Twisted Fate (Orc Destiny Volume I) (The Blood and Brotherhood Saga) Read Online Free Page B

steep, the ball following a groove worn
in the rocky soil by an eternity of rainfall down the mountainside. The great
spherical cage followed the groove, dragging with it a now bouncing and rolling
Orc to only one foreseeable location.
    As the shallow groove in the earth narrowed ahead, it passed
between a pair of trees. Gnak watched as the cage careened up one side of the
shallow gorge, only to again alter course back into it. Down it went, Kunk or
Burl crashing along behind it as it reached the breach between the two trees. Just
as Gnak hoped, the ball passed between the trees, but the Orc passed outside
the left tree. Like he had done earlier, the Orc was yanked hard, his body
snapping like a whip, smashed full in the face by the cage as they met opposite
the tree.
    The impact was hard enough that it was apparent the Orc had
become injured, its body bouncing back off the wooden surface to land in a heap
upon its back. Gnak raced up to his fallen clan-mate and pounced upon him. Share
labor? Yes. Reward? No. Viciously he plunged his sword into the back of his
fallen temporary ally, penetrating between the ribs, through the heart and into
the ground below. Jerking his blade free, he wiped it on the tattered leather
armor of the fallen foe before rolling him over. Then, straddling the man’s
chest, he smashed it in the face over and over with his pommel, breaking loose
the teeth that would be his trophy. Pulling the tusks from the third destroyed
mouth of the day, he dropped them into the pouch upon his belt and rose to again
disentangle his cage from the tree. It was ruthless, he knew, but such
knowledge was no burden on his soul. Remorse was not a trait he had learned. His
people would be proud, and the clan would respect his kill. That was what
mattered. To gain a position, you must first eliminate your competition, and
then create a void in the position you wished to fill. It was simple, just, and
fair. The strongest led while the weaker followed. Gnak wanted to lead.
    With the rolling cage back under his control, he gave it a
shove and once again followed as it picked up speed. This time he let it go as
fast as was possible, and as soon as he had it on course he released the reins
and simply chased the giant rolling cage of boughs. It would need a great deal
of speed and momentum to carry it beyond the foothills and into the sands of
the desert below. As it was, midday came as the ball rolled to a stop just a
few paces into the sand. With a dozen or so miles left to traverse, Gnak took up
the reins once more and pulling one up over each shoulder he grasped them
against his chest and leaned forward, beginning to pull. Reluctantly the ball
followed, half rolling, half dragging along through the sand, leaving a clear
trail in Gnak’s wake.
    Sweating after mere moments in the hot sun, his eyes burned
in the bright light as the biting flies swarmed him. Slowly, ever so slowly, he
dragged the beast along behind him, cursing the heat, the light, and the bear’s
massive carcass. It was nightfall once again as he made it to the outskirts of
his camp, covered in swollen lumps from the many bites he had suffered.
     
     

CHAPTER THREE
    Comfortable darkness was reclaiming the land as Gnak dragged
his kill into the camp, circumventing the short wall surrounding it. Those out
and about gathered to witness his feat, his peers sneering, obviously outdone
by his more ambitious prize. Pretending to keep to his task he peered around at
the camp, taking in as much as he could while pulling his sword to begin
cutting through the vines that lashed the cage together. Within the camp were
the usual suspects. A bear here, a mountain lion there, each roasting upon a
spit hung over a fire. A dire wolf was a great prize, and he saw two among the
kills now roasting, but only one carcass within the camp was large enough in
size to rival his own. At least from this vantage. From here, however,
he could not tell just what the other large carcass