Age of the Gods: The Complete, twelve novel, fantasy series (The Blood and Brotherhood Saga) (155 page)

Destitute of anything but empty, soul-wrenching loneliness, he tilted his head back towards the heavens and screamed a seething growl of rage, crying out to the gods like no Orc before him. He demanded an answer of them, blinded by emotion, and invoked the only name she had told him that he could recall in that moment. The world around him was lost to him in that instant as all was obscured by his rage and tears but even so, he felt the tug and blinked to clear his vision.

Crying out to the gods, demanding of them an answer for allowing her to be taken away, he had not expected when one of them answered his call.

Blinking away the fog, Gnak found his arms empty and looking around him he realized that he was not where he should be. Below him a floor of stone leeched a cold chill into his armor, the surface riddled with slippery lichen, moss, and mold. Confused, he rose and explored his surroundings, finding himself trapped in a room of the same cold stone. No light shone in the damp place, the smell of decay within it pervasive. Seeking the outer wall, he followed it from corner to corner until he had inspected it in entirety, yet still no escape presented itself. In life, he was now just as alone as he was in his heart.

Defeated he turned, the breath catching in his chest, as he witnessed that which few mortals would ever share with him. Out of naught but darkness a shape coalesced, forming of the deepest shadows, it became more and more solid with each passing second.

Watching, Gnak dared not speak as the form grew in size, shape, and definition. It was a woman. Human, so far as he could tell. She was small, petite, with milky white skin and charcoal black hair that fell behind her in a long cascade. Upon her body, like he, she wore black armor that clung to her curves like a lover, accentuating her every perfection. But it was not the vision that stood before him that made him uncomfortable. No. It was her feeling. Gnak could feel the woman even though paces stood between them. Looking upon her, feeling the power she gave off, he knew what she was and he felt insignificant in her presence.

Watching as the process that created her slowed to completion, she turned to face him, and again his breath caught. She could have been Jen’s Ma, so alike were their features, the eyes alone setting them apart. For all the human that stood before him, it was the eyes that told him he stood in the presence of more. In her eyes no color shone. No white orbs sat within the sockets. Instead a hollow black that searched through his soul, looking through him to the core of his being. In those depths he could see infinity and knew that no matter his deeds, to her he was but a speck of dust in a vast ocean.

To his knees the proud Orc fell, prostrating himself before the tiny woman, his head bowing to touch the floor beneath him. A floor that made no sound as she approached.

“You dare to make demands of me?” Her strong voice filled the room.

It took several moments to piece a clear answer together, so distraught, confused, and pathetic he felt, but finally he decided upon one.

“No, goddess. Ask help. No demand.”

“You
did
demand, pathetic Orc. Who are
you
to command
me
?”

Again he struggled, discarding words, wishing he had a better command of the common tongue.

“No demand. No command. Gnak dumb Orc. Ask help. Serve.”

“You think that I should help one so pathetic as you?”

“Not think. Pray,” Gnak replied.

“What is it that you want, tiny Orc that you
pray
I help you?”

Gnak had the distinct feeling that she knew his answers before he spoke them, knew them even before she had appeared, but still he pieced together the thoughts to create the words he hoped would best convey his meaning.

“Want Jen back. No dead. Bring back.”

“You wish to bring back the dead? That is a great power, a great responsibility. What if it does not give you the satisfaction you seek? What if she hates you?”

“Bring back. I fix. Give precious life. Make OK.”

“Is that what you want, tiny Orc?”

“Yes, goddess.”

“And what will you do for me in return of this power?”

“I serve. I do you wish. All time. No ask.”

“You will serve me blindly, trust in my words, and ask no questions?”

“Yes. Trust like Jen.”

“And if your plans are ruined?”

“My decision. My fault. I serve,” Gnak answered, uncomfortably feeling that she knew the future and warned him of an impending doom that approached him, but he wanted more time with Jen at any cost. She alone could help him to make his people better. For a moment the goddess looked down upon him, a maelstrom of possibilities laying somewhere deep inside the black orbs that stood where her eyes should have been. Finally she spoke again, her voice both commanding and haunting, the sounds not matching the movements of her lips.

“Very well, pathetic Orc. I will give you the power you seek in return for unquestioning service. You can use the power to your own devices if you wish, but such power has consequence. Return to your people and use my gift to unite them. Create for me an army unlike any other seen upon Thurr.”

“Yes, goddess,” Gnak replied, the emptiness inside him seeming to subside.

“I am not finished, slave. Return to Thurr, and call me by name. Tell those that serve
you
that you serve
me
. Build me temples. Build me an empire. When this is done, I will send to you another of my servants and you will join him, and together you will conquer my enemies.”

“Yes, Ishanya. I serve. Your name, I tell.”

“Then I will open your eyes, tiny Orc, and show you what you need to revive those returned to the gods. You will recognize it, and you can summon it to you, but be wary, little Orc, you serve me, and if I see otherwise I will put you to an end without hesitation.”

Then she was gone. He sat upon the stone floor a long moment, wondering if she had been there at all. Deep inside he believed that she
had
been. That he
had
been in the presence of a god. That she
had
made him a bargain that suited his situation perfectly. She said he could bring Jen back. He could unite his people. He would build temples and cities and more, and eventually he would conquer whatever she wished. Gnak pressed his hands to the floor, pushing himself up as if to rise, when the dizziness overtook him.

With his world spinning, again the fog enveloped him and again he felt the tug to his mind. Clenching his eyes closed he ground his teeth, waiting for the feeling to relent. And then it was gone. Blinking again, he focused on those around him. They stood staring at him, their eyes wide and mouths hung open. Had he spoken his words in this place too? Had they heard him bargain with a god?

It didn’t matter. First he needed to figure out how to bring back Jen. Looking down to his arms he found that he still cradled her there. Her flesh grew darker, the veins standing in stark contrast to her skin. Shuffling his legs beneath him, in an effort to stand, he watched as her head tilted back slightly, her small mouth falling open. And then he saw it.

Like a small swirling orb of light, it came from her mouth and floated slowly up into the air. Not knowing what else to do, he pulled one arm out from beneath her tiny body and snapped the shimmering orb out of the air, closing his fingers around it. He could feel it… To him his hand glowed strangely.

It was not the sensation of holding an object in your hand, at least not on the surface of the skin. Instead it was a warmth, within his hand, a warmth that emanated up his arm, making it tingle strangely. He could feel the eyes of the clan upon him, and reminded himself that they could not see that which he now could.

Opening his hand once more, he turned his palm up and watched as the glowing orb extricated itself from his control, beginning to rise once again. He grabbed it.

Not knowing what else to do, he pressed his hand to Jen’s tiny chest, feeling the ragged edges of the wound beneath it, and waited. Nothing happened.

Lifting his hand once again, he sought out the orb but it was gone. Angered by his failure, knowing he would be without her after all, his emotions began to build within him again. Then she shuddered. The crowd of Orcs gasped.

She shuddered again, and Gnak watched unblinking. Her eyes, having rolled back into her head, blinked twice and again her pupils resumed their normal orientation. Gnak held his breath, his heart swelling, he was unable to contain his happiness as tears streamed unchecked down his face.

Her mouth moved then. Open and closed it worked, as she raised her tiny arms and wiggled her fingers, rubbing the stiffness from her flesh. Then finally, her eyes met his, as if she had just realized he was there, and she spoke.

“Hi, Gnak,” she said, a strange wheezing sound coming from her chest with the words.

“I bring you back, Jen,” Gnak replied.

“I know you will. Can I go home now?” she asked, the wheezing a bit more than distracting.

“Not back home, Jen. I bring back life.”

Realization seemed to strike her, and remembering the details of what had been, she looked down to the wicked hole in her chest and screamed. The Orcs surrounding them backed up, but Gnak was unafraid. He held her close, and waited for her pain to pass, and when the screaming and wheezing stopped he relaxed his hold and again looked her in the face.

“I bring back. You heal. Gnak take home. All fix.”

Her big eyes turned back upon him, understanding spreading across her features as she tilted her head and began to pray. Gnak listened and watched as her expression began to change again. She stopped suddenly, confusion on her face, and began anew. This time she repeated her prayer louder. She stopped again, looking to him with tears in her eyes. Then she yelled the words, praying frantically as the tears streamed down either side of her face. Her magic was gone. She could not heal.

Pulling her securely to his chest he stood, and lowering his head to her hair he spoke to the small girl in his arms.

“I fix, Jen. See shaman.
He
heal. He no heal, we go humans. Humans heal. I take home. I fix. I promise.”

Eventually her sobs stopped, and he looked out upon all the faces staring back at him. Finally the Orcs showed emotion. Some looked at them with fear. Others stared in confusion or disbelief and others in horror. Some were proud, excited, and a few even shared in their sorrowful reunion, the corners of their eyes moist with either sadness or happiness. Gnak could not tell.

Grasping the back of the collar that still bound her to a stake in the ground, he tore the leather bindings and let it fall to the sand below. Turning, the Orcs parted before him as he carried her into their camp, striding straight to the shaman’s tent.

It was near an hour before the shaman arrived. He had been in the crowd they had left behind, and apparently needed some time to get his own thoughts together before he returned. When he did, he entered his tent deliberately and sat down upon his knees opposite Gnak and Jen.

Gnak looked at his somber face, Jen in his lap leaning back against his chest. She had not spoken, at least not yet, and he wondered what led her to silence. He would ask her but he knew that she needed her wounds treated first. So together they watched the shaman sit and regard them for several moments before he spoke.

“Gnak. Some Orc say you talk god. Some Orc say no talk god. What say Gnak?”

Gnak considered the question, realizing the shaman’s delay in returning to his home. There had been a discussion about Jen and him, some of the Orcs skeptical of what they had seen.

“Gnak talk god. Make deal.”

“So say me to them… God no Orc god yes?”

“God human god. Orc god. All god.”

“God name Ishanya?”

“Yes,” Gnak confirmed.

Gnak watched as the shaman pondered his words for many long moments before he began collecting herbs and clay jars of substances with healing properties, and began to mix them in a bowl. Crushing the ingredients together with a large bone, the shaman stirred and mixed, all the while looking from Gnak to Jen and back again.

“Why god deal you?” the shaman asked after a long silence.

“Not know. Kill giant king?” he guessed.

To be honest, he had no idea why the goddess had answered his plea. He assumed it was like the goblin king and him. He needed help, and had offered something in return, and a deal was struck. He had made a friend of the goblin king, and hoped his relationship with the goddess would be much the same.

The shaman then added some water to the concoction and, stirring it again, created a thick paste. Though she was shy, as she was just starting to become a woman, the shaman had Jen remove her shirt and packed the concoction into the wounds upon both her chest and back, binding it in place with a long strip of cloth before allowing her to again adorn her clothing.

“Leave cloth, many day. Big wound. Heal slow, if heal,” the shaman instructed.

The doubt was evident in the shaman’s voice, but Gnak had seen a miracle already this day and as such had no fears of the wound not healing.

Grunting his understanding of the instructions, Gnak began to rise, carefully helping Jen do the same. Then, looking down to her he spoke, just as much to her as to the shaman.

“This night Gnak captain of tribe. Have Orcs. Make command. No this night. No. We go eat. We rest. Orcs think this night. We see next night, Orcs think Gnak.”

“OK, Gnak,” Jen replied. “I
am
tired,” she added, turning back to the shaman.

“Thank you for your help,” she told the Orc, to a replied grunt.