Free Twisted Fate (Orc Destiny Volume I) (The Blood and Brotherhood Saga) by Jeremy Laszlo

slept within reach of the window. Gnak grinned
wickedly.
    He could have left the very first night. Snatched the
supplies he needed, the girl too, and headed south. But he didn’t dare. Not
with a girl who had magic. Who knew what she could do? She might turn
him into a toad or something. He would have to watch and see if she did
anything else peculiar before he snatched her. And that was exactly his plan.
    Heading out, away from the village, Gnak jogged into the forest
east of the buildings and went a few miles into the trees to assure himself
that none of the humans would see. Once assured, he pulled his kill from his
belt and tossed it on the ground before gathering some fallen wood. Pulling his
fire rock from his pocket, he struck it over and over with the blade of his
sword, watching the sparks of fire land upon the wood. Within a couple of
minutes a small blaze crackled.
    A little while later he had the miniature wolf all gutted
and skinned and upon a small wooden spit, where he turned the handle slowly. Patiently
he waited until the meat browned, and only fat dripped from the creature before
he snatched it up and ate it ravenously. It was two hours later, with a full
stomach, when Gnak stomped out his small fire and turned back towards the human
camp.
    Returning to the building he had first inhabited, he again
slipped past the door and better inspected the inside. Though his first hiding
spot was adequate, he noticed one that could possible serve him better. Climbing
the ladder up to a space above the room, he could see both down into the room,
and out one of the portals in the wall facing the humans’ camp. He could see the
home of the small human female called Jen from here, and nearly every other
home as well. Victory would be his.
     
     

CHAPTER SIX
    For two days and nights Gnak watched the happenings of the
humans. Theirs was a simple and stupid life of feeding animals they had
captured, and cutting down more weeds to feed the animals they had captured. Of
course, it made his nightly hunting very simple. Even with a full belly and
plenty of sleep, however, his condition worsened by the day. The swelling in
his face had already spread to his neck, and for more than a day his head had a
drumming within it that would not stop. His opportunity was fading with each
day he delayed. If he waited much longer he would not make the return journey
himself. It was a risk he could not take.
    He had seen Jen nearly all day every day, watching from his
hidden perch within the building. It was her job to pick up the bundled grasses
and place them into a cart pulled by a stubborn four-legged beast similar to
those rode by the human warriors. Daily she struck her little brother, a little
harder than the day before, and daily she healed him flawlessly. He even knew
that she relieved herself behind the building he occupied, even though she was
repeatedly told not to by what he assumed was her mother.
    Over the course of his watching, never did he see her do
anything wicked to man or animal. She was soft. Weak. Gnak was decided that
this night would be the night.
    He watched the camp’s routine that final time, and watched
as the humans returned to their homes as darkness threatened. Stragglers were a
daily occurrence, as it appeared that some of the male humans would rather be
in the fields working than in their homes with their mates. By the looks of the
females, he couldn’t blame them.
    He waited then, a full two hours after the last sighting of
a human, before he climbed down the ladder and back out of the building. Visiting
the leather and cloth home first, he reached one long arm through the hole in
its wall and collected a bag to fill with provisions and a small scrap of soft
leather. Next came the food storage building.
    Entering the unlatched door, Gnak strode inside eyeing all
the supplies. No humans lived in this building, but several families of rats
did. Collecting some dried meat, a round block of some hard