Page 42 of Marked By Feral Monsters
Ulack cradles me, and the rhythmic steps as he strides through the forest lull me to sleep. When I wake, we're in a part of the woods I've never seen before. With his steps so big, we moved at greater speed than I would have alone; it feels as if we've traveled a hundred miles, though don't think we've moved that far. Even the air feels different here, a little cooler, fresher. The trees are darker, denser, especially now, as the sun sets. Ulack blends more easily into his environment.
We hear lumbering steps. Leaves on a nearby tree shake, birds caw and scatter. And then three orcs step out from around a dense brush.
My hand tightens into a claw on Ulack's arm, but he doesn't flinch. Instead, he nods his head. "Uska, Ulee, Utaya, meet my human. Eden."
Ulack lifts me, like he's showing off a toy. I feel ridiculous, and a lot intimidated, but the three orcs, two women and one man, all nod respectfully. The female says, "We are glad to have you, small human. Ulack missed you."
"I do not see the appeal," the man, Ulee, states. "But we are glad you are home safe and happy."
Ulack shrugs, making me bounce in his arms. Then they say their goodbyes. The three amble deeper into the woods, in the direction we just came from, while Ulack walks us toward the bottom of a cliff. I look up and can see shapes cut out of the rock that form steps, which rise hundreds of feet up.
I barely have time to protest before Ulack simply climbs. My stomach dips as we ascend, so I squeeze my eyes shut until we'reat the top. My ears pop, but the air is so clean, I've never taken such a sweet breath.
"Look," Ulack urges, once he's stopped climbing. So, I open my eyes and look. Then gasp.
We can see the entire forest from here. We're above it all. It stretches on as far as the eye can see. There's a mountain far in the distance, one I didn't know existed. The clouds are beautiful, dusting across the sky, lit by the bright moonlight.
It's breathtaking.
I turn my head and find Ulack smiling at me, with a soft, reverent look in his eyes. "I will bring you back in the morning. It's even more beautiful at dawn."
There's a deeper unspoken promise in those words. I nod, unable to speak, my throat thick with all the things I feel, want to say.Thank you for saving me in more ways than one. Thank you for your kindness, your generosity.
But I say nothing. Because, even though I have no idea what comes next, I feel relief in my soul, as if I have all the time in the world to tell him what he's done for me. And that means I have all the time in the world to find ways to say thank you.
The air is cleaner up here, crisper. I look up at the moon, now shining high in the sky, feeling utterly, completely at peace.
Ulack
She is even more beautiful than I remembered. Her blonde hair blows in the wind, the open air at the mountaintop flowing the strands in wild abandon.
"Let's get you home." I keep expecting some level of reluctance, some hesitancy. I've just selfishly taken her from everything and everyone she knows and loves. Her people may not appreciate her, but coming here with me, being banished from her village, is no small thing.
But she offers a quiet smile and asks, with a hopeful lilt in her voice, "Home?"
"My home."
"Do you have bunkmates?" Her tiny nose screws up in distaste.
"No. Orcs… we live together, but alone. When an orc comes of age, they find their own cave until they find their mate. We are territorial, even though we stick close together. Other orcs live nearby, but not so close we can hear or see them."
Rarely will another orc visit my dwelling. We have communal spaces we share, waterfalls and mouths of caves large enough to fit many of us at once. But the thought of living with another, until now, did not appeal to me.
Nerves swell in my belly. The orcs do not have many natural predators. And yet, this teeny human makes me feel more unease than if I were to face a herd of wild cats.
What if she does not like it here? What if she finds it lacking?
I can provide for her. Food, shelter, warmth, comfort. But is that enough? I barely know Eden, but already, I'd do anything to make her feel at home with me. If she needs it, I will provide.
I watch her walk beside me, slowly since I've carried her most of the journey and she's still gaining her bearings, her stride much shorter than mine. I slow my pace. We continue in comfortable silence for twenty minutes along the cliff's edge. I listen and wait, impatiently, for any sign of distress, or that she expected more.
But she says nothing, only offering that same quiet smile.
A copse of bushes and boulders naturally separate near the tree line at the cliff, and Eden follows me into the darkness.
The crack in the boulders is dark when we approach. I'm pleased she does not hesitate, still trusting and following at my back. I pause for a moment, and she runs into my leg, making anoofnoise.
I chuckle, then tell her to wait.
