Page 57 of Evil Hearts

Ganesh watches me, his expression grim. “And you… you’re not supposed to be here, are you?” His voice is gruff but surprisingly calm. Almost like he’s resigned to his fate.

”I’m not sure how I got here,” I stammer, my words coming out more confused than I feel.

His tusks, larger than my forearm, curl up with his smile. “I’ve seen you before, human. In my dreams. I watched as you stumbled through the forest. Like me, you don’t belong in this world. But together, we belong everywhere.”

My eyes crinkle as I scowl in confusion, even though my heart believes what he says to be true. But before I can respond,the remaining bandits, now thoroughly rattled, try to regroup, weapons in hand. Ganesh’s gaze hardens.

”Get out of here,” he orders, his voice thick with authority. And that authority might work on others, but I am not going to leave him.

”No chance.” I grunt, raising the heavy sword in challenge. “I don’t know why, but I feel tied to you. If you go down, then we go down together.”

He growls in annoyance but doesn’t try to send me away again. Instead, he turns his back toward mine, facing off against the threat. Outnumbered, fifteen to two, I’ve never felt more alive than in his presence. What is this feeling?

”What’s your name, Warrior?” His deep voice rumbles up my spine.

“Aelia, but you can call me Katie.” I chuckle, knowing he won’t get the joke, but enjoying it anyway.

He glances over his shoulder, eyes filled with humor. “Okay, Katie.” My name on his tongue does things to my body we don’t have time to analyze, and if his chuckle is anything to go by, he knows it.

I’ve never wished for my daggers more than I do right now. The sword in my hands is too heavy, making my stance unbalanced. My feet shuffle nervously as I swing the blade in a clumsy arc. Ganesh raises an eyebrow at me, before chuckling. He bends his knees, looking ready to pounce at the first sight of movement.

The first bandit lunges for him, and without a word, the mountain of a man spins. His claws rip through leather and skin, sending the man reeling backward and clutching his side. I don’t have time to admire his work though, as another bandit is already coming from the left, swinging a heavy-looking axe.

I step forward, swinging the sword with all the strength I can muster. It is a wild, desperate cut, to block the man from reaching my Orc. The sword whizzes past Ganesh’s shoulder ina wide arc, slamming into the bandit’s side and sending him off course. But the sheer force of the swing sends me stumbling into Ganesh, the sword sending him reeling as it comes dangerously close to his face.

He raises an eyebrow at me, a smirk lighting up his face that does weird things to my body as he sidesteps another blow, ripping out the stomach of another bandit as he moves.

“Crazy fucking Orc,” I murmur before turning back to the surrounding bandits. I could have killed him! I clutch the sword in my hands awkwardly as I fight to deflect another blow.

I may not be used to fighting, but damn, I wish I had my daggers. Something that fits smoothly in my hands and gives me the ability to actually move. With the sword, each swing is too wide and too slow, and every time I try to help, I only seem to make things worse. But, by the look on Ganesh’s face, he’s enjoying almost being maimed by me.

The bandits close in tighter, forcing a wide swing of my sword and it accidentally clips the back of Ganesh’s leg as he spins to face another attacker.

He grunts but doesn’t slow. He just turns to block another thrust. His own hits strike with precision, sending his attackers sprawling into each other with a well-timed thrust.

I back out of his way, trying not to hurt him more. My foot catches on a fallen branch, nearly taking me down. This time when I swing my sword at the oncoming bandit, it’s too early. The sword barely grazes the bandit’s armor, leaving me open to a retaliatory strike that I narrowly dodge by rolling to the ground.

I drop my sword as large hands engulf my waist, not wanting to harm him any more than I already have.

“I think that’s enough for now, Warrior. Stop trying to help.” He chuckles, almost as if he’s having fun, before putting me behind him.

His next series of movements are so fast, so precise, that I barely have time to blink before two more bandits are on the ground, blood spilling onto the earth. A lowly innkeeper, my ass. He moves with a practiced grace, and now that I’m out of the fight, it’s clear to see that he has been taking it easy.

Now, he’s a warrior.

A bandit charges at him with a knife. He sidesteps, ducks, and with a fluid motion, his claws sink into the man’s ribs, before wrenching them free as the body falls. The next attacker has an axe, but he jumps, throwing his body into the air just enough to avoid the low hit and with one quick strike, decapitates him. The axe hits the ground with a dull thunk.

All I can do is watch, frozen, with my mouth agape. Ganesh is a force of nature, fierce and fluid. Every strike lands with a terrifying efficiency. A predator, cutting down bandits one after another.

My eyes can barely keep up. The blood sprays, coating everything. The bodies fall one after another. And yet, he moves so quickly, so calculatedly, that I can’t keep up. He fights like someone who has done this countless times before, and I can’t help but need to know his story.

The last three bandits hesitate, realizing a bit too late that they’re outmatched.

With a swift motion, he dispatches the last of the bandit crew, his claws glistening in the sunlight, dripping with blood, as the last bandit falls to the ground with a choked gasp.

He stands among the fallen bodies, his chest barely moving from the exertion. His eyes are cold and focused as he searches the area for more prey, but when he turns them toward me, they soften just a bit. And I can’t help but feel safer than I ever have before.

In this world, he’s everything I’m not, and I feel an odd sense of gratitude that, despite my own mistakes, he kept us alive.

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