Page 126 of The Orc Chief's Baker
“We are the same, Sythcol. We’ve only ever lived in fear and taken orders. It’s time to release that fear and do what isright.”
Sythcol trembled, swallowed. His eyes went shimmery and wet as he whispered, “I don’t know how.”
And as if on cue, a bird swooped into the room and dropped onto Sythcol’s shoulder. The conjurer snatched the note tied to its leg so fast that the bird squawked and a few feathers escaped as it darted away.
“What?” Brovdir grated as Sythcol’s eyes widened in distress. The male was frozen to the spot. Unblinking and pale.
“What!” Brovdir demanded and Sythcol finally jerked his gaze up.
“It’s a sinkhole at the edge of Oakwall.”
Chapter
Thirty-Nine
TRINIA
“I’m coming with you!” Trinia sprinted after Brovdir as he rushed through the clan. She was sweaty, out of breath, and completely determined.
He’d just told her there was a sinkhole at Oakwall.At her village. Her stomach twisted so hard she was afraid she would vomit.
“No,” Brovdir said over his shoulder. He didn’t speed up, though she could see from his expression that he regretted telling her. He probably wished he could have snuck out of the hall unnoticed.
“I’m coming!” She gulped air, refusing to slow even as her lungs screamed and panic gripped tight in her throat. “I’m coming whether you want me to or not and I swear if you try to stop me, I’ll?—”
Brovdir whirled around so fast dust and rocks sprayed out around him. He took her shoulders in his huge hands as he stared into her face. “Trinia, it’s notsafe.”
“I know it’s not!” Tears flooded her eyes. “Iknowthat. But I can’t sit here wondering and hoping and...please.I need to come with you.”
Brovdir swallowed, and then looked up at the path. Sythcol had already run ahead and disappeared into the forest. There were no other orcs around. Just empty homes and an icy wind.
He picked her up in his arms and began to sprint.
“Thank you,” Trinia managed as she clung to him. “Thank you, Brovdir.”
The trip took too long. It felt like a lifetime. The crisp scent of the forest mingled with Brovdir’s spice as she buried her head in his shoulder. The roaring of the wind in her ears grew louder with every passing breath.
And then, they finally came upon the sinkhole and she realized it wasn’t the wind that was roaring.
“Fades,” Brovdir breathed as he held her a little tighter. She couldn’t even get out words.
Before them was a massive, churning pool of muck and debris. It bubbled like it was boiling from beneath. The whole grange hall and yard could fit inside it and with every moment it chipped away at the edges, swallowing up bushes and ground.
On the opposite end, through only one layer of trees, she could see the massive wall of oaks that protected her village.
And the churning depths grew larger by the moment.
“Ogvick!” Sythcol called to a warrior orc Trinia had only just noticed. The warrior ran over, giving the roaring sinkhole a wide berth. “How fast is it growing?”
As if on cue, one of the pine trees at the edge groaned and tipped as the ground beneath it was swept away in the current. It disappeared beneath the water’s surface, sucked into the unknown.
It was swallowing everything up!
Brovdir snatched her up by the waist and yanked her back, even though she was nowhere near the edge. “I’m fine!”
“Not safe!” he nearly roared. “Ogvick! Report!”
The male straightened. “It only started a few moments ago, but it’s gottenhuge.”
