Condor another half-breed to kill on a platter.”
It only occurred to Brocke then that she was worried about him . The notion was so absurd it had taken him a while to realize. Cora herself was Terran, and Condor had no problem with her, except for the fact she was trying to catch him. But Brocke was a half-breed like all the victims, not to mention he’d been Condor’s captor for a long time. It was him she was so worried about.
He stopped for a moment, looking into Cora's deep hazel eyes.
“All men die,” he said. “Even Corgan warriors. But I promise you, the man who kills me will not be Condor or any of his fanatics. I will not let anything happen to you.”
Cora’s eyes were big and wide, staring at him like she was trying to discern whether he told the truth or not.
“It sounds so certain when you say it,” she said then. “Like stating it makes it the truth.”
“It does,” Brocke told her.
The most maddening smile tugged her lips upwards then, gone in the next second when she nodded and followed Tomeh’s lead again.
Having her trust was a feeling like no other. Brocke never doubted himself, but Cora’s belief in him made him want to prove himself, something he’d never felt the need for before. Everything he was, all he had done, Brocke had accomplished it all for himself and for no other.
Cora was looking at him, and it made his hearts beat faster. She was slowly but surely taking a hold on him that he didn’t mind. On the contrary, Brocke wanted to possess her utterly more and more with each second.
There was a small lake near the factory where it dumped water and waste. It was barely larger than a pond, but it was well fed by the factory. Brocke knew that once a year, they cleaned it up not to damage the nature too much, but until then it served as comfortable storage. Several large drains tall enough to walk in stood near them, and whirring tubes fed some brownish sludge onto the shore. As they neared it, Cora wrinkled her nose.
“What is that horrible smell?” she asked.
“It's not natural, even in here,” Tomeh said bitterly, stopping before going down to the shore. “I am not a brave man, I have not gone to see, but there is something terrible down there. The big drains lead right into the factory, but they’re empty most of the time.”
All of them looked at Hemak, who was avoiding their gazes, mumbling something to himself.
It sounded a lot like "I didn't know", which was an admission in itself. It definitely didn't promise anything good down there.
Before Cora could descend to the drains, Brocke stopped her. He knew the smell very well and assumed she did too, considering how pale she was.
“I know Condor,” he growled to her, the tone of his voice freezing Cora in her tracks. “I don’t think you should go down there.”
“It’s my job,” she protested. “I’ve seen dead bodies before.”
With that, Cora rushed by him to catch a glimpse before he ultimately dragged her away, but at the start of the drain, she lurched back and a quiet scream of horror escaped her lips.
Chapter Eight
Cora
“ T hat sick fuck ,” Cora whispered, feeling tears run down her cheeks.
Brocke didn’t wait for her to force her legs to move again. The warlord suddenly appeared beside her, taking one look at the drain before lifting Cora into his arms and bodily carrying her away.
He put her down only when they were back on the shore with Tomeh, who was staring at her with a shocked impression. Cora looked at the lake, beautiful and glittering in the daylight. If she didn’t still smell it, she would have been able to believe nothing bad was happening in the world on such a tranquil day.
Just dead bodies , she told herself. Pull yourself together. This is your job, and that monster is still on the loose.
But it wasn't just dead bodies, not even close. Cora had seen some fucked up things in her life, but the drains were by far the worst.
One after the other, the victims had been