Page 16 of Keeping the Human's Heart

“It’s for the war effort,” he says, without any give in his deep baritone. “Now let us in.”

At least they’re not here for her. Would I let them drag her away if it meant we might come out unscathed?

No. Of course not. And that certainty frightens me in more ways than one.

“We need that food to survive!” Drazak snaps, blocking his way into the house.

“Drazak,” I hiss, holding him back by the arm. “Let them take it.” The last thing I want is for the soldiers to decide he’s putting up too much of a fuss and spear him through to get him out of the way.

“No!” He shoves me off. “We won’t make it through winter without that food.”

“The fight against the humans requires sacrifice from all of us,” the troll says, taking a step closer. He’s taller than Drazak, but that doesn’t stop my orc from getting in his face.

“We can’t keep raising rations if we’re starving,” Drazak snarls. “What will you feed the troops then?”

“That’s not my concern.” The troll crosses his arms and glares down. “I’m here on behalf of the Grand Chieftain, and these are my orders. If you don’t step aside, there will be consequences.”

“Try me,” Drazak says, his shoulders curling. He’s ready to fight. But before I can intervene, the troll socks him right in the face.

Drazak stumbles back, clutching his nose. He raises his own fist to strike, but if he attacks an officer, he’ll certainly pay the price.

“Drazak!” I’m firm this time when I yank him to the side. I’m taller and stronger, and right now, I’m going to assert it. “We can’t stop them.” My eyes slide to the bedroom door, where our little puppy is hiding. The more Drazak puts up a fight, the more suspicious they’ll be that we’re hiding something—that we’re stowing away food for ourselves. If they search the house for leftovers, they’ll find Esme and most certainly kill her.

This thought drives a stake through my belly.

Drazak follows my eyes, and finally, catches my meaning. Bleeding from his nose, he steps aside to let the soldiers in with a grim, defeated look.

First, they take everything they can find in the kitchen, rooting through barrels of smoked meat and vegetables to find what’s inside, and rolling them out the front door to load into the wagons. They even take the butter Esme churned yesterday, and all the milk from our ice chest. More soldiers file through the house and out the back door, toward the fields—and our livelihood.

We watch from the back step in silence as they fan out across the farm, stripping the plants bare, even ones that haven’t reached maturity. What will some unripe corn do for them? Nothing. They want to hurt, to torment, to take, and we are a convenient outlet for their rage.

When they reach the barn, we hear the chickens squawking wildly, then the shhk! of blades coming down, silencing their cries one after another. More soldiers ride out into the pasture, rounding up the cattle only to butcher them one by one. Then they drag the corpses out to their wagons, loading up piles of headless cows and chickens. When they find the storage shed, it’s a free-for-all, and the rest of the wagons are filled with produce, grain and anything else they could scrounge up.

Neither of us move, or even speak, as they rip away everything we have.

Hours later, when they’ve finished their rape of our fields and our livestock, the soldiers climb back on their horses and thunder away with their wagons full of loot, taking our entire life’s work with them.

I’m surprised when Drazak sinks to his knees on the ground, covering his face with his hands. His whole body trembles, and I crouch down beside him, pulling him into my arms. He shudders against me, his face hot and wet, and all I can do is hold him as our future burns to ash.

When I free Esme from the bedroom, I don’t expect her to hurl herself against me, wrapping her arms around my waist. Her face is bright red from tears, and she rubs it against my chest, saying my name over and over. When Drazak steps in the door, she disentangles herself and rushes over to him, checking his bloody nose and wiping it with her dress. He’s surprised by such close attention—even more so when she hugs him for all he’s worth. His gaze travels to mine as he wraps his arms around her in return. Then he sinks into her, his eyes squeezing closed to hold back tears. She kisses his forehead and soaks up as much of his pain as she can, but the well is bottomless.

We’ve lost everything.

Chapter 7

Esme

They came. They took. They left. In their wake is one broken orc and one troll trying very hard to stand up straight. I do my best to help, even if that just means holding Drazak tight.

They saved me. Not just from the war, not just from starvation, but from those soldiers, too. They hid me when they could have turned me in, when maybe it would have helped them.

I think of Telise then, and what she said to me. See, little maid, it’s just a matter of perspective. This war has taken just as much from them as it’s taken from us. I was thrown onto the front lines with nothing but my axe. They’ve had their livelihoods stripped away.

At least the soldiers didn’t take the seeds. While Drazak sits on a log, staring into nothing, I get to work. I till some soil, which was disturbed when the invaders ripped out all the tiny onions just starting to grow, and then set to planting. After a while, Han’zir joins me.

“Thank you, keva,” he says to me, bumping his shoulder against mine. He forces a smile.

I just shake my head. This is the very least I can do.

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