Orc's Desire

Chapter 1

Kiera

I can barely breathe. My lungs burn and my muscles ache, but I must keep pushing. 

“I have to keep going,” I remind myself. Everyone’s lives depend on it. Depend on us.  

My sister and I have been going through rigorous testing after the discovery of the Dawn stone. The camp knows that the two of us can withstand the magic it will take to destroy it – and now we have to be ready to face it. 

As I shift my stance, trying to find a better angle of attack, I catch a glimpse of my twin, Avalon. The strain on her face is painful to watch as she absorbs all the magic Casspain is throwing at her. Purple sparks fly over the sparse training ground, pushing Avalon so hard that her heels mark the dirt. 

She doesn't fall. 

Am I proud of that? Or terrified?

It will be my turn again soon. I try to conserve as much energy as possible. 

“Agh!” Avalon yells. 

Casspain almost brings her to her knees. For a moment, I almost see a flicker of something in the dark elf’s eyes as he looks at Avalon, but it vanishes quickly. His jaw tightens, and the purple magic that sparks from his fingertips only increases in intensity. 

“Steady yourself,” Casspain shouts at her. “I will not go easy.”

“Give me all you got!” 

Avalon rolls forward to avoid Casspain’s latest strike. She ducks behind one of the fences lining the training grounds, and Casspain unleashes a bolt that blows it apart, exposing her behind the splintered wood.

I dart out to save her before I can even think. “Av!”

“Stay back!” Casspain shouts. 

With effort, I bring my instincts to save my sister under control. I force myself to stop and watch as Casspian’s bolt strikes Avalon. She is thrown back but doesn’t stay down for long. 

“Now counter!” Casspain yells. His eyes widen as the magic flows through him, turning an eerie, milky white.

She rushes at Casspain, who immediately throws another bolt at her. Avalon raises her hands as the bolt hits and stands firm against it. Her hands tighten against the magic, holding it firm even as they shake. 

Magic that would kill any other human sparks and sputters around her hands, trailing down her arms and legs. It looks as though she’s tangled in string. Her entire body trembles as the bolt pushes against her, but she remains standing even as a drop of sweat falls from her temple.

“That’s it, that’s it,” Casspain calls to her. 

I watch with pride as my sister resists the magic. I know I must do the same. 

Not just the same. Better. I have to make them choose me. I have to–

Pain, bright and sharp, dances over my body, twisting it grotesquely. It’s all I can do to cry out. 

“Kiera!” Avalon cries.

I hit the ground with a heavy sound. The wind is knocked from my lungs, but I manage to scramble back onto my feet.

“You were not focused!” Casspain scolds me. 

And I hate myself because he’s right. I should have been ready before, but I’m ready now. Casspain throws a bolt that hits the ground inches from my feet.

I know I must stand my ground. It’s about resistance now. I’ve come this far. Now, I have to go further.

 “Try me, elf!” I yell. 

“Don’t tempt me, little girl,” Casspian throws back at me. “You better run!” 

But I won’t run. This lesson isn’t about running. It’s not about hiding from the magic. I need to use the strength I have to resist his magic. I clear my head and prepare as the crackle and buzz surrounds Casspain.

“Go Kiera!” Avalon shouts. 

It hits me before I even have a chance to try to absorb it, and it hurts. Once again I’m thrown to the ground. My chin scrapes along the dirt. I swipe at it with my left hand, absently. I’m bleeding. 

I don’t care. 

“Kiera,” I hear Avalon call out in worry. My nostrils are filled with brimstone and smoke. I cough, feeling it choke me. Get up, get up.

I rise to my feet as quickly as I can. I must keep going. I can’t let this beat me. Avalon rushes toward me.

“Stay back. I can do this,” I shout at her. “Alone.”

I look at Casspain, who appears unusually nervous. He usually loves pushing us as far as he can. Now, he’s frowning. Does he feel sorry for me?

“We can break,” he suggests.

“No.” 

“Your wish is my command.” He takes a little mocking bow, and his hands begin to quiver. 

My eyes remain firmly on his hands. I must travel as they travel, feel as they feel, move as they move. 

And I do. 

Casspain raises his hands. The strike makes its way toward me in slow motion, all dark purple and power. It’s beautiful and dangerous and I raise my hands to greet it. 

The force is overwhelming as it hits, but this time I’m prepared. I have the power to resist. 

“That’s it,” Casspain shouts. “Hold it.”

I summon all the strength I have, and I push back with all my might. I watch through the smoke and fire as I see Casspain begin to struggle. It’s working. I close my eyes and see the faces of everyone who depends on me. Their legions give me the strength I need to beat this. 

And I do. The force disappears, and I fall to my knees. Avalon claps and cheers. Casspain approaches.

“A girl like you could move mountains,” he says with a sly grin as he reaches his hand out to me. 

Avalon rushes over. “We are going kick some dirty elf ass,” she exclaims, then looks awkwardly at Casspain. “Not you, Cass.” She pulls it back and punches him jokingly on the shoulder. 

I don’t miss how her gaze lingers on him after he speaks, or how Casspain stares back just long enough to be awkward before he clears his throat.

“My dear, I am more than just a dirty elf. I am a dirty, sneaky elf,” Casspain says. He spins around on his feet and up into the air. With arm outstretched, he releases a little bolt. It zaps Avalon on the shoulder lightly, but with enough force to knock her to the ground ass-first.

I laugh. 

“Never trust an elf,” Casspain jokingly says as he turns and walks away.

Now that he’s gone, I collapse, exhausted, into the grass. 

“That hurt,” Avalon says, rubbing her shoulder.

“I think it hurts your ego more than anything else.” 

She rolls her eyes and stretches out onto the grass next to me. We watch the clouds blow through the sky for a good minute. Both of us are too exhausted to move. “I’m hungry.” 

“You’re always hungry,” I reply. 

“No, I am not,” she says, even though she always is. 

“Well, it is almost dinner time, so let’s go before the orcs eat everything as usual.” 

“I know, they’re a pain in the ass, and no matter how many times I complain, still nothing is done about it,” Avalon snaps back. 

“What, you think they would give us our own mess tent or something?” I joke. “They’re kind of in charge here.”

“Well, that’s what I suggested, but of course, that dumb ass Goruk now all loved up with Vala, and now he’s pushing the whole orc and humans should interact more agenda,” she says. 

“Well, he has a point,” I tell her. 

“Yes, it’s all well and good until you go up for seconds to find out the orcs have eaten everything in sight on their first sitting,” Avalon complains. 

“The road to diversity is paved with good intentions.” 

“Paved with greedy, fat orcs, you mean.” 

Shouts echo around the camp and we both turn.

“Open the gates!” an orc voice bellows. The gates open as we watch as cartloads of injured are rushed in. 

“Oh no.” Avalon grips my hand. “Not more.”

We split up, and I make my way to one of the carts. I don’t have much medical training, but I can carry supplies, so I bring bandages, medicines…whatever I can carry from the medical tent. 

There’s not enough room for everyone to fit inside. An Elder passes by the carts, performing triage. 

As I approach a cart he passes by, I see two orcs laying side by side. Their bodies are a mess. One is missing a leg and hand, the other missing both his eyes. Both are barely breathing, the blood flows out of them in torrents, and I know they have no chance of pulling through. It's such a horrible decision to make, but I have to make it. 

We can’t waste the bandages. They’re already bleeding out.

“We’ll stay with them,” one of the humans pushing the cart tells me. 

Everything is horrible, and then I see him.

Javano. 

“This one, get him to the hospital now!” I shout out. “Hurry!”