Fallen Crown (Orc Destiny Volume II) (The Blood and Brotherhood Saga) by Jeremy Laszlo Read Free Book Online Page B

open and in an upright position. Its orb of light was gone, having
left sometime prior without his notice. Lifting the cage, the fox tilted to one
side and fell over, stiff as the wood the cart it was carried upon was made of.
Tossing the cage back into the cart, Gnak then looked at the third fox he had
performed a test upon. This was the fox he had choked to death and then
restored. Though it was also not in the best of shape, it remained alive. It
was beginning to show signs of bloat, proving to Gnak that it too was no longer
living, but without an actual open wound it at least lasted longer than its
peers. Even so it acted unnaturally, its head jerking this way and that while
its ears moved about, independent from one another. Turning, Gnak strode away
from the cart to resume his position at the head of the line. Time was ever
running shorter, but at least he had learned something new.
    It appeared that after life, the will he restored to a beast
did not linger long, lasting only as long as the body lasted. But so too was
the opposite true. Without the will he had the ability to remove from the
creatures, the body no longer desired life, and so too would perish in little
time. There had to be more to it than this. What use was the power the goddess
had given him if only to make the dead linger long enough to rot? Then he
realized it. It might not be all she had intended, but was at least some small
part of what it was the goddess had given him.
    Ishanya had told him to unite his people and guide them into
her worship. She told him to create for her an army unlike anything ever seen
before upon Thurr. And she had given him the key he needed to make it possible!
It was his own stupid Orc brain that had missed the obvious!
    To take over an Orc clan was as simple as challenging and
killing its chief, just as he had done with his own clan. Sure, there would be
those among the new clan that would likely try and kill a newcomer to take the
role themselves, but Gnak no longer had to fight them. Not really. All he had
to do is touch the chief of any given clan and pull from the Orc his will.
Then, when he was without the will to do anything, stuck in the trance Gnak had
seen several times already, he could be killed with ease. All Gnak had to do
was get close enough to touch anyone who stood in the way of his plans.
    Of course he would have to make it look like a
challenge. Perhaps he would insult those he planned to kill just as he touched
them. It was the simplest solution in the world. He knew there had to be more
to his power than just this, but it was enough to do as Ishanya wished. It was
enough to unite his people and possibly save them from themselves. Excited,
Gnak strode through the sand the remainder of the night, only half alert to
what he was doing. To share his excitement with her, knowing now that she at
least had some connection with the world, Gnak reached inward and stroked the
essence that was Jen within him. They were finally a step closer.
     
     
    The third night after his experiments, the last of his test
foxes died after it had bloated so far that its belly had ruptured during the
day. After that it did not last long. Sending out a pair of his captains to
scout ahead, Gnak waited impatiently for their return. He knew that their
destination grew near. The Orc camp they were supposed to join with the
gathering Orc army could not be much farther. It was only four hours before his
captains returned.
    Gnak watched them come rushing over the dune ahead, and
halted his clan’s march as they raced to meet him. The looks upon their faces
told him much about what lay ahead, but even so, he listened patiently after
asking them what they had found.
    “Gathos clan march, next night reach big chief,” the first
captain stated.
    “No many miles to camp,” the second added.
    Gnak realized that he really needed to learn their names. He
owed them as much.
    “Big chief, many clans. Have scouts. Scouts find Gathos,”
the