Read Online [Queen of Orcs 01] - King's Property by Morgan Howell - Free Book Online Page B

really,” said Teeg. “They obey their queen, though it’s a man who gives her orders.”
    “The Queen’s Man?”
    “Aye, all his orders are in her name.”
    “I don’t understand.”
    “Some treaty between her and our king.”
    “What do the orcs get out of it?”
    “I’ve no idea. All I know is they don’t serve from friendship. They hate us all. Remember that next time yer lookin’ for a place to sleep.”
    “I was stupid last night,” said Dar.
    “Less stupid than tuppin’ another man. Kol’s not one to cross.”
    “I’ve already figured that out.”
    “Then yer not so stupid after all.”
    “When do you think I’ll see him again?”
    “Already pinin’ for him?” Teeg grinned, making Dar wonder if he had guessed her true feelings. “Well don’t worry. Kol likes to ride with the advance shieldron and his horse is faster than my oxen. He’ll catch up quick enough. A week or two at most.”
     
    The wagons set the pace for the march and it was slow. The weather was pleasant, and under different circumstances, Dar would have enjoyed the ride. The fields they passed, though well tended, were empty. “Where are the people?” she asked.
    “Hidin’,” replied Teeg.
    “Of course, the orcs.”
    “Even without piss eyes, soldiers aren’t welcome.”
    “But you serve our king.”
    “We still need food, and peasants are stingy.”
    “Don’t you pay them?” asked Dar.
    Teeg laughed. “This is the king’s land, and we’re the king’s men. Why should the master pay for what’s his? Ye bear his brand. Did he pay for ye?”
    Dar realized that a visit from soldiers might spell starvation. Teeg must have read her expression, for he said, “Miss a few meals, and ye’ll not care where yer vittles come from. An empty belly’s a great cure for a conscience.”

    The shieldron marched until late afternoon, when it halted at a ruined farmstead. A few roofless huts, their walls burned and crumbling, stood amid fields overgrown with weeds and saplings. Teeg looked around in disgust. “Slim pickin’s tonight. Hop down, birdie, and get busy.”
    Dar limped to where the women were preparing a cooking area. “How’s your leg?” asked Taren.
    “Walking hurts, but I can work.”
    “Then help me with the tent and make porridge,” said Taren. She dragged a tent from a wagon and unrolled it. “You need not serve the orcs tonight.”
    “It’d be better if I did,” said Dar.
    “Why?” asked Taren. “The orc that attacked you is here.”
    “I know,” said Dar. “That’s the reason I should serve. He mustn’t think I fear him.”
    “Don’t you?”
    “Of course, but he shouldn’t know it.”
    Taren shook her head, “How can you face an orc, but not a man?”
     
    After the soldiers tended to the oxen, they pitched their tents and disappeared into them, leaving the women to set up the rest of the camp. Dar, Loral, and Taren unloaded wagons while Neena and Kari got water and gathered firewood. Before long, the evening’s cooking was under way. The orcs’ food, which was prepared separately from the men’s, consisted solely of porridge.
    While the women worked, the orcs set up their own camp. First, they marked off a large circle by sticking branches in the ground. When that was done, they erected their shelters. Afterward, most of the orcs shed their armor and clothes and headed for a nearby stream. Dar assumed they were going to bathe. Two remained in battle gear. One accompanied the bathers; the other remained at the camp.
    Kovok-mah was the latter. When Dar had a free moment, she limped toward him until she was close enough to speak softly. “Shashav, Kovok-mah.”
    “How you know word for ‘thanks’?”
    “You say ‘Shashav Muth la’ when you get food, so I thought ‘shashav’ must mean ‘thanks.’”
    “Why you thank me?”
    “For saving my life.”
    “Zna-yat did improper thing,” said Kovok-mah. “I could not allow it.”
    Dar bowed her head. “Shashav. I would