Page 2 of Grumpy Pucking Orc
So here we were, in our gainful employment, about to participate in a contest known among the humans as hockey while walking on these knife blades.
An amplified voice shouted something unintelligible from the arena, and the crowd roared again.
“Go, go, go,” urged one of the human assistants from behind us.
Once more, I growled—this time louder.
I was Ozar, son of Meig and Oala, a skilled warrior and a Guardian of Clan Heregut, a Commander of my Squadron. I wore the marks awarded to those who’d excelled in battle. I had much to offer a wife. And if this ridiculous contest was what it took to get one, then I would perform to the best of my ability.
And I’d do my damndest to win. Because above all, Ihatedlosing.
Letting go of the wall, I stomped forward down the tunnel into the bright light. My bare shoulders brushed the sides of the hallway. Humans reached down from nearby seats, touching me. Again I growled, jutting my lower jaw forward so my tusks were even more visible as I stepped onto the ice.
The stupid knife-blade shoes slid forward and I nearly fell on my ass, as I’d done the first and only time I’d attempted this. Thankfully I managed to shift my balance and somehow remain upright. The other orcs on my team exited the tunnel behind me, pushing me forward and sliding me across the ice. Ignoring the din of the crowd and the shouting of the amplified human announcer, I tried to focus on slowing my speed so I wouldn’t careen clear across the rink and into a wall.
Most of the others didn’t have as graceful of an entrance. Eng groped his way along the wall. Bwat shot forward and flailed about, eventually face-planting on the ice. Ugwyll managed to remain on his feet until one shoe went wide and he fell backward. The line behind him went down like those dominos I’d seen the humans set up, until the last eight orcs ended up in a pile just outside the hallway.
The roar went from cheers to laughter, and I felt a sharp surge of anger.
No. I could not kill the humans. Not unless I wanted the angels to send me back home in shame. Without a wife. Doomed to be forever childless.
“This way. This way.” One of the humans that worked for our team was ushering us over toward a seating area.Several other human support staff glided out to us, assisting the fallen onto their feet and helping them over to the box.
I waved off a human who was trying to take my arm and stomped my knife-blades into the ice as I made my way to our seating area, breaking off chunks and leaving scars on the smooth white surface.
This was going to be a long and humiliating evening. And it would only be one of many. I sat in my chair, glaring at the human team and hoping that I found a willing human female to be my wife soon. Because it probably wouldn’t be long until I killed a human, or more likely killed a few dozen humans. And then my dreams of a wife and children would be over.
Chapter 2
Jordan
“It was wonderful of your parents to get us all tickets,” Abby said, handing me one of the beers she’d carried over from the concession area.
“Yeah, and the seats are awe-some,” Willa added as she took her own beer from Abby.
Theseatswere awesome. The tickets to see the new Baltimore Tusks? Well, the jury was still out on that one.
At first I’d been excited by my parents’ gift. I’d grown up in Buffalo, New York, practically skating before I could walk. While I’d never played on a children’s league or school hockey team, I’d participated in plenty of pickup games with the local kids, goofing off on an ice-covered pond near our house. And I’d loved the occasional professional games my parents had taken my brother and me to.
An NHL team for Baltimore seemed like a dream come true for hockey fans, but when it was announced that this team would be made up of orcs, my excitement had wavered. It wasn’t that I had anything against orcs; I’d never even heard of them being real until last month. Supernaturals seemed to be all over the place in the last few years. Theangels practically ran things. There were demons, shifters, vampires, elves…
And now orcs.
This would no doubt be the first of many supernatural sports teams. It felt strange, but teams like the Tusks were a logical step toward reflecting the changes all around us. One of my friends from the gym was a werewolf. Demons owned several Baltimore area businesses. There was an elf barista at my favorite Starbucks. The trio of enthusiastic black dudes in line for beer beside us were vampires.
Butorcs?
Advertisements had shown these giant, muscle-bound, green, half-naked guys with tusks jutting from their lower jaws and a steely look in their eyes. I’ll admit, they looked impressive. But my first thought was that it wouldn’t be fair to pit orcs against humans. Who in the world had approved this? It had to be against some NHL regulation, or occupational health and safety code. The humans would be slaughtered—and some of these human players made millions of dollars a year. Why would any NHL team agree to risk their players against a team of orcs? And who in their right mind would be willing to watch such carnage? Notme.
But my parents had bought me tickets, excited for me to attend this inaugural game of our new hockey team in Baltimore. So here I was.
“Let’s hurry up and get to our seats.” Abby bounced in excitement, nearly spilling her beer.
“Orcs on ice,” Willa drawled as she followed me through the rows to our spot. “Sounds like a Disney movie…or a reality show. I wonder who will get voted off the island?”
“Or who will get the rose?” Abby laughed. “It’llbe fun. I love hockey.”
We all did, but I wasn’t sure if what we were about to see would be hockey or a gladiatorial contest. Hopefully the Red Wings wouldn’t end the game carried out on stretchers.
