Fallen Crown (Orc Destiny Volume II) (The Blood and Brotherhood Saga) (5 page)

It was shortly after sunset when the tear down of camp was
completed, and took only minutes this time to form his clan into ranks and
begin across the sand once more in the direction of their destination. Gnak had
his captains send nearly a dozen Orcs out into the dunes to capture as many of
the small desert foxes common to this region as they were able. They were
instructed to not harm or kill the animals. He wondered if the Orcs would be
able to manage such a task. It was against their nature not to kill their prey,
and even Gnak was uncertain how best to manage capturing the nimble beasts.

It was only three hours after they set off, when the first
of the Orcs he had sent out for test animals returned. Rushing towards Gnak the
Orc came, but his captains were taking no chances. Stepping to guard him, they
guided the Orc slowly before the chief where it presented its catch. In the
Orc’s rough hands were a trio of the foxes he desired. The largest had been
struck in the leg, breaking the bones there, enabling the beast to be captured.
The others were a pair of young that had remained with their injured mother and
were said to have given little trouble once she was bound and subdued. Gnak congratulated
the Orc, happy to have that which he needed to learn more about his gift. With
swelled pride, the Orc returned to the lines of marching Orcs, and the foxes
were placed in a cart that had been altered into a series of makeshift cages.

Only two more foxes were brought to him over the following
hours as all of the hunting Orcs returned, but it was near midnight when Bota
noted a trail in the sand that brought the clan’s procession to a halt, and
Gnak to Bota’s side to investigate.

In the sand were a collection of Orc footprints, broken only
by two pair of deep ruts in the loose grains of sand. Two heavy carts had
passed here, and recently. Gnak grinned to his second in command.

“They get what Gnak send them to,” Gnak grunted.

“You think Orcs safe, no Gnak take self?” Bota asked.

“Gnak think good. Orcs say know Gnak, Orcs be safe.”

Though he believed the words he spoke, he hoped they were
true. He had sent out the pair of captains with extra handlers for both muscle
and security, in hopes of retrieving any weapons and armor that had remained in
the mountain pass where just weeks ago he had helped in the slaying of the
giants who held the pass as their home. He had used the knowledge of the
deceased giants to his advantage when hiring the goblin king to capture a sand
giant for him, but he did not know if the goblins would collect all of the
items in the pass, or just the gold that the goblin king sought. Here in the
sand was the answer he needed. The carts his Orcs pulled were heavily laden.
But this was the easy and safe part of his plan. Now the Orcs he had sent to
retrieve the items would have to put themselves in harm’s way to complete their
task. He hoped he judged their circumstance correctly.

With nothing to do but wait and see, he gave the command to
continue the march, though again he purposely slowed their progress in hopes of
buying yet more time. This night his captains had been instructed to press the
clan into a tighter and more precise unit as they marched, and again it had
been difficult at first, but looking back Gnak was impressed with the clan’s
progress. Though too, he found himself looking back just as frequently at the
small spheres of power floating within each of his clan mates. He felt an odd
draw to them, and simply could not help himself. He was anxious for day to
come, and as such he felt within himself and stroked Jen’s essence to calm his
anxieties.

With the arrival of morning a halt was called, and in half
the time of the previous day the camp was constructed. When he told his second
in command that this day he would need privacy without disruption, Bota assured
Gnak that no intruder would enter his tent. Gnak was getting the hang of being
the chief, and his captains and clan seemed to be growing more accustomed to
the changes as well. This day, as the day before, two captains stood within the
center of the camp, but not wanting a repeat performance of the previous
attack, two more guarded the back of Gnak’s tent. The guard was dual purpose,
providing both security, and privacy to the chief. Needing the day hours to
experiment while the rest of his clan rested unaware, Gnak invited Bota in to
witness the event.

Setting the small makeshift cages upon the sand floor of his
tent, Gnak gestured for Bota to take a seat with a grunt. Settling himself upon
the sand among the small cages, Gnak admired the small animals. They were light
in color, somewhere between the golden yellow sands of the desert and the red
muddy earth of the mountains beyond. Their long hair made them appear larger
than they actually were, and large pointed ears atop their heads darted this
way and that, listening to every sound. He had no measure of the creatures’
intelligence and so could not judge them in that manner, though he doubted they
were very smart.

Choosing to first use the mother fox with a broken limb, in
case something went wrong, he picked up her cage carefully. Untying the knot
holding the top secure, he flipped it over as the small animal began to growl
and snap at him. Without fear Gnak reached in quickly and brushed against the
animal, feeling its essence. Pulling his hand away he tore free the glowing orb
of light with it, and watched as the animal settled instantly. It still
breathed, though its growls and snapping ceased. Its ears did not twitch like
the others’. It did nothing besides stare ahead blankly, its eyes unblinking.
Gnak brushed the animal again, releasing his hold on the orb and watched as it
rejoined the animal. Again the beast began its ruckus and Gnak removed his hand
quickly, flipping the top over to close the cage once more.

“Bota see?” Gnak asked.

“Animal no move. You magic hold still?”

“Gnak think no. Gnak take animal power. Animal no move. Give
animal power, animal move.”

“Humph,” Bota grunted.

Together they pondered the discovery for a short time, and
Gnak realized that it was not the life he took from bodies, but something
different. Something like will or ambition. It could not be life, because the
animal lived when he took the orb from it. Stroking Jen’s essence within him he
discussed the discovery with Bota, and the two agreed that it was not life he
held power over. They also decided that he should continue with something
different.

Pulling the tops off of two more cages, Gnak released the two
young belonging to the mother he had just worked with. Tipping the cages, he
allowed the two out from their confines and immediately both pups happily
bounded free of their small cells and converged upon their mother’s cage. For
many minutes Gnak waited as the pups whined, unable to reach their mother, and
the mother licked her pups through the makeshift bars of her cage. It was not
long, however, before the pups’ curiosities got the best of them.

Wandering about the tent the two fox pups sniffed and licked,
bounding around excitedly, even going so far as urinating upon the sand that
made the floor. Still Gnak and Bota watched in silence. It was not until the
pups began wrestling about the floor, tugging upon one another’s ears and tails
with their teeth, that Gnak reached out and brushed one.

Like before he could feel it within the animal, and like
before he pulled it away with him. As expected the pup froze, unmoving, as its
sibling continued to yank and pull at its ear. Gnak watched as the other pup realized
that something was wrong and backed away slowly half growling, half whining.
Gnak reached out and snatched the essence from that pup as well. Then, without
delay, he released the second essence he had captured into the first pup, and
the first essence into the second pup, switching the power from one to the
other.

Immediately both pups began moving, but not as he had
thought. Instead they jerked about the floor in fits of spasms, their eyes
flitting around in their sockets as their tongues lolled out the sides of their
mouths. This had certainly not been what he had intended. Reaching out to
retrieve their power once more and switch them back, he paused as the pups’
behavior began to change.

Where before they were wracked by fits, now the fox pups began
to calm, and each rolled once more to its belly, shaking its head groggily
before making as if to rise. Gnak continued to watch as each pup arose on what
seemed to be wobbly legs, and within minutes both animals were again bouncing
around and playing with one another. So he
could
switch them! But what
did it mean?

“Gnak take power one fox, give other,” Gnak explained his
experiment to his second in command. “What think you?”

A long silence ensued as Bota pondered, but when he
responded Gnak listened intently.

“Pup is pup. Take one power, give other, no difference. What
if Gnak take power from man and give animal? What if take animal, give man?”

Gnak did not even wait to discuss the idea further, reaching
out instead to open a fourth cage and brush against the fox within. Stripping
the animal of its glowing power, Gnak quickly replaced it with another and
watched.

Just as before the fox began to jerk and convulse, this time
taking longer than the previous. Bouncing off the walls of the small cage the
animal foamed at the mouth, odd sounds escaping between its teeth as its neck
and back bent at odd angles. It was near an hour before it relented, but Gnak
never made move to stop it.

When it finally did stop, the small beast lay deathly still
for a moment and Gnak feared a failure. Turning the cage upon the sand floor he
watched as the small beast opened its eyes, blinking several times and panting
as if exhausted. When its eyes focused it peered back through the makeshift
bars into Gnak’s eyes before it started barking, growling, and snapping with a
rage that poured from the animal. It seemed his father did indeed live within
the essence Gnak had stored. Apparently he was still angry about being set up
and murdered by his own son.

“Was for good, Gnak chief, make Orcs better,” Gnak said to
the small creature before he brushed at it through the bars of the cage and
removed his father from the beast.

The beast again fell into the odd trance, unmoving as Gnak
located the animal’s original essence within him and returned it to its
rightful owner. This time, as had happened with his very first experiment, the
animal recovered quickly, almost as if nothing had happened at all. Gnak was
beginning to understand.

“Was Gobgob?” Bota asked.

“Yes. Want Gnak dead,” Gnak replied with a smirk.

“Worked, yes?” Bota asked.

“Yes, worked. Gnak think animal different Orc, but work. Is
more hard for Orc in animal. Is less hard for animal in animal. Very not same.”

For hours they discussed the uses of Gnak’s discoveries.
Using Orc minds in animal bodies to infiltrate enemies, or saving an Orc from
the clutches of death by restoring it to life within another animal or man.
This of course led Gnak to want to bring Jen back, but he knew there was still
much to learn, and he could not fathom putting her inside a beast. No. She
deserved better. For now he would keep her where she was safe. He had tried
bringing her back once and had failed her tremendously. This time he would make
sure he knew how to properly use his power.

Even with so many possibilities, there were two more tests
Gnak wanted to perform, though he doubted either would have immediate results.
First, he swept his hands across one of the foxes within its cage, and removed
the essence from it, simply leaving it in a trance-like state. The second, he
untied the top of a cage and quickly reached inside, snatching one of the foxes
up by its neck. Holding the beast up off the floor he squeezed its throat,
pinching off the air it needed to survive. It was a foul deed, and Gnak knew it
to be so, but reminded himself that for many to live, some would need to die.

As the fox perished, Gnak held it to his ear, listening for
its heart and feeling for its breath. The fox was still. Gnak placed it back in
the cage and waited. Out from the corpse came the essence and, snatching it
from the air, Gnak returned it back to the body, feeling it bind back into
place as the animal coughed. Rising as if nothing happened, the fox began to
stir as Gnak secured the lid of the cage once more.

“Now wait,” Gnak said, turning his attention back to Bota.

“No yet,” Bota replied, and reached into a cage himself.
Gnak watched as his second in command pulled the fox from its cage and freeing
his blade from his belt he stuck the small animal in its chest, watching it bleed
out in seconds. Then, seemingly without remorse he handed the small corpse to
Gnak.

“Bring back. Is test. Like human girl. Gnak learn fix?” Bota
both asked and suggested.

Gnak took his meaning. There was more to learn, and one
lesson needed to be a lesson of his previous failure. Like Jen, this body was
injured. But unlike Jen, this one had
just
perished. Gnak watched,
waiting for the orb to leave the body, and as soon as it released its hold he
put it back in place where it belonged. Within moments the fox was moving again
despite the hole in its chest. And with its apparent recovery Gnak rose back to
his feet. Night was again near, and though he had not rested, they would soon
be on the move again. All he could do for the foxes was wait and see what toll
his manipulations had on them.

CHAPTER FIVE

It was near the middle of the night two full days later when
the commotion arose from the lines of Orcs following Gnak’s lead across the
desert. Hearing the shout of one of his captains, he called a halt to their
progress, and turning he strode back the way he had come. There, near the rear
of the line was a gathering of Orcs, including several of his captains.
Clearing a path between the congregating men and women of his tribe, he found
that between them stood the cart containing the foxes he had experimented upon.
He had given order that if anything occurred with the beasts he was to be
notified immediately, and they had done well to do as he ordered.