Rivers of Orion by Dana Kelly (a court of thorns and roses ebook free .TXT) 📕

“Don’t talk to me like I’m just one of your minions,” said Ostonk. “I killed my own friends for you!”

Bloodtusk took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I’m just a little stressed.”

“It’s all right. It happens,” said Ostonk. “What’s stressing you out so much?”

“I need to find Orin, but it looks like he’s in the wind,” said Bloodtusk. “If I can’t pressure him into resurfacing, we’re screwed. Schurke busted us out because I told him Orin and I were close.”

“For all five of the minutes that was true,” said Grostonk.

“Hey, it was a few hours,” said Bloodtusk.

“And hummins are simpleminded, trusting beasts,” said Ostonk. “That’s plenty of time to get close to one.”

“You’re thinking of domestic canines,” said Grostonk. “But who cares! Who’s left to say you weren’t Orin’s best friend?”

“No one, since I hunted down and killed everyone else who was there,” said Ostonk.

“That was… That was what I was implying,” said Grostonk.

“Not everyone,” said Bloodtusk. “Ikunku, Sturmhardt, Misaki and Shulana are still out there somewhere, flying under Cartwright’s banner. Since they got deputized, I can’t even put legitimate bounties and those backstabbers. No offense, Ostonk.”

“None taken,” said Ostonk. “She should’ve stood by you. She should’ve stood by me.”

“Well, old friend, your loyalty will be rewarded,” said Bloodtusk. “That much I can promise you.”

“Oh yeah? How can you promise that?” asked Grostonk. “Schurke wants Orin. You couldn’t even kidnap his sister. Orin’s not going to suddenly appear out of thin air, just because you hope he will.”

“Well, he might,” whispered Eridani.

Torsha shivered. “At least he made it to Yuletide dinner.”

“Actually, he was a week early,” said Eridani. “But after what we witnessed, I’m just glad he’s okay.”

“That’s why my only option is to rally what’s left of my brother’s army,” said Bloodtusk. “We’ll get tanks. Lots of tanks! And inferno drones. We can storm Troll Forest! Skjöldukona won’t have the manpower to stop us, so we’ll just set down in Fjallahellan Bay. It’s a straight-line west to Troll Forest from there.”

“They’ll never follow you into battle,” said Grostonk.

“Yes, they will,” said Bloodtusk.

“Your brother was a great leader, and you couldn’t even control yourself long enough to take a single hostage,” said Grostonk. “Face it, Husthar, your brother and his army are gone!”

Bloodtusk roared, startling his companions. “Besides us, only the wealthy bastards who did it and the people who made me watch know that my brother is dead! Clearly, I can count on Ostonk, but you—my dear Grostonk—when you say things like that, it causes me to doubt your loyalty. You see?” He reached for his knife but found the sheath empty.

“Leave behind a little evidence?” asked Grostonk.

Bloodtusk snarled. “You get the idea!”

“The Buccaneers think Blacktusk is in jail,” said Ostonk. “It won’t be hard to convince them to lay siege to Cavern Lake if they believe that’ll get him out. Yeah, they’ll follow Husthar, all right. And if they refuse? It’ll be the last mistake they ever make.”

“You’re a psychopath,” said Grostonk. “Husthar, listen to me. Even if you did muster an army, you still can’t storm Troll Forest, because you’d be driving tanks across Rybecker.”

“So?” asked Ostonk.

Grostonk glared at him. “It’s a nature preserve!”

“Nature grows back, stupid,” said Bloodtusk.

“That’s like the only thing it’s good at,” said Ostonk.

Grostonk gritted his teeth and forced a calming breath. “Fine. You seem committed to sacking Cavern Lake. What about Surprise Destinations? They’ve got a fleet of airbuses that’s completely off the grid. You could hire them to run transport directly to the lake, so that way the location stays a secret. It’s a loophole Dark River’s legal team will surely button up in the future, but the way it’s worded now, you technically wouldn’t be in breach of contract.”

“We’d have to kill all the pilots,” said Bloodtusk. “I’d be stuck in court for years!”

“Not if they’re AI pilots,” said Grostonk. “We can add a top-secret location clause, so flight data gets automatically wiped based on whatever trigger or triggers we provide.”

Eridani looked worried. “That could actually work!”

“What do you want to do?” asked Torsha.

“I… I don’t know. Give a minute to think about it,” said Eridani.

Bloodtusk sat down. “I think you’re on to something, but… Hear me out. What if we hired robot pilots instead? We’d be able to manually wipe their memory as soon as they delivered our hostages.”

Grostonk narrowed his eyes. “That’s essentially what I just said.”

Bloodtusk scoffed. “No, it isn’t! I was being nice when I said you were on to something. You’re a moron, but I forgive you. Why don’t you go play some video games, so me and Ostonk can get some real work done, okay?”

“Yeah, you love your video games so much,” said Ostonk, and Grostonk stumbled backward into view. Except for being twice as tall, Grostonk looked identical to Ostonk. “Go on, get out of here!”

Grostonk sighed. “Fine. I’ll go, but before I do, just give me a minute to leave these here with you.” His dark brown fur bristled as he made rude gestures with both hands.

“Thanks for offering,” said Bloodtusk. “You can keep those.”

Ostonk laughed obnoxiously. “That was primitive, Grostonk. Think better, and you’ll be better… yourself.”

“That’s not how the saying goes,” said Grostonk. “It’s—That doesn’t make any sense!”

“Yet, you’re still here,” said Ostonk.

Grostonk rolled his eyes, turned around, and headed for the lift.

“You look like you have a plan,” said Torsha.

“I do,” said Eridani, and she silently closed the door. “Obviously, I can’t let them send the Buccaneers after our parents. Here’s what I’m thinking. I’ll go in there, unleashing all my anger in that bastard’s face. He’ll capture me, but you can always break me out if things go sideways.”

“It’s risky,” said Torsha. “He could decide to just kill you.”

“He won’t. Trust me,” said Eridani. “Here’s what we do next.” She leaned in close and whispered the rest of the plan into Torsha’s ear. “This will work. I know it will!”

Torsha raised her brow. “It just might. Okay, count me in.”

Eridani passed Torsha her phone, the crankshaft, and the lanyard.