughts. “Is that what you want me to be? Your pet? What do you imagine it’d be like if you succeed at taming me?”

“I’ll have you in my bed every night. What’s not to like about that?”

“You’d break my spirit, destroy my will to live, and at the end, you’d get bored with the meek, apathetic creature that I would become. Do you really think that’d be fun for either of us?”

He grunted and sat down on the snake’s neck next to me. His weight squeezed the dead flesh with a fresh gush of blood from the wound on the body, but he paid it no attention.

This wasn’t the best place for a heart-to-heart conversation. I had no desire to linger around here or spend another minute in the company of the orc who fantasized about throwing me over his shoulder and dragging me into sex slavery.

“I’d better go.” I got up slowly, wary of his reaction to my departure.

Ata raised her head, her pointy ears standing up. A low growl reverberated deep in her throat as a warning to me.

I froze in my tracks.

“You’re a good girl, Ata,” I said carefully. “Can you explain to your master that I’m not a feral dog to be tamed?”

The hound lowered her head, keeping her eyes on me. Flicking her ear in Agor’s direction, she waited for a command from him.

Agor heaved a heavy sigh, running a hand down his face.

“Fine.” He got up too. “I’ll walk you back to your village.”

I watched him closely, half-expecting a ruse.

“I have a knife,” I replied. “I don’t need an escort.”

Agor tipped his chin at the Irg’s feet sticking out from the hydra’s mouth. “ He had a knife too. Didn’t help him, did it? There is more where this hydra came from.” He kicked one of the long necks crisscrossing the ground by the swamp. “You do need an escort to improve your chances of getting back safely.”

It was hard to argue with that in the face of all the evidence of the night forest’s dangers. It wouldn’t hurt to have a huge, burly orc with me for protection, as long as his intentions truly were to protect me.

He made no move to fight or grab me, however, so I conceded, “All right, let’s move then. My feet are getting cold from standing around.”

I took a step forward.

“This way.” He pointed to the left of the path I was about to take. “And you need boots made from the skin of the purple crested alligator to keep your feet dry around here.” He scowled at my soggy boots. “Cow leather doesn’t keep well in our weather.”

“Thanks, I’ll keep it in mind,” I said, to humor him.

Purple crested alligators were vicious, giant beasts that lived far south of here. They came this far north only in the middle of summer. And even then, a human had a much higher chance of being eaten by one than to make boots out of them.

I figured there was no need for Agor to trick me and lead me back to the orcs’ keep instead of the human settlement. If he wanted to force me into his bed, he could’ve just grabbed me already and carried me there, and there wouldn’t be much I could do to stop him. I decided to trust him this time, following him along as the dog ran a few paces ahead of us.

“This path is on a higher ground,” he explained. “It stays away from the biggest, most dangerous bogs. It’ll add about an hour to our journey. But I take it you’d rather walk a little longer than fight more bog hydras or possibly a pack of spider-rats.”

“Walking is fine.” I nodded quickly, keeping as close to him as the width of the path allowed, just in case.

Spider-rats? I hadn’t even heard of such creatures. I certainly didn’t wish to fight them. Or even see them.

The drying hydra’s blood crusted over my clothes, itching my skin. I scratched my wrist.

“Listen,” I said, “does this path run anywhere close to a pond or a river, preferably with no monsters living in it? I would love to wash some of this gore off, please.”

“Will a creek do?”

I nodded.

We reached a small creek just a little while later. After we both washed the blood and mud off our hands and faces the best we could, I glanced back in the direction of the swamp and the dead bodies we’d left in the bog.

“Did you know those two orcs?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“Did they come from your keep?”

“No.” He spat through his teeth. “My men know better than to stupidly wander into a bog like that. These two were Farod’s scouts. They came from his keep and clearly didn’t know this area that well.”

Farod.

I remembered hearing this name once already, from Granny Magra.

“Is Farod planning to hunt humans?” I asked cautiously. “The two back there seemed way too happy to run into me.”

“Humans are rarely found in the wetlands. I’m sure they got curious about you.”

Curious was a nice way of putting it. The two orcs’ intentions were certainly far more sinister than mere curiosity. But I didn’t correct him. It wasn’t about me. What worried me the most was the safety of our settlement. With my people now living so close to the bog orcs, whatever happened among them might be affecting us too.

“Urug and his orcs were from Farod’s keep, too, weren’t they?” I asked. “Granny Magra said they were his people.”

He gave me a sideway glance.

“The old crone should know to keep her mouth shut with outsiders.”

“Well, we aren’t exactly outsiders anymore. My people are kind of part of the wetlands too now, whether you want it or not. There is nowhere else for us to go. There is nothing but marsh and ocean past this forest. I need to know what we’re up against here. What is happening and what should we expect in the future? Please tell me about Farod.”

He heaved a breath.

“Fine. It’s not like you’ll run to his keep to offer your services as a spy, will you?”

“Trust me, I’m intending to stay as far away as possible from all orcs’ keeps.”

He nodded. “Farod is the chief of another keep, the biggest one west from here.”

“Do you not get along? What are the two of you fighting about?”

“The High Chief’s mace.” He lovingly patted the handle of his weapon strapped to his belt.

“What’s so special about this mace?”

He flattened his lips, giving me an unimpressed look.

“What?” I spread my arms out. “I don’t know much about bog orcs. You guys keep to yourselves. My people came from far away, where we only heard rumors about your kind.”

“That’s true. You don’t know us,” he agreed. “Well, we have many tribes, many keeps that are governed by many chiefs. But there is only one High Chief. He’s above them all.” He crossed his arms over his chest and declared proudly, “I’m not just a chief, little newt. I am the High Chief of all the wetlands.”

“Oh.” I glanced at him with a new appreciation. “It must be a big honor to be selected into that position.”

He smirked. “I wasn’t selected. I fought for it. And I won. Only not all the chiefs wish to accept it.”

“Why not?”

He shrugged. “Some say I’m too young to rule. Others claim that my father’s mistakes would somehow prevent me from leading the orcs honorably, even if I won the High Chief’s mace in a fair fight after my father’s death.”

“Does Farod think he’s better suited to wield that mace then?”

At the sound of his rival’s name, Agor winced. “He sure does. But the problem isn’t in what he thinks. He’s convinced quite a few others to join him in the fight against me.”

“What did your father do that turned those orcs against you?”

“As the High Chief before me, my father ruled harshly for several decades. That was a long time to make a lot of enemies.”

“I take it he didn’t use any of that time to make a few friends, too, did he?”

He laughed. “The old man wasn’t exactly a friendly type. I’ve been the High Chief for three years now, and I have to keep telling them every day that I’m not my father.”

“Did your father kill orcs?”

“Of course he did. One couldn’t possibly remain the High Chief without defending his position. He killed thousands.”

“How many have you killed?”

He shrugged. “Hundreds?”

“Yeaaah,” I stretched the word sarcastically. “I can see how it can be difficult for you to convince people you aren’t him.”

“Everyone kills,” he argued. “The stronger ones do. The weaker ones end up dying.”

I had no high moral ground to judge him. I’d taken quite a few lives myself, both orcs’ and humans’. Except that since my people had long lost everything, the only thing I had to defend had been our lives. I killed to survive.

We walked in silence for a while, each having their own concerns to ponder.

“How bad are the things between you and your opposition?” I finally asked. “Will there be a war?”

“Likely.” He nodded.

A war meant nothing good for ordinary folks. Regardless of which king, or general, or chief won, all people suffered death, abuse, and starvation. I could only hope that with the orcs fighting each other, the humans would be left alone, but I feared we might get caught in the middle.

“A war is never good,” I said. “I really hoped we’d left it all behind by coming here.”

He gave me a curious glance.

“Is that why you came to the wetlands? You were running?” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I should’ve known. No one comes here on their own accord. Who did you run away from?”

“Everyone,” I sighed. “There is a never-ending clan war among the orcs. The ongoing hostility between humans too. Not to mention the constant run-ins between the orcs and humans. The raids...” I sighed again, but it did nothing to lift the weight pressing on my chest. “It’s hard to keep orcs from taking whatever they want. We left the foothills, then moved deeper and deeper into the valley until we crossed it and ended up here. I’ve been living in my wagon since I was a teen, moving with the caravan to a new place every few years or even every few months, looking for a safer place.”

“Well, wetlands definitely aren’t a safe place. Especially now.”

“I know. We all know it. But we just have nowhere else to run anymore.”

He waited for a moment, as if trying to gauge my reaction before offering, “I can keep you safe.”

I laughed so hard, I hiccupped.

“Safe? How? By bringing me into the very pit of the orcs’ world? By chaining me to your bed? To subject me to everything I’ve been running away from all my life? Agor, you’re the kind I’ve been fighting for almost two decades now, ever since my father took me to our elders when I was a kid. He begged them to let me use weapons because he knew I wouldn’t be any good with pots and pans in the kitchen. I was twelve when I started to train in earnest to fight and kill the likes of you.”

He cleared his throat but said nothing. My laughing, along with my newest rejection—the third rejection of his advances by now—likely offended him. I considered apologizing, simply because I didn’t like him sulking. I didn’t want him hurt, even if it was just his feelings that suffered. But I could only apologize for my tone, not for my words. I meant what I said.

He might save me from any future attacks by bog hydras by chaining me to his bed and making me his sex slave. But then, who would save me from him?

With my mood subdued, weighed down by my thoughts, I walked in silence. Agor strolled just as quietly alongside me. Even without a conversation, the way back seemed shorter than the way to the keep, despite the bog hydra adventure.

A glint of metal from a pile of fallen leaves in our path caught my attention.

“Ha! There is my sword.” I grabbed the weapon I’d dropped here several hours earlier.

It struck me that it’d only been several hours. Back then, I would’ve absolutely killed Agor if given a chance. Now, here I was, casually strolling with the orc through the forest, almost hand-in-hand.

“So,” he spoke again. “Who do you have waiting for you in your wagon that you’re so eager to get back to? I know you don’t have a husband.”

“How do you know that?”

“You said so yourself. You’re too old to get married.”

“How are you calling me old? I’m the same age as you.”

“Hey...” He lifted both hands in a defensive gesture. “Those were your words, not mine.”

“Right. Well, no, I don’t have a husband or any close family, for that matter. My parents didn’t survive the journey across the valley, like many others from our caravan. But I have friends, people I grew up with, and their children. They are my family, my community, my home. Since I learned how to use a weapon, I’ve been protecting them from...” I glanced at him before adding softly, “from the likes of you.”

He moved his wide shoulders under my stare and said nothing.

“Promise me,” I implored, “that my people won’t get hurt during your fight for that chief mace.”

He shook his head. “I can’t promise you that.”

Of course he couldn’t. That was the thing about a war, no one could predict what would happen, who would live or who would die at the end.

“How long do you think we’ll still have peace?” I asked.

He studied my crestfallen expression in the murky pre-sunrise light.

“The war is not a given yet. I intend to keep both the Head Chief’s mace and the peace in the wetlands for as long as possible.”

That seemed as much reassurance as I would get from him.

“All right then.” I gestured with my thumb over my shoulder. “We’ve just passed the cranberry patch clearing. I know where I am now. The sun is rising. I should be fine from here on. You can turn back.”

But he shook his head. “I’ll walk you to the tree line.”

“There is no need,” I insisted, afraid some early bird from the settlement might spot me strolling casually through the woods with an orc. How would I explain it to anyone at home?

“All right.” He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “When can I see you again?”

“Are you serious? Why do we have to see each other ever again?”

“Because I want to.”

In his mind of the High Chief, that was a good enough reason for anything, I imagined.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to see each other again, Agor. Humans and orcs don’t date.”

“Date?”

He looked puzzled, and I felt like kicking myself for the slip-up of that word. Agor never said anything about dating . He probably just had a revenge fuck in mind, to get even with me for tying him up.

“Right... Well, I better go,” I mumbled, backing away from him. “Thanks for walking me. You should go now. You have a long way back. And it’s best if you don’t come here again.”

I reached for him, unsure what for. To shake his hand? To give him a goodbye hug? Both these options seemed ridiculous, and I dropped my arms.

“You still didn’t tell me your name,” he said.

“What for?” I shrugged. “Bye, Ata.” I waved at the dog. “You really are a good girl. I wish we could be friends, but well...”

I turned around and left.

BEHIND OUR FLIMSY FENCE , the settlement was just waking up. Only Faeena was outside of her wagon already, washing linen in the chipped wooden tub. Relief flooded my chest at the sight of her being well and alive.

A long line of washed sheets, towels, and kids’ clothes already stretched from her wagon to the high pole of the fence. Faeena slept little and worked hard, making a lot of women in the settlement envious of how clean her wagon always was, how she always managed to cook something eatable and even appetizing from the scarce and boring ingredients we scraped together, or how she found the time to embroider all her daughters’ clothes with pretty flowers and butterflies.

Maybe a part of why Faeena and I stayed such good friends for this long was because I never tried to compete with her for the title of the best housewife. Right now, I fully intended to sleep for the next twenty-four hours straight, all my chores be damned.

“Becca!” Faeena gasped, dropping the freshly wrung-out shirt back into the tub. “You’re alive!”

“Thank gods, you made it too,” I exhaled, coming closer.

She grabbed me into a tight hug, covering me in suds. I allowed myself to enjoy it for just a moment before shifting away.

“I’m drenched in filth, Faeena. You really don’t want to hug me right now.”

She beamed, undeterred.

“Praised be the gracious Queen of the Afterlife for leaving you in this world.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t think even the queen wanted me in her realm looking like this. How is Gleb? Ilya? Did anyone get hurt yesterday?”

“We’re good. Everyone is well. We made it. But where have you been?” Delight shifted to concern on Faeena’s face. “Becca, what happened?” She covered her mouth with her hand, wrapping an arm around my shoulders despite my filthy clothes. “What did the orcs do to you?”

“Believe it or not, the orcs weren’t the worst of it. I’ll tell you everything later.” Or maybe not exactly everything . Faeena didn’t need to know the details of my one-on-one time with the orcs’ High Chief. “But first, I need to bathe, sleep, and eat something. Exactly in that order. Here. These are for the girls.” I took out Violette’s squirrel pies from my pockets. They were now cold and flattened but luckily remained unmarred by mud or blood, protected by my deep pockets. And they still smelled delicious. Faeena’s children were too young to remember eating bread. It’d be a real treat for them. “They’re made with real flour.”

“Oh, by the Mother of the World, where did you get these?”

“Later.” I waved her off, stumbling toward my wagon. “I’ll tell you all later. Please.”

No one waited for me inside my modest dwelling. I didn’t even have a cat. There simply was no food to feed a pet. But right now, I was glad just to see my bed again.