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‘Yeah,’ I admitted. ‘I have no idea who he was, or why he was dumped on our land. I’m keeping it on the down-low from the pack for now. We don’t need more intruders and deaths to freak people out.’
‘Did you get any pictures of the body? Maybe I can identify him or how he was killed.’
‘I’ll text it to you. It’s a bit grim,’ I warned him.
‘Grim is my normal fare.’
I sent him the picture while we spoke. ‘Got it,’ he confirmed. There was a beat of silence while he pulled up the picture. ‘Well, I can’t identify your fella but I can tell you what killed him. He’s been pounded into a bloody mess, so this has all of the hallmarks of death by ogre. Ogres favour a mace, and these days they like a metal one with plenty of spikes. That’s why your guy looks like a tenderised steak.’
‘Eww.’
‘Looking at the maggots, he’d not been long dead.’
‘What do you mean? Surely if there are maggots, he’d been dead for hours.’
‘No. Gargoyles are a real mess when they die. It’s gross, not to mention smelly. Their corpses rot real fast, unless the gargoyles get to them and do their thing.’
‘What’s their thing?’
‘I’m not sure exactly, but they always seem in a hurry to claim the body. It’s going to be difficult to track down your killer. Ogres frequently offer their services as bodyguards and mercenaries.’
‘Great. Other-realm henchmen.’
‘For the right price.’
‘Wonderful. So where does a girl go to find her very own ogre henchmen?’
He snorted. ‘No one will believe you’re hiring and you’ll get pulverised. You’re friendly with a griffin, right?’
‘Bastion? I guess you could say we’re on cordial terms.’
Steve gave an impressed whistle. ‘Send him. Even the ogres will hesitate to attack one of the deadliest griffin assassins that’s ever lived. They might even answer some of his questions.’ With that cynical parting shot, he hung up.
Great. I knew nothing about ogres, but luckily I’m host to a wolf with significant knowledge of the Other realm.
Esme, what do you know about ogres?
They are big, and you need to be wary of their tusks. They are hard to kill. A few wolves need to work together to bring them down. They can be hamstrung, and their necks and bellies are the softest parts.There was a pause.They arenotgood to eat.
As I so often did when I conversed with Esme, I regretted asking. I didn’t follow up her comment with a query as to whether she’d tried dining on ogre. I didn’t want to know.
Greg cleared his throat to get my attention. ‘What did Marley have to say?’
‘He says that the gargoyle was killed by an ogre.’
Greg nodded. ‘I agree. The body looked like it had been thrashed by a mace.’
‘I have very limited experience of ogres. I know Jess ran into them one time and had a fight, but I don’t have experience of pulverising or thrashing things.’
‘Ogres are mercenaries who are bought by the highest bidder. Once they’re bought, they stay bought.’
‘No double-crossing even for an offer of more money?’ I asked, surprised.
‘No. They’re unscrupulous in a lot of ways, but that’s the one thing about them you can trust. You need to negotiate a clear contract with them, because the moment the contract expires they’ll leave you in the lurch without so much as a “ciao”. They’re tough bastards – hard to find, harder to kill. It would take a good few werewolves to bring one of them down.’
‘You sound like you admire them.’
He shrugged. ‘The strong do well in the Other, and the ogres are warriors. They keep to themselves when they’re not out bodyguarding.’
