[Queen of Orcs 02] - Clan Daughter (25 page)

“Hai.”

Dar reached out and touched iron. Kovok-mah was in armor. She groped for his hand and grabbed it to pull it toward her breast. His arm wouldn’t budge. “Kovok?”

“You shouldn’t be here”

The coldness in his voice surprised Dar. “You asked me to come.”

“You shouldn’t be in Taiben. You must leave.”

“Since when do sons tell mothers what to do?” asked Dar, trying to sound playful.

“That’s my muthuri’s wisdom.”

“Do you mean same muthuri who will bless us?”

“Why do you speak foolishly?” said Kovok-mah. “She will never bless us.”

“That’s not what I heard.”

“Did my muthuri speak to you?”

“Thwa, but…”

“Well, she spoke to me. She said giving love clouds judgment. That’s why only muthuris decide who shall be blessed.”

Dar pulled again at Kovok-mah’s hand. It remained rigid. “Touch me.”

“It’s forbidden.”

“Why?”

“Muthuri said so.”

It irritated Dar that she couldn’t see Kovok-mah, while he could see her. She felt he was hiding. “I’m here because of you!”

“I didn’t ask you to come. Leave and forget me.”

“It’s not that simple. I can’t forget you.”

“Muthuri says you will.”

“She’s wrong.”

“Dargu-yat, you’re urkzimmuthi mother now. How can you doubt Muthuri’s wisdom?”

Dar felt betrayed.
One word from his muthuri, and he forsakes me. How could he change so quickly?
Then a terrible insight came. “You expected this! You
knew
we’d never be blessed!”

“Dargu-yat, please forget me.”

“You
knew
! You
knew
!” Dar struck at the green eyes and hit the jaw below them. Kovok-mah remained still. She hit him again.

Dar was torn between rage and heartbreak. “Kusk washavoki!” she screamed. It was the foulest name she could think of. Then she rushed into the night, her vision blurred by tears. She ran heedlessly until someone stepped from the shadows and blocked her path. Before Dar could dart in another direction, a sword point pressed against her throat.

“Well, what do we have here?” said the soldier. “A birdie tryin’ ta fly away?”

Twenty-nine

Fear flushed Dar’s mind of anger and sorrow. She knew what happened to women who deserted.

“Ye were daft ta think ye’d make it,” said the soldier.

“I wasn’t running away,” said Dar. “He said if I met him, he’d give me shoes.”

The soldier glanced down at Dar’s bare feet. “Who?”

“I don’t know his name. I just arrived.”

Without lowering his sword, Dar’s captor stepped closer to peer at her forehead. “That brand’s not new.”

“The orcs brought me. I’ve been their captive ever since the ambush. Look at my chin. That’s how they mark women.”

“Ye been with
orcs
?”

“Yes, and believe me, it’s better here.”

“Where ye must tup fer shoes?”

“He didn’t mention tupping.”

The soldier laughed. “Then ye’re a greater fool than I thought.”

Dar expected the man would try to rape her. Her mind raced, thinking what she might do. Having lost her bearings, she didn’t know where to run, and trying to reach her dagger would be suicide. Only when he pulled up her shift could she attempt to stab him.
If I called for help, would the orcs reach me in time?
Unsure, Dar waited for the man to make the first move. Then he surprised her by sheathing his sword. “I’ll take ye back ta yer barracks. If no one sees us, I’ll not turn ye in.”

“Thank you,” muttered Dar.

“Don’t do this again. More like that man had a prick waitin’ than a pair o’ slippers. And there’s a murdant here who looks fer reasons ta flog women. Come on. Walk in front o’ me.”

“I don’t know which way to go.”

“Fer Karm’s sake!” said the soldier, wrenching Dar’s shoulder so she pointed toward the gate. “Move!”

As Dar began to walk, the soldier asked “What’s yer name, birdie?”

“Leela.”

“Well, Leela, I’m Five Fingers.” The soldier poked Dar’s back with the stump of his right wrist. “That’s all I got. That’s why I’m stuck here.”

Dar halted before a rectangular stone building with high, narrow slits for windows and a heavy door that was barred on the outside. Five Fingers peered about before lifting the iron bar with his good hand. He pulled the door slightly open, then whispered to Dar. “Get inside, Leela. Hurry!”

Dar slipped past the door, and it shut behind her. As she gazed about, she heard the bar fall into place. Except for the embers of a dying fire, the room was pitch black. The air smelled of smoke, a latrine, and washavokis. Someone was weeping softly. The only other sounds were snoring and sleepers stirring in the straw, which lay thick around Dar’s feet. It felt gritty and trampled. Beneath the straw was stone. Dar lowered herself to the floor and began to grope about. She moved only slightly before encountering a body. She drew back from it and encountered another.

Dar lay down. By then she had begun to shake. Her world had changed in an instant, stripping her of everything she had gained. It took awhile before the waves of fear and despair receded, and Dar felt calm enough to assess her predicament. Having grown accustomed to orcish honesty, what surprised her most was that either Zor-yat or Kath-mah had lied. Dar found it easier to believe Kovok-mah’s muthuri was the culprit. Dar had never liked her.
She lied to Muthuri to avoid a scene, then used what she learned against me.
If Zor-yat had lied, the implications were far more upsetting. Dar didn’t dwell on them, for she had a more immediate problem: Soldiers would arrive at dawn.
The orcs don’t know I’m here. If Teeg or Kol finds me, I’ll never leave this place alive.

Dar took her dagger from its hiding place and tied its cord around her waist. It was her only preparation for the morning, and a desperate one. She couldn’t survive a confrontation, only sell her life as dearly as possible. Dar regretted not practicing with the weapon, but she regretted other things more.
Sons will die because I failed. I let down Muth-yat, Muthuri, and all the urkzimmuthi.
As upset as she was with Kovok-mah, she couldn’t bear the thought of him in battle. Yet there was nothing Dar could do except wait and hope for a miracle.

The moon rose. Light filtered through slits that served as both windows and chimneys. Dar saw the floor was covered with sleeping women, enough to serve several regiments. Embers smoked upon a hearth at the far wall. There the bodies were thickest. Only the floor about the open latrine was completely bare. The weeping had ceased, and the silent room resembled the aftermath of a massacre. Recalling Twea and her other slain comrades, Dar thought the women were as good as dead.
Just like me.

Dar was still awake when someone pounded on the door at first light. A burly woman rose. “Kitchen duty!” she shouted, then called out names. Women groaned and rose. “Fire duty!” More names were rattled off. “The rest of ye, off yer arses.”

“But, Marta, there’s naught to do,” said someone.

“Move the wood pile to the other end of the camp.”

“But, we just finished moving it yesterday.”

“Then move it again,” said Marta. “Idle girls get flogged.”

All the women rose. Dar mingled among them, trying to be inconspicuous. The door opened and some soldiers entered the building. Dar moved away from them. She noticed a woman who was throwing up, her face hidden as she knelt over the latrine. Dar rushed beside her and pretended to be sick also. The soldiers passed close by, selecting women for some work detail. Dar continued to make retching sounds until they left. Then she raised her head from the malodorous hole.

The woman next to her finished being sick and sat upright. “Dar?” she said in an incredulous voice.

Dar turned and her heart sank. “Hello, Neena.”

Neena seemed about to say something, but started retching again. When the fit passed, she moaned. “I’ve been this way for two moons. Karm help me.”

Dar regarded her former nemesis, trying to gauge her intentions. She saw no enmity; Neena only looked sick and forlorn.

“Dar, what happened to you? I thought you were dead. Who did that to your face?”

“Orcs.”

“How cruel!”

“At least I’m alive,” said Dar.

“We’re the only ones who are.”

Dar felt a surge of hope. “All the soldiers were killed?”

Neena’s expression turned bitter. “Oh they did fine! We’re the only
women
left.” She sighed heavily. “I guess you did whatever was necessary. I did too. Can you forgive me?”

“Sure.”

“At least you’re not pregnant.”

“Kol’s child?”

Neena made a face. “Teeg’s. Kol tossed me to him like a bone to a dog.”

“How are that pair?” asked Dar, trying to keep her voice neutral.

“Kol’s still riding high, but Teeg…” Neena smiled grimly. “He’s dead.”

“How?”

“He’d drink anything, even if it tasted off.” Neena gave Dar a meaningful look. “Taren showed me a few tricks. There’s a leaf…”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“We’re going to be friends,” said Neena. “I’m sharing my secret so you’ll know you can trust me. Now, why did you come back?”

Dar doubted Neena’s motives, but took care not to show it. “The orcs brought me.”

“Your piss eye lover tire of you?”

“Yeah, and I don’t want another.”

“What’s it like to tup one?”

“Not what you’d think. He was gentle and…”

“And what?” asked Neena, watching Dar with an intrigued expression.

“It doesn’t matter now. When’s your baby due?”

“Not soon enough to escape Frey’s fate.”

“She ended up in a loving home,” said Dar.

“No, she didn’t. Kol drowned her. He laughed when he told me.”

“Kusk washavoki! Fas Muth la tak mat fath!”
Washavoki filth! May Muth la kill his soul!

Neena stared at Dar with astonishment. “What did you just say?”

“May Karm slay his filthy soul!”

“He doesn’t have one,” said Neena. “I learned
that
the hard way. Come on, we have to leave. The barracks is nearly empty.”

Dar followed Neena as she hurried outside. There Neena spied Dar’s dagger. “Get rid of that right now! If a soldier sees it, you’ll be flogged for sure!”

Dar snapped the cord that tied the dagger to her waist and glanced around for a place to hide her weapon. “Shield me while I bury it,” she said. Dar half expected Neena to decline the risk, but Neena covered her while she used her blade to dig a shallow hole.

After Dar buried her dagger, Neena exhaled with relief. “That was close,” she said. “A flogging’s bad enough. But worse, Kol would learn you’re here. He hates you, Dar! And this time, you have no orc to save you.”

Dar declined to tell Neena about Zna-yat and the others.
That will be my secret
. “How can I avoid him?”

“He doesn’t come here often,” said Neena. “Life in camp is different from on the march. Discipline is strict, and soldiers don’t bother us as long as we look busy.” Dar and Neena joined the procession of women headed for a huge stack of firewood. Throughout the morning, they moved logs from one side of the camp to the other. Whenever they could talk, they did.

Neena had wintered in Taiben the previous year, and she told Dar what to expect. The soldiers oversaw the women during the day, but didn’t mingle otherwise. “The Queen’s Man hates round bellies,” said Neena, “so he locks us in at night. Tupping can get you flogged.” Neena thought Dar could avoid Kol’s notice, but only for a while. “Your brand’s old, for one thing, and old hands are put in charge of scabheads. That means dealing with the murdants.”

The more Dar learned, the more certain seemed her doom. She considered hiding among the orcs, but that would be a temporary solution. For the first time since anyone could remember, orc troops were being used in winter. Sooner or later they would take to the field, and Dar would have nowhere to hide.

“I know a safe place for you,” said Neena as they hauled another load of logs.

“Where?”

“Taiben.”

Dar snorted. “Sure. I’ll leave right away.”

“You have a contact—that guardsman who got you work in the king’s kitchen tent.”

“He might be dead.”

“And he might not.”

“It doesn’t matter either way. He’ll never know I’m here.”

“I know someone who could pass a message.”

“Neena, why are you doing this?”

“I hate Kol as much as he hates you. I’d love to spite him.”

“And helping me will do that?”

Neena grinned. “Yes! I’ll hide from him what he wants most.”

Thirty