Page 7 of Finding Her Luck
The beast growled at him in answer. It put a paw on Corrin, on her saliva soaked back, and rolled her over like a toy it was playing with. "Don't. Don't. Stop it," Corrin said uselessly.
The sky over head was clear, full of stars, two moons, she noted, full. Huge and silver. She hated them, the Father and the Mother. They were up there laughing at her, blessing her with their constant notice and their bad luck.
Orki were everywhere. Holding torches in one hand and spears or axes ready in the other. They were moving things. It looked like dead bodies were going into the council house, and live bodies, women, were coming out. She heard the crying of weeping children.
The beast that had carried her out licked her again. Its tongue was massive, wide as a blanket. It swiped over her face and down her chest, coating her in its saliva.
The Orki talked to it. His voice sounded curious. Conversational. But what did she know of Orki language? He wasn't asking the price of fish or directions to the farmer who sold apples and grapes.
Corrin turned her head this way and that, trying to get away from that fat tongue.Why? Why was this happening to her?
The Orki said something else, and the beast stopped. It sat down on its haunches and laid its massive head across her middle. Holding her still.
Making a coughing noise that sounded suspiciously like a laugh, the dark male said, "Huumon. Searnon claims you as her kit." He looked her over from head to toe. "Why are you tied?"
His voice, when he spoke the common language, was deep and round. He was so big. They were all giants, and she was lying on the ground, but it seemed like miles between his head and his thick feet. Muscles on muscles, the color of wet river stone, the darkest skinned Orki she had ever seen.
Kneeling to look in her eyes, he reached out with one of his big hands, and pushed the loose hair from her face.
The touch, gentle.
"Please," she begged. What else was there to do? He was giving her this chance to talk by asking her questions. "What are you going to do with me? With the women and children? Those men aren't from here. They are raiders, mercenaries, who came from the north somewhere. They took over this village and were raiding, going to take over mine. I'm from Rivrtonn. We didn't break the treaty. Nomlolva kompr."
"I know," he said. His eyes were frightening in the firelight, a pale blue surrounding black pupils. They flicked down to her mouth, over her chest, to where the beast lay on her.
"Price must be paid."
"It was paid," she cried out with all her heart, knowing Orkis were merciless. They knew yes and no. There was no mercy. "You killed them all. Please… We didn't do anything. You know we did nothing."
His forefinger tapped her lips. He smelled wild. "Shhh. Not for you to bargain. Your name?"
She blinked at him. "I'll give you my name. Spare the children."
Orki mouths were not made for smiling. His tilted, a lopsided slant. She saw it, the grin at her persistence, in his eyes. "No bargain. Name or I give children to Searnon."
He gestured at the beast. He said it like feeding children to his war beast was the most natural thing in the world.
A great, wolfish gold eye rolled toward her, looking at Corrin at the mention of its name. It rumbled, the canine muzzle lifting to show teeth. The beast understood everything.
"My name is Corrin Erinnsdotter," she said in defeat. "Corrin Erinnsdotter. Corrin. Yes?"
He said it correctly, with a bit of a hum through his throat. Her grandfather had talked to her that way when he was alive, and she was small. An affectionate sound when he was exasperated with her.
"Yes."
"Good."
His hand on her face again. He traced her hairline down to her ear. Stopped. "Corrin smell bad. Need bath."
With that observation, he left her. She saw three of the other war beasts, massive aberrations, bigger than mountain bears, wolf-like, but not wolves. Beyond their size, they had longer muzzles, long pointed ears that were almost Orkish, and instead of fur, they had bristles around their heads and neck that became fur further down. All of them wore saddles, like horses. They circled the group of helpless people as if waiting for a chance to chase one and eat it.
Watching, waiting for the worst. The Orkis that had been talking shouted in the direction of the animals, who seemingly listened. The beasts answered, and then went into the group of people, snatching at clothing, to separate one from the others. Terrified screaming split the night. Corrin watched, helpless, pinned to the ground. As, one by one, each of the beasts dragged away a female from the group. One was just a little girl.
"Oh, no. What's happening? What are they doing?" The animal holding her down, Searnon, rumbled at her as if in answer.
Instead of eating the girls, the beasts separated them from the other survivors, pinned them down with a paw, and started lazily licking them. There was screaming and yelling until the girls got a face full of war beast salvia, silencing them.
It meant something. Those giant creatures picking out the females. They weren't hurting them. They were… grooming them?
