Page 62 of Nexus
“Can we skirt around the cliffs, or do we have to go through the city?” Ruen asked. He’d fared far better than I had, since he’d ridden the entire way on my back. Feeding on the blood of the animals I’d caught, the vampire wasn’t weak and exhausted like I was. Aurora’s response was to point down at the city. “I thought so,” my fanged sidekick said gloomily.
“I won’t be going anywhere until I’ve replenished my energy,” I pointed out, poking the saggy skin where my belly had once been.
“I can smell a herd of those deerlike things nearby,” Ruen said. “I’m sure you’ll feel much better once you’ve devoured them.”
My stomach rumbled loudly enough to echo around the cliffs. A startled shout came from a lone guard on patrol at the edge of the city. He looked up, but we stepped back out of sight before he could spot us. We would have been tiny dots to him, but it was better to be safe than to get captured. It had rained a couple of times during our trek. I hoped he thought it was thunder from a distant storm.
Chapter Forty-Six
THE NIGHT WAS ONLY half over, so Ruen helped me slaughter ten of the deerlike beasts. He drank his fill of blood, then taught me how to butcher animals more cleanly. Aurora ate grass seeds and insects for dinner as I cooked my feast over a campfire. We sat down to strategize once my belly was distended and I couldn’t fit another bite in.
“How are we going to sneak through the city?” I asked.
Ruen looked me up and down, then shook his head. “Nothing your size could sneak past the guards. Ogres aren’t exactly built for stealth.” The males I’d met could be quiet when they wanted to, but they couldn’t shrink themselves down.
“We’re built for eating, mating and rampaging,” I said in irritation.
His expression turned thoughtful. “You’ve just given me an idea,” he said craftily.
“Do I want to hear it?” I asked warily.
“It’s brilliant!” he boasted, rubbing his hands together gleefully. He outlined his plan and I had to admit it didn’t suck completely. Aurora looked doubtful, but she couldn’t come up with a better idea. Even if she had thought of something, she wouldn’t have been able to communicate it to us.
“When should I embark on this crazy scheme?” I asked with great reluctance.
“You still have four deer left,” Ruen replied. “You should sleep the day away and eat your fill when you wake up. We’ll head to the city once I rise tomorrow night.”
“We’re going to get captured and have to explain ourselves to the overlord,” I predicted.
“We’ll pretend coming through the gate turned us both into ravenous monsters,” he said, adding to his plan as he went. “It isn’t like they’ve had many visitors from our realm come here lately to make a comparison.”
“Not that we know about, anyway,” I mused. “I guess we don’t have any choice.”
“If they capture us, pretend to be an idiot like the male ogres we encountered. I’ll step in only if it becomes necessary.”
Aurora’s head bobbed up and down in agreement. She was willing to do her part to help us with our mission. We would only need her assistance to get through the city if things went horribly sideways.
Dawn was drawing closer, so I banked the fire. I’d stuffed the cooked meat into the spare sacks I’d stolen from the barracks. Nothing would be stupid enough to approach a sleeping ogre, so I figured we’d be safe enough up here on the clifftops. Ruen climbed into my sack before the sun could rise. The rustling noises he made halted when he died. My spare clothes were coated in layers of the clear gunk that oozed from his pores by now.
I slept for a few hours, then woke up feeling hungry. After eating the rest of my food, I found it wasn’t enough. I left Aurora to stand watch over Ruen and went hunting for more animals. My gut was pleasantly full and back to being fat again when the vampire rose for the night. While I wasn’t as big as I had been, I still looked formidable.
“Are you ready for the show?” I asked when my partner stretched out his kinks.
“Just give me a moment to grab a snack,” Ruen replied. He streaked out of sight and returned a few minutes later, sloshing with blood. “Now I’m ready,” he told me.
“Into the sack with you both,” I ordered and held it open for them.
Ruen picked Aurora up and stepped into the sack. I stuffed everything we owned inside, then slung it over my shoulder. I’d found a bigger branch to use as a club, so I looked the part I was about to play.
Backtracking from the clifftop to the road, I couldn’t see, hear or sense any guards nearby. “Here we go,” I said nervously, then stepped out onto the path. Trotting along it, I made it all the way to the entrance to the city before I was spotted.
“Ogre!” a soldier shouted shrilly. “Kill it!” More guards came running from a nearby building. They all had tattoos of their overlord on their foreheads.
“Hungry!” I shouted, swinging my club threateningly. “Eat you!”
Rethinking their plan, they turned and fled, shrieking in terror.
“Go!” Ruen hissed at me from inside the sack. Letting out a roar, I began to run.
