She couldn’t see the town from where she was. She took a few deep breaths and tried to stay calm. It had been 3 AM when the madness had begun, and at least an hour should’ve passed since then. More, for sure. Two hours? Why hadn’t she taken her phone with her? But then her kidnappers would’ve probably thrown it away, and she couldn’t think of anything worse than losing it and everything she had on it. Texts, photos... No, that was stupid. She could think of many things that were worse than that.
Her mind was going in circles. She couldn’t focus on a single thing, and she couldn’t come up with a plan to get out of the horrible situation she was in. It was still better than being Morok’s captive. She had to remember that.
She started walking, hoping it was in the right direction. Her feet hurt, and she was in pain all over from how she’d been draped over the krag’s back. Maybe it was better to find a good, safe spot where she could wait for morning to come. Uthar would see she was missing, and he’d come looking for her. He was a hunter. The best hunter the horde had. He would track her with no effort at all.
She found a rock that was big enough to offer her some safety. She checked it thoroughly to make sure there were no critters she might disturb, then settled against it, wrapping the robe around herself, trying to cover us as best as she could.
Had they put out the fire? Were they already looking for her?
She made herself small and waited, listening to the sounds of the night, repeating over and over that she was going to be okay. Just a few hours until dawn.
Uthar found her before that. The sun wasn’t up yet, and the sky was dark – the darkness before sunrise. She heard him coming and peeked from behind the rock she was hiding. When she saw it was him, she jumped to her feet and called his name. He rushed to her, and she threw herself into his arms, crying. She hadn’t cried all night, but seeing him had broken the dam. He picked her up, and she snuggled against his chest.
“I got you,” he whispered in her hair. “My love. I got you.”
“I knew you would find me.” She sniffed and wiped her tears. “I wasn’t worried for a second. Well, I mean, I was a bit afraid... I don’t know what’s out here and what would want to eat me.” She chuckled, trying to ease the tension. “But other than that, I was certain you would find me. That’s why I waited. No point in getting lost more than I already was.”
“I’m sorry. I should’ve never let you go on your own. That was stupid of me. Unacceptable.”
“You couldn’t have known.”
He grunted and didn’t say another word. Beth looked up at him and saw that he was angry. Angry at himself. She wrapped her arms around his neck and placed a kiss on his collarbone.
“So, what happened? Did you put out the fire?”
“Yes.”
“Did Morok start it?”
“Yes.”
She sighed. “What did he want? I don’t understand.”
He remained silent, and she dozed off as he carried her back to their town. He’d come on foot, armed to the teeth, but she didn’t feel for one second that she was a burden to him.
He stopped in front of the diner. Most of the orcs were inside, around the table. Kinna and Lonar were outside, talking in hushed voices. Beth went straight to them.
“Where is Abby?”
The mage turned to her but didn’t look into her eyes. Lonar averted his gaze, too.
“Is she okay?”
Kinna took a piece of paper out of her pocket and gave it to her.
“I’m sorry. She was gone when I went to check up on her. I found this.”
Beth felt chills creep up her spine. She felt cold to the bone. She unfolded the piece of paper and read, “Your sister will be a good mother to my baby.” It wasn’t signed, but Beth knew who’d written it. She knew who’d taken Abby.
Morok.
She had never been the target.
Chapter Twenty-One
Beth felt sick to her stomach. Even if the table was empty, – aside from a few bottles of ale, – the diner smelled of food. There was nothing she wanted more than to rush outside and breathe in the fresh morning air, but the horde had decided to gather here, and Uthar was on his feet, pacing the room, talking about all the gruesome things he was going to do to Morok the Unhinged. His words filled her with hope. And power. Even though she could barely stand, she was ready to go rescue her sister. She needed a good bath, and then some rest, but she couldn’t allow herself to have either when Abby had been kidnapped.
They had to act today.