Page 63 of Nexus
While I wasn’t moving at top speed, I was sprinting quickly enough that everything passed by in a blur. Denizens of the underworld leaped out of the way of my fake rampage. Screams and shouts of alarm rang out. More soldiers came running, then wisely decided to let me pass.
Buildings large and small were left behind in my mad dash. I entered a market and smashed a few food stalls with my club, pretending to be a mindless beast. I made sure to grab sacks full of bread and dried meat as I went. My looting would hopefully add to my ruse that I was in search of food.
People shut themselves away inside their houses in fear that I would devour them. The slobber that flew from my tusked mouth with each roar seemed to be highly effective.
“Chase it out of the city!” a soldier called out as a heavily armed contingent arrived. They wore metal armor and were carrying better weapons. Breaking into two groups, they flanked me and blocked the path behind me so I couldn’t retreat.
It was good that the road led directly through the city, or I’d have become lost for sure. Shouting and banging their spears on their shields, the guards hounded me towards the far side of the metropolis. One of them came too close and paid the price when I slammed my club into him and sent him flying into a building. Crashing through the window, he landed with a pained squeal.
Ruen chuckled darkly, but it was lost beneath my roar. The guards drew back fearfully as I continued my race to safety.
“Let it through!” the soldier in charge called out when thirty or so troops attempted to bar my way from the exit. They scattered from my path, diving out of the way before my club could smack into them.
I kept running, leaving the city behind until it was just a distant speck. When I finally came to a stop, I staggered off the road and slumped to the ground in exhaustion.
“That was an amazing performance, Saige,” Ruen said in praise when he slithered out of the sack with Aurora in his arms. “You truly encapsulated the heart and soul of being an ogress.”
Stuffing a loaf of bread into my mouth, I chewed and swallowed, while giving him a sardonic look. “I can’t believe that worked. I’m half the size of a real ogre.”
“We haven’t seen any other females. Maybe they’re all your size,” he figured. “You’re downright petite compared to the males. Huh,” he mused. “That’s not something I ever thought I’d say about you.”
I threw a chunk of bread at him at the insult. It bounced off his head and Aurora neatly caught it with her foot. She started pecking at it and I smiled at her indulgently. “She’s got great reflexes, just like me.”
“You’re practically twins,” Ruen muttered, brushing crumbs out of his filthy, matted hair. It was a pity my hairbrush had vanished. His locks were in dire need of grooming. “We need to keep moving before the soldiers come looking for you to make sure you aren’t going to attack the city again,” he said.
“I didn’t attack it,” I said in exasperation, but heeded his advice anyway. “All I did was smash a few food stalls and shout that I was hungry. I only bashed one person with my club.”
“That was my favorite part,” my fanged companion confessed. “His scream of pain was lovely.”
Aurora paused in pecking her meal to glance at him, then continued eating. She didn’t seem to mind being held in the crook of an arm of a psychopath.
Ruen climbed onto his perch on my back and I continued eating as I trotted along the road. Aurora finished her meal, then he placed her on my shoulder to guide us.
I walked a few more miles from the city, then the bird indicated for me to take a path that branched off towards the cliffs. Heavy foot traffic had come this way regularly. I couldn’t sense anything dangerous, but we all kept our senses alert as I lumbered along the trail.
Chapter Forty-Seven
A SLIVER OF MOONLIGHT appeared above the cliffs when I approached it. Weak and wan, the moon was smaller and less impressive than ours. It was lucky my eyesight was so good in this form, because the shadows thickened when I reached the end of the trail.
“What now?” I asked, looking around and not seeing any way through the barrier that loomed over us.
“Follow the footprints,” Ruen suggested, resting his pointy elbows on my shoulder and leaning forward so he could peer ahead.
They led me to a narrow crevice that cleverly blended in with the cliff face. “I’m not sure I’ll fit through there,” I said doubtfully.
“You wouldn’t if you were still gigantically fat,” he said with a smirk. “You might be able to squeeze through it if you suck your gut in.”
“Maybe you should go first and see where it leads,” I suggested.
“Good idea. The crevice might become narrower and it wouldn’t do for you to get wedged inside it.”
He clambered over my shoulder and leaped to the ground. In seconds, he’d vanished into the darkness. I sensed him moving quickly through the gap until he faded from my range. Aurora huddled on my shoulder, content to remain with me.
Ruen returned about ten minutes later. “Where does it lead?” I asked.
“Through to the other side of the cliffs,” he reported. “It gets a bit tight in some places, but I’m confident you’ll make it through.”
“What’s on the other side?”