Page 5

CHAPTER 4

MAHK

“ H ello, Koth. Fancy meeting you here,” I told the man currently tied to the chair in the bungalow I was “borrowing.” Koth had been easy to track down. He had barely gotten into the cover of the trees in Forest Glen when the pain from the poison had become too much, and he’d been barely conscious when I’d found him. I’d brought him to my borrowed home and secured him, but then left him to check on Tanner. He was weighed down by something, and I’d wanted to ensure he was okay.

I’d followed him as he’d left the store and gone back to his home. I’d watched in the shadows as he’d wheeled his mom out to the modified van they had for her. I’d been fascinated by that when I’d first seen it and had done much research on it. It was amazing the things humans came up with to compensate for their weak bodies and lack of magic. I’d wanted to follow him, but I knew from experience that when someone drove his mother in that van, they went into the closest city, and I hadn’t wanted to leave Koth alone for all that time. That slimy waste of space had a way of getting out of situations, and I would not risk it. So, I left and came back here.

Koth tried to sneer, but the pain had to be brutal by this point, and it came out more of a grimace. “Oh look, it’s the bastard love child, coming to clean up his big brother’s messes.”

I rolled my eyes, sighing and leaning against the cream-colored wall in the second bedroom. The people who owned this place were away for a few months visiting their children, so I’d lucked out on having a place to stay while I worked. I did not mind sleeping in the forest, but this was much cozier, and I’d discovered fascinating movies and TV. Humans had so many forms of entertainment. It was never-ending.

I spun my favorite dagger between my fingers casually, like I didn’t have a care in the world. Despite Koth’s best efforts, his eyes didn’t leave the blade.

“So original, coward. No one has ever called me that before, and it hurts me to my core.” Just to emphasize, I pressed my hand against my chest. “Truly.” Koth wasn’t the smartest orc out there, so hopefully he understood the sarcasm.

Yes, I was the illegitimate son of the late emperor and hadn’t been raised with my brothers. I hadn’t even known they existed for the first years of my life. Yes, there were still some, especially among the nobility, who did not agree with my family’s easy acceptance of me, but I didn’t care. I especially did not care about the opinion of this poor excuse of an orc currently cowering by my feet.

“You’ve been quite the nuisance,” I replied conversationally, ignoring the barbs. “More than that, honestly. But you crossed the line when you threw my brother’s mate off a cliff. That was the reason they sent me to make sure you die.”

Koth’s eyes widened slightly. He was still in his human form, but it kept flickering, like his body was too weak to manage the magic that allowed the change.

“Then what are you waiting for? End this charade and kill me already.”

I laughed coldly. “You would like that, wouldn’t you? You don’t deserve a quick and painless end.”

Koth scoffed. “Painless? That fucking blade of yours was certainly not painless.”

I shrugged. “No, maybe not. But it is still less than you deserve.”

I weighed my options. Torturing him would be fun, and it couldn’t happen to a better person. But, I couldn’t get the heaviness of Tanner’s expression out of my mind. The invisible weight on his shoulders as he left the store earlier. I wanted to be there in case he needed me and would not waste more time than necessary on Koth. As much as I wanted to have fun, my Tanner was more important.

I stalked toward Koth, enjoying how he flinched. He could scoff and look down on me due to my parentage, but he could not hide the fear lingering in his eyes.

“Unfortunately, I have more important matters to attend to than you. So we’ll have to make it quick.”

I walked behind Koth to where the silver ring sat on his finger. It had been pushed partially down the knuckle, like he’d tried to remove it while tied so he could turn back to his orc form. It was cute that he thought he’d have been able to escape if he’d succeeded. I would never be so careless.

I crouched down to take off the ring. His fingers had swollen some from him being restrained and his struggling, so the thing was not coming off easily. I sighed, annoyed he was making it so difficult.

“Your ring is stuck,” I told him, a little giddy. I would be able to do some light torture after all. “Don’t worry, I’ll get it off for you.” I pressed sharp steel against the swollen flesh right below it. My blade easily cut through, and Koth’s finger, ring and all, fell to the floor. I was glad I’d thought to put down a plastic tarp I had found in the shed. I’d hate to leave a mess for the owners to clean up.

Koth’s screams were loud and irritating, but they didn’t last long as he turned back into his true orc form. He struggled harder, trying to break through the binds that were holding him, but it would be impossible.

I stood up and walked around to face him. Koth spit at me. “Fucking bastard.”

I grinned. “You don’t deserve the honor of dying in your true form, but I will give it to you anyway.”

“Yet you leave me tied? No way to defend myself? And you call me a coward.”

I rolled my eyes. This was exhausting. Usually, I didn’t talk to my targets. They were dead before they even realized I was there. But these were different circumstances since he’d personally hurt my family, not to mention crossing to an entirely new world in his attempt to run.

“This is why I never have discussions with my targets. It’s too tiresome.” He glared and cursed and thrashed. “Ugh, fine.” I waved my hand and the magical ties that kept him bound to the chair disappeared.

Koth lunged for me, but that was his final mistake. He might have had over a foot on me in this form, but I was faster. My blade found its home in the soft flesh of Koth’s neck before he even had a chance to fight me.

Koth made a disgusting gurgling sound before crashing to his knees. “You will pay for this,” he managed, weak and garbled, as he clutched at the bleeding wound. Then he collapsed face down and, of course, halfway off the tarp.

“Fucking hell.” Another curse I’d learned from the humans. “Now I have to figure out how to get orc blood off the floor. You had to be a pain in the ass, even in death.”

Groaning, I dragged the big body back onto the tarp before it could cause more damage. Once he was tightly wrapped, both in the plastic and duct tape, and the floor was as clean as I could get it, I began to consider my next steps.

The original plan had been to kill Koth near the barrier so I could drag him over and he could be dealt with in Belzod. That way there would be no questions about the big green orc, and we wouldn’t have a barrage of humans trying to discover our existence. That had disintegrated when the barrier had closed behind me. I should still probably bring him to the cave, less chance of being discovered until I could cross back over, but I’d stopped worrying about the plan when he’d thrown the slushie at me. My favorite shirt had been ruined! I had run it through the washing machine in the bungalow twice, and that unnatural green color would not go away.

An idea came to me then. There was a sink pit in the woods between the convenience store and Tanner’s house. Quicksand, mud, and overgrown vegetation made it the perfect place to dump the body of a mythical being that humans didn’t believe existed. I knew from my time in Destiny that the townspeople avoided it. Children were warned from playing in the area because it was too dangerous. I could bring Koth there and let nature do its job. I’d wait till it was dark so I didn’t risk running into anyone. Then, I could go see Tanner and make sure he was okay after his mother’s appointment.

Grinning, I got to work. I couldn’t wait to get to see my Tanner again.