Free Three Kings (Book 3) by Jeremy Laszlo Page A

to summon the wills of those attackers upon his orkin body. With no effort the wills of all three remaining dire wolves flowed to him, each tearing away from a wolf, leaving it inanimate, but the will of the unholy beast remained. Gnak tried again.
    For unknown reason, the wolf man’s will was beyond his ability, and watching as it savagely bit into the arm of the frozen orc body, Gnak rose from his litter as quickly as his old body would carry him, and with two great strides he kicked out with one massive leg and listened as the sickening snap of bones followed.
    Through the air the assailant flew, twisting and turning only to land upon its feet as if its injury mattered not at all. Growling and snapping, it raced towards him, and Gnak knew this body would not be fast enough to fight the foe. Raising his hand and opening it wide, he shifted again.
    Pain from his torn shoulder and arm shot through him, but Gnak could not delay. Snatching up his fallen spear, he rolled forward into the oncoming beast and thrusting with all his might he drove the shaft up and into the gut of the creature as it passed. With the butt of his spear digging into the rocky ground, the beast rose up upon the shaft, such was his momentum, and flung forward, it sailed towards the hand of the awaiting troll. Gnak shifted.
    Clamping his massive hand closed, he looked down as the beast in his grasp snarled and snapped at him, trying to claw at his thick flesh with its fingers. Squeezing, Gnak watched as the beast silenced its protests before its neck snapped. With its head lolling to the side at an odd angle, Gnak dropped the creature and watched it crumple into a pile of fur upon the ground. It was an unnatural beast. Of that he was certain. And it seemed now that his power was limited to the dominion of natural beasts.
    Checking his wounds, Gnak found the troll king’s body to be nearly free from injury. So thick was his flesh that the wolven teeth and claws had barely managed to do more than scratch him in several places. Shifting again, Gnak found his orc body to be in much worse condition. With bite and claw wounds all down his arm and shoulder, he could only feel the seeping wounds upon his back. Pain arose from nearly his whole left side.
    Shifting again, Gnak collected what was left of the shaman’s salve and using the troll king’s body he applied it sparingly to those wounds that appeared to be the worst of the damage upon his orc body. Though they now had enough food for the trip, Gnak wondered if his wounds would fester, and become infected as they had done in the past. His orc body had been through a lot in the last few months.
    Deciding that he should let the body rest so that it might heal better, he remained in the troll king and placed his orc body upon the sled. Collecting two of the wolves, he quickly gutted and skinned them before building a fire. As the sun rose into the sky, Gnak roasted a pair of the giant wolves upon a spit and listened as their fat dripped from their bones into the waiting fire below.
    In his ancient body he too remained near the flames, letting his body absorb the heat. If he wanted to use this body, he needed to speed the metabolism to a reasonable level so he could move more quickly. But speeding the inner workings of his body had setbacks as well. In order to sustain the quick movement and his health, he would be forced to eat frequently. He tossed two more of the wolves directly into the fire and watched as their fur burned away. After an hour he removed the charred carcasses from the fire and began tearing blackened hunks of their flesh away with his teeth.
    Though he would have thought the meal disgusting just days ago, in this body he found it suitable, and even enjoyed biting through the gut sack of one of the beasts as its hot juices flowed into his mouth. Chomping through his meal, he kicked the last two remaining carcasses into the fire and let them char as the first two continued to roast above the