Rise of the Warrior of Everfen

Chapter 72: You've Unleashed Hell

"Wren!" Her voice echoed off the steps outside the castle as she stumbled out the door behind Cold Hammer and the guards.

"Stop," her husband threw his arm out to catch her before she passed him. The soldiers were spreading out in a formation, shields and sword up, archers at the ready, looking around. She frowned and peered past them, towards the single body laying prone on the steps. "It's gone. Again."

"The king," she whispered and tried to get past him but he kept her at the door, barring her path. The cursed orc was gone, even from here she could see the bloody tracks it left behind as it fled, but Wren's body was still on the ground, below the window they'd fallen from, shattered bits of glass sprinkled around him. She could feel horror filling her whole body and she didn't know if it was because the orc had survived the fall and run, or because of Wren lying there, unmoving.

"It didn't run into the city." Cold Hammer's voice was low, "Maybe it needed time to heal. It still feels pain."

"Is the king alive?"

"Move, move, let me through!" She heard the shout behind her and scrambled to the side of the doorway as Khash pushed past them. He hadn't been upstairs when Cold Hammer and Wren had come to her aid. He rushed past them, hair in disarray, his robes crooked, but he didn't stop until he reached Wren and she latched onto Cold Hammer's arm, squeezing as she waited for news. A crowd was gathering in the courtyard, pointing and whispering and she saw him turn his head towards them.

"What are they saying?" She asked.

He tilted his head, listening, before he said, "They saw the creature. They see Wren but they are uncertain if they should be afraid because the king's guard is here."

Wren's curse was mostly rumor. They wouldn't know by sight that this creature on the castle steps was their king. Only those who got close enough to see his eyes turn gold, or the soldiers who helped him, were the ones that truly knew the answers.

Then Cold Hammer growled and she looked up at him, "They're wondering if orcs did this. They're damn king did this." She leaned into him but she saw arms lifting to point fingers his way, saw the scowls marring their faces. This was bad for everyone.

Whatever happened, the secret of the cursed orc was out. The people had seen it now.

"His heart still beats." She heard Khash's words on a sigh of relief as he lifted his head from Wren's chest. She was startled to see that in the brief moments she'd looked away, he'd begun to lose his fur and change shape. He wasn't conscious, yet his human body returned. No sooner did she think that when he started coughing and jerked to a sitting position.

He was bare for all to see and he seemed a little shaky, but he was whole. He struggled to speak, voice raw, "Is it caught?"

"No, my king." Erinne pushed forward past Cold Hammer, "But I think it was injured, it left bloody tracks as it went."

"The pain won't stop it for long." Khash murmured as he waved his hand through the air. A fine, linen robe appeared from thin air and he offered it to Wren who shrugged it on and belted it closed before he allowed Khash to help him to his feet.

Voice still hoarse, he said, "Get a party, hunt it down."

"Yes, sir."

.      .      .      .

Erinne rubbed Cold Hammer's large hand in both of hers. His other hand was on her knee, his teeth tightly clenched, barely holding in a snarl. Wren still wore nothing but the robe Khash had provided, pacing the room.

"I almost lost you both."

"We're fine." She murmured and followed his gaze to Andol who was sleeping on a chair.