Page 46 of Orc's Pride

There is a rumbling laugh, one that doesn’t sit right with me. Finally getting the shrub parted enough to peer through it, I spot an orc with his back turned to me. He has a battle axe strapped to his back, the edge of it sharp looking and glinting in the light as he shifts on his feet.

Next to him are two dark elves.

What is going on!?

“Good. See to it that the human is recovered. That ledger needs to be recovered as soon as possible.”

My entire body freezes.

They’re here for me?

“I have men searching for her now. She’ll be found soon.”

No.

No, no no.

Did Pitha know?

There is a loud roar that echoes from the base and up over the bluff, a noise that has me shivering from how feral it sounds. It has all three men turning to look, and that’s when I catch the sight of the orc’s profile.

I recognize him almost immediately.

Ishta. A Chieftain from one of the clans out west. I’ve seen him on more than a few occasions working with Malik while he’d been traveling through the lands looking for supplies to bring back to his clan. They’d been in desperate need of water working tools that Malik had been kind enough to help him build in order to take back with him.

How far he’s fallen—working with dark elves.

Why would he be interested in helping to capture me? The dark elves have motive with wanting the list back. But to an orc, a list of names of co-conspirators would be gold—

My eyes widen, the realization slamming into me.

He’s on the list.

Why else would he want it back just as badly?

If his conspiracy with the dark elves were to be revealed to Malik, then all future help for his clan would be cut off. Not to mention it would start a war. Betrayal is never taken lightly, especially to orcs. He might as well have signed away his entire clan to be taken out.

There’s no telling how many of his people are involved in this and who, if recovered and placed with another clan, would be comfortable enough to do the same thing if the opportunity presented itself once again.

How could he do that to his own people?

Pulling my arms out of the shrub, I back away slowly, trying not to make any sudden noises. I needed to find Pitha and tell him. He needed to know that whoever wasn’t in his immediate circle wasn’t to be trusted.

As I start to descend the incline though, my foot catches on a shard of rock sticking out of the ground. It causes me to careen backwards and slam into the earth, knocking the wind out of me. My body rolls from the force, tumbling down a few feet before I’m able to stop myself by digging my hand into the dirt and gravel.

A small, pained groan escapes me.

Fuck, that hurt.

“What was that?” I hear faintly over the sound of my beating heart.

“Is someone spying on us?”

Fuck, I need to go.

Slowly rolling onto my hands and knees, I push myself up from the ground. My body sways as my vision darkens. Pounding a fist on my chest, I knock the wind back into me and breathe in deeply to inflate my lungs.

“That’s her! That’s the human who stole the ledger!”