Valkyrie of Desire

41. Pale Truth

Idle minds drift into filthy currents

This flood of fools becomes a sea of doom

Dare to brace against all faith's deterrents

Prepare a damn of idols for the wooed

—Edanit Kyanoshier

Naked from the waist down, Hildr swings her strip of stained leather as lanterns flicker in the laps of sleeping whores. She strides through pools of gore, grunts and growls echoing in the long chamber.

Only hours of training and most of the newborn orcs have transformed. Agro has them marching, and Ruse has them humming to the beat of their steps. A human veteran and a beebo djinn, an odd couple to have teaching the wolf-eared children. Will the extra care pay off, or are their efforts wasted on this fodder race of the Obsidian Crusade?

Hildr slaps her thigh, leaving a pink welt across her pale skin. At the cracking sound, a line of waist-high orcs come to attention. Only one delays, the lone female. Agro takes a step towards the orc, but stops as Hildr shakes her head.

"Gina," says Hildr. "Show your brothers how smart you are."

The female orc cocks her head, still shiny from the blood of her birth. "I hunger."

Hildr points at her mother's carcass. "Follow Agro's directions, and you all can fill your bellies again. Translate to your brothers if you understand."

Gina's fuzzy ears twitch, and saliva rolls down her tusks. They slant in more than her brothers do. Her mother and sister's tusks were the same. Is it a female thing?

Hildr clears her throat and waves at Ruse. "Drain her."

The blue-glowing spirit flies over and floats in front of the orc, webbed feet dangling more than a fist above the floor for them to stare eye-to-eye. They were about the same height when the girl tore her way out of her mother; how big will she get in a week?

Gina swipes her clawed hand through Ruse's wrist, marking him no more than a nail would in a moonbeam. The beebo spirit chases after her arm, caressing her as his glow brightens.

"Enough." Hildr claps.

Ruse floats back from Gina as the young orc staggers.

Hildr raises a brow. "Did your mother teach you Orc while you swam in her stomach, or is it something ... in your blood?" She frowns. "Ruse hungers too. Answer, or I feed more of you to him."

With a snarl, Gina straightens and reaches a hand to her brothers.

Nope. Hildr snaps her fingers, getting Agro's attention.

The veteran pounds the butt of his spear into the floor and growls guttural words. The male orcs bow their heads, turning from their sister and marching to the other side of the hall. Ruse trails after them, humming.

"Teach us." Gina's shoulders slump. "Stomach. Listen. Learn. Always."

Hildr nods. "You learned some English in her belly too, didn't you?"

"A little."

"Keep learning, and teach your brothers. This will be your role, making them as smart as you."

The orc scrunches her pig-like nose. "Males. Dumb."

"Males are simple." She smirks. "There is a difference."

Agro jogs over with his spear across his shoulders. "I'm going to take the boys upstairs. Ruse has a room we can convert into barracks." He nods at Gina. "Will she join?"