Page 31 of Mountain Orc Daddy

“Is this it?” Jade asks.

Blair and I both answer. “Yes.”

We walk closer to it, then I start to notice that it’s the same as how we left it. It doesn’t look like anyone’s been here since Blair and I. “Gideon” isn’t around either.

The chair’s in the same position. The door is ajar. Even the rope he used on Blair is in the same position on the floor. Everything’s untouched.

“What now then?” Jade asks.

Remus follows. “We track him down, don’t we?”

“It won’t work. We need to use it directly from the source. It will be a bad ‘signal’ and could give us detours,” Phineas explains.

I turn to Mara. “I don’t suppose you haveanotherhidden tracking trick?”

She ponders for a moment. “There is, but it’s more complicated. We can track his footprints but to find a clear path we need a special potion. One that we don’t have.”

“Wait, then how did you track us down then?”

“We secretly pulled a hair before you left for a party or with your friends.”

Now I’m beginning to get annoyed. I’ll admit Blair’s siblings have impeccable magic skills. Their attitude needs some work.

“How should we go about this then?” Remus asks.

“Well, we have to at least assume that he’ll definitely be back. He wouldn’t kidnap Blair without good reason and just up and leave.”

“Right, so we can also assume he won’t attack in the same way. If we try to chase after him, it’ll just be a waste of time. We need a plan that can be flexible in case anything drastic changes,” Phineas says.

Remus suggests. “Then we should just trap him. I have a feeling he’s as slippery as a worm.”

We all nod in agreement. I turn towards my lovely Blair, realizing I haven’t asked her opinion on the matter yet. Hers is the most important. She’s the victim.

“Blair, can you go over everything that the bounty hunter told you? We need as much information as we can get.”

She looks out into space suddenly. It worries me that I accidentally triggered her memory of that night. I breathe out in relief once she looks up at me.

“He said that he was going to kill you. Then after he does that, he’ll kill the entire orc tribe. I also remember him saying about being revered as a hero for eliminating the orcs.”

I should be greatly upset by such bold words. It’s the opposite of it. I feel a spark of excitement. Anger fuels it no doubt, but I look even more forward to meeting ‘Gideon.’

Mara approaches me. “Uzul, I know this will sound inconsiderate of me. Given that Gideon’s interest lies in you, do you think you can serve as bait?”

I nod without hesitation. “I don’t mind at all. In fact, I was even going to suggest it.”

Phineas claps his hands together. “Great, we’ll use Uzul to lure him in—”

“Are you serious?” Blair blurts out.

She walks up to me. “You’re completely fine being used as bait for that jerk?”

“Do you have another idea, Blair?” Remus scoffs.

“Did you not hear meagain? He wants tokillUzul. We’d be sending him to die!”

Her words pull at my heartstrings. It brings me bliss knowing how much she cares for me. This isn’t about me, though. It’s about her protection.

I know she feels frustrated that her words aren’t being taken seriously again. Thus, I take her small hand in mine. She hesitates to look up at me. I lean down.

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