4. Oz

4

Oz

I 'm running with the speed my fae parent gave me. The only good thing my mother ever did for me was to donate her dexterity and quick reflexes, as well as my more regular features.

Unlike most orcs, my mother was more than half regular. She has an orc's lower fangs but didn't pass them on to me. From my ogre father I inherited smaller, sharp fangs that fit inside my mouth. He also gave me super strength and enhanced vision.

Truth to tell, he was a decent father figure. He taught me to hunt, to fight, and to never take shit from fucking fae.

To say he and my mother didn't get along is an understatement. She did hunt him down and kill him, after all. Then she tossed me into the wastelands of Yssa at just ten years of age.

Luckily, I learned to hide my true nature, never trust a fae, and stoke my need for vengeance until I grew ready to kill the bitch. I had just tracked her down to Sacred Lakes when I fell headlong into some goblin's scheme.

To pay the price for something entirely not my fault, Rilitar insisted I pay off "my debt" by working it off. In just five years, I'll be able to leave his service.

Fuck that.

I've only stuck around this long because of the stupid magic band around my ankle and the fact that everyone in this screwed-up town is afraid of him. Hell, I think they might be more afraid of him than the fae monarch and his pet archdemon.

Regardless, I've seen too much shit to let Rilitar kill one more innocent.

It doesn't hurt that the sexy dryad makes my pulse race. Or that her friend is a monster, because I'm partial to my own kind.

I have a keen attention to detail, on par with Rilitar's. Though Ahza is good, I could tell he isn't a real fae. His movements aren't graceful or smooth enough. I don't know what he is, but when he disappeared in Rilitar's office, I knew I had to make my move.

Now I'm on the run with no place to go and not a lot of time to get this cursed band lifted from my ankle before it sucks my lifeforce dry. The minute I leave the perimeter of Rilitar's boundary, I'm screwed.

I have no idea how long I'll have, but it won't be much.

Still worth it to have stuck it to the bastard though.

"Over here," I hear one of his elves yell. "Oz, don't make me have to hurt you."

As if I believe that sadist will care. Rilitar only surrounds himself with the most vile and cruel fae he can get his hands on. The more bloodthirsty the better.

Arrows whiz over me. One strikes a tree where my head was moments ago.

Damn. Rilitar's archers are fast.

But so am I .

I scramble out of the way and hustle into the trees, where I know more monsters await. I'd rather take my chances with a leshy than an elf. The great forest spirits protect what they consider theirs, the trees and earth and all that grow from them.

They sometimes extend that protection to those who dwell in the forest as well.

Since I haven't been scoring trees with arrows, I might get a pass.

But not from the griffin charging at me.

Shit.

The beasts are kept hungry on purpose, mostly because Rilitar is a dick, but also so they'll eat whoever trespasses instead of asking questions.

The monster rushing toward me has the body of a lion, wings, and the head of an eagle. That beak and its front talons are no joke.

I dart around it and slide under a barrage of arrows that pierce the griffin and a forest fairy.

I'm sorry they're injured but am overjoyed to hear a leshy roar, followed by swearing fae.

I might just get out of this mess. That's if I can find a mage not so afraid of Rilitar they won't help me get free. He's made it known to everyone that crossing him is the kiss of death. And no one will mistake his curse magic on my ankle for anything but a mark of ownership.

Man, I hate this fucking place. I just want to find my mother, kill her, and leave.

Is that so wrong?

I manage to avoid my pursuers long enough to make it to the lake. The pier is swarming with Rilitar's people, so I keep to the business district, wondering who to visit about this ankle band .

Or maybe I should just lay low? I didn't feel anything when I passed the boundary of Rilitar's estate, but I don't know what the curse will feel like when it settles in. Maybe I have time to hide out a little.

Best to let his guards take a breather. Although, knowing Rilitar, he'll have them looking for me until he finds my dead body.

With a sigh, I trek toward the resident fae wise-woman. She's not a fan of monsters. Or Fae. Or Ethereals. Or Demons. Hell, the old woman hates everyone equally, and I can respect that.

But when I sneak into the back of her small cottage, it's to find a half dozen of Rilitar's guards.

Fuck me.

Before I can move, they have my arms behind my back. I could probably get free, but two of them have drawn bows with flaming tips aimed at my face. Another has a ball of wind between his hands while the rest watch with hungry eyes, just daring me to resist so they can play rough.

I sag. Beaten.

For now.

"Bring him," Enwiss, Rilitar's favorite enforcer and son, growls. He's a half-elf with a hardon for torture. The gleam in his eyes promises an unpleasant night.

"What about the dryad?" the wind sylph asks.

My heart is pounding, yet I shouldn't care if she and her friend get caught. I have enough to worry about.

"We'll take our time with her." Enwiss laughs. "Throw her and her boyfriend into the cell."

"Rilitar said to kill him on sight."

My heart drops.

Enwiss sighs. "Ah well. We'll have to get double the use out of her then. We'll pick her up then put her in the dungeon." He glances at me. "Right next to Oz. We'll do you the honor of listening while we fuck her to death. You can thank me later."

I move so fast the others can't stop me as I plow my fist into his dick.

He doubles over, gasping.

It takes several blows to my head to knock me to my knees.

But the beating I earn is much more satisfying than I might have thought.

I can only hope they're fucking with me. That they aren't waiting for the pretty little dryad and don't know where she and her friend are headed.

But they knew I'd be here.

I don't have much faith the dryad is safe, though I've been wrong before.

I just wish I didn't feel in my gut that it's too late for her and her friend.

Her soon-to-be dead friend.