The Toll (82 page)

“
A toll!” the deep voice
boomed, slamming a meaty fist down along the top
railing.

Digging into my pocket as the wood
rattled and shook, I whipped out the coin purse, dropping my
necklaces in the process, holding it up and out for his perusal.
Hunching down at the same time, we almost knocked heads as I went
to retrieve my trinkets.

Snatching them up and clutching them
to my chest with my free hand, I thrust the coin purse towards his
thick chest.

I never was one for fits or starts, no
matter the situation, even if this one might have warranted
it.

Seeing a troll was exhilarating to me,
and a thousand questions bubbled up in my throat.

“
Here,” I barked, making to
step boldly towards him. Would his skin feel like sandpaper?
They’re really real!

Sniffing the air a few times, inhaling
deeply as I picked up my sack and made to cross the other side, a
wide, thick fingered hand pressed into my chest.

“
Who be ye,
human?”

Grunting at the sudden barrier holding
me back, I blinked, glancing down at his hand.

Watching me, he slowly pulled it back.
“Asked ye a question, human.”

Human—he’d spat the word
viciously.

“
Oh, uh, me?” Stupidly, I
poked myself in the chest. “Oh, I’m Damian.”

“
What say? Demon?” Another
deep voice grumbled, joining the other.

Another lumbering troll, bigger than
the last, joined him. I had to do a double take at all the bright
orange hair, once more fingering my own. The resemblance was
uncanny.

Blinking down at me with blazing
orange eyes as he fingered the short hair atop his head in a
mimicry of my own, the second troll grunted. “Look, Beast, a wee
demon.”

“
Damian. But, aye, wee
demon, he be.”

“
What’s that,
then?”

Fingering the clasp of the locket, I
held it out for them to see. “It’s my mother’s, but she didn’t want
it, so grandah gave it to me.”

“
An’ who be ye grandah, wee
willy demon?”

The second troll was much more
talkative than the first, but something about him had me more on
edge, my hackles rising.

“
I don’t know about wee
willy,” I joked, ignoring them when it fell flat, “but
uh...”
Why am I telling them all
this?
I wondered, stopping myself.
I don’t even know them. They’re trolls, after
all.
“Aren’t you going to try and scare me
and make me run off? Eat me alive? Peel and boil my flesh...? I
don’t know...”

Canting his head, Beast grunted,
cracking his knuckles. “Want me to?”

For a moment, I thought he was
actually considering it as he gave me a long, all-encompassing
look. “Uhm... no.”

The second troll smiled wide, glancing
over at his comrade. “He’s no’ afraid, brother, an’ he’s got a
pretty like the one Ketik copped off Mum. I say we keep him a
while.”

“
Papa willna be likin’ it.”
Beast’s face pinched in a grimace and he grunted, large hand
rubbing the back of his head undecidedly.

The second troll smirked at his
counterpart, rubbing at his chin in thought. “Been a long time
since we’ve teased the ol’ man.” Grunting a chuff, he tossed his
large head at Beast, studying him through the corner of his bright,
beady, orange swirling troll eye. “How ye think he’ll feel if we
bring a wee pisser of a human that looks like us inta our
cave?”

“
Shite himself,” Beast
muttered, then, studying me, paused, chuckled, and grinned just as
wide.

“
But I paid a toll,” I
muttered, my feet scuffling along the planks nervously as I slowly
backtracked, realizing, belatedly, that I still hand the coin purse
in my left hand.

“
I dinna take a toll.”
Snorting, large head turning on his unimaginably thick neck, he
called, “Did ye, Beast?”

Grunting, Beast ran his tongue, a
healthy pink color, too thick to be human, against his wide, pearly
white teeth. “No, Hellion, matter ‘o’ fact, canna say I
did.”

“
Damn me.”

They both reached for me at the same
times as I yelped, shouted out, spun, and ran.

All Shook Up

I guess this isn’t so
bad
, I thought, eyeing the wide bodied
creatures that had decided to draft me for company, watching them
surreptitiously through low lids.

Mind you, I’d been swinging upside
down for the better part of fifteen minutes by the hook they’d
shoved my boot in on my third attempt to escape, but, you know,
could have been worse.

I’m alive, so, somethin’ to
that.

Once I’d finally passed
out, not from fear, mind you, but from all that blood rushing to my
thick noggin, they must have cut me down.
Presuming I’m dead, maybe?

“
Mum’s gonna kill ye
arseholes,” a thick, gravelly voice rumbled.

“
Shut it, Brosius. Who’s
gonna tell ‘er, eh? Ye?” That one sounded like that Hellion
fellow—
the bastard.
How would he like to be strung up and hung by his ankle,
hmm?

“
Bloody shut the fuck up,”
Beast snarled, blowing out a noisy breath. “I wanted ta
see.”

“
See wha’?” A heavily
accented voice, with a bit of a hitch to it, almost a lisp, much
heavier than the first three but lighter in its depth, barked
incredulously, “If ‘e’d piss ‘is self?”

“
If he had any magicks, ye
dolt. He coulda,” Hellion whispered back fiercely.

“
Canna torture ‘im ‘cause
‘is ma’s a right bloody she-devil slag, ye fool. If the whelp ‘ad
any magicks, ‘ed a showed em. Stupid, eejit.”

“
Fuck off, Mav.”

“
Och, forget Mav, fuck ye
both! Gone an’ done it now.”

“
An’ fuck ye too, ye
bastard arse, Brosius.” This from Hellion.

“
Like ta see ya try, ya
orange haired arsehat.”

“
Ugh. Knock it off now, ‘e
‘asna wakened.” A note of worry tinted Mav’s words.

“
Shoulda been wakin’.”
Brosius sniffed, chuffed, and grunted.

“
Think we killed the poor
sop?”

“
Can a human pisser die of
fright?” Hellion mused.

“
Mum never said. Dinna
think so. Don’t be believin’ everythin’ Ketik an’ Quaz spew at ya.
Bastards’ll pull yer willy fer shits an’ giggles, they
will.”

“
Shoulda been made ‘o’
sterner stuff, shaken from our tree, eh?”

“
No’, my tree,” Beast
snapped. “I’m Ornthren, through an’ through.”

“
Hah! Oh, ho-ho, an’ ye
came from a woman’s snatch. A human woman, fer the most part. What
that make ye be, then? A big fat pussy?”

“
Dinna be talkin’ ‘bout Mum
like that, fucker!” Three pissed off snarls matched Beast’s, Mav
and Brosius joining in.

“
Wasna!” Hellion shouted,
sounding genuinely offended. “I says ye were a pussy! Don’t be
puttin’ words in me bleedin’ mouth!”

“
Ye talkin’ ‘bout her lady
parts! Dinna be shite talkin’ me mum! Rip ye limb from limb, gut ye
like a fish an’ make ye eat it!”

“
Dinna be blubberin’
murderous plots, ye twat. Just ate.” Brosius deep chuckle cut in on
all the shouting.

“
Shut yer hole, Brosius, no
one finds ye funny.”

“
Oh, an’ ye are, Mav, I
‘spose?”

“
Oi she’s me mum too,
bastard! Fuck ye! I says ye came from one, not she’s one!”
Hellion’s voice fought to boom above the rest.

“
Big bloody frickin’
difference!”

“
Wha’ is the difference?”
Mav muttered, mildly confused as he caught the tail end.

“
There isna one!” Beast
roared.

“
Screw yer stupid arse!”
Hellion matched him shout for shout.

“
Canna, on account ‘o’ yer
so bleedin’ ugly, an’ hairy!” Something smacked my cheek as I
played dead at their feet, shuffling inches from my head, my eyes
squeezing shut tight as I tried not to flinch. A droplet of
water—spittle—I realized, as another bit hit my
forehead.

“
He’s no more hairy than
ye.” Mav put in.

“
Then fuck ye
too!”

“
No, fuck ye!”

“
Enough!!!” Guttural, like
the snarl of an angry bear, this was a new comer. Roaring so loud
the walls shook, when it looked like they weren’t going to stop,
there were a few muttered bellows and distressed shouts before the
sounds of heavy objects crashing the dark red cave walls pricked my
ears.

Upon feigning waking at the sound, not
wishing to be stomped, I found five massive trolls, all
conveniently dispersed throughout the generous space, hovering over
me.

All varying degrees of orange or blue
eyes, dark and light grey skin, and differing bright shades of
orangey red hair, all different lengths, I could only blink, mouth
flapping uselessly as nothing came out. They all had swirling
patterns over their massive bodies, painting their shoulders with
swirling, curling symbols, and all dressed in the same matching
thick animal skin black breeches.

Surprise had flit across every single
one of their features as my eyes popped open, even more so when I
screamed like a little girl, rolled, scrambling to my feet, and
made to run.

The largest of all of them, possibly a
foot and a half taller than my own outlandish height, and
conveniently closest to me, caught me by the back of my shirt,
wrenching me back, shoved my sack, jewels, and coin purse at me,
and snarled, “Stay.”

Nose dipping to snuffle at my scalp, I
cringed but let him, not wanting to upset the guttural, more
untamed of the group. Chuffing out a grunt that sent my hair
flopping into my eyes, the large being hefted my burly frame,
tucked me into his wide, hairless arm, and toted me, like a sack of
potatoes, over to their roaring fire.

“
Sit.” Plopping me down
none too gently, forcing me to prop up on a thick, wooden stool, he
picked up a huge platter filled with succulent smelling meat, and
proceeded to eat in front of me.

The other trolls, watching the
exchange curiously, walked up to the large male, and it was Hellion
who grunted, “What be this, Duke?”

Duke growled low, and the other
troll’s eyes widened, slowly backing away. “Demon
stays.”

Rubbing my thick, calloused hands on
the knees of my thread bare brown breeches nervously, my eyes
darted between them, hand reaching up to tug my black best and
white linen shirt back into place. The ties at the top of my fairly
good shirt had ripped clean off, and my vest fit a lot looser now,
but there was nothing to be done for that.

“
Canna just do that,
brother, no matter what ye smell. Tis different but similar, eh? Be
human too, despite the scent. Canna keep him, just ‘cause. Doesna
work that way.”

“
A toll?” Duke grunted,
glancing over at me.

“
We hadn’t gotten that
far,” I croaked out when no one else would speak.

The looks on the other four troll’s
faces tightened. Apparently, I’d just said the wrong
thing.

“
Cos’, no toll, Dukes says
he stays.”

Yep, I’d guessed it right. Most feral
troll, right in front of me. Even the others feared him, somewhat.
I could sense it, feel the tension rolling off of them in
waves.

“
Be thinkin’ it through,”
Brosius murmured quietly, as if to soothe. “Just wee lads, brother,
he dinna know ‘bout Mid, he dunno ‘bout-”

“
Go ‘way,” Duke barked at
the others, snapping his jaws when Beast snarled in
affront.

Making as if to stand, the swirls on
his skin lighting up, they all slowly slunk back.

I watched the entire exchange, slack
jawed, and I hoped most fervently he didn’t ever snap at me like
that. I’d probably piss myself and have a heart attack. Hopefully,
if luck was with me, I’d have the heart attack first.

Glancing at me, cocking his head to
listen to my stomach as it rumbled fiercely, this Duke troll
slapped my wrist, ignoring my pained yelp as all my possessions
tumbled to my feet.

“
Eat.” Shoving the biggest
drumstick I’d ever seen into my stunned hands, he picked up a
pitcher, filled his own mug, and shoved it in my face. “Duke feed
Demon-cos’.”

“
Uhm, thank you.” Taking it
carefully, sure not to make any sudden movements, for fear the
giant creature might snap, I swallowed past the thickness in my
throat, nodding my head gratefully. “Much thanks, uh,
Duke.”

“
Duke-cos’,” he corrected,
grunting, smacking his wide troll chest with a closed fist. “Drink,
Demon-cos’.” Raising the pitcher he’d filled the mug with in his
big, meaty paw, he brought it to his own thick lips and drank
greedily.

Following suit, as he seemed to have
befriended me for the time being and I didn’t wish to offend him, I
took a huge swallow of his offered beverage. Large blue eyes,
tinged with orange, focused on me so intently, I didn’t know what
to think.