Fallen Crown (Orc Destiny Volume II) (The Blood and Brotherhood Saga) (16 page)

“Orcs see. Gnak god more power big chief god. Gnak take big
chief power. Kill big chief.”

Turning upon his knees unsteadily as the Orc beside him
failed to rise with the injuries to its ankle, Gnak watched as the Orc raised
its hands before its face, turning them this way and that, obviously confused.
Picking up his blade that had been beneath his fallen body, Gnak stabbed out
one time, the body of his foe leaning into him with the blow. Both weak beyond
measure, with their heads nearly touching, Gnak looked into the Orc’s face, now
filled with betrayal, before he spoke.

“Gnak sorry Bota. Bota good Orc. Do Orcs good thing now,” he
whispered.

Yanking the blade free, Gnak watched as the body of the big
chief fell into the sand, a thunderous roar rising from the tens of thousands
gathered, as more than a handful of Orcs rushed towards him. Though Gnak did
not see what followed as finally his body gave out, and collapsing, his vision
went dark as a peaceful dream took him.

The room was dark and damp, with moss and mold clinging to
nearly every surface of the stone walls. Moisture glistened upon every surface,
and Gnak recognized the room from his meeting with the goddess Ishanya. Though
he knew that this time she was not present. He could not feel her.

Turning, Gnak’s jaw fell slack as he registered the other
that shared the room with him. She was small, perhaps a little over four feet.
Her hair was pulled loosely over one shoulder, and she stood in the dark room
smiling up at him as if no other in the world could make her as happy as she
was now.

“Hi, Gnak!” Jen exclaimed as she ran to him, wrapping her
arms about his waist. Reaching down, Gnak hefted the small child, beneath her
arms and pulled her to his chest in an embrace. It was a good feeling to hold
her there, though he had never done such a thing ever before in his life.

Pushing back from his chest, she looked into his face and
grinned a happy grin before she began to talk in her small musical voice.

“You did it, Gnak! You killed the big chief!”

“Gnak cheat, but win,” Gnak admitted.

“But you’ve done it. You’ve united the Orc clans. Now you
can teach them to worship Ishanya and you can fulfill your oath.”

“Gnak think no,” he said, his grin straightening into a hard
line.

“Why Gnak? Why can’t you do it?” she asked almost
pleadingly.

“Gnak think Gnak dead. Jen dead, Jen here. Gnak dead, Gnak
here.”

Shaking her small head she giggled, and looked at him with
her best mock-stern expression. Raising one hand, she wagged a finger in his
face very seriously before she spoke.

“You are not dead, Gnak. Right now, because you made many
good decisions, a healer is repairing your body so that you may rise again and
lead the Orcs to a better future. I am here because Ishanya wills it. Perhaps
she is rewarding you for the deeds you have done. But don’t you ever think that
you are dead again. Don’t you ever give up, Gnak. You hear me?”

Gnak found it odd to feel so puny before the small girl, let
alone listen to her scolding him as if her were a child. But even so, he found
meaning in her words. If Ishanya gave him
this
reward for uniting the
clans, would she give him back Jen for real when he created for her a fortress,
temples, and an army like Thurr had never seen before? Could he save Jen and
his people at the same time? Was that what the goddess was offering him?

“Gnak hear Jen. Jen smart. Help Gnak much. Gnak no give up.
Keep fight. Promise.”

“Good! I’m glad that you see things my way, Gnak. But the
world needs you now so you have to go back.”

Gnak felt the tug and watched as the edges of the room began
to swirl in his vision, and strange sounds began to invade the place.

“Will Gnak see Jen more?” he asked.

“I’m sure we will be reunited eventually, Gnak. Just don’t
stop fighting.”

Then she was gone as the room twisted in upon itself and
bright light erupted before his eye, causing him to cinch it tightly closed
before blinking several times to adjust to the brightness. When the glowing
hands were removed from his face, he looked up at the many expressions of those
pressed around him. These were the Orcs who had come to his aid. They could
have easily killed him while he was down and claimed the title of Chief for
themselves, but something had stayed their hands.

Testing his body, Gnak rose to a sitting position before
clenching and unclenching his hands and flexing his many muscles. Grinning a
proud, tusky grin, he rose to his feet and appraised those around him. Many
were the former chiefs of other clans conquered by himself or the big chief.
Others were smaller Orcs, with bright light in their eyes. All of them had come
to his aid for their own reasons, and Gnak took that as a sign that he was on
the right track. Turning to his shaman, he looked knowingly at the boy in the
Orc’s body and reaching up he patted him on the shoulder.

Looking around, he saw tents in all directions spanning out
as far as he could see.

“While the Orcsie was taking a nap, more Orcsies come and
see dead big chief. They come and kneel. They join without even a fight,” the
familiar voice said.

Turning, Gnak looked to the goblin king and was both surprised
and amused by what he saw. There, what had been behind him stood two, not one
goblin, both with crowns of gold upon each of their heads. One he recognized,
the other he did not.

Bowing his head slightly to his small ally, he watched as
the goblin jerked his head to the side several times, his eyes widening as if
to say something without using words. Grinning, Gnak stole the orb of will from
the second goblin king, effectively paralyzing him as his original ally pounced
upon the non-moving foe, driving a twisted goblin blade straight through the
man’s heart.

Rising and dusting off his hands, the goblin king smiled
wickedly before bending over and retrieving his fallen peer’s crown.

“Well, that settles that problem. Can we get on with it
then?” the goblin king smirked.

Nodding, Gnak took the goblin’s meaning. He had the might of
his Orcs and nearly ten thousand goblins, but there was much more to do.
Goblins bred like rabbits. There were dozens of cities, each with their own
kings and armies. Gnak would need to collect them all. In his vision he
commanded the trolls too. That was yet another task he had yet to complete. No.
His work did not end here. It was time to unite all of his neighbors and create
for Ishanya a monstrous army of the likes never seen before upon the face of
Thurr.

Clad in Shadow
(Poetry for a Burdened Soul)

The Choosing
(Book One of the Blood and Brotherhood Saga)

The Chosen
(Book Two of the Blood and Brotherhood Saga)

The Changing
(Book Three of the Blood and Brotherhood Saga)

Crimson (Book 3.5
of the Blood and Brotherhood Saga)

The Contention
(Book Four of the Blood and Brotherhood Saga)

The Champions (Book
Five of the Blood and Brotherhood Saga)

The Crowned (Book
Six of the Blood and Brotherhood Saga)

A Blood & Brotherhood Series

Twisted
Fate (Orc Destiny, Volume I)

Fallen Crown (Orc Destiny, Volume II)

Three Kings (Orc Destiny, Volume III)

Beyond The Mask
(The Beyond Book One)

Beyond The Flesh
(The Beyond Book Two)

Beyond T
he Soul (The Beyond Book Three)

I live in southern Louisiana with my wife and children, and
work full time as a civilian employed by the federal government. I like to
spend time with my family and am excited that we will soon have a new addition
in February of 2014.

I spend as much time as I am able writing, but also enjoy
downtime with the wife and kids, and am a bit of a movie buff as well. I thrive
on sarcasm and nerdism and am currently addicted to The Big Bang Theory amongst
other things.

Fantasy has always been my reading genre of choice, though I
am picky about who and what I read, and I refuse to read a series out of order.
I have been known to devour entire sagas in mere days, emerging only when
necessary for survival.

I love to hear from all of my readers, and hope to chat with
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