Free The Weight of Blood (Half-Orcs Book 1) by David Dalglish Page B

was holding a stick. We took him inside and put him on the floor.
    “He wasn’t supposed to die,” Harruq said, staring right into Aurelia’s eyes so she would know he spoke the truth. “We didn’t mean to have what happened happen, but well... Qurrah put a bunch of meat on Perry’s face. It was old and rancid. Poor guy still had to keep smelling it though, and then Qurrah cast his spell.
    “The meat started bubbling and turning watery. It ran down his face, getting into his eyes. It burned him. His skin turned black, like it was rotting. He called me dogface all the time, Perry did. We were making him just like what he called me. A dogface. But it went wrong. I yelled at Qurrah to stop, and I think he wanted to, but he kept shrieking more of that curse. Then he…”
    Harruq rubbed his eyes and refused to meet Aurelia’s gaze.
    “And then Qurrah removed the spells that kept him from talking and moving. He screamed and screamed and he just, he just…he tore off his own face. He reached up and yanked that mess off him. He died. Qurrah fell over, too weak to stand. Never seen him so scared in my life. He kept staring at that guy’s face and blubbering, saying he didn’t mean to. That’s all he said, over and over. He didn’t mean to. He tried to stop. We burned the body and haven’t ever talked about it since.”
    Silence filled their clearing as Harruq’s story ended.
    “I asked for the first time you killed,” Aurelia said after an agonizingly long pause.
    “I know,” Harruq said. “And I did. I brought Perry to Qurrah. I failed to stop him when I saw something was wrong. If there is blame, it falls on me.”
    The elf stared off into the forest, her brown eyes seeing nothing. Harruq and Qurrah’s relationship could not be clearer to her mind. Qurrah directed, Qurrah ordered, and then Harruq bore the guilt and the blame. Did Harruq ever consider disobedience? She didn’t know.
    “We done here?” the half-orc asked.
    He left without giving her a chance to answer.

    T he final days of sparring with Aurelia passed quietly and swiftly. Aurelia asked for no stories and Harruq told her none. They simply enjoyed each other’s company, fought to the extent of their skill, and then parted. On the fourteenth and final day, however, Harruq was in an unusually quiet mood. His mind refused to stay on the mock combat, and many times a quick jab of Aurelia’s staff cracked his arm or wrist when he should have easily deflected it away.
    Finally, the elf called it a day. She set aside her staff.
    “I thank you for sparring with me,” she told him.
    “It’s nothing,” he said. “Better to spar with someone than practice alone.”
    Aurelia smiled. “You’re different than what I expected, Harruq. Smarter, too.”
    Harruq blushed. “No need for lies,” he said.
    The elf laughed a little but said nothing. Instead, she walked over and gave Harruq a quick peck on the cheek.
    “Keep your big butt safe, okay?” she said.
    The half-orc tried to answer but his mouth refused to cooperate. Somehow, it seemed to have become unhinged. Besides, it wasn’t as if he could think of anything to say. All his mind could concentrate on was the feel of the elf’s soft lips on his cheek, the flowery scent of her perfume mixed with sweat, and the quick brush of her breasts against his arm.
    By the time his jaw and mind began working again, Aurelia was laughing.
    “What’s so funny?” he demanded. The elf smiled.
    “Nothing. Just a big stupid half-orc I’m going to miss. Bye-bye.”
    She waved and then vanished into the forest. For a long time, Harruq remained. He ran a hand through his hair and pondered what in the abyss was wrong with him.
    “Never get involved with elves,” he mumbled. “Never ever should have gotten myself screwed up like this.”
    But a part of him liked it, and that scared him even more.

    H arruq arrived at the clearing the next morning at the same time as always. Aurelia stepped out from behind a