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Damn.She’s right. “What are we going to do, then?”
I feel Dura touch my hand and healing magic pours into me, fixing the skin on my wrists and the bite on my neck. It feels even better than normal; the pain receding from all my joints. Then Dura throws me for a loop when she says, “I’ll have to carry you out of camp.”
“What?” Surely she can’t have said what I thought she just said.
“I’ll carry you. I’ve done it before,” she whispers, matter-of-factly. “If you are on my person, you fall under the parameters of my amulet and you’ll be invisible as well, with your scent hidden. They should have no idea that you’ve left.”
My pride chafes at the thought of being hauled around like a sack of potatoes. Or even worse, like a rescued princess. But now is not the time for pride, but expediency.
“Fine,” I agree quietly, working to hide the embarrassment in my voice. “But first, do you see more blankets?”
“Yes,” she answers, a little confusion in her voice. “Why do you need those, though?”
“I’m going to build a lump on the ground that looks like a sleeping body, so that if they check during the night, at first glance, I’ll still appear to be here. We can’t have them moving early.” Thoughbefore the vampires noticed my subtle change in breathing. Hopefully, they don’t notice the absence of my breathing right away.
“I’ll do that,” Dura volunteers. “I can see better than you can in the dark.”
There are some rustling sounds and then I see a dark shape on the ground form, a blanket going down on top of it.
“Alright,” says Dura, coming to my side. “Time to go. Are you ready?”
“Almost,” I say, “I need a weapon. In case we get caught.” There’s a grunt of acknowledgement, then I hear some more rummaging and soon a sword lands at my feet. I take it, nodding my thanks, and tie the scabbard on my belt.
“Alright, ready.” I brace for her hold. Soon I find myself upside down, over her shoulder, her shoulder bones digging into the flesh of my abdominals. As I enter the enchantment, I find that I can see Dura again, my face pressed against the small of her back.
“Relax,” the orcress whispers in command. “You were easier to carry unconscious and in armor.”
With deliberate action, I force my muscles to relax, and then we are moving. I bounce a little on her shoulder as she walks. I can see nothing as we make our way out of the vampire camp and I dare not make a sound. From what I heard from my two captors earlier, it seems that vampires that have fed on a sentient’s blood have stronger senses and greater strength. It would be catastrophic to make a noise and be found out by the Barakrini, despite Dura’s spell.
It seems like forever, but finally Dura puts me down. I stand up and when I turn around, I see Dura, the invisibility spell fading.
“Hopefully there are no scouts out this far,” says Dura, tapping at the amulet on her chest. “My enchantment is out of charge. It took longer than I would’ve liked finding you in that camp.”
“I’m just glad you did,” I say and grab her into my arms, takingher lips with mine. For a moment back there, I really thought that I’d never see my huntress again.
Dura pulls back with a sardonic twist of lip. “So, you aren’t disappointed that I went looking for you?”
I shake my head. “I’m grateful for my rescue and know that you are a capable orcress, but I didn’t want you in that camp. Something’s gone wrong in Barakrin. The demon Grazrath is on the throne and the vampires there are feeding on sentients. Intelligence said before they had a pacifist king who encouraged feeding on the blood of animals, not people, but that’s all changed.”
The orcress’ eyes go wide. “The actual archdemon has broken out of the Nether? I heard them speak of a Grazrath, but thought it must be someone else. They said that he killed their king.”
That explains why the sudden change. If Grazrath killed their king, even the most peaceful of vampires are probably too afraid to rise up against the demon and the rest . . . well apparently they like the taste of sentient blood they were previously denied.
“We need to move quickly. We have to get to Grimblton and warn the people there. Or at least I need to. I wouldn’t want you to be recognized . . .”
Dura nods. “We can worry about that later. For now, we should get out of the woods. It’s not safe to stay in here if a raiding party is going to come through.” With those words, she takes off at a jog and I scramble to follow her.
I don’t know what welcome will wait for me in Grimblton, coming back from the dead, but it doesn’t matter. If I can’t warn them and convince them to listen to me, they are in for a fate worse than death.
Chapter 22
Dura
We run through the woods, putting more distance between us and the vampire camp. The light of dawn starts to break between the tree branches and I am glad for it. Vampires are weak to the sun and it will be harder for them to follow us when they discover Marvik is missing. But, it is still possible if they cover up their skin, so we can’t waste time.
We need to get to Marvik’s hometown quickly. There's no telling what will happen if we can’t have the townspeople get to safety in time. And when Marvik’s disappearance is noted, the vampires could move up their plan of attack, even risking the daylight hours.
I’m conflicted though. I know that there are other orcs waiting at Grimblton. If I go with Marvik, they will see me and recognize me. Maybe instantly brand me as a deserter, as I have worried about before. But if he goes alone, he may not be believed about the invasion. Even though he would be talking to his own people, the idea of Barakrin going to war is a hard one to swallow. He may need me to back him up and my Mating Instinct doesn’t like that idea of leaving him in a lurch. My sense of honor doesn’t either.
