Page 14 of Orc's Forbidden Claim

I’m caught in an Urr’ki’s arms. His hands grope while his horridly scarred face leans in close with a lascivious grin. I struggle to break free of his grip but he’s too strong. One of his hands mauls at my tit. I twist and squirm, moving out of his grasp. A barking command comes from above and he grunts then tosses me aside. I land hard, smacking my head yet again. My hands and legs are numb while my head is pounding from being banged multiple times.

Gritting my teeth against the exploding pain that fills my skull, I twist myself around until I get into a sitting position. Right after I manage to do that, Wrenlee drops out of the ceiling into the arms of the handsy one. When I see him doing the same thing to her rage floods through my head and body. The pain recedes from the tidal wave of anger.

I scoot across the floor towards him and when I’m close enough I lean back and kick the back of his leg with everything I have. His leg collapses. He grunts in surprise, losing his grip on Wren who drops to the floor. He stumbles forward, managing to not fall on his face, which is unfortunate.

He whirls around, pulling a short club from his belt. He growls, saying something that I assume is a string of curses as he storms towards me raising the club. I scoot back, raising my bound hands in a futile attempt to protect my head from the coming blows.

“Gah!” Wren screams.

The Urr’ki stumbles again and this time he doesn’t keep himself up. He stumbles past me and there is a very satisfying smack as his head hits the cavern wall. Wren and I share a satisfied look and a grin.

“Rawr!” he roars, pushing himself off the wall.

I’ve managed to get myself scooted around so I see him coming. I keep scooting until I’m next to Wren. He stomps towards us, club raised, face twisted with anger, growling as he comes.

I glance at Wren. We don’t need to speak to know we’re thinking the same thing. As one we lie onto our backs and raise our bound feet. The best defense we have against this monster. I know and I’m sure she does too that it won’t be much, but it’s better to go down fighting than to not.

He slows his approach seeing we are ready. He raises his club and moves to the side, trying to avoid our meager defense. His eyes are narrowed, his lips curled into a scowl. He feints to the right, switching at the last second and rushing in on the left.

“Ach!” I yelp, trying to twist myself in time to stop him from making it past my legs without at least landing a blow or two.

Wren does the same, but we get in one another’s way. Before he makes it past our legs something drops out of the hole in the ceiling behind him. I’m only dimly aware of it. My stomachis tight, yet gurgling with nausea, knowing that there is almost nothing I can do to stop this monster from taking whatever he wants.

The club raises, filling my vision as it slowly swings down toward me. It’s not going to hit my head the angle is wrong for that. I’m thinking it will hit my ribs. Muscles clench tight in anticipation of the incoming blow.

Suddenly the club drops. The Urr’ki is pulled back, his head jerking as he gurgles. Another one of the Urr’ki is behind him. He has his arm wrapped around his neck and is choking him.

Two more Urr’ki drop through the hole, but they don’t interfere with the conflict. Instead, they take up positions and silently watch. The one holding him says something and I wish I could understand their language. The one being choked shakes his head, sputtering something that barely sounds like words.

The one holding him says something else. The one being choked eyes are rolling up into his head and he looks like he’s about to pass out. His struggling is getting weaker, his hands patting at the arm around his neck, no longer pulling on it. He says something as his body goes limp and his eyes drift close.

The one holding him twists away from us and then pushes him away. The Urr’ki stumbles two steps and then drops to the ground. The one who choked him out turns back to us. He walks over and kneels at our feet.

“You okay?” he asks in Zmaj.

I look at Wren, unsure how to answer or if it makes any difference what we say anyway. Wren shakes her head, shrugs, then looks at the Urr’ki.

“Does it matter?” she asks.

The Urr’ki looks at her for a long time. It feels as if minutes crawl past while he stares unblinking. He has rich brown eyes that seem incongruous with the forest green shade of his skin. Finally, he blinks.

“Yes,” he says. “Shaman or no, we are not animals. Prisoners should not be treated poorly.”

“He tried to…” I say, trailing off when his eyes lock onto mine.

There is a surprising depth and intelligence in those eyes. I don’t know why it surprises me, but it shocks me into losing my train of thought.

“Yes?” he asks.

There are now four more Urr’ki behind him watching, not counting the one he choked out, who is rising to his hands and knees while rubbing his throat. He turns his head enough so that he can glare at Wren and me.

If looks could kill.

I smile and blow him a kiss. His face contorts in rage. He pushes himself to his feet and moves forward but two of the Urr’ki move between him and us, blocking my view of what happens next.

“Where are you taking us?” Wren asks.

“Home,” our captor says.

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